Chapter 38: Breaking the Dam

The distance of several dozen meters was covered in an instant!

Ding Mo was startled; he had not expected this "Substitute Actor" to become even more bizarre!

However... the place where only Ding Mo and his companion were currently located was continuously followed by light, and apart from that, only the lightbulb on the "Substitute Actor's" head was flickering.

And when it entered the stable light where Ding Mo was, its flickering figure actually returned to normal?

"This is..." Ding Mo realized something, and as he watched it raise the sword in its hand to slash toward him, he also swung his own sword.

Clang!

The sound of metal clashing echoed through the underground corridor.

Blocked! Ding Mo discovered that after putting on the Mask, his strength was unprecedentedly great!

He took a step,

Crack!

The floor cracked into several fissures, and then a massive force was transmitted to his arm—Ding Mo exerted effort and actually sent the "Substitute Actor" flying away with a slash!

So strong! Although the Threshold was constantly dropping and he could not last for more than a few minutes, Ding Mo was still surprised by the power of this Mask.

It was just that,

The "Substitute Actor" that had been sent flying, after leaving the stable light, flickered once more and vanished without a trace.

It was very clear that it was fine.

Thus, Ding Mo and his companion remained vigilant while running upward.

"Where are we going now?" Dong Xiaoyu asked from behind.

"... Up one floor, to the lobby!" Ding Mo did not stop his feet, and after thinking for a brief moment, he said.

The Script for the Final Act mentioned that "the Prince shall surely carry his beloved, ascend to the throne, and save this country."

In the two acts of the Script prior to this, the words "shall surely" had not appeared. This might be a hint!

If all of this was a Ritual, then "ascending to the throne" was very likely the final link of this Ritual!

And the only "throne" Ding Mo could think of right now was the one Zhu Jie had been sitting on in the Hotel lobby at the time.

"I hope I haven't guessed wrong..."

Ding-dong!

The moment the elevator doors opened, Ding Mo discovered that the music reaching his ears was even more peculiar!

It was as if... various styles of children's music were mixed together, forming a reverberation through the walls of the Hotel?

Outside the windows, it was unknown when it had become a battlefield of crazy torrential rain and angry thunder!

"Th-that is!?" Suddenly, Dong Xiaoyu stared at a strange shadow in the distance and exclaimed.

Ding Mo followed her gaze and discovered that in the darkness in the distance, there was a strange shadow nearly 3 meters tall and nearly 4 meters wide!

The massive body almost filled the Hotel corridor!

What kind of Guaishou was this again? Ding Mo's expression sank, especially when he saw that the place where it was located was the only path leading to the lobby.

With no other choice, the two could only approach cautiously.

The Guaishou's large head was twisted, seemingly stuffed into its body, which was incomparably bizarre.

This is?!

But when the two who had approached looked up at it, they gasped in cold air.

That was a duck! To be precise, it was a giant duckling!

It had originally been burying its head, seemingly preening its feathers. At this moment, sensing someone approaching, it revealed its head:

That duck head, with a steel-like flat beak stuck in the gap of the stitching like a valve, and two holes that looked as if they had been punched out fiercely by a heavy pile driver embedded in its face, pitch-black,

was staring at the two!

This is... the Ugly Duckling!? Ding Mo did not know why this term surfaced in his mind.

The next second, a shrill "quack" sound assaulted their eardrums, and the "Ugly Duckling" opened its large mouth and lowered its head to eat them!

Just as if it were going to eat a few delicious fat worms.

Ding Mo grabbed Dong Xiaoyu, who was like a small chicken, and amidst her exclamation, he held his sword and rolled,

and during the roll, he slashed at the "Ugly Duckling's" duck foot.

How sharp the keen sword was, and its brave power was peerless! This strike actually severed the duck foot directly!

Rolling to his feet, the "Ugly Duckling" behind him fell down while screaming.

Ding Mo put down Dong Xiaoyu, who was clearly not alright, wanting to seize the time to continue moving forward.

His "Threshold" could not last much longer!

And Dong Xiaoyu was not alright at this moment—she had actually already peed herself in fear.

A warm current wetted her noble black-purple dress, but seeing Ding Mo walking forward, Dong Xiaoyu had no choice but to move her trembling legs and grit her teeth to follow.

But after Ding Mo hurriedly walked two steps, he suddenly stopped.

Because, up ahead,

were streaks of bizarre black shadows!

There were hunched figures wearing red hats, a four-legged Guaishou wearing a crown, a pillar of flesh wearing a woman's dress... they had suddenly appeared from nowhere, and they had actually almost filled this corridor!

And they were wandering within it, like devils waiting to choose someone to devour!

Looking at them, the knuckles of Ding Mo's hand gripping the sword could not help but turn white.

This road... how was he supposed to walk it?

At the same time,

hundreds of kilometers away, behind gray-white fortifications.

Rat-tat-tat!

Some soldiers were already holding their guns and began firing at the woods in front of them!

The cold-blooded officer stood on high ground, his eyes reflecting the streaks of eerie shadows constantly emerging in the woods.

Just like the ones in the Hotel, the eerie shadows clearly possessed features of some fairy-tale characters, yet each one was twisted and terrifying, impossible to communicate with!

They only roared and shrieked as they attacked humans, as if they wanted to take revenge on humanity!

"Stop them! Don't let these freaks get close!" a sergeant roared on the defensive line.

But suddenly, he froze. Two seconds later, his head swelled up, and his mouth beneath his cap kept vomiting out matches. Thick matches also grew out from his skin pores from within his body! Burning!

"Captain!!" The surrounding soldiers saw this and all looked at him in horror.

Bang! At this moment, a decisive gunshot rang out.

The cold-blooded officer held a pistol in his hand, the barrel emitting smoke.

Amidst the falling figure, his expression suddenly twisted:

"Do not be soft-hearted! Do not shrink back! Do not doubt!

"If there is any anomaly, kill it!

"Your Task is to prevent these anomalies from leaking into every corner of the world!!"

The roar echoed across the field.

"Yes—!" Although the soldiers still had doubts and were filled with fear, the duty of a soldier made their bodies act without hesitation.

Rat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat-tat...

The cold-blooded officer put away his pistol; at this moment, a communication came through the walkie-talkie on his chest:

"Chief, this is the monitoring team. We have detected an abnormal reaction; the gate to the other world is afraid that it has already..."

"No need for you to tell me, I can see it!" the cold-blooded officer interrupted, looking at the increasing number of Guaishou, and said:

"Tell me something I don't know!"

The Guaishou in front of the Defense Line were forced back by the firepower, but they would not die, instead launching attacks again. Coupled with the fact that their numbers were constantly accumulating, the situation was becoming increasingly dangerous!

"Zzz... Chief, the abnormal reaction is rising sharply; the Ritual in the Hotel should have reached the final step."

Upon hearing this, the cold-blooded officer suddenly raised his head.

First floor of the Hotel, corridor.

Ding Mo coughed up a mouthful of blood, leaning against the wall, gasping for air. His clothes were somewhat tattered, and he was in a sorry state.

He had killed his way here, leaving behind the corpses of monsters such as severed skirt-flesh pillars and Red-Cap Werewolves with shattered fangs.

Especially that Red-Cap Werewolf; after being swiped by its claw, Ding Mo now had wolf fur faintly growing all over his body!

Even his mind began to be affected by some eerie thoughts, making it difficult to concentrate.

But now, there was still a short distance to the front hall. This distance, which would take no more than half a minute on an ordinary day, now felt like a chasm.

Moreover, Ding Mo's "Threshold" had already reached 42%! If this continued, once it dropped below 20%, he could not guarantee that he would still have the sanity to act!

As for Dong Xiaoyu, she stood to the side, fearful and anxious at the sight.

Seeing Ding Mo's body sway, she could only step forward to support him.

"Are, are you okay?"

Ding Mo could hear the trembling and panic in her voice.

He was just about to say something, but suddenly froze. He lowered his head,

and at the place where he was touched by Dong Xiaoyu, the nearby wounds were actually healing continuously!