Chapter 114: Things Falling Apart

“I have endured hardships no one my age should ever face—I really feel like crying!” Chu Ning looked plaintively at the swarming insects wildly attacking him. Why did they have to avoid Tanya and come specifically to trouble him? What was most absurd was that they deliberately took a detour just to attack him.

This was truly bullying. Chu Ning felt the world’s deep malice. He waved his hand, swatting away the incoming swarm, then took a deep breath to calm himself.

This world was inherently unfair; there was no need for him to be overly sentimental about it.

Chu Ning’s planned escape route was indeed excellent. They struggled along a passageway that others had previously broken through, eventually managing to put some distance between themselves and the insect swarm, just as expected.

Crossing through that swarm—a seemingly impossible task—they had now successfully accomplished.

The swarm then began to weed out unqualified participants once more, refining the players involved in the game. Too many participants would make the event mundane, lacking any remarkable highlights.

“If you’re after a large sum of money, turn right—that’s where you’ll find what you need! If you seek the truth, turn left—there you’ll get the answers you want! What is all this nonsense? It’s utterly absurd!” Tanya panted as she vented. After breaking through the encirclement, they had no time to pause and sprinted wildly toward the workshop’s exit. They never wanted to experience a desperate breakout again; bad things couldn’t keep happening, could they?

Outside the workshop, those who had escaped earlier had long since disappeared. Those who hadn’t managed to escape were still struggling inside, and Chu Ning was powerless to help—it was beyond his ability to save everyone.

Moreover, risking himself to do so was an unwise gamble.

Then they came upon an extremely strange sign—two plain sheets of paper with a single line of text printed on them, carelessly pasted on the wall.

The sign was crooked, likely stuck up “carelessly” by the staff, which only heightened suspicion.

If there had been strong winds today, the paper signs would have long been blown away.

Chu Ning was frustrated, torn over which direction to take.

To be honest, he was more curious about the truth of the matter than the thrill of acquiring a huge sum of money. Even though he didn’t yet know what was truly going on, that didn’t stop him from wanting to understand more about this other version of himself.

To learn about another “self” through some channel—it was truly exhilarating.

It was like secretly watching a girl he liked back in school—thrilling enough to make him smile inwardly for a long time. Knowing the other’s preferences in secret also brought him joy; those were the beautiful days of youth.

Truly, those were wonderful times. Chu Ning shook off his unrealistic thoughts and refocused on the sign—what choice should he make?

“Didn’t we pass here earlier without any sign?” Tanya asked after a moment’s reflection, as the hanging sign left a bad impression on her.

The sign reminded her of the maze incident in the corridor, where a simple trick had fooled them into believing there was an endless sixth floor.

“That’s right, you remember correctly!” Chu Ning replied solemnly, fingers subtly fidgeting behind his back. He knew agreeing with Tanya was the right move, even if she was wrong in some respects, this had to be right.

Because he had no idea what had happened before; the other “self” always locked away memories, preventing him from knowing what had transpired.

This meant he never knew the other’s situation, resulting in a lack of shared information—almost like living in different worlds.

Without the interference of the sign, there wouldn’t be much to hesitate over—they could simply pick a side and leave. Fate was just a series of choices, after all, a gamble on who had the better chance of success.

“Could there be someone behind the scenes causing trouble again?”

“That possibility can’t be ruled out. But first, you must steady your mind. Once, twice—but not thrice or more—we will be the last ones laughing.”

Chu Ning spouted a sanctimonious platitude, half-feeding Tanya knowledge despite her showing no response.

They weren’t forgetful enough to lose memory of events so quickly. The puzzle hidden in the corridor had indeed troubled them briefly, but Chu Ning had reacted swiftly and solved the mystery.

Tanya gently pinched a corner of the sign. Her touch was light, but the sign was poorly attached. Judging by the appearance, it had just been stuck up; the glue was still fresh and hadn’t dried completely.

“There are quite a few people hiding in this chemical plant, including inspectors from the ‘Horror Expedition’ company. Posting these signs is the best example,” Chu Ning observed thoughtfully. A single misstep here could lead them to repeat past mistakes.

Simple tricks never went out of style; they only made people more indecisive.

“How many times do you think these two signs have been pasted?” Chu Ning couldn’t help but ask, as flashes of similar memories surfaced.

Tanya bit her lip, clearly conflicted. It was indeed a good question.

If the person who put them up was careless or negligent, it was possible the signs were misposted. The fault wouldn’t lie with them.

They could simply follow the normal choice and eventually reach the scene the designers wanted them to see—the puzzle would then be resolved.

This was the ideal scenario, where they could decide everything based on their choice: to seek the truth or to pursue the large reward. In such a case, they held the initiative.

The other scenario was far more complicated. Someone might have tampered with the signs on the wall, forcing them to guess which path was correct. Worse, there might be more than one person altering the signs, plunging them into an endless cycle of confusion.

You might think you’re on the fifth floor, but in reality, you could still be lost on the first.

“We’ll choose the path of truth!” Chu Ning decided after a moment of silent thought. He believed learning the truth was more meaningful to him.

He didn’t know what lay beyond the endpoint, and that was what made it all the more fascinating.

“You’re giving up the large sum of money? Remember, you were the one who insisted on becoming a whistleblower. Don’t disappear on us later,” Tanya admonished quietly. At first, she had dismissed the treasure legends as dreamy financial fantasies, but now, given how things had unfolded, money might be the best support.

She wasn’t willing to let all her efforts go to waste simply because Chu Ning changed course on a whim. She believed the money-marked path suited them better and deeply doubted Chu Ning’s choice.

Chu Ning rubbed his nose helplessly. Indeed, he couldn’t play the role of the other Chu Ning’s life.

“After careful consideration, I’ve decided to follow the path representing the truth!” Chu Ning announced solemnly. He truly felt sorrow for the vanished fortune—it saddened him deeply.

“Also, don’t shake my resolve anymore. Let’s get going quickly—that’s better than anything else!” Chu Ning cut off further discussion. He had no chance to keep debating and treated it as his conscience returning to him.

Behind them came the sound of frantic footsteps, silencing the two competitors instantly. Then, as if by tacit agreement, they fled in the same direction—the path of “truth” favored by Chu Ning, with a little cunning nudge from him.

Tanya heard the rustling behind growing louder and prepared to evade the threat again. The swarm was truly a relentless presence.

They didn’t wait for the swarm to fully reveal itself, instead strategically relocating ahead of time. Given the swarm’s devouring speed, their time was limited. If they failed to find the target within the allotted time, everything would be lost.

After Chu Ning and Tanya left, a figure wrapped entirely in white bandages emerged from the workshop. He watched Chu Ning’s departing silhouette, muttering bitterly, “Such useless fools, falling for such a simple trap!”

“Who’s the scoundrel that randomly posted this flyer?” The mysterious man yawned uncontrollably and tore down the two erroneous papers, which were filled with nonsense.

White paper scraps drifted to the ground, but before the littering accusation could take effect, the trash was instantly swallowed up by the X-07.

The mysterious man showed no fear of the suddenly appearing dangerous swarm but stood calmly amid the insects.

He pulled a remote from his casual clothes’ pocket and pressed a button lightly. A violent explosion instantly tore off the workshop’s roof, with a series of blasts loud enough to keep others away from danger.

Yet the mysterious man stared blankly at the explosion site, showing no intention of leaving. His face was even turned toward the blast—a seemingly mad act.

This distance was close enough for the explosion to sweep him away from the mortal realm. A true man doesn’t turn away from an explosion because he’s already dead.

The sparks from the explosion completely engulfed him, and finally, a whisper floated in the air: “I just went to the bathroom. What exactly happened during that time? This scene is quite lively—the evidence-destroying explosives detonated prematurely, throwing everything into chaos!”