After searching behind the staircase for a while, Chen Shang found no hidden entrance.
"Looks like the entrance is behind the other staircase," he mused.
But he wasn't worried. There was still one last clue to collect, and even if he found the entrance now, they'd still need that final clue before making their escape.
As Chen Shang headed toward the center of the first floor, he crossed paths with the other three survivors, who were panting heavily, completely exhausted. They didn't even notice him slip by.
"Damn it! That idiot!" the young man cursed, kicking over a decorative vase, which shattered on the floor. "Now the boss is stronger, and we've lost the only weapon capable of hurting it."
Chen Shang merely shook his head at the young man's outburst.
With no time to rest, the group took a few deep breaths and hurried to the fireplace in the center. There, etched on the inner wall of the fireplace, they found the final clue:
"Death conceals terror, but beneath death lies salvation."
With all four clues gathered, the remaining four survivors now faced a much bigger problem: how to survive the rest of the time.
[The clues are all collected, but the boss is in rage mode. This is going to be tough.]
[Didn't the streamer already figure out the clues? And they have the key. Can't they just escape through the second route?]
[It's not that simple.]
The young man pulled out another piece of parchment. As it caught fire, it revealed an image of a massive black creature crouched on the ground next to a pile of scattered bones, with only a few remnants of skulls left.
"Good thing it's daytime. Even after eating one of us, the monster still needs to sleep. As long as we keep dodging it between rooms on the first and second floors, we should be able to survive," the young man sighed in relief, staring at the sleeping wolf.
But Chen Shang wasn't convinced.
The clues had clearly warned them to avoid confronting the monster directly, and now that one of them had been devoured, the balance had shifted. Things wouldn't be so easy anymore.
Despite his reservations, the group decided to hide in one of the first-floor rooms, locking all the doors and settling in a room with multiple exits. Then, they waited.
The older man pulled out his pocket watch, its ticking the only sound in the tense silence. Everyone was on edge, knowing that the most dangerous part of the stream was about to begin—nightfall, when the monster would be fully unleashed, with no restrictions.
Tick, tick, tick. The sound of the pocket watch seemed to grow louder and louder, amplifying the fear in their hearts.
Finally, the time came. From above, on the second floor, a piercing wolf's howl echoed, signaling that the terrifying creature had awakened.
Chen Shang listened carefully to the sounds coming from upstairs.
This time, something was different. Previously, when the wolf boss awoke, it would unleash a series of loud, continuous crashes as it smashed through the doors, trying to break free from the maze of rooms.
But now, the crashes were sporadic, though each one was louder and more powerful than before.
"Before, it took the wolf two or three hits to break through a door. Now, it only needs one," Chen Shang thought grimly.
But something else was bothering him.
The sounds were getting closer, moving toward them—but they were coming from the second floor.
Finally, the crashing stopped—right above their heads.
Chen Shang's eyes widened in realization. He grabbed the older man next to him and shouted, "RUN! It's coming down!"
[???]
[What's coming down?]
The audience didn't realize what was happening, and neither did the other three survivors—only the older man, pulled by Chen Shang, started running.
Then, with a thunderous crash, the entire ceiling above them was torn open, sending dust flying everywhere, and through the hole jumped a massive black werewolf.
The three survivors were so terrified by the sudden change that they were paralyzed with fear for a moment before scrambling toward the door, using both their hands and feet to get away.
But Chen Shang remained composed. While pulling the older man along, he reached into his backpack, pulled out a camera, and aimed it at the wolf, pressing the shutter.
With a "click," the just-landed monster was frozen in place.
The five seconds that followed felt like the countdown to death, as everyone scrambled madly to escape.
Those five seconds seemed to pass in the blink of an eye. The wolf crouched low to the ground, let out a ferocious roar, and then charged at them like an arrow.
The wolf's claws were not just confined to the ground—they gripped the walls and ceiling, using any foothold to propel itself forward.
The beast's speed was terrifyingly fast.
The doors they had hurriedly shut behind them were shattered in less than half a second as the wolf broke through with a single swipe of its claws.
Death was looming closer than ever.
[It's GG time, folks.]
[It's literally tearing down walls and ignoring obstacles. How are they supposed to survive? Might as well accept defeat.]
[It's over, might as well start crying now. Why are you still standing there?]
[It's over, might as well cheer now. Why are you still crying?]
Seeing the office lady lagging behind, about to be torn apart, Chen Shang reluctantly aimed his camera once again at the werewolf. With another "click," the final roll of film froze the wolf in place, briefly immobilizing it against the wall.
This was the last chance to freeze the monster, and those precious five seconds felt like a lifeline—albeit a very fragile one.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]