Ding-ling-ling-ling-ling-ling! —
A sudden sharp ring burst out!
Hu Ya snapped back to herself instantly.
She jerked her hand out of Hua Jiang’s, her face flooding with mortification!
What had she been thinking?! How had she ended up holding hands with an NPC?! An NPC was created by the game! It was virtual! It wasn’t real!
On the other side of the room, the clock’s alarm continued to ring without stopping, rattling her nerves.
“Why is it going off all of a sudden — so obnoxious…” Hu Ya followed the sound, searching, and found an alarm clock.
It was an antique-style clock, stout and solid, encased in a wooden box carved with floral patterns and cherub figures.
She turned it over and over, unable to find the mechanism to silence it. Exasperated, she raised the clock and slammed it onto the table!
“Useless piece of junk! Shut up!”
Bang!
The wooden bottom plate fell off — and a metal key clattered to the floor.
At the same moment, the ringing stopped.
Hu Ya stared at the key on the floor, unable to believe her own eyes.
She’d actually found it?
Was this really the key to clear the game?
“There you are.” Hua Jiang stood nearby, smiling. “I told you — as long as you keep looking, you’ll find it.”
“I found it!” Hu Ya snatched up the key and immediately ran toward the door. “I’m going to tell the team leader!”
“One moment, please.” Hua Jiang suddenly caught her arm. “You cannot tell the others.”
“What?” Hu Ya stiffened, immediately on guard. “Why can’t I tell anyone?”
She turned and stared at him, withdrawing her arm from his grip, her voice going cold. “Let me make one thing clear — don’t try any tricks on me. I’m not as easy to fool as those other girls!”
Hua Jiang let out a quiet sigh. “I said I would help you. Actually, there’s something I didn’t tell you all earlier. Only one bride can leave this place. If you hand over that key… Hu Ya, I’m genuinely worried for you.”
Hu Ya froze. “Why… why, if we’ve found the key, can only one person leave?”
“Because the carriage only comes on Sundays. Without the carriage, even if you escape, the Duke will drag you back.”
Hua Jiang took her hand again, leaning close to murmur in her ear:
“The Duke kills one bride every night. Hu Ya — if you want to leave this place, you have to survive until Sunday. You have to become the last bride.”
Hu Ya stared at him in a daze. Her thoughts were tangled. Her mind was a mess. The key in her hand suddenly felt impossibly heavy — as though it had grown barbs that dug into her palm!
“Only… only one can leave?” she murmured, bewildered. “Not even one more? What about team leader Yu…”
“Her?” The anxiety in Hua Jiang’s expression deepened. “If you let her be the one to stay until the end…”
“No! I mean — I mean the two of us…” Hu Ya said hurriedly. Halfway through the sentence, she stopped herself.
Her expression grew even more lost.
If she and Yu Yaqing both made it to the end — and only one of them could live — would Yu Yaqing give her a chance at survival?
No…
She wouldn’t.
Who wanted to die? Everyone trapped here was trying to find a way to live, weren’t they?! So anyone could make it to the end — anyone except Yu Yaqing!
Because Yu Yaqing was the one person she could never beat! — Cheng Qian, who only knew how to cry! Su Man, with her injured right hand! Zhu Shu, so delicate and dainty! And Bai Youwei, who couldn’t even walk, stuck in that wheelchair! None of them were a match for her!
Only Yu Yaqing!
Her fingers closed — slowly, tightly.
The key pressed into the flesh of her palm.
Hu Ya stood there, motionless.
Did she… want to move against Yu Yaqing?
……
Yu Yaqing pulled open a drawer, pried open a jewelry box. A cascade of glittering gems scattered across the table. She was unmoved by any of it — she simply frowned and sifted through it all, looking for any sign of a key.
Footsteps sounded at the doorway. Alert in an instant, she spun around, her gaze sharp and cutting —
—
“Who’s there?!”
Hua Jiang walked slowly into the room, raising his hands. “Don’t be alarmed. I only wanted to… come help you.”
—