『Pocket Prison Status: 1/1 Containment, Maximum capacity reached.

Cannot activate containment ability until prison expands or current containment is released.

Contained entities will follow the host's commands to a certain extent.

However, they may strongly resist commands that conflict with their core beliefs, resulting in decreased 'Mood'.

Please monitor containment subject's 'Mood' closely. Extended periods of poor mood may lead to rebellion or containment failure.』

As the system message ended, Chen Li opened her eyes in the cell.

Leon had expected her to panic at finding herself in prison. Instead, she smiled, showing no aversion to the cold, dark environment. During the tentacle's connection to the back of her head, a subconscious sense of 'home' had been implanted. This made the prison feel familiar, even comforting to her.

Moreover, an important change had occurred - beyond the 'Close Friend' relationship reflected in her brown eyes, there now seemed to be an additional master-servant bond.

"Thank you for trusting me," Leon said sincerely.

"After my mother was killed, revenge became my only purpose in life. Qing has his own family matters... Once this is over, he can live his own life. I have nothing else to tie me down, and I don't want to be his burden. Following you is actually a good thing."

Chen Li accepted everything with remarkable composure.

"Then I'll leave the next part to you... Once everything is settled, I'll take you to a whole new world."

"Yes."

After leaving Leon's room, Chen Li pretended to be weak, supporting herself against the wall as she returned to Room 6.

As Leon left his room to join the team downstairs, he ran straight into Murray with his golden curls the moment he stepped out.

"Nicolas, my friend, how are you feeling?" Murray asked with concern.

"Just tired from not sleeping well last night, plus Herbert's incident... The stress and lack of sleep left me feeling weak. But I'm feeling better after breakfast."

"It should be safe during the day. Why don't you rest in your room?" Murray was about to turn away but seemed to remember something... though his series of movements appeared somewhat deliberate.

"Oh! Nicolas, I saw Chen Li leaving your room when I was coming up... By my calculation, she must have spent about twenty minutes with you? Were you alright being alone with the 'possessed' one for so long?"

"I'm fine."

Murray suddenly dropped any pretense of leaving. Instead, he entered Leon's room and closed the door behind him.

"Nicolas, my friend, I hope you can tell me everything that happened during those twenty minutes - your conversation, your thoughts. The 'evil spirit' in this event is very likely Chen Li, or perhaps it possesses her body and only manifests at night. Any information about her is crucial for us."

"Sure."

Leon had already prepared his story. He explained that Chen Li had come up to check on him since they were part of the filming crew and had helped with the 'exorcism'. They had eaten noodles together and discussed some general life matters.

Murray looked puzzled. "That's all?"

"Well..." Leon seemed to recall some disturbing details.

"Well what?"

Leon put on a serious expression. "While Chen Li was in my room, the temperature dropped noticeably. Also, when we talked about her past possession experience, she suddenly produced a cleaver out of nowhere... It really scared me. But she was just emotionally agitated, she didn't do anything dangerous."

Murray stroked his chin with his white-gloved mechanical arm, appearing to recall something.

"Hmm... a cleaver? Indeed, Chen Li does seem fond of cleavers, always keeping one on her. Nicolas, thank you for sharing this important information. As team captain, I'll do my utmost to keep everyone alive... Let me share something with you."

"What is it?" Leon asked curiously.

"According to my friend who became a 'Returner', most rookie missions are 'survival events' like this one, lasting anywhere from one day to two weeks. However, regardless of the required survival time, events progress slowly at first, deliberately creating a false sense of security."

"Then, in the final hours, everything accelerates dramatically, with inexplicable developments occurring! Teams of over ten people might survive perfectly through the early stages, only to be completely wiped out in the last few hours. My friend and the Knights call this sudden change 'The Acceleration.'"

Leon feigned surprise. "Captain, are you saying... the evil spirit might go on a killing spree in the final hours?"

"Exactly. I expect The Acceleration to begin in the last twelve hours. Today, we'll maintain our normal routines in our rooms. Tomorrow at 6 AM, we'll gather together... I'll find a way to keep everyone alive."

"Thank you, Captain."

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

"No need. Just rest in your room... Since you spent 20 minutes alone with Chen Li without incident, today should be safe."

After Murray left, Leon wrote down 'The Acceleration' and Murray's name in his notebook.

"Murray... Murray... This man's background is far from ordinary. He's clearly well-prepared for this event and seems to understand the hidden mechanics of the 'Destiny Space' thoroughly. Yet he only told me about one event pattern, withholding the truly useful 'restrictions.' I need to watch him carefully. As for 'The Acceleration'... it likely confirms my theory that the spirit's restrictions will be greatly reduced or completely removed in the event's final stages. "

Day Three.

Leon spent almost the entire day in his room, citing his poor health, which Captain Murray allowed. Chen Li personally delivered his lunch and dinner.

Throughout the day, Leon was deep in thought. Everything seemed normal, just as Murray had said - The Acceleration would happen when everyone slightly lowered their guard, and even teams of over ten people would perish in the final hours.

As evening approached, after dinner. Taking the opportunity to return his bowl downstairs, Leon left his room for the first time that day. Before the last rays of sunset disappeared, he went to the outhouse to handle his physical needs.

Of course... his main purpose was to meet Chen Li secretly.

Behind the outhouse, despite being mentally prepared, he still startled slightly. Chen Li stood there with disheveled hair, dressed in red, holding a cleaver, half-hidden behind a tree.

"Do as I said - start your operation with your brother tonight... My survival depends on your performance."

"Understood."

Before leaving, Leon made sure to compliment her: "Your appearance is even more convincing than I planned... You almost scared me."

Night had fallen on the third day.

After meeting with the "possessed" Chen Li at dusk, Leon returned to his room and stayed put. The other team members also retreated to their rooms before eleven.

As usual, the power was cut precisely at eleven... only the large red lanterns remained lit.

This would be the final night of the event. The two women on the team brought out all their candles, placing them around their rooms, hoping the light would dispel their inner fears.

Murray, who knew the "hidden rules," checked his steam-powered prosthetic arm before peacefully drifting off to sleep.

Leon was also resting... despite having rested all day.

...

The third night was different.

No footsteps in the hallway woke him this time.

Leon slept until he naturally awoke.

The moment he opened his eyes, Leon quickly turned his head to look at the clockwork device on his wrist.

『Time remaining until 'Event End': 9 hours』

"Strange... Is there a problem with the time or the environment?"

Outside the window, a full moon hung in a pitch-black sky - definitely still nighttime.

They had arrived at the manor at 6 PM, so the event should end at 6 PM three days later... Counting back nine hours would make it 9 AM now.

Yet there wasn't the slightest sign of dawn outside.

"Could this be... the 'Acceleration' Murray mentioned?"

Just then...

Someone was pounding on Leon's door.

Outside stood a panicked Murray and the two women with dark circles under their eyes.

At least this confirmed no one had died during the night.

"Nicolas, my friend, I'm glad you're okay... The 'Acceleration' I mentioned yesterday must have begun."

Leon put on a bewildered expression and asked urgently, "Captain! What should we do?"

Murray suggested, "Let's first meet up with the event characters - we might get help from them. According to rumors, one of the reasons the Black Rose Knight Commander managed to lead a large portion of their rookie team out of the Destiny Space alive was due to help from event characters."

"Alright."

The four of them stayed together, with Murray leading the way.

But what they found exceeded even Murray's expectations...

When they pushed open the wooden door to the ground floor hall...

As their flashlights illuminated the scene, Monica, the blonde woman, fell backward in shock.

Even the usually composed Captain Murray had beads of sweat on his forehead.

Believer Arkman dropped to her knees, clutching her cross and muttering strange prayers, trying to dispel her fear.

The hall appeared the same as previous mornings, with the 'two siblings' preparing breakfast, waiting for everyone.

Except today, the siblings had been replaced by paper dolls.

These were the same crude paper dolls used in the "soul restoration ritual" - one male, one female.

But to the four of them, they appeared exactly like Chen Li and Qing.

On the table sat six bowls of rice, each with long incense sticks stuck in them.

Even Leon was startled by this eerie scene, momentarily worried something had happened to Chen Li and her brother.

However, through their "prison connection," he knew Chen Li was still alive and not the paper doll before them.

"Ahhh!!!"

Suddenly, a scream burst from Arkman.

In the direction of her flashlight beam stood Old Lady Wang's van on the small road outside the manor.

Though Leon knew the elderly couple was dead... the rest of the team, including Murray, believed they had left after the successful ritual.

Murray led them slowly toward this somewhat crude "van."

Upon closer inspection, it was actually a large paper funeral car.

Paper versions of the elderly couple sat in it, with red stickers forming eerie smiles on their faces.

"No way out then? Getting help from the event characters isn't an option anymore..."

As Murray sank into contemplation...

All the red lanterns hanging in the hallway suddenly went dark... plunging the manor into complete darkness.

Everyone reflexively pointed their flashlights toward the second-floor corridor.

In the silent night, the sound of the old wooden door opening rang particularly clear.

Room 6.

From the "possessed" Chen Li's room emerged a black-haired woman with hair covering her face... She stood silently in the hallway, staring through her hair at the team members by the funeral car.

The two realizations - 'Chen Li is the evil spirit' and 'the manor is no longer safe' - burned themselves into Murray's mind.

Murray steadied himself and pulled out the 500-meter range map drawn earlier by the newsboy, quickly formulating a plan:

"This is worse than we imagined! Going back to the manor means certain death... Our only chance of survival is to use the 500-meter activity radius to evade the evil spirit.

If we stay together as a group of four, we'll all die if the spirit catches us.

I suggest we split into two teams and move separately!

This will increase the chances of at least some of us surviving... I'm sorry, but my abilities are limited. I might not be able to keep everyone alive."

"I'm going with you!!"

The blonde Monica immediately clung to this lifeline.

In her eyes, the physically weak Nicolas who spent each day resting in his room and the prayer-obsessed believer Arkman had no right or chance to survive.

By now, the woman in red on the second floor had started moving, leaving no time to discuss team arrangements.

"Then that's how we'll split up... Miss Arkman and I will be a team," Leon said with a bitter expression.

Murray gave a knowing smile and handed Leon a map, "We'll escape separately. You and Arkman head south toward the mountain... Make sure you survive!"

Murray's concern seemed genuine, but he had directed Leon toward the most difficult path

Given Leon and Arkman's poor physical condition, heading uphill would quickly drain their stamina... If they encountered the evil spirit, they wouldn't even have a chance to run.

However, Leon raised no objections.

"Let's go... Hope we'll meet again in the Holy City."

The teams split up, heading north and south... Murray's group took the downhill route, where abandoned buildings below could provide hiding spots.

After the team members scattered, Chen Li walked slowly to the ground floor, showing an eerie smile.

Qing approached from the direction of the outhouse, holding an oil lamp.

"Sis... Do we really need to help that Chinese-speaking foreigner? We don't have to risk ourselves."

"Yes!"

Chen Li, her black hair disheveled, had entered a kind of "possessed" state.

That single word made her brother Qing tremble... he dared not voice any opposition.

Indeed.

While the paper doll setup had nothing to do with Leon, Chen Li's appearance was entirely his arrangement...