"Hah, I was trying to be lenient all this time, but you guys take me for granted. Very good! I'll show you what being cruel really means!" The voice sounded angry now, sending a chill down everyone's spine.

The girl's face paled upon hearing that. She backed up a few steps as she hit the cold wall behind her. Her entire body shivered, but she didn't dare to move. Her being became vigilant as if she had turned into a cat, glancing here and there.

Soon enough, the ground beneath them vanished without a trace. Everyone fell below, screaming at the top of their voices. Even Sam, who would usually stay as calm as the sea, frowned as his face paled. His forehead was covered with beads of cold sweat.

It seemed he wanted to scream, but he held back his reasoning at this time. When they finally stopped, half of them were so scared that they didn't open their eyes. A few of them trembled while the weak-hearted old people wet their pants in fear.

It was just that their bodies were still intact, hovering just half a foot above the ground. Their bodies were gently put down as if the voice hadn't been cruel in the past.

After that, the voice said, "This is the only gentleness I'll show you. Now, get ready for your punishment!"

"What the heck you want?" Another person spoke with tears in his eyes. "I can't take it anymore!"

"Yes! It's better to kill us already!"

"I can't live with the memories of this place. Please, kill us!"

Everyone echoed the same words. The voice let them chatter and waited for them to calm down. Once it silenced, it sneered.

"You guys really like to get on my nerves. Why do you think you're here in a horror game like this? Because of your karma! Why should I release you as on your words?!" The voice paused dramatically and said, "Now that you guys are here, get ready to die, but I won't kill you so soon. You should understand and feel the pain, the urgency of death!"

The voice was ruthless and cold as ever. It felt like just by speaking, it wanted to kill everyone and reveal the hatred burning in its heart.

Soon enough, the wall started growing spikes. The people standing close to the wall felt something piercing their skin and bones as they screamed. Their voice turned hoarse.

Sam looked at this scene and narrowed his eyes. This voice seemed so eager to get rid of them. There must be something wrong with this situation. He said nothing and continued to look as the walls on all sides of him came closer. The spikes also grew larger and larger.

The sinister voice echoed. "Now, slowly, these spikes will drill into your body languidly. When you're about to die, I'll sprinkle life-saving water from the top and save you guys. Once you're a little healed, the spikes will drill again. How does that sound? A good punishment, right?"

Shane, who was observing this scene, frowned. He glanced at the woman lying on the ground with her back turned to him. He could even hear the sound of her breathing evenly, as if she was in a deep sleep.

How can this girl sleep when something so horrific going on? She just wanted to take a rest, didn't she? Was that why she partnered with him?!

He really wanted to shake her awake, but seeing that she was a girl, he suppressed his desire and focused on his work. He would get rid of this girl soon enough and work all alone the next time!

The mission was also hard because two systems were there. If he was the only one, he knew that this mission wouldn't be so hard.

Shane sighed as he glanced at the screen. The spikes were close enough to drill into the skin the next minute. He frowned as he looked around.

Just what was his host planning? He felt uncomfortable seeing how his host was cold and unreadable.

He opened his mouth and asked, "What do you want to do next?"

Sam crossed his arms on his chest. "Wait a little more. Until then, let's find something usable in the shops then."

"Eh? If I hadn't asked you, you wouldn't have said another word?" Shane shook his head.historical

"You did ask. I knew you would ask."

"Why are you talking like you know me?"

Sam said nothing as he glanced around. "Time's moving on. Let's be quick."

"Right." Shane felt something wrong with this situation, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He decided to think about this later and focused on the current task at hand. He quickly found some useful products from the shop himself and texted them to his host.

"Take a look at these. If you don't want them, you can also search in the recommended section."

A few minutes later, Sam ended up purchasing Harry Potter's invisibility cloak. It also had another feature that could make him pass through solid objects. It took a little more money, and nearly half his account ended up empty, but it was worth it.

But he couldn't just disappear under the watchful eyes of the voice. So Sam also purchased a dummy for himself. He could create a fake body of himself that could stand here surrounded by the spikes while he could wander around without any obstacles.

Sam used the objects, and after a few seconds, he walked out of that place. The dummy was close to a human being, acting the same way as him. If the spikes hurt the dummy, the man would bleed; if the healing potion healed it, the dummy would quickly get healed.

So Sam wasn't worried about getting caught.

Soon enough, he passed through the spikes and the wall and entered a familiar corridor. He was surprised for a moment. He didn't think the realms would still be connected.

He continued to walk when he stopped. He glanced at the wall adjacent to himself. His eyes narrowed.

"System, what will happen if I enter this wall?"

"Not sure. You can try. You might end up getting out of the gaming zone."

"And what will happen after that?"

Shane was silent for a moment. "You know the answer already. Why are you asking me?"

"It's fun to ask you questions."

Shane frowned at that answer. He shook his head. His host this time was too lively. In any case, this made his work too easy.

Sam walked forward in a good mood after talking to his system. As soon as he passed through the wall, he suddenly felt a wave of energy passing through his body, making him freeze. His legs paused for a moment as he glanced around.

He remembered seeing a foggy scene outside the corridor through the windows. So he had assumed that the scene on the other side must also be the same. But he didn't think it would be this.

The entire place was covered with metal objects. The cold walls on either side of Sam had cobwebs as if it weren't been cleaned for a while. He turned around to see a transparent screen with red color flashing through a screen, but he couldn't see through it anymore.

He turned away and focused on the scene in front of him.

There seemed to be an endless corridor made out of metals. He started walking through it.

Shane, in the meanwhile, glanced at the radar screen and said, "Host, be careful. I see many monsters here on either side of the corridor. They are perhaps locked inside the metals."

Sam nodded and said nothing as he continued walking through the corridor. Soon enough, he reached the end of it with three doors at hand. Sam frowned upon seeing this scene.

"Where should I go?" asked Sam.

Shane looked at the radar. All the doors had monsters, but one of them had fewer. Even though a normal person would choose that, he was against it. He narrowed his eyes.

These paths were similar to the calmness of a sea before a tide occurred. He didn't believe in anything like an easy pathway. So he directly told his host:

"The third door."

Sam didn't hesitate after this. He walked faster and quickly entered the door, only to see a row of monsters waiting for him. They were all packed inside the narrow corridor as they stood there without moving.

After seeing this, Sam heaved a sigh of relief. Even though he didn't really reject the idea of fighting, he wanted to end this world as soon as possible. He walked through the place calmly without any hesitation. Thanks to the cloak, he passed through most of them and reached a door.

He entered beyond it and found himself standing inside a room. He was surprised that this was the only door connected to the door. It seems like his system was right on point by choosing the third door. One mistake would have made things difficult.