The Dead

"Isn't it supposed to be 'Day Zero' now, ten days later?" Lin Qin changed hands to cover his mouth and nose, and continued, "If you go out now, you won't be able to see the road after a while, as there are no streetlights here."

Qi Xia knew Lin Qin was right, so he quietly walked to one side and found a clean shelf to sit down on.

He was indeed in a hurry, having even forgotten to check the time.

But he was eager to leave this godforsaken place and see his wife.

To see Yu Nian'an.

To see the girl who loved to wear white.

"Xiao An, I will escape from this hellhole soon," he muttered to himself, "Just wait, we will have money soon."

Qi Xia's expression was always different from the others; he was not panicked, not sad, just a bit anxious.

As the sky darkened, everyone found clean spots to sit down.

Fortunately, the nights here were not cold, and everyone was just a bit hungry, having not eaten or drunk anything for almost a day, making them feel weak.

No one spoke anymore; they just watched the muddy yellow sun set in the sky, and the world was plunged into darkness.

The experiences of the day were like a terrible nightmare for everyone.

They all fantasized about waking up and having all the anomalies disappear before their eyes.

The entire city seemed to have quieted down, as if brewing something, and the crowd heard what seemed to be rustling sounds in the distance, but they couldn't make it out clearly.

It was so dark here, so dark that they couldn't tell if their eyes were open or closed.

Having grown up in the city, they had never experienced such a pitch-black night.

"Cheater, are you asleep?" Qiao Jiajian suddenly asked from not far from Qi Xia.

"What is it?"

He asked, "Do you think there are other 'participants' here?

Qi Xia was silent for a moment, then replied, "I've thought about this issue. 'The Dragon' said that tens of millions of people have come out of the door. Logically, there should be more than just us nine..."

Qiao Jiajian was also silent for a moment, then asked, "Could that female clerk be someone who came out of the door in the past?"

"Hmm?" Qi Xia was slightly startled; he had never thought in that direction. After all, that woman seemed to have been living here for many years.

But upon closer consideration, it wasn't contradictory. Whether someone was taken ten years in advance or ten days in advance, it didn't matter. What was important was that according to 'The Dragon,' this place would be destroyed in ten days.

They might have different starting points, but the endpoint was the same.

They should be grateful; they wouldn't end up as crazy as the female clerk, as they only needed to stay here for ten days.

No matter what, they would see the 'outcome' after ten days.

"Cheater? Are you asleep?" Qiao Jiajian asked again.

Qi Xia ignored him and instead turned his head to one side, seriously pondering the events of the day.

What was the reason for all this strangeness?

Without an answer from Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajian stopped trying and gradually fell silent.

After a while, two more people spoke in the dark, sounding like Dr. Zhao and Officer Li.

"Dr. Zhao..."

"What?"

"I want to ask... If a woman is malnourished for a long time, can she conceive life?"

Dr. Zhao was silent for a moment, understanding what Officer Li meant. The female clerk in the room seemed like she hadn't eaten for a long time, yet how could she give birth to a child?

Others seemed interested in this question as well, waiting quietly for his answer.

Dr. Zhao organized his thoughts and said, "This question is complex. If a woman is malnourished for a long time, it can lead to irregular menstruation, even amenorrhea or menopause. In other words, a lack of basic vital elements can lead to an inability to ovulate, and naturally, she cannot conceive."

"So... is this another thing that science cannot explain?" Officer Li asked in a low voice. "The female clerk looks very unwell."

"I can't make a definite conclusion about the specific situation. In some areas of Africa, people also have a very low intake of nutrition, but there is a high birth rate..." Dr. Zhao sighed, "But this is not my field of expertise, involving each person's constitution and the intake of key nutrients. I don't know much about it."

After hearing this, Officer Li stopped talking and was silent.

The people in the room fell silent again.

Qi Xia didn't want to sleep, but in the complete absence of sight, one's senses become blurred, and eventually, thoughts slow down.

Accompanying the quiet 'rustling' sound on the street, Qi Xia's eyelids grew heavy.

He didn't know when he fell asleep. In his dream, he saw Yu Nian'an in her white clothes.

"Xia, do you know? There are many paths in this world, and each person has their own."

"Yes, Xiao An, I know," Qi Xia nodded in his dream, "I will be able to get out soon. Just wait."

He didn't know how much time had passed when a loud, almost deafening bell rang as if right next to his ear.

Qi Xia opened his eyes, stood up in a hurry, and found that it was already light outside.

He turned around, and everyone was still in shock, looking around like Qi Xia, awakened by the loud bell.

"What's going on?!" Xiao Ran subconsciously hid behind Officer Li.

Before anyone could react, a strange cough came from the corner of the room.

The cough sounded like someone was holding water in their mouth.

Dr. Zhao noticed the sound behind him and slowly turned around, only to see a terrifying scene.

Han Yimo was lying on the ground with a pure black giant sword in his abdomen. The sword, like a nail, pinned him to the ground. It seemed that a great force had been used to insert the sword, with more than half of it buried in the ground.

He was coughing up blood and gasping for air.

"Hey! Writer!" Qiao Jiajian rushed forward to check on his condition.

"Cough... Qi... Qi Xia..." Han Yimo reached out his hand, his voice unnatural. It didn't sound like pain or fear but rather confusion.

Qi Xia frowned slightly, then walked over and crouched down, holding Han Yimo's hand.

"I'm here," he replied, looking up at the ceiling of the building.

The entire ceiling was intact; the black sword did not seem to have fallen from the sky.

Han Yimo's lips moved, and his eyes began to shine. After a sob, he started to cry.

"This... This place is wrong... Qi Xia... This can't happen... The 'Seven Black Sword'... It's absolutely... impossible... Qi Xia... The 'Seven Black Sword' is not..."

His coughing grew louder, and he couldn't get a complete sentence out. Blood sprayed from his mouth and poured back into his nose.

Han Yimo coughed loudly a few times, then his body stiffened, and he lost his life.

In the difficulty of breathing, just a few words would take all his strength.

Yes... A person on the brink of death wouldn't have so much time to say their last words, would they?

There was silence.

A long silence.

Everyone knew Han Yimo had a lot more to say, but the time given to him was obviously not enough, and a vibrant life was taken away in an instant.

Qi Xia saw Han Yimo's lifeless eyes, frowned, and suddenly felt a splitting headache.

He held his forehead and crouched down, feeling as if something was trying to drill out of his mind, then let out a heart-wrenching scream.

"Ah!!"

Before everyone could recover from the shock of Han Yimo's death, they were startled by Qi Xia's scream.

"Cheater, are you okay?" Qiao Jiajian asked cautiously.

After a silent half-minute, Qi Xia slowly evened his breathing and said, "I'm fine... Let's check on Han Yimo first..."

Seeing that Qi Xia was indeed fine, everyone turned to look at Han Yimo's body, feeling a mix of emotions.

A thought kept circling in their minds.

Are they really dead?

Can a person die again after death?

"Han Yimo... was killed..." Xiao Ran said softly.

The words "was killed" woke everyone up.

Yes, what they should consider now is not the question of "dying after death," but the issue of the "murderer."

Han Yimo was still conscious when found, which means the giant sword had just been thrust into his abdomen.

In other words, the person who killed him hadn't gone far and was possibly hiding among the remaining eight people.