"Did Liang Fei really say that?"
Chen Lan looked at Lu Ming with some doubt.
"I... why would I lie to you?"
Running wildly all the way back to the self-built house, Lu Ming dared not look back, dared not stop.
He was almost completely exhausted... At this moment, he braced his hands on his knees, hunched over, and panted heavily.
"Then..."
According to the analysis of several people and the testimony of the only survivor Huang Xu, the murderer must be Huangmao.
As long as they provided clues related to him, Chen Lan would not be in any danger.
Yet Liang Fei hadn't returned yet, and had actually told Lu Ming to warn her never to directly point the finger at Huangmao!
This...
Chen Lan came from a wealthy family, living a worry-free life without too many troubles.
Ever since she was a child, she had listened to her parents' arrangements in everything, and she had thought her life would follow this track without any deviation.
Yet this Anomaly event had thrown her life's course off by a hundred thousand miles.
She was still so young, yet she had to face a life-or-death choice.
"Obviously, Huangmao is the murderer, what is there to doubt about that?"
Zhou Yue frowned at Lu Ming.
"The Mission has already announced the cause of death of that couple. Is there really no problem with using things we already know to provide clues?"
As soon as he said this, not only was Chen Lan hesitant, but even Qin Kai and Han Cheng began to waver.
"According to the little brother's guess, could we also say that the murderer's motive was robbery and murder?"
Zhou Yue curled his lip in disdain.
"Isn't that just messing around?"
In fact, this was the privilege and hint unique to the first Mission.
Starting from the second Mission, let alone extra clues, even the autopsy results would have to be analyzed by the participants themselves.
"Anyway, I've delivered the message, whether you want to listen or not is up to you."
Regaining his composure, Lu Ming didn't want to explain further.
Just as he stepped forward to walk out of the room, he suddenly thought of last night's screams.
He held back.
"Don't think I don't know what you're thinking."
Seemingly to ease his inner fear, Lu Ming cast an annoyed glance at Zhou Yue.
Zhou Yue reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail, instantly jumping up in a panic.
"What nonsense are you talking about? If you've got the guts, say that again!"
"What? Did I guess right? Are you getting desperate?"
"You..."
The emotions of the two grew increasingly out of control, arguing until their faces were red.
They almost came to blows!
"Stop arguing, there's no time left!"
It wasn't until Qin Kai glanced at the time on his wristwatch that they realized it was already 23:58.
"What should we do?"
Han Cheng's face turned pale, only then noticing that the serene moonlight shining in from outside the window looked immensely deep and dark.
Lu Ming and Zhou Yue also calmed down instantly, and Chen Lan's heart hammered wildly.
The unknown... was too terrifying!
Drip-drop!
"Ah..."
Just as everyone was tense to the limit, huddling together in the corner of the room, scarlet blood continuously dripped onto the floor.
It sounded just like a leaky faucet that hadn't been turned off properly, abruptly startling everyone awake.
Qin Kai's pupils dilated instantly. Watching the 'person' that had suddenly appeared at the doorway holding a claw hammer, everyone felt as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, trembling uncontrollably.
Lu Ming shuddered all over and subconsciously took a step back.
Its eyes were pitch black, just like a bottomless black hole.
A faint, pale smile hung on its paper-white face, looking exceptionally anomalous.
And that drip-dropping sound from earlier came precisely from the claw hammer in its hand.
Fresh blood continued to drip from the claw hammer...
Its murderous gaze swept across the crowd, finally locking onto Chen Lan, and in the blink of an eye, it lunged forward.
Overcome with terror, screams rose and fell. One second they were huddled together, and the next they had scattered in all directions.
You have to admit, when people are running for their lives, their instinctive reactions are truly astonishingly fast.
Chen Lan was struck with panic, forgetting how to think, and stood frozen in place.
Her frail body trembled incessantly, but she was like a muted player, unable to make a sound.
The fashionable woman had been beaten to death by it and then eaten; now... was it her turn?
"Chen Lan, hurry up and give the clue, hurry..."
Like everyone else, Zhou Yue was paralyzed on the ground in terror, cold sweat pouring down his back; only Lu Ming cried out with a reminder at the critical moment.
Suppressed by fear yet maintaining a pale face, he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Whether it was Lu Ming's shout that woke Chen Lan or her own sudden reaction—
With no time to overthink, she cried out in alarm:
"The first clue, the suspect is..."
"No... the murderer isn't Huangmao."
Liang Fei hadn't dared to pause for a second, but by the time he rushed back to the self-built house, it was already too late.
The very moment his pale face and shouted warning appeared before everyone's eyes... it was already too late.
"It's Huangmao and his gang..."
Chen Lan blurted out the words, her face turning instantly pale.
"No!"
It's over!
Terror and remorse were revealed in Liang Fei's eyes.
If only he could have arrived a step earlier...
That ghostly 'thing' didn't give Chen Lan a chance to react; without the slightest pause, its pale hand raised the claw hammer and smashed it fiercely into Chen Lan's face, letting out a grim laugh from its mouth.
The laughter was extremely harsh, yet it made everyone shiver.
They watched helplessly, not daring to make a single move. Although the Mission description stated that only one person would be killed, who could guarantee that the Mission wouldn't change?
Bang...
Crack!
Chen Lan's nasal bridge snapped instantly, her entire face caving inward.
She didn't even have time to fight back...
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Hammer blow after hammer blow—in just a breath's time, Chen Lan's entire head was smashed to a pulp like a watermelon.
Her brains, mixed with blood, splattered across the wall and floor.
Not until Chen Lan's entire head had been smashed into fragments did it contentedly lower the claw hammer, then scoop up the minced flesh with both hands and hold it in its mouth.
It ate with great relish, a look of satisfaction on its face.
After finishing, it slowly turned its head to scan the crowd. A pair of pitch-black eyes flashed with a terrifying gloomy light, and it disappeared with a sinister smile.
"Dead... truly dead, we might all die..."
Watching Chen Lan being killed and eaten right before their eyes, Han Cheng, whose psychological endurance was limited, completely broke down at that moment.
Though the ghostly 'thing' had already vanished, the shadow had taken root in everyone's hearts, constantly growing.
Blech!
I don't know how much time passed before Liang Fei also snapped out of his terror and numbness.
Seeing Chen Lan's headless corpse lying there motionless, he couldn't help but vomit.
Blech!
Lu Ming and Zhou Yue trembled all over; the coldness and despair from the depths of their souls almost drove them mad.
"Tomorrow, starting tomorrow, we'll be killed just like Chen Lan... and eaten!"
Han Cheng's expression was vacant, repeating the words over and over.
It was clearly a clue given by an eyewitness, everything made complete sense, so where on earth did it go wrong?
How were they to survive the remaining five days?
At this moment, Zhou Yue wanted to speak, but no matter how he tried, he couldn't open his mouth. His throat felt blocked by a hard object, and a dark cloud pressed down on his heart, leaving him gasping for breath.
"It's all your damn fault! I warned you long ago not to bring up Huangmao, not to bring up Huangmao..."
"It's you, you dog! If it weren't for you, how could she have died?"
As soon as Lu Ming said this, a terrifying flash of lightning slashed across outside the window, followed immediately by a deafening crash of thunder.
The crowd shuddered once more at the thunder.