Chapter 548 The Truth Behind the Friction Sounds

Chapter 548: The Truth Behind the Friction Sound

The lights didn't suddenly go out but warped with an irregular flicker. They flared and died, as if tugged by an invisible force, like some unfathomable being toying with the very soul of this place.

The nurses, who had stood rigid and motionless against the walls, suddenly jerked to life!

They froze when the lights flared, and moved only when the room plunged into darkness.

So, amidst the irregular flickering, they began stiff and uncoordinated movements like puppets on strings. Their hands and feet seemed controlled by invisible threads, jerking stiffly like marionettes. Their raised faces wore gentle smiles, but under the constantly flickering lights, they appeared profoundly unsettling.

Le Shiya's breath came in quickening gasps, but she forced herself to narrate everything she saw to Su Bai. In Le Shiya's eyes, those eerie smiling faces still resembled the unforgettable faces of relatives and friends from her memory.

The very faces that should have offered comfort were now the most horrifying sight.

After a series of twisted movements, the nurse closest to the players lunged toward Xiang Feiyu and Xu Rui.

Xiang Feiyu reacted swiftly. He shoved the wheelchair he was steering hard toward Chi Yan, who was standing on the right, while quickly dodging to the left. Xiang Feiyu figured he should have been able to easily avoid the nurse's attack.

However, Xiang Feiyu's actions did not go as smoothly as he had hoped!

In that instant, he lost his balance and pitched forward toward the ground, landing with a heavy *thud*. For a few seconds, the air itself seemed to freeze, with only the sudden sound of the fall echoing in the space.

"Feiyu!" Xu Rui's voice was filled with anxiety. Almost the moment Xiang Feiyu fell, he couldn't help but shout, his voice cutting through the thick, oppressive air.

His worry for his friend overriding his caution, his cry carried obvious panic, without considering that the sound might attract more monsters.

"Hands!" Xu Rui's voice grew more urgent because, according to the rules of this nightmare game, anyone caught on all fours was considered a violation, and breaking it would incur unpredictable punishment.

Xu Rui understood that Xiang Feiyu falling wasn't the main issue; the crucial thing was that he must keep his hands off the ground, or the consequences would be unimaginable.

"Sorry... I think I tripped over something." Xiang Feiyu's voice was also panicked.

The earlier flickering lights had intermittently obstructed everyone's vision, preventing those standing near Xiang Feiyu from reacting in time to grab him as they might have before.

But... tripped over something?

The others instinctively looked toward where Xiang Feiyu had fallen, especially at his feet. A flicker of confusion crossed their faces; the blurry shadows and strobing light made it hard to be sure.

"Branches... they look like thick, sturdy branches."

Le Shiya's voice entered Su Bai's mind.

In Le Shiya's strained description, what connected to the nurses' backs were thick, withered branches. These branches seemed to jut out of the corridor walls, like the limbs of some ancient tree, displaying an abnormal twist and growth pattern.

This reminded Su Bai of the question he had earlier when entering the Reverse Birth Corridor—what exactly was hidden in the center of the ring-shaped corridor?

If Le Shiya's description was accurate, then the center of this corridor might conceal a massive, unimaginable tree!

An image formed in Su Bai's mind—an ancient tree existing within the corridor structure of the Newborn Department, with lush branches and leaves, its roots deeply embedded in the ground, while its trunk pierced through the walls, spreading unchecked within the ring-shaped corridor.

And those nurses were like extensions of this tree, its "fruits." Their movements, their existence, seemed to be under the control of some force, and this force originated precisely from the "tree" hidden behind them.

Su Bai heard that somewhat familiar friction sound again, but this time it was close at hand—the sound of the nurses dragging those withered branches as they moved through the corridor!

Those withered branches scraped against the ground as they walked, emitting a spine-chilling rasp.

Xiang Feiyu's evasive action wasn't flawed in itself, but he hadn't anticipated that the nurses were dragging withered branches behind them. That's why, while charging forward, he forgot to watch his feet and accidentally tripped over a branch, falling to the ground...