“Two officers, the female worker's name is Janet Scott.”
Lynch took a deep breath.
As expected. It is just a pity I do not know what exactly happened to her. I should contain the mystery relic first.
“Close the door tight. Do not let those workers or supervisors in. It will be troublesome if they overhear us.”
Lynch stood in the shadows beside the mystery relic, his hat brim pulled low to hide his face. His voice was deep, hoarse, and filled with mystery:
“This thing is called a mystery relic. Resolving its current issues is quite complicated and will likely take several days. During this time, you will all participate in the same thrilling death lottery as everyone else in the factory. It does not matter if you are in the factory or not, because the relic's influence has already expanded. It is not just the workers; everyone in the factory has been marked. If you are chosen, you will become just another name in the registration book. Actually, you will not even have your names left in the register, because you do not have to sign in.”
The five gentlemen who had just closed the door had not yet had the chance to question Lynch and Natalie's identities before being hit with this news. Their faces turned ugly, and they looked at each other in confusion and helplessness.
“But you are all too important to Mr. Grant, and your loss would be unbearable. That is why I asked Manager Frank to bring you all here quietly. I assume you did not mention this to anyone before coming? Good. The number of slots for escape is limited, and only because you have such special status do you have this opportunity. Do not let those tools know, or they will crowd you out of your spots.”
“Are you truly able to keep us from being affected?” someone asked nervously.
“Why else would we be here?” Lynch gave the speaker a cold glare. “If you ask such wasteful questions again, you can return to your own offices. If you do not want your slots, they can be given to other workers. The number of slots is fixed, and it makes no difference to us who we help escape.”
The questioner immediately shut his mouth.
“Number One, calm down,” the policewoman said with a detached expression. “Do not be angry with a group of ordinary people. It is not uncommon for people to remain unafraid until death is upon them. Just give them the opportunity; it is their own business how many ultimately survive.”
Lynch nodded, scanning the room with a faint, enigmatic smile, then glanced intentionally at the closed door of the secret room. He lowered his voice and said, “You are currently in a very delicate state. I have no interest in explaining the principles to you in detail. In short, you have one chance to break free from the influence, and only one. Whether you can grasp it depends on yourselves. Come over and surround it. Good. Now, gaze at it, empty your minds, and pour all your focus into it. When you succeed, you will find yourselves free from your current predicament.”
Is this real? Even if it is just staring at it, if it is fake, the most I lose is being tricked once. There is no harm in trying.
Some were still skeptical, but others let go of their doubts and followed Lynch's instructions.
Ten seconds, twenty seconds...
There seemed to be nothing unusual, but suddenly someone realized something was wrong. Of the original five executives, only four remained.
“Heh, he successfully escaped. Not bad. At least we saved one,” Lynch’s lingering remark came from behind.
“We can collect the payment from Speaker Grant with just one,” Officer Natalie added coldly.
“Do not rush. Give the others a chance.”
Seeing this, the remaining four became immediately tense. No longer daring to doubt the pair's words, they focused intently on the mystery relic.
Soon, another person vanished into thin air. This eerie display only deepened the confidence of the others. The frequency of the executives' disappearance increased, and a few minutes later, the last gentleman in formal attire also vanished from before the relic.
Heh, success.
Watching the five men jump into the trap one by one, the two shared a smile. Lynch extended his hand to Natalie as if issuing an invitation at a dance: “I hope they enjoy the experience inside. Now, it is our turn to enter.”
The policewoman placed her hand in his and whispered a warning: “Do not underestimate the memories within a mystery relic. Even a fear grade relic can often lead to quite dangerous situations. Always remain cautious.”
The next moment, Lynch's vision blurred. The instant his consciousness stabilized, the first thing he felt was the warmth in his palm.
We did not get separated this time. That is good.
He subconsciously squeezed her hand gently. Simultaneously, his other senses recovered rapidly. A thunderous mechanical roar erupted without warning, just as if he were standing inside the factory floor.
Looking around, Lynch found himself holding the policewoman's hand in an unfamiliar workshop. The machines were roaring, the production lines were turning incessantly, and everything was exactly like a real screw factory floor, except there were no workers. The workshop was completely empty, with everything running spontaneously.
“Why is this a screw factory?” The policewoman glared at Lynch and pulled her hand back. “A mystery relic should be an ancient memory.”
“Could it be that the environment in the memory changes based on the facilities on the set piece tray?”
“It is possible.” Officer Natalie pressed her hand against her sword, cautiously observing her surroundings. “Do not rush to read the suppression conditions. Look at the situation around us first to ensure it is safe.”
“Understood.” Lynch pulled out his revolver to check the full cylinder and skillfully stepped behind the policewoman.
He gave her a nudge, and after confirming no one was in the workshop, the policewoman reached the door and carefully peered outside.
The moment she poked her head out, a chorus of screams erupted in her ears.
Outside was the open space beyond the screw factory floor, but a massive blood pool had appeared in the center. Disgusting bubbles rose from the bottom, releasing a foul, putrid stench every time they burst.
Beside the blood pool stood dozens of three meter tall humanoid monsters wearing hideous masks. These monsters wore the exact same uniforms as the screw factory supervisors, and each held a barbed whip covered in varying amounts of blood.
The monsters were pinning down hundreds of ragged humans near the pool. These people, all in work uniforms and shackled, were covered in wounds, kneeling by the blood pool, too terrified to move. At the slightest sign of defiance, the supervisors' whips would lash down, leaving their backs a bloody mess.
Surrounded by them were the five gentlemen in formal attire. They were trembling in terror, driven into the crowd by the large group of monster supervisors, their bodies already covered in shocking whip marks.
“Are you all insane? I am your employer!”
“Stop! I am firing you! I will have the blue uniforms throw you all in prison!”
“You will rot in a dungeon for the rest of your lives! Ah!”
“Help! Help!”
Despite their desperate cries, the monster supervisors remained indifferent. They laughed wildly as they dragged the five men to the edge of the blood pool, hanging them upside down on the crossbars of the streetlights beside it, until all five were neatly lined up.
The monsters raised their whips and, amidst the five men's screams, lashed out savagely. Blood rained down from their bodies into the pool.
For a moment, flesh and blood splattered everywhere, and the screaming was constant. The area around the blood pool had become a living hell.
Rate on N.U.
