Only ten minutes until midnight. The dead silence was only broken by the tick-tock of the wall clock, striking his nerves.
David's eyes locked onto [Rule 4] and [Rule 9]. Both involved the creepy [Black Bear] on the sofa. "If you feel scared, please hug it tightly?" David looked at the bear, which seemed to be grinning at him in the dark. Alarm bells rang in his head. The ink on this rule was too fresh. It was highly suspicious.
Anyone else would have to gamble their life. But not David.
"[Infinite Deduction], activate!"
David chanted in his mind. Instantly, he felt a sharp needle pierce deep into his brain. The intense pain made him grunt. But at the same time, everything around him froze. The second hand of the clock stopped in mid-air.
His consciousness was pulled into a pure white space. The scene played out like a fast-forwarded movie:
[Simulation Starts]In the vision, David pretends to be scared and slowly walks toward the bear. He reaches out and hugs the furry toy.The moment they touch, the bear's soft body turns as hard as steel. Its stomach rips open into a bloody mouth full of fangs. Countless black tentacles burst out, instantly piercing David's organs."Disobedient children... must die..." The bear roars with hatred, biting off David's head in one gulp.[Simulation Ends]
"Gasp!" David snapped his eyes open, stumbling back two steps uncontrollably. A drop of dark red blood trickled from his nose. A wave of dizziness hit his brain. His mental power was truly consumed.
"I can only deduce 7 more times..." David wiped the blood, looking at the bear with deep caution. Rule 4 was fake! It was a polluted death trap! The bear wasn't a friend to hug; it was the most dangerous monster in the house!
Combining [Rule 10: Father hates disobedient children] and [Rule 7: Father's room is forbidden], David's brilliant mind quickly pieced together the backstory: "This was a single-parent family. The father was severely abusive. The bear was the only toy of the child who was tortured to death. After the child died, its resentment possessed the bear. The 'Polluted Rules' were written by the dead child or the bear to take revenge on adults!"
Just then.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Heavy knocks echoed in the dead living room. David shot a look at the clock—it was exactly 12:00 Midnight.
[Rule 2: After 12:00 Midnight, if someone knocks on the door, absolutely do not open it.]
"Thump! Thump! Thump!" The knocking became frantic. A woman's miserable cry came from outside. "David! David, is that you?! Save me, I'm so scared! Open the door!"
David trembled. That voice... It was Nicole!
"Why is Nicole outside? Was she sent to this dungeon too?" David's mind raced. If he didn't open the door, would she die out there? If he opened it, he would violate Rule 2.
David walked to the door and looked through the peephole. The hallway was pitch black. There was only a blurry silhouette of a woman slapping the door, her voice cracking with terror.
If it were the David from a few hours ago—the one who was still foolishly dreaming of giving her an iPhone 17—he would have opened it without hesitation. But now, only a freezing, mocking smirk remained on David's lips.
"I don't care if that's you or not out there..." David spoke through the wood, his voice as cold as a demon from hell. "Since the rules say don't open it, you can go ahead and die outside."
The moment David refused, the scene outside the peephole changed. The "Nicole" suddenly exploded like a bloody balloon, turning into a writhing pile of minced meat, making a hateful chewing sound.
It was a trap disguised by the monster. Relying on absolute calmness and cruelty, David survived the first deadly wave.
But he didn't relax. He knew the real test was just beginning. The Black Bear on the sofa had turned its head, staring straight at him.
It was about to propose the fatal [Rule 9: Hide-and-seek].