Chapter 26: The Dead
"If we say it's ten days, then right now should be considered 'Day Zero,' right?" Lin Qin switched hands to cover her nose and mouth, then added, "If you go out now, you won't be able to see the road clearly in a little while, since there aren't any streetlights here either."
Qi Xia knew Lin Qin was right, so he quietly walked to the side and found a clean shelf to sit on.
He really was a bit too anxious, even forgetting to check the time.
But he couldn't wait to escape this damn place and see his wife.
To see Yu Nian'an.
To see that girl who loved wearing white clothes.
"Xiao An, I'll get out of this hellhole soon," he muttered to himself. "Wait for me; we'll have money soon."
Qi Xia's expression was always different from the others. He wasn't flustered, he wasn't sad, just a bit impatient.
As the sky grew darker, everyone found clean spots to sit down.
Fortunately, the night here wasn't cold; they were just hungry. Having gone nearly a full day without food or water, everyone felt weak.
No one spoke anymore. They just slowly watched the earthy-yellow sun sink below the horizon, and the world fell completely into darkness.
The day's experience felt like a terrible nightmare to everyone. They all fantasized that when they opened their eyes again, all the strange phenomena before them would disappear.
The entire city seemed to have fallen silent, as if brewing something. They could hear a rustling sound from afar, but it wasn't clear.
It was so dark here, so dark that you couldn't tell if your eyes were open or closed.
Having grown up in cities, none of them had ever experienced a darkness so thick you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
"Liar, you asleep?" Qiao Jiajin suddenly spoke from not far away from Qi Xia.
"What is it?"
"Tell me... are there other 'Participants' here?"
Qi Xia was silent for a moment, then replied, "I've thought about that too. The 'Human Dragon' said that tens of millions of people have walked out of the door. Logically, there should be more than just the nine of us..."
Qiao Jiajin was silent for another moment, then asked, "Could that female clerk be someone who once walked out of the door?"
"Huh?" Qi Xia was momentarily stunned. He had never thought in that direction, since that woman looked like she had been living here for years.
But thinking about it carefully, it didn't conflict. Whether someone was captured ten years ago or ten days ago didn't really matter. What mattered was that, according to the "Human Dragon," this place would be annihilated in ten days.
They might have different starting points, but they shared the same end point.
Fortunately, they probably wouldn't go completely mad like the female clerk, since they only had to stay here for ten days.
No matter what, in ten days they would see the "result."
"Liar? You asleep?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
Qi Xia ignored him, instead turning his head away, earnestly pondering the day's events.
What exactly was the reason for all this strangeness?
Getting no answer from Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin stopped bothering him and gradually fell silent.
After a while, two other people started talking in the dark. It sounded like Dr. Zhao and Officer Li.
"Dr. Zhao..."
"What is it?"
"I want to ask... if a woman suffers from long-term malnutrition, can she still conceive and give birth?"
Dr. Zhao was silent for a moment, understanding what Officer Li meant. The female clerk inside looked like she hadn't eaten properly in a long time, so how could she have given birth to a child?
The others seemed interested in the question too, waiting quietly for his answer.
Dr. Zhao organized his thoughts and said, "This is a complicated question. Long-term malnutrition in women can easily lead to irregular menstruation, or even amenorrhea. In other words, lacking basic nutrients can prevent ovulation, making pregnancy naturally impossible."
"So... is this another thing science can't explain?" Officer Li asked in a low voice. "That female clerk's physical condition looks terrible."
"We can't jump to conclusions. In some parts of Africa, nutritional intake is also very low, yet birth rates are relatively high..." Dr. Zhao sighed. "But this isn't my specialty. It involves individual constitution and intake of key nutrients, and I don't know much about it."
Officer Li said nothing more and fell silent again.
The people inside the room sank back into silence.
Qi Xia didn't want to sleep, but in the complete absence of vision, human perception became blurred, and eventually thought processes slowed down.
Accompanied by the quiet "rustle" from the street, Qi Xia's eyelids grew heavy.
He didn't know when he fell asleep. In his dream, he saw the figure of Yu Nian'an.
"Xia, did you know? There are many roads in this world, and everyone has their own path."
"Yes, Xiao An, I know." The Qi Xia in the dream nodded. "I'll get out soon. Wait for me."
No one knew how much time passed, when suddenly a huge bell toll, as loud as a thunderclap, sounded almost right next to their ears.
Qi Xia opened his eyes, hurriedly stood up, and found that the sky outside had already brightened.
Turning around, everyone was startled, looking around just like Qi Xia. The bell was too loud; it had woken them all.
"What's going on?!" Xiao Ran instinctively hid behind Officer Li.
Before anyone could react, a strange coughing sound came from the corner of the room.
The cough sounded like it was accompanied by liquid in the mouth.
Dr. Zhao realized the sound came from behind him, so he slowly turned around and saw a horrifying sight.
Han Yimo lay on the ground. A pitch-black giant sword was embedded in his abdomen. The sword, like a nail, pinned him firmly to the floor. The entire blade seemed to have been thrust down with great force; half of it was buried in the ground.
Blood spurted from his mouth as he coughed continuously.
"Hey! Writer!" Qiao Jiajin rushed over to check on him.
"Cough... Qi... Qi Xia..." Han Yimo reached out a hand. His voice sounded unnatural—it wasn't pain or fear, but more like confusion.
Qi Xia frowned slightly, then walked over and crouched down, taking Han Yimo's hand.
"I'm here." As he answered, he looked up at the ceiling of the building.
The entire ceiling was intact; this pitch-black giant sword didn't seem to have fallen from above.
Han Yimo's lips twitched, his eyes glistening. After a sob, he began to cry.
"This... this place is wrong... Qi Xia... cough... this can't happen... this 'Seven Dark Swords'... definitely... cough... impossible... Qi Xia... 'Seven Dark Swords' is not—"
His coughing grew louder, unable to finish a complete sentence. Blood sprayed from his mouth and flowed back into his nose.
Han Yimo coughed heavily a few times, then his whole body stiffened and he lost all signs of life.
When it's hard to breathe, just a few words drain all of one's strength.
Yeah... a truly dying person, how much time do they have left for a final farewell?
Then came silence.
A long silence.
Everyone knew Han Yimo had a lot more to say, but clearly, he didn't have enough time. A living life had died right before their eyes.
Qi Xia looked at Han Yimo's lifeless eyes, frowned, and suddenly felt a splitting headache.
He crouched down, holding his forehead, feeling something trying to drill out of his head. Then he let out a heart-wrenching scream.
"Ah——!!"
Before the others could even come to terms with Han Yimo's death, they were startled again by Qi Xia's scream.
"Liar, you okay?" Qiao Jiajin asked cautiously.
After half a minute of silence, Qi Xia gradually steadied his breathing and said, "I'm fine... Let's check on Han Yimo first..."
Seeing that Qi Xia really seemed unharmed, everyone turned to look at Han Yimo's corpse, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.
A thought kept swirling in their minds.
Are they really dead?
Can a dead person die again?
"Han Yimo... was killed..." Xiao Ran said softly.
The phrase "was killed" jolted everyone awake.
Yes. The issue now wasn't "whether the dead can die again" but the "murderer."
When Han Yimo was discovered, he was still conscious, meaning the giant sword had just been thrust into his abdomen.
In other words, the killer hadn't gone far. They were more likely to be hiding among the remaining eight.