Chapter 54: Run!!!
"W-Who knows what is going on?"
The question hung in the air, but no one responded.
To Jun Wu, that was a stupid question.
They were inside a ruin. How could any of them know what was going on? It’s not like they were in their backyard or something.
The man who asked the question was unwilling to give up and asked another question.
"Does anyone know how we can leave this damned place?"
Once again, no one responded. Most of them were trying to regain their strength, while those that came prepared took out a healing pill and swallowed it.
Looking at the healing pill, Jun Wu knitted his brow. He realized one of his mistakes.
He had been too arrogant and not prepared for the ruin’s exploration.
Perhaps, he was overconfident, believing nothing could injure or push him to the limit inside the ruin.
’I’ve learned my lesson.’
There was more to life than array formation. In his current situation, a single healing pill would do the job.
Unfortunately, he had none.
Not dwelling on his mistake, he began to walk around the open space.
Looking at him, everyone inside the room was confused.
"What’s he doing?"
"How would I know? I just need to get out of this damned place."
Jun Wu did not care about the chatter going on around him. His goal was to get out of here.
"Senior Sister, what should we do?" Ru Xue asked the cold, beautiful senior sister.
Mei Ling did not have any change in her expression.
"Let’s wait."
Bo Qiang looked at Mei Ling with deep infatuation and nodded. "Let’s follow Senior Sister. Staying inside this room is safe for now."
Xu Rue nodded and sat on the ground, swallowing a healing pill.
When she remembered what she just passed through, a shiver ran down her spine.
Unlike her sister who could mask her emotions, she couldn’t. She was deeply shaken.
This was beyond what she could endure. All she wanted was to return to the academy. She did not care about whatever treasure was in the ruin.
Unbothered by Xu Rue and the flirtatious gaze directed at her by Bo Qiang and the others—
Her eyes lingered on Jun Wu and the giant statue inside the room.
Like everyone else, she wanted nothing but escape from this horrifying place. But these giant statues piqued her interest.
Instead of rushing to escape from the labyrinth, she wished to find out the deep secret hidden in it.
Like everyone else, she had been wondering the secret behind the ruin’s appearance.
And this labyrinth gave her some hope.
She left her spot and began to examine the giant statue.
With her joining Jun Wu in looking at the giant statue, others stood and also joined.
"What are they searching for?" A person asked in a hushed voice.
"How would I know? I guess they might be looking for an answer?"
"Should we join them?"
"For what? We need to conserve our energy in case we need to run."
Many were curious about those searching the giant statues, while some only looked at them and sneered.
Apart from running with all their might, they did not think there would be any solution to their predicament.
Jun Wu, on the other hand, had already discovered something. He stared intently at the head of a particular giant and noticed something was amiss.
The eyes of the giant had a dark spot. Not just any dark spot, but eerily dark.
"Can a crack produce it?" He wondered, tilting his head, lost in thought.
He moved to another giant statue and also found the same dark spot.
"What is with this dark spot?" He quickened his steps and checked other statues.
To his shock, the other giant statues had dark spots.
"Is this a coincidence or what?" He shook his head. He did not believe in coincidence.
Moreover, how could five giant statues have the same dark spot in their eyes?
Then, he remembered the first giant statue he checked did not have a dark spot.
Quickly, he rushed to check the first few giant statues.
Arriving before the giant statue, a chill ran down his spine. Staring at him was the same dark spot that had mysteriously appeared on the giant statue’s eyes.
’Something is happening to this giant statue...’ His heart pounded heavily against his chest.
The scene was unsettling.
How could a stone giant statue mysteriously have a dark spot in its eyes?
’This place is not safe...’
’There is no safe haven in this damned place.’
’I need to be sure...’
’This could be bad...’
He quickened his steps and moved to the giant statue where he first found the dark spot.
Behold, the dark spot had expanded.
Staring at the darkness, a shiver ran down his spine. Before his eyes, the darkness spread through the statue.
’I need to leave immediately.’
With that thought, he turned and quickened his steps toward the exit. He did not want to find out what was going on with the giant stone statue.
Mei Ling looked at Jun Wu’s behavior and found it strange.
’What’s going on with him? Did he find anything?’ She thought and looked at the giant statue carefully.
It was then she noticed the darkness... Unlike before, she found the darkness spreading.
She found something more. Something evil, sinister, that made all the hair on her body stand on end.
It was evil energy.
Before she could recover from her shock, a deafening sound echoed from behind.
Just as Jun Wu arrived at the exit, the door slammed shut.
"What!" Jun Wu widened his eyes, his heart skipped a beat.
Quickly, his gaze moved to other doors, and he dashed toward them at breathtaking speed.
Looking at him, everyone inside the room was confused.
Mei Ling, however, was already on the move. She looked at Ru Xue and shouted,
"Run!"
Ru Xue opened her eyes and stared at Mei Ling rushing toward the exit.
Bang! Bang!
All the doors began to close one after the other. Jun Wu, however, rushed through the door before it could close.
However, he did not relax, pushing his speed to the limit.
Behind him, Mei Ling was close behind. She managed to enter another before it slammed shut.
Even a fool would know something was wrong.
Instantly, chaos spread among everyone as they rushed toward the few remaining doors.
Just then, one of them noticed the eerie energy gushing out of the giant statue, moving toward them at visible speed.
"What’s this?" He whispered, retreating, but his speed was low.
When the eerie dark energy touched his body, a soul-rending scream escaped from his lips.
******