Chapter 26: The Dead

"It's supposed to be in ten days, so right now it should be the 'zeroth day,' right?" Lin Jian covered her mouth and nose with her hand, then added, "If you go out now, you won't be able to see the roads soon, since there are no streetlights here."

Qi Xia knew Lin Jian was right, so he quietly walked to the side and sat down on a clean shelf.

He was indeed a bit impatient and had even forgotten to check the time.

But he was desperate to leave this godforsaken place and see his wife.

To see Yu Nian'an.

To see that girl who liked to wear white clothes.

"Xiao An, I'll escape from this godforsaken place soon," he murmured to himself. "Just wait, we'll have money soon."

Qi Xia's expression was different from everyone else's—he wasn't panicking or grieving, just a little anxious.

As the sky grew darker, everyone found clean spots to sit down.

Fortunately, the nights here weren't cold, though everyone was starving. They hadn't eaten or drunk anything for nearly a day, and each person felt weak and drained.

No one spoke anymore; they just slowly watched the earthy-yellow sun sink in the sky until the world was completely plunged into darkness.

The day's experiences felt like a terrifying nightmare for everyone, and they all hoped that when they opened their eyes again, all the strange phenomena would vanish.

The entire city seemed to fall silent, as if brewing something. In the distance, they heard what sounded like rustling noises, but it was indistinct.

It was so dark here that they couldn't tell if their eyes were open or closed.

Having grown up in the city, none of them had ever experienced such pitch-black night.

"Deceiver, are you asleep?" Qiao Jiajin suddenly asked from not far away from Qi Xia.

"What's up?"

"Do you think there are other 'participants' here?"

Qi Xia was silent for a moment before replying, "I've thought about that too. Ren Long said millions of people have walked out of the door, so logically, there should be more than just us nine..."

Qiao Jiajin fell silent for a while, then asked, "What about that female shop assistant—could she be someone who once walked out of the door?"

"Hmm?" Qi Xia was slightly taken aback; he had never considered that angle, especially since the woman seemed to have lived here for many years.

But thinking it over, that didn't contradict anything. People could have been brought here ten years ago or even ten days ago—it didn't matter. What was important, according to Ren Long, was that this place would be obliterated in ten days.

They might have different starting points, but their endpoints were the same.

The fortunate thing was, they probably wouldn't end up completely insane like the female shop assistant, since they only needed to stay here for ten days.

Either way, they would see the results after ten days.

"Deceiver? Are you asleep?"

Qi Xia ignored him and turned his head to the side, seriously pondering the events of the day.

What could be the cause of all this strangeness?

Getting no response from Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin stopped pursuing it and gradually fell quiet.

After a short while, two other people started talking in the darkness—it sounded like Zhao Yisheng and Li Jingguan.

"Zhao Yisheng..."

"What is it?"

"I want to ask... if a woman has been malnourished for a long time, could she still bear a child?"

Zhao Yisheng paused briefly, understanding what Li Jingguan meant. The female shop assistant in the room looked like she hadn't eaten properly in ages, yet how had she given birth to a baby?

The others seemed interested in the question too and quietly waited for his answer.

Zhao Yisheng organized his thoughts and said, "This is a complex issue. If a woman is malnourished for an extended period, it can lead to menstrual irregularities, or even menopause or amenorrhea. In other words, lacking essential nutrients can prevent ovulation and make conception impossible."

"So... is this another thing science can't explain?" Li Jingguan asked gravely. "That female shop assistant looks in terrible physical condition."

"We can't draw a definitive conclusion. In some regions of Africa, people have very low nutrient intake, yet they have high birth rates..." Zhao Yisheng sighed. "But this isn't my area of expertise. It involves individual constitutions and key nutrient intake, and I don't know much about it."

Li Jingguan didn't say anything more and fell silent.

The room fell into silence again.

Qi Xia hadn't planned on sleeping, but with his vision completely gone, his senses blurred, and he eventually stopped thinking altogether.

Accompanied by the quiet "rustling" sounds from the street, Qi Xia's eyelids grew heavy.

He didn't know when he fell asleep, but in his dream, he saw Yu Nian'an's figure.

"Xia, you know, there are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own."

"Yes, Xiao An, I know," Qi Xia nodded in the dream. "I'll be out soon. Just wait."

He wasn't sure how much time passed, but suddenly a massive bell tolled like thunder right beside his ear.

Qi Xia jolted awake and jumped to his feet, realizing that daylight had already returned outside.

Glancing around, everyone else looked shocked and was scanning their surroundings, just like him—the bell had been overwhelmingly loud and had startled them all awake.

"What's going on?!" Xiao Ran instinctively hid behind Li Jingguan.

Before anyone could react, a strange coughing sound came from the corner of the room.

The cough sounded like it was choked with water.

Zhao Yisheng traced the sound to behind him and slowly turned around, only to see a horrifying sight.

Han Yimo was lying on the ground with a pure black greatsword plunged into his abdomen. The sword was like a massive nail, pinning him firmly to the floor, with more than half of its blade buried in the ground from the force.

Blood was spurting from his mouth as he coughed continuously.

"Hey! Writer!" Qiao Jiajin rushed over to check on him.

"Cough... Qi... Qi Xia..." Han Yimo reached out his hand, his voice unnatural. It didn't sound like pain or fear—more like confusion.

Qi Xia frowned slightly, then walked over, squatted down, and grasped Han Yimo's hand.

"I'm here," he replied, while looking up at the ceiling of the building.

The entire ceiling was intact; the black greatsword didn't seem to have fallen from above.

Han Yimo's lips moved slightly, his eyes starting to glaze over. He let out a whimper and suddenly began to cry in pain.

"This... this place is wrong... Qi Xia... cough... this couldn't happen... this 'Qi Hei Jian'... absolutely... cough... impossible... Qi Xia... 'Qi Hei Jian' is not..."

His coughing grew louder, and he couldn't get out a full sentence. Blood poured from his mouth and even flowed back into his nose.

Han Yimo coughed violently a few more times, then his body went rigid and lifeless.

In his struggle to breathe, even a few words exhausted all his strength.

Of course... a real person on the brink of death wouldn't have time for a long farewell.

What followed was silence.

A long, drawn-out silence.

Everyone knew Han Yimo had more to say, but time had run out for him. A living person had just died right before their eyes.

Seeing Han Yimo's lifeless eyes, Qi Xia furrowed his brow, and suddenly his head throbbed with intense pain.

He clutched his forehead and doubled over, feeling as if something was trying to burst out of his mind, and he let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Ah—!!"

The others hadn't even recovered from Han Yimo's death when Qi Xia's scream startled them again.

"Deceiver, are you okay?" Qiao Jiajin asked cautiously.

After a half-minute of silence, Qi Xia slowly regulated his breathing and said, "I'm fine... Let's check on Han Yimo first..."

Seeing that Qi Xia seemed alright, the others turned their attention to Han Yimo's body, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

One thought kept circling in their minds.

Had they really died?

If you're already dead, can you die again?

"Han Yimo... was murdered..." Xiao Ran whispered.

That phrase "was murdered" jolted everyone awake.

Yes, what they needed to consider now wasn't "dying after death," but the "killer."

Han Yimo had still been conscious when they found him, meaning the greatsword had just been driven into his abdomen.

In other words, the killer hadn't gone far and might even be hiding among the remaining eight.