The laughter from behind made Lin Yu feel even more creeped out.
A chilling cold sensation crawled up his spine—not just because of inner fear, but because there was genuinely something approaching him that could actually lower the surrounding temperature.
Carrying Robin on his shoulder, he couldn't help but quicken his pace.
He didn't dare look back to see what exactly was chasing them, since who knew if this thing had some instant-kill mechanic triggered by turning around.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"
Lin Yu urged Max beside him, running at full speed while carrying Robin on his shoulder.
He stopped conserving all buffs and applied them fully to himself, gulping down every potion he had.
Max was also pale with fear, sprinting with her head down.
Although this 'Thief' lacked offensive methods, her speed was not inferior to Lin Yu's!
The two hadn't ventured too deep into the wine cellar, so they quickly escaped through the door.
But even after escaping outside, they didn't dare relax.
Because the sound from behind sounded again.
"Ah..."
A sigh-like voice drifted and landed on the exposed skin of their napes, bringing with it an icy sensation like fine needle pricks.
Lin Yu and Max, who originally thought they had reached their speed limits, unexpectedly both sped up a bit more without prior agreement.
Carrying Robin, Lin Yu quickly found the staircase they came from, crouching low as he charged up, with Max closely following.
The two continued their frantic dash up the stairs, not daring to pause for even a moment!
Gradually, even with all the enhancements, Lin Yu felt his stamina beginning to fail.
Carrying weight while climbing this spiral staircase at sprinting speed placed too great a burden on the body.
Max beside him was also breathing heavily from exhaustion.
"Damn it all, we've run so far, why is this damned monster still chasing us?!"
Hearing Max's words, Lin Yu suddenly realized something and looked up.
Looking at the upward-extending staircase, Lin Yu suddenly noticed something wrong.
They had indeed "run too far."
So far that this distance should have ended long ago!
"Something's wrong, this staircase... it's too long!"
Lin Yu voiced his warning, and Max also looked up, seeing the seemingly endless upward-climbing stairs.
She instantly understood: "This monster might have triggered some mechanism, we can't go back!"
"Continuing to run like this isn't a solution!"
Lin Yu gritted his teeth: "At best, we'll exhaust ourselves to death."
"Do you have any items that can break this situation?"
Lin Yu asked while running.
Max shook her head with a bitter smile: "I don't even know what's chasing us."
"True, without even seeing this thing, discussing countermeasures is impossible," Lin Yu exhaled, "Since we can't escape, we can only try!"
"Take Robin!"
As he spoke, Lin Yu swung the Robin on his shoulder forward, then half-turned and shoved her into Max's arms.
Lin Yu's movements were so fast that they startled Max.
But she still reacted, her body twisting in an unnatural posture, her joints bending at angles that would definitely break a normal person's bones as she caught Robin.
"Whoa... what are you doing, Seer!"
Lin Yu exhaled.
"Facing fear."
He turned around and pulled out his torch.
At this moment, Lin Yu had completely calmed down.
This dungeon had a "reincarnation cycles" mechanism, so instant-death mechanics were probably rare.
Therefore...
Although his first instinct was to run, and now he was forced to confront the enemy because he couldn't escape anymore.
But... was running really necessary from the beginning?
Even though Robin fell, it might not necessarily have been this monster's doing.
Lin Yu exhaled and lit the torch.
"Whether it's a spirit or energy entity, the [Fear Torch] should be able to handle it!"
He said as the flame illuminated the spiral staircase below.
The staircase seemed to extend infinitely downward as well.
The chilling sensation and faint female voice sounded again.
"Heh..."
Lin Yu saw gray gradually spreading upward from below on the walls and steps.
This gray wasn't "physical," but rather some kind of withering phenomenon—like something was climbing and spreading from below, accompanied by this phenomenon.
Wall brick fragments peeled off, steps developed cracks.
The intangible gray and coldness seemed to be eroding everywhere they touched.
The more intense such moments became, the calmer Lin Yu grew instead.
He protected himself with the torch, staring intently at the farthest point visible from his angle of vision.
But just as he was staring there, Max suddenly shouted loudly.
"Watch out!"
Max's voice was extremely urgent, almost cracking.
Watch out for what?
Lin Yu felt stunned for a moment, then suddenly...
"Whoosh—"
The [Fear Torch] in his hand extinguished.
This was the first time Lin Yu had witnessed the [Fear Torch] failing!
Simultaneously, the chilling sensation instantly enveloped his entire body—most intensely from behind!
Wrong...
His initial decision to run immediately was correct! This was not something he could contend against at all!
The thought "this is bad" flashed through Lin Yu's mind.
Someone seemed to have patted his shoulder.
He had overplayed his hand...
This dungeon, this very dungeon where even the head of the 'Psychological Society' had died mysteriously, was truly too dangerous.
No, every 'Death Game' dungeon he had experienced was dangerous...
Still wrong!
Every dungeon in the 'Death Game' was dangerous.
Had he become somewhat arrogant because even though the previous dungeons were perilous and abnormal, he had managed to overcome them all?
Ever since becoming 'First-Tier' and battling numerous experts, he had become like this...
Lin Yu exhaled.
He turned his head and saw an extremely terrifying sight—
Extremely close to his shoulder, pressed against it was a grayish-white, ferocious face!
The facial features somewhat resembled his own, but it had pitch-black eyes and a mouth stretched wide with interlocking sharp teeth.
"Damn, that's terrifying!"
Lin Yu said through gritted teeth.
He knew he couldn't escape...
But at least... at least he could let the two 'Night Watchmen' above get away.
Robin had survived this monster, only falling unconscious.
So, he needed to stall it.
And hand over the [key item] to them.
Thinking this, Lin Yu had already abandoned any thought of his own escape.
He took out the three [Exit Permits] from his pants pocket, crumpled them into a ball, and threw them toward Max.
His limbs felt heavy.
"Take this, run!"
"Don't look up anymore... use your compass for direction!"
Lin Yu roared, then watched as Max, who had caught the paper ball, clumsily dragged Robin out while taking out her compass.
"Sorry for deceiving you, I'm not a 'Seer,' I'm a member of 'Order'... 'May May'!"
"I'll take this monster down with me!"
Lin Yu said, then pulled out the [Counterfeit]—he transformed the [Counterfeit] into something resembling a bomb.
"The bomb in my hand will explode in ten seconds, run quickly!"
'Belief' surged forth, and the [Bomb] became real.
Then, Lin Yu looked at the monster with its mouth stretched to the extreme on his shoulder, and began walking in the opposite direction down the stairs.
Since his steps were too heavy, he simply started rolling down.
"Come to hell with me, you bastard!"