PTYS Chapter 26

At a bend in the corridor, they saw a creature similar to the one chasing them, still wrapped in red ropes. However, the ropes had lost their restraining power. Beneath its mangled hand was a half-eaten, bloody corpse.

One of its hands reached into the corpse, pulled out a heart, and stuffed it into its mouth, the crunching sound coming from its grotesque chewing.

Xiao Muyu’s lips turned pale as she fought against the nausea and fear, glancing at the figure on the ground. It was a man, but she couldn’t tell who had met their end here.

In such a situation, it was meaningless to investigate further—they had to leave quietly.

But the creature that had been chasing them was relentless. It charged and crashed into the opening, making a loud noise that immediately alerted the monster that was eating. The chewing monster lifted its head, revealing a blood-covered face, its murky eyes staring directly at them.

Shen Qingqiu and Xiao Muyu took off running, with the monster abandoning its meal and joining the pursuit alongside the other creature that had broken through the wall.

Shen Qingqiu’s wound continued to bleed profusely, with blood now dripping down her back. If they didn’t get the door open, none of them would make it out alive.

At the end of the corridor, they saw three people—Su Jin, Zuo Tiantian, and Chen Kaijie—who were still alive. Miraculously, the password door was right at the end of this central corridor.

Fortunately, Zuo Tiantian was there, which had likely held off the creature for a while.

Chen Kaijie, who was watching Su Jin input the password, turned his head and initially looked pleased, but his expression changed instantly upon seeing the creatures behind Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu. “Quick, quick, quick!”

Just as the two creatures appeared before the group and were about to pounce, Su Jin successfully entered the password, and the door opened with a loud rumble.

Bright light flooded the room, and the creatures immediately halted. Xiao Muyu, inches away from one of the creature’s claws, exhaled sharply.

The two monsters let out low whimpers, obediently bowing their heads before their flesh melted into the ground and disappeared.

Shen Qingqiu glanced back, stumbled, and collapsed onto the ground. Xiao Muyu quickly reached out to support her.

The fourth round had taken ten minutes and forty seconds. Only two people had emerged from the third corridor alive. Out of nine participants, two—Ni De and Wang Yushan—had not survived.

Zhang Qiang, a robust man, had also lost an arm.

On the other side, Chen Kaijie and the others were already treating Zhang Qiang’s severed arm. Such injuries were life-threatening, but fortunately, they had a hemostatic bandage to temporarily save his life.

Despite having escaped, everyone was in a heavy mood. No one spoke, and their eyes were vacant.

Shen Qingqiu glanced at Lin Hai and Zhang Qiang. They had hidden in the rightmost corridor, but of the four people, the ones carrying the tools, Ni De and Wang Yushan, had died instead.

Xiao Muyu didn’t have the heart to mourn her teammates. She squatted in front of Shen Qingqiu, signaling for her to turn around since her wound was still bleeding.

Shen Qingqiu’s face was pale. She retracted her assessing gaze, smiled at Xiao Muyu, and then turned to reveal three deep claw marks on her left shoulder, cutting through her jacket and inner shirt, exposing gruesome wounds.

Seeing this, Su Jin and the others turned their heads, unable to bear the sight.

Xiao Muyu helped her remove her jacket and glanced back. Lin Hai quickly turned his head to focus on Zhang Qiang.

She took a bandage from Zhang Qiang, while Zuo Tiantian and Su Jin conscientiously turned their backs to shield her. Shen Qingqiu, unperturbed, removed her shirt in front of Xiao Muyu.

Her black bra contrasted starkly with her pale skin, as white as snow.

As she lifted her arm, her shoulder blades and ribs were clearly visible—not overly thin, but firm and strong.

Even as a fellow woman, Xiao Muyu had to admit that Shen Qingqiu’s body was like a work of art, mesmerizing her momentarily.

An image flashed in her mind: taut shoulders and back, both supple and strong, with sweat beading on the smooth skin, equally beautiful… She quickly closed her eyes and shook her head, frowning.

“What’s wrong? Is it that bad?” Shen Qingqiu asked, looking at her with a probing gaze.

Xiao Muyu snapped out of it, her gaze inadvertently slipping to the more intimate curves and lines of Shen Qingqiu’s body. She quickly averted her eyes and muttered, “Don’t move.”

Shen Qingqiu chuckled softly. If it weren’t for the inappropriate setting, she would have teased the serious-looking Xiao Muyu.

Shen Qingqiu’s left shoulder and back were covered in blood. Xiao Muyu frowned and tore a piece of her own clothing to clean the wound, her expression growing more serious.

Despite her silence, Shen Qingqiu couldn’t control her body’s instinctive reactions, trembling slightly as Xiao Muyu worked.

But the wound needed to be wrapped tightly to stop the bleeding, so Xiao Muyu didn’t hold back, gritting her teeth unconsciously.

She leaned in to tie the bandage properly, only a fist’s distance from Shen Qingqiu. Shen Qingqiu could clearly see her serious, meticulous side profile.

Xiao Muyu held her breath, her expression tense as if she were dealing with a grave injustice, which made Shen Qingqiu smile inwardly.

The pain from bandaging was no less than the original injury, but Shen Qingqiu remained silent, her pale lips and the fine cold sweat on her face betraying her weakness. She sat straight and unyielding, her eyes never leaving Xiao Muyu.

Catching sight of this from the corner of her eye, Su Jin glanced up at the ceiling. Injuries certainly act as a catalyst for emotions.

“Thank you.”

Shen Qingqiu finally withdrew her intense gaze and thanked Xiao Muyu.

Xiao Muyu didn’t respond, not even glancing at Shen Qingqiu. Her mind was in turmoil.

Shen Qingqiu had often rescued her with a mix of playfulness and teasing, but this time, Xiao Muyu couldn’t dismiss it with the same excuse.

Why did she do it? She clearly didn’t care much about others’ lives, so why was she an exception?

“The fourth round confirmed our assumptions, but there’s a bigger problem—the difficulty of unlocking the door. If all the rounds are like the fourth one, even if we guess the password, we might not survive to enter it.” Xiao Muyu tried to force her attention back to the matter at hand.

“Did you take their items, Lin Hai and Zhang Qiang?” Xiao Muyu’s question was direct and potentially offensive, but she had to consider every possibility.

Upon hearing this, Lin Hai and Zhang Qiang’s expressions changed. Lin Hai immediately retorted in frustration, “How… how could we have? We were lucky to escape alive. If the door hadn’t opened, we would’ve been torn apart and eaten. How could we have dared to grab their items? Besides, we didn’t even think about it. Taking others’ things, really?”

Zhang Qiang, who had lost an arm and was on the verge of fainting, moved his head slightly and shook it weakly in response to Xiao Muyu’s question. Though he had survived, he knew he wouldn’t make it through the fifth round.

The prospect of imminent death was more crushing than his severe injury, casting a pallor over his already pale face.

Xiao Muyu didn’t press the issue; it was pointless.

They had a thirty-minute break after the fourth round. Half an hour later, the system’s voice sounded.

“Congratulations, players, on completing the fourth round. You must be tired and scared. Are you looking forward to the next game?”

The mechanical voice, devoid of emotion, uttered the words with an exaggerated sentiment, making it all the more sinister.

“Given that you encountered the most challenging level of the 002 instance, the system will show mercy for the fifth round. You have a chance.

Before the fifth round begins, please select a representative to draw a card. If you draw the number 7, hehe, you know what that means. Willing to try?”

Shen Qingqiu’s expression was hard to read, and she rolled her eyes discreetly. Xiao Muyu understood immediately and responded, “Yes.”

In this game, drawing the number 7 meant they would skip the fifth round entirely, a much-needed reprieve from the relentless horror. It was an opportunity no one would refuse.

Xiao Muyu’s decisive answer prompted the system to swiftly present ten cards before them.

“Please select a representative to draw a card.”

“Who… who should draw? Who’s lucky? Anyone feeling lucky?” Lin Hai stuttered nervously.

“Ten, nine, eight…” The system began counting down.

Seeing their panic, Shen Qingqiu drew her dagger and stabbed it into the ground. “She will,” she said, pointing to Xiao Muyu.

The others quickly sat back down, sealing their lips shut.

Xiao Muyu didn’t hesitate, nor did she have the chance to. She reached out and picked a card, which immediately appeared in her hand.

Su Jin and the others stared at the card in Xiao Muyu’s hand, holding their breath. Given her previous bad luck, combined with Shen Qingqiu’s unfortunate streak, it seemed they were doomed.

Despite this tension, they feared making any noise that might affect the outcome.

Even Shen Qingqiu watched Xiao Muyu with some nervousness.

Xiao Muyu exhaled slowly, then turned the card over and handed it to Shen Qingqiu.

Though Shen Qingqiu was not one for sentimentality or romance, at this moment, she inexplicably felt that Xiao Muyu’s gesture was a special treatment. She wanted her to see, and indeed, she saw: it was number 7.

Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but smile, her expression softening into a sweet smile that accentuated her charming features.

Xiao Muyu, seeing the answer, allowed herself a reserved smile. Her usually distant and indifferent demeanor softened, her eyes showing a rare warmth.

Despite their differing personalities and appearances, both women shared an aloofness and a tendency to keep to themselves. In this moment, however, one was as refreshing as a spring breeze, the other as warm as melting snow.

The others, coming out of their initial shock, were overwhelmed with joy. Chen Kaijie couldn’t help but let out a low cheer and pump his fist.

Zhang Qiang felt a spark of hope ignite within him, and Zuo Tiantian covered her face, sobbing.

Their teammates had died, and they had been too preoccupied with their own survival to grieve properly. Now, knowing they could skip the fifth round, their pent-up sorrow and fear erupted, and Zuo Tiantian began to cry aloud.

No one comforted her, nor did anyone blame her. After their initial jubilation, everyone felt a wave of sadness.

“Why do we have to go through this?” Chen Kaijie murmured, but no one had an answer. Was this game a blessing or a punishment?

“Let’s rest and recharge,” Xiao Muyu suggested, closing her eyes.

Author’s Note: Some readers lamented that this instance doesn’t allow for sharing a bed. Isn’t this more thrilling?

System: Surprised? Unexpected?