My Cell Prison
Chapter 1529 - 1527: Wooden Key and Conjecture

Chapter 1529: Chapter 1527: Wooden Key and Conjecture

Outside the trunk

The Count, isolated and embodying a "Bloodhound," was limp on the ground, a faint wail emanating from his dog mouth. His body was covered with cursed wounds, and finger-like roots lingered inside him.

The Count could only attempt to lick his wounds to minimize the pain.

He even seemed to be on the verge of being separated from the Caregiver’s Arm entirely.

It’s necessary to find a better host for the Count.

Compared to the Count.

Sally’s condition was even worse... During the time Han Dong was cutting the trunk, she did everything she could to cover him, even using her own body as a shield, determined not to let Han Dong get hurt.

The half-human half-goat Sally was covered in various sizes of puncture wounds, with corrosive cursed black gas emanating all over her body.

The worst injury was located at her goat’s belly.

Her abdomen was slashed open completely, barely held together by tentacles. Some fractured intestines dangled outside through the gaps.

Purple glowing blood streamed all over the ground, showing no signs of stopping.

Due to the restrain of her level, the Black Goat’s self-healing speed couldn’t repair such severe injuries, let alone stop the corrosive curse from continuing to erode the body.

An unwelcomed and direct sense of death was approaching Sally.

As her vision gradually blurred.

A familiar figure stepped out from the trunk towards her... holding something in his hand.

Even though Sally was in such a dire state, with her throat pierced and constantly choking on blood, she still managed to utter a few words:

"I... I couldn’t block completely, six got through... Miss Helen would certainly perform better against such plant attribute opponents than me."

"You did better than anyone, hurry up and eat this."

In her extremely blurred vision, she could barely make out a black mass that was slightly pulsating.

Although the smell was nauseating, it carried an aura of curse that Sally found more familiar – being born as a Black Goat, she was naturally accompanied by curses, but was restricted in this game.

Since it was something Han Dong handed over, Sally didn’t hesitate, starting to devour it right away.

As the dark mass was gradually consumed completely, the "Wry-necked tree" rooted in the courtyard began to wither and scatter with the wind at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Sally also received a pertinent system notification:

"You have consumed an activity consumable - ’Cursed Tree Heart,’ the effects are as follows:

Common effects: Removes the currently afflicted curse effects, restores life value and increases maximum life value by 20%.

Special effects: Increases curse affinity."

Sally’s life value was being gradually restored.

With her vision growing clearer, she saw Han Dong squatting on one side, slowly retracting the Count, now turned into essence, back into his body.

The Count needed to stay inside for recovery, unable to battle for some time.

Sally licked the heart’s remaining liquid at the corner of her mouth, seeming a bit unsatisfied, "Nicholas, what did you make me eat?"

"The heart of that monstrous tree... I had pre-read information about the heart, it was most suitable for you to consume."

"How interesting! When I get back, I must store this experience separately through ’Memory Replication.’"

Moreover, it’s been a long time since I had such a direct feeling of death.

If you were any slower just now, I might really have died here... Actually, I’m not afraid of death at all, just afraid of not being able to be with you, failing to meet mom’s expectations."

"Rest assured, as long as I am alive, everyone will be fine."

Han Dong gently stroked Sally’s horn and turned to walk towards the rooted point of the Wry-necked tree.

The large pit left underneath the completely dispersed tree.

"This is!"

After a careful search, he unearthed a delicately crafted wooden key, as hard as metal, from the deepest part.

"You have acquired a critical item - [Wooden Key], moving closer to the final goal of the special event.

Please note, by destroying the ’Wry-necked tree,’ you might attract focused attention from dangerous presences at some special period.

Hope you can successfully complete the run."

A friendly reminder from the organizers, namely the "Ladybug Organization."

Should he win the event, Han Dong’s attention level would be boosted again.

"Sally, first try finding the corresponding keyhole inside the mansion... However, I suspect it won’t continue linking to the current mansion. The destination the wooden key points to is probably a mysterious area we haven’t yet explored; let’s go look for it."

"Then as usual, I’ll handle the second floor, and you take care of the first floor."

"Hmm."

After half an hour of quick searching, they indeed could not find the matching keyhole.

Han Dong and Sally met on the second-floor window sill, peering at the street area veiled by the black miasma.

"It surely isn’t that simple... This key is most likely closely tied to the [Mysterious Neighbor] we saw during the log replay stage.

By him collecting resentment energy, it’s basically confirmed that he is the craftsman who made the ’Box of Resentment.’

The wooden key may open his home’s door, even the secret door housing the ’Box of Resentment.’

Sally nodded, "Hmm... It should be like that, this key is a difficulty [4] item acquired by defeating a strong enemy.

However, is the Mysterious Neighbor’s residence really mixed within the villa cluster? What if a team had initially selected his house, what would happen then?"

"Sally, you’re right.

If I were the event organizer, I would never allow participants to encounter the ’ultimate puzzle’ right at the start... Progressing step by step enhances the fun of the event.

However, the Mysterious Neighbor’s home should also be within the street.

Because he needs to go to each household to gather resentment energy, and he has to integrate and manufacture the boxes uniformly, he must need a fixed and secret place for work and rest.

How to ensure that, during the startup period, no one can approach his residence, yet allow exploration later?"

"The basement? Or in the sewer of the street?"

"Possible, but if there’s someone with strong perception, they might also discover it at the start.

However, I have a more likely hypothesis..."

"What?"

"During the previous difficulty [5], didn’t we hear the footsteps of the Mysterious Neighbor whilst hiding in the safe house?

This indicates that the Mysterious Neighbor’s actual form only appears at the highest difficulty... Then, is it possible that his house is the same? When the highest difficulty comes, a unique building will appear on the street?

Besides, the difficulty [5] interval lasted a full two hours.

It’s very possibly the time given to us by the event organizers for exploration."

"Then what is the purpose of the safe house?"

"The safe house is meant only for the exploration phase in the early stage of the event, providing an effective shelter before we figure out the situation... so that more participants survive, increasing the overall success rate and fun of the activity.

Otherwise, if most were to die off right at the start, the event would lose much of its excitement.

During the ’pre-entry’ period, I’ve memorized a thumbnail of the street, it just needs to be validated when the highest difficulty arrives."

"Alright..."