Chapter 27: Ten Seconds of Terror

Qi Zhiyong’s audacity did not surprise the Door-Breaker Spirit for long.

The entity quickly realized it had been offended, and with a thunderous roar, the chains binding it shattered completely, leaving the "Soul-Snatching Rope" artifact utterly destroyed.

Immediately after, its remaining massive hand swelled in size and clamped down violently onto Qi Zhiyong. Qi, who had been busy drawing blood from the Greater Spirit with a small blade, was pinned firmly to the floor. The strength granted by the "Heavenly Demon Release" was of no consequence to the Door-Breaker.

The entity then turned its palm into a fist and smashed it downward with tremendous force.

*Squelch!*

The superhuman impact landed squarely on Qi Zhiyong.

*Crash!*

Qi’s upper body was pulverized. The floor beneath him was smashed into a crater; the concrete cracked, and blood seeped into the fissures. Had it not been for the reinforcing steel bars, the Greater Spirit’s blow would have punched clean through the floor slab.

Wu Xian stared, stunned.

What was happening? He and Qi Zhiyong had been enemies; Qi had even tried to use them as scapegoats just moments ago. Why did he suddenly act like a different person, playing the hero and sacrificing himself?

Regardless of Qi Zhiyong’s motives, he was dead now. Did that mean the Greater Spirit’s target was now them?

Wu Xian raised his copper-coin spear, and Shi Ji drew his child-god sword. Both stood their ground, feeling a sliver of confidence in their newly upgraded weapons. The evil spirits they had faced before possessed only unique abilities—terrifying and bizarre, yes, but they could be killed if struck by artifacts and talismans.

But the Door-Breaker Spirit was different.

Its power was truly off the charts. Could something like a Hulk really be dealt with using a copper-coin sword and a small blade?

No. The remains of Qi Zhiyong spread across the floor were proof of that.

Yet, despite their lack of confidence, Wu Xian and Shi Ji had to hold their ground, for they had nowhere to run. To their surprise, however, the Door-Breaker did not attack them.

The Soul-Snatching Rope on the entity’s body had already snapped, but there remained another chain. This one was jet-black and lined with sharp, serrated blades. It was embedded deep within its flesh, as if it were a part of its own body; it was this chain that had stitched the spirit’s arm to its own abdominal cavity.

But now, this chain had also been undone!

The Door-Breaker pulled its arm from its bloody, gaping abdomen. It possessed two arms once more, becoming even more powerful than before. This newly freed arm looked more human, and in its hand, it clutched a ring of keys!

Wu Xian’s heart sank.

Judging by the design, those were the spare keys to the Peace Hotel. Before, the spirit could only open one door a day, but what about now that it had the keys?

A sense of powerlessness washed over him. The rules of the Door-Breaker’s movements, which Wu Xian had struggled so hard to decipher after trapping Qi Zhiyong, might now be meaningless.

After unsealing itself, the Door-Breaker Spirit took a long look at the two men and flashed a grim, sinister smile.

Then...

*Click!*

The lights went out.

The hallway plunged into total darkness. In a room, at least there were windows, and even with the lights off, some moonlight would filter in. But the hallway had no windows; the moment the lights died, it was pitch black, and one could not even see their own fingers.

Wu Xian panicked. When the lights were on, they could at least see the spirit. If the lights were out, how could they know where it was?

Imagination amplified his fear. Perhaps the Door-Breaker was right in front of him, its hideous face inches from his own. Perhaps that hand that had crushed Qi Zhiyong was already hovering above his head, ready to shatter his body in the next second.

Perhaps...

Wu Xian endured the longest ten seconds of his life, while Shi Ji’s mind began to flash through a life-review. They lived in terror for a long while before the hallway lights flickered back on.

The Door-Breaker Spirit had vanished.

Qi Zhiyong’s mangled corpse lay in the center of the corridor, his broken face staring blankly at Wu Xian, who found it unbearable to look at. Though the "Blessed Land" felt like a home to him, the domestic atmosphere was far from pleasant. The heavy "domestic violence" gave Wu Xian an urge to run away from home.

Shi Ji looked as pale as a ghost. Those ten seconds had been so intense that he desperately needed to change his pants.

...

The others remaining on the fourth floor were not entirely unaware of Qi Zhiyong’s death.

In Room 404, He Qiong’s room, the sisters Su Huilan and Su Huijin sat on the bed, holding hands, their delicate faces frozen in icy dread.

"Qi Zhiyong is dead."

"Why him?"

They were the survivors who best understood Qi Zhiyong’s abilities, and according to the rules, he should have been the safest person. Yet, the one who should have lived the longest had died so early.

The situation had spiraled out of control, causing the sisters to cling to each other in terror.

"Ah Jin, I will protect you."

"But we cannot go on like this. Tomorrow, we must find a way to lure someone else over, no matter which one of those three it is..."

"Then let’s hurry and apply our makeup."

"Make the slit higher on this side..."

"Draw the eyes larger, make the rims red, use some eye drops, and act pathetic. Those single men who have never had a girlfriend can't resist this..."

...

In Room 401, Wen Chao’s room.

"Sigh, he wasn't a bad kid..."

Wen Chao had seen many young people. In his view, Qi Zhiyong, like Fang Zhi, was simply too stubborn in his own way, acting strictly according to his own rules.

"I, this old bones, shouldn't just hide here and die a pathetic death after all the young ones are gone."

"Wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow will be better."

His tone was strange; he didn't sound like he was talking to himself, but rather to someone else.

The light from the billboard across the street shone through the window. Wen Chao’s table was cluttered with various objects; he seemed to be trying to craft something. On his bed, the quilt was spread out, and it looked as if someone were lying beneath it.

Wen Chao himself sat on a chair beside the bed.

He took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and leaned over the quilt. He reached his hand inside and tightly grasped another hand. Exhaustion forced his eyes to close, and before he drifted off to sleep, he whispered softly:

"A young man has died."

"You have something to eat again. Once you're full, your illness will be cured, and when you're better, we'll go home together."

...

Wu Xian’s Room 406 had been kicked in, and Qi Zhiyong’s Room 402 had become a blood-stained ruin. Thus, the only safe place left was Room 403, where Shi Ji had originally stayed.

The two opened the door and stepped inside, both feeling a wave of relief. The night’s events had been so hellish that the simple, ordinary room felt like heaven to them.

After a quick wash, Shi Ji changed his pants. Neither complained about the other, and they both lay down on the bed. Shi Ji fell asleep almost instantly, but Wu Xian remained wide awake for a long time.

He was thinking of Qi Zhiyong.

Wu Xian had never regretted trapping Qi Zhiyong, and had even felt proud of his own schemes. But in all honesty, the man had indeed used his own death to buy a path to survival for them.

It left Wu Xian with a strange feeling.

He tossed and turned, unable to sleep, until finally, he climbed out of bed and, by the faint light from the window, began to read the notes Qi Zhiyong had shoved into his hands.