Chapter 244 The Method to Open the Passage

Chapter 244: The Method to Open the Passage

"He was indeed the first human to open the 'mirror' with malice, but..." The bloodthread ghost acknowledged Qin Yuxuan's malice, then shook its head. "However, during the last offering, that Lord's loss of control nearly destroyed the entire apartment. That Lord seems to despise humans with extreme malice."

"But without malice, the 'mirror' cannot be opened, so you ultimately chose Yue Zhengqing." Su Bai knew the ghosts were at their wit's end.

Since security ghosts also existed in the world beyond the mirror, Su Bai believed that other human players had indeed entered the "Mirror Apartment." Much like the No. 444 bus that had once carried many new players, as long as the eerie entities within a game scenario remained unresolved, new batches of human players would continue to re-enter the nightmare game.

Some players left the game after completing the 72-hour survival mission, but the unresolved eerie entities would still greet the next wave of players alongside the nightmare game.

Thus, even though Su Bai knew other players had entered the "Mirror Apartment," he couldn't be sure if anyone had survived and left, or if all human players had been wiped out within this apartment. He could only surmise that the ghosts before him had experimented on numerous humans, trying every possible way to escape the completely corrupted world within the mirror.

But even if these ghosts managed to flee to the apartment outside the mirror, they likely understood that the world beyond the mirror was equally inescapable. Otherwise, the bloodthread ghost wouldn't have sat so calmly in the reception room, engaging in such prolonged conversation and negotiation with the human players.

What these ghosts were desperately striving for seemed to be nothing more than reaching this world beyond the mirror—a place that, though destined to be corroded by bloodshed someday, still offered them a temporary reprieve.

However, the ghosts' desperation also meant that time was running out for the human players.

It was the same at the Luolimasi Hotel: no matter how many batches of players entered the game scenario, the passage of time and the deterioration of the situation in the nightmare game would never reset. The inherent problems within the nightmare game would only worsen over time.

If the bloody aura earlier hadn't been strong enough to affect the side effects in Su Bai's body, he would have chosen the relatively simpler way to clear the game: "Survive for 72 hours." Compared to confronting the mysterious, out-of-control entity, resisting the mental influence of the bloody aura and avoiding both mental collapse and the fate of mutual slaughter was much easier for Su Bai.

Although the theme of this nightmare game was "Mirror Apartment," staying in the world beyond the mirror represented the normal difficulty level for ordinary players.

The problem now was that even if someone had previously left the Mirror Apartment by surviving 72 hours, the relatively peaceful world beyond the mirror was nearing its limit due to the mysterious entity's constant and escalating loss of control.

If that mysterious entity continued to lose control, there would be no difference between the world inside and outside the mirror.

If the "mirror" was the door between these two small worlds, then the "mirror" that once terrified players was actually the last line of defense for the world beyond the mirror, preventing the violent power of the out-of-control ghost from fully invading it.

Even the rule of "neighborly harmony" would become meaningless.

When a game scenario completely collapses, the existence of any rules will lose all meaning.

By then, it would make no difference whether they were inside or outside the mirror.

"This human body still holds a stubborn will to live," the bloodthread ghost said in its slow, ethereal voice. "Even insignificant humans are like this; eerie entities will try again and again before being utterly destroyed."

"Although the malice in this human's heart opened the 'mirror,' it wasn't enough to open the true passage. So, we placed something extra inside his body through the mirror." The human the bloodthread ghost referred to was naturally Yue Zhengqing, who was tied up like a zongzi and unable to speak.

"Was it the force that entered his body when Yue Zhengqing hit the mirror earlier?" Su Bai had also noted that particular force.

"That was... malice from the mirror world."

"Some eerie entities are like concentrations of malice. Using a human body as a vessel for this malice, we can open the true passage."

The bloodthread ghost's explanation didn't surprise Su Bai, but it reminded him of when he and Zhang Yibu were in Room 101. The security ghost had been speaking to something in the hallway. At that time, what Zhang Yibu heard seemed to be the ghosts in this apartment conspiring to make the violent bloody aura descend again to achieve certain goals.

Thinking back now, to achieve their aims, these eerie entities had recklessly used malice to guide the mysterious entity into losing control.

"What happens after the passage is opened?" Su Bai felt that opening a passage between the two worlds couldn't be that simple.

"An ordinary human body probably can't withstand such malice. After you throw Yue Zhengqing into the passage, the malice should dissipate in ten seconds or even less. At that point, the passage..." Su Bai's expression turned understanding. "The passage will close?"

The bloodthread ghost fell silent.

Clearly, Su Bai was right. Even if they managed to open the passage, it could only be maintained for at most ten seconds.

"Mmph—!!" Hearing this, Yue Zhengqing, bound tightly, suddenly began to struggle.

Though Yue Zhengqing couldn't speak, he had watched as Su Bai and Feng Ling, whom he had previously looked down upon, suddenly became true Veterans, stronger than the other players. Recalling how he had once told Xiao Xiaodie that he could easily make Su Bai bow to him, he was filled with mixed emotions.

But compared to his own life, none of that mattered.

It wasn't until Yue Zhengqing realized that the bloodthread ghost was treating him as a "sacrifice" that he began to struggle in agony. Even as the bloodthreads dug deeper with every movement, he desperately tried to escape from the ghost.

Yue Zhengqing listened as Su Bai and the ghost discussed some damn passage, but neither side seemed to mention his fate!

What about him? What would happen to him?!

Yue Zhengqing looked pleadingly at Su Bai and the others, desperately hoping they would lend a hand.

As the bloodthread ghost had said, the human desire to survive is terrifyingly strong. No matter what might happen next year, next week, or even the next second, at least in the moment they realize their life is at stake, they will fight with all their might to survive.

Not just humans—even the ghosts are the same.