Thud, thud, thudâ¦
A series of dense and hurried footsteps quickly approached, reaching the final floor leading to the Rooftop. However, at the moment, everything had returned to silence, with the Iron Door to the Rooftop firmly closed. The figures that had been lingering here a minute ago had now completely vanished.
âHahaha! Theyâre digging their own graves! Running straight to the top floorâ¦do they think of jumping off the building? Ling Mo, we welcome your self-decision!â The maniacal laughter echoed in the stairwell from below, and as the Pursuit Team closed in on the final floor, almost all the Members of Niepan felt a surge of excitement.
The shout came from a red-haired youth, who was closely following behind the Leader, Old Seven. The hand gripping his Machete was already sweaty: âDamn it, chasing them for so many days has been exhausting, but weâve finally cornered them! This time they canât escape, theyâve walked into a dead end, and Iâm going to send them off!â
Old Seven, at the front, remained silent, but as he looked at the staircase corner above, he couldnât help but take a deep breath. Until they caught up with Ling Mo and his group, a hint of unease occasionally crossed his mind. Although he hadnât personally seen Ling Mo, just the cautious attitude of the leadership suggested this group wouldnât be easy to eliminate.
But fortune favors the bold; if he wanted to escape the long-term life of adventure and lead a stable, luxurious life, this was a perfect opportunity! This thought wasnât unique to him but shared by everyone involved in the pursuit. To them, Ling Mo and his group were no longer just people; they were prizes holding immense value!
Thatâs why the red-haired youth was so excited.
âListen, Iâm saying this for the last time! We need to stay alive to enjoy what we earn. Everyone stay sharp! If anyone drags us down, donât blame us if we abandon them!â Old Seven growled again.
Among the crowd, a few sparse responses were heard, but most people remained indifferent. Living on the edge of a knife, do they really need reminding for this kind of stuff? Itâs just killing a few people; compared to killing Zombies, how difficult can it be? If they were fighting in the streets, perhaps thereâd be some concern, but in a place like this, they could maximize their advantage in numbers!
However, just as they were about to step around the corner, Old Seven suddenly stopped.
âWait. Somethingâs upâ¦â
With the faint glimmer of light, he looked straight at the wall.
The red paint spelling out âFâ had become mottled, and below it appeared a line of fresh black lettering.
Judging by the handwriting, the person who wrote it seemed a bit hurried, yet the letters were deliberately enlarged, as if worried they wouldnât be seen.
âGet out if you donât want to die!â
Old Seven had just read this aloud when someone in the crowd couldnât help but curse: âDamn it. Theyâre on the brink of death and still so arrogant! I guess they wonât learn until they see the coffin!â
âBluffing! They think a line of writing can scare us away?â someone echoed.
âHaha. Theyâre at the end of their rope.â Another sneered.
Old Seven, however, raised his hand and said, âDonât be careless. At this point, if they donât have some leverage, thereâs no reason to do something so pointless⦠This is already the last floor. If theyâre still struggling, it means theyâre fighting for their livesâ¦â ð
âWhat more tricks could they possibly have?â a Long-haired Youth asked.
âWe donât know yet⦠but better safe than sorryâ¦â
Before Old Seven could finish speaking, a shout suddenly came from the side.
âSomeoneâs gone in here!â
It was the Red-haired Youth who spoke. He was now standing sideways just behind the stairwellâs door, peering inside.
Seeing Old Seven approach, he immediately pushed the slightly ajar door open a bit more, pointing to the door handle and the marks on the ground: âLook, fresh fingerprints, and this dust here. Someone opened this door.â As he spoke, he gently demonstrated, and the marks made by pushing the door perfectly aligned with the arc in the dust.
âThey didnât go to the Rooftop?â Old Seven looked upwards.
A middle-aged man immediately stepped forward, but as soon as he closed his eyes, he suddenly groaned and shook his head, âNo, they intercepted my probe. It seems they were prepared.â
Just then, a faint sound emanated from behind the door.
The Red-haired Youth immediately stepped back, and under everyoneâs gaze, the door creaked open slowlyâ¦
At the same time, a line of writing appeared on the floor behind the door: âIf you want to die, then come in.â
This eerie scene silenced everyone, drawing all their attention to the Corridorâ¦
Old Seven gave a hard look at the writing, then heard the Red-haired Youth suggest, âIt seems theyâve retreated to this floor⦠But just in case, should we send someone up to check?â
With that, there was a stir among the crowd: âBut someone canât just go aloneâ¦ân/o/vel/b//in dot c//om
âShould we leave a few people here to watch?â
âNo way! We only have the advantage if we stick together,â Old Seven frowned as he pondered, interrupting their murmurs. âThe environment on the Rooftop might not be as straightforward as it seems⦠And hereâ¦â He looked at the door, saying, âThereâs definitely someone behind this, theyâre trying to lure us in.â
âShould we go in?â someone asked.
After a moment of silence, Old Seven was the first to approach the door. He took out a flashlight and shone it inside, then turned and said, âThereâs just a Corridor, but it seems like there are two companies; from here, I can see two doors, four Elevator doors, and a Restroom at the other endâ¦â
âThe layout isnât too complicated,â the Red-haired Youth said.
Old Seven nodded, âItâs not complicated, but itâs not simple, though at least itâs better than being outside. In any case, we canât give up our advantage; everyone must follow orders⦠Letâs move!â
With a wave of Old Sevenâs hand, the group slowly made their way inside. The wavering beams of the Flashlight illuminated the dim Corridor; the company logo, covered in dust, still faintly showed some bloodstains. Behind a half-open Elevator door, a half-exposed skeleton protruded, with dark, suspicious substances filling the gapâ¦
Aside from their soft footsteps and breathing, almost no other sounds could be heard on the entire floor⦠Yet everyone knew that beneath this quiet exterior lay a powder keg ready to explode at any moment.
At least on the surface, it seemed that the group inside was still afraid to face them head-onâ¦
âDo they think that just because theyâre in the dark, they have the upper hand?â someone whispered.
However, at that moment, the barrel of a gun suddenly emerged from the Elevator door.
Almost instantly, the crowd erupted with a cry of pain.
Old Seven was startled, but he didnât have time to tend to the unfortunate person who got shot. Instead, he immediately turned his attention to the Elevator door, raising his gun at the ready.
But as the gun barrel retracted, a strange white mist suddenly began to fill the Corridor, quickly obscuring the Elevator door.
âAn Illusion? Useless!â Old Seven murmured, letting out a low grumble.
With his sound, the spreading mist abruptly parted, creating an opening.
However, by the time he led his people to rush towards the Elevator door, there was no one left insideâ¦
âWhat speed⦠both in shooting and escaping,â Old Seven frowned immediately. âLooks like theyâre trying to use these tactics to engage us. Using Illusions like smoke bombs is indeed a cunning strategy, but how long can that personâs psychic power last? And can they ambush us every time? If this drags on, things will become increasingly unfavorable for themâ¦â
âThe most important question is, why choose this floor? Above is the Rooftop, and if they fall behind, they wonât even have room to continue strugglingâ¦â
Old Seven pondered, turning to look at the back of the group.
The Member who was shot had already fallen to the ground, but he managed to twist his body just in time, resulting in only a bloody graze. The injured one was the same Red-haired Youth who had been the loudest earlierâ¦
Though not fatal for now, a subtle shadow of fear had quietly settled in everyoneâs hearts.
âA bad startâ¦â