Chapter Nineteen: Escape and Slaughter

The mimic chest monster leaped through the air, pouncing on a gun-wielding doll that was firing, and tore it apart with its claws in an instant. The remaining four armed dolls exhibited strikingly human-like emotions, their eyes reddened as they fought the chest monster with all their might, only to fall one after another. The entire battle lasted no more than sixty seconds.

Having vanquished its foes, the chest monster danced with excitement, then suddenly froze, turning its gaze once more toward the players. The elderly man in the suit had bestowed upon it the relentless mission of "fight until death," and the appearance of the armed dolls had merely allowed it to lose itself in bloodlust for a moment. The deadly chase was still ongoing.

The good news was that the challenge had now lasted more than three minutes. Thanks to the brave sacrifice of the armed dolls, the players had managed to reach the containment chamber of the Plague Doctor with the Raven Mask. The darkness shrouding the corridor had thinned considerably; under the harsh lights, only a modest perception level was needed to see clearly. Yet the pits and potholes left by the corrosive fluids remained.

Ember used the last dose of healing spray, barely restoring his health to twenty points. He shook the empty bottle regretfully before tossing it aside. Had it not been for the control center manager slipping it into his portable pouch, Ember would likely have died under the toy guns of the armed dolls. Despite their comical appearance, those little things were savage when attacking.

This cast a shadow over the battle to come.

The chest monster was formidable; with the players' current weapons and equipment, even four together could not hope to withstand it. Worse still, the monster was blindingly fast—simply running would lead to certain death. The outcome seemed inevitable: defeat.

"This is the true battle royale," Fishscale Arm said grimly, rubbing his smooth head in frustration. "If we rely solely on our own strength, unless a miracle happens, elimination is only a matter of time."

Not-a-Master stood with arms crossed against the wall. "Maybe continuing to flee is better than plotting a counterattack here."

"It's meaningless," Fishscale Arm shook his head. "There’s just over six minutes left. Escape is impossible. Our only option is to fight desperately and obtain clues. Of course, we could change our goal from saving everyone to saving just one, but who is willing to be the sacrifice?"

Silence descended once more.

Though the players had agreed to cooperate, who truly wished to be the one to pave the way for others?

"In the end... it’s still every man for himself!"

Reaching this point, Ember no longer harbored hopes of defeating the chest monster, but he refused to abandon his resolve. Even if he could hold on a second longer than the others, it was worth it. Perhaps, a miracle might occur just before the last flame flickered out.

Like a harbinger of death, the chest monster attacked again.

Though the darkness caused it some hesitation, once it locked onto the first player’s aura, it eagerly launched itself forward, pouncing straight at the now silent Tomorrow’s Rain.

Confronted by the rapidly approaching foe, Tomorrow’s Rain dared not slacken. He dodged along the planned route, revealing a large puddle hidden behind him. Unable to avoid it, the chest monster landed in the puddle, the corrosive liquid splashing all over it, and it screamed in pain.

It worked!

A flash of hope lit up the players’ eyes, the shadow in their hearts instantly dispelled.

If combat could be reduced to dodging rather than direct confrontation, their chances of surviving the challenge would soar. The environment itself could inflict damage, which was far safer than risking an attack. As for how the final outcome would be decided, that was not their concern now. Their priority was to force the chest monster into its second phase.

Screech!

The corrosive liquid was potent, causing the chest monster to shriek as it scrambled out of the puddle, its claws lashing angrily at Fishscale Arm's face.

With a bit of perception, the darkness no longer hindered his vision. This veteran player responded swiftly, dodging the attack and boldly swinging his weapon, slashing the monster's long arms twice. The enraged chest monster, forgetting its fear of the corrosive liquid, clawed at the ground, launching itself forward. As it soared through the air, its unusually long legs swept fiercely, striking Not-a-Master nearby.

Not-a-Master was now only level one. Having invested his only important attribute point in strength to wear basic protective gear, he lacked the ability to ignore the darkness.

His vision impaired and attention drawn to Fishscale Arm, Not-a-Master reacted too late. His health plummeted, and he was knocked into a puddle, immediately feeling the liquid’s deadly effects. Luckily, his life specialty and basic anti-corrosive suit gave him a fighting chance. In a panic, he allocated his remaining attribute point to health, raising his life level to three. Combined with the suit’s resistance, he narrowly escaped death.

The chest monster’s sudden rampage subjected it again to corrosive damage, but in its fury, it ignored the pain and selected a new target, its savage gaze fixed on Ember.

A warning rose in Ember’s heart. Without hesitation, he sidestepped, narrowly avoiding the claws, then mimicked Fishscale Arm, raising his telescopic baton and smashing it onto the monster’s long arm.

[Hint: You have dealt two points of damage to the Enhanced Young Mimic Chest.]

The damage notification still appeared, an important motivation for the players to persist. After two rounds of combat, they could all sense the monster’s increasing agitation, evidence of its accumulating wounds. It also signaled the approach of the second phase.

At the thought of the monster’s madness in phase two, everyone’s heart sank.

Yet before the chest monster could enter its second phase, sudden casualties struck the survivors like an iron bar.

Not-a-Master, previously injured, was wounded again. His movements slowed, and he was finally caught by the chest monster's claws, which dug mercilessly into his shoulders and dragged him toward its gaping maw.

[Hint: The Enhanced Young Mimic Chest has grabbed you. You need three points of strength to break free.]

Three points of strength?

Not-a-Master smiled bitterly. He was still one point short of level two, with no way to reach the required attribute.

Chomp!

The chest monster, delighted, eagerly devoured half of Not-a-Master’s body. From his perspective, he couldn’t witness his own demise, as his health had dropped so low that a single grab meant death. Thus, although the monster activated its "devour" skill, the target died prematurely, preventing it from regaining health and forcing it into a prolonged devour animation.

The visual shock of a player being eaten did not deter Ember and the others.

At that moment, the three remaining players acted in unison. Instead of fleeing, they rushed to the chest monster and attacked it wildly. In its devour state, the monster could not retaliate, and by this twist of fate, the players forced it into its second phase.

Thud!

A humanoid figure, drenched in unknown fluids, was spat out by the chest monster. Immediately, it emitted an agitated roar, its limbs flailing, body twisting, desperately trying to break free from the chest’s confines.

Run!

The players’ greatest fear was the chest monster’s explosive projectile attacks. Ember and the others hurried across the pitted floor, escaping the darkness. Yet a whistling sound came from behind, striking Fishscale Arm’s back. The massive force lifted him off the ground and slammed him down, leaving him critically injured, unable to flee.

[Hint: You have suffered a severe blow from the Enhanced Young Mimic Chest and are now critically wounded.]

[Torso Damage (Severe): Speed greatly reduced, movements severely restricted, attack power greatly diminished, stamina consumption increased by fifty percent, wounds will not heal over time, and you lose ten percent of your maximum health per second.]

“Just my luck? Just... my luck.” Fishscale Arm let out a bitter laugh. The one-in-three chance had landed on him. He had finally grown interested in this new game, only to be doused in cold water. But he did not blame fate; instead, he urged Ember and Tomorrow’s Rain to run, not waste their last opportunity.

"Ah, getting old after all! The cards I carefully saved have ended up as gifts for others. Well, consider it a favor—I’ll keep being the good old guy." Fishscale Arm shook his head, gazing at the chest monster emerging from the darkness. He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, darkness had consumed his gaze.

[Hint: You have spent one important attribute point to raise your perception level to two, meeting the requirements for the temporary skill "Plague Doctor with Raven Mask’s Gaze."]

[Hint: You have used the skill "Plague Doctor with Raven Mask’s Gaze" on the anomalous entity "Enhanced Young Mimic Chest." The target’s willpower must exceed five points to resist the "confusion" status.]

[Hint: Judging... Success. The target's willpower does not exceed five points. It is now confused for eight seconds.]

[Warning: The temporary skill "Plague Doctor with Raven Mask’s Gaze" has been depleted. You have lost this ability and will suffer backlash, receiving five points of sanity damage per second for the next three seconds.]

[Hint: Increasing willpower will reduce the backlash.]

The Plague Doctor’s Gaze was gained from the anomaly itself, granted to Fishscale Arm when he successfully sealed the broken door. The system had notified him of this temporary ability, allowing a single use of an overpowering attack in the current game, but at the cost of a sanity backlash upon losing the skill.

Fishscale Arm had intended to keep it as his trump card, but fate had other plans. With his life nearly extinguished, he did not spend attribute points to raise his willpower, but watched as the chest monster slipped into confusion, staggering back into the darkness, its pained howls echoing.

"Good, at least it wasn’t wasted."

With those words, Fishscale Arm collapsed, a scrap of newspaper clenched in his hand, his face still tinged with regret.