Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Her situation was far more dangerous compared to when she killed number six. Even though both were sneak attacks where her victim was caught unaware, the doctor was a much more difficult opponent than number six.
The two of them laid close to each other, and they could both see the killing intent reflected in each other’s eyes. Song Qingxiao felt like the bones in her fingers were about to break because of the force the doctor used to try and snatch the dagger out of her hands!
The dagger was her only trump card. Hence it meant something different to her. If she wanted to survive, she needed the dagger when she went back to find the assailant who had killed her in the alley. If it were snatched from her by the doctor, her chances of surviving would disappear!
As soon as she thought of that, Song Qingxiao gave up her intent to fight against the doctor’s arm tugging on the mouse cord. She endured the feeling of being suffocated as she moved that hand to join the other one, which held onto the dagger, and gave it a hard shove.
The distance between them was small. Song Qingxiao could clearly see the doctor biting down on his cheek, along with the bulging blood vessels in his temples. A large artery throbbed in the side of his neck. She regretted that she had missed the chance to slice through that artery in her earlier panic, wishing that she had been calmer when she struck.
The doctor gritted his teeth as he tried to endure the pain. Spit flew out as he breathed through his gritted teeth. He could faintly smell the sickly sweet scent of blood. One of his eyes had swelled out because it had been gouged by the office lady. His good eye was wide open, and the copious amounts of sweat pouring out from his forehead made his hair wet. His facial muscles twitched violently.
Her tiny mistake had brought a terrible outcome. The cord around her neck continued to tighten until she could no longer breathe. Her arms and legs all felt like they weighed a ton. She had no strength left within her to push the dagger further in.
The problem was that her mind was beginning to slow down, affecting her actions. She could not feel the weight of the doctor crushing down on her. Numerous old memories passed through her mind right at that moment.
Was she about to die?
As soon as the idea popped up in her mind, she thought about number one for some strange reason. At that moment, she was just like her. The mouse cord strangled her neck. The face of the doctor seemed to merge with the face of number six. He looked just like the grim reaper who was raised his sickle, ready to take her life.
However, she was different from number one. When number one was killed, she was utterly unable to fight back. Song Qingxiao had a dagger! As soon as she thought of that, she got a burst of energy. Her unfocused gaze became focused once more, and it sparkled with energy. She did not want to die there. She did not want to go quietly, without a fight like number one.
Song Qingxiao wanted to live. It had been a challenging process for her to grow up, graduate from university, and find a job. She did not die in the alley and enter the space only to sacrifice herself, allowing herself to become a stepping stone for someone else to leave the space!
Song Qingxiao gritted her teeth and forcefully crashed her head into the doctor’s face. She thought she had exhausted all the energy in her body. However, she still had a tiny amount of energy left. It was not much, but since they were so close to each other, as soon as she crashed into the doctor’s face, a dull sound rang out.
The doctor strangled her neck with one hand and used the other hand to pull her hand away. He already struggled from the effort of doing so. Song Qingxiao’s attack caught him by surprise. He did not expect that she would still be able to retaliate in that situation.
He gasped in surprise, and his grip on Song Qingxiao’s hands loosened. They had been in a stalemate up until then. That tiny chance was enough to cause one of their deaths. Seizing the opportunity, Song Qingxiao endured the pain of being suffocated and gripped the dagger in both hands. She drew it out slightly before she plunged it into the doctor’s neck once more.
Fresh blood gushed out from his neck and flowed through her hands to drip down her arms. All the strength left in her body had been spent on those two actions. If she failed, she would be completely unable to fight back anymore.
She focused on the cards in her consciousness. There were still two cards that had not flipped over.
Her body had started to twitch. Perhaps all her efforts to fight back were in vain. The doctor’s body crushed her. It felt like he was about to squeeze the last breath out of her.
The cool water tank was pressed behind her back. The eyes of number six—who had died in her hands—must have been staring right at her from inside the tank. Song Qingxiao’s lips moved. The force on her neck began to weaken. The cord wound tightly around her neck slowly slid out of the doctor’s hands. In her consciousness, the card on the right finally ‘looked’ to Song Qingxiao as though it was turning exceptionally slowly.
The doctor’s gentle, smiling face appeared, and his name appeared on the bottom of the card—Liu Yixun.
She had won!
The air rushed into her lungs again. Song Qingxiao opened her mouth to gasp. Her body was so weak that she could barely lift her arm. There was no way that she would be able to push off the doctor’s corpse that was crushing her.
She trembled to pull out the dagger from the doctor’s neck. It was a simple movement, but she needed several tries before she succeeded.
An instruction rang out in her mind.
‘The trial is complete. Leaving the space in ten seconds!’
As soon as the voice rang out, Song Qingxiao broke out into a smile. It was a smile that looked more gruesome than her crying face.
She had succeeded! The way to leave the space was just as she expected—she needed to be the last survivor. The card in the center of all the nine cards must represent her since the other eight people died.
‘Ten…’
‘Nine…’
‘Eight…’
The voice in her mind started a countdown. Song Qingxiao coughed loudly and vomited forcefully. She shoved the doctor forcefully off her. His corpse rolled off her and fell to the ground. She tried to sit up.
The mouse cord was still wrapped around her neck. It was a long time before she reached out her arms to remove the object that nearly took her life. She tossed it to one side as the countdown in her head continued.
‘Two…’
‘One…”
She closed her eyes, and in the next moment, a rumble of thunder rang out. Lightning flashed across the sky. Heavy rain began to pour down, falling on her head. It hurt when it landed on her face. The smell of the rain mixed with the soil and filled the air. It did not smell very pleasant, but it was far better than the indescribable gloomy repression within that space.
She was back!
Song Qingxiao was still lying in the same spot when she was stabbed by that man. It was as if everything that had happened was a bad dream. If it were not for the fact that she was still holding onto the dagger and that the rain had not washed the doctor’s blood off her hands, she would have thought that everything from that night was a figment of her imagination.
Her throat still burned with pain. She lifted her head and stared into the night sky. Bright flashes of lightning lit up the sky. The rain continued to fall onto her face, making a dripping sound upon contact. Rainwater dripped into her eyes and down her mouth. She swallowed two mouthfuls of rainwater before she truly felt alive.
There seemed to be a change in her consciousness. However, Song Qingxiao did not dare to take a look right then. The alley was too dangerous. She did not know how long she had been gone from real life after entering the space. She was worried that the guy who killed her earlier would return.
She was not in any state to defend herself from an ambush. She drank a few more mouthfuls of rainwater and got up slowly by supporting herself against the wall. She started walking in the direction of her home.
Thankfully, she was not far from home. She could see the familiar doorway of her house in the near distance. There was an iron padlock on the gate leading to her house, and the words ‘Pay your debts’ was written on it with red paint. It was a sight that had always frightened her, but she let out a sigh of relief as soon as she saw it.