Something had happened again.

Tan Xiao dropped his swords and sprinted up the staircase!

He had only made it up two floors when he ran into Max and Ken, who were clearly also rushing toward the sound.

The incident had occurred in the corridor—out in the open, nothing to conceal it. The body was lying there in plain sight, half propped against the wall, half dragging along the floor. The man hadn’t been dead long; blood was still seeping out.

Max closed his eyes briefly, equal parts helpless and furious.

“Who found him first?” he asked.

“Louis and Lucia,” someone in the group answered immediately.

The man and woman were still in shock over their companion’s death. The man’s expression was dark with rage; the woman was shaking uncontrollably.

Max turned to them. “Weren’t you supposed to be moving together? How did he die?”

The man called Louis replied, “Even if we were together, I couldn’t have had my eyes on him every single second! There were a lot of rooms in this corridor—we each took one to search, thinking it would save time. How was I supposed to know I’d come out and find him already dead?! What in the hell is going on with this game?!”

Max was incredulous. “You’re saying… with that short a distance between you, when it happened, neither you nor Lucia heard anything at all?”

“I really don’t know how it happened!” Louis said in anguish. “I swear it!”

Max looked at Lucia.

The woman’s eyes were red-rimmed, her voice trembling. “I didn’t hear anything either. By the time I came out, it was already… This is too horrifying. Can everyone please stop separating? I’m so scared…”

Ken couldn’t hold back: “Think carefully—from the moment you split up to when you found the body, how much time passed? Was there anything unusual at all? Think!”

“Absolutely no more than three minutes!” Louis said with certainty. “We were checking the rooms—apart from the sounds we made ourselves, I didn’t notice anything else. If there had been, I would have heard it.”

Ken looked at Max, the message in his eyes unmistakable: Now what?

“Keep searching.” Max glanced down at the body on the floor, a crease of agitation between his brows. “From this point on, no one separates—we move together.”

Everyone agreed.

The inexplicable deaths had put everyone on edge. Only six of them remained now.

Tan Xiao thought it over and fell in behind them.

Someone ahead said quietly to Max, “That kid is following us…”

“Of course I am!” Tan Xiao’s sharp ears caught it, and he called out from the back: “Otherwise, when someone ends up dead again, you’ll pin it on me! If I don’t stick with you, how am I supposed to find witnesses for myself?!”

His logic was so indignant it almost made people want to laugh.

“Let him follow.” Max said mildly. “If he really is the killer, keeping him in sight means we can watch him.”

Ken matched his pace and leaned in to speak quietly: “You don’t seem particularly guarded against that guy.”

“Because there’s no need to be.” Max glanced sideways at him. “Do you honestly think that idiot looks like a killer?”

Ken hesitated, then shook his head.

Max kept walking, and said with a note of worry: “A fool like that can be dealt with whenever we want. What I’m more concerned about right now… is that princess who’s nowhere to be found.”

Ken’s eyes widened. “You mean…”

“Mm.” Max gazed out at the dense vines beyond the window and said quietly, “People don’t die for no reason. If it wasn’t that fool, and it wasn’t any of us—then the only possibility left is…”

Ken’s expression shifted. “Right… if this is Sleeping Beauty, that would explain why those men had no chance to resist and died without making a sound.”

Max reached over and patted him on the shoulder. “Either way, be careful.”

—