Chapter 192: Proposal

Xiao Ma's trembling finger, like a poisoned blade, pointed straight at Li Na.

The air froze in that instant.

"What nonsense are you talking!"

Li Na's face turned deathly pale with a "swish," and she stared at Xiao Ma in disbelief.

Xiao Ma's emotions were somewhat out of control.

He stepped closer to Li Na, spittle spraying onto her face.

"We four were entangled by those ghost hands inside, barely escaping death! And you? You were lounging comfortably in the cabinet, with nothing happening to you!"

"That crowbar showed up neither early nor late, but got stuck in the door just when we hid inside!"

"All of this is too coincidental! It's as if someone arranged it beforehand!"

"Not me!" Li Na kept backing away under pressure, "I hid in the cabinet out of survival instinct! Besides, when would I have had the chance to set this up beforehand?"

Her explanation sounded reasonable.

But in this environment where everyone is jumpy, any explanation seems pale and powerless.

Especially, she is indeed the only person unharmed.

"Enough!"

The burly Ahu let out a low, gruff growl, yanking the frenzied Xiao Ma aside, his large frame blocking Li Na.

But his gaze toward Li Na was equally filled with suspicion and vigilance.

"Now is not the time for infighting, but Xiao Ma is right...... too many coincidences mean it's not coincidence."

Chen Shao pushed up his glasses, the lenses reflecting a cold light, he leaned against the wall and hoarsely analyzed: "Logically, an infiltrator, to avoid exposure, would choose the safest, least likely to be affected way to harm us. Hiding in a closed cabinet is indeed the best choice."

A decisive statement.

Even the most rational Chen Shao said that, Li Na's suspicion could not be washed away.

"Not me...... really not me......"

Li Na's body slid down the wall to the ground.

She looked at the few companions who had just shared life and death with her; their eyes now were like knives, slicing her.

"Li Na, rest assured. We won't hurt you, but for safety's sake and to put everyone at ease, I hope you'll accept that we keep you under watch."

Ahu spoke concisely, putting forward his proposal.

"Right! We can tie her up! Prevent her from pulling any tricks!" Xiao Ma immediately agreed, already rummaging through the storage room for usable rope.

Jiang Yuan stood aside, never speaking.

His gaze swept back and forth between Li Na's despairing face and the others' suspicious expressions.

The Shadow Ghost's erosion made his head feel like it would split, and his body's hunger and thirst cried out wildly.

He clearly understood that in this extreme environment, trust is scarcer than food and water.

Once the seed of suspicion is planted, the team will begin to rot from within.

Just as Xiao Ma found a piece of coarse hemp rope, ready to act.

"I agree."

Li Na suddenly lifted her head and spoke words that left everyone stunned.

She met everyone's astonished gaze and proactively extended her hands.

"Tie me up."

Her voice was not loud, but it carried a chilling resolve.

"I don't know how to prove my innocence. You can tie me up and watch me. I have only one request......"

Li Na's gaze finally fell on Jiang Yuan, her eyes tinged with a plea.

"Don't leave me alone."

That sentence instantly loosened the previously tense atmosphere.

Xiao Ma held the rope, frozen in place.

Ahu's rugged face also flickered with a hint of reluctance.

A woman, knowing full well that everyone suspects her, voluntarily asks to be bound, only to avoid being abandoned.

This resolve and solitary courage, instead, made them somewhat swayed.

In the end, it was Jiang Yuan who broke the silence.

"Tie her up."

He walked up to Li Na and took the rope from Xiao Ma's hands.

"Just as a precaution."

Jiang Yuan proceeded to bind Li Na's hands behind her back.

Having done that, he looked at the others.

"Now we are all 'patients.' The exit is on the Underground Negative Second Floor; we have no time to waste."

"Everyone, follow me."

The team set off again.

Li Na, her hands bound, walked in the middle of the group, with Xiao Ma and Ahu flanking her left and right, "guarding" her.

Chen Shao followed behind Jiang Yuan; the five of them, like a string of silent lonely souls, headed toward the stairway entrance leading to the depths of hell.

The stairwell was dark and damp, extending upward like the throat of a giant beast.

Step by step they ascended, truly arriving at a completely new floor.

Underground Negative Second Floor.

Along both sides of the corridor, piles of corpse-wrapping bags shaped like humans were stacked.

Dense and countless, stacked layer upon layer.

"My goodness..."

Xiao Ma's calf went weak, and he almost fell to his knees.

"Don't be afraid."

Jiang Yuan's voice sounded just in time, giving everyone a dose of reassurance.

"The Rules have changed. We have lit all the candles on the Second Floor; for the Patient, this is a lifeline."

He pointed at those Corpse-wrapping Bags.

"They won't move."

Even so, to truly walk past this mountain of 'bodies' requires more than a hint of courage.

Jiang Yuan was the first to go over.

He held his breath and carefully slipped through the gaps between the Corpse-wrapping Bags.

Nothing happened.

The Corpse-wrapping Bags lay there quietly, as if they were just a pile of ordinary trash.

Seeing this, the others finally mustered courage and each followed.

They stuck to the wall, using hands and feet, fearing to touch any bag.

This stretch of dozens of meters took them a full two minutes to walk.

When everyone had safely passed this Corpse-wrapping Bag area, each was drenched in cold sweat, panting heavily.

"Huh... finally made it through," Xiao Ma plopped onto the ground, "The Exit should be ahead, right?"

At the end of the Corridor was a ninety-degree turn.

Just turn the corner, and perhaps one could see the light leading outside.

Hope is right before the eyes.

Jiang Yuan did not lower his guard; he made a silencing gesture toward those behind him, then alone, he carefully stuck out half his head to look toward the other side of the corner.

He only glanced once.

Jiang Yuan's pupils suddenly contracted to the extreme!

His body, as if frozen, stiffened in place!

Beyond the corner lay a longer, wider Underground Passage.

Both sides of the passage were likewise piled with Corpse-wrapping Bags.

And in the very center of the passage.

A huge, humanoid silhouette over three meters tall paced back and forth.

It moved extremely slowly; each footfall emitted a heavy thud that made the ground tremble.

Its body was bloated and deformed, its limbs grotesquely massive, and it dragged a rust‑spotted Giant Butcher Axe nearly half its own height.

The axe blade dragged across the ground, drawing a trail of dazzling sparks and emitting a sour‑tasting "Zila" sound.

It was on patrol.

Like a loyal jailer, it guarded this final road to freedom.

At the end of this road stood a sign reading "EXIT", pointing toward another corner, exuding an alluring yet desperate aura.

That is the road leading to the Exit.

It is also a dead end.