Number Two and Number Three were merely mirror images created by the Mysterious Domain's rules; their soul origins had long been assimilated by this domain, so they naturally couldn't feel this slow, frog-in-boiling-water style of deprivation.
"I can't say exactly what it is, but anyway, after leaving the absolute safe zone where the Conference Room is, it feels like something is draining from my soul."
"Like memories?"
Hearing this description, Number Two's expression under the mask instantly turned extremely grim.
"Yesterday at this time too..."
Number Two muttered to himself, his brain beginning to perform frantic logical deductions.
"As long as one leaves the Conference Room, this extraction begins? Could it be that this is also part of the clear conditions? Or is this the core killing rule of this SSS-rank Mysterious Domain?"
"Number One."
Number Two suddenly looked up, his tone urgent.
"You must pay close attention to this feeling; it's definitely related to clearing the domain. This Mysterious Domain isn't just forcing us to kill each other, it's invisibly erasing some part of our existence."
Steve nodded heavily.
"I understand."
The three of them set off again, heading deeper into the main building of the Ancient Mansion.
Meanwhile, at the Fortress Command Center.
The entire hall was silent; everyone's gaze was fixed intently on the largest holographic screen in the center.
Randy stood with his hands behind his back, his brow furrowed deeply into a frown.
Looking at Steve's words on the screen, a storm of emotions surged in his heart.
"Something is being extracted from the soul?"
Randy recalled the scene where Muriel suddenly clutched her chest and said with a pale face that Steve's things were lost, and a layer of cold sweat instantly broke out on his back.
"The heart of the angel and the heart of faith are embryonic forms of godhood from the same source; there is a cross-dimensional resonance between them. Muriel's heart of the angel felt it, and Steve felt it too."
Randy turned abruptly and inquired at the communication desk.
"What exactly did Steve lose? Does the Think Tank have any analysis results?"
A leading psychology expert from the Think Tank stood up.
"Chief, based on Director Steve's description of memory or emotional loss, combined with the name of the Mysterious Domain, 'Seven Days Together', we speculate that this is a soul assimilation rule."
"If Director Steve stays in this Mysterious Domain for the full seven days, what he loses might be all his memories, emotions, and personality as Steve. By then, he will completely become a walking corpse."
"Hiss."
The sound of collective gasps echoed through the entire Command Center.
"Quickly, switch the surveillance to Muriel's perspective immediately."
Randy made a prompt decision and shouted the order.
"See where she is now. She rushed out recklessly just now; we absolutely cannot let anything happen to her as well."
"Yes, sir."
The operator's fingers turned into a blur on the keyboard.
Soon, a new image was split onto the left side of the large screen.
In the image, a dazzling golden light was streaking through the night sky of the wasteland at a terrifying supersonic speed, leaving a long trail behind it.
It was none other than Muriel, who had already unfolded her Eight Wings of Light and Darkness and pushed her speed to the limit!
Her goal was very clear, pointing directly at that cross-world Portal emitting a grayish-white light that led to the Strange World!
"She has arrived."
On the screen, Muriel's figure paused abruptly for half a second before the Portal, her beautiful yet cold face filled with determination.
Then, without any hesitation, she plunged headfirst into that bottomless vortex.
"Quickly, switch to the perspective of the Zombie on the side of the Strange World Portal."
The screen flickered again.
This time, the perspective came from a Fifth-Order Zombie left near the Strange World Portal as a surveillance scout.
At this moment, this Zombie was like a statue, frozen in place, maintaining its posture of looking toward the Portal.
Around it, falling leaves were suspended in mid-air, and raised dust remained motionless.
This was the SSS-rank time-space stasis domain that covered the entire world.
"Buzz!"
Just as everyone was staring intently at the screen, the originally dead-silent Portal suddenly rippled with intense spatial fluctuations.
Immediately after, Muriel's figure, enveloped in divine golden light, charged directly out of the light screen.
"She's in."
Someone in the Command Center exclaimed.
However, in the next second, everyone's hearts sank to their lowest point.
As soon as Muriel stepped out of the Portal, the invisible force of rules covering the entire world crashed down like Mount Tai.
The dazzling golden light on her body suddenly dimmed, and her high-speed charging body seemed to hit an invisible wall, instantly becoming frozen in mid-air.
Her wings stopped flapping, and even her flying hair froze at that moment.
"It's over..."
Randy closed his eyes in pain, his fists clenched tightly.
Could even Muriel, who had already broken through to the Seventh-Order, not move under the absolute stasis rules of this SSS-rank Mysterious Domain?!
If even she was restricted so tightly, who else could save Steve, who was trapped in the deepest part?
"There's no hope; these rules are too overbearing."
Several staff officers' faces were ashen.
However.
Just as everyone fell into despair, Muriel, frozen in mid-air, was roaring frantically in her heart.
"Move! Move for me!"
She could clearly feel that as time passed, the throbbing from the heart of the angel in her chest grew weaker and weaker—that was the signal that Steve's soul was being extracted again.
"Steve is waiting for me; he's still waiting for me to go back and marry him..."
"If I don't go now, and Steve stays here for five days, he will forget me forever."
"Never!"
Muriel's eyes instantly turned blood-red.
Under extreme anxiety and longing for her lover, the perfectly balanced power of light and darkness within her body suddenly began to run wild violently.
Buzz!
Amidst the pure divine golden light on her body, a sliver of profound darkness suddenly and eerily seeped out.
That darkness was not evil, but a form of ultimate fall, willing to become an Asura to protect the love in her heart.
The golden light and black light began to interweave and fuse frantically.
A chaotic power that was both divine and evil, both compassionate and full of destructive aura, awakened explosively within Muriel's body.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The heart of the angel in her chest began to beat frantically at a frequency that exceeded all limits.
Every beat felt as if it were striking against the barriers of the world's rules.
"Break for me!"
As Muriel let out a heart-wrenching roar in her heart.
Boom!
A visible golden shockwave erupted from her body, slamming fiercely against the viscous static space around her.
Crack.
Accompanying an extremely faint yet clear cracking sound that was like thunder in the dead world.
The time-space stasis domain binding the three-meter radius around Muriel actually showed spiderweb-like cracks.
Immediately after.
Thump!
The heart of the angel beat again.
This time, a destructive shockwave, black as ink, erupted.
Boom!
As the black light swept across, the cracked, static space finally could no longer withstand the continuous bombardment of this chaotic force and shattered with a roar.
Under the dumbfounded gaze of everyone in the Command Center, the space within approximately five meters of Muriel miraculously regained its flow.
"It moved, she can move!"
The communicator excitedly jumped up, shouting with a hoarse voice.
"She broke through the static Mysterious Domain!"
Randy suddenly opened his eyes, looking at Muriel on the screen, who was once again fanning her Eight Wings of Light and Darkness, slowly but surely advancing step by step, his eyes bursting with ecstatic light.
"Good, good 'Light and Dark Twin Birth,' good 'heart of the angel'!"
Randy keenly seized the opportunity.
Although Muriel had broken through the five-meter domain around her, every step she took was met with the frantic squeezing of the entire world's rules. Golden and black lights flickered alternately, clearly indicating immense consumption.
"Quick, prepare to enter the Strange World."
Randy made a decisive decision and turned to the Minister of Logistics.
"Those Abyssal Condensers and Zombie army that have already gathered at the Portal's entrance, move them immediately!"
"Yes, Chief."
Randy's gaze was fixed on the screen, his brain working rapidly.
"Immediately contact the follow-up troops and bring out all the Special Light-Dark Potions recently developed by the Academy of Sciences."
"Transport the supplies in. At all costs, maintain Muriel's condition at all times."
Teleportation Node.
The army, already poised for action, quickly moved.
Each of them carried a shulker box filled with special recovery potions, formulated by the Academy of Sciences based on the Angel Clan physique, integrating light and dark factors.
"Keep up, don't fall behind."
As Muriel struggled to push forward, the edge of the five-meter radius chaotic domain she had opened just grazed the Portal.
"Now! Go!"
Several Zombies carrying supplies instantly seized this fleeting window of opportunity and plunged into the Portal.
As soon as they entered the Strange World, they were immediately pressed down by the terrifying static force of space-time, unable to move.
But they did not panic, because they were right at the edge of Muriel's constantly expanding and contracting chaotic domain.
"Throw!"
Several Zombies exerted all their strength, and before their bodies completely stiffened, they fiercely threw the potion bottles they held towards Muriel's position.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The moment the potion bottles left the Zombies' hands, they were frozen in mid-air.
But with a low cry from Muriel, the heart of the angel once again erupted with intense black and white light, suddenly expanding the domain by another circle.
The potion bottles frozen in mid-air were instantly drawn into the flowing space.
The potions shattered upon landing, and the liquid containing rich light and dark energy instantly vaporized, turning into pure energy that Muriel eagerly absorbed into her body.
"Hoo..."
With this tailored high-level energy replenishment, Muriel's previously pale complexion instantly regained its rosy glow. The eight huge wings on her back flapped more powerfully, and her advancement speed suddenly accelerated.
"Effective, continue."
Randy commanded calmly from the rear.
"Maintain the rhythm, replenish her state at all times."
Thus, with the logistical support of hundreds of thousands of troops, Muriel carved out a path to the Imperial Capital Altar in this SSS-rank Mysterious Domain where space-time was static.
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the Ancient Mansion.
Steve, Number Two, and Number Three had already climbed the wooden stairs and reached the second-floor corridor.
To find the hidden Murder Pattern and the true Clue to Clear the Instance, they decided to conduct another thorough search of the second floor.
"Let's check that door from yesterday."
Steve didn't hesitate, leading the two directly to that room door.
Steve reached out and pushed open the door.
The three looked closely, only to see a strong, burly man's corpse lying face up in a pool of blood in the center of the room.
It was none other than Number Six, who had always been a loner.
"It really is Number Six's body."
Steve stepped forward, his gaze sharp as he surveyed the gruesome scene on the ground.
Number Six's eyes were wide open, staring fixedly at the ceiling, with extreme shock and unwillingness still lingering in them.
And in his back, a knife was clearly embedded. The flesh around the wound had turned black and necrotic, evidently from a potent poison.
Steve knelt down and carefully examined the angle of the wound.
"He died yesterday, also from a knife in the back."
Steve stood up, his voice from beneath the mask tinged with a hint of coldness.
"And judging by this angle, the knife was shot directly from mid-air."
Hearing this, Number Two, who was following behind, was slightly startled. He seemed to have thought of something, and his face changed dramatically.
"Wait."
Number Two suddenly shouted, then turned and ran frantically out of the room.
"I need to confirm something."
"What's wrong with him?"
Number Three asked, looking at Number Two's hurried retreating figure.
"This room has a spatial synchronization mirror."
Steve didn't give chase; instead, he folded his arms across his chest and explained calmly.
"He probably just realized that in the mirrored room at the end of the corridor, there might also be an identical corpse."
"Mirrored room?"
A hint of surprise flashed in Number Three's eyes.
Clearly, as a latecomer, she hadn't grasped this crucial piece of information.
Just over a minute later.
Number Two ran back, his eyes under the mask extremely grave.
"Number One, you're right."
Number Two swallowed, his voice trembling.
"In the room at the end of the corridor, there is indeed another corpse of Number Six. The manner of death, the position, and even the bloodstains on the ground are all exactly the same."
Upon hearing this confirmation, Steve's brows furrowed tightly.
"Could it be..."
Countless possibilities flashed through Steve's mind.
"This Murderer not only killed Number Six but also utilized the spatial synchronization rule of this room?"
Number Two also analyzed with a solemn expression.
"My understanding is that since the Murderer chose to act in this special room, it must be because there's some special mechanism here that helps him commit the murder. That fat guy, Number Seven, he must have used the spatial rules here..."
Just as the three were gathered around the corpse, trying to reconstruct the modus operandi.
"Number One! Number Two! Get out here, now!"
Suddenly, an extremely angry roar violently echoed from outside the courtyard on the first floor.
The sound was so loud that even the windows of the Ancient Mansion vibrated slightly.
Steve and Number Two exchanged glances, both with a hint of confusion in their eyes.
"It's Number Four's voice."
Number Three said coldly.
"Let's go see what those two old farts are going crazy about again."
Steve didn't waste words, turned to the window, and pushed open the dusty glass pane.
Number Two and Number Three also followed closely.
The three of them stood side by side in front of the second-floor window, looking down at the courtyard below.
In the grayish-white mist, two figures stood aggressively in the center of the courtyard, staring intently up at the second floor.
It was Number Four and Number Five.
However, what shocked Steve and the other two was not their angry expressions.
But rather...
On the open ground between Number Four and Number Five lay an extremely obese corpse with a fleshy face.
"Is that Number Seven?"
Number Two saw the corpse's face clearly and couldn't help but cry out in surprise.
"Number Seven is dead?"
Steve's eyes under the mask narrowed into slits instantly.
How is that possible?
Just now, the three of them had gone through rigorous logical deduction outside the Conference Room and clearly reached a conclusion.
It was Number Seven who used the rules to kill Number Three and Number Six and had already successfully cleared the level and escaped.
But now, this Number Seven, who was supposed to have cleared the level, had actually become a cold corpse thrown in the courtyard?
"Let's go."
Steve, Number Two, and Number Three, standing in the second-floor corridor, didn't hesitate for a moment after seeing the corpse in the courtyard and ran down the mahogany stairs.
In just a few seconds, the three of them rushed out of the first-floor hall and arrived in the courtyard.
At this time, Number Four and Number Five were standing beside the fleshy-faced corpse.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Number Four whipped her head around, her eyes filled with undisguised questioning.
"Number One, Number Two, didn't you two go to the church yesterday to check?"
Number Four pointed at the corpse on the ground, her voice sharp and hurried.
"Didn't you say you found no clues outside? Then what is this? This corpse of Number Seven died right in the square in front of the church. When you two went to investigate yesterday, were you blind and didn't see it?"
Number Four didn't directly suspect Steve and Number Two of doing it because Number Seven's death was extremely bizarre.
She was angry that Number One and Number Two had clearly discovered such an important clue but didn't mention a single word in the Conference Room, not even revealing anything to their side.
"Died in front of the church?"
Steve's brows under the mask knitted tightly together.
He ignored Number Four's questioning and walked straight past everyone, slowly approaching Number Seven's corpse.
He crouched down, reached out his aged palm, and gently placed it on Number Seven's already cold chest.
An extremely weak yet exceptionally clear fluctuation of rules transmitted through his fingertips.
"Rigor mortis hasn't fully set in, and the degree of blood coagulation suggests he died recently."
Steve quickly made a judgment in his heart.
"The time of death is definitely no more than four hours ago, which means he indeed died yesterday."
However...
Yesterday, the large screen clearly displayed: [Number of People Cleared: 1].
Why would someone who already cleared the level become a corpse left here?
Steve slowly stood up. He didn't look at Number Seven on the ground, but turned his gaze toward Number Two beside him. In his eyes beneath the mask's holes, a deep, unprecedented despair suddenly surged.
"Number Two."
Steve's voice was hoarse.
"I lost."
"What?"
Upon hearing this, Number Two's whole body jolted. His eyes hidden behind the mask widened instantly as he looked at Steve in disbelief.
"Number One, what do you mean? How could you lose? Aren't I supposed to help you break the game and send you out?"
In Number Two's understanding, Number One, who possessed an absolute trump card, was the only hope in this certain-death situation. How could he suddenly say such discouraging things?
Meanwhile, at the Fortress Command Center.
The atmosphere in the entire hall was suppressed to the extreme.
Randy stared intently at the large screen. Watching Steve's dejected back and hearing that despairing "I lost," his heart suddenly tightened.
"What did Steve see? Why would he say he lost?"
Randy asked urgently.
"Reporting, Chief."
The chief analyst of the Think Tank had a pale face, his voice carrying uncontrollable panic.
"According to the cross-analysis of hundreds of logical models we just established, Director Steve... he might really be unable to get out."
"What did you say? Speak clearly, what's going on?"
Randy's eyes were bloodshot.
The analyst swallowed hard and explained with a trembling voice.
"Chief, based on Director Steve's previous deductions, it was indeed Number Seven who was killing frantically, and the [Number of People Cleared: 1] reported yesterday definitely referred to Number Seven."
"Then, why would someone who already cleared the level become a corpse left in the Mysterious Domain?"
The analyst brought up a logical deduction diagram and pointed at the core node.
"According to our ultimate deduction, in this SSS-level Mysterious Domain named Seven Days Together, death might very well be part of the final condition for clearing the level."
"Or rather, only when the physical body dies within the Mysterious Domain can the soul be liberated, thus being judged as having cleared the level and leaving this time-space loop."
Boom!
Randy felt like he was struck by a bolt from the blue; he recoiled two steps as if hit by lightning.
"Death is also part of clearing the level?"
Randy muttered to himself, instantly understanding why Steve had fallen into despair.
"heart of faith."
Randy slumped dejectedly into the command chair, his face ashen.
"Faith never dies, immortality. This was originally Steve's greatest life-saving trump card in this dangerous world, but now, it has become a shackle he can never break free from."
If the final condition for clearing the level includes death, then Steve, who possesses the heart of faith, will never be able to satisfy this condition.
He will be trapped here by his own trump card for all eternity, forever stuck in this unsolvable Mysterious Domain loop.
"The person behind this has such a vicious scheme."
Randy gritted his teeth.
"He even calculated that Steve has an immortal body. He knew Steve couldn't be killed, so this game, from the very beginning, wasn't meant to kill him, but to trap him forever."
The entire Command Center was dead silent as despair spread through the air.
Faced with this absolute deadlock formed by exploiting rule loopholes, even with ten thousand strategies, the Think Tank was powerless.
In the midst of this suffocating silence...
"No, there's still hope."
Randy suddenly raised his head, the fire reigniting in his eyes.
"The heart of faith is trapped, but don't forget, there is another heart of the angel in this world that shares the same origin."
"Switch the screen to Muriel's side."
As the command was issued, the image on the other side of the large screen zoomed in instantly.
On the grayish-white land of the Strange World shrouded by space-time stillness, a figure intertwined with sacred golden light and fallen black flames was holding a longsword, advancing with difficulty yet unstoppably.
Muriel.
Under the frantic resonance of the heart of the angel, she used the power of chaos to forcibly slash open a rift leading to the altar within that absolutely static SSS-Level Mysterious Domain.
Behind her, countless American resources were continuously poured in to sustain her terrifying consumption.
"As long as Muriel can reach the center of the altar and break that formation eye from the outside, Steve can still be saved."
Randy stared intently at the screen, placing all his hope on that seemingly frail yet incredibly resilient young girl.
The courtyard of the mysterious Ancient Mansion.
The atmosphere in the courtyard was equally tense.
"Number One, what do you mean by that?"
Number Four took a step forward and questioned sternly.
"What do you mean you can't get out if the clear condition involves death? Just how many things are you hiding from us?"
Seeing this, Number Two immediately stood by Steve's side. Though his tone was grave, he still tried to offer comfort.
"Number One, don't worry yet. Although Number Seven died here, it doesn't necessarily mean the clear condition must be death. Perhaps this is just a deceptive trick left behind by Number Seven after he cleared it, specifically to mislead us latecomers?"
"As the original body, you possess the most resources and the sharpest intuition. You must persevere; you'll surely find another way out."
Number Two's words of comfort instantly shocked the other three.
"Original body?"
Number Four and Number Five were stunned at the same time. They looked at each other and then demanded in unison.
"What on earth are you talking about? What original body? What kind of deal did you, Number One and Number Two, make behind our backs?"
To the side, Number Six's mask tilted slightly, clearly deeply shaken by the words 'original body.'
Looking at the agitated trio, Number Three, who had been standing aside silently, suddenly let out a light chuckle.
"Since you want to know so badly, I'll tell you."
Number Three took a step forward, his gaze sweeping over Number Four, Number Five, and Number Six, his voice cold.
"In truth, we are all Steve. We have the same memories and the same way of thinking."
"However."
Number Three paused, pointing at himself and then at them.
"We are all just a group of fakes forcibly copied by this Mysterious Domain, extracted from Number One's memories. We are all false."
"In this game, only Number One is the true original body."
"Impossible!"
Number Four felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He staggered back a step and pointed at Number Three, cursing loudly.
"How could I be fake? I have my memories, I have my thoughts!"
"Exactly, on what basis do you say he is the original body?"
The old man, Number Five, also showed a fierce glint in his eyes, his grip tightening on his dagger.
"On the basis that Number One is not afraid of death."
Number Three ruthlessly pierced their final illusion.
"On the basis that the original body possesses an absolute life-saving method that none of us have. That's why he dares to charge through this eerie mansion without any scruples or worries."
"This game is essentially a cage custom-made by the mastermind to trap him. He can never die, so if the clear condition truly includes death, he will never be able to meet it. He can only be trapped forever in this endless cycle, life after life."
Boom!
Number Three's words sliced open the truth of this world.
Hearing this, Number Four, Number Five, and Number Six were all struck dumb.
They stared fixedly at Steve.
Involuntarily, they recalled all of Number One's abnormal behaviors from the start of the game until now.
That indifferent attitude, that recklessness in opening doors with bare hands, that calm composure when facing death threats.
It turned out he wasn't afraid of death at all.
It turned out they really were just copied memory projections.
Under Number Four's mask, his eyes flashed with intense struggle, pain, and anger, but ultimately, all emotions turned into a dejected, long sigh.
As copies of Steve, they possessed the same extreme rationality as the original body.
When all the clues and logic were laid out seamlessly before them, there was no point in self-deception anymore.
"No wonder."
Number Four lowered his head bitterly.
"No wonder Number One had an attitude of not caring about anything. It turns out you are the true chess player, while we are merely consumables in this dead end."
After a brief silence.
The four copies looked at each other, a flash of determination in their eyes.
"Since we are just fakes..."
Number Four looked up, his voice becoming exceptionally firm.
"Then what should we do now? How can we send the original body, Number One, out?"
Now that they had confirmed who was primary and who was secondary.
With Steve's personality, sacrificing the parts to preserve the core was an instinct etched into his bones.
Number Three also nodded and looked at Steve.
"I don't know. We haven't even figured out if death is an absolute condition for clearing the game."
Number Two's expression darkened, a hint of madness flashing in his eyes.
"It seems we can only verify it through experimentation."
"Since Number Seven took this path, we will retrace it. Then we'll compare the situation of spending a day before he died and a day after he died to see if the system screen shows a clear."
The group looked at each other; no one raised an objection.
"That's the only way."
The old man, Number Five, said sinisterly.
"Now then, let's analyze together: why did Number Seven kill two people in a row yesterday? Could there be a specific requirement for the number of kills in the clear conditions?"
Just as Number Four, Number Five, and Number Three gathered to review yesterday's slaughter.
Steve, who had been squatting on the ground stroking Number Seven's corpse, suddenly stood up.
"There's something wrong with this corpse."
The eyes of all five people instantly focused on Steve.
"What is it?"
Number Two asked.
Steve slowly turned around, his gaze sharp beneath the mask.
"Earlier in the corridor, I said that I felt something extremely special being forcibly extracted from our souls every day."
"But just now, when my heart of faith touched this corpse, I felt an extremely full residue of energy."
"In other words..."
Steve said, emphasizing each word.
"That thing that should have been extracted from Number Seven was full."
"He wasn't extracted from, or rather, he used some method to extract that thing from others and then filled his own soul with it."
As soon as these words were spoken.
Number Two, who had been standing on the periphery of the group, felt his eyes beneath the mask shake violently.
He seemed to instantly understand all the key points, and his body subconsciously retreated several steps.
His hand, at some point, had already moved behind his back, and a glinting cold dagger silently slid into his palm.
Everyone's attention was currently focused on Number Seven's corpse and Steve's analysis; no one noticed Number Two's abnormality at all.
"Squelch!"
"Squelch!"
In that very instant, an unexpected change occurred.
Number Two's figure was like a ghost, his speed reaching the extreme.
The dagger in his hand turned into two streaks of chilling cold light, stabbing directly at the defenseless Number Five and Number Four from an extremely ruthless and tricky angle.
Blood sprayed wildly.
"Ugh..."
The old man, Number Five, and the woman in professional attire, Number Four, didn't even have time to let out a scream before their hearts were instantly crushed.
The two corpses stared with wide, disbelieving eyes, falling straight into a pool of blood.
This scene happened too fast, too suddenly.
Steve and Number Three looked at the two additional corpses on the ground in shock, completely failing to react to what had happened.
"Number Two! What are you doing?"
Number Three roared, her blood surging as she stepped forward, staring fixedly at Number Two, who held the blood-stained blade.
"Are you crazy? Why did you kill them?"
Number Two flicked the blood off his dagger, looking at Number Four and Number Five lying in the pool of blood; the voice beneath his mask held a suffocating rationality.
"My apologies."
"Because you entered too early. If left alone, you two would surely have become the next Number Seven."
"So I had to kill you both first. Otherwise, if a few more disruptors like Number Seven appeared in this game, the probability of Number One leaving alive would be infinitely lowered."
Hearing these appalling remarks, the remaining Steve, Number Three, and Number Six were all stunned.
Just then, the old man, Number Five, who was lying in a pool of blood with one breath left, suddenly grabbed Number Two's ankle tightly.
His already sinister face became distorted as he hissed hoarsely,
"Damn it, how did you figure it out?"
"It's simple."
Number Two looked down at Number Five, without a shred of pity in his eyes.
"Number One said just now that something is extracted every day."
"And a madman like Number Seven, who kills without blinking and doesn't hesitate to slaughter even himself to achieve his goals, likely became that way because he entered too early and had too many things extracted, leading to a complete distortion of his humanity."
Number Two took a deep breath and stated the most terrifying core rule of this SSS-Level Mysterious Domain that he had just deduced.
"If I'm not mistaken."
"This world has actually been subtly extracting our... emotions."
"From the first day I entered this game, I discovered that my perception of the emotion 'joy' seemed to have vanished, as if I had never possessed happiness."
Number Two's words were like a great bell, booming in everyone's minds.
Hearing this, Number Three and Number Six suddenly recalled their states after entering the game and discovered with horror that, just as Number Two said, certain emotional anchors of theirs were becoming extremely dull.
"And by the seventh day."
Number Two's gaze coldly swept over Number Seven's corpse on the ground.
"By the time someone becomes like Number Seven, I think a human's seven emotions must have been extracted until only the last one remains, right?"
"Only desire remains."
"That is, the purest survival instinct and the desire to clear the stage."
"That's why he would hunt down his other selves like a monster, just to fill his hollowed-out soul."
Number Two crouched down, looking into Number Five's gradually dilating pupils, his tone cold to the extreme.
"To prevent you two, the players who have had the most days extracted, from becoming the next Number Seven dominated by desire..."
"I can only send you on your way first."
"This can also be considered preparing materials in advance for our upcoming experiment to verify clearing the game through death."
Hearing this extreme reasoning,
A flash of relief suddenly crossed the pale face of Number Four, who was lying in a pool of blood.
She turned her head with difficulty, looking at Steve not far away.
"A fine... a fine calculation."
Number Four used the last of her strength to pull her lips into an extremely weak smile. She sighed, her voice growing lower and lower.
"In that case, I hope the original body can make it out alive..."
"I too... can die without regrets..."
As her voice fell, Number Four's pupils completely lost focus.
Inside the courtyard, there was a deathly silence.
Amidst this dead silence, the gaze beneath Number Two's mask flickered with complexity.
He slowly began to walk, stepping over the pools of blood and heading straight toward the corpses of Number Four and Number Five.
"Number Two, what are you doing?"
The girl in the sailor uniform, Number Three, took a cautious half-step back.
Number Two didn't reply. He silently crouched down and placed his hands on the chests of Number Four and Number Five, which had not yet turned completely cold.
Under everyone's astonished gazes, the moment Number Two's palms touched the corpses, a visible stream of grayish-white energy was extracted from the two bodies. It flowed along Number Two's arms and converged frantically into his body.
This energy carried an indescribable emotional fluctuation.
Number Two closed his eyes, carefully feeling this power travel through his limbs. His body trembled slightly, as if he were undergoing some kind of soul-level restructuring.
A moment later, that energy was completely absorbed, and the two corpses on the ground seemed to lose their last shred of spirit, becoming like withered wood.
Number Two slowly stood up and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
Steve looked at him, the gaze beneath his mask shifting slightly as he asked in a heavy voice,
"What's wrong? Do you feel anything?"
Number Two lowered his head and looked at his hands, his voice behind the mask carrying an unspeakable exhaustion.
"Yes, my desire has strengthened. I can feel that I've reclaimed some emotions from them just now."
"But..."
There was a hint of self-deprecation in Number Two's tone.
"Only the emotion of 'joy' still hasn't recovered; I still can't feel any happiness."
The remaining four looked at each other, a trace of solemnity flashing in their eyes as they nodded one after another.
The situation was now very clear; the malice of this Mysterious Domain far exceeded their imagination.
"Now, we can only wait."
Number Two looked up toward the Conference Room.
"Wait for the first day to pass completely, and then see whether I, having killed those two, will be judged as having cleared the stage."
Number Three bit her lip and said with some worry,
"If Number One can't get out, then no matter how we struggle, all Steve Tians will be in a cycle here forever. Number One is the true original body; if he is trapped to death, we are all just water without a source."
She paused, her gaze sweeping toward the depths of the mist.
"Furthermore, since Number Four and Number Five are dead now, new Steve Tians will definitely be added tonight. If they come in and see the misleading clues Number Five left behind, they might treat us as enemies."
Steve shook his head.
"It's hard to say. Since they are also Steve, they might not blindly trust the message left on a note. Besides, those added tonight might directly be replacements for Number Four or Number Five. Let's go back to the Conference Room and wait for them first."
Hearing this, everyone nodded silently.
Indeed, making wild guesses here was meaningless; waiting for them in the Conference Room was the most stable approach.
Several people turned and walked toward the Conference Room.
Meanwhile.
Within the Mysterious Domain space, deep in a pitch-black mist where one couldn't see their own hand.
Before an ancient stone table, a new figure that had just condensed into form slowly opened his eyes.
He looked around warily, his gaze instantly locking onto a set of black robes, a faceless mask, and a letter lying quietly on the stone table.
He stepped forward, picked up the note, and scanned it.
[My name is Steve. When you see this sentence, I am already dead. Number One is the original body. We have all been deceived by the Mysterious Domain. Assist Number One in escaping the cycle, or there will be no end.]
Looking at this line of text, the new Steve was slightly stunned.
"Number One is the original body? We've all been deceived?"
Countless deductions and calculations flashed through his eyes.
As Steve, he instinctively maintained skepticism toward any information, but the tone of this sentence, the word choices, and even the core binding of interests were too consistent with his own way of thinking.
"If I were a person trapped in a certain-death situation and wanted to break this desperate cycle before dying, I would indeed leave such a message."
He muttered to himself, then without hesitation, picked up the black robes nearby to drape over himself and fastened the faceless mask onto his face.
As the disguise took effect, he took a deep look into the depths of the mist and set off with steady strides toward the vaguely visible outline of the Ancient Mansion.
Ancient Mansion, Side Room Conference Room.
Steve, Number Two, Number Three, and Number Six sat quietly in their chairs.
Suddenly, a clear sound of footsteps came from outside the door.
Tap, tap, tap...
Sshink.
Number Two instantly stood up, his eyes sharp beneath the mask as the blood-stained dagger in his hand silently slid into his palm.
Number Three and Number Six also stared intently at the doorway.
The wooden door was slowly pushed open, and a figure in professional attire appeared at the entrance.
After seeing the newcomer's form clearly, everyone in the Conference Room breathed a collective sigh of relief.
It was the replacement for Number Four.
The new Number Four walked in, looking at the four tense people in the Conference Room and their instantly relaxed postures, his brow furrowing slightly under the mask.
"What's wrong?"
The new Number Four pulled out a chair and sat down, asking in a low voice.
"With you all looking like you're facing a formidable enemy, were you waiting for me, or for the Murderer who is coming to kill me?"
Number Three stepped forward, reaching out to suppress any potential hostility and pressing him down into his seat.
"Don't get agitated yet. The situation is more complicated than you imagine."
Next, using the most concise language, Number Three recounted the background of this Mysterious Domain's Seven Days Together, the fact that everyone was a clone of Steve, and the mutual killing and emotion-stripping mechanism that had just occurred in the courtyard to the new Number Four.
The new Number Four listened quietly, his gaze sweeping over everyone before finally landing on Number One, who sat calmly in the main seat.
Combined with the note he had just seen on the stone table, although his inherent suspiciousness kept him from fully trusting these words, the logical loop had already convinced him of most of it.
"So that's how it is..."
The new Number Four took a deep breath, his tone heavy.
"If it's truly as you say, that only death plus gathering the Seven Emotions can clear the stage, then our current situation is a dead end."
"Number One is the original body; he has an absolute life-saving trump card and cannot die. If we clones can only clear the stage through death, then once Number One can't get out, this world won't reset, and all our souls will be forever trapped in this dark, sunless mansion."
Hearing Number Four directly expose this truth, everyone in the Conference Room nodded one after another.
Just as everyone was at a loss for words.
Beep!
The large screen on the wall suddenly flickered.
Everyone's hearts instantly leapt into their throats, staring deathly at the screen that would determine their fate.
Red characters slowly emerged.
[Total Number of People: 5]
[Number of Deaths Yesterday: 2]
[Number of People Cleared: 0]
Boom!
Looking at that 'Number of People Cleared: 0'.
"Zero, it's really zero."
Number Three leaned back against his chair.
Everyone turned their heads, looking at Steve sitting there with a hint of despair in their eyes.
It's over.
We really have to die.
Number Two killed two people and seized their emotions, yet still didn't clear the stage.
This completely confirmed their most terrifying suspicion.
In this perverted Mysterious Domain, killing was just for collecting clearance items, while the true clearance ticket was death.
Number Two stood before the screen, staring intently at that zero, his face twisting for a moment under the mask.
Then, he slowly turned his head and looked at Steve.
At this moment, Number Two seemed to have made an incredibly resolute decision.
[Nightfall Ends]
[A new day has begun, all players please explore on your own]
The mechanical prompt sounded at the right time, breaking the deathly silence.
Number Two didn't say a word; he turned around directly and walked toward the exit of the Conference Room without hesitation.
Seeing this action, Steve's brow furrowed slightly, and he immediately stood up to follow.
Number Three, the new Number Four, and Number Six behind them also realized something and quickly followed suit.
The group walked out of the Ancient Mansion's main gate.
At this time, the mist outside seemed to have thinned a bit, and a sliver of bright but fake sunlight even peeked through the sky.
Number Two stopped, looked up at the hypocritical sky, and suddenly gave a big stretch.
"Phew, finally about to be free."
Number Two turned his head, looked at the somber-faced crowd behind him, and suddenly gave a light chuckle, saying in a relaxed tone.
"Why are you all so long-faced? Don't be so gloomy; haven't I not died yet?"
"Let's go to the last location, the place where Number Seven died, to check if I will actually clear the stage."
After saying that, Number Two turned around with a smile and walked toward that white church.
Walking behind, the new Number Four looked at Number Two's forcedly relaxed back, and a strong sense of bitterness couldn't help but well up in his heart.
Everyone knew that because his emotions had been stripped by the Mysterious Domain, Number Two had already completely lost the emotion of joy.
The happiness and unconstrained attitude he was showing now were entirely put on for everyone to see through his own powerful willpower.
He was using this method to mask the tragic nature of his impending death.
Number Four opened his mouth but found that he couldn't say anything at all.
In this Shura Field where everyone was going to their deaths for experiments just to send the real Steve out, any words of comfort seemed so pale and powerless.
Everyone remained silent throughout the journey, following Number Two to that sacred White Church.
"Number Seven died here."
Number Two stood before the church's main gate, looking up at the towering cross spire, his tone calm.
"Then I might as well die here too; it's a fitting end."
He didn't enter the hall but instead went straight up the spiral staircase next to it, reaching the edge of the bell tower on the church's top floor.
The fierce wind howled in his ears, making his red dress flutter loudly.
Number Two stood at the edge of the roof; one more half-step forward would mean being dashed to pieces.
He quietly watched the scene before him, slowly spreading his arms as if to embrace this void world.
He closed his eyes, using his heart to feel this final trace of the breeze.
The four Steve Tians standing behind him watched him quietly; not a single person stepped forward to stop him.
After a long while, Number Two turned around.
His gaze pierced through the mask, falling directly onto Steve.
"Number One."
Number Two's voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the wind, yet every word was powerful and resonant.
"When I first entered this game and saw you in the Conference Room, I knew you weren't simple."
"I think the most correct choice I made was probably believing in you, choosing to follow you, and letting you lead me to break this deadlock."
A very relieved chuckle came from beneath Number Two's mask.
"I just didn't expect that now, it's my turn to lead you to break the deadlock."
He turned his head, his gaze sweeping over Number Three, Number Four, and Number Six in turn, his tone becoming incredibly solemn.
"And you all, we are all Steve. I won't say too many sentimental words; everyone understands."
"This Mysterious Domain wants to trap us here until we die, so we simply won't let it have its way."
"Take Steve, live well, and send him out."
Number Two's voice suddenly rose, carrying a determination that could shatter the clouds.
"American cannot be without Steve."
"Goodbye, fellow Steve Tians!"
After speaking, Number Two showed no lingering attachment. With a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, his body fell straight backward.
Whoosh!
The red hem of his dress bloomed in the air like a tragic, blood-colored rose.
In the constricted pupils of the onlookers, Number Two's figure plummeted rapidly, accompanied by the sound of the wind, finally turning into an extremely dull, heavy thud.
Bang.
The four of them stood at the top of the church, remaining silent for a long time.
Although they clearly knew that the one who died was just a memory clone of themselves, the shock and regret of witnessing themselves calmly going to their deaths for the sake of the big picture still struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.
Number Three stepped forward, reached out, and gently patted Steve's shoulder.
"Don't be too sad."
"Number Two is a real man. He did this so the original body could get out; his sacrifice is valuable."
"Let's go. We should head down to check his body, then return to the Conference Room. When the time is up, we'll see if he really cleared the game."
Steve took a deep breath, completely hiding the emotions in his eyes beneath the mask.
"Let's go."
The group followed the stairs all the way down to the small plaza in front of the church.
Number Two's body lay there quietly, blood staining the white stone slabs red.
His mask had shattered, revealing a face identical to Steve's, though it had now lost all signs of life.
Steve bent down, not minding the blood and filth, and carefully picked up Number Two's corpse.
"Let's find a place and bury him."
The group dug a pit in the wasteland behind the church and properly buried Number Two.
There was no tombstone, no epitaph, because in this false world, he hadn't even possessed a name of his own.
Having finished this, the four turned and walked all the way toward the Conference Room of the Ancient Mansion.
Time passed bit by bit in the dead silence.
In the Conference Room, the four sat on chairs. The air seemed to have solidified into something tangible, pressing down so hard it was difficult to breathe.
Everyone stared at the black screen of the monitor, waiting for the final judgment.
At the same time.
At the Mist Respawn Point of the Mysterious Domain space.
A new figure slowly condensed into form before a stone table.
He opened his eyes and immediately noticed a letter pinned under a black robe on the tabletop.
He stepped forward and picked up the letter.
This wasn't a system prompt like the one on the first day, but a suicide note hurriedly written by someone in extremely scrawled, even slightly frantic, handwriting.
[Steve, by the time you see this letter, I will have already died for Number One.]
[Believe in everyone, send the real Number One Steve out, and whatever you do, don't let Steve be trapped here.]
Looking at these words, the newly arrived Steve fell into a long period of contemplation.
He could feel the desperate determination of the letter's writer from between the lines, as well as their absolute trust in Number One.
"Died for Number One."
He muttered to himself, then his gaze fell on the black robe and faceless mask nearby.
He took a deep breath, picked up the black robe and mask, and put them on.
Under the distortion of the rules, he instantly transformed into a woman with a curvaceous figure wearing a red dress, exactly as Number Two had looked before death.
The new Number Two turned and walked toward the silhouette of the Ancient Mansion in the distance.
Side Room Conference Room.
*Squeak.*
The door was pushed open.
When they saw that familiar figure in the red dress walking in, all four people in the Conference Room let out a long sigh of relief.
"You're here."
Number Three looked at him, a trace of complexity flashing in her eyes.
The new Number Two ignored everyone's gaze. He strode to the table, his eyes sweeping over the four people present, his voice cold and direct.
"Who is Number One?"
Steve sat in the main seat, slowly raised his head, and met his gaze.
"I am."
The new Number Two stared intently at Steve for a moment, then simply gave a heavy nod.
Without asking another redundant question, he went straight to an empty seat and sat down.
Seeing this, everyone immediately understood that the previous Number Two must have left some crucial note at the respawn point, giving him clear instructions.
Number Three sighed and once again took on the role of the narrator.
She pulled the new Number Two aside and recounted everything from the start of the game until now—the mutual slaughter, the stripping of emotions, and the tragic process of the previous Number Two jumping off the building to verify the game's completion.
The new Number Two listened with a furrowed brow, his hands clenched tightly into fists.
After finishing, Number Three pulled a thick Black Notebook from her bosom and handed it to the new Number Two.
"What is this?"
Number Six asked abruptly from the side.
"When did you write a book?"
Number Three looked at the notebook in her hand and gave a bitter smile.
"Yesterday, when we went to the church, I started writing it."