Finally, when everyone was about to collapse from exhaustion, the deathly tolling sound ceased, and the wolf's howling disappeared.
Everyone collapsed onto the ground, drained.
After regaining a bit of strength, the young man stood up, opened the door, and found the emaciated old man lying on the floor, fast asleep. Suppressing his fear, the young man began searching the old man's body.
[Uh, why is he searching the boss's body too?]
[I get it! I figured it out!]
[Please explain, great one!]
[Listen carefully: the clue said there's more than one escape route, meaning there are two exits. The phrase 'life in death' suggests that the key to the second exit is hidden on the boss.]
[Genius!]
[Wait, does that mean the streamer knew from the start that the key was on the boss?]
[Holy smokes, the streamer is terrifying!]
[Respect!]
The young man searched the boss for a long time but found nothing.
"Could I have misunderstood the clue? Maybe it doesn't mean what I thought," he muttered, frowning deeply.
Chen Shang, noticing the young man's fruitless search, quietly slipped away and headed toward the direction he had previously fled from, intending to return to the first floor to search for the final clue.
The young man, after finding nothing, eventually gave up. Meanwhile, the office lady and the middle-aged man cautiously circled around the seemingly harmless old man.
Even at this point, their hearts were still racing from the fear of death that had taken hold of them.
[Hey, look at Blondie.]
[He seems to have a bold idea.]
[Remember the suggestion to kill the boss? Well, someone's taking that up.]
"Why waste time looking for clues? Just kill it already!" Blondie shouted, grabbing everyone's attention.
Blondie, the thug, had somehow found a rusty axe and was dragging it toward the boss as he spoke.
"NO!!!" The young man yelled, trying to stop Blondie, while Chen Shang swiftly made his escape.
Chen Shang knew that with Blondie's lack of brainpower and brute tendencies, no amount of reasoning would stop him. Only physical intervention could, but it was too late for that.
The rusty axe came down hard, sinking into the old man's frail chest. But after only a few centimeters, the axe got stuck and wouldn't budge.
Just as Blondie tried to pull out the axe, the old man's eyes suddenly snapped open. His body rapidly expanded, and his claws shot through Blondie's body, skewering him like a kebab.
"AAAAHHHH!" Blondie screamed, but his cries were abruptly cut short as the enormous werewolf tore his head off, flinging it aside. His headless body dangled from the wolf's claws, blood spraying everywhere.
[Due to the reckless attack of a member of your group, the monster has been enraged and will awaken immediately, targeting all players.]
The mechanical voice echoed in the minds of the remaining four.
By now, Chen Shang was nearly on the first floor.
The other three finally snapped out of their shock and rushed toward the stairs in a desperate bid to escape.
However, instead of immediately chasing after them, the massive wolf began devouring Blondie's corpse. With each bite, its body grew visibly larger. Its once white fur gradually turned pitch black, and its previously dull eyes now gleamed with bloodthirsty rage.
[Look at the host, didn't even glance back. Cold as ever.]
[I knew we shouldn't have attacked the boss. Now look at this mess.]
[Didn't that guy upstairs say we should kill the boss? What a twist.]
[Woke up from a nightmare only to realize… I was the fool all along.]
After descending to the first floor, Chen Shang didn't immediately head toward the central clue point. Instead, he circled behind the staircase, searching the hidden areas.
[What's he doing now?]
[No idea, I can't understand the host's strategy at all.]
Chen Shang explained as he searched:
"There are two escape routes. One is right in front of us—the main entrance. The other is below us. This means the second exit is hidden underground, most likely behind one of the staircases."
As he spoke, Chen Shang pulled a golden key from his sleeve.
"'Life in death' means the key to the second escape route was on the boss. I found it earlier."
"I just didn't expect anyone in this group to be foolish enough to disregard the opening clue that clearly warned us—combat is for the strong. It was obvious from the start that the boss couldn't be killed by weaklings like us."
"Another clue mentioned that prolonged starvation weakens the boss. This implies that after feeding, the boss would become stronger. The boss has likely reached its second phase by now. That clue was also a reminder that while the boss is feeding, it won't immediately chase us, so this is the best time to escape."
"So, do you understand now? If you do, hand over those coins!" he said with a sly smile.
[Got it! Next time for sure!]
[Got it! Next time for sure!]
[Got it! Next time for sure!]
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]