Gamers Are Fierce-Chapter 747 - 745

CLICK—

The elevator door on the left side of the hallway opened. Bai Haozheng, Black Holy Son, Yuyi Xinzhong, Plague Doctor, Liu Wu Dai, and Mule stepped out from the elevator shaft.

Earlier, when they were upstairs, they had already rushed into the elevator shaft, activating their skills to intercept the aberrations attempting to pounce. Unexpectedly, Li Ang didn't enter the shaft. Instead, he instructed them, "You guys stay here, I'll go save Wanli Fengdao," then tapped his toes and dashed towards the elevator shaft on the right side of the hallway.

The players, clueless about what Li Ang was up to, descended to the lower floor via the elevator shaft. With the help of a certain skill, Yuyi Xinzhong heard noises from the left corridor of the eleventh floor and saw Li Ang talking to an old woman in red. Mule and Liu Wu Dai wanted to open the door to the elevator room to enter the eleventh floor but were stopped by Bai Haozheng. He argued that the elevator shaft was currently safe, as the monsters from the twelfth floor hadn't pursued them. This suggested it might also be safe for them to remain in the elevator shaft, so he proposed they observe for a while.

Mule and Liu Wu Dai faintly guessed the subtext of Bai Haozheng's words. The atmosphere in the elevator shaft became exceptionally eerie. The Catastrophe Mechanical Golem, hovering in the air, maintained its Beam Cannon arms in a charged state, ready to turn against these teammates at any moment. However, in the end, Mule and Liu Wu Dai did not act. The six players, each with their own ulterior motives, hung from the supports in the elevator shaft until now.

The six players stepped forward. Black Holy Son, Bai Haozheng, Yuyi Xinzhong, and the Plague Doctor stood apart from each other, leaving a considerable distance in between. Mule, Liu Wu Dai, and the Mechanical Statue positioned themselves a bit further from the others and nodded at Li Ang.

"It's safe here now."

Bai Haozheng, still recovering from his recent strenuous exertion, was the first to break the silence. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, steadied his breathing, and scanned everyone present, including the old woman in red. Then, he snapped his fingers.

HUM—

The corridor on the eleventh floor began to shake. To the astonishment of those present, the floor, walls, doors—everything—started to fold, rotate, stack, and embed. It was like the magical, interlaced buildings in the movie *Inception*, forming a Penrose staircase that defied intuition and creating a dizzying Droste effect.

Shortly after, the changes ceased. The two-dimensional corridor transformed into a three-dimensional, towering maze, with everyone located at the bottom of this vast and complex labyrinth.

"..."

Li Ang, with narrowed eyes, looked at Bai Haozheng not far ahead and calmly said, "Judy Cecil mentioned that in the Dolphin Hotel, there's an aberration capable of disguising itself as an extra floor and moving back and forth within the hotel. Is this it?"

"Correct." Bai Haozheng nodded. "On the fourth night, the night Bob died, I told you I received a note saying 'pass through the stone gate,' which led me to a maze similar to a hotel corridor. In fact, it was the inside of this anomaly. I found a diary of a hotel resident, Martin Anderson, in there, and I managed to escape the maze. And the night before last, the sixth night, I told you I received a note saying 'don't get killed.' But in reality, I received the same 'please go to sleep' note as the Ghost of Hidden Eye. I have a skill that can perfectly replicate an item's flawless temporary counterfeit. As an intelligence analyst for the Special Affairs Bureau, I was responsible for collecting all the players' notes, so it was easy for me to replicate the Plague Doctor's previous note. Through this method, I concealed a crucial fact: I had already discovered the true nature of the hotel and mastered the method of summoning and communicating with this corridor entity. Furthermore, I suspected that one or more traitors were hidden among us."

Li Ang cocked his head. "So, even though you had a way to keep us safe from those restless aberrations, you still chose to agree to the plan to stay on the twelfth floor, willing to risk death to find out who the traitor is?"

"There was no other choice," Bai Haozheng said indifferently, ignoring the somewhat sinister looks from Yuyi Xinzhong and the others. "Firstly, I only knew there was a traitor, but not how many, nor their identity. You, Miss Liu, Mule, Yuyi Xinzhong, Black Holy Son... Everyone was a suspect. If I spoke rashly, I could have put myself at great risk. Since the traitor was willing to continue the charade, I didn't mind playing along—just like you, Comrade Li Rising. Secondly, the strange nature of this floor is that it constructs an extremely complex labyrinth. This labyrinth traps the aberrations trying to ambush and kill us, including the Terrifying Old Man, temporarily preventing them from finding our location. It doesn't directly kill the aberrations. Moreover, the labyrinth's duration is limited. It cannot last until the end of the curfew, so it can't serve as a safe haven for the entire night. Additionally..."

Bai Haozheng turned his head, looking at his 'player companions' who wore somewhat unpleasant expressions, and smiled. "I can understand if you all think I'm selfish and that I disregarded the safety of my companions. However, I also ask for your understanding. Employees of the Special Affairs Bureau do not represent the Bureau itself. In a scenario mission, doing whatever it takes to survive isn't shameful."

"It's okay." Liu Wu Dai, holding her bow with another Tiangong Kaiwu Mini Missile nocked, said indifferently, "But have you found the traitor?"

"Well..." Bai Haozheng shook his head. "Aside from the true nature of the hotel, I have no more information than Comrade Li Rising. But he's confident enough to go in alone, and we've already trapped the old woman in red. I think he might have discovered the traitor's identity, or has a way to find out. Before that, let's hear what he has to say."

Li Ang looked quietly at Bai Haozheng.

Hunter, prey, bait, traps, deceit, concealment... One must be prepared to be the bait oneself to become the hunter hidden behind the scenes. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Li Ang nodded to Mule and Liu Wu Dai, signaling them to remain calm. He then adjusted his Dragon Head Mask, recalling what he had said before. "Where was I... Right. The old woman in red knew the Dolphin Hotel could preempt your moves. She anticipated you would use the 'leaving food at the door' method to harm others and therefore issued a targeted note like 'Keep the Door Clean.' So, the old woman in red—meaning you—chose to directly kill the other players. The first target was Bob."

Li Ang paused, then slowly said, "On the fourth night, Bob received the same note as the previous three nights. He entered a dream, arrived in the Pitch Black Space, and spent a long time there. However, at 3:30 AM in the real world, he should have still been alive."