Chapter 58: Emergency Exit

The beam of Zhang Yunfan's Flashlight shot straight out, the spot of light freezing at the end of the corridor corner.

That was one of the exits for this place, and also the closest exit to them right now.

The two moved their feet, the subtle sounds echoing in the darkness—they were consciously slowing their steps, seemingly afraid of attracting the attention of some "thing."

Soon, they arrived at the corner, but the two suddenly halted their steps.

Just now, not much time had passed since Ding Mo's encounter.

What if "it" was in the blind spot of the corner?

The two looked at each other, both pressing against the wall opposite the turn, moving slowly toward it. The Flashlight pointed unmoving at the corner of the wall, trying their best to use the principle of objects appearing larger when closer and smaller when further away, struggling to confirm the situation in the blind spot.

Feeling the coldness on his back, Ding Mo's skin physiologically broke out in goosebumps—

Ever since he threw away his top just now, he couldn't enter the shops, so he had only swiped a thin T-shirt from the open-air sales area in the corridor.

But fortunately, the two inched along like this for a long time, until they saw the entire blind spot, and there was nothing there.

That "thing" seemed to have completely disappeared... No, Ding Mo preferred to believe it had hidden itself.

But this place was only so big, where could it hide?

At this moment, Zhang Yunfan also let out a slight sigh of relief and walked forward.

"We'll be at the exit after walking a bit further, and then we can get out," he said to Ding Mo, though it was as if he were comforting himself.

But, would things be that simple?

This distance, the two walked very slowly, fearing that something might pop out from behind the occasional doors on either side.

However, nothing did.

After walking a few more steps, Ding Mo looked up and saw the green-glowing "Emergency Exit" sign!

Its arrow pointed straight downward!

Zhang Yunfan, who also saw the sign, was overjoyed and stepped forward, somewhat impatiently.

But he hadn't walked a few steps before his pace faltered.

As the two drew closer, under the illumination of the Flashlight.

They saw that standing at the emergency exit was actually a human figure!

Dressed in red and blue, with the body proportions of a 4 or 5-year-old amiable child, it was smiling without any eyeballs or skin.

It was exactly the "Child Mannequin"!

It stood straight under the emergency exit sign, its head almost touching the ceiling, its massive body occupying the entire corridor, completely blocking the "Emergency Exit" behind it.

The arrow on that sign, which originally revealed "safety," pointed exactly at it, making a sense of absurdity well up in the two.

It stood under the sign's arrow, as if it wanted to disguise itself as the "Emergency Exit."

Are you kidding me!!

"..."

Gulp!

Zhang Yunfan swallowed a mouthful of saliva and spoke with difficulty:

"Let's... go the other way."

"Go!" Ding Mo and the other said, retreating toward the back.

While there was still a choice, there was no need to go head-to-head with it!

They retreated to the corner, just as they turned their heads.

A huge figure had already appeared at the corner of the path they had come from, watching the two with a smile.

Click-clack-click!

At the same time, a sound like a rusted axle swept into their ears!!

What!? In a fraction of a second, Ding Mo's eyes slowly widened, staring at the giant arm coming toward him.

There was actually... another one!

The giant arm whipped up a wind as strong as a sharp blade; it hadn't even landed yet, and it already made Ding Mo feel a stinging pain on his face!

In this instant, he knew that if he were hit, his head would definitely explode! Just like ginger and garlic smashed by an iron knife!

At this critical juncture, neural electrical signals conducted frantically, neurotransmitters collided and diffused between synapses like high-speed trains, and the relevant neurons contracted violently!

Finally, when the giant hand was only a few millimeters from Ding Mo's face, it stopped.

A second later, the blood from Ding Mo's face, as if fearing this giant hand almost pressed against his face, faded and fled entirely!

His face instantly turned incomparably pale.

But fortunately... he made it stop!

"Hoo, hoo, hoo..." Ding Mo struggled to breathe, his breathing becoming rapid unconsciously.

It was a good thing he reacted in time and pulled down the "Curtain," otherwise his head would probably have been smashed by now!

The painted palm was right in front of him, even the textures on it were clearly visible, and a smell of rot drifted into his nostrils.

Ding Mo forced himself to calm down and looked closely, only to find some long-since completely rotted humus mixed between the palms.

This palm didn't know how many people it had smashed to death!

Ding Mo retreated half a step, and although he couldn't move, he tried to stay as far away from this palm as possible.

The limit of Time Stop was three minutes; now this "Child Mannequin" from who knows where had blocked their retreat, truly a case of wolves in front and tigers behind.

Where should the two go? This was a question he needed to think about in a short time.

"What should we do?" Ding Mo looked at the monster waving its hand in front of him, and at the other end...

Eh?!

Ding Mo's eyelids twitched, and only then did he discover that the mannequin at the other emergency exit had also moved!

He hadn't seen its movement, but compared to just now, Ding Mo could be certain it had indeed moved several meters!

Now he was going to be cornered; Ding Mo's face was as dark as water, and a sense of despair surged within his heart.

The three-minute mark was almost up, and despite racking his brains, Ding Mo could not think of any good solution.

Was it really going to end like this?

Ding Mo gritted his teeth!

No! There must be a solution!! Think harder... think harder...

Brain, think for me!

Why did these mannequins suddenly move? When did it happen? Why are they attacking us?

Ding Mo suddenly thought of something.

Is it because we entered the snack shop?!

If there was one anomaly along the way just now, it was this.

Entering a shop triggers an attack? How could that be...

Striving to stay calm, Ding Mo felt a faint glimmer of an idea in his heart,

but the time had already run out.

He had no choice but to crouch down first, dodging this attack.

The frozen space-time resumed, and the palm whistled past Ding Mo's scalp with the force of a thousand jun!

It missed...?

No!

Ding Mo was surprised to discover that Zhang Yunfan had suddenly turned around and was running toward this side!

"No! Don't come over!" he warned loudly.

But it was already too late; in the stunned gaze of Zhang Yunfan, the palm whistled down and smashed into him!

A bone-chilling sound of flesh colliding came through with a dull thud.

"Ahhhhhhh—!" Zhang Yunfan screamed, his entire left arm having been turned into a bloody pulp!

Fresh blood sprayed onto the wall to the side, staining it and leaving behind a scarlet mark.

He himself was also flipped over by the immense force, sprawling on the ground, his face twisted in pain!

"Zhang Yunfan!" Ding Mo rushed over at the first opportunity, scooped him up, and retreated rapidly.

Supporting Zhang Yunfan, whose face was as pale as paper, they reached the middle of this corridor; Ding Mo could not spare the time to wipe the cold sweat from his brow and eyes, and looked all around.

Two "child mannequins" had already surrounded them, one in front and one behind!

There was nowhere to go!

This was simply a dead end!

Supporting Zhang Yunfan, who was groaning incessantly from the excruciating pain as cold sweat poured down like rain.

A trace of despair finally could not help but appear on Ding Mo's face.

Is it... going to end here?

Looking ahead, then looking behind, those "things" were constantly drawing closer to them.

It was just that when they moved, they seemed unwilling to be noticed by Ding Mo; only when he looked away or his attention shifted would they draw closer.

This resulted in the fact that as soon as Ding Mo stopped paying attention, they would approach, but as soon as he looked over, they would both stand still with rigid bodies,

as if disguised as real "mannequins"!