Chapter 36: The Beginning of Collapse

Dark clouds gathered, and amidst the rumbling of thunder, lightning illuminated the chiseled, knife-cut side profile of an officer.

He gazed into the distance; beside him were rows of concrete Defense Line fortifications and squads of soldiers, fully armed and standing by in strict formation!

Together, they formed an impenetrable green-and-white Defense Line against the forest and the dilapidated road in front of them.

Looking out, this Defense Line stretched for thousands of miles, endless to the eye, yet without exception, it surrounded an area ahead, seemingly guarding against something within it.

This place was, in fact, only a few hundred kilometers away from the Hotel where Ding Mo and the others were!

This dilapidated road was the very path leading directly to that Hotel!

At this moment, a sound suddenly came from the walkie-talkie on the chest of the officer standing and gazing out.

The officer's cold eyes shifted slightly as he pressed the receive button.

"Static..." After a burst of noise, a call came through:

"Calling Chief! Calling Chief! Equipment has detected that the person in charge of the Ritual within the sealed facility has lost all vital signs!

"Repeating, the person in charge of the Ritual has lost all vital signs..."

"Received. Have all units take note! Increase vigilance; the Ritual has already reached the final step!

"The 'King' is about to be born!"

Rumble—!

Thunder tore through the sky, and streaks of rain drifted in the cold, gloomy air.

The officer immediately turned back, entered a military facility, and made a phone call.

After hanging up a while later, he raised his head, his eyes revealing determination!

Over a hundred strategic-grade "Nuclear Weapons" were ready; if those people in the Hotel failed, they would sacrifice themselves to hold the line for a moment, and then...

They would attempt to resolve this "Leakage Crisis" at the cost of completely "melting" this area!

This was also the final resort...

Underground Level 2, in Guest Room 4007.

The thick concrete underground facility isolated all sounds from the outside world, and Ding Mo and the other were completely unaware of the changes happening outside.

They were currently racking their brains over how to obtain the Identity of the "Prince".

The Prince's gold statue stood in the center of the room, and Ding Mo and Dong Xiaoyu were searching the room for clues.

Ding Mo crouched down to check under the bed, but found nothing there.

Beside the only bed in this room sat a chair, facing the bed, seemingly the place where the unknown owner of the room often sat.

Ding Mo stood up, passed the back of the chair, and thought about checking the bathroom.

At this moment, a shout came from Dong Xiaoyu's side.

Ding Mo walked over on his way and discovered that Dong Xiaoyu seemed to have found a small brown-covered book in a drawer.

She opened the book, looking surprised, and handed it to him when she saw Ding Mo walk over.

Ding Mo looked closely, and the first line on the first page read:

【I must record the Ritual steps and details I have explored in detail!】

A Ritual? Could it be a cult? Ding Mo found these characters somewhat distorted and difficult to recognize,

as if the writer had been in a state of extreme agitation when writing them.

Turning the page:

【According to the instructions from the Crystal Coffin, I need others to help me complete the Ritual... No! Impossible! They are all mine! They are mine!

No, no, be patient... This Ritual is very special; perhaps I don't need others to know.】

This guy clearly had mental issues... Ding Mo continued reading:

【Got it, I can have the participants of the Ritual perform; that way, they can voluntarily become the "King" and "Princess". I am truly a genius!】

【September 1st, the Ritual started. I had the Hotel staff play roles, and they were as dutiful as usual.】

【September 2nd, the Ritual had no effect. Why, why, why, why...】

The dense, page-long "why"s, with characters resembling tadpoles, made Ding Mo's eyelids twitch slightly, and Dong Xiaoyu beside him also shrank her shoulders.

【September 3rd, I learned from yesterday's lesson and expanded the performance stage to other parts of the Hotel, and after the performance ended, I killed the most disobedient employee as a sacrifice... The voice from the Crystal Coffin... Success... (a section of distorted, unrecognizable radicals)...】

【Record: The Ritual requires sacrifices】

【September 5th, the Crystal Coffin said it's not enough... must... continue the Ritual. The Script for the First Act and the sacrifices have failed; I must write the Script for the Second Act... The voice... Success... It's coming soon... (unrecognizable)...】

【Record: Ritual = Performance, continue the Ritual = advance the performance, thereby producing different sacrifices】

Are we actually experiencing a Ritual right now?

Ding Mo was surprised.

Then... what is the Ritual for? What is coming soon?

Ding Mo accelerated his reading speed, hoping to find clues quickly—after all, in his view, Lu Zhenhao and the others might come down at any time.

【October 6th... someone... investigating... missing persons case? They just became... the Ritual succeeded... no matter...】

This person's sanity seemed to be becoming increasingly unclear!

A somewhat anxious Ding Mo turned to the next page.

But... he saw a "Human Face"!

It was a face tucked between the pages, with almost no thickness! But the two eyes on the face were staring fixedly at Ding Mo, who had opened it!

There was a glimmer of light in the eyes!

It was alive!

"Fuck!" Ding Mo cursed, scared into throwing the Record Book away, and he and Dong Xiaoyu both retreated with a "thud"!

The book fell to the ground, and a cry of pain came from it:

"I'm the one who should be saying fuck! What are you doing?!"

The Human Face can speak? The two exchanged a glance.

A few seconds later, Ding Mo found a broom to flip the book open again.

That Human Face was indeed showing a pained expression, whimpering.

"You..." Ding Mo took a long while to calm down, barely accepting the bizarre scene before him.

"Who are you?" Dong Xiaoyu gathered her courage to ask.

"I'm your grandfather!" the Human Face said angrily, but his expression immediately collapsed, and he sighed:

"Fine, the time has come for me to fulfill my mission."

As he spoke, the Human Face gestured with his eyes toward the Prince Gold Statue standing in the room next door, saying:

"Put me on it, and then you can leave."

What? The two looked confused. Ding Mo probed:

"You mean, put you onto the Prince's face?"

"Yes! You kid have some insight! Let me put it bluntly," the Human Face sighed:

"You came here wanting to obtain the Prince's Identity, right?

"I am here for that very reason; as long as you put me on it, I will turn into a Mask carved with the Prince's face,

"By then, whoever wears me can become the 'Prince'!"

!! Hearing this, Dong Xiaoyu turned her head in surprise and looked at Ding Mo.

Should they do this?

Clearly, this mysterious Human Face knew some of the secrets here.

Ding Mo met her gaze, but he began to ponder, remaining silent.

Because at this moment, another matter came to his mind—the clue on the small note that caused Chu Chenfeng's death:

Covering Face!

Could it be that it meant covering the Prince statue's face with this Human Face?

So, was "Covering Face" on the note actually a verb, not a noun?

Ding Mo scrutinized the Human Face on the book page.

But... he kept feeling that something was wrong.

"How do you know all this?" Ding Mo asked.

Seeing this, the Human Face said anxiously:

"I was the Prince of the previous performance! You have to believe me!"

... There was a previous performance?! And you were the Prince of the previous performance!?

Seeing the two looking shocked, the Human Face became even more anxious:

"No time to explain! When that guy comes back, you'll all be finished! Hurry up and give me a hand, I can't move right now..."

However, before he could finish his sentence,

At the doorway of the room, the sound of door hinges rubbing suddenly rang out!

At the same time, the lights flickered.