I finished reading the old newspaper, my fingertips still trembling slightly.
No wonder that the seventh rule was so strict:
Dinner must be completely finished. Even if you're not hungry, no food is to be wasted.
They had starved to death because there was no food.
This wasn't a rule. It was a curse for them.
It was the resentment of the dead, a warning forged from fear and despair.
I forced myself to calm down, took out my phone, and quickly typed a message:
[I know where the exit is! Everyone, gather in the lounge now!]
Then I broke into a run.
When I arrived at the lounge, everyone was already gathered.
Qin Yan was the first to approach me. "Did you find the clue?"
I laid out the newspaper and said in a low voice, "I found the truth about the fire."
I told them everything.
Lord Laine set the fire, locked the exits, and cut off all paths… More than thirty people were trapped and died in the castle.
"He really did that…" Song Yao muttered in disbelief.
Jiang Che's face was cold, his gaze chilling.
Gu Wenqiang lowered his eyes, his expression bleak; Ji Ran clenched his fists tightly, jaw set.
"We need to get out of here," I said.
I rushed toward the main gate—an enormous black iron door that had always been shut.
I pulled out the master key from my pocket and inserted it.
Click.
The door opened.
I turned back in delight. "The door is open! Come on, follow me!"
We hadn't even made it out when the monsters from last night reappeared.
They swarmed out from the stairs, corners, and behind curtains—far more than the night before.
"Stay with us…"
"Don't go… stay…"
"Jiang Che, didn't you promise to stay with me forever? Are you going to betray me?" That was Lin Qiao's voice.
Then came Xing Wang's voice, twisted with jealousy and hatred: "Don't leave! Why should you get to escape?!"
"If I can't leave, then neither can you!"
Their voices echoed eerily, empty and laced with temptation.
Instinctively, I shouted, "Run!"
We sprinted desperately toward the door as the monsters chased us from behind.
Phantoms whispered, pulled, and laughed in our ears.
"You won't escape…" "No one will save you…"
But we didn't look back.
We burst through the castle door and stepped into the open wasteland.
At that very moment, the monsters came to a sudden halt.
They seemed to hit an invisible wall, freezing at the threshold and letting out sharp growls.
Their claws slashed the air, nearly tearing at our clothes; one monster almost grabbed Ji Ran's backpack strap.
"Don't go… come back…" they whispered—hoarse and haunting—half pleading, half enraged.
They refused to give up, trying to step past the line. But each step made their bodies twist and tremble as if a force dragged them back into darkness.
Their eyes were filled with greed and fury, as if they would pounce and drag us back into hell.
At that moment, I realised that they didn't choose to stop… they simply couldn't.
Then, the system notification rang out:
[Congratulations. You have cleared the instance: "Escape the Haunted Castle"]
[Base reward: 240 Weird Coins per person]
[Bonus: Fire Incident Revelation +50 Coins]
[Current Exchange Rate: 1 Weird Coin = 10,000 USD]
I immediately opened my panel to check:
[Current Coins: 320]
Three hundred and twenty Weird coins.
Which meant that I now had 3.2 million dollars in real-world money.
No wonder people said, survivors of these games gained financial freedom.
But the system had one more message:
[You have obtained an A-Rank Companion: Butler Adrian]
[Role: Paranormal Attendant (Special)]
[Skills: Unlocking…]
New Companion Card Unlocked: Butler Adrian
Grade: A (Bound)
Loyalty: 100%
Skills:
Shadow Step: Instantly appears behind the enemy, dealing heavy damage and causing fright.
Etiquette Execution: Instantly kills enemies that break dungeon rules (double effect on humanoids).
Silent Domain: Silences all enemies in range for 10 seconds, disabling speech or vocal skills.
Keymaster (Passive): Can unlock any sealed space, ignoring level or access restrictions.
"I have always been here, young master."