Deep in the Living
Chapter 405 - 393: Mr. Question Mark

Chapter 405: Chapter 393: Mr. Question Mark

The monster hosts remained in the waiting area.

All four walls around them displayed high-definition projections, numbering in the thousands, corresponding to each participant’s surveillance footage.

At the same time,

The man at the front, Mr. Question Mark, also initiated a gambling segment that everyone could deeply engage with.

Bets could be placed on the involved servants, with a time limit of five minutes and odds ranging from two to five times.

Most monsters were confident in the servants they brought, knowing that the difficulty of the first challenge was usually not too high; historically, the pass rate could reach up to 30%.

Hua Yuan also took out her own small pouch, but due to recent expenditures and treating others to meals today, her corner coins were almost depleted.

Biting down, she placed half of them on Luo Di.

Since Luo Di was a servant in the Seed Stage, his level was the lowest, but his odds were the highest at five times.

Additionally, she knew Luo Di’s abilities well, and he definitely wouldn’t be eliminated in the first round.

Hua Yuan handed these corner coins to a waiter wearing an elephant mask, and turned to her companion, "Yu Lu, aren’t you going to place a bet? The odds are five times, and it’s unlikely we’ll lose."

Yu Lu seemed to be lost in thought, only coming to her senses when Hua Yuan mentioned it.

She had witnessed Luo Di’s abilities on the train, and was very supportive of her grandmother’s choice. She wouldn’t miss out on this money-making opportunity.

She scratched open the skin on her hand with a fingernail.

Instead of much blood and veins, corner coins slid out from the wound, falling into the waiter’s hands non-stop.

Even after reaching two hundred coins, she showed no intentions of stopping,

seemingly ready to bet her entire wealth on the first challenge, but her gaze suddenly caught something, and she raised her hand, pausing the bet.

Following her gaze, Hua Yuan also saw the surveillance footage belonging to Luo Di.

The game had just begun, and Luo Di was moving towards the direction marked "Exit." After a light run, he suddenly halted even though he saw nothing.

A look of terror was evident on his face,

his spine wriggled,

without any hesitation, he reversed and fled at full speed, bursting with a velocity that could rival some of the monsters present.

However,

Hua Yuan and Yu Lu were not concerned about Luo Di; they seemingly saw something too, though the footage didn’t clearly capture it, the shadows cast by the lights revealed part of its silhouette.

Recognizing the silhouette, Hua Yuan’s pupils contracted.

"To set it up like this at the first level? Such a high difficulty... has Mr. Di ever experienced this kind of death game, and can he realize the ’key’ to passing?"

Yu Lu didn’t comment, she merely considered and deduced, still intending to continue with the bet.

But the waiter wearing the elephant mask raised his hand suddenly, "Sorry, I just received notice that bets on participant [Luo Di] are temporarily closed. Bets can still be placed on the other participants. Would you like to place a bet?"

Hua Yuan frowned, "Closed? Why?"

"I don’t know the specific reasons, all I know is that it’s the boss’s operation."

"Did Mr. Question Mark personally close it?"

Just then,

Among thousands of surveillance images, the screen showing Luo Di suddenly showed static.

...

[Underground Parking Lot]

The soles of Luo Di’s shoes had tentacle-like structures, allowing for near-silent full-speed running, erasing any noise with a gray hue.

After sprinting through five entire parking lot areas, he finally slowed down, slipping into an abandoned van, observing the route of his escape through the window.

Although Luo Di didn’t know what the thing was, he was sure that facing it head-on meant certain death.

"It’s indeed not as simple as ’finding the exit’... the so-called Death Grand Challenge, even the first level, inherently contains lethal elements.

In my current state, my tongue almost breaks apart in my mouth; if I encounter that thing, I would likely die instantly, even the Old Spine refined from Hell wouldn’t last long.

However, I can make an [assumption].

Assume the exit of the underground garage is indeed the way out, without needing to search for it.

The real challenge isn’t in finding the exit, but that ’thing’ hovering around the ’exit’, requiring maneuvering around it to escape and complete the challenge.

Conventional detours won’t work; a special method must be found.

Put myself in the shoes of those ’monster spectators’ watching our performance; what they desire is extreme sensory stimulation, so perhaps there’s only one way to flee the garage.

If that’s the case, my approach needs to change."

Having confirmed his challenge strategy, Luo Di prepared to continue his exploration of the parking lot.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something,

In the rearview mirror of the van, two people were reflected.

Turning his head,

Mr. Question Mark was seated in the back seat, something Luo Di had completely failed to notice.

The true Death Game had commenced, and Luo Di concluded that this was the chaser from earlier; he assumed it was some sort of dangerous avatar of Mr. Question Mark.

Even if unable to discern any information from the other party,

even with high odds of dying next,

under the dual pressure of the unknown and death, Luo Di remained unafraid, instantly unleashing his greatest power, the moonlight descending with his blade.

Clang!

High-speed rotating sawtooth,

the downward swinging arm,

even the falling moonlight was completely blocked,

just two fingers pinching the sawtooth, causing Luo Di’s slashing to be forcibly halted. Not only that, Mr. Question Mark leaned forward, prying open his mouth, using his fingers to pinch the tongue inside.

A voice emanated from beneath the sackcloth head:

"There are so many strange things tied to you.

Craft’s colors aside, that is your pituitary essence. But this tongue of yours doesn’t belong to the pituitary ability, it’s a kind of ’lingering curse’.

This tongue severely disrupts the balance of the genuine Death Game, and I apologize, my subordinate’s detection personnel failed to identify this beforehand. Now it requires my personal sealing.

If, after the Death Grand Challenge, you are still alive, you can come find me, and I’ll naturally help you lift it.

However, this tongue, presently, may seem beneficial, offering you a constant alert. But with the development of your pituitary, its issues will gradually surface. After all, the source of its curse is a notoriously dangerous fellow who never abides by rules.

Don’t overly rely on a sense that doesn’t belong to you."

After speaking,

a question mark was branded onto Luo Di’s tongue.

Though taste wasn’t affected, Luo Di could feel something inside his tongue being suppressed, rendering it unable to respond to danger, reverting to the most ordinary, primal tongue.

"Thank you."

Luo Di quickly grasped the situation, realizing the person before him was indeed Mr. Question Mark in reality.

Mr. Question Mark was quite reasonable, or perhaps everything he did served the purpose of maintaining game balance.

"As compensation for delaying your game time, I’ll temporarily remove your body’s ’mark’... Be careful from here on, human."

With those words finished, the fingers gripping the sawtooth withdrew, the chainsaw resumed spinning, and Luo Di was left alone in the vehicle.

"So strong, terrifyingly strong."

Luo Di had seen many formidable figures, but these individuals projected a powerful aura, showcasing their strength and uniqueness from some angle.

Only Mr. Question Mark was completely enigmatic, even imparting an unfamiliar terror to Luo Di.

"There’s truly a significant issue with the tongue in my mouth; it’s not only about whether I can collect enough corpses during this game, but just making a connection with Mr. Question Mark is already a substantial gain. I must survive and inquire about the tongue issue afterward."

After a brief pause, Luo Di once again peered through the window to ensure there was no danger outside.

Sliding the car door open,

he stepped out with his right foot, setting it on the cement ground.

Swish!

Luo Di’s iconic size forty-five shoe and the foot inside were suddenly whirled away, flying in front of him.

Looking down,

his ankle had been completely severed,

a pale, semi-transparent arm extended from beneath the car, in its hand a scythe faintly visible.