Facing at least six monsters, Alexander did what any sensible person would do—he ran. Even with all the potential power in his arsenal, these creatures could easily rip him apart.

Using his Sacrificial Blade, he turned while firing shots and then pulled out one of his thrown daggers, launching it like a throwing knife.

With a whistle, the dagger became a streak of silver, piercing a monster's left eye. It howled, collapsing as black smoke billowed from the wound, and that part of its flesh vanished silently.

So the Sacrificial Blade could indeed hurt these creatures!

Realizing its potential, Alexander cursed himself for not using it earlier.

"Activate Enchantment: Recall!" He willed, paying 10 points to trigger the blade's enchantment—Recall.

Recall allowed him to spend 10 points per round to have his Sacrificial Blade, wherever it was, return to his hand in milliseconds.

The next moment, the incredibly sharp dagger was back in Alexander’s hand.

Recall was a not particularly powerful but incredibly convenient ability, akin to rewinding time and space, allowing the blade to "teleport" back to him instantly. By using it, he managed to topple one monster and cause the others to slow their advance.

Seizing the opportunity, he and the man with glasses sprinted upstairs.

"We're lucky those things didn't chase us," the bespectacled man panted, while Alexander remained calm as they continued upward.

"Where is this place? Who are you?" the man queried.

"I'll explain once we're up there. Others should have arrived by now."

"Others?" The man, tall and handsome, thought quickly and asked, "So there are multiple victims?"

"Victims? No, we’re usually called attackers."

"Attackers."

"Come on, let’s not keep everyone waiting," Alexander said, leading him upstairs.

By the time they reached the top, most of the fortunate newcomers were already there, still shaken from their experiences.

Seeing everyone gathered, Alexander didn’t bother with explanations. He handed out a stack of printed pages to each person.

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He had grown tired of repetitive explanations, so he laid everything out in text for them to read.

"What does this even mean…?"

"Everything that needs explaining is on the paper."

In the chaotic ward, Alexander found a sofa and sat down, spreading out his hands. "That's the gist of it. If you don't believe it, it's easy to verify."

He shouted into the static-filled television mountain.

"Pinocchio, it’s your turn to explain to these newcomers."

The screens flickered, eventually settling on Pinocchio's face.

The wooden puppet began speaking through the speakers.

"Welcome, newcomers. I am your loyal yet unreliable friend, Pinocchio. This is the Evil Spirit Space, a delightful death game, a true-to-life reality show. Each of you is a carefully selected actor. Paint our extravagant stage with your blood, viscera, and flesh…"

Pinocchio's verbose introduction was about as expected, leaving newcomers bewildered yet instilling a palpable sense of foreboding.

"I don’t believe this. You must be lying..." A short-haired woman shook her head vigorously, unwilling to accept her circumstances.

"There must be cameras around here. This is some hidden camera show. Let me out! I have a press conference to attend!"

"You’re a film star! Oh my god, you’re Ji Ningyan! Can I get your autograph?" exclaimed the man Alexander had helped, recognizing the short-haired woman.

Ji Ningyan flicked her hair, disinterested in the man who recognized her. Her attention shifted to Alexander and the others, identifying them as not wearing hospital gowns but regular clothes.

—In truth, this was the most obvious distinction between veterans and newcomers.

Facing Ji Ningyan’s challenging gaze, Alexander and Carmen ignored her, while Eric simply smiled foolishly.

"How much time until the teleportation?" Alexander asked.

"Usually about ten minutes. We should give them the Universal Speech cards. I also prepared the tracking devices you mentioned to prevent any newcomers from getting lost."

"Good. I’ve packed plenty of food. Eric, did you handle the drinking water?"

"Ah, yes. I bought the cheapest bottled water, and my Evil Spirit Contract space is full."

Ignoring the newcomers, the three veterans exchanged updates on their supplies.

After the last script world ended, they had discussed not spending all their resources in Evil Spirit Space. The free shop's items, tools, and cards were exorbitantly priced, so it was best to conserve their precious survival points.

"What about those guns I mentioned?"

"I secured twenty old rifles. That’s the best I could manage domestically."

"That’s sufficient. If the next script is set in ancient times, firearms might not be usable, and a bunch of newcomers can’t learn to use them quickly."

Alexander nodded, lowering his voice. "If it comes to it, we’ll improvise when we arrive."

Previously, in the free shop, Alexander had bought an M1911 and a lot of ammunition, which had cost him a significant amount. After realizing the malicious price hikes in Evil Spirit Space, he avoided focusing on weaponry.

Yulin and Carmen had previously avoided focusing on firearms for similar reasons. They had been too broke to buy weapons from the free shop.

As for weapons acquired in the script world, Yulin’s own experiences suggested that firearms were often restricted or less useful in certain script environments, leading him to believe they were limited in Evil Spirit Space.

Moreover, Yulin felt that arming newcomers without firearms skills was dangerous. Who knew if they might panic or despair and shoot recklessly during a mission?

Besides, Yulin and Carmen had their own ways of acquiring needed armaments within a script world, as they had done in the past. They had managed to control the Innsmouth police department, acquiring weapons to arm some newcomers during one mission.