Chapter 11
1558words
Each rise onto her toes, each stiff twirl, carried a bone-chilling elegance. Her bare foot, covered in dark red mud, left sticky imprints on the polished floor.
In the air, that cloying floral scent spread again, more intense and overpowering than in the Stasis Chamber, almost condensing into pink ribbons that seemed to coil around Owen Grant's neck.
"The Dancer at the Garden entrance"!
Client 013's last wish: Give the dancing shoes to her!
But how to deliver it? Rule four: [Communication with clients is prohibited]! Moreover, the aura emanating from this Dancer is a hundred times more terrifying than the Crying Woman and the Faceless Boy combined! It's a bone-deep death essence that mingles extreme beauty with decay!
The task requires saying "it's time for the curtain call"... Does this mean terminating her?
Owen Grant forced himself to stay calm. He recalled the fifth rule of the Stasis Chamber: [After removing items, please immediately place them in an Isolation Bag]. He had an Isolation Bag in hand, which temporarily blocked the aura of the dance shoes. Perhaps... this was the key?
He struggled to his feet, clutching the Isolation Bag tightly as he inched toward the Dancer step by step.
The distance narrowed.
Ten meters... five meters...
The Dancer seemed unaware of his approach, still immersed in her distorted solo dance. Her long hair hung loose, covering her face.
Three meters!
Owen Grant's heart leapt into his throat. He stopped in his tracks and slowly extended his hand, offering the Isolation Bag containing the ballet shoes toward the bare feet of the Dancer.
No words, only actions.
Just as the Isolation Bag came within about a meter of the Dancer's feet—
The Dancer's spinning abruptly stopped!
Time seemed to freeze.
Owen held his breath, cold sweat sliding down his temple.
The Dancer slowly and extremely stiffly turned around.
Her long hair fell away, revealing her face.
Owen's pupils contracted sharply!
It was a face impossible to describe with words. Half was breathtakingly beautiful, with fair skin and features as delicate as a sculpture; the other half appeared as if corroded by strong acid, with twisted, rotting flesh exposing stark white bone. One hollow eye socket was crawling with tiny, root-like black veins!
Beauty and decay achieved a bizarre balance on her face!
Her one intact eye slowly rotated, focusing on the Isolation Bag in Owen Grant's hand. Her gaze was empty, yet carried a kind of desire that made one's heart tremble.
"Give... me..." a hoarse voice, like sandpaper scraping, squeezed out from her rotting lips.
Rule number four! No communication!
But the task required "giving" the dance shoes to her!
Owen Grant fell into a dilemma. Give them to her? Violate the rules! Not give them to her? Fail the mission? What would happen if he failed? Would the system eliminate him?
The Dancer's decaying hand slowly raised, reaching toward the Isolation Bag. Her fingers were twisted and deformed, her nails black and sharp.
The intense floral scent almost suffocated Owen Grant! Pink mist churned around her body!
No more hesitation!
Owen Grant forcefully threw the Isolation Bag toward the Dancer's feet!
The bag landed beside her muddy bare feet.
The Dancer's intact eye suddenly erupted with terrifying red light! She let out an inhuman shriek and bent down sharply to grab the Isolation Bag!
Just as her fingers were about to touch the bag—
Owen Grant used all his strength to shout:
"Time for the curtain call!"
The voice exploded in the dead silent corridor!
The Dancer's movements, as if someone had pressed pause, suddenly froze!
Her hand reaching for the Isolation Bag stopped midair, and in her rotting face, the intact eye flickered with red light, filled with pain, struggle, and... a trace of incredulous clarity?
"No... don't..." a hoarse voice said tearfully, "I... haven't finished... dancing... Acheng... hasn't seen..."
Acheng?!
Owen Grant was thunderstruck! Vivian Miller's fiancé from client #044! The man with the surname Gu who died in a car accident five years ago!
This Dancer... knew Acheng?
In the moment of his shock!
"Riiip—!"
The Isolation Bag was torn by the Dancer's sharp fingernails!
Those red ballet shoes were exposed to the air!
In an instant!
The overwhelmingly sweet floral scent exploded like a bomb! Pink mist instantly filled the entire corridor! Countless tiny, vine-like black roots frantically grew from the Dancer's rotting half-face and body, wrapping around those red dancing shoes!
The dancing shoes seemed to come alive, emitting an eerie red glow!
The Dancer let out a shriek mixing agony and ecstasy, her body violently twisting and expanding! Her dress was torn apart, revealing beneath a more horrifying body where tree roots and flesh intertwined!
The Garden's contamination! It completely erupted!
"Boom!"
An invisible shockwave exploded outward with the Dancer at its center!
Owen Grant was violently thrown backward, slamming hard against the wall. His throat filled with a sweet taste of blood, and he nearly passed out!
He struggled to lift his head.
At the end of the corridor, where the wall had been, space rippled violently like water! A massive "doorway" formed of countless twisted vines and bizarre flowers was slowly opening! Behind the doorway was an even thicker pink mist, and the shadowy, terrifying silhouettes of what looked like gigantic plants!
The Garden entrance! It had been opened!
The Dancer, or rather, the monster completely corrupted by "The Garden," clutching the pair of red dancing shoes, let out a piercing laugh as she staggered toward the opening "door"!
"Stop her!" A cold voice exploded in Owen Grant's mind! It was the system!
[Emergency task triggered!]
[Prevent "The Garden" entrance from opening!]
[Available authorization: Temporary unlock of partial usage rights to "Level 1 Stasis Chamber" items (limited to 3 minutes).]
[Warning: Entrance completely opened, 'The Garden' contamination will spread irreversibly!]
Owen Grant's scalp tingled with fear! Stop it? How to stop it? Use something from the Stasis Chamber?
He scrambled toward the metal door of the Stasis Chamber! Badge pressed against it!
The door slid open! Bone-chilling cold rushed out!
He rushed in, his gaze frantically scanning those metal compartments with glowing blue numbers! Access unlocked! Which ones could be used?
[Hint: Numbers A-007, B-013, C-099...]
He rushed to the nearest row A, found compartment 007! Unlocked! Pulled open!
Inside was a sealed glass jar containing a section of... withered, charcoal-like vine?!
B-013! Unlock! Pull open!
A metal box, opened, containing a small amount of gray powder emitting a pungent sulfuric smell!
C-099! Unlock! Pull open!
An antique-styled bell covered in verdigris!
Time was running out! Owen Grant grabbed the can of vines and the box of powder, turned and rushed out of the Stasis Chamber!
In the corridor, the pink mist had become so thick it was almost tangible! The door to "The Garden" had opened more than halfway! The Dancer monster had half its body already inside the door, countless vines extending from within, wrapping around her, trying to pull her in completely!
Owen looked at the items in his hands. Vines? Powder? A bell?
He suddenly remembered Task No. 044! That bronze bell! It was mentioned in the first rule!
[The rental period is 30 days, if you wish to renew after expiration, please ring the bronze bell in the room three times before midnight.]
This bell... was it that bronze bell?
There was no time to think! He grabbed the verdigris-covered bell and with all his might, shook it violently toward the Dancer monster who was about to be completely swallowed by the door!
"Ding-a-ling——! Ding-a-ling——! Ding-a-ling——!"
A crisp, melodious bell sound suddenly rang out in the corridor that was filled with shrieks and floral scents, resembling hell itself!
The bell sound seemed to carry some strange power!
The frantically growing vines abruptly froze!
The Dancer monster's body, which had reached inside the door, began to tremble violently! Her one intact eye suddenly turned toward Owen Grant, its red light intensifying, filled with endless hatred!
"Ah Cheng's... bell..." the hoarse voice was full of pain and struggle.
The bell sound continued to echo!
"Hiss hiss hiss——!"
The vines entangling the Dancer monster began to smoke and shrivel as if doused with sulfuric acid!
The Dancer monster let out an extremely shrill scream! She clutched the red ballet shoes and suddenly broke free from the doorway, falling heavily to the ground!
The door to "The Garden" began to shake violently, becoming unstable!
It's working!
Owen Grant's heart leapt with joy as he shook the bell forcefully once more!
"Ring ring ring——!"
However, this time——
"Pop!"
The verdigris bell in his hand suddenly shattered without warning! Turning into a handful of copper powder!
The ringing abruptly stopped!
"Roar——!"
The Dancer monster crawled up from the ground, half of her face rotting and twisted grotesquely. Her intact eye stared fixedly at Owen Grant, filled with violent murderous intent! The vines on her body grew wildly again, sweeping toward Owen!
The door to "The Garden" stabilized once more and began opening faster!
It's over!
