The Hand of Confession – Chapter 182

Volume 6: Days of Being Zapped in the Lab

Smells So Good

Lou-jie… smells really tasty…

After two shots, 300’s gun slipped from her grasp, falling to the ground with a crisp clatter. Shen Maomao supported her as the recoil pushed her back until her back hit the wall. Then 300 collided with her, nearly squashing her flat like a pancake.

Lou Jingmo and 290 seized the opportunity, rushing forward together. They slashed down at the tentacles on the monster’s legs—the monster opened its mouth wide, tilted its head back in a silent, long howl, and its upper body began to swell, inflating like the spider on the fifth floor into a giant leather ball.

“Back to the elevator!” Lou Jingmo shouted, turning and running towards it. 290 followed close behind, and Shen Maomao dragged 300 back as well.

300 clutched her right arm, looking anxiously at the gun on the floor. “My gun—!”

Lou Jingmo, passing by, conveniently bent down to pick up the handgun, slipped, and pitched forward headfirst into the elevator.

Shen Maomao immediately yanked her forward. Just as she pulled Lou Jingmo completely inside, the monster exploded behind them. With a “Boom—”, her vision turned golden, and her ears buzzed. It took a while for things to return to normal.

The elevator shook violently. Several times, they thought it was going to plummet to the second floor, but in the end, it stabilized.

Lou Jingmo climbed to her feet. 300 immediately demanded, “Where’s my gun? Give it back, quick! Don’t even think about keeping it for yourself.”

Shen Maomao couldn’t help rolling her eyes. She took the gun from Lou Jingmo’s hand and slapped it back into 300’s. “While I appreciate you stepping up during the crisis, could you maybe learn how to talk? Do you know how annoying you sound?”

“You’re all going to die anyway, why should I waste nice words on dead people?” 300 shot back a glare just as rudely. “Don’t thank me. I just want to get out of this damn place sooner.”

As she spoke, she glanced nonchalantly behind her. “I’m not like those useless wastes, completely worthless.”

The people behind her were angry but didn’t dare speak.

People’s thoughts are really strange, Shen Maomao mused. Before, I thought 300 was clueless, annoying, and judgmental¹. Now, after this incident, I actually find her to be a frank, outspoken, and righteous… annoying pest.

—Basically, still very irritating, but psychologically more acceptable.

The ground was splattered with black dots, along with chunks of shredded flesh and mangled organs.

A swarm of small bats descended, frantically gnawing at the pieces of flesh, letting out cheerful “chee-chee” sounds.

290 said, “Shouldn’t we get going? I have a bad feeling a new boss will emerge from these bats…”

Lou Jingmo nodded, took out the blindingly bright prop, and stepped out of the elevator first.

The others quickly followed. 300, still tactless as ever, squeezed into the middle of the crowd, ensuring she was in the safest position.

The blood and flesh on the ground held too strong an attraction for the bats; they didn’t even flinch when the intense light they usually feared shone down. Why would they care about humans, who weren’t very nutritious anyway?

The group passed through the swarm without incident. The elevator doors slowly closed, the sound of its descent telling them—they had lost their final refuge.

At this point, no one suggested splitting up to find the next elevator. After all, besides Lou Jingmo, none of the others had props that could produce strong light. The bats were small, numerous, and fast, making them almost impossible to guard against. After leaving one shelter, humans naturally start thinking about how to find the next.

Shen Maomao was furious.

For the first time, she even felt like ditching them.

This group was cowardly and selfish. Except for 290 and the annoying pest 300, not a single one had dared to step forward in the moment of crisis. They were even more detestable than 300.

Lou Jingmo put an arm around her shoulder and tucked the blinding prop into her hair, instantly turning her into a large light source.

“Don’t be angry, hmm?” Lou Jingmo whispered close to her ear.

Shen Maomao’s ear burned, turning red almost instantly. The heat spread, making her face flush and her heart pound…

Just talk normally, why get so close?? What’s with the ‘hmm’? Don’t you know your voice sounds amazing?! Don’t you know that sound vibrated through your throat is incredibly sexy?!

Shen Maomao mentally transformed into Hong Shixian², rows upon rows of “You’re so provocative!” scrolling uncontrollably through her mind.

Lou Jingmo continued, “Besides, I’m not angry, so what are you getting worked up about? Are you the eunuch getting anxious when the emperor isn’t?”³

Shen Maomao: “…” Go away, you old dog bastard!

In any case, Shen Maomao’s face was no longer red, her heart wasn’t racing anymore, and she decided to ignore Lou Jingmo for the time being.

White lights dotted the ceiling of the second floor, illuminating a layout similar to the third floor.

A group of people had lived here until a few days ago when this batch of players became fully infected. Perhaps also because the IM virus had already leaked throughout the entire research base. In short, this batch of NPCs chose to leave this place and start looking for a new home.

“So many people… were they all test subjects?” 290 couldn’t help muttering.

300 mocked him, “Is your head full of mush? If so many people went missing, wouldn’t the authorities investigate?”

290 choked, “Uh… then why are there so many people here?”

300 said dismissively, “Why should I care? As long as I can get out, what does it matter if these people are dead or alive?”

290: “…” Harsh words, but undeniably true.

They didn’t encounter any large monsters along the way, aside from a few small bats that hadn’t made it to feast on the big boss. These quickly avoided the group upon seeing the bright light.

Considering the similar layouts of the second and third floors, Lou Jingmo headed directly to the area where they had found the elevator keycard on the third floor. Sure enough, they found a pile of scattered keycards nearby.

Seeing this, 300 paused involuntarily and said, “Don’t tell me the third floor was like this too?”

Shen Maomao said coolly, “How could that be possible? Who knew there would be so many keycards on the second floor?”

300 looked half-believing, half-doubting, but she had no proof, so she kept quiet.

After grabbing the keycards, the group followed the established pattern, heading towards the location corresponding to the third-floor elevator. They found the elevator in the same spot.

Shen Maomao swiped the card with familiar ease⁴. The group entered one after another⁵. As the elevator doors closed completely and began to ascend, they still felt a sense of unreality.

They… actually passed the second floor so easily?

It felt like something even more formidable awaited them on the basement level.

Lou Jingmo checked the time. Unknowingly, it was already the morning of the sixth day.

The elevator stopped smoothly. The doors opened to reveal a scene identical to the previous two floors, creating a disorienting feeling of not knowing where they were.

The ceiling of the first floor also had patches of white light, conveying the message: “To leave, you must continue upwards.” The ground in front of the elevator was clean, and no monsters were visible anywhere.

One player couldn’t help asking, “Did we really leave the third floor?”

Could everything they experienced on the previous two floors have been just an illusion?

The thought was enough to terrify everyone.

Shen Maomao stared at the world outside the elevator for a moment, then gripped Lou Jingmo’s hand, giving her an questioning look.

Lou Jingmo: “Go!” As she spoke, she slid her fingers between Shen Maomao’s, turning the tables⁶ and intertwining their fingers. She pulled Shen Maomao out of the elevator and started running down the corridor.

After leaving the elevator’s protective range, an unbearable hunger suddenly flooded Shen Maomao’s mind. Her nose twitched unconsciously, seeming to catch an irresistible fragrance from Lou Jingmo…

Lou-jie… smells really tasty…

Her gaze grew hazy. She couldn’t help speeding up, lifting Lou Jingmo’s hand towards her mouth, just about to take a bite to taste it…

That same hand swung around and slapped her across the face, knocking her head to the side and leaving her completely stunned.

Lou Jingmo flexed her wrist. “Awake now?”

“Ow, that hurts!!” Shen Maomao clutched her stinging cheek, distraught. “Couldn’t you have gone easier?!”

Lou Jingmo: “Look behind you.”

Shen Maomao froze for a second, only then realizing they hadn’t actually run very far. She turned around and saw the others tangled together in a chaotic brawl.

Shen Maomao: “F%ck?! What’s going on??”

Including 290 and 300, all the players had turned into mindless beasts, savagely tearing at each other.

Lou Jingmo said grimly, “Hungry? I suddenly feel very hungry too.”

As she spoke, she leaned her head towards Shen Maomao’s neck, took a deep breath, and murmured, “Smells so good…”

A shiver ran down Shen Maomao’s spine; fear instantly overcame hunger. She quickly grabbed Lou Jingmo’s hand, swallowed hard⁷, and then said, “Lou-jie! Snap out of it! We need to find the keycard! The exit is right ahead!”

Lou Jingmo glanced behind her. “Shout to remind them, then we run.”

Shen Maomao nodded. “Okay!”

She turned towards the others and yelled, “Get a grip! The exit is right in front of you! Are you planning to kill each other here and wait for a team wipe?!”

After shouting, she pulled Lou Jingmo and ran forward without looking back, no longer concerned with what was happening behind them.

She felt she had done everything within her power. Whether they lived or died now depended on their own fate.

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Since the layouts of the first, second, and third floors were the same, she had reason to believe the first-floor elevator would be in the same location as the others. However, whether the keycard was in the same place was uncertain.

The two ran desperately towards the residential area, deciding to try their luck first at the spot where they found the keycards on the previous floors.

Shen Maomao’s stomach rumbled loudly. The overwhelming hunger made her nauseous, weak-kneed, dizzy, and seeing stars. She desperately wanted to bite herself.

She barely had the strength to move forward and was even struggling to stop herself from turning back. Only Lou Jingmo’s firm grip kept her from joining the other players’ fray.

They stumbled into the residential area. As soon as they turned the corner, they were dazzled by the sight of cards scattered everywhere. The cards were piled up layer upon layer, like a small mountain. Finding the elevator keycard among them would take ages⁸.

Shen Maomao clutched her stomach, so angry it hurt. “What the—?! Are they messing with us?!”

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