All Realms and Worlds: The Lost Home

A sealed, dark prison, endless unknown dangers, and evil spirits lurking around—triple despair completely enveloped everyone.

Ning Ye shielded Nancy tightly behind him, leaning forward slightly in a defensive stance, his eyes sharp as knives, fixed on the little girl:

"Su Qing, protect Nancy. Her true form is a balloon; the child's body is just a puppet."

The analysis, presented in just two short sentences, is clear, precise, and instantly identifies the key to breaking the deadlock.

Su Qing immediately understood and quickly pulled the trembling Nancy into her arms. She gathered the last bit of weak lightning in her palm, tensed all her nerves, and was ready to deal with any sudden attack.

But at that moment, Wang Qiang, who was slumped on the ground, suddenly looked up as if he had grasped the last straw, his eyes filled with madness and urgency.

He looked at Ning Ye and Su Qing, then quickly glanced at the motionless little girl. His throat bobbed, he hesitated, and his lips trembled as he opened and closed his mouth.

He seemed to have discovered some hidden pattern and seen the demon's fatal flaw!

"I...I understand...I understand her pattern of killing..."

Wang Qiang lowered his voice, his breathy voice trembling, his eyes filled with both fear and excitement, his voice growing ever softer:

"She only kills those who are alone... only those who have strayed from the group, those who are afraid, those who are clinging to a sliver of hope... everyone who just died was... everyone was..."

When he spoke of the most crucial truth, his pupils suddenly contracted sharply, and his throat felt as if it were being tightly gripped by an invisible hand!

The words came to an abrupt halt!

There was no warning, no sound.

A dark afterimage suddenly shot out from beside the little girl, so fast that it was impossible for the naked eye to catch it!

No one saw how she took a step, no one saw how she made a move!

Pfft—!

The dull thud of a sharp weapon piercing flesh was crisp and ear-piercing, and scarlet blood gushed out instantly!

Wang Qiang's eyes widened, his eyeballs bulging, his eyes filled with extreme shock and resentment. His mouth was wide open, but he could no longer utter a sound.

He died without ever being able to utter the complete truth!

tick tock...tick tock...

Hot blood dripped wildly down his neck, splashing onto the concrete floor, spreading out in crimson ripples.

In a mere second, the last survivor on the perimeter was utterly killed!

The room was completely silent.

Only the rapid breathing of Ning Ye, Su Qing, and Nancy echoed lonely in the enclosed space.

The team of eight survivors has now been completely wiped out!

Apart from those three, everyone else perished tragically, with no one surviving!

The little girl remained frozen in her outstretched hand position, silent and speechless, neither cheering nor laughing wildly.

Only the smiling balloon beside him burst open its giant mouth, laughing silently, its black aura surging, its killing intent growing ever stronger.

She slowly withdrew her slender fingers, the crimson blood on her fingertips standing out starkly in the dim darkness.

Then, she stiffly turned her head, her dark, empty eyes fixed on the three remaining people.

Su Qing felt a chill run through her body, her back was completely soaked in cold sweat, her heart was pounding wildly, and she gritted her teeth and whispered:

"No, no one's here... really no one's here... all the adults are dead..."

"What Wang Qiang said earlier was true... She only hunts lone individuals who are hoping for a lucky break... As long as the three of us stick together and never separate, she won't find an opportunity to strike!"

Ning Ye's eyes were solemn as he slowly nodded, his voice low and calm: "It's the constraint of the rules."

"The bizarre rule of the smiley face balloons is that the prey must feel fear, isolate itself, and break away from the group in order to trigger the hunting authority."

"All those who died before either deserted the group to live alone, or were mentally broken and harbored wishful thinking, which gave her an opportunity."

"The three of us stayed together the whole time, remained focused, and left no openings. She was unable to forcefully break through the rules to hunt us down."

These words completely overturned all of everyone's previous guesses.

Everyone had always thought that the monster could indiscriminately slaughter, but only now did they fully realize that this smiling balloon monster was limited by its own rules and was not invincible!

It requires its prey to self-destruct and isolate itself in order to complete the hunt!

But the more you know the rules, the stronger the chill in your heart becomes.

This evil spirit is too clever, too patient, and too terrifying!

It doesn't launch a direct attack or engage in fierce combat; instead, it lurks in the shadows, gradually undermining people's morale, sowing discord, forcing them to break down and isolate themselves, before slaughtering them one by one!

"That was...that was terrifying..." Nancy buried her face in Su Qing's arms, her soft voice trembling violently, her sobs faint and weak. "It didn't make a sound...it just waited for us to make a mistake..."

"I...I just saw Uncle Wang collapse...he looked exactly like the person whose spine was pulled out during the day...it was so tragic..."

Recalling the bloody scenes of the day and looking at the gruesome corpses before them, a double wave of fear overwhelmed them, leaving the two girls frozen in place.

Su Qing took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the panic in her heart, her eyes becoming increasingly vigilant:

"Ning Ye, we can't stay here any longer."

"This confined space is too disadvantageous for us. Once we are exhausted and our spirits are relaxed, we will inevitably make a mistake."

"In that time... the three of us will follow in their footsteps."

Ning Ye's gaze was deep as he quickly scanned the entire room, his mind racing as he weighed the pros and cons.

Holding out is a slow death.

There was no food or water here, the space was confined, and the three of them were under immense mental strain. Sooner or later, they would be physically exhausted and their mentality would collapse.

Breaking out, the road ahead is unknown, and the outside world is full of strange and dangerous things.

Compared to sitting and waiting for death, taking the initiative to break through offers a glimmer of hope.

"Prepare to break through." Ning Ye said in a deep voice, his tone firm and without the slightest hesitation.

"Walk down the stairwell slowly, with the three of you standing close together, never separating even a step."

"Nancy is in the middle, I'm leading the way, and Su Qing is bringing up the rear. We keep our eyes on each other and our bodies close together the whole time, not giving her any chance to be hunted alone."

Su Qing immediately responded, gripping the last steel pipe in her hand, a faint blue light flashing in her palm again: "Alright! I'll cover your retreat!"

The two quickly finalized their tactics, communicating in short sentences throughout, concise and efficient, without a single wasted word.

Just as the three were about to move and slowly break through the encirclement, the little girl in front of them finally moved again.

She remained silent, without laughter or shouting, simply raising her head stiffly.

Her small face, which had been hidden by her long hair, was now completely exposed in the dim light.

The exaggerated, stiff, and sinister smile at the corner of his mouth far exceeded the limits of human facial features, appearing sinister, distorted, and eerie.

His dark, empty eyes were fixed on the three people, devoid of emotion or murderous intent, displaying only a pure, indifferent indifference, as if toying with ants.

She didn't stop them, nor did she launch a surprise attack; she simply stepped aside silently, making way for the doorway.

It was as if they were being deliberately given a way out, yet also as if they were being deliberately let out to go into an even deeper abyss of despair.

"She...she moved aside?" Su Qing's pupils contracted slightly, and she asked urgently in a low voice, "Something's not right...something's really not right..."

Why didn't she stop us? Could it be that... something even more terrifying is waiting for us outside?

Ning Ye's eyes sharpened, and he warned in a deep voice, "It's a trap."

"It doesn't want us to die inside the building; it wants to force us out, to make us panic and run away in different directions, creating opportunities for us to be alone."

"Once our mentality collapses and we split up to run away, it will be our death."

This sentence instantly revealed the evil spirit's sinister intentions.

This strange child, controlled by balloons, disdains brute force; its greatest skill lies in manipulating people's hearts and exploiting their weaknesses.

It knew that as long as the three of them stuck together, it would be restricted by the rules and unable to hunt them.

So it deliberately made way for them, luring them out and using their fear of the unknown to force them to break down mentally and disintegrate on their own.

Once the three-person formation breaks down and they escape, it can pick them off one by one and completely wipe them out!

"Such a vicious method..." Su Qing felt a chill run down her spine, her voice filled with extreme fear, "A hundred times more bizarre and terrifying than direct murder..."

"Those five people were all driven to their deaths by it, gradually breaking their spirits and leaving themselves alone. They weren't forcibly hunted down..."

"That's right." Ning Ye nodded slightly, his tone icy. "The human heart is the sharpest and most sinister weapon of this strange beast."

"It doesn't need to do anything; it just needs to create fear and amplify suspicion, and we will kill ourselves."

In the deathly silent stairwell, the wind still howled, the dripping of blood continued incessantly, and the faint, eerie laughter of the balloons was barely audible.

The little girl stood quietly by the passageway, silently watching the three people, her sinister grin appearing even more sinister in the darkness.

A silent standoff is more suffocating than any battle.

Nancy gripped their clothes tightly, her small body trembling, but she held back her tears and dared not make a sound.

She knew that at this moment, even the slightest cry or panic could become the weakness that broke the deadlock and cost everyone their lives.

"Maintain formation and move slowly." Ning Ye lowered his voice and whispered instructions, "No matter what happens outside, no matter what sounds you hear, never turn back, never separate."

"Understood." Su Qing nodded solemnly, holding Nancy even tighter. "I'll keep an eye on the back and sides the whole time, leaving no openings."

The three stood close together, forming the most stable triangular formation, and moved towards the door step by step, extremely slowly.

Every step was taken with utmost care, every second was filled with extreme tension, every nerve in my body was stretched to the limit, and I dared not relax for even the slightest moment.

The moment they passed by the little girl, everyone's breath caught in their throats.

A bone-chilling cold emanated from the little girl, seeping into her bones through her skin pores and making her limbs numb.

That stiff, sinister grin was less than half a meter away from them, so close that a chilling aura emanated from it.

But it remained still, neither killing nor launching a surprise attack; it simply watched the three people walk past it.

The entire process was conducted in complete silence, a silent form of oppression.

The moment I stepped out of the lounge, a strong smell of blood hit me in the hallway, and a glaring crimson filled my vision.

Five cold corpses lay scattered on the ground, all of them companions who had fought side by side to survive the previous night.

In just one night, the entire team was wiped out. The group that used to stick together for warmth is now reduced to three people standing alone amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

"Look..." Su Qing's voice trembled as she looked at the corpses scattered on the ground, "Each of them broke away from the group before they died..."

"Some people are hoping for water, some are having a mental breakdown and want to jump off buildings to escape, and some are suspicious of each other and hiding alone..."

"I gave the strange creature an opportunity to take advantage of me..."

Ning Ye's gaze swept over the corpses scattered on the ground, and the chill in his eyes grew even stronger: "This is the terrifying aspect of the strange tales of rules."

"It will not kill people forcibly, but it will take advantage of people's cowardice, greed, suspicion and fear to induce you to walk towards death."

"As long as we stay true to ourselves and stick together, it will never be able to truly hunt us down."

The three continued to move forward slowly, their steps steady, their formation perfectly intact.

Behind them, the slender figure slowly followed.

It neither too fast nor too slow, neither too far nor too close, always maintaining a fixed distance, like a persistent, intractable disease, relentlessly following behind.

It neither attacked nor approached, but simply followed silently, waiting for the moment when the three men's mentality collapsed.

Hehe... Hehehe...

The balloon's eerie laughter rang out again, faint and fleeting, lingering throughout the dark corridor.

The wind howled, ghostly figures followed, and corpses and blood littered the ground.

The entire desolate residential building had become a prison of despair for the three of them.

Before dawn, if they make even the slightest mistake, they will all be wiped out in the next second!

The smiling demon lurking within the child's body remained silent, following closely, waiting for its prey to collapse on its own before reaping the final harvest.