A chill gripped Eric's heart as she observed the unfolding scene.
The malice simmering among the players filled her with dread. Though she had long distanced herself—guarding secrets, acting independently, ever wary of others—she had never encountered anyone quite like Larry.
Stealing task cards was one transgression; destroying the remaining ones he no longer needed was an act that verged on devilry. He had obliterated Jacob's efforts.
Jacob had toiled for six days, completing six tasks, only to see them rendered utterly void at this moment.
He was but a microcosm. Magnified across the vast array of players, how many were like Larry? Encounter but one at a pivotal moment, and all prior endeavors could be dashed with a single misstep.
Eric's caution toward her fellow players deepened; the path to revival promised to be tortuous, demanding utmost vigilance.
She resolved that henceforth, she would conceal all task clues within the supermarket, safeguarding them from theft.
The NPC, delighting in the spectacle, interjected, "Only you remain—hurry and submit."
Jacob trembled as he handed over his last two task cards.
Larry rose from the floor, covering his face as he slumped back into his chair. Jacob's gaze was daggers, nearly piercing him through, prompting a shiver despite his unrepentant composure.
If he must perish, he insisted, then all would perish with him.
"Very well. I have reviewed your endeavors across the preceding six days. Now, you shall embark upon the final task!" The NPC thrust a box to its lips—
Suddenly, its mouth split wide, swallowing the box whole.
Then the mouth sealed—an immense maw engulfing half its face. Eric's heart jolted alongside an uncanny sense of familiarity.
This monstrous mouth bore a striking resemblance to the one she had glimpsed earlier in the auditorium—only far larger.
"Now, I shall announce the last mission. Those who clear it shall be crowned Best Employee! Let us count down together! Five! Four! Three! Two! —One!"
The NPC, its grotesque mouth freshly unfurled, raised its arm; the auditorium trembled and transformed.
In an instant, the world before Eric's eyes was utterly altered. Crimson light suffused the chamber; the carpet vanished, replaced beneath her feet by pulsating flesh. Blackened veins writhed along the walls—no, they were no longer walls but flesh, identical to the floor.
Countless fleshy tongues emerged, lashing about like whips, evoking deep revulsion.
Swish! Swish!
Two tongues shot toward Jacob and Larry, who fled only to find their feet bound by sinewy flesh.
"You two have failed too many tasks to merit my gathering," the NPC intoned, dragging them close before swallowing both whole.
No screams nor pleas escaped as Larry and Jacob vanished into the gaping blackness of that monstrous mouth. Eric's every hair stood on end. Gripping a kitchen knife tightly, she remained alert.
Within this dungeon, players moved freely, all armed; her blade was unremarkable.
Yet the NPC offered no immediate assault. Belching disdainfully, it continued, "Now, the final task issued by me: a game of hide-and-seek. Do not let me find you within thirty minutes!"
"Let us count down together!" it exclaimed, raising a hand and shouting, "Ten!"
As the NPC vocalized "Ten," Eric bolted forth, Catherine and the others swiftly following suit.
"Nine!"
"Eight!"
"Seven!"
The fleshy floor beneath was unpleasant, sinewy tendrils tangling to impede footing. Eric regulated her breath, sharpening focus as she evaded obstacles and the thrashing tongues from the flesh-walls, dashing dozens of meters ahead.
"Six!"
"Five!"
"Four!"
Players dispersed, instinctively abandoning clustered formations.
"Three!"
"Two!"
"One!"
"Hide-and-seek has begun!"
Eric ran onward. Given the original auditorium's dimensions, she surely reached a boundary—but with the transformation, its bounds had distorted beyond sight.
As she fled, she contemplated the game itself. Where could one hide here? The blood and flesh enveloped all, evoking the unsettling sensation of being swallowed deep within the NPC's own entrails.
Where could she conceal herself?
She did not know. Only this was certain: she must flee as far as possible.
Each player harbored the same thought; fortunately, the vastness of the space allowed them to disperse swiftly.
Rachel stumbled over a pulsing mass of flesh beneath her feet and, caught off guard, fell in alarm. The writhing tendrils of living tissue were both repulsive and terrifying.
This place bore an uncanny resemblance to the interior of some monstrous beast. Though her mind recoiled in disgust, she steeled herself, compelled to compose her thoughts and devise a means of survival.
A large twisted mass of flesh appeared before my eyes, with human organs or parts such as teeth, eyes, hair, and even nipples rolling in it, looking extremely disgusting. She instinctively avoided the lump of meat and searched for other hiding places.
Unexpectedly, numerous grotesque masses of flesh lay scattered unevenly around, some dangling from the ceiling with severed calves swaying dangerously close to striking Rachel's head.
After narrowly avoiding them, just as she was about to continue her concealment, strange footsteps echoed—*pat, pat,* reminiscent of polished leather shoes. Yet she recalled that none of the other players wore leather footwear for mobility's sake.
The NPC, however, was clad in a full suit, its feet encased in leather shoes.
Rachel's face paled; abandoning the search for a better hiding spot, she steeled her nerve and slipped into a narrow gap between several quivering flesh clusters.
*Pat, pat!*
She held her breath, eyes wide with terror.
The footsteps neared, then receded, and Rachel dared hardly believe she had evaded peril. Sweat trickled down her brow as she prepared to emerge from her hiding place—unaware that within the throbbing flesh before her, several eyes rolled forth in unison, their pupils converging on her.
Suddenly, a gaping maw unfurled from the mass, its jaws opening wide toward Rachel—
Several yards away, Justin slashed at the wall with his blade, but the fleshy barrier proved impervious, unwavering against his attack.
The wall was useless, Justin mused.
Around his feet lay severed strips of sinewy flesh, fragmented tongues, shattered teeth, and several gouged, shredded eyes.
Since the wall offered no respite, he resolutely endured his revulsion, took a deep breath, and plunged into a denuded cluster of flesh.
Soon after, the clatter of leather shoes neared and then faded; throughout, Justin remained motionless.
After a long wait, he emerged, altered his course, and pressed onward. In such a haunted realm, if a specter sought to play games with you, no haven, however secure, was safe for long; movement was the key to survival.
Eric pressed on swiftly, ahead of the others. Having put considerable distance between herself and the group, her experience in escape prompted a cautious pause to seek refuge.
Along the way, disturbing, nauseating flesh clumps abounded, interspersed grotesquely with human anatomy—whirling eyeballs that seemed to stare directly at her sent chills down Eric's spine.
Aside from these clusters, nothing else offered shelter. Yet the sight of eyes, mouths, and other facial features writhing within the flesh ignited deep repulsion, instinctively pushing her away.
Forced by necessity, she drew her cleaver and struck.
The flesh writhed like maggots, as if wailing silently. Horror gripped her anew, yet her hands were relentless: swift and precise, she gouged out eyes, mouths, ears, and noses. When an eyeball fell and continued spinning, seemingly gazing at her, she bent down and severed it once more.
Denuded of its human features, the flesh appeared marginally less abhorrent. Steeling herself, Eric slipped inside, slicing a broad swath of flesh with her knife and tearing it to seal the gap with her hands.
Footsteps neared and then receded, and Eric exhaled with relief, though a lingering doubt told her the final challenge would hardly be so simple. She was no fool to believe she could hide here for half an hour unscathed.
Once the footsteps faded, she leapt out, her body slick with the viscous blood of the flesh.
Resuming her flight, she moved away from the retreating sounds. But minutes later, the footsteps closed in again. Eric circled hesitantly, estimating the place to be the former hall. Perhaps the NPC ghosts emerged there to hunt them, making it a haven of sorts.
Yet the footsteps returned! The once grand hall appeared no different than any other place, devoid of flesh clusters, leaving Eric exposed, without shelter. Walls and floor alike defied her blades, impervious to cutting.
What was her recourse? Where could she hide?
Elsewhere, Catherine found herself pursued again by the relentless footsteps. Navigating between clusters, her eyes swept her unchanged surroundings. Though experience suggested that hiding within the flesh was often safe, her instincts warned that matters were more complex.
Why did the NPC relentlessly track her? Was her luck so poor? Or were other players similarly pursued?
Doubt crept in, prompting her to question the nature of the footsteps—is this truly the same NPC?
This labyrinthine domain, rife with successive tasks varying in difficulty and riddled with traps, had conditioned her mind to suspect that the final challenge harbored many hidden snares.
Perhaps the footsteps themselves were a trap—luring players into panic, frantic flight until they reached a dead end...
Resolved, Catherine remained rooted in place.
As the footsteps closed in, her heartbeat quickened but her composure held firm.
—Even the most seasoned, gambling with life itself, cannot fully quell their pulse; it is humanity's instinct.
Yet she trusted her judgment and vowed to unravel the riddle and conquer the trial.
Elsewhere, Justin mirrored Catherine's resolve; Scott, when confronted the third time by closing footsteps, hesitated but chose to confront them head-on, armed with tools to endure the crisis.
Some players persistently sought refuge within the flesh, each time successful—Eric among them.
When the footsteps pursued her again, bereft of any solution, she begrudgingly found another flesh cluster, excised its detestable eyes, and slipped inside.
Immersed within the mass, her sensation diverged profoundly from hiding in crevices between clusters; an ineffable chill enveloped her.
As the footsteps receded, she nearly collapsed, powerless to steady her stance.
Gazing down at her hands, she recoiled in horror—the palms had transformed into lifeless, carnivorous flesh, indistinguishable from the horrific masses around her.