"Yes, she's met the discharge criteria."

Dr. Edward, Lilith's primary physician, lowered his hand from her medical chart and looked up at her. "Lilith, after you leave the hospital, you must take good care of yourself. If you encounter any problems, remember to contact me promptly. Don't hesitate; after all, I practically watched you grow up…"

Dr. Edward 's gaze was complex as he looked at the young woman sitting neatly before him.

Lilith Hollow.

She had been implicated in an extremely brutal murder case. The victim was her only relative—her brother, Lucien Hollow.

Ten years prior, that case had shocked all of Industry City. This wasn't just because of Lucien Hollow's horrific death; it was also because the prime suspect was his younger sister, Lilith.

When the police arrived at the crime scene, aside from the body in the room, only Lilith was found sitting on the floor. Moreover, from the walls to the floor, to the remaining murder weapon, there were Lilith’s crimson handprints everywhere.

Even more chilling was the time of death.

The autopsy report revealed that Lucien Hollow had been dead for a full day, meaning the very young Lilith had spent a day and a night alone with the corpse.

No one knew what she had done, nor what she had been thinking.

No grief, no tears, no fear; her expression was blank.

Her youthful face seemed to wear a vividly lifelike mask, concealing any trace of emotion.

After psychological evaluation, she was diagnosed with Antisocial Personality Disorder.

This disorder, also known as psychopathy, is characterized by a strong tendency towards aggression, a talent for deception and manipulation, disregard for social norms and morality, and a propensity for behaviors most people find unacceptable.

Ordinary individuals might act impulsively—like killing someone in self-defense—only under extreme duress or trauma.

After such acts with serious consequences, normal people usually experience worry, guilt, and remorse.

But individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder do not.

They can calmly and comfortably inflict harm on others without feeling the victim's pain, let alone suffering from sleepless nights plagued by guilt.

They lack empathy, becoming adept at wrongdoing, exploiting the kindness and trust of others to weave elaborate lies without a shred of remorse.

The case caused a major stir. The police investigated, and the evidence at the scene, coupled with Lilith's personality disorder, clearly pointed to her as the culprit.

Ultimately, Lilith was admitted to Industry City's Psychiatric Hospital. Discharge was contingent upon "recovery" from her personality disorder.

In reality, this was just a different way to justify lifelong confinement.

Because, this type of personality disorder is essentially incurable.

However, the unexpected happened.

Beginning in the third year after Lilith's admission, her monthly mental status examinations began to show slow but steady improvement.

She was no longer withdrawn and restless. Instead of haunting shadowy corners, she increasingly preferred gazing at the vast sky.

Except for the first three years of her hospitalization, Lilith hadn't engaged in any physical conflicts or even competition with anyone.

She independently studied all the basic curriculum and borrowed numerous academic texts from the doctors.

"She's a normal person; she shouldn't be confined to a psychiatric hospital for life."

This perception, fueled by Lilith's increasingly calm and gentle behavior, was gradually adopted by all the doctors and nurses.

Eventually, she became the only patient permitted to freely roam the entire psychiatric hospital without supervision.

Furthermore, according to Dr. Edward, more and more young female interns were captivated by her. After all, she possessed not only a gentle disposition but also strikingly beautiful features; her looks were clearly a highly desirable type, akin to a popular young star.

"Thank you, Uncle Edward," Lilith said, rising to shake Dr. Edward's hand, smiling warmly. "Although it sounds strange, this was my second home. I'll often come back to visit everyone."

Dr. Edward looked at the young woman, patted her shoulder, and smiled. "Go then. Take good care of yourself."

Lilith nodded and turned to leave Dr. Edward's office.

As he watched her leave, a strange thought suddenly flashed through Dr. Edward's mind.

Antisocial personality disorder; skilled at deception and disguise…

"Impossible…" Dr. Edward chuckled, patting his head, dismissing the improbable thought.

If all of Lilith's behavior was an act, that would be terrifyingly impressive. To have maintained such a performance from childhood to now?

Meanwhile, Lilith turned slightly. As the office door was about to close, she suddenly said with a smile, "Thank you, Dr. Edward."

Dr. Edward jumped, looking up to find only the closed door.

...

"Little Lilith, you're being discharged…"

"Will you come visit me again?"

"Don't forget us, Little Lilith…"

Several young nurses tearfully tugged at Lilith's sleeve, following her to the main gate.

"Yes, you all have to work hard. I'll come visit again," Lilith said, smiling at their youthful faces.

"Okay! We'll miss you!"

Amidst a flurry of lingering farewells, Lilith waved, finally stepping out of the place where she had spent ten years.

"Ten years, brother."

Lilith looked up at the sky and murmured softly.

"Getting out?"

A deep, gravelly male voice sounded from Lilith's right.

She turned to see a man in his forties, unshaven and casually dressed, leaning against a car, smoking and watching her.

"Uncle Daniel?" Lilith exclaimed, surprised.

"Still recognizable. I thought you'd forgotten me," Daniel Briggs said, chuckling as he flicked his cigarette butt under his foot and ground it out.

"Of course not. Over all these years, only Uncle Daniel took the time to visit me every year. The police detective's job is so demanding…"

"Forget all that. Get in the car," Daniel interrupted.

Lilith smiled and nodded, accepting Daniel's offer and placing her luggage in his SUV.

"You don't have a place to stay yet. Come to my place first," Daniel said casually. A moment later, he pulled out another cigarette, but seeing Lilith in the back seat, he tossed the pack aside. He changed the subject, "Don't refuse. I won't keep you once you find a job. Besides, I have some things at my place that should be returned to you."

"Things?" Lilith frowned, then seemed to remember something and looked intently at Daniel.

"Yes, your brother's belongings. The police have been keeping them. It's time to return them to you."

Lilith remained silent, turning slightly to look out the car window.

The bright sunlight bathed every corner of Industry City, illuminating even the smallest dust motes.

"Thank you, Uncle Daniel."

"Don't be such a softie," Daniel muttered, sticking an unlit cigarette in the corner of his mouth, chewing on it thoughtfully.

"Ten years," Lilith said softly, gazing quietly at the towering buildings. Industry City had changed dramatically in the past decade.

Yet, some things remained the same.

"Uncle Daniel, why did you always believe I wasn't involved in that murder ten years ago?"

Lilith finally turned her gaze to Daniel, who was concentrating on driving.

"Well… it's hard to explain," Daniel scratched the back of his neck. "I suppose I'd seen a similar case when I was a boy."

"When you were a boy?" Lilith considered many possibilities – perhaps Daniel had discovered some clue – but she hadn't expected this reason.

This middle-aged detective was forty-two; his childhood would have been at least thirty years ago. A case from thirty years ago…

"Yes, that kid's situation was very similar to yours, but that time, I saw it with my own eyes," Daniel finally lit his cigarette. Looking through the rearview mirror, Lilith saw Daniel's pupils constrict slightly, as if he were remembering something terrifying.

What could frighten a seasoned detective who had witnessed countless bizarre murders?

Lilith was intensely curious.

"Back then, we were poor. I went to school in the mornings, herded cattle in the afternoons. One afternoon, I was tending cattle on the hillside when… I witnessed a bizarre murder." Daniel's hand trembled slightly. Clearly, even after more than ten years, the event hadn't faded with time; it was like a vintage wine kept in a cellar, its aroma still detectable even through the sealed bottle.

"Dorian Blackwell, killed his father, Malcolm Blackwell! I still remember the look on his face – twisted and ferocious, his movements incredibly strange, as if… possessed by a demon."

Daniel extinguished his cigarette, swallowed hard, seemingly experiencing dry mouth.

Lilith noticed his lips were indeed dry and pale.

"I hid behind the cattle, too terrified to even breathe. The cattle, too, ran home quickly."

"And then?"

"Then… Dorian Blackwell was arrested. When they caught him, he was exactly like you were back then – blank-faced, sitting beside his father's corpse, neither crying nor smiling, refusing to answer questions. Later, I heard the boy hanged himself in prison." Daniel glanced at Lilith in the rearview mirror, but couldn't discern anything from her expression.

"So, Uncle Daniel, you were afraid I'd also kill myself, so you visited me at the psychiatric hospital every year?" Lilith asked with a smile.

"Something like that," Daniel replied noncommittally.

Lilith knew what Daniel was thinking: How could a human being possess such immense strength?

Although a paring knife was found at the scene of Lucien Hollow's murder, the brutal nature of the crime made his question its feasibility. Could a young child have committed such a heinous act using such a small knife?

Furthermore, based on the crime scene and subsequent forensic reports, Lucien Hollow's body didn't appear to have been cut by a sharp instrument but rather… corroded by immense force…

This case was almost identical to the one Daniel had witnessed as a child. Lilith, like Dorian Blackwell, seemed to have suddenly gone berserk and then killed her closest relative.

Lilith wanted to know what had happened, but… she had absolutely no memory of it.

Her mind was completely blank regarding any recollection of the crime scene from that night.

"Right, your brother, like Malcolm Blackwell, was declared dead, but his body was never found," Daniel suddenly said. "It's never been recovered."

Daniel seemed to glance at Lilith pointedly.

"The whole body was never found?" Lilith was unaware of this information.

"Yes, your apartment and the surrounding area were thoroughly searched, even the nearby sewers and trash cans were combed several times – without a single discovery."

Silence.

Lilith said nothing.

Daniel said nothing more, driving in silence.

Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in front of a relatively upscale residential complex.

"Wait here. I'll park."

Lilith nodded, retrieved her luggage from the car and stood at the entrance of the complex.

Rongyuan Residential Complex.

Lilith glanced at the name. The area seemed quite prosperous, adjacent to Industry City's renowned JB District, a hub of shopping malls, pedestrian streets, and urban entertainment.

Soon, Daniel returned.

The two of them, carrying their luggage, walked towards a thirty-story residential building.

"This is it. Your aunt passed away early, leaving just me and my two daughters. My daughters are away at school in the south and rarely come back. Now, it's just me and Yang, that girl. She's busy with school this year and doesn't get home until 9 pm." Daniel said, pressing the button for the 18th floor on the elevator.

The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

Lilith listened quietly. Daniel's tone brightened when he spoke of his daughters, clearly cherishing them deeply.

Although she didn't say anything, Lilith made the decision to find a job quickly and move out of Uncle Daniel's place. After all, she knew no one here, Daniel was busy with his job, and it wasn't appropriate to stay long-term in the same house with his daughters.

"Come in."

They reached the 18th floor.

Daniel opened the door, and the living room lights illuminated the apartment.

"Make yourself comfortable. I'll get your brother's things."

Lilith nodded and surveyed the apartment.

Three bedrooms, one living room, approximately 120 square meters. It was a comfortably sized apartment in expensive Industry City.

"Here. Your brother was a private investigator ten years ago. He seemed to be investigating a case before he died, but it wasn't directly related to his own murder. Take a look. These are his case files, and this…" Daniel handed over an object as he spoke.

Lilith first took the documents, then the small object Daniel offered.

She felt a chill in her hand. As she looked at it, she gasped.

"A key?"

What kind of key was this?

Seeing her puzzled expression, Daniel spread his hands. "No idea. No one's tried to see what it opens."

Lilith examined the key. It was silver, with a round, intricately carved handle and three small protrusions extending from the other end. Although exquisitely made, it looked aged and certainly wasn't a typical door key.

Lilith frowned. For some reason, holding this delicate yet strangely archaic key, she felt a strange quickening in her heart, as if… something were about to be unlocked.

This feeling of dread came on so suddenly that Lilith didn't even have time to release the key.

Fortunately, after a few breaths, the chilling sensation receded as quickly as it had appeared, as if it had never existed.

Such a brief, strange experience might be dismissed by most, but not by Lilith.

She knew herself better than anyone. Ten years ago, psychological assessments had concluded that she suffered from a rare but not uncommon personality disorder—Antisocial Personality Disorder.

That diagnosis wasn't entirely correct, but it wasn't entirely wrong either.

In reality, from the very beginning, Lilith's brother, Lucien Hollow, had recognized that his sister had problems.

After extended observation, Lucien Hollow confirmed his suspicions: Lilith had a severe cognitive disorder.

But Lilith's cognitive disorder differed from typical cases.

Normal cognitive disorders involve abnormalities in high-level cognitive processes such as learning, memory, and judgment, leading to severe learning and memory impairments, often accompanied by aphasia, apraxia, agnosia, or amnesia.

Lilith's cognitive disorder wasn't like that.

Her perception wasn't constructed from a first-person "I" perspective.

Instead of understanding the world from an "I" point of view, Lilith's perspective was more akin to a dream, or as Lucien Hollow described it, "observation."

In Lilith's "perspective," she wasn't even the protagonist; her thought processes didn't center around "I."

She was more like… an observer.

Not only Lucien Hollow, but Lilith herself wondered if she was merely another soul inhabiting Lilith's body?

Because her perspective on the world was so unusual, her emotional fluctuations were almost nonexistent. Joy, anger, sorrow, gratitude, exhilaration, fear, terror, longing, jealousy, shame… all emotions were diluted, like droplets in an ocean. They might create tiny ripples, but they were almost imperceptible.

She could perceive emotions, but couldn't control them, which is why the term "psychopathy," a facet of Antisocial Personality Disorder, was somewhat applicable.

Lilith didn't consider herself inherently evil. Her emotions were muted, but not absent. She knew right from wrong, understood moral principles, and knew what she should and shouldn't do.

She knew Lucien Hollow had been a wonderful brother, and she wouldn't let his death remain a mystery.

And this key was clearly the key.

Because it had elicited a strange, primal emotion from Lilith—fear.

"Right, and this," Daniel said suddenly, producing a bank card.

"Your brother's savings. I don't know the PIN; it might be related to your birthdays or something. Figure it out yourself."

Lilith took the card; she had an idea about the PIN.

"The rooms are prepared. These three bedrooms were originally one each for me and my two daughters, but they mostly stay in the dorm now, rarely coming home. Their belongings are mostly in the dorm, leaving just a pile of books. You can move in."

"A guest room is fine. Staying in your daughter's bedroom… isn't appropriate," Lilith said, unsure of Daniel's intentions. Would he really allow a strange man to stay in his daughter's room? Even if it was empty, in the old-fashioned sense, it was still a young woman's private space.

"Now, none of that nonsense. A vacant room is a vacant room. Do you think I'd let you sleep in the living room? What do you take me for? Enough said. I'm going out to buy some food. Tidy up a bit." Daniel waved his hand, stuffing a cigarette in his mouth and heading out.

He seemed remarkably relaxed about the whole situation.

Lilith watched Daniel's retreating back, her eyes flickering.

He was… overly kind to her.

After all, it was already incredibly unusual to let a suspected murderer stay in his home.

Lilith pondered, piecing some things together, but she didn't dwell on it; she knew he wasn't involved in Lucien Hollow's murder.

Dismissing the thought, she picked up the exquisite, antique key again, calmly examining it.

But then, the unimaginable happened!

Her left hand trembled, slowly rising, then lifting high above her head!

Lilith was certain she hadn't consciously instructed her left hand to move. In fact, after her left hand made this strange, key-clutching gesture, she immediately tried to control it.

To no avail. She had completely lost control of her left hand.

Then, something even more terrifying occurred.

Her body, seated on the sofa, slowly stood up.

But… the posture was strange. It didn't look like she had stood up voluntarily; it was more like… she was being pulled up by her left hand, which was still holding the key aloft!

This bizarre and terrifying sensation might have caused an ordinary person to scream in terror, but for Lilith, it wasn't overly frightening.

In her perception, her body and soul had always coexisted in this manner.

Nevertheless, Lilith felt a chilling, uncanny aura spreading, and she knew what she was facing.

A mixture of surprise, curiosity, unease, and a hint of excitement flashed in her eyes.

This world seemed to hold a hidden secret unknown to anyone else.

While Lilith's mind raced, her body began to move on its own.

Left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot…

Step by step, like a mindless automaton, she walked towards a closed bedroom door.

Lilith didn't know whose bedroom it was, what was inside, or what purpose was driving her towards it.

She could only keep her eyes wide open, maintaining her composure in a situation that would have caused most people to collapse in a seizure, watching as her left hand, still raised high, slowly lowered.

Then… she inserted the key into the keyhole.

How was that possible?

The uncanny aura intensified, making Lilith even more incredulous.

This antique key, in terms of both shape and size, was completely incompatible with the bedroom door's lock, yet… it slid in effortlessly.

Her body continued to move. Under Lilith's gaze, her left hand slowly turned the key, pushing open the bedroom door.

The movement wasn't smooth; it was as if this flimsy door weighed a ton.

However, even through the slightly opened crack, Lilith could be certain that this was not a bedroom!

Darkness, coldness, strangeness, perversity, hatred, resentment… waves of profoundly negative energy emanated from the gap, yet Lilith's movements didn't stop.

After the crack widened slightly, the resistance seemed to lessen.

Creak—

A normal door opening sound echoed. Lilith stepped inside.

...

Cold.

Before Lilith could even observe her surroundings after stepping through the door, her body had already registered this sensation.

This coldness didn't seem to emanate from the ambient temperature but from… within.

"Bang—"

The door slammed shut behind her.

At that moment, control of her body finally returned to Lilith.

She immediately turned, but behind her was only a thick, gray fog; there was no door.

"Aaah!!!"

A mournful scream echoed through the fog, a woman's voice.

There were others here.

Lilith's expression remained calm, but her mind was working frantically.

In all directions, thick gray fog stretched out. Only above, where the sky might be, hung a pair of enormous, slender, dark-red objects, emitting an unsettling, dim light.

"The final newcomer has arrived."

A man's voice sounded from the fog ahead. Lilith's body tensed, staring forward. "Who?"

However, this sight made Lilith's pupils constrict.

The gray fog in this space seemed to be gradually dissipating, and numerous figures began to emerge from within.

They stood silently, like corpses, staring calmly in Lilith's direction.

"Oh?" A curious female voice also appeared ahead.

Not only she, but the dense figures around them also began to move, their chilling gazes converging on Lilith.

"Interesting newcomer. Remarkably calm, I must say."

As the voice fell silent, the surrounding fog finally dissipated!

Under the dim, ethereal light, Lilith finally saw everything before her.

People… all kinds of people!

In suits and leather shoes, in rags, strong and sturdy, frail and slight, breathtakingly beautiful, unremarkably plain… a multitude of individuals materialized before her.

Or perhaps they had been standing before her all along, their figures obscured by the gray fog.

"Welcome, newcomers," said a refined man in his thirties. It was the same voice that had spoken earlier.

Lilith looked at him; a handsome, refined face, a strong physique, a well-tailored suit, and silver-rimmed square glasses.

Before Lilith could respond, another voice suddenly cried out.

"Who… who are you?! Let me go! Where am I?! Let me out! Or I'll call the police!" The woman's high-pitched voice trembled slightly; it was the same woman who had screamed earlier.

"Please, calm down first. Try to remember how you got here," the man in the suit said, his voice low but somehow reassuring.

Lilith glanced sideways. A young woman in her twenties was slumped beside her, her face a mask of terror. There was also a middle-aged man, similar to Lilith, who had remained silent. Unlike Lilith’s calm demeanor, however, his slightly furrowed brow, restless feet, and constantly shrinking pupils betrayed his anxiety and fear, although he was clearly suppressing it.

"I don't care! I don't care what methods you use, just let me leave this place!" the woman's voice was still sharp and shrill.

"Do you think anyone has the means to transport dozens of people to a place like this instantaneously?" the man in the suit remained calm, unaffected by the woman's hysterical outburst.

This finally silenced the woman; her previous outburst had been an attempt to deny reality.

However, her eyes still held a terrified, vacant stare. Could she be trying to view it all as a nightmare she could wake up from?

"You are… Maximus Black?" At this point, the silent middle-aged man finally spoke, his voice tinged with surprise and certainty, his gaze fixed on the man in the suit.

Maximus Black looked surprised. "You know me?"

"The financial genius who rejected twenty companies? Of course, I know you," the middle-aged man seemed to exhale a sigh of relief after recognizing a familiar face. "I'm Samuel Ford, CEO of Baisheng United Group in Sliver City. I met you at a conference once."

"You're in Sliver City?" Lilith unexpectedly interjected.

Samuel Ford seemed to realize something, looking at Lilith and nodding. "Yes, I was working on the construction of the Gong's Seven Gates building when I entered here. You…"

"I'm in Industry City," Lilith replied. After receiving the answer, she fell silent, focusing her attention on the man named Maximus Black.

She sensed he was a leader among the dozens of people behind him.

As Lilith looked at Maximus Black, he was also looking at her.

His gaze held surprise, appreciation, and admiration. "We've seen quite a few newcomers. Most are like that young lady over there, terrified. A few calmer ones, like Mr. Shen, show some anxiety and bewilderment. You, sir, are only the third person I've seen who entered here without any signs of panic."

Lilith was moved. She extended her hand. "Lilith Hollow."

"Maximus Black." Maximus shook Lilith's hand, and they exchanged names.

He then addressed Lilith, Samuel, and the still-dazed woman. "I know you have many questions and anxieties, but time doesn't allow for a lengthy explanation. I'll say this only once."

Lilith felt a sudden shift in her heart. After Maximus and the others had appeared, she’d sensed something amiss.

Despite their large numbers, they seemed… disjointed.

This was unusual. Humans, even within a collective without positive relationships, generally form small groups due to temperament, interests, and other factors.

But Lilith couldn't perceive such connections. On the contrary, these people, apart from their silence, exuded a subtle, almost nonexistent emotional aura.

Lilith had encountered this kind of emotion—despair—at Psychiatric Hospital.

Furthermore, although these people were standing together, a palpable sense of distance separated them.

Lilith instantly perceived the mutual distrust among them. Samuel had also noticed this; only the dazed woman seemed unaware.

After the woman turned her gaze to Maximus, he finally spoke:

"Actually, no one knows where this place is. Everyone here is the same; they arrive after inexplicably opening a door, without any reason or logic."

"Furthermore, we're forced to periodically complete utterly absurd, terrifying tasks," Maximus's expression darkened. He looked at the three of them; behind his glasses, his eyes reflected a mixture of resentment and helplessness. "I'm not exaggerating the unpleasantness of these tasks. I mean, we literally encounter ghosts!"

Literally encounter ghosts?

Maximus's phrasing stirred something within Lilith.

The young woman, whose mental state had always been somewhat unstable, also widened her eyes.

"Maximus… what do you mean?" Samuel, who had met Maximus once before, was the first to ask.

Maximus nodded, leaning slightly to address the dozens of silent people behind him. He gave a wry smile. "We're just like you; we opened what seemed to be an ordinary door, and inexplicably appeared here. And… like you suspect, there are people from all walks of life and all over the country here. Including you, there are… forty-nine of us."

Samuel’s face was grim. He didn’t want to believe in such illogical events, but… he was undeniably in this strange space.

He had already tried calling the police, but there was no signal.

Oddly, the young woman wasn't crying or panicking; she hung her head, lost in thought.

Only Lilith remained outwardly calm, but inwardly, she wasn't as composed as she appeared.

It wasn't fear or anxiety she felt, but… a realization that something was wrong!

Neither Maximus nor Samuel had mentioned a key; they had opened the doors voluntarily, without any loss of control!

She, however… seemed different.

Lilith now desperately wanted to take out the key and examine it, but it was just a thought.

"So… can we leave this place?" Samuel spoke again.

This time, Maximus nodded, addressing the three newcomers. "After completing your task, you'll return to the real world unharmed. However, you can't choose to leave; you'll be instantly ejected, like being pushed underwater and then surfacing the moment you release your grip."

Maximus's explanation was clear, but he hadn't finished.

"However, while you can't choose to leave, you can choose whether to enter."

He glanced at the three again, smiling wryly. "But I hope you don't choose to avoid it. Each time it calls, you’ll feel an intense palpitation and shortness of breath. At that point, you must find and open a door within three minutes."

"What if you don't?" Surprisingly, it was the emotionally volatile woman who asked.

"That's what I mean by choosing whether to enter. If you ignore it, you forfeit the task, and the punishment is… a month of extremely unpleasant experiences."

Extremely unpleasant experiences…

This description was deeply unsettling. What kind of unpleasant experiences?

"And after a month?" Lilith suddenly asked.

His voice wasn't loud, but in the current silence, it was clearly heard by everyone.

"Ah…"

A mocking chuckle echoed from somewhere.

Then, a woman's melodious voice emerged from the crowd. "If you can endure a month, perhaps you can escape this hellish place permanently. How about it? Want to try again next time?"

Lilith followed the sound, seeing a young woman step forward. She scanned Lilith from head to toe, suddenly covering her mouth and laughing. "Oh, sorry, I forgot. You need to survive this time before you can think about next time."

"Seraphina, enough."

Maximus looked at her calmly, then back at Lilith. "Actually, some have tried resisting this place's summons, but so far, the longest anyone has lasted is three days."

Lilith nodded, understanding Maximus's meaning.

Resisting its will was suicidal. She didn't yet know what Maximus meant by "unpleasant experiences," but she couldn't help but think of her brother… Lucien Hollow.

The key was her brother's belonging, so… had he always been connected to this place?

While Lilith was lost in thought, the atmosphere abruptly shifted.

Even the usually composed Maximus’s expression turned grave as he looked towards the depths of the fog.

"It's here."

Before the three newcomers could react, a strange event unfolded.

The gray fog in the air twisted and swirled, gradually coalescing into countless names densely packed across the space.

Lilith examined them closely: names—Liam Moore, Sylas Winterwind, Damian Kingsley, Lena Woods, Dorian Thorne, Giselle Thornton, Adrian Stone, Nikolai Bellamy, Leona Marshall, Maximus Black, Valeria Goldwyn… Cassandra Remington, Samuel Ford, Lilith Hollow!

Seven names per row, a total of seven rows.

The forty-nine names, all formed from condensing gray fog, hung mysteriously in the air.

Liam Moore led the first row, Lilith the last.

A thought struck Lilith: Perhaps because she was the last to enter this space, she was placed at the end?

That meant… Liam Moore, at the beginning, was the first of the forty-nine to arrive here?

A reasonable hypothesis, but one that needed verification.

As everyone watched with bated breath, the forty-nine names, newly formed, suddenly changed.

Crimson began to creep over the gray fog, rapidly staining it. One name silently turned blood-red—Wei Tu!

Following this, five more names turned blood-red!

Qin Si Xiao, Yuan Peng Fei, Jin Wen, Lü Shang, Samuel Ford!

Three men and two women, five individuals with different expressions, stepped forward from the crowd. Then, a strong man in his thirties glared at Samuel. "Go!"

Samuel, CEO of Baisheng United Group, couldn't help but flinch at the shout, but understanding the power dynamics, he remained impassive, stepping forward to join the five.

As the six moved, the next wave of change began.

This time, the first name to turn blood-red was… Adrian Stone!

After his name turned red, Lilith sensed a surge of unrest in the crowd, though she didn't understand the reason for this change.

Next, seven names simultaneously turned blood-red.

Dominic Starr, Flora Bloom, Lucas Gray, Victor Weston, Julian Falkner, Victoria Grace, and… Cassandra Remington!

Seeing this, Lilith confirmed her place in the third round. It seemed newcomers were inevitably drawn into the tasks?

After the second round, most of the names that didn't turn red breathed a sigh of relief. The third round was the final task, with the highest survival rate. A better outcome, if drawn, could mean more chances of survival.

After Cassandra Remington, trembling, joined the others, the final round began.

My turn?

Lilith's gaze fell upon her own name at the end of the final row.

Crimson appeared silently, spreading thread by thread. Almost instantly, the gray fog was consumed by blood-red.

But this time, everyone's eyes widened in disbelief.

Because the name that turned blood-red first was… Lilith Hollow!