The man wore a black mask, and the thumb of one of his hands had been cleanly severed.
A severed finger?
Xiao Lou was startled, thinking to himself, "His thumb is broken. Could he be Qi Ran, the mastermind behind the ghost case?"
In the treasure chest left by Shao Qingge in the joint burial tomb, he mentioned that during the famine, one of the four children had his thumb cut off by bandits while trying to save Han Ningshuang, and also had many scars on his face due to smallpox.
This person, named Qi Ran, is also the most likely culprit in the case of the vengeful ghost seeking revenge.
Yu Hanjiang said, "He is the only Hunter who can appear in both the day and night worlds at the same time. No wonder we are always surrounded and chased by zombies every time we go to Mass Grave to investigate. He can also kill us in the daytime world."
However, his abilities were limited, and Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang always managed to escape.
Now that he's gathered so many helpers in the night world, he'll definitely be even more difficult to deal with. Xiao Lou immediately became alert. Just then, a "clanging" sound suddenly rang out all around him. The sound was very rhythmic, as if it could penetrate any barrier and reach the depths of his heart. For a moment, only this eerie "clanging" sound remained in Xiao Lou's mind.
—It's a rattle drum!
Besides their self-awareness, Xiao Lou and Yu Hanjiang's minds were also connected by a Telepathic Connection, allowing them to perceive each other's consciousness. The keyword "rattle drum" came to mind at some point, but soon both of them simultaneously realized this.
The reason why the case of the vengeful ghost seeking death is so bizarre is because the Hunter is involved!
What Xiao Lou and his friends considered "evil magic" was actually a card effect.
A card called [ rattle drum ] can emit strange melodies that strike at the heart when used, controlling the user's consciousness. This is the real reason why the Zhao and Chen families in Qingfeng Town mysteriously disappeared!
Qi Ran used the sound of the rattle drum to control their consciousness, making them follow instructions to come to the Mass Grave. By the time these people regained consciousness, they were already powerless to resist and had become fish on a chopping board, at the mercy of others.
Danger!
Once Qi Ran's consciousness is controlled by the rattle drumbeats, he might even manipulate Yu Hanjiang into killing his teammates!
As Xiao Lou predicted, within a few seconds, Lao Mo, Long Sen, and Qu Wanyue, the three teammates who only had a single thought in their minds, were controlled by the sound of the battle drum. Long Sen's eyes were bloodshot, and he reached out and forcefully grabbed Qu Wanyue's neck!
Long Sen was a sports school coach, incredibly strong; he almost snapped Qu Wanyue's delicate neck.
Qu Wanyue was also unconscious at this time, and surprisingly did not resist at all.
Old Mo, seemingly under some unknown instruction, walked step by step toward the Hunter team like a puppet on a string.
A mocking smile appeared in Qi Ran's eyes behind his mask. He said to his companions, "These people are indeed difficult to deal with. Rather than wasting our energy, we might as well let them kill each other."
The woman next to him chuckled and said, "The boss really knows how to handle things."
Qu Wanyue had already lost consciousness. Long Sen's hands were trembling. Old Mo took the knife that Hunter handed him and stabbed himself in the abdomen!
Xiao Lou watched this scene unfold, but didn't know how to stop it.
It felt like there was a drill churning inside his head, the pain was so intense it felt like it was going to explode.
Clang clang... clang clang...
The monotonous sound of the rattle drum echoed repeatedly in his mind, the strange, demonic sound seemingly possessing the power to cleanse all consciousness. Just as Xiao Lou's consciousness was gradually fading, and he was about to forget who he was, a deep, calm voice suddenly rang in his mind.
The voice said, " Xiao Lou, teleport."
It's Yu Hanjiang!
Xiao Lou's senses were instantly brought back. The next moment, Yu Hanjiang threw out a white silk card. The white cloth stretched continuously in his hand, wrapping around Long Sen, Qu Wanyue, Lao Mo, and Liu Qiao with lightning speed.
Xiao Lou activated teleportation at the same time, and the six people vanished without a trace in an instant.
Qi Ran's expression suddenly changed: "Don't let them get away!"
After the teleportation was activated, the six appeared in a hidden corner of Qingfeng Town—
Xiao Lou likes to leave himself a way out, and this marker, Li Qingzhao, is the way out he left for everyone.
Liu Qiao is in a state of suspended animation and won't wake up until dawn. The other Li Qingzhao is with Lao Mo. So, when Xiao Lou left Peach Blossom Spring to find the exit, he had Qu Wanyue take the Li Qingzhao. Card modification mark, Lao Mo's Li Qingzhao The card was then given to him to use.
Before Lao Mo and his team found the maze exit, Xiao Lou also placed a marker in this safe corner.
He didn't expect Hunter to be lying in wait at the maze exit; he just habitually left an escape route so that everyone could teleport back here in case of an accident. Little did he know that such a meticulous habit would save everyone's lives at a critical moment.
Because they were too far from the sound of the rattle drum, they quickly regained their senses as the mesmerizing sound faded.
Old Mo stared at the knife in his hand, which was pointed directly at his abdomen, almost stabbing him. He paused, scratched his head, and asked, "Where did this knife come from?"
Long Sen saw the deep finger marks on Qu Wanyue's neck and immediately flew into a rage: "Who choked you?"
Qu Wanyue looked confused: "I don't know."
Xiao Lou: "..."
If we were to tell them now that Long Sen almost strangled Qu Wanyue, wouldn't that be too damaging to their relationship?
Xiao Lou didn't reveal the truth. Instead, she looked at Yu Hanjiang and asked, "Why weren't you affected just now?"
Yu Hanjiang explained, "When I was in police academy, I received professional anti-interference training, so ordinary hypnotic sounds don't have much effect on me."
Thanks to this, Yu Hanjiang was able to wake Xiao Lou at the critical moment.
Xiao Lou was still shaken. If Yu Hanjiang hadn't woken him up and teleported his teammates together, they might have really been wiped out by the demonic sound and turned on each other.
Xiao Lou said, "It seems that the strongest member of this hunting team is the murderer in the Ghost City case. He can not only kill people in the daytime world, but also come to the Ghost City maze at night. The rattle drum in his hand can bewitch people's minds and control their consciousness."
All three teammates looked shocked. Old Mo quickly realized, "So, all those missing people in Qingfeng Town were lured away by him using the sound of the rattle drum?"
Qu Wanyue was nearly choked, unable to catch her breath for a long time, coughing violently. Long Sen helped her catch her breath while angrily saying, " The killer in Secret Room World was Hunter in the end, and this isn't the first time! These heartless bastards, is their mission to kill people?!"
Long Sen's unintentional remark sent a chill down Xiao Lou's spine.
The name "Hunter" and "Killer" is enough to explain their mission: to kill.
Perhaps the killer in the later locked-room murders was actually Hunter on a special mission, and Challenger had to find and catch the killer. From beginning to end, the two sides were on opposing sides.
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and said, " We don't know how long Qi Ran's rattle drum has left on cooldown. If we rush in recklessly, we might get our consciousness controlled again. But if we keep wasting time, the maze's exit will spin and disappear again..."
The dynamic maze is constantly rotating; now is the best time to leave.
If you miss this opportunity, you may have to wait another 8 hours for the maze to return to its original position.
Old Mo said with a grim expression, "But the maze exit has been surrounded by them, and there are traps everywhere!"
Xiao Lou said, "We have no choice but to take a gamble."
Yu Hanjiang looked at him: "How do you want to bet?"
Xiao Lou took Liu Qiao's card holder out of her pocket, flipped over a card, and carefully read the skill description.
Then he said, " Teacher Qu, open the teleport again."
Li Qingzhao's marker can be modified/transferred a maximum of 5 times. Qu Wanyue's Li Qingzhao marker has already been used four times, with one more time remaining.
Qu Wanyue caught her breath; her throat was injured from being choked, and her voice was noticeably hoarse: "But this time the marker is at the maze exit..."
"That area is already surrounded by Hunters. Should we still teleport there?"
Old Mo also said worriedly, "Isn't this just walking into a trap?"
Xiao Lou took a deep breath and said, "Dragging this out isn't a solution. We have to take a gamble. I'll use Xiao Liu's cards to control them."
Everyone had no choice but to trust Xiao Lou's judgment.
Qu Wanyue reopened the teleportation.
Qi Ran never expected that Xiao Lou and his six companions would reappear in the same spot less than half a minute after they had just escaped.
This is as unbelievable as prey that has finally managed to escape from a trap, only to suddenly turn around and jump back into it.
The six of them appeared at the marked point in unison, which surprised the Hunters.
They only hesitated for a second before snapping out of it...
However, what Xiao Lou needed was precisely this one second.
He took out Liu Qiao's card [ Ugly Duckling and White Swan ]. The card's first skill, " Ugly Duckling, " can transform a designated target within range. This limited skill, which can only be used once per secret room, is very powerful.
Liu Qiao had used this skill before when she was surrounded and chased by Hunters, but at that time she only turned one Hunter into an ugly duckling. The card can transform into a maximum of ten people. That means there are currently nine slots available for this transformation card.
At this point, Hunter's team had eight members remaining.
Xiao Lou used that crucial one-second time difference to activate his skill. Then, his teammates discovered that the once-aggressive Hunter team had collectively turned into clumsy little yellow ducks, making angry "quack quack quack" noises.
Xiao Lou said coldly, "Let's go!"
Yu Hanjiang immediately hugged Xiao Lou With their Lightness Skill activated, Long Sen and Qu Wanyue, along with Lao Mo, used the "Long Jump" card to extend their legs and leap 8 meters, successfully clearing the trap pit. The unconscious Liu Qiao was shrunk to the size of a thumb and stuffed into Xiao Lou's pocket.
The six people broke through the barrier of Qingfeng Town at an extremely fast speed and walked out of the gate.
The sun was shining brightly outside, and the weather was clear.
It was daytime when Liu Qiao finally woke up. Seeing that her teammates were all drenched in sweat and pale-faced, Liu Qiao hurriedly asked in a low voice, "Have you made it out of the maze? Is everyone alright?"
Yu Hanjiang glanced at Xiao Lou and whispered, "It's alright, nothing serious happened."
It was indeed thrilling. At the last moment, Xiao Lou used Liu Qiao's designated transformation card to control Hunter, thus escaping the maze.
Xiao Lou walked up to Liu Qiao, returned the card to her, and said with a smile, "This card of yours was a great help."
Liu Qiao took the card.
Just then, a notification popped up in the floating window in front of everyone—
[Congratulations to Xiao Lou's team for successfully completing K Secret Chamber! Please return to Personal Space to claim your rewards.]
The K Secret Chamber has finally come to an end.
Whether it's the bizarre cases or the formidable hunters, they've all caused them considerable trouble. Xiao Lou has a knife wound on his neck, Yu Hanjiang's right hand is nearly crippled, Qu Wanyue's neck bears a horrifying finger mark, Liu Qiao still has the black flame mark on his forehead, and Lao Mo, Long Sen, and the other two all have injuries to varying degrees…
Fortunately, everyone is alive.
Xiao Lou took one last look at the peaceful Qingfeng Town under the sunlight, took a deep breath, and said to his teammates, "We've passed another level. Hang in there, everyone. There's only one more secret room left. Soon we'll be able to leave this world completely."
This statement speaks to everyone's feelings.
The cruel Card World —they really didn't want to stay a moment longer.