{Run!}
{At your whispered command, you and your sister ran downstairs with all your strength.}
{Reaching the first floor, you pushed the door open forcefully and then closed it behind you. You grabbed your sister, who wanted to keep running, and signaled her to stay silent. Then you led her down the stairs to the basement on level B2.}
{The basement was filled with parked cars. You and your sister ducked behind them. Just then, you heard heavy footsteps from above, which soon faded into the distance.}
{You both let out a sigh of relief. Your sister asked what was going on.}
{You shook your head and said nothing.}
{You continued slowly moving deeper into the basement.}
{While moving, you spotted a man in a Black Trench Coat, pulling a rolling suitcase.}
{You and your sister immediately stopped and observed him in secret, guessing he had just returned from a business trip, arriving home this late.}
{You watched as the man entered the elevator.}
{Three minutes later, the sound of intense fighting erupted.}
{Two minutes after that, the noise stopped, and the man returned to the basement dragging his suitcase.}
{You noticed the suitcase looked much heavier than before. It couldn't be pulled at an angle and had to be dragged upright. Drops of liquid dripped from it onto the ground.}
{You sensed something was wrong. The liquid dripping from the suitcase didn't seem like water, it looked like blood!}
{The man left with the suitcase and reappeared three minutes later with a new one, entering the elevator again.}
{Five minutes later, he returned once more, dragging another heavy suitcase that dripped with blood.}
{You and your sister prepared to get far away from this man, but suddenly, you heard your parents calling for help. The voices came from all directions, near and far.}
{You're dead!}
{Simulation End. Duration: 9 hours and 13 minutes. Current Mental Value: 52!}
Consciousness Return. Andrew furrowed his brow.
Another Man in Black Trench Coat?
Was he also a forbidden existence, one banned by the rules?
And what about the voices of his parents at the end? Were their bodies inside those suitcases?
Did the Man in Black Trench Coat kill his parents?
Were their ghosts calling out to him for help?
And then he died. Was it his parents who killed him, or did he violate some Rule-Based Horror Tale regulation?
A flood of questions surged in his mind.
Andrew had thought for sure this time he could clear the stage. After all, he had managed to escape.
At the very least, it would test whether escaping meant success.
But who could have predicted that halfway through, a Man in Black Trench Coat would suddenly appear?
"It seems there's probably still an undiscovered rule in the basement!"
Andrew frowned even deeper.
It was likely that he had triggered a rule, leading to his death.
Perhaps he was supposed to stop the Man in Black Trench Coat from killing his parents.
Also, judging from the outcome—even if he successfully escaped, if his parents were killed, he would still die.
"So, simply running away isn't enough!"
"I still have to uncover the truth behind everything to clear this stage!"
"And even if my parents are suspicious, I still can't let them die!"
"This is going to be very difficult..."
His brow furrowed tighter and tighter. While Andrew was deep in thought, the car had already arrived at Dream Times Square.
Getting out of the car, Andrew seemed a bit dazed.
His sister, thinking he was carsick, suggested they find a place to sit for a while.
Andrew nodded silently.
Once seated, his sister saw that he was mostly fine, just dizzy, and said she would go buy him something to drink.
Andrew nodded again.
Right now, he truly didn't want to move. He needed to think about what to do next.
Going to see Dad again was meaningless. He still wouldn't figure out what Dad actually did for work and might even raise suspicion, triggering dangerous consequences.
Probing Mom would be no better. It wouldn't uncover the truth and might instead alarm her, causing her and Dad to act against him and his sister prematurely.
And now there was a new variable—the Man in Black Trench Coat.
Who was this man? Why did he want to kill his parents? What was their relationship?
The tangled web of clues and connections was overwhelming. It was a complete mess.
Everything seemed to have reached a dead end.
The more he thought, the more Andrew felt like he had no way to proceed.
He shook his head hard, forcing himself to break out of his habitual thinking to abandon the either-or mindset.
To crack this case, he needed a completely new approach. Otherwise, he'd only sink deeper into confusion.
Meanwhile, the spectators watching the livestream grew more worried at the sight of Andrew's demeanor and state.
"Hang in there, Andrew! Don't let them beat you!"
"I don't know why he suddenly looks so down, but I hope he bounces back soon. There are only three challengers left now!"
"Come on, Andrew! The blackout started at 4 p.m., and six challengers have already died because they failed to find the fifth Rule Note and didn't leave their homes in time!"
As more challengers fell, the public's mood plummeted.
Andrew, who had made the most progress, had become a hero and beacon of hope to the people.
But now, seeing him so downcast, a chill ran through everyone's hearts.
If Andrew also failed, there really would be no hope of clearing this Rule Horror.
The remaining two challengers, while competent, had mainly survived due to luck. So far, they hadn't encountered anything overly complex.
And they had only found four Rule Notes—surviving only because they happened not to be home at the time.
Everyone knew such good fortune couldn't last forever.
And luck alone wasn't enough to survive a Rule Horror.
Once that luck ran out, they could die at any moment.
At the same time, leaders around the world were also frowning.
In the M Country's Rule Horror Special Investigation Center, Director Smith stared at the screen where Andrew, overwhelmed and lost, appeared unable to go on. After some hesitation, he decided to immediately activate Plan B!
Plan B involved shifting the focus of the Research Team from monitoring the Challenger Live Stream Room to the real-world incursion of the Rule Horror—facing it with sheer numbers, guessing, gambling.
Sacrificing countless citizens to gain even a sliver of hope to clear the tale.
Plan B was typically launched only when it was clear the challengers were finished, at the edge of total failure.
Its purpose was to buy time.
To launch a preemptive strike against the invading Rule Horror before public morale hit rock bottom.
If the challengers all failed and massive casualties occurred in the real world, public despair could lead to total chaos.
This had happened before. That's why most agencies had contingency strategies in place.
And that contingency was Plan B, also known as the Death Squad Plan!
Similar scenes played out in other countries.
Even L Country had fully prepared for a Rule Horror invasion.
In fact, preparations had been underway since the very start of the livestream.
Andrew had already won L Country far more time than expected.
Now there were no more concerns, everyone could only hope Andrew would pull himself together and succeed.
Countless people were silently praying for him.
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]