Translator: CinderTL
This was the side of the restroom, adjacent to a small garden-like area with young trees and low-growing plants—an ideal hiding spot.
Having gotten his bearings, Liang Shan crouched low and began creeping toward the sports field, moving as quietly as possible to avoid alerting Meng Yumian.
Though the distance was only a few dozen meters, he proceeded with extreme caution. As he passed near the restroom door, he caught a glimpse of something red out of the corner of his eye.
Instinctively, he turned his head to look. In the next instant, a chill crawled up his spine.
A Red-Clad Woman, drenched to the bone, stood atop the restroom.
Yes, not behind the door, but on the roof itself! She perched on the concrete rain shelter canopy directly above the restroom entrance, her head bowed low, her long, dripping hair obscuring her face. Her shoulders slumped as if her spine were broken, and her tattered red dance dress clung to her body, water dripping incessantly from its hem.
If he had exited through the door just moments ago, she would have "seen" him.
Liang Shan's face paled, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably. He dragged himself forward in small, faltering steps toward the sports field.
The edge of the garden was still thirty meters from the field—a wide-open expanse of flat ground with no cover whatsoever.
The moment Liang Shan broke into a run, Meng Yumian would immediately spot him.
"No, I can't wait any longer. If I'm fast enough, she won't be able to catch me." Liang Shan lightly slapped his leg, desperately trying to boost his confidence. "She's at least a hundred meters away, and that doesn't even account for her reaction time. I can do this. Just... just make it to the playground. She can't hurt me there."
From his position, he could vaguely make out the blurry figures of Jiang Cheng and the others. The fact that Meng Yumian wasn't targeting the clustered group but had her eyes locked on him alone spoke volumes.
"Brother Jiang was trying to tell me... the playground is the Safe District." Recalling Jiang Cheng's words, Liang Shan's admiration for the man deepened.
Adjusting his stance, Liang Shan suddenly burst out from his hiding place and sprinted toward the playground as if his life depended on it.
The heavy rain and his concealment among the trees had kept him hidden from the others until he broke cover.
"Liang Shan!" Shen Mengyun exclaimed in surprise. After so long without any sign of him, she had begun to fear the worst.
"Hurry!" Fatty shouted, his excitement bubbling over at the sight of Liang Shan still alive.
Twenty meters.
Ten meters.
As Liang Shan drew closer to the playground, his face flushed with color, as if he had snatched life back from the brink.
He lunged forward, his outstretched hand just inches from Jiang Cheng's, when—
Thud!
Liang Shan, sprinting at breakneck speed, slammed into an invisible barrier, his momentum bringing him to a sudden, jarring halt.
He stood less than two meters from the playground, his hand frozen in mid-reach, his body straining forward, but his feet rooted to the ground as if encased in concrete.
A crimson figure stood silently behind him.
Two hands descended onto his shoulders, their long, sharp nails dripping fresh blood.
Time seemed to freeze.
"Gulp." Liang Shan swallowed hard, his face a mask of terror and bitter resentment as he stared fixedly at the ground.
Two meters.
Just two meters!
He could have reached the playground and ended this nightmare.
No one could have anticipated Meng Yumian's terrifying speed. In an instant, she had materialized behind Liang Shan.
Liang Shan dared not move. Jiang Cheng and the others held their breath. Even the raging storm seemed to pause in deference to this moment.
The sharp nails pierced his skin, a chilling warning.
But what terrified Liang Shan even more was the sensation on his shoulders. Two Ghost Hands were clamped down on them, and between his shoulders and the hands, he could feel something round and squishy being pressed against him.
It was... an eyeball!
Not just one, but two—one beneath each hand!
As the Ghost Hands writhed, he could even feel the eyeballs slowly rolling against his skin, their peculiar, jelly-like texture.
On the brink of life and death, his mind raced faster than ever before, instantly piecing together the truth.
So, this is the real rock-paper-scissors game.
Each Ghost Hand held an eyeball, but only one was real—the one Meng Yumian had snatched and clutched in her hand before she died. The other was a fake—the glass eye they had taken from him earlier.
Now, he had to choose the hand holding the real eyeball.
If he succeeded, everything would be fine. They could all go home, back to their families, and live in peace.
But if he carelessly chose the hand with the fake eye, Meng Yumian would gouge out his corresponding eye to replace the one she had lost. Then both her eyes would be real.
His heart was already pounding wildly. Intuition told him that both eyeballs beneath the Ghost Hands were fake. No matter which hand he chose, he would lose.
This wasn't a fair gamble at all.
From the moment Meng Yumian caught him, Liang Shan was as good as dead.
Despair spread through him, and a simmering hatred began to ignite in his upturned eyes, his pupils turning bloodshot. "Why? Why did I have to be just two meters short?" he cried.
"Everyone else is alive... Why? Why did you have to grab me?"
The two Ghost Hands slowly rose again, clenching into fists. Their preparation time was over; now it was Liang Shan's turn to choose.
Just as the Ghost Hands withdrew, Jiang Cheng noticed a strange glint flicker in Liang Shan's eyes and immediately shot him a warning glance.
He couldn't speak; doing so would only complicate matters further.
Moreover, a faint red line had begun to materialize on the ground, encircling the entire sports field. It divided this perpetually rainy world into two distinct realms: inside the field and outside it.
This crimson line marked the boundary between life and death.
Yet its sudden appearance might also be seen as a temptation for Liang Shan.
Liang Shan bent his knees, lowering his body slightly, his eyes gradually turning wild as he stared fixedly at the red line on the ground.
It was now clear to everyone: he intended to force his way through, charge into the Safe District, and escape the game.
"Idiot," Wang Qi muttered under his breath.
"Liang Shan!" Shen Mengyun couldn't help but shout. "Calm down! You're just asking for—"
Before she could finish, Liang Shan suddenly kicked off the ground with tremendous force, leaping rather than charging forward. The desperate power unleashed by a man pushed to the brink was awe-inspiring.
But the moment Liang Shan landed inside the red line, everyone's expressions shifted. A torrential rain of blood accompanied his descent, splattering the ground with a pungent, metallic scent.
Even more horrifying, Liang Shan's right eye had become a gaping, bloody socket upon impact.
His momentum carried him forward, and he crashed lifelessly to the ground.
"Hiss—" Huai Yi, standing closest, couldn't help but gasp. Liang Shan lay sprawled on the ground, a massive hole gouged out of the back of his head. The entire area from the base of his skull to his face had been hollowed out.
(End of the Chapter)
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