DTTM 34

Chapter 34: As Long as I Don’t Die, There’s Always a Chance

After A-Qi and I made our appearance, we were taken away from the room separately.

A-Qi kept looking back at me as he left, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

“Don’t be afraid,” I mouthed to him.

He must have figured out which words they were, because he nodded.

Two clowns led me through the maze-like mansion, eventually taking me to a spacious dining room. They unchained my hands and feet, threw me into a huge cage, and then left the dining room without a word.

The door slowly closed, and the golden cage began to rise. It stopped abruptly when it was about two meters above the ground, and then a long wait ensued.

I sat cross-legged in the cage, and looked at the long dining table below, along with the tableware, vases, and candlesticks on it, pondering which of these I would use as a weapon for self-defense later.

Actually, none of these options were suitable, but those “hunters” would probably use guns, or at the very least, powerful weapons like crossbows. A head-on confrontation would definitely be disadvantageous, so I could only adapt to the circumstances.

“Beep—beep—beep—”

The piercing alarm above the cage interrupted my thoughts, and then the metal door in front of me slowly opened with a soft click.

I realized that this was a signal that the hunting game was about to begin.

I jumped down from the cage, nimbly landed on the table, grabbed a kitchen knife, then opened the hidden door that blended seamlessly with the wall panel and slipped into the cramped service elevator.

The noble class of Penglai had always been fond of the Baroque architectural style, which adhered to the principle of absolute symmetry along the central axis and favored gold leaf, mirrors, and exaggerated carvings as decorative elements.

As I emerged from my cell, I saw the magnificent and dazzling interior of the building and deduced that it must be a typical Baroque building.

As a Baroque structure, the exterior would maintain absolute mirror imagery, including the central entrance and the side wings. Inside, areas near the central axis, such as the banquet halls, reception rooms, and lounges on either side of the grand staircase, would deliberately maintain symmetry in all areas visible to guests. While the private living areas inside did not require symmetry, they would still be laid out according to function.

The main dining room was on the second floor, and the smaller dining rooms were on the third floor, connected to the kitchen, storeroom, and servants’ passageway. To avoid noise and fumes, most kitchens were located on the secluded first floor…

Thus, even though the starting point was just an inconspicuous dining room, the general structure of the entire building had already unfolded in my mind.

It only took a few seconds to get down to the first floor. I stepped out of the elevator, and saw the kitchen right there, as I expected. I checked the elevator floor buttons; the building had three floors.

Without hesitation, I dropped the knife in my hand, opened a drawer, and selected the sharpest one from the dazzling array of kitchen knives.

Carrying the knife, I went to the stove and tried to light it, but it wouldn’t ignite. I sighed in disappointment.

If there was a fire, burning this place down was one way to go.

As I continued searching for anything else I could take, several loud gunshots suddenly rang out in the distance.

Although the gunshots were some distance away, it should have been from the first floor.

There were five hunters sitting in the audience, plus Wuxi Chen, making six. Based on the principle of even distribution, I estimated that three to four prey would be released per floor, along with two hunters.

From a human nature perspective, since the goal was to seek thrills, these two hunters would not act together.

If I could take down one of them and seize his weapon, I’d have a way to save more “sheep”.

Looking around the kitchen, I began to set it up.

Three minutes later, everything was in place. I turned off the kitchen lights and deliberately smashed two plates at the doorway.

The sound of shattering porcelain echoed through the corridor, successfully attracting a hunter’s attention. Shortly after, a distorted electronic voice came from outside.

“Little darling, come out quickly, I can see you!” He sounded like he was teasing a kitten or puppy.

The footsteps grew closer, and a black hunting rifle pierced the darkness first.

“This time the prey is like loach, one or two at a time, very difficult to catch…” The blue-clad hunter laughed as he looked at the pitch-black kitchen. “But, little rascal, don’t you know that our masks have night vision capabilities?”

Just as he was speaking, another gunshot rang out in the distance.

The hallway was brightly lit. He stood with his back to the light, tilting his head to the side. “Oh, caught one? Looks like I need to step up my game.” He turned again and walked deeper into the kitchen. “Little darling, don’t struggle anymore. Let me give you a proper send-off. Let’s play something different…”

Before he could finish speaking, I suddenly jumped out from behind the stove and slammed the iron pot in my hand against his wrist.

“Ah!” he cried out in pain, the gun barrel shifting instantly, but he still gripped it firmly in his hand. I didn’t give him time to react, and immediately grabbed the flour sack next to me, and smashed it into his face.

So what if you have night vision?

The brightness of a night vision device depends on the intensity of reflected infrared light. White objects have a higher reflectivity, so they will appear brighter to the night vision device.

The moment the dust exploded, the hunter’s vision was completely blocked by the dazzling white light, which was my perfect opportunity.

I crouched down and slid to the side, grabbed the edge of the food cart, and pushed it. The heavy metal cart slammed into the hunter’s waist and abdomen. He lost his balance and fell backward. His gun finally slipped from his hand and sliding a distance.

The gun was farther away from me than the hunter, so I didn’t rush to take it. Instead, I gripped the hilt of my knife and lunged at the fallen hunter.

He reacted quickly, immediately grabbed my wrist and engaged in a contest of strength with me.

“You lowly commoner, how dare you!”

I didn’t respond. Instead, I used my positional advantage to lower my center of gravity and grip his wrist tightly. My arm trembled from the strain, my muscles tensed to the limit, and in an instant, a fine layer of sweat appeared on my forehead.

The tip of the knife slowly pierced his chest, but it was quickly blocked by something, and I couldn’t stab any further.

Bulletproof vest?

My throat tightened, and I inwardly cursed. I immediately tried to change direction and thrust the knife tip towards the other person’s unprotected neck, but I couldn’t muster the strength.

The opponent noticed my pause in strength, roared, and tried to push me back. At the critical moment, I used all my strength to smash my forehead into his face.

Aside from teeth, the skull was one of the strongest and most impact-resistant bones in the human body. Under the heavy blow, he groaned, and his pain could be heard even through the mask.

Feeling the pressure on my hand loosen slightly, I knew it was time. I exerted my strength and, before the blue-clad hunter could react, stabbed him in the neck with the shortest path.

The resistance of the knife tip cutting through the flesh was negligible, and his body suddenly contracted, as if pierced by an electric current, and began to convulse.

I gripped the kitchen knife tightly, putting all my strength into it.

“This time, we’ll play a different game.”

He made a series of gurgling sounds, his hands gripping the exposed blade. Within moments, his hands were covered in blood.

A strong smell of blood wafted through the air, filling my lungs with each heave of my chest.

The smell didn’t make me nauseous; instead, it was like a shot of adrenaline. It gave me a burst of immense pleasure amidst extreme repression, making my spine tingle.

With his major artery punctured, he couldn’t hold on for long. After only half a minute, his struggle gradually weakened, and blood continued to gush from the wound beneath his mask. It spread across the floor like a map of a crimson continent.

Holding my thrusting stance, I tried to pull the knife out, get up, and leave as quickly as possible, but my stiff muscles wouldn’t budge.

I simply bent down, and waited quietly in the darkness for my strength to return. But just then, a very faint yet nerve-wracking sound of a bullet being chambered came from behind me.

My eyes widened, I was caught off guard by this unexpected development.

When?

“You’d better not move.”

Perhaps feeling my intention to reach for the gun on the ground, the person behind me spoke up calmly to remind me.

I had no choice but to hold back for the time being.

“Stand up.”

I slowly got up as he instructed, and then he ordered me to lie down on the food cart next to me.

When I turned around, I saw the person behind me and realized that it was the same pervert who had broken the glass with his bare hands in the audience earlier because he was too excited.

I remembered the words Wuxi Chen said when he introduced me. It seemed that this person didn’t want to kill me; he probably wanted to have some “fun.”

Everything on the food cart had been scattered on the ground after the collision. I obediently lay down, pressed my cheek against the cold wooden surface, and stared at the fallen hunting rifle on the ground.

As long as I don’t die, there’s always a chance…

“Eleven or twelve-year-olds get captured because they’re young, naive, and foolish.” Something cold and icy parted the hem of my clothes behind me and slipped inside. “You’re so old, how did they catch you?”

I shuddered, and it wasn’t until the thing slid past my side that I belatedly realized it was the barrel of a hunting rifle.

“I…I was tricked into coming here.”

The gun barrel hovered at waist level, quickly becoming slightly warm from body heat. After a moment, it was lifted.

“Do you know what it means to be prey here?”

Wild beasts that hunt not for food, prefer to watch their prey flee in terror and weep rather than kill them outright.

“Don’t kill me, I’ll do anything you want.” I choked out.

The gun barrel paused, then retreated, and in its place was a solid, burning hot human body.

“Anything? Do you even know what you’re saying?” A hand wearing a leather glove gripped the back of my neck. The voice was clearly flat and mechanical electronic, yet I heard the cold tone.

“I know.” Thinking I hadn’t humbled myself enough, I pressed on, “My lord, whatever you intend to do to me, just spare my life. Or, would you like to try my oral skills? I’m quite talented in that area…”

My mouth and nose were suddenly covered, so tightly that I could hardly breathe.

“Shut up.” The man behind me said. He increased the pressure on his hand, then repeated in a softer tone, “Shut up.”

The kitchen was a place with a variety of smells, and with the strong smell of blood, it was easy to miss some subtle scents, such as… a very faint perfume scent emanating from the man’s wrist, hidden by leather.

A blend of leather, metal, and rich woody notes…

I had only ever smelled this fragrance on one person.