Chapter Sixty-Nine: A Deadly Sprint

As Mu You’s pained but stifled groans sounded, An Ruxiang opened her eyes to find him gritting his lips, refusing to cry out, exerting all his strength to draw the toxins flaring up in the others’ bodies into himself.

That time, all five had been carrying out an execution for the first time; the concentration of the Meridian Soul-Destroyer Worm’s secretion was at its peak, and Mu You was enduring a dose five times as strong!

Watching Mu You suffer so severely, the five were suddenly reminded of that hellish torment they themselves had once endured. Admiration and emotion began to well up in their eyes.

A wave of guilt rose uncontrollably in An Ruxiang’s heart. Mu You had already saved them all from the deadly trap of hunting ghosts. Now, in the middle of the night, he had come again out of pure goodwill to detoxify them. Despite her own pride and aloofness, he still chose to help her. Frustration mingled with a new, inexplicable emotion, and as it surged within her, her teeth, which had been biting Mu You’s shoulder, gradually loosened. She gently licked his wound with the tip of her tongue.

The agony brought a numbing exhaustion that crashed endlessly against Mu You’s nerves. After he had exhausted himself absorbing the remaining toxins, he finally lost consciousness.

Seeing Mu You’s head droop forward and tumble from the sink, the others hurriedly rushed over to steady him.

“Dad, what’s wrong with him?” Xuan Yao asked anxiously, turning to Hu Lei.

“Silly girl, that’s the pain of execution—at five times the usual intensity. For Brother Mu You to have merely passed out from the pain is already a marvel!” Hu Lei checked Mu You’s pulse and sighed. Hearing this, Xuan Yao’s eyes reddened with sorrow, but just as she sniffed, Hu Lei quickly covered her mouth.

“What—” Xu Chen began, stunned, about to ask Hu Lei why, but An Ruxiang silenced him even faster.

The atmosphere instantly grew tense.

He Jing, seeing the two strongest among them suddenly so anxious, sensed something was very wrong. She quietly moved closer, guarding Mu You at the rear.

The five remained almost motionless, the air growing unnaturally silent and eerie.

Thud, thud, thud...

The dull, rhythmic clang of metal striking the floor sounded. Ripples began to form on the water in the sink. This time, everyone could feel the tremors clearly beneath their feet.

Something was rapidly approaching them—judging by the sound, it was definitely no small thing.

They all held their breath; the more timid Xuan Yao even pressed her hands over her mouth and nose to keep from making a single sound. Panic began to ferment. In the Death Row Playground, venturing out at night was forbidden—it was nearly the same as trying to escape. If caught, the punishment would be lethal.

Closer it came, and closer still. They pressed themselves against the wall, ceiling dust sifting down as the tremors grew strong enough to vibrate through the wall into their bodies.

No one knew how long it lasted before those terrifying footsteps finally began to recede.

“Good lord, what the hell was that thing?” Xu Chen patted his chest frantically, his voice trembling with fear.

No one answered; for all the time they'd been at Death Row Playground, this was the first time any had encountered such a thing at night.

Suddenly, a green laser shot straight onto Xu Chen’s forehead. He jolted in fright, ducking his head. The laser struck the mirror, instantly scattering into myriad beams, refracted by the tiled restroom. The five were fully exposed in the light.

It was over! All five screamed silently in their hearts. That thing was blocking the door, the surroundings sealed—there was no way out.

After a fleeting second of silence, a metallic disc spinning with 360-degree lasers whirred inside. The lasers stabbed into their eyes, dazzlingly bright!

“Get down!” An Ruxiang suddenly realized what was happening and shouted.

Everyone dove to the floor, just as a fierce burst of gunfire erupted overhead. Bullets rained down in a radial storm from the disc, shredding the women’s restroom into a scene of utter devastation.

An Ruxiang rolled her lithe, boneless body beneath the disc, balancing it on her toes, spinning to keep it from dropping. If it landed, the three-dimensional gunfire would doom them all.

“Quick—get away from that wall!” Hu Lei roared desperately.

Almost simultaneously, the wall they’d been leaning against was smashed open by a massive figure. A metallic monster, half human and half horse with the head of a wolf, burst in with a howl. For a moment, everyone was stunned.

Upon spotting its prey, the beast emitted an excited, dolphin-like chitter from its wolven maw, thrusting a trident straight at them.

“Run, damn it!” An Ruxiang gave Xu Chen a swift kick, swearing involuntarily. She sprang up on one foot, the other leg arcing up in a perfect split, still keeping the disc sparking above.

A flash of steel whirled—no one knew where An Ruxiang had produced the silver dagger, but with a ringing clash she parried the monster’s attack. Still, her delicate form couldn’t withstand the overwhelming force—she dropped straight to her knees, her legs twisted at an impossible angle.

With a muffled groan, An Ruxiang glanced sideways to see the others had used her distraction to spirit Mu You out of the restroom. Now free of worries, she hurled the disc straight into the wolf-monster’s gaping maw and bolted.

Immediately, the sound of bullets exploding inside metal and the monster’s agonized howls echoed from behind.

There was no time to wait for the elevator; they all made a desperate dash for the stairs.

“Are you alright? What was that thing?!” Hu Lei shouted to An Ruxiang, who was limping along behind the group, barely managing to keep pace on one leg. Without a word, he swept her up onto his back.

“I’m fine, just pulled a muscle. That thing is neither man nor beast—its entire body is armored, yet it’s alive. For Death Row Playground to use such top-tier technology just for security, their resources are truly terrifying!”

“But still, isn’t it a bit much to attack without warning? No, wait, there wasn’t even a warning—just straight to the kill!”

Bang bang bang...

Before Xu Chen could finish complaining, high-velocity bullets zipped over their heads. The monster behind, its four limbs fused into wheels, was racing after them like a motorcycle. The wolf’s mane bristled, opening countless gun ports that unleashed a wild barrage at the six of them.

In the hail of bullets, the group dodged death by a hair’s breadth with every step. The destruction they left in their wake was staggering. In the blink of an eye, they made it to the first floor’s death row living quarters. What was truly bizarre was that, despite the uproar, none of the inmates on the other side of the wall seemed to react.

“There’s no time—quick, get to my room!” An Ruxiang called, glancing back urgently. But the monster was already almost upon them, and there were still ten meters to her Room Zero.

“Don’t hold back—use your powers! Hu Lei, throw me ahead—I need time to open the door! ‘Prajna Butterfly Dream!’”

Without hesitation, Hu Lei spun his waist and hurled An Ruxiang forward.

As she sailed over their heads, a jade-banded emerald butterfly streaked toward the monster’s wolf head, scattering a trail of shimmering green powder. Instantly, the beast’s attack faltered.

“Night’s Desire: Birth of Ecstasy!” Xuan Yao shouted, spitting a mouthful of blood mist, while He Jing and Xu Chen clasped hands.

The blood mist spread, robbing the monster of any targets. Water vapor thickened in the air, and the temperature plummeted.

“Water Dance: Frost Coffin!”

A giant crystal coffin of ice crashed down, pinning the monster to the ground. Seizing the moment, Hu Lei grabbed the three still writhing from their earlier ordeal and made one last dash.

At the critical moment, the monster’s jaws gaped wide, launching a tracking missile straight at Hu Lei’s back.

“No!” An Ruxiang saw it all and screamed.

Hu Lei caught the terror in her eyes, didn’t look back, and hurled the three he carried into the room ahead of himself.

“Great Vajra—Vandhamma!”

Boom!

Transformed into a golden arhat, Hu Lei was instantly engulfed in flame, then blasted through the doorway by the shockwave at an even greater speed.

“Shut the door!” An Ruxiang commanded.

The monster burst free of its icy coffin. Seeing its prey had returned to their den, it roared furiously to the sky, mouth charging with a laser cannon that it fired at the group with devastating force.

But it was too late—Room Zero’s deadly door had already slammed shut!