Chapter 85: Hanging by a Thread!

Chen Ran slowly woke up.

He subconsciously glanced at his Watch.

Immediately after.

He observed his surroundings, and his blurry eyes were quickly filled with shock.

This was a master bedroom.

The room was clean and monotonous, containing a double bed, a desk, and a wardrobe.

To the right of the desk, there was also a large plastic trash can.

Chen Ran stood up.

He walked over to the desk. The items on it were equally simple: a laptop, an ashtray, an external keyboard, and a Computer Mouse.

The keyboard on the desk seemed to have severe paint peeling from long-term use by its owner, making many of the keys illegible.

Lighting a Cigarette, he held it in his left hand and naturally rested his right hand on the Computer Mouse.

Unexpectedly, the moment he touched the Computer Mouse, the laptop screen lit up.

However, the computer was password-protected. The account name was saved, so only the password was needed.

Chen Ran stared at the account name, his gaze growing increasingly grave, because the account name was...

ran010

'There can be no mistake. Whether it is the items in the bedroom or the placement of the ashtray.'

'It all confirms that this is the room I lived in before I died.'

'This Escape Room Game is very strange. It jumps all over the place, making it hard to grasp the main point and extremely difficult to make the right deductions.'

He tapped the keyboard and entered the password.

A word processing software that had not been closed appeared on the screen. But when he saw the contents within the software, his pupils shrank violently.

"Hell Liar-Slayer" Current Chapter:

"Cut! The first season of 'Hell Liar-Slayer' is officially wrapped up!"

A skinny middle-aged man wearing a baseball cap popped out of nowhere and excitedly spoke to the two of them...

He continued reading further down.

"Chen Ran tried hard to stay awake, but his eyelids grew heavier. Before completely giving in, he glanced at his Watch one more time.

60 minutes!

The next moment, unable to hold on any longer, he collapsed onto the bed and fell into a deep sleep."

'The content of this chapter... is it my experience in this Escape Room Game?'

'Who wrote this?'

'It is my computer, so it could only have been written by me. Of course, I cannot rule out the possibility that this is a hint from the Escape Room Game.'

'Since my experiences in the previous scene were perfectly mapped out by the chapter contents, does that mean if I add to the chapter right now...'

'...I can design the subsequent plot myself?'

At this thought.

He tapped the keyboard, intending to outline the upcoming events. To his astonishment, no matter how he typed, the words simply would not appear in the word processing software...

'It seems the text above is indeed a clue provided by the Escape Room Game.'

'What does it mean?'

His mind felt a bit chaotic. Just like when he used to write novels and brainstorm plots, he walked over to the window, opened it, and gazed into the distance, trying his best to clear his head.

But when he saw the scene outside the window down below, he was so startled that he quickly ducked down.

He saw it...

Several Men in Black had appeared downstairs. Armed with AK47s, they were charging into...

The very apartment building Chen Ran was in!

'Why are there still Men in Black?!'

'They just will not let this go!'

Chen Ran dared not overthink. He grabbed his electric scooter keys, rushed out of the bedroom, opened the front door, hurried down the corridor, and darted into the elevator.

Fortunately, both elevators happened to be resting on this floor. He dashed into one, pressed the button for the first floor, and then immediately ran back out.

Standing outside, he quietly watched the digital display above the elevator doors. Once he saw that the elevator had reached the first floor, he glanced at his Watch.

Then, he quickly pressed the call button again.

The same elevator ascended once more, stopping at his location on the 18th floor.

Having calculated the timing.

Chen Ran repeated his trick. He re-entered the same elevator, pressed the button for the first floor, ran out, and headed over to the second elevator.

Inside the second elevator, he pressed the buttons for both the second and first floors.

When the elevator arrived at the second floor, Chen Ran quickly stepped out and ran over to the corner stairwell.

He deliberately slowed his footsteps as much as possible.

Ding!

Upon hearing the sound of the elevator doors opening on the first floor, Chen Ran sprinted frantically down toward the basement.

Passing by the first-floor stair landing, he caught a glimpse of one of the Men in Black who had stayed behind on the ground floor to prevent him from escaping via the elevator. The man was currently unloading a barrage of bullets into the open doors of the second elevator.

The rest of the Men in Black had most likely taken the stairs, but Chen Ran's little maneuver had allowed him to bypass them perfectly.

The deafening gunfire masked the sound of Chen Ran's footsteps.

He rapidly reached the basement, located his little electric scooter, and zoomed out...

Exiting the residential complex.

He remembered the wary glares of the fans in the previous scene, terrified that something similar might happen here...

He dared not go to the police station.

'It is best to go somewhere secluded!'

'But this electric scooter...'

Steeling his resolve, he rapidly scanned his surroundings. Spotting a parked car ahead with someone inside, he immediately drove straight into it.

Crash!

The next moment, a burly, tattooed man stepped out of the vehicle, cursing aggressively. "Are you fucking blind? How do you even hit..."

The tattooed man suddenly clamped his mouth shut.

He stared fixedly at the pure white pistol in Chen Ran's hand. At first glance, it looked like a toy, but the more he looked, the more real it seemed. In an instant, his back was drenched in sweat.

"Bro, is... is that gun in your hand real?" the tattooed man asked cautiously, swallowing hard.

Chen Ran said nothing, inching closer to the burly man step by step. He was waiting.

Just as the tattooed man was beginning to convince himself the gun was just a toy...

A group of Men in Black armed with AK47s burst out into the open. Without a single word, they unleashed a storm of bullets at both Chen Ran and the tattooed man.

Chen Ran, who had already stepped right up to the tattooed man, grabbed him and pulled him in front as a human shield. The burly man was instantly riddled with holes.

Chen Ran, who had already stepped right up to the tattooed man, grabbed him and pulled him in front as a human shield. The burly man was instantly riddled with holes.

Using the man's corpse for cover, he scrambled into the car, keeping his head down as he started the ignition.

The vehicle sped away.

Speeding down the road, he soon arrived at the Riverside Bridge from his memory. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Chen Ran suddenly felt a piercing agony in his left shoulder.

He had been shot in the left shoulder!

The intense pain made him grimace. His face turned pale, and sweat poured down his forehead.

It felt as if his entire arm had been rendered useless.

However, when it rains, it pours. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he saw...

Two vehicles rampaging wildly behind him.

Two Men in Black leaned out of the windows with AK47s, unleashing a relentless barrage of gunfire at Chen Ran's car as if bullets cost absolutely nothing.

Bang!

The rear tire blew out. Chen Ran's car spun out of control, drifting wildly until it smashed into the guardrails of the Riverside Bridge.

The massive impact launched the entire car high into the air, hurtling over the barrier.

Plummeting toward the Riverside River...

In midair, Chen Ran struggled to open his eyes and checked his Watch.

12 minutes.

He could not hold on any longer. Suspended in midair, inside a car about to plunge into the river...

He fell asleep!

...

Time reversed to five minutes earlier.

In the guest bedroom of Chen Ran's apartment, the Young Inheritor opened the door and cautiously poked his head out.

'Thank goodness. Attracted by Chen Ran, those Men in Black did not come to search this room.'

'How strange. I was clearly shot twice in the previous scene, but after appearing in this scene, my body does not have any gunshot wounds!'

'Does that mean the timeline of this scene takes place before the previous one?'

'Wait!'

The Youth seemed to realize something, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably...

'In the previous scene, there seemed to be two groups of Men in Black. One group only fired at Chen Ran, and the other group only fired at me...'

'The Men in Black lured away by Chen Ran are the ones who only fired at him.'

'Then, the group of Men in Black who only fired at me... wouldn't they be...'

'...still on their way?'

As if confirming his deduction, a burst of gunfire erupted outside the apartment. The security door was instantly riddled with countless bullet holes.

The Young Inheritor had become...

A sitting duck!

However, for the terrified Youth, a wave of intense drowsiness suddenly crashed over him. He collapsed onto the floor...

And fell fast asleep!