Welcome to the Bizarre Games

Chapter 9 Clearance
Candlelight flickers.

Perhaps because it wasn't a real flame, the candlelight didn't provide any warmth; its orange-red glow only gave one a chilling illusion.

Zhou You, holding the candlestick, walked towards the exit on the top floor of the haunted building.

As he passed the fourth floor, the candle immediately began to burn fiercely as before, but instead of quickening his pace, he walked steadily, brushing past the face and hand, and reached the fifth floor. He unlocked the large lock, and then...
He grabbed the padlock and casually tossed it downstairs.

"Clang!!!"

There was a loud bang.

The entire building seemed to tremble!
With such a huge commotion, even if the landlady were deaf, she would probably be startled by now.

Not to mention that in several encounters, Zhou You had already clearly understood that this monster's eyesight was poor, but its hearing was...
That's incredibly effective.

Entering the room, Zhou You rummaged through the corpses and casually found a place to sit on the pile of junk. He tapped his arms and counted his breaths as he did so.

In the absence of a clock, the human body itself is a substitute unit of time. Normally, the pulse would be the most convenient way to measure time. Unfortunately, Zhou You's heart rate was very unstable due to illness.

The marsh gas still permeated the surroundings, and the low-oxygen environment made each breath increasingly difficult, but Zhou You did not show any discomfort. On the contrary, the smile on his face became even brighter.

Two minutes later, with a loud bang, the wooden door was smashed open.

And so, the landlady's wrinkled, half-rotten nose, ugly face, like rotten tree bark, appeared before his eyes.

Seeing Zhou You still sitting there, the landlady who rushed over was also taken aback—she seemed to have not expected this situation either—but then she also smiled.

However, unlike Zhou You, this smile was full of cruelty and malice, like a cat that had finally caught a mouse and couldn't wait to play with its prey.

"I can't believe it! You've only been here for less than half a day, yet you managed to sneak up to the fifth floor without my pet. But how did you do it?"

The landlady turned her gaze to the candle in Zhou You's hand, squinted at it for a while, and then suddenly sneered.

"Heh, I knew it. So that brat left one of his contraptions behind. I thought the room was too dirty and didn't search it thoroughly, but now it seems like a mistake. But you and that brat made the same mistake. What, you realized these candles weren't enough and you couldn't escape, right? What a pity, old woman—"

However, the only response it received was a soft sigh.

"Excuse me for interrupting."

".What?"

"Let me interrupt first, because I really don't have much time left." Zhou You held up the candle, which was already half-burnt, and gently shook it. "So, may I ask you a few questions first?"

"What do you mean?"

The landlady had already imagined what Zhou You would be like: desperate, pained, panicked, kneeling and begging with tears streaming down her face—but she really didn't expect such a reaction, leaving her completely bewildered.

But Zhou You just laughed to himself.

"First question—and one that has been bothering me for a long time—you're already in this state, so why are you still so obsessed with money?"

This statement seemed to have touched a nerve, and the landlord immediately screamed like a rooster whose throat had been grabbed.

"Of course, money is the most important thing in this world! I've worked so hard all these years, resorting to all sorts of scams and frauds, to build up this fortune. How could I possibly hand it over to outsiders after I die? Besides, it's all thanks to money that I was able to be pulled out of my grave. Without money, how could I live?"

It seems like it's just simple greed, but there seems to be something else in these words—for example, how was it revived by spending money?

Zhou You glanced at the gaunt face and figured the other person wouldn't give him the answer, so he could only continue asking.

"So, my second question is, how is my previous tenant doing now?"

Why are you asking this?

“It’s nothing, after all, I wouldn’t have gotten this far without him.” Zhou You shook the nearly burnt-out candle beside him. “So if he were still alive, I was thinking of doing it all over again and giving him a hand—after all, I’m a very grateful person.”

The landlady suddenly grinned, revealing a cruel smile.

"That's unnecessary. He's dead, hanging over there. But I didn't kill him intentionally; he wanted to die. After discovering he was trying to escape, I chopped off his remaining two legs, then took parts from his body every day. In less than a week, he was crying and begging me to kill him, and I, being kind-hearted, actually agreed. But don't worry, you won't get away so easily. I'll torture you in a much longer way, making sure you only swallow it at the very end—"

"Okay, the third question."

Before he could finish his harsh words, Zhou You abruptly interrupted him again. Looking at the monster who nearly choked, Zhou You said with a smile.

"This is the last question, so I'll keep it simple—um, can you smell the strange odor here?"

"What's that weird smell?"

Zhou You's smile grew even brighter.

"It looks like your half-rotten nose really isn't working properly, otherwise it wouldn't have been left to pile up for so long."

He shook his head, picked up the candlestick, and walked step by step to the other side.

The old lady didn't stop it, but it suddenly frowned, as if it vaguely sensed something was wrong.

Taking advantage of this gap, Zhou You easily walked to the wall, leaned against it casually, and continued talking.

"But that's normal. There are only three kinds of people who can come to this place: you, the corpse, and my poor ex. You and the corpse don't need to breathe, so this thing won't affect you. My ex was only focused on escaping, and the candle he used didn't have the properties of real flames, so it wouldn't trigger this thing either. After being tortured to the point of madness by you, he was even less likely to mention these things. So, in the end, I got the benefit."

A strange sense of unease built up in her heart, and the landlady disregarded everything else, directly scolding him sternly.

"what are you talking about!"

However, Zhou You ignored him. He just looked at the skylight and spoke to some unknown entity.

"Speaking of which, I just remembered that I drew a talent at the beginning, but unfortunately, all I've encountered so far are instant-death traps, so I haven't had a chance to use it at all—but I feel like I can use it now."

His tone suddenly changed.

"Oh right, this game only requires me to escape from Building 4, but it doesn't tell me how to escape, right?"

The landlady finally realized the danger and suddenly opened her mouth, trying to use the same immobilizing ability she had used at the beginning.

But Zhou You had already taken precautions before it.

He took out the box of matches from his shirt pocket, struck it lightly, and lit it.

"You have activated the skill, entering a state of selflessness and meditation."

"You have entered a state of numbness. In this state, you will be immune to all effects of fear and impaired sanity, and you will not die from damage."

"This skill lasts for 10 seconds."

Before the woman's voice could finish her instructions, flames suddenly appeared before their eyes!

Almost instantly, the methane gas that had accumulated in the room was ignited!

In an instant, a violent explosion swept everything away, engulfing the debris, the corpses, and even the old woman in flames. Simultaneously, a rapidly spreading shockwave followed—the old attic, unable to withstand such energy, instantly shattered from the inside out.

Zhou You, of course, was not spared either.

He felt as if he had been hit head-on by a truck, and was sent flying through the air amidst the shattering walls. The intense pain made it seem as if his internal organs were being torn apart, and even his brain felt as if it had been crushed alive.

This was far beyond what a human could bear. Once the skill's countdown was over, Zhou You knew he would inevitably die a miserable death.

But he was still laughing, even laughing more heartily than he had since entering the instance.

It was only because, in the beginning of his blurry vision, he had already vaguely seen a patch of azure blue.

That is the azure of the sky.

"Congratulations on completing the beginner's challenge: Escape from Building 4".

"Landlady confirmed dead, 'corpse gate' confirmed dead."

"You have exceeded the task requirements and will receive an additional reward."

(End of this chapter)