Chapter 258: Chapter 258

It was clear this wasn’t the elevator’s normal operating speed; someone had deliberately made it accelerate. Cold sweat began to form on Da Mao’s forehead. This means the enemy came prepared, he realized.

A tremendous roar made the entire underground passage tremble violently. Small pieces of debris flew haphazardly, instantly creating several cuts on the dazed Jing Shu’s body and face. Blood flowed into Jing Shu’s mouth. She licked it and found it strangely delicious.

"Wang Chuan? Where’s Wang Chuan?"

"Wang Chuan didn’t make it out!"

Gasping for breath, Su Malie ran incredulously toward the opening from which they had just escaped. The elevator, speeding down at high velocity, slammed into the brace of the propulsion device. Su Malie peered inside but saw nothing except for an exposed section of an arm, wearing the Swiss watch she had given Wang Chuan.

The bearded man was completely crushed beneath the elevator, very likely flattened into a meat patty.

The elevator itself was nearly totaled. It was empty! Someone had intentionally controlled it! Could it be that someone already knew they had escaped?

Jing Shu walked over in a daze. Although she was aware of what was happening outside, it seemed she couldn’t control her body and was moving solely on instinct.

Su Malie covered her mouth with her hands, tears streaming down instantly. How could this be possible? How could this happen? Wang Chuan was just speaking to her moments ago. Why didn’t he manage to run out?

Da Mao was also panting heavily, his lips pursed tightly. "Bro... don’t worry, I’ll ensure the Miss is safe." He had no time for sorrow. He took out his phone and saw there was still no signal. "Miss, we need to find an exit quickly. There are likely people nearby. Here," he said, offering her a handgun, "take this. If anything seems wrong, shoot immediately."

Da Mao became even more cautious. Now he was the only one the other two could rely on. He picked up a few pebbles and began to scout ahead. Fortunately, the end of the propulsion device should have been the exit.

Da Mao positioned Su Malie and Jing Shu behind him, shielding them as he opened the door at the end.

A creaking noise sounded. It was pitch black inside. Nothing could be seen. Da Mao didn’t dare turn on a flashlight for fear of alerting the enemy, so he could only toss a few small pebbles in different directions, using the echoes to scout the way.

The bewildered Jing Shu continued to wander in her trance. If she had been lucid at this moment, perhaps what followed would never have happened.

"Let’s go. Be careful, and stay close to the wall." Da Mao entered first without incident. Su Malie, holding Jing Shu, followed quietly.

But just then, the entire hall suddenly lit up with blinding light.

"Run back!" Da Mao had just shouted when he heard the POP-POP of gunfire. Without a second thought, he forcefully pushed Su Malie and Jing Shu out the door.

Then, the sound of gunfire continued unabated, but after four or five seconds, it stopped. Everything had ended.

Da Mao had been shot into a sieve. He slowly collapsed, blood pooling around him. He pointed weakly in Su Malie’s direction. "Miss, run! Quickly! If you make it out, look after Ermao and Sanmao for me..." Having struggled to say these last words, Da Mao’s head tilted to one side, and he died.

"Sob... Okay, I understand..."

Su Malie, trembling, rose from the ground. Her yellow flared dress was now filthy and disheveled; even her meticulously painted nails had split and cracked. She looked at the suddenly illuminated room in disbelief, pointing at the middle-aged man who, assault rifle slung over his shoulder, looked pleased with his shooting.

"You? Is it you? Uncle Gou, is it really you? How is this possible? It can’t be!" Her voice rose to a heart-wrenching cry. For someone of Su Malie’s background, betrayal was the most unacceptable thing.

Wasn’t this man Uncle Gou?

Jing Shu was also shoved to the ground. This push finally triggered something within her, breaking a certain limit. The series of interconnected events finally pierced through the paper-thin barrier of the Magic Cube Space! It had finally met all conditions for an upgrade!

An unprecedented force began to wildly invade Jing Shu’s mind. Unable to bear it, she fainted once more.

Each upgrade of the Magic Cube Space was like rebooting a computer or smartphone—it required a shutdown and restart. Jing Shu ’rebooted’ at such a critical moment, truly leaving her fate to the heavens.

However, this upgrade was entirely different from the previous ones. Jing Shu was consciously receiving information transmitted to her from the Magic Cube Space. While the Magic Cube Space was upgrading, she could still hear the voices from outside.

Most unbelievably, it seemed she was having an Illusion. She could see her Magic Cube Space visibly expanding, one cubic meter at a time. And Jing Shu could actually see the Magic Cube Space in its Second Form, now completely overlapping with the real world.

It was more like her soul had left her body. She could even see her own fainted self on the ground, Da Mao lying there, Su Malie sobbing bitterly, and the people opposite them. Of course, she could also see the overlapping Magic Cube Space reorganizing itself. The white points of light grew bit by bit, like photons in a science fiction movie. It’s so magical!

So this was how the Magic Cube Space had upgraded in the past.

Meanwhile, Su Malie was truly isolated and helpless. Jing Shu had fainted, her two bodyguards were dead, and the ever-trusted Uncle Gou turned out to be the orchestrator of this event. How could this be possible? At this moment, she was on the brink of collapse.

"Uncle Gou? Oh, your ever-loyal Uncle Gou? Sadly, he met a very tragic end."

The middle-aged man pushed his hair back and slowly began to peel a mask from his face. Latest content published on NoveI-Fire.ɴet

"He hasn’t been your Uncle Gou for two months. Didn’t you notice at all?"

"What?!" Su Malie exclaimed in shock. "Impossible! He’s been with me day and night. How could it be?"

The man, having peeled off the mask, revealed a young face. Jing Shu, in her soul-out-of-body-like state, saw it with utter clarity. This person... isn’t this Lin Yi, the one she monitored every day?!

It was him! It was actually him!

Jing Shu was so shocked she didn’t know what to say. How could it be him? How could one person play two roles? The Lin Yi she monitored every day hadn’t shown any abnormal behavior... Wait, that was too normal, too ordinary. Could it be he knew she had been monitoring him all along?

Right, that’s why Gou Su seemed so tall! His silhouette had always felt a bit familiar. But Uncle Gou was muscular, a completely different build from the tall, thin Lin Yi she’d seen before the New Year.

"Why impossible? I started imitating him three months ago. I kidnapped him and brought him to my home two months ago. It took a great deal of effort to learn everything about him. Now, I can finally take off this human skin mask," Lin Yi said, beginning to peel the mask from his neck...