Xiao Qi was the thinnest of the four girls, with long black hair and delicate make-up on her face because she had come to save her idol.
At the moment, the make-up was already running and the long originally silky and straight black hair had become a mess on her head. She looked at Ji Mingxia timidly and asked in a trembling voice, “Are you here to save me?”
The red light was reflected on her messy face, her mascara and eyeliner was smudged, making her eyes a muddled mess that made it impossible to see them at all. Her lipstick had spread beyond her lips, making them look completely distorted and oddly large. Her black hair was wet and sticky, and some strands stuck to her face and the back of her neck.
If she hadn’t been wearing Xiao Qi’s clothes, Ji Mingxia would have thought this was a ghost.
However, despite her scary appearance, Xiao Qi’s voice sounded normal. It was gentle with a little tremor, and it sounded very pitiful: “I’m so scared, I thought I was going to die ……”
Ji Mingxia said, “We came in to look for you, but we were attacked moments after we entered. I don’t know what happened but I suddenly ended up in another space and have just returned. I found out that Yu Ning, Liu Lin and the others had all disappeared.”
He didn’t go to her but stopped at a distance where he could observe her: “What about you?”
“I don’t know …… after I was caught, that thing suddenly screamed and then let me go. I fell on the ground and saw a hole in front of me, so I went in and hid until now. I only came out when I heard your voice.” Xiao Qi said timidly.
Ji Mingxia was puzzled, “Didn’t you didn’t you hear any other voices when you were hiding inside the podium? You didn’t hear Yu Ning’s voice, or Wei Zhen’s screams?”
They had spoken and called Xiao Qi’s name countless times during that period after she was captured.
Xiao Qi shook her head, “No, nothing, it was very quiet until I heard your voice.”
Ji Mingxia frowned slightly, unable to understand what was going on.
Could it be that this area was not divided by rooms, but by square units? That the podium where Xiao Qi was hiding could connect with the podiums of other classrooms?
“It’s so scary in here, can we get out?” Xiao Qi pleaded.
Ji Mingxia looked at her and asked, “Did that monster hurt you, its slime has a corrosive effect.”
“No.” Xiao Qi said, taking a step in Ji Mingxia’s direction. She took the initiative to pull her sleeves up and exposed her arms, “You can check if you don’t believe me.”
As if afraid that Ji Mingxia wouldn’t believe her, she even started lifting her top and prepared to undress.
Ji Mingxia hurriedly said, “No, no, it’s best if you’re not hurt.”
“Then can we go out?” Xiao Qi asked as she took another step closer.
Ji Mingxia secretly gripped the ring in his hand, his face was calm as he said, “Liu Lin opened this door with her key, we can’t get out without her. If we walk out of the classroom, we may only end up at another hotel room or school building, and we will have to spin around the area.”
“So we’re going to stay here forever?” Xiao Qi said with some fear.
Ji Mingxia looked around and was also a little hesitant.
His first thought after warping was to return here to look for Yu Ning, but he didn’t expect that Yu Ning and the others had disappeared.
Had they gone to look for him, or had they been moved as well?
According to his original plan, he wanted to wait here until Yu Ning returned, but from what he could see, this classroom was not a safe place to stay in for long.
Even if the red light was bright, there was a dead body in the corner of the classroom.
The corpse had been there for a long time and it had started rotting and filled with pus. The blood mixed with internal organs and various human tissues converged into a puddle that smelled fishy with a bit of rich sweetness. Once inhaled, the smell felt like it was attached to the lungs and mouth as it would not dissipate even after a long time.
Although the corpse had disappeared, its residue still remained in the corner.
At this moment, the entire classroom was filled with the stench and Ji Mingxia was already feeling dizzy just from smelling it.
“Why don’t we change places and find a safe spot to rest?” Ji Mingxia said.
“Okay.” Xiao Qi nodded. “I hope we can find a place with water to drink, I’m so thirsty, my mouth is dry.”
When Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning entered, they did bring some water and biscuits, but the backpack was on Yu Ning. At this moment, Ji Mingxia had no other items except his mobile phone and the blood red ring.
Ji Mingxia said, “I passed a room with a water fountain on my way back, let’s see if we can go over there later.”
“Really?” Xiao Qi’s eyes lit up, “There’s something to drink?”
“Mmm.” Ji Mingxia said, slowly walking towards the door.
It seemed that Xiao Qi’s legs were numb as she held onto the podium and slowly moved towards the door.
Ji Mingxia watched her carefully and was relieved to find that there wasn’t anything unusual about her other than her makeup being a bit scary. Seeing that Xiao Qi was about to cross the threshold, Ji Mingxia said, “Wait.”
Xiao Qi looked back at Ji Mingxia curiously.
Ji Mingxia untied his shoelace and handed one of the ends to Xiao Qi: “Each room is a separate space, you will find yourself in a random room you cross through the door. Hold on to this shoelace and we shall not get separated as we walk.”
Xiao Qi smiled at Ji Mingxia gratefully, then took the shoelace and tied one end to her wrist without reservation.
Ji Mingxia didn’t expect Xiao Qi to trust him so much, and after tying one end, she looked at him as if waiting for his next move. Under Xiao Qi’s watchful eye, Ji Mingxia also tied the other end to his wrist before the two stepped out of the door.
There was a blur before their eyes and in the next moment, Ji Mingxia and Xiao Qi were standing in a utility room.
“Let’s continue.” Ji Mingxia said, and they continued to walk forward.
At first, Xiao Qi was very quiet, but with the occasional eerie sounds coming from all around her, she slowly became a little uneasy. Her body shrank into a ball and a trembling whimper came from her throat.
Upon seeing this, Ji Mingxia was worried that Xiao Qi was stressed and quickly whispered to her in comfort, “The space here is distorted, although those sounds are close to us for the time being, we will be transported somewhere else once we try to break into a new room. As long as the room we land in is safe, the monsters won’t be able to catch up with us even if they are next door.”
Xiao Qi shuddered and curled up, swallowing with difficulty as she looked at Ji Mingxia with fear, “Really, are they far away from us?”
“Yes, don’t worry.” Ji Mingxia said.
Xiao Qi nodded and lowered her head, not speaking again.
Ji Mingxia led Xiao Qi through several rooms in succession. They occasionally found empty mineral water bottles or managed to find faucets in hotel rooms, only to not be able to open for water.
No water source was found, and there was no trace of Yu Ning’s whereabouts. As time passed, Ji Mingxia started feeling a little anxious.
However, Xiao Qi looked so scared and when he thought of her previous unlucky encounter, Ji Mingxia could not show his inner anxiety. He could only continue to maintain a calm appearance and lead her on.
In the blink of an eye, another ten minutes passed, and instead of getting better, Xiao Qi’s emotions kept getting worse.
Ji Mingxia saw her body swaying left and right even when she walked and couldn’t help but say, “Xiao Qi, are you alright? We can rest for a while if it’s too uncomfortable.”
“I’m fine.” Xiao Qi lowered her head and said in a low voice, “I’m just too thirsty, it’s like I’m on fire, it hurts so much.”
Ji Mingxia noticed that her voice had turned a little hoarse and was just about to say a few words of comfort when he heard her say, “Let’s go, I feel like we’re close, I hope we can find it soon.”
She then took the initiative to take a few steps forward, quickly leading Ji Mingxia in their search.
There was another blur before their eyes, followed by a faint white light coming from ahead.
Ji Mingxia had already adapted to the darkness around him, on suddenly seeing a light source, he unconsciously squinted his eyes to avoid the light.
Meanwhile, Xiao Qi beside him screamed in excitement, “There’s water! We’ve found water!”
She tried twisting her body and quickly moved towards the front.
Their wrists were tied together, and as Xiao Qi moved forward, Ji Mingxia was also pulled forward.
He gradually adjusted to the light and looked around strangely.
It was a teachers’ lounge, and they were in the living room, complete at the moment. It was complete with sofas, coffee tables, TV cabinets and other furniture.
There was indeed a water dispenser in the corner of the lounge but it had been knocked over. The tank was on the floor and its contents had long been empty.
There was a mobile phone on the table with the flashlight on. Next to the phone was a man lying face down on the sofa, and it was unknown whether he was asleep or unconscious.
Ji Mingxia didn’t expect Xiao Qi to be so strong and couldn’t help but say, “Xiao Qi, the water tank is empty, there’s no water here.”
“Yes, there is, there it is!” Xiao Qi stared straight ahead, her tone still exuberant as she raised her hand and pointed the direction of the water source to Ji Mingxia.
Ji Mingxia followed her finger and was surprised to find that the target Xiao Qi was pointing at was not the water tank, but the sleeping man.
Ji Mingxia was startled and he looked at Xiao Qi’s face, only to find a greedy expression on her face. She was staring at the person on the sofa with a burning gaze, like a hungry ghost who hadn’t eaten in days and nights and was ready to pounce and devour him.
A chill ran up his spine, and Ji Mingxia jerked to a halt, pulling her hand back.
Xiao Qi Was pulled and she unconsciously took a step back.
However, she obviously didn’t care about Ji Mingxia’s actions, and continued to approach the man.
Ji Mingxia hurriedly continued to pull her back.
Xiao Qi was pulled twice in a row and she turned her head to look at Ji Mingxia in confusion, “Lets go drink water, we can drink together.”
Ji Mingxia pointed at the man on the sofa and said, “You want to drink him?”
“Yeah.” Xiao Qi nodded her head repeatedly and urged, “I’m so thirsty, I’m so thirsty that I’m burning up …… Let’s quickly go and drink water.”
Ji Mingxia secretly gripped the ring tightly and continued to pull Xiao Qi and urged her, “That’s not water, let’s go, I’ll find real water for you to drink.”
Xiao Qi was pulled again and again and she became impatient. She turned her head and looked at Ji Mingxia with some annoyance and grievance, “Why are you like this, aren’t you and I in this together?”
Ji Mingxia was instantly caught up in her question.
“It’s because we came in together that I can’t let you …… eat people.”
“I’m so thirsty, I’m going to die of thirst if I don’t drink…” Qiao Ki’s eyes fell on the man again.
At that moment, the man seemed to hear the movement and his body moved slightly, as if getting up.
Xiao Qi was instantly irritated by the man’s movement and seemed afraid that he would escape. She screamed in alarm and rushed towards the man.
Ji Mingxia pulled her body back in time, but in the next second, Xiao Qi’s face seemed to melt. Her facial muscles twitched and her flesh squirmed. Countless fleshy filaments grew out from her skin at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Like countless tentacles, the filaments flew out of Xiao Qi’s face and stretched into the air like roots, weaving through the air and heading straight for the man on the sofa.
The man on the sofa had just woken up. He looked up only to see countless fleshy filaments rushing towards him and he was stunned.
“Run!” Ji Mingxia shouted.
The man was startled, and only then did he come to his senses. He reacted quickly, rolling his body back several times and even doing a backflip to avoid Xiao Qi’s filaments.
With her “water source” gone, Xiao Qi let out a squeal of discontent and struggled vigorously.
Ji Mingxia took advantage of her focus on the other party to quickly untie the shoelace. He then tugged on it with one hand and opened the door with the other, quickly pulling Xiao Qi towards the open door.
Although the filament filled Xiao Qi looked terrifying, she still had the physique of a young woman on the lean side, and Ji Mingxia managed to push her out while she was unprepared.
The space outside the door was random, and although Xiao Qi quickly stood up and tried to come back in, her figure disappeared the moment she tried to take a step forward.
Seeing this, Ji Mingxia let out a sigh of relief and slowly closed the door behind him.
It was less than an hour from the time Xiao Qi disappeared to the time she turned into a monster.
What had happened in that hour that could make an ordinary girl mutate into a man-eating monster?
With shock and fear in his heart, Ji Mingxia turned around and looked at the other person in the room.
It was a young man about Ji Mingxia’s age. He was fair skinned and quite good looking, dressed in a set of navy blue pajamas with a high school uniform jacket over it.
The man froze for a moment when Ji Mingxia looked over. He unconsciously raised his hand and ran his fingers through his hair, straightened his jacket and stood up straight to look back at Ji Mingxia.
Ah… is it ke?