As expected, it was a morgue. The air-conditioning was on full blast in the room full of tables and freezers, and the place was around two hundred to three hundred square feet. A dull blue light illuminated the area."Oh, it really is a morgue. Are we... going in?" Renee grabbed Stefan's clothes and asked, trying and failing to sound brave."Of course! We're already here. Maybe... Jayla is in there?" Stefan smiled and entered the room. "You seem to be enjoying yourself, Stefan. I always knew you had a twisted mind!" Renee hid in his arms and criticized him."Thank you, but my mind is perfectly fine." Stefan rolled his eyes, then explained seriously, "I think everything in this world is a medium, be it humans, animals, or spiritual beings. Their existence is natural. You're afraid of them, but maybe they're afraid of you too. So, just calm down and take things as they are. You don't have to be scared at all.""Hmm.... you're right. We're all on Earth anyway. At most, our latitude
"I'm fine." Renee was calm as she patted Stefan's arm. "But you might break my ribs if you don't get off me."At that moment, Stefan was clinging to Renee like an octopus. He had even buried his head in her neck timidly. He cleared his throat, quickly detaching from Renee as he muttered awkwardly, "I'm sorry. I forgot my manners." Putting on a poker face, he told Renee, "You're quite strong.""Yeah, I've been hitting the gym lately." Renee suppressed her smile as she observed him. "But you seem a little spooked. It's just a prop, so why were you so scared?" She'd thought he was an unaffected expert who would win this easily, but in the end, he was just a coward. In fact, he was more terrified than her! However, it felt good turning the tables and having the lady protect the man instead. "You can stay behind me if you're scared, boy. Young men like you aren't experienced, so you need strong women like us to protect you. You should be gentler, since strong women don't like fierce men…
"What do you mean?" Renee watched Stefan fiddle with the freezer, not knowing what he wanted to do."Give me the iron hook." Stefan turned around and urged Renee."Okay!" Renee handed the iron hook to Stefan.Stefan took it and groped for the spring of the lock of the freezer. With a gentle tug, he managed to pry open the freezer lock."Wow, you're even skilled in things like this?" Renee asked in admiration. "You're really an all-rounder—you can do business and even pry open locks. Even thieves would have to acknowledge you as their master!""Oh, stop it. Just tell me if you're scared, you don't have to make jokes." Stefan smiled, realizing she became chatty when she was scared. It was rather… cute. "I'm going to open the freezer now, and there might be something horrible inside. Do you want to step away?" Stefan asked carefully."No way!" Renee said defiantly, and walked over. "Don't underestimate me! I want to see what's inside." Then, before Stefan could do anything, she reac
Renee turned around and looked at the corpse in the freezer. She said firmly, "I guess we have to check the corpse to find out how Jayla died.""You're saying..." Stefan paused, his palms growing sweaty. "Are we going to do an autopsy on her?" "No, we don't have to do that. But we can look around and see if we can find any clues." Renee flexed her fingers and stretched her legs enthusiastically. "Let's do it. I think we can win this!""Okay!" Stefan nodded and started inspecting Jayla's body with Renee. Jayla's body was made of a silicone material that looked like skin, and there were many clues about Jayla's death on the body."Look at her neck..." Renee immediately noticed some bruises around Jayla's neck. "Do you think someone strangled her?" "Not necessarily!" Stefan added thoughtfully, "She might have struggled before she died. Someone gripped her neck and left those bruises. This place is really odd..." While talking, he solemnly pointed at the place between the corpse's l
The temperature in the room suddenly dropped."It's too crowded here. We don't need you around." Stefan glared at them, clearly wishing he could disintegrate them with his gaze.Slowly, Justin let go of Renee and looked at Stefan coolly. "You're right. It is pretty crowded here, so you should leave, Mr. Hunt. After all, escape rooms are more suitable for couples.""Couple?" Stefan scoffed disdainfully. "Can you two even call yourselves that?" Xavier had told him that Renee and Justin were just dating, trying to see how things would go. Technically, they were not a couple yet, so Stefan felt confident enough to ask."We…" For a moment, Justin was speechless. He didn't know how to argue since he didn't know what his current relationship with Renee was. He wanted to say they were a couple, but Renee hadn't confirmed it yet. However, they had gone on dates, held hands, and hugged… So could they be considered friends? At the end of the day, the decision was Renee's."Phoenix, why don't
Justin wanted Stefan to hear Renee acknowledge their relationship. Right now, it looked like Stefan wasn't threatened because he felt Renee and Justin were not deeply in love with each other."That's enough, Haze. Stop making a scene. Why do you always insist on winning like a kid?" Renee gripped Justin's ear and rebuked him helplessly. "There's no need to get affected by insignificant people, okay?" "Okay, I'll listen to you," Justin said obediently, then shot Stefan a triumphant smirk. "I'll listen to whatever my baby says.""Mm, that's good!" Renee touched his head and smiled tenderly. Although Haze could sometimes be playful, he would listen when he had to. Renee could easily control him, which she was very satisfied with.Jeffrey nodded in approval. "Renee, you behave like a kindergarten teacher."Renee looked proud of herself as she added, "Yeah, and you're my student too."The atmosphere became less tense… but Stefan's expression didn't get better."Okay, tell us what cl
"What? Did she use the iron hook to…" Renee looked horrified, and asked in disbelief, "How is that possible? Only you could come up with such a crazy idea!""Actually it's possible." Justin observed Jayla's corpse and was shocked at the sight of flesh between her legs. "I've read about such a thing in a book called Amenia Horror Stories. The heroine did it because she didn't want to give birth to the villain's child. I guess whoever came up with this theme was inspired by that scene.""How could there be such a thing?" Renee's eyes grew wide in shock. She didn't know how someone could think of something so terrible."We'll know if it's true or not once we test the composition of the bloodstain on the iron hook and the pool of flesh. If they're a match, then the theory is confirmed." While talking, Stefan walked around the room in search of something."What are you looking for?" Renee asked. "If our guess is right, there has to be equipment somewhere to test it. If it isn't here,
At that moment, the speaker sounded again. "Congratulations, players—you've won the game! Please come to the registration counter to get your mystery gift!""Yeah, we did it! We're so smart!" Leia held Xavier's hand and jumped up and down happily.Renee, however, still looked unsatisfied. "Is that all?" Although they had won the game, she found the plot too unrefined. The ending was too abrupt."You didn't enjoy yourself?" Justin smiled at Renee fondly and said, "Why don't we come again another day? They have other themes that are pretty interesting too.""Forget it, I won't come again. Maybe I'm getting old… I'm not suited for things like this." Renee chuckled."Well, what should we do next time then?" Justin started planning their next date. After some contemplation, he suggested, "Why don't we go to the forest for a paintball game?" "That's not suitable for her either," Stefan abruptly commented from behind them.Renee turned around and glanced at Stefan disdainfully, then g
Livid, Mateo pulled the trigger without hesitation. However, he moved the gun less than an inch. The bullet passed by Liam's ear and hit an orange behind him.The fruit immediately blew up, its juices splashing on Liam's face."Aaaah!" Amber, terrified, trembled. Her eyes turned red, and she hurriedly tried to plead with Mateo. "Matt, cool it! Aren't you and Liam friends? You guys drank and chatted together in the past. You were so close to each other. How could you do this to him? Hurry up and put the gun away! If it goes off accidentally, it'll be over!"However, Mateo ignored her. His eyes were red as he glared at Liam. "Did you see the orange behind you? Let go of her now! If not, I'll blow up your head just like I did to that orange!""Is that all you got?" Liam taunted. He refused to let Amber go. He whispered to Amber, "Watch well. If he shoots me today, promise me not to marry such a man. I can use my life to knock some sense into you.""No!" Amber shook her head. Liam
"What bad timing!" Mateo's indifferent voice came from behind Amber.Amber turned around and saw Mateo with a team of armed soldiers. Terrified, she quickly put some distance between her and Liam. She stammered an explanation. "Matt… It's not what you think. Liam and I came here to look for people. Ms. Everheart and Ms. Osborne are gone. Liam couldn't find them and guessed they might be in the orchard. He wasn't familiar with the orchard and asked me to guide him."Mateo looked livid, but still cracked a gentle smile. "Silly, you don't have to be scared. I know you're prudent. He must have forced you to come here. I don't blame you."He extended his hand and beckoned Amber toward him. "Come here. You're my fiancee. You should stand with me.""I…" Amber bit her lip—Mateo was right. She kept her head low, about to walk to him.But in the next second, Liam firmly grabbed her wrist. "You can't go!" Liam held Amber's wrist tightly and shot Mateo a challenging look."When did Amb
Liam could only see through Amber's true thoughts if she showed her true self to him. "No, I do like you. I love you the most, and I want to marry you. But you neither like me nor want to marry me. You love freedom and Ms. Everheart. You love and yearn for the kind of life ordinary people like. So, I could only choose to give you up and let you get what you want. What else do you want me to do?" Amber was generally shy and reserved, but when Liam drove her anxious, she rambled a lot."Whatever I want is my business. You don't need to sacrifice yourself to grant my wish!" Liam held Amber's shoulders, acting like a kind senior. He tried to persuade her in earnest. "Marriage isn't a joke. Think it through. Do you like and know Mateo well? You won't be happy after marrying him, given the savage culture around here. And can you divorce him easily?""Matt will be nice to me. Even if he changes his mind, he'll still be nice to me because…my father is Benjamin," Amber replied.She chose
Being a sensitive woman, Amber immediately noticed Liam's displeasure. She kept her head lower and explained carefully, "I want a chance to choose again… I want to choose another person to fall in love with. You know that Matt and I grew up together. We're childhood friends. He likes me and always protects me without asking for anything back. I feel that it's happier to marry a person who loves me instead of marrying someone far beyond my reach."For the first time, she expressed the exhaustion she felt from her relationship with Liam. She no longer wanted to be the one who kept fawning over him. She wanted to give up and relax by being the one who was loved and adored in a relationship."Tsk!" Liam snorted arrogantly. "You don't know Mateo. He's not a nice guy. He's just good at pretending. Maybe it's just his means to get what he wants, but you assume that he loves and wants to protect you."Liam hadn't made that statement to purposely put Mateo down. After standing against Mate
Liam focused on holding Amber's hand and leading her through the orange grove. At the same time, he carefully scanned the ground and trees to find any related clues left by Renee and Leia."I don't care what others say, because I didn't do anything wrong," he said indifferently. "I hope you'll feel the same. I don't think you need to stop being my friend after choosing to marry Mateo. Am I not the friend you like the most?""That's different," Amber said.She followed Liam passively. At first, she couldn't adapt to it. After walking briefly, she felt better and found it easier to do. "Although I'm not good at my studies, I know men and women should keep a polite distance. You can't take my hand and sound righteous at the same time," she mumbled."Why not?" Liam retorted firmly. "When I was young, I always held my sister's hand wherever we went. I'm holding your hand because this fog is thick and the ground is slippery. I'm afraid of being separated from you. Just walk with me. St
Liam walked ahead of Amber, then turned to glance at her. He faked a smile and asked, "What's the matter? Are you worried that I might take advantage of you?" "No, of course not!" Amber quickly shook her head and pushed her scarf up. It had fallen a little. "I just find it improper," she answered softly.She looked like a typical woman from Southeast Aeos, petite and with a small face. Her skin was tanned, and her facial features weren't very distinct. She was charming and reserved, exuding a girlish pureness. She had put on her country's special traditional clothes. The thick clothes, embroidered with various patterns, wrapped around her petite body and gave her an exotic impression. From afar, she appeared like a colorful oil painting. "Hey, it's not improper. If I wanted to do anything to you, I would've done that long ago. I don't have to wait until now." Liam sounded relaxed and prudent to ease Amber's anxiety."Don't worry. I've always regarded you as my younger siste
Amber hurriedly turned Liam down. "You can't help with my affairs. I can handle it.""Well, tell me why I can't help you," Liam pressed. "I… I want to sew a wedding gown. And there are a lot of details that I need to add." Amber became competitive for no reason, and added stubbornly, "Your words aren't absolute. Yes, your business is important, but so is mine!""Oh, you want to sew a wedding gown. I can help you with that…" Liam said, relaxed. "Maybe I didn't get to tell you that I went to a small country in Southeast Aeos when I traveled around the world. I got to know a great sewing master. The pictures he sewed looked real like paintings! I found them interesting, so I learned from him. My sewing skills are probably better than yours. I can help you with that.""Really? You can sew?" Amber was full of surprise and admiration. Her eyes lit up. "I can't sew well. I want to learn from a great master too! If you can do it, can you teach me?""Of course!" Liam promised. "Can you he
"Uh…" Amber looked like she was being put in a difficult position. She found it impudent for a man and a woman to be alone in the dense orchard at night. "What's wrong? Is it inconvenient?" Liam frowned, puzzled. He felt that Amber was purposely avoiding him after expressing her desire not to marry him and making Mateo her groom instead.Before, she would always put on her favorite dress and stand at the entrance of the fort, looking eager no matter how late Liam and Benjamin returned from their work.Usually, she would carry a small bamboo basket containing the tea she brewed and dessert or food she had painstakingly prepared. When Liam returned, she would excitedly welcome him and inquire after him. Lately, she no longer did that. When Liam occasionally ran into her in the fort, she would bow indifferently at him and quickly brush past him as if they were merely acquaintances. They seemed distant.Honestly, Liam found it unfamiliar. He couldn't get used to the fact that Amber
"I don't know. Why don't you ask the guards to get us some fried chicken and French fries? Didn't Mateo say that we can ask the guards for food?" Renee said.Leia's anxiety eased as she relaxed. She turned around and got out of bed, then gestured at the guard and ordered quite a lot of food. Meanwhile, Liam accompanied Benjamin to West River in the morning for a negotiation that yielded a good result. Benjamin's attitude had improved. He didn't demand an explanation from Liam about the affairs between Liam and Amber, and didn't ask about Renee or Leia either. Liam was delighted. He carried the unique desserts he had bought at the local market for Renee and Leia to enjoy. Upon arrival, he found that they were not in the room. "Weird. Where did they go?" Liam looked around, but found no sign of Renee and Leia. He casually asked a servant, but the servant stammered and insisted on not knowing anything. Anxious, Liam kept looking for them in the fort. Coincidentally, he ran into