Chapter 010: The Hallway

Chapter 010: The Hallway

["Dad, we'll talk later."]

X hung up the phone when he felt someone behind the door. He peeked through the keyhole and found Terry's figure being held down by someone.

Out of curiosity, X opened the door, which surprised the two people in front of him.

"X?"

X glanced at Terry, whose face looked pale, while Marissa smiled a little while blinking her eyes.

"What are you two doing?" X asked in a cold tone. His expression looked unfriendly.

"Oh, I-"

"He’s lost," Marissa cut off Terry's unfinished speech with a calm tone. "He's looking for his friends."

"Where did they go to get separated from him?" X asked again. His forehead was deeply furrowed, with his eyebrows visibly dipping down.

"That's none of our business, X," Marissa replied in a calm voice. X let out a rough sigh, then closed the door. After that, he pulled Marissa's hand away from the place.

"Whatever. Come on, let's go back to the stage to finish our work as organizers."

"Aw, X. Don't pull me roughly, ukh, bye Terry," Marissa waved her hand at Terry.

Terry could see the two walking away from him. He sighed, grateful for not being caught eavesdropping.

"Ah, I'm finally safe from them," he muttered softly while stroking his chest.

Unintentionally, his hand pressed on a part of the wall close to the window. And miraculously, the wall opened, revealing an unfamiliar passage.

"Is there another way?" Terry was surprised to see the unfamiliar passage. Out of curiosity, he walked down the passage.

Along the way, Terry saw a dimly lit hallway. He stroked his arm as he felt a strange air piercing his skin. His body hair stood up. A feeling of dread now engulfed him.

"Calm down, Terry. There are no ghosts or anything like that. It's just your mind," Terry muttered and continued walking without looking back.

Terry glanced left and right. There was no one there but him. Only an eerie silence enveloped the unfamiliar hallway.

"Gosh, where are they hiding?" Terry muttered in annoyance when he didn't find them.

His feet continued to walk forward. Without paying attention to what lay beyond the darkness in the corner of the room. Terry stopped his steps when there was a wall stretching in front of him. Damn, this is a dead end!

Terry turned around, choosing to return to his original spot. However, his steps stopped when he heard a strange sound that came from nowhere. The voice was so soft, like someone who was holding back a cry.

"Help me."

The voice sounded a little clearer. Terry tried to follow the voice, overcoming the fear that had been gnawing at him.

"Who's there?" Terry said softly. His voice echoed, bouncing in every direction.

There was no answer. Terry resumed walking and stopped in front of the wall that stretched in front of him. Curious, he reached out his hand to touch the wall.

However, before that could happen, Terry felt something stop his hand. He looked back and found Zayne, who was currently staring at him with a sharp gaze.

"Mr. Zayne?"

"What are you doing here?" Zayne asked.

Terry rolled his eyes in the other direction to avoid meeting Zayne, who seemed to be eating him alive. The intimidating aura of the man was quite strong, capable of making him feel uncomfortable.

"That..." Terry hung up his sentence. He felt nervous as well as scared. His brain was thinking hard about how to get out of here.

"I'm still waiting for your answer."

Terry was getting desperate. What should he tell Zayne who was one of the Debt System organizers? If he told the truth, he would probably be eliminated immediately and even die on the spot for breaking the rules.

The more Terry thought, the more deadlocked his mind became. It felt like Terry wanted to roar in frustration for being in this complicated situation. Zayne was still in place, neither moving nor speaking.

"I'm here to-"

"Help me."

Terry and Zayne turned their heads towards the wall in front of them. Spontaneously, Zayne pulled Terry's hand out of the dimly lit hallway. Regardless of the cries of pain from his mouth.

Once the two of them were out of the dimly lit hallway, Terry met X for the second time today.

"Huh? Isn't he-"

"Come on. We better get going."

Zayne released his hand on Terry's wrist, then put his hand into his pants pocket. X, who knew nothing, chose to follow Zayne's will, leaving Terry alone in that place.

As soon as Terry was alone, Ben came running up to him. The heterochrome-eyed man was breathing heavily, judging from his well-defined chest.

"Huh, where did you come from? I'm tired of looking for you all over the place.

Terry tilted his head. "I was looking for you guys. Wasn't I the cat in the hide-and-seek game?"

"Yes, I know. But you were looking for us for so long that we decided to stop," Kai, who had just arrived, interrupted the conversation.

"How long have I been missing?"

"About 2 hours."

Terry frowned. His eyebrows dipped, accompanied by a look of confusion. "Two hours?"

"Yes! You disappeared for two hours from our game," Kai said in an amused tone. He hit Terry's back quite hard, which made the man grimace in pain.

"Where did you actually go?"

Terry pointed at the hallway behind him. "I went there."

Kai furrowed his brow. "Huh? What are you talking about? You went through the wall?"

"The wall?" Terry asked in surprise.

"Yes. There is only a wall behind you, Terry," Kai reiterated his words.

Terry turned around. His eyes rounded perfectly, knowing that what Kai said was true. There was only a wall behind him. How could that be?

"But there was a passage that..."

"You're starting to fantasize. Come on, let's just go back to the room!" Kai dragged Terry out of the area. Ben followed close behind.

On the other hand, Zayne and X walked towards another room in the N109 Zone area. Their hands were wrapped in black gloves. They were also holding something. A gun.

"Zayne, I have something to ask you. I hope you'll be honest with me."

Zayne turned his head, gave X a disinterested look, then refocused on the road in front of him.

"How could he be with you in that passage? Isn't that a hidden place in this zone?"

Zayne sighed, then shook his head. He stared flatly at the object in front of him. "I don't know why he was there either. Wasn't Terry eavesdropping on your conversation with the Big Boss earlier?"

"That's true. But..."

"Maybe he accidentally walked in there. After all, this is the place, isn't it?" Zayne asked.

"I guess you're right."

"Is there anything else you want to ask?"

X shook his head. "Nope. Come on, let's get this job done. I want to rest."

"Okay."

The sound of a gun was heard loudly in the place, along with a stifled scream and blood flowing from one corner.