Mark trembled and said, “It was the same before — the minotaur would appear nearby out of nowhere, and no matter how we ran, we couldn’t shake it.”

“That’s because you were running in the wrong direction,” Bai Youwei said calmly. “Running around at random definitely won’t work. Try mapping out nine rooms. Let’s say our starting position was Room 2, the room with the eastern teleport point is Room 3, we later found a key in Room 5, then moved to Room 8 and found no room to the south, then headed north to Room 7 — another dead end. At that point, the minotaur appeared in Room 3.

So we only had two options: either go to Room 4, or head back to Room 8.

If we go to Room 4, the minotaur moves to Room 2 — whether we go to Room 1 or Room 5, we’ll be caught.

If we go back to Room 8, the minotaur moves to Room 6 — whether we go to Room 5 or Room 9, we’ll still be caught.”

Bai Youwei paused for two seconds, then said quietly, “Unless Room 4 or Room 8 has a teleport point.”

Leonid let out a cold snort, clenching his fist. “Sooner or later we’ll have to face it head-on. If we can’t run, then we fight!”

“Sir, fighting the minotaur gets people killed,” Chen Hui reminded him.

Leonid raised his hand and pointed at Chen Hui. “You — when the time comes, stay with your sister Weiwei. Don’t get involved in the fighting. The moment a door opens, run!”

“Run where? We want to help too.” Chen Hui swung her flashlight. “Without us lighting the way, how would you fight the minotaur in the dark?”

Bai Youwei said, “Chen Hui’s right — you can’t fight the minotaur in complete darkness. If we run into it, we need to at least maintain lighting. Let’s divide up the flashlights. Everyone grab a weapon, and then we move out.”

Mark heard this and shuddered, scrambling in front of Bai Youwei, stuttering, “Still… still move out? Aren’t you afraid of running into the minotaur? Nobody can beat it! It eats people!”

“Even if we run into it, we still have to keep moving — unless you want to stay here forever.”

Bai Youwei picked up her wicker basket, stepped around him, and had Shen Mo open the northern door.

She tested the room with the chick as usual — no teleport point. Bai Youwei walked straight in.

The others followed one by one.

Mark didn’t dare, but as they all left, the last sliver of light vanished from the stone chamber. He gritted his teeth, steeled himself, and hurried after them.

Dylan dragged Slade along and followed as well.

In the new stone chamber, the roaring grew far clearer — the frantic scratching sounds seemed to come from directly overhead, and the minotaur’s heavy, labored breathing echoed from all directions.

*Huff… huff…*

It was coming.

“Is everyone ready?” Bai Youwei pulled the plush rabbit from her bag and cradled it in her arms. “One more room forward, and we’ll run into the minotaur.”

Leonid furrowed his brows and drew a large blade.

Du Lai preferred daggers.

Ashalina used a sword.

Shen Mo gently stroked the paper doll on his wrist, then raised his hand and pushed open the northern door.

A chilling air washed over them.

The pitch-black stone chamber was as cold and dark as all the others — the flashlight beams couldn’t dispel the heavy gloom.

The minotaur’s roars crept along the hard stone floor and up through their feet, filling their hearts with dread.

Mark and Dylan, who had just entered, immediately regretted it and spun to throw themselves at the door.

But the door had already slammed shut. No matter what they did, it wouldn’t open.

They had both escaped from the minotaur’s grasp before and knew all too well what a locked door meant. Terror overtook them and they broke into tears: “It’s locked! We can’t get out! Unless someone dies in here, none of us are getting out!”

—