Her Prey [Infinite] 5

Chapter 5 Night of Sacrifice (1)

As night fell, Yun Zouchuan sat at her desk, quietly reciting vocabulary words. Two greeting cards lay beside her, and she occasionally glanced at them, checking for any changes.

The clock ticked steadily. It was 10:30 p.m.

Footsteps approached. Zhu Ming emerged from the training room, covered in sweat and sand.

“Nothing unusual?”

“Nope.” Yun Zouchuan noticed the trail of sand behind her. “Did you burst the punching bag again?”

Zhu Ming pretended not to hear.

At 11:30 p.m., showered and changed, Zhu Ming sat on the sofa, methodically wrapping her right hand with gauze. Her crowbar lay beside her, the greeting card on the coffee table.

Yun Zouchuan had fallen asleep on the other end of the sofa. The studio was silent as Zhu Ming waited for something to happen. The invitation had said “tonight,” and it was almost midnight. Something should be happening soon.

Tick-tock.

The moment the second, minute, and hour hands aligned at zero, a sudden wave of exhaustion washed over Zhu Ming. Startled, she tried to stand, to shake it off, but the drowsiness overwhelmed her before she could rise.

…

She opened her eyes to darkness.

Zhu Ming sat up in bed, pressing on the mattress beneath her. It wasn’t her bed. For a moment, she had felt herself pulled into a thick darkness, through a strange, constricting space, and then deposited here.

It was quiet, devoid of the usual hum of machinery that permeated modern life. There were no insects chirping, no birds singing.

She checked herself. She was still wearing her own clothes, the gauze on her hand still in place, but her crowbar was gone. The room, initially pitch black, was dimly lit now that the lamp was on.

What was going on?

The room looked like a standard hotel room: a double bed, a wall-mounted TV, a private bathroom, a row of hooks for clothes. On the nightstand were several bottles of water, two packs of biscuits, and the familiar invitation.

She pulled back the curtains. Outside was a dense, dark forest. In the distance, she could just make out the silhouette of a mountain. It seemed she was in the middle of nowhere.

Zhu Ming picked up the invitation. The contents had changed.

The totem was still on the cover, but the text now read:

[You are cordially invited to our world: Night of Sacrifice.

Mission: Descend the mountain.

Hints: 1. There are 9 participants in this world.
2. Protection period countdown: 5:51
3. This mission will last for seven days.
4. Failure to complete the mission will have consequences.
5. Please discover other rules on your own.

Note: After completing the mission, tear the invitation to leave this world.]

The second hint on the card was still changing. It was just an ordinary piece of paper, yet it possessed these strange properties. A sense of unease settled over her.

Zhu Ming tried to tear the invitation, but it wouldn’t rip. Perhaps due to the “protection period,” the doors and windows were also locked shut.

In the silent night, she could only hear her own heartbeat and breathing. It felt as if she were the only person in the world.

No, there were nine participants. That meant there were others besides herself. A-Zou was likely here too, with the same invitation.

Zhu Ming was aware of her own strength, but she felt an irresistible force constraining her, nullifying her abilities.

She concluded that the power that had brought her here and controlled this space was far beyond her current capabilities.

Since a mission had been given, she would eventually be allowed to leave and complete it. She had been up all night the previous night and then stayed up late waiting for the invitation. Exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she crawled back into bed, falling into a deep, restful sleep.

…

She woke up close to noon, the sunlight bright. The heat had roused her.

Groggy, she washed her face and drank some water from the nightstand before venturing out in search of food.

The door, which had been stubbornly locked earlier, now opened easily. Zhu Ming stood at the doorway, quickly scanning her surroundings.

Railings, stairs, open space, pendant lights…

She was in a small, two-story vacation villa. From the second floor, she could see the main hall below.

Her room was in the center, with other rooms branching off on either side.

Downstairs, gathered on the sofas and chairs in the hall, were three women and five men. Yun Zouchuan was among them, and apart from her, everyone else looked uneasy.

The sound of Zhu Ming’s approach startled them. They looked up, their expressions shifting. Several of them looked as if they had seen a ghost.

“You finally came out! My god, I thought you were dead!” It was a tall, thin young man who spoke.

Zhu Ming raised an eyebrow, descending the stairs. “Me?”

The young man looked about A-Zou’s age, probably a student, with a scattering of acne across his face. He seemed energetic. “Yeah! We all came out as soon as it was light. You were the only one left.”

“Alright, Xiao Cheng,” a man in a white tank top interrupted with a smile. “Now that she’s here, why don’t you explain the situation?”

“Wait,” a girl with a ponytail interjected. “Before we explain anything, shouldn’t she explain why she came out so late?”

The girl with the ponytail addressed the group, her calm gaze and reasoned argument compelling. “Whether it’s your first time in a place like this or you’ve been here multiple times, you’re always conscious at the beginning. The invitation is right there on the nightstand, and with these supernatural rules, everyone should be paying attention to the hints, right? Most people explored the place as soon as it was light. Even those who felt uneasy came out when they realized there were others outside. Only she stayed inside until now.”

She looked at Zhu Ming intently, a hint of fear in her voice. “We couldn’t open your door. At first, we thought you were just sleeping, but we knocked, and there was no response. We thought you were dead, but then you came out. I’m saying this again: this place is haunted. Everyone here is Awakened. We all know how serious this is. This place is full of hidden rules. One wrong move, and you could die.”

Her logic was sound, her reasoning thorough. If she hadn’t been questioning Zhu Ming, Zhu Ming would have applauded her.

Unfortunately, Zhu Ming had simply slept soundly until morning, oblivious to any knocking. Wait… she vaguely remembered being disturbed and almost waking up, but she had just pulled the covers over her head and gone back to sleep.

Feeling no guilt whatsoever, Zhu Ming grabbed an orange from the fruit bowl on the coffee table. “A-Zou.”

Yun Zouchuan responded, “She’s my boss. We came in together.”

“What if she’s a ghost in disguise? How can we be sure?” While the ponytail girl had voiced the suspicion first, others shared the same thought, including the young man standing beside her, who seemed close to her.

Zhu Ming chuckled. “If a witness isn’t enough, then how do you suggest I prove myself?”

Silence fell over the group.

A scoff broke the stillness. Zhu Ming said, “How about this? Assume I am a ghost. What are you going to do about it?”

They exchanged glances. It seemed… there wasn’t much they could do.

Under the constraints of the rules, during the mission period, their abilities against supernatural entities were practically useless. If she were a ghost, attacking her would be pointless and might even provoke her.

“Xiao Cheng said we can’t fight ghosts right now. Boss, let me slap you. If you faint, it proves you’re not a ghost,” Yun Zouchuan suggested helpfully.

“…” Zhu Ming was speechless. “Forget it. Just assume I’m a ghost.”

Losing interest in the conversation, she turned her attention to her main objective: finding food.

The kitchen was easy to spot, dominated by a large refrigerator. The door opened effortlessly, but the contents were sparse.

Seven bottles of beer, some cupcakes, and snacks.

“Have you eaten?” Zhu Ming asked Yun Zouchuan, who had followed her.

“No,” Yun Zouchuan shook her head. “Xiao Cheng said we weren’t sure if the food was safe, so no one ate anything.”

So the refrigerator had always contained only these items.

Zhu Ming nodded. “What else did they say?”

Yun Zouchuan recounted everything. “The young man is Xiao Cheng, the old man calls himself Old Xu, and the ponytail girl is Miss Zhao. None of them are new to this. They said this place is mysterious and dangerous, controlled by powers beyond our understanding. Anyone who receives an invitation is brought here, and there will be a second time, a third time… They advised us not to resist. They also said that under the rules, the early stages of the mission are relatively safe, but it gets more dangerous later, so we should complete the mission quickly. Before you woke up, we checked outside the villa, but there’s a barrier. We can’t leave.”

So the mission was to descend the mountain, but they were trapped.

Zhu Ming picked out a few things she liked and grabbed a bottle of beer, which was still cold to the touch.

“Let’s eat. It’s fine,” she said, handing a cupcake to Yun Zouchuan.

There were fourteen bottles of water in her room, two per day for the seven-day mission. It seemed the water wouldn’t replenish itself. The same likely applied to the biscuits, which were few in number. The protection period guaranteed the safety of the provided food and water, which implied… the water outside might be contaminated, but they could find food elsewhere.

As they ate, a new female voice joined their conversation.

“Xiao Cheng also said that many Awakened call this place the Dark Realm, and the individual worlds are called instances, like in a game.”

“Aren’t you afraid I’m a ghost?” Zhu Ming asked, opening her beer.

“My intuition tells me you’re not,” the gentle voice replied. “And I came in alone. Everyone else out there is either in a couple or male. I feel safer with you two.”

“Alright.” Zhu Ming picked up a bag of ice cream from the freezer, only to find it half-melted. “Quick, eat this before it melts completely!” she urged, handing it to Yun Zouchuan and the newcomer.

The heat was oppressive, and the power outage meant no air conditioning. Even the refrigerator wouldn’t last long.

Despite its size, the refrigerator wasn’t well-stocked. It wouldn’t be enough for everyone, but luckily, the others were still wary of Zhu Ming and kept their distance.

The three of them quickly finished off the perishables. Zhu Ming finally got a good look at the girl who had joined them.

She was plain, almost nondescript, the type who easily blended into a crowd. Zhu Ming hadn’t even noticed her earlier in the living room.

“I’m Xiao Xue,” the girl said, licking melted cream from her lips. “Xiao Cheng said it’s best not to reveal your real name in case you make enemies in the instances.”

Following suit—

“I’m A-Zou.”

“I’m Zhu Ming,” Zhu Ming said. “Feel free to seek revenge.”

Soon, the others, presumably hungry, ventured into the kitchen, having observed that Zhu Ming and her companions suffered no ill effects from eating.

Miss Zhao, her boyfriend Xiao Song, and a sleepy-looking, middle-aged man approached.

Miss Zhao addressed Zhu Ming. “We questioned you earlier because we have to be careful. But after you left, we discussed it and decided we shouldn’t be so quick to suspect each other. After all, there are only nine of us here.”

The sleepy-looking man, who introduced himself as Lao Gao, rubbed his paunch. “Exactly. It’s just the beginning. We shouldn’t be fighting amongst ourselves. Ugh, I’m so unlucky. I can see ghosts, but I have no other abilities. Why did I get an invitation?… It’s so hot.”

He grabbed an ice cream bar and started eating.

The heat was unbearable for Lao Gao, accustomed to the comfort of his office. The ice cream provided some relief, though it was melting quickly, making his hands sticky.

He turned on the kitchen faucet to wash his hands, and that’s when it happened. A gush of red liquid spurted out, making him yell and jump back.

Everyone stared at the sink. After the initial burst of red, the water slowly returned to its normal color.

Xiao Song scoffed. “It’s just rust. Look at you, scaredy-cat.”

He gave Lao Gao a disdainful look and proceeded to wash his hands and face. Lao Gao, good-natured, just smiled and waited his turn. Seeing how refreshing it was for Xiao Song, he decided to wash his face and neck as well.

Mid-wash, he paused, wiping his face. “This water quality is terrible.”