214 - Cinderella’s Dream: Together Forever

Chapter 214 Chen Wan attempted to kick apart a mirror, and with a sharp "bang," it shattered into pieces on the ground, revealing the wall behind it. Whoever designed this part of the game was truly filled with malice. Even if all the mirrors were broken, it wouldn’t be enough; they’d still be trapped in the maze. The echo of the shattering mirror reverberated throughout the corridor, and Chen Wan faintly heard rustling noises coming her way. Following the sound, she saw five or six zombies swaying towards her in the corridor. Chen Wan charged forward, delivering a powerful kick that sent a few of the zombies crashing into another mirror. The continuous "bang, bang, bang" of shattering glass filled the air. Without any other weapons in hand, Chen Wan resorted to vigorously kicking the zombies' necks until their spines snapped. Everything here was completely sealed off. Though she considered climbing upward for a better view, it was impossible. Trapped in the twisting maze, Chen Wan tried to remember the path, but all the corridors resembled one another. The mirrored surfaces made it dizzying, and frustration began to build inside her. Taking deep breaths to calm herself, Chen Wan decided to break the middle mirror in each passage she entered as a marker. So far, she had traversed over a dozen routes without finding a way out, dealing with several zombies along the way. She steadied her mind and continued through the maze when suddenly she heard piercing screams not far off. They sounded like high school students, accompanied by the roars of zombies. Chen Wan quickened her pace, trying to reach them, but the screams seemed so close yet she couldn’t find a way out. The desperate cries of a child echoed in her ears. "Help, ah, don’t bite me, don’t..." Cold sweat trickled down Chen Wan's forehead as her pace quickened. Despite her efforts, the cries grew faint. After another five minutes, she stumbled into a passage, finding three zombies feasting on something, their once-human victim’s screams now replaced by the scent of fresh blood in the narrow corridor. Chen Wan's veins pulsed on her arms; she had arrived too late. The voices had seemed so close, yet she had been unable to reach them in time, as if trapped by an endless loop. The zombies turned towards Chen Wan, excitement on their gory faces. They lunged towards her. Delivering a powerful kick, Chen Wan put all her strength into it, breaking the zombies' bones so they couldn't stand. Without lingering, she kicked twice more, breaking the spines of the other two zombies. With a furrowed brow, Chen Wan approached the victims of the zombie attack, sighed deeply at their tragedy, and moved on to the next corridor. Given the current situation, she couldn't guarantee finding an exit within the next hour. Qin Ke faced similar challenges. The endless reflections of mirrors were anxiety-inducing, and she was unfortunate enough to encounter zombies by her second passage. Unarmed, she had to engage in close combat. Qin Ke kicked a zombie, quickly clambered onto its back, and used her arms to twist its head. With a "crack," the zombie stopped struggling, its life extinguished, leaving Qin Ke covered in their foul blood. Up in the stands, the audience was abuzz with chatter: "Hey, did you notice there are no live NPCs in this mirror maze?" "Right, so far, it's just zombies. Two high-schoolers have been killed by them." "I heard after seeing the haunted house scene in the second round, none of the NPCs dared to enter the mirror maze for this round, so the Left Guardian at the Canglong Bar decided to release zombies to hinder their progress." "It's hilarious; those NPCs probably have mental scars after the second round." Within the maze, the luckiest person seemed to be the tall guy. Despite his fear, he hadn’t encountered any zombies yet. Shao Yu wasn't as lucky. After exploring three passages, she turned a corner straight into a zombie. It lunged at her with its mouth wide open. Shao Yu's skills were just average, unlike Chen Wan or Qin Ke. She pinned a leg against the zombie's chest to prevent it from reaching her and tightly gripped its wrists. The zombie’s strength was immense, and Shao Yu started to lose stamina. Her hands were slick with its sticky blood, and the leg keeping it at bay was trembling. Sweating, with no other choice, she called for help: "Is anyone there? I’m dealing with a zombie, can someone help?" Nearby, Qin Ke had just dealt with two zombies and heard the plea. She shouted back, "Hold on, I'm coming." Though saying she'd come, navigating the maze wasn't easy. Separated only by a set of walls, Qin Ke took five minutes to find her way over, just as the zombie was about to bite Shao Yu. Qin Ke swiftly wrapped her arms around the creature's neck and twisted hard. With a "crack," the twisted zombie released Shao Yu. Qin Ke tossed the carcass aside, while Shao Yu leaned against the mirrored wall, panting heavily, quickly thanking Qin Ke, "Thanks for helping me out. I was almost done for; my hands lost all strength." Still trembling, Shao Yu was guided to rest on a clean patch of ground by Qin Ke, who was contemplating how to find the exit. "Who knows how the others are doing? This place is so twisted; everything looks the same, and these damn mirrors mess with your head, making it impossible to remember which paths we've taken." Qin Ke seemed to be venting to Shao Yu, possibly talking to herself. After a few minutes of rest, Shao Yu felt slightly better. She turned to Qin Ke and said, "Actually, I can remember the paths I've taken. If I go through a few more, I might figure out the maze." "That's great! Let me accompany you for a bit, and then we'll find my companions. Are you okay to move now?" Qin Ke promptly inquired. She wasn’t good at navigating mazes, so if Shao Yu was capable, she trusted her. With Shao Yu’s guidance, they traversed several more passages, reuniting with Wei Si Yu and the tall guy along the way. The quartet journeyed onward, with Qin Ke and Wei Si Yu clearing paths while Shao Yu kept track of the routes. Fifteen minutes later, Shao Yu paused them: "Hold on, let me organize my thoughts." They stopped while Shao Yu picked up a glass shard from the ground, sketching a map. While pausing momentarily to visualize each path in her mind, line after line, she connected them. After five minutes, she completed a square map with a couple of gaps in the routes—the location of the exit was to the side of one of these gaps. Shao Yu finally smiled, wiping the sweat from her brow. "I've found it. Once we regroup, we can exit. How much time do we have left?" As if someone had been eavesdropping, a jarring metallic voice resounded: "Ten minutes left until the hour is up. Please hurry to escape, or be left inside." Growing anxious, Qin Ke urged everyone to call out for Chen Wan, hoping to get her attention. "Chen Wan! Chen Wan! Where are you?" Their combined voices proved effective; Chen Wan heard them and responded immediately: "I'm over here, where are you?" "Have her stay put, we'll get her. I know the way." Shao Yu was concerned that if Chen Wan moved on her own, she might get more lost, so it was better they went to her. "Stay where you are; we’re coming to you!" Qin Ke shouted toward Chen Wan's direction. "Okay," Chen Wan replied, waiting for her companions' arrival. In this mirrored maze, even her combat skills weren’t enough to secure a safe exit. Three or four minutes later, Shao Yu led Qin Ke and the others to where Chen Wan was. Their faces lit up with relief upon seeing her. "I wonder how those high-schoolers are doing, and what's happened to the man with black-framed glasses?" Qin Ke pondered aloud. "I'm here." A voice sounded behind them, and they turned to see the Black-Framed Glasses Man approaching, clutching his wrist. "Are you alright?" Chen Wan asked. "I'm fine. The wound reopened while fighting the zombies, and this hand might be beyond saving," the Glasses Man said, grimacing with pain. His expression shifted to one of guilt as he added, "There was a high school girl with me, but there were two zombies. I was injured and couldn't save her. By the time I dealt with the zombie in front of me, she had already been bitten." Chen Wan patted his shoulder in consolation. "Sometimes there's nothing you can do. I also heard the cries for help from two high school students, but the maze was too convoluted. By the time I got there, they were already killed by the zombies." "So, that means those of us still alive in the maze are all here. Let's hurry and follow me; we don't have much time left," Shao Yu said urgently, leading the way with hasty steps. Every path was a twisted maze which took a toll on her. By the time they reached the exit, she was so exhausted she could barely stand. Chen Wan and Qin Ke supported her, preventing a fall to the ground. "What happened? Are you okay?" Chen Wan asked with concern. "It's nothing, just overthinking. I'll be fine after a rest. Let's get out of here quickly," Shao Yu replied, eager to move on. With Chen Wan and Qin Ke assisting Shao Yu, the rest followed, finally exiting the maze just before the hour-ending bell sounded. However, while nine entered, only six emerged. No pop-up ads on this site, permanent domain [xbanxia.com].