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As the nut was unscrewed, the tense atmosphere surrounding Zhiqing and the others eased slightly. Large beads of sweat rolled down his face, clearly visible to Ziya, who was close by, capturing the image of sweat dripping onto the ground.
Ziya pressed her lips tightly together, holding her breath in silence, afraid that even her breathing might blow away the wrench that Zhiqing held in his hands.
Sun Meng felt a sharp pain radiating from her neck, the harsh 'clank' of the wrench echoing in her ears. The cold tool pressed against her cheek while Zhiqing's warm palm seeped heat into her skin. She bit down on her lower lip, allowing the cold sweat caused by the pain to stream down her face. Despite the stinging pain from the sweat-soaked wounds on her face, Sun Meng remained silent.
Ziya's heart raced, lodged in her throat as she watched Zhiqing turn the wrench. Her fingers moved in sync with his actions, as if she were helping him exert force.
With a loud 'clack' followed by a heavy sigh, Zhiqing removed the metal mask covering Sun Meng's mouth. At that moment, Ziya gasped and covered her mouth in shock, her eyes wide with fear as she stared at Sun Meng's lips.
Zhiqing followed Ziya's gaze to Sun Meng's chin, where a deep gash had been cut just two centimeters away, flesh torn and blood already congealed.
"What are you looking at?" Sun Meng asked as she noticed their unusual expressions. She lowered her head to see her blood-stained and tattered clothing before reaching up to touch her face.
"Don't..." Ziya whispered, grabbing Sun Meng's raised hand with a hint of sorrow. "It's nothing; it's just a scratch. Once we get out of this hellhole and to the hospital, they can stitch it up."
"Yeah, Ziya is right. Get ready; we need to leave this room. If I'm not mistaken, the exit should be through that hidden door," Zhiqing said decisively.
"Uh... I remember... ah!" Sun Meng tried to recall where they had been ambushed, but a sharp pain shot through her head. She quickly covered her head with her hands, her facial expression revealing how uncomfortable she felt.
"Don't think about it now; we need to get out of here," Ziya said as she supported Sun Meng while Zhiqing led the way.
"No, just now... ah!" Sun Meng wanted to say something but found the pain in her head growing more intense.
"Please don't speak for now, okay?" Ziya continued to comfort, propping Sun Meng's elbow on her shoulder and whispering softly.
Sun Meng had a pre-existing head injury, and after being attacked on the head, the pain was unavoidable. With Zhiqing and Ziya supporting her, she moved mechanically, taking one step at a time.
However, Ziya sensed that Sun Meng seemed to be resisting their forward movement. She raised her hand and pointed towards the passage leading to the dark door, pulling her body back.
"There’s a ghost," Sun Meng warned them in a tone that suggested urgency. Her eyes were filled with terror and panic, one arm draped over Ziya's neck, her body pressed tightly against Ziya's. The latter could feel her trembling.
"It's fine; that ghost has already been knocked out by Ziya. Even if it recovers, it won't be so quick," Zhiqing said, gripping the steel pipe tightly while scanning their surroundings warily. One hand helped support Sun Meng while the other held the pipe firmly without relaxing.
"Really?" Sun Meng asked weakly. She had seen the Masked Man being dragged away by something in the corridor, but due to the distance and lighting, she couldn’t tell what it was. Therefore, she couldn’t describe what she had witnessed to Zhiqing and Ziya. All she wanted was to escape quickly; she didn’t want to say anything unnecessary.
Ziya felt her body gradually giving out, each step requiring immense effort. Yet a strong conviction supported her: they had to survive and get out alive. The dim light in the corridor didn’t flicker like before; what did that mean? Zhiqing’s cold gaze swept around as she analyzed their current situation.
The lights in the corridor and passage had stopped flickering, which indicated one thing: the Masked Man had indeed suffered serious injuries and might be resting somewhere or perhaps even dead.
The empty corridor echoed with the three of them dragging their feet and uneven breaths, along with the thumping of their hearts against their chests. Although nothing abnormal was happening at the moment, their guard remained up. As the saying goes, once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a rope for ten years. Moreover, they were still in a dangerous environment without having fully escaped; this underground space had likely been artificially modified and equipped with various traps.
When they reached the dark door that Zhiqing had initially discovered, it surprisingly stood open. Zhiqing signaled for Ziya to hold back for a moment while she tightened her grip on the steel pipe and stepped inside first.
Ziya struggled to free herself from supporting Sun Meng but could only agree for Zhiqing to enter first.
Upon entering, Zhiqing was immediately struck by the sight of the wall murals inside. She looked up to see a complete Hell Map depicted on the wall—a gruesome portrayal of Demon Enforcers dragging souls to hell for punishment.
Zhiqing stood at the door for a long time, noticing that there was no unusual movement. He stepped into the room slowly, where a row of surveillance cameras displayed rippling lines. A chair, a cigarette... a cigarette butt...
Zhiqing quickly retreated. "Run!" he shouted sharply, startling the quiet room into a buzzing noise.
Ziya and Sun Meng were taken aback by his sudden outburst. In an instant, Ziya nodded hurriedly to Zhiqing and quickly helped Sun Meng, limping back the way they came in a desperate rush. After covering some distance, Ziya faintly heard sounds of a struggle coming from where they had just been. Worried about Zhiqing, she decided without thinking to hide Sun Meng behind the safety door that Zhiqing had led her to.
Zhiqing looked at the smoldering cigarette butt, a chill running up from his heels to the back of his head. There must be something fishy behind that open door. As he hurriedly backed away, he shouted to Ziya when suddenly a white figure—the Masked Man—emerged from behind the door.
Seeing the Masked Man made Zhiqing feel uneasy; his scalp tingled and his mind went blank as if short-circuited, losing all sense of judgment. Although he knew this person should be human in disguise, wasn't the Masked Man killed by Ziya? Why was he alive again? This reminded Zhiqing of the killer from the American movie "Friday the 13th," Jason. The thought of that terrifying murder scene made him break into a cold sweat.
Could this person be like Jason, impossible to kill? But he had never heard of ghosts smoking. Watching as the Masked Man closed in on him, Zhiqing realized there was no time for hesitation. Knowing that Ziya and the others were already far away, he bravely charged forward, raising the steel pipe in his hand and swinging it down towards the Scythe that gleamed with a chilling blue light.
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