Chapter 549: [A Godless World] (17)
The nightmares of others could not reach Adrian.
He had already made a full round of Lotus Park. It was as if all the monsters had gone somewhere else—there was nothing but darkness and endless silence.
Ember is probably still on the sixth floor. He’s been gone for so long... I wonder if something happened to him...
Adrian thought to himself as he walked straight into the elevator.
The viewers watched with wide eyes as Adrian pressed a whole string of buttons, utterly speechless.
[Is this really his first time being human?]
[I think he’s doing it on purpose.]
[Whether it’s intentional or not, I honestly can’t imagine what it’ll look like every time the elevator doors open on a different floor...]
At that moment, the elevator began to ascend.
Ding!
The crisp chime echoed through the cabin, and Adrian raised his eyes.
"We’re here already...?"
The elevator doors slid open, revealing the empty hallway of the second floor. Not a single soul was in sight. Only darkness, thick as velvet, stretched endlessly before him.
Adrian could only click his tongue softly. Leaning against the side of the elevator, he waited for the doors to close so it could continue upward.
At the same time, his reflection in the polished elevator doors began to waver. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into an entirely different figure.
Ding!
The arrival chime rang out again.
Adrian looked up with a hint of annoyance.
Standing outside was Ember.
Sweat streamed down his body. His drenched hair clung to his forehead, and his chest rose and fell with ragged breaths, as though he had just survived a deadly chase.
The moment he saw Adrian, he frowned.
"Didn’t I tell you to stay inside?"
Adrian immediately raised both hands and blinked innocently, looking utterly harmless.
Ember stepped into the elevator and pressed something on the control panel. He was so tall that Adrian couldn’t even see past him.
"So? Did you find any more clues? I’ve searched the entire first floor and found absolutely nothing."
Ember said nothing.
Suddenly, the lights inside the elevator began to flicker violently. At the same time, Ember’s appearance started to waver and distort.
Right before Adrian’s eyes, Ember’s face sagged as though it were melting, turning into an enormous cake dripping with layers of greasy buttercream. Beneath the melting frosting, exposed flesh pulsed rhythmically, like the muscles of some grotesque living creature.
"You..." Ember began.
Before he could finish speaking, a deafening crash suddenly erupted from outside the elevator doors.
The entire elevator lurched violently.
But the impact didn’t stop there. Deep dents began appearing across the sturdy metal doors one after another, as if something outside was trying to tear them apart.
Adrian hurriedly pulled Ember to one side before stepping forward to inspect the control panel.
"Come on, Adrian. Don’t tell me you don’t even know how to use an elevator."
None of the floor buttons were lit.
Then why had the elevator been moving upward this whole time?
Muttering to himself, Adrian reached out and pressed the button for the fifth floor.
Ding!
The clear chime rang out instantly, and the elevator doors slid open before them.
Behind Adrian, Ember froze.
His face returned to normal in sheer astonishment, as though he had never expected Adrian to actually make the elevator open.
Not only that, with a single tug from Adrian, Ember’s body obediently followed him out of the elevator—even though he had deliberately made himself impossibly heavy just moments ago.
Watching Adrian’s carefree back, Ember felt as though his entire body was about to dissolve into smoke.
I have to eat this human as soon as possible.
The longer I wait... the more terrified I become.
"Ah!"
At that moment, Adrian suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
The fake "Ember," who had already opened his mouth wide, immediately shut it again.
Ahead of them, as the darkness receded, another Ember appeared before Adrian.
His expression was as calm as still water, and he held an enormous baseball bat in one hand.
The veins on his arm bulged prominently.
Adrian was certain he wasn’t seeing things.
Is Ember... trying to hit me?
He paused for a moment before turning to look at the Ember standing behind him.
"Go on! There’s someone impersonating you!"
The real impostor: "..."
Ember: "..."
...All right. He could now be certain this really was Adrian.
"I’m the real one. Come over here, Adrian," Ember said in a low voice, his gaze fixed on the impostor standing behind Adrian.
Unexpectedly, the moment he finished speaking, the impostor stepped forward and shielded Adrian with his own body, staring back at Ember with icy eyes.
The livestream chat exploded.
[Fight! Fight! Whoever wins gets the beauty!]
[Isn’t that thing weaker than Ember? Why would it take the initiative to stand in front?]
[It’s betting that Adrian will protect it!]
[LOL, maybe! Adrian honestly doesn’t seem able to tell which one’s real. What if they actually fight and Adrian ends up eating Ember instead?]
[Now that would be true horror...]
[Adrian, hurry up and turn on the comments!]
[Wait... do you guys seriously think Adrian is that clueless?]
"Adrian, don’t let this thing fool you," the "Ember" standing before him said gravely.
Seeing the scene unfold, Ember made up his mind.
He would smash the creature in front of him to pieces.
Then he would give Adrian a good beating too.
With that thought, he lunged forward without hesitation, swinging the metal bat downward.
The next instant, a muffled groan echoed through the hallway.
Ember froze.
Everything before his eyes rippled and dissolved like an illusion.
Adrian had raised one arm to block the blow with his forearm. Looking at Ember with a faintly amused smile, he said,
"That actually hurt, Ember. Even if you’ve got a personal grudge against me, this isn’t exactly the best way to settle it."
Ember’s pupils contracted.
He immediately pulled Adrian to his side.
At the same time, white mist began billowing around them, drifting like restless ghosts. The world before their eyes grew increasingly blurred.
Adrian couldn’t help commenting,
"Judging from your reaction... this thing’s illusion abilities are actually pretty impressive."
"Quiet!" Ember barked, his eyes frantically searching for the impostor.
But his mind was anything but calm.
The scene from moments ago replayed itself over and over inside his head.
I almost...
I almost killed Adrian...