The trust between people in this room had been utterly incinerated, leaving behind nothing but the ashes of suspicion. Every glance exchanged carried a ruthless question: Was the person beside them - the one who had just survived the rain of blood with them - actually a demon lurking beneath human skin?
Before the panic could settle, An Yue flicked her wrist. Instantly, an hourglass crafted from bleached white bone manifested, hovering in mid-air. The girl flashed that macabre smile again, revealing tiny, ivory teeth:
-"The game has a time limit, everyone. Let's see... ten minutes!"
-"How... how long? Ten minutes?" A woman gasped in horror, her scream stifling in her throat.
-"Insane! There are dozens of us and you only give us ten minutes?"
Curses and lamentations erupted like crashing waves. But An Yue didn't care in the slightest; she lay sprawled innocently on the back of her giant stuffed horse, watching the chaotic drama unfold as if viewing a comedy.
Amidst the cacophony, my mind was racing at full throttle. I muttered the riddle again: "Something masquerading as one of you, with four limbs." Four limbs? She used the word "something," meaning the imposter didn't necessarily have to be a living creature. It could be an object, an image, or any shadow within this room. I scanned my surroundings, trying to narrow down the targets. The crowd continued to clamor until the heterochromatic girl and those with experience roared for order.
As a forced silence fell over the room, Chu Hao Cheng , standing beside me, leaned in and whispered:
-"Hey kid, could it be... that the imposter is An Yue herself?"
His words immediately gained traction with those nearby:
-"That's right! She's the demon; she's disguised herself to trick us!"
-"I thought so too. From the moment she set the riddle, she looked the most suspicious."
Chu Hao Cheng turned to me, waiting:
-"What do you think, brother?"
-"Perhaps..." I replied briefly.
Truthfully, my heart was hammering against my ribs. A deduction regarding the stuffed horse began to take shape, but in this world, a mistake meant death. There were no second chances. I looked at the fine sand trickling down-exactly seven minutes left. Time was strangling us.
Chu Hao Cheng's influence pushed one man's courage to its breaking point. He stepped out from the crowd, his breath ragged but his eyes filled with grim determination:
-"I'll... I'll be the one to answer."
-"Are you sure?" someone asked anxiously. "If you're wrong..."
The man trembled, but forced a brave smile:
-"It's fine. I trust my intuition. Just stay there and wait for me."
-"Good luck..." A lone voice called out from the back, sounding like a premature eulogy.
The man slowly approached An Yue, who was still burying her head in the fur of the giant plush horse. In that moment, the oxygen seemed to vanish from the room.
It was so silent that I could hear the rhythmic thumping of my own heart. He cleared his throat, grasping for the last shreds of his composure:
-"I... I have the answer."
The playful girl suddenly froze. Her body moved mechanically, her head snapping around to face him with the sickening sound of grinding joints.
That gaze made everyone's heart skip a beat; their blood turned to ice.
-"The answer? Are you sure?"
The man hesitated for a split second, but the gamble for his life forced him to be firm:
-"Yes, I'm sure."
The moment the confirmation left his lips, An Yue's clear emerald eyes were swallowed by a deep, dense darkness. A soul-chilling aura of slaughter radiated outward, forcing the crowd to instinctively recoil.
The girl grinned, but this time the corners of her mouth tore open all the way to her ears, revealing jagged rows of razor-sharp teeth.
-"Tell... me... your... answer..." Her voice was no longer that of a child; it was hoarse, distorted, like rusted metal scraping together, echoing through the room.
The man shuddered, the terror acting like an invisible hand clutching his throat, rendering him immobile. The stench of death grew pungent, suffocatingly thick.
He swallowed hard, his arm shaking violently as he pointed directly at the distorted face before him:
-"The imposter is... it's YOU!"
Time seemed to grind to a halt. The entire room plunged into a frigid ice cellar.
An Yue wasn't angry; she merely rolled her eyes with a wicked cunning. Then, suddenly, pitch-black tentacles, like writhing vipers, burst through her skin, squirming and drenched in blood.
The man who had been so bold moments ago collapsed to the floor like a felled tree. His legs shook uncontrollably as he stared up at the monstrosity taking shape.
The metallic stench of gore hit our noses. Piercing screams began to erupt from the crowd.
-"CONGRATULATIONS! YOU... GUESSED... WRONG!"
Her laughter echoed like a death sentence. My heart plummeted. It was sickening that she used the word "congratulations" for an execution.
In that instant, the stuffed horse in her arms also shuddered and moved. The coarse plush fabric split open, revealing a pair of glowing crimson eyes staring intently at its prey.
The man frantically used both hands and feet to scramble back toward the door, his screams raw and desperate:
-"PLEASE... NO! DON'T KILL ME! PLEASE...!"
But An Yue did not stop.
She dragged her slimy tentacles across the floor, advancing slowly, savoring the absolute terror of the doomed man. The rest of us could only huddle in the corner, holding our breath and praying in utter helplessness.
One step, two steps... An Yue drew closer, the sound of her heels dragging on the floor creating a gruesome scuffling noise. The poor man swung his limbs wildly to ward off the encroaching entity.
In a fit of total desperation, he tremblingly yanked the wedding ring from his finger and threw it with all his might at the girl's deformed face. But the tiny piece of metal merely grazed her pallid skin and fell to the floor with a hollow clink, completely useless against the demon's presence.
Suddenly, the black tentacles lashed out like lethal ropes, binding his limbs and neck tightly, jerking him backward.
-"NO! DON'T... PLEASE... PLEASE SPARE ME!!" The desperate scream was instantly muffled. The tentacles began to constrict with terrifying force.
The dry, sickening crack... crack... of breaking bones rang out, mingling with the sound of tearing flesh. The man only managed a choked gasp before being swallowed by An Yue's wrath.
Splurt!
Crimson blood sprayed across the room, creating a revolting red rain no less gruesome than the scene outside. A few hot droplets splashed onto my white shirt, soaking into the fabric and spreading into agonizing stains of red.
The horrific spectacle struck the minds of the survivors like a heavy blow. Total collapse was etched on every face. Some fell to their knees, clutching their heads and covering their ears to escape this insane reality.
Even Chu Hao Cheng - the burly man beside me - couldn't take it. He tremblingly raised his tattooed arm to cover his eyes, not daring to look at the wreckage that remained of his ill-fated comrade.