Chapter 1005: A Gruesome Death
With a soft "ding," the elevator doors slowly opened.
The fluorescent lights on the ceiling flickered a few times, barely restoring a stable but bleak brightness. It was eerily quiet, with no sound except for the slight impact when the elevator fully retracted into the wall. Several seconds passed, yet there was still no sign of anyone. After a while, a spherical object rolled out of the elevator and came to a stop not far from the door.
It looked like a white golf ball, but one side of it had a vividly painted eyeball. At first glance, it could easily be mistaken for a human eye. It spun in place for a few circles before suddenly freezing and staring straight at the ceiling, motionless.
Lin Sanjiu cursed inwardly, realizing that she couldn't hide anymore. Without a doubt, this object with such an appearance was a special prop.
She was currently suspended by several hanging rings, her back pressed tightly against the ceiling. The original ceiling had no handholds, but before she leaped up, she had used [The Power Of Word Picture] to create four hanging rings by leveraging the dangling electrical wires, providing stability for her body.
She loosened her grip, ready to pounce on the elevator immediately. From her angle, she could only see the front half of the elevator but not the person inside. However, as soon as her hands and feet left the hanging rings, she couldn't help but freeze.
Although her hands were released, her body remained suspended below the ceiling, as if it hadn't fallen down.
Huh? What's going on?
Startled, Lin Sanjiu shifted her gaze and happened to land on the "eyeball." It continued to stare straight at her. Even though it was just a fake eyeball, its gaze felt substantial and firmly locked onto her.
Wait a minute.
She suddenly realized something.
Could it be that this gaze had the effect of immobilizing people?
She struggled hard, but she remained motionless as if she were firmly glued to the ceiling. Several seconds had passed since the eyeball rolled out, and at any moment, the person in the elevator could attack her. With a quick thought, she shouted loudly, "Have you heard of Route 300?"
Lin Sanjiu's voice faded in the corridor, but her body didn't fall. The fake eyeball continued to stare straight at her, enveloping her within its "gaze." Even her slightly longer hair floated lightly and gently pressed against the ceiling within its range.
Could it be that she had already used Route 300 on this person before?
Just as she was thinking about it, unexpectedly, the elevator doors slowly closed again. Throughout the whole time, she hadn't seen anyone inside.
The numbers on the display suddenly changed.
The number "2-4" slowly changed to "2-1." Lin Sanjiu finally understood completely: there was no one in the elevator just now.
The person on Level 2, Section 1 had intentionally placed an eyeball in the elevator and sent it up. But did that person do it out of caution to assess the situation or did they already know she was there, specifically using the eyeball to deal with her?
Without giving Lin Sanjiu much time to consider, the numbers on the elevator display changed again. "2-1" became "2-2," and the arrow steadily continued to move upward. Finally, with a "ding," the elevator doors opened once again.
Before the person inside could step out of the elevator, a faint and noisy music could already be heard coming from the elevator. It seemed like the person was listening to music with headphones, with the volume turned up high. The leaked sound was accompanied by their off-tune humming, giving an unbelievably relaxed and carefree vibe.
Now Route 300 wouldn't work!
Frustrated and anxious, Lin Sanjiu watched as the person with thick hair took a step out of the elevator. His gaze seemed to land on the eyeball not far away, and he stopped humming — then, the person's head turned in the direction indicated by the eyeball.
"You were hiding on the ceiling," Tan Zhang looked at her with a hint of surprise. Unaware of his loud voice due to the headphones, he continued, "Where did those hanging rings come from?"
How could it be him?
Was Tan Zhang related to the twelve personalities?
Suppressing her surprise, Lin Sanjiu stared at him intently, her clenched fist revealing a card.
The gaze of the eyeball had fixed her position but didn't completely restrict her movements. At least her fingers could still extend and retract. There was one method that might release her from this immobilization, but it would surely alert Tan Zhang. Once she fell from the ceiling, she might not be able to catch him. Moreover, Lin Sanjiu didn't have full confidence in the method she had thought of. She had to remain calm and quietly wait for him to come closer.
"So, you did stay behind," Tan Zhang sighed but refused to come any closer. "All this for Puppeteer? I really don't understand. Isn't this like throwing yourself into the tiger's mouth?"
Lin Sanjiu couldn't help but furrow her brow.
"You've fallen into my hands, and that's your misfortune," Tan Zhang lowered his head again, pulling out a small funnel-like object from somewhere. The funnel was completely transparent, as if made of glass, but its walls were stained with dark purple marks.
"Do you have any last words? Speak now. Oh, yes, you can talk. I'll read your lips," Tan Zhang said, smiling at her and tapping his own lips.
For some reason, that gesture flashed through Lin Sanjiu's mind like lightning, and almost instantly, the words slipped out of her mouth, "You're Twelve!"
"Tan Zhang" shrugged.
"Even if you figured it out, it doesn't score you any points," he casually tapped the small funnel in his hand, and it trembled as if it had come to life, swaying unsteadily. "After all, I didn't even try to disguise myself... and since you can't move, I might as well save some effort."
The glass funnel, like a shark catching the scent of blood, slowly extended its "head" from the edge of Twelve's mouth. It swayed back and forth, sniffing, gradually rising towards the ceiling, as if it had caught Lin Sanjiu's scent.
"I... I don't feel well," Lin Sanjiu whispered each word, enunciating them clearly for him to see her lip movements. "I feel very uncomfortable..."
Twelve raised an eyebrow—before he could respond, with a muffled "pop" in mid-air, copious amounts of blood sprayed out like it was being released from a fire extinguisher, turning into a fine mist and floating densely in the air. Amidst the mist of vivid red, the figure on the ceiling seemed to twitch its fingers a few times, and then its abdomen suddenly burst open, with large chunks of black shadows falling down with a crashing sound.
The eyeball, stained by the blood, lost its sight. The falling shadows finally revealed their true form—they were internal organs, intestines, and chunks of flesh, drenching Twelve in blood.
Lin Sanjiu resembled a pig that had been eviscerated, with all her organs and blood expelled from her body, leaving only her skin hanging on the ceiling—no one could survive such injuries.
Twelve's eyes widened. Even though his face was covered in blood, it couldn't hide his shock. Just as he quickly took a few steps and looked up, he suddenly froze and took a deep breath, "No!"
Even the internal organs fell, so why was the person still on the ceiling?
He was two words too late. As soon as he opened his mouth, the figure on the ceiling suddenly opened its eyes, and all the bloodstains and flesh disappeared, leaving only a long shadow rushing towards him fiercely. Lin Sanjiu restored the card [The Cosplayer Visited the Funeral Parlor] back to its card form with one hand, while her other hand transformed the [Tornado Whip] into a wind dragon, swirling towards the bottom.
The eyeball was immediately engulfed by the wind, leaped over the railing, and fell into the depths of the spaceship.
However, because Lin Sanjiu could only barely move her wrist and couldn't perfectly control the direction of the wind, coupled with Twelve's timely response, as soon as the wind rose, he quickly turned around and rushed towards the elevator. He slapped the elevator doors open and scrambled inside.
Lin Sanjiu grabbed an electrical wire from the ceiling and swung it towards the elevator. With all her strength, she could leave a deep dent even on metal. However, the elevator doors finally closed completely before she could reach them, and the arrow on the display screen began flashing downwards.
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