That made Anthony shut up. Everyone else was stunned as well. Lulu, who'd been silent prior, paled even more. "You aren't an NPC? What are you, then?"Lana said animatedly with a grin, "Didn't I tell you? This is our hospital, and I'm a nurse here, and that's Ms. Wenn to you."As she spoke, the lights flickered. With a hint of concern, Lana warned, "Players, you have two minutes left. If you keep asking the wrong questions, you'll be eliminated."Anthony's voice shook with fear. "W-What's going on here, Chandler?""Don't ask me that. I don't know either." Chandler couldn't even protect himself, much less care about anyone else. He repeatedly hit the SOS button, but nothing happened.Everyone else, except for Leon and Aria, began to panic. Lavender clutched Leon's hand in fear. "Have your partner show everyone the clue she found, Leon. We can work it out together."Lavender hadn't spoken up when Leon had been sidelined earlier. However, she had helped him land his first movie role
The other participants were dumbfounded. Lulu, who was standing in the corner, was the only one who seemed out of it.Aria raised a brow and asked a shocking question. "Is the person who had an abortion among us right now?"The comment section erupted as the audience reacted in disbelief."Now that you asked that question, I'm wide awake!""An abortion? Did I hear that right?""She's a famous female celebrity, my friends! There are only two of them in the show!"No one expected to hear something so shocking while watching a variety show."Is it the famous actress Lavender Erikson or Lulu Charters?""Lavender, definitely. I heard rumors about how she always met her directors at night.""No, it's Lulu! She was covering her tummy often."The audience watched everything from an outsider's perspective and saw everything clearly. Anthony and Chandler were still giving Lavender and Lulu looks when Aria asked the fourth question in succession, "This is just one of the stories. But
Aria fixed her gaze on Lulu and said, "Lulu, the fear of your pregnancy being exposed wasn't the only reason you turned down the role. You also thought the pay was inadequate and considered acting in a Netflix drama beneath you. No one anticipated it would become such a hit."Lulu shook her head vehemently with each of Aria's accusations. "No, that's not true!"She couldn't admit to those allegations. If she did, her life would be ruined once this went public. With such a tarnished reputation, she'd be barred from future projects.Aria slammed all the clue cards on the table. "You were the victim of a car crash, and the hospital has records of that. The doctor can keep your pregnancy secret, but not that. Anyone who wanted to look deeper into it would succeed. You can't get away from this unscathed, Lulu.""There's nothing between us, young lady, so why do you insist on hounding me? These are rumors without proof, yet you're trying to sway public opinion with them!" Lulu denied the
"Yes, sir!" Lysander scrambled up from the floor. "Someone's in that manifestation, Mr. Bond, we gotta save them!"Landon initially didn't care much about such affairs, and he didn't want to investigate what services the professionals at Mount Dracotigris typically offered.However, the Wrathborn Manifestation sounded particularly familiar. He paused and looked at Homer, frowning, "Is it 'Survival of the Fittest'?"Homer said immediately, "You know about it?""My company is one of its investors." Landon took Lysander's phone and zoomed in. "I have a friend who's a celebrity. He happens to be one of the show's guests."Leon was a guest on the show, so Landon had to take note of what was happening there.Homer seized Landon by his shoulders. "Have the crew call back all the drones and take me there immediately!""Certainly." Landon went about it efficiently as usual.…Kian started sweating the moment he heard that Landon was looking for him. "Mr. York, Leon's safe for now," K
Lulu insisted she had done nothing wrong. "Do you understand how cutthroat this industry is? How can I work if I'm pregnant? So many rivals want me to fail! They're just waiting for me to slip up so they can climb higher!"Lulu screamed, a complete departure from her image as a gentle, kind woman, "If it wanted to be born that badly, it should've tried harder! I managed to find out its sex through my connections, and of course, it had to be a girl!"No wealthy family would want a daughter! It was why I was cast out of the family!"Lulu's attitude made Lana laugh harder, causing the walls to tremble.No one knew who Lana was speaking to. "What did I just say? These adults are heartless!"All the cameras in the room cracked as Lana seized Lulu by the collar and lifted her into the air, her eyes blazing with hatred. "Seeing as you feel no remorse for your past actions, you deserve to die!"The audience was left in suspense, only aware of Lulu's confession about the abortion and her
"Abbie was in so much pain," Lana cried, her emotions raging as she looked at her trembling hands. "I screamed, but no one heard us."Her voice filled with bitterness, she continued, "No one wanted us to live. So why were we born?"Lana's voice dropped to a menacing whisper. "Tell us why! Tell us!"As if in response to her rage, the hospital trembled violently. Lulu was flung aside, and the shadows coiled behind Lana, seething with a dark, consuming hatred. The air grew heavy, though no wind stirred, and an unseen force began to draw everything toward Lana, threatening to engulf all within the room.Lavender and Helen fainted, overcome by shock. Anthony and Chandler, desperate to escape, flung open the door, only to be met with a gaping abyss. A black river churned at its depths, spectral figures drifting upward, their forms indistinguishable in the dark. "W-What's this?" Anthony stammered, collapsing to the floor, completely out of sorts. What should they do? There was no es
This gave Lana a start. She seemed to have recalled something that made her gaze falter. Meanwhile, Aria continued, "Too many aspects of this story aroused suspicion. It was inferred that the couple found their daughters burdensome after their son was born."Of course, this was not proven. After the incident, the couple quickly moved away from the city with their son, claiming that they didn't want to be disrupted by the media."Strangely, the father said no to an autopsy of their daughters, and the mother refused to talk about the matter entirely. Nothing else was out of place, so the family received a handsome sum from the washing machine company as compensation."The company ran tests and proved two young girls couldn't fit into the machine simultaneously. So, what is the truth? Perhaps you've already recalled it."Lana was shaking with anger. A murder case leading to the accumulation of such an overwhelming amount of vengefulness was surely extraordinary. Aria didn't believe
"I want to know too!""Attention to the crew! Please let them get revenge, or I'll cancel this show!"This was pure brutality. The twins were born into a world filled with hope, only to discover a hellish reality.A long time ago, an orphaned young girl wrote, "The world's nice, but I don't want to be born here again."…Instantly, search topics related to "Survival of the Fittest" flooded the trending list. Topics like "Favoring the Sons over the Daughters" and "Our First Step to Saving Ourselves: Admitting that Our Parents Don't Love Us That Much" also appeared.The crew grew increasingly anxious as they watched the chaos unfold. They wished to steer the narrative but found themselves powerless. Would the audience believe them if they claimed spirits haunted the site?At the mention of that, Pax Darwen, the on-set director, demanded more realism from the scriptwriters. "That's not the main problem. If you tell everyone that, the show will be canceled!""You need to figure o
Landon's sudden appearance wasn't just a coincidence. With Aria's intelligence, she would figure something out soon—he knew that. He hadn't planned on revealing himself like this. But something that belonged to him was here, and the demonic energy in this place… Aria couldn't face it alone.She studied him from head to toe, her hand still in his. His grip was firm, protective."There's a lot of mist ahead," he said quietly. "We'll need to tread carefully."Aria tilted her head. "You speak like you know this place well.""I do," Landon replied with a calm honesty. "I was deathly ill once. My soul wandered into a place just like this. Homer pulled me back."His voice made it sound like a distant memory, and Aria gave a soft laugh, tightening her hold on his hand. "You really are full of surprises. I guess it's true—handsome men are the most dangerous."But Aria's thoughts were racing. Why had he come after her like this, knowing it would reveal parts of himself he'd tried to keep h
Landon was still handling the stragglers behind Aria when he paused, his gaze flicking upward. Cameras were mounted in every corner—too many eyes. Vanishing without a trace wasn't an option.He glanced in Aria's direction, then lowered his head. His lips moved in a whisper, but the sounds were incomprehensible—something rhythmic, otherworldly. It was less like a speech and more like a chant—an exorcism.Meanwhile, Dave descended into the underground, calm and unrushed. That place reeked of foul energy, dense and suffocating. His master had cast a spell over it—one designed to kill anyone who dared to enter, no matter their strength. Dave wasn't afraid. He had more pressing priorities—destroying documents, erasing traces, minimizing damage.His bodyguard stayed close, watching for anyone who might try to stop them.Aria, moving swiftly, reached the lower floor—only to halt. Mist curled along the ground, thickening with every step. The air turned icy. And the corridor behind her…
"Why would there be people outside?" asked Dave. He had been disguising himself as a doctor for years, and that was the first time he looked so anxious. After all, if someone did approach their building, the villagers would have informed them about it. However, they received no news this time.Dave wondered what was going on."Dr. Dave, what should we do now? I think we're surrounded!"He was still in his coat as he slightly clenched his fists. "Let's move out. Bring the girls in the basement with us.""T-They're not in the basement."When Dave heard that, he looked furious. "What do you mean they're not in the basement?""Someone took them away, and I'm guessing it was her fault!" The bodyguard pointed at Aria, who was standing on the highest point, showing off her skills. With swift, lethal kicks and a taser turned weapon, no one dared get close.Whoever touched Aria would die, and no one dared to approach her at all.As for Landon, he still had his mask on as he stood behind
Chaos erupted at the auction. For all their pride and arrogance, the wealthy clients' expressions had twisted into pure panic the moment something went wrong.So, their first reaction was to seek a staff member."The power's unstable!" Dave spoke into the microphone, trying to project calm. "Everyone, stay calm. There's scheduled maintenance in town—it's just affecting the electricity. Nothing's wrong."He genuinely believed that. It was what he'd been told.But Aria knew better. The blackout wasn't random. It was a signal. Sam had tracked down the source of the call. With the exits sealed off, Aria had everything she needed to act.A faint smirk curled on her lips. Without hesitation, she grabbed Landon and swiftly took Aliya hostage. Her movements were sharp, practiced, so fast that no one around her even had time to react.Then came the needles.Aria flicked her wrist, sending a series of acupuncture needles flying. The rich guests closest to her froze in place, locked in stu
Tony's accusation stirred a ripple through the room, and it didn't escape Dave's attention. With a subtle flick of his wrist, he signaled to someone nearby.Aria caught the movement. Her fingers tensed, ready to slip free of the rope she had already loosened. But before she could act, she heard a smooth, composed voice glide through the air."I need her to boost my luck," the man said coolly. "I've done my research. She's the ideal bride for someone like me."Dave stopped in his tracks, and it seemed like he was telling someone else to verify what Landon had said."Sir, it checks out," one of the staff murmured after a brief consultation. "Mr. Crow's fate is complicated. The master said only a spiritual match could extend his life. Otherwise, he won't make it past his next birthday."Dave let out a low chuckle, visibly relaxing. "Well then, Mr. Crow, it seems you've come to the right place. Please—carry on, everyone."Aria listened in stunned silence. Landon hadn't lied. His life
Aria couldn't tear her eyes away from Dave.He was still quietly speaking to the man on the screen, their exchange shrouded in secrecy. No one nearby could hear what they were saying—but Aria could guess. It had to be a deal of some sort, something about her. Everything about Dave's posture, the glint in his eyes, told her this wasn't just business. It was personal.She glanced up at the clock again, nerves coiling in her chest. Something was wrong. Sam was taking longer than usual. That wasn't like him.The auction was nearing its close. They couldn't miss the chance to strike. Sasha, glowing with excitement, clapped her hands and declared, "Six million! It looks like no one else is bidding—congratulations to our newest member, Mr. Tiger—""Ten million dollars."The voice sliced clean through the noise, calm, clear, and cold.Everyone turned toward it.A man stood at the edge of the crowd, dressed in a sleek tuxedo dusted with black feathers, his mask intricate and dark.T
Aria had once told Sam to avoid chaos if he could—but she'd also said that when desperation knocked, rules could bend.Now was one of those moments.Sam hesitated only briefly before diving in.He had to know who was behind this. Who kept targeting Aria? Who was pulling the strings in the dark? And once Sam decided on something, there was no turning back.Without Aria by his side, he breached the system, knowing full well the other side had already alerted the police.The firewall he faced wasn't just tough—it was nearly impenetrable. It filtered everything, controlling access with surgical precision. But Sam wasn't interested in the broader network. He narrowed his focus and cut straight to the source, filtering out all the noise to lock onto the actual IP.The auction raged on aboveground. The man behind the screen, confident in his usual routine, remained calm and unaware that the mask he'd worn for years was finally slipping. He'd always stayed out of sight, appearing only
While Aria discreetly signaled to move, the auction hall was buzzing with excitement. Laughter echoed, wine glasses clinked, and the room pulsed with greed.Sasha's voice came through the mic, smooth and cheerful. "While everyone's enjoying themselves, let's welcome our latest arrival of the evening."She glanced at the man beside her—her bodyguard—who immediately stiffened under her gaze.To the crowd, it looked like he was escorting Aria to the stage under control. In truth, Aria's hand was already pressed lightly against his chest, right over a poisoned pressure point. He knew better than to resist—he'd seen what she was capable of.And she'd made her warning crystal clear—if she was exposed or captured, he wouldn't live to see morning.The guests didn't notice a thing. All eyes were on Aria, their expressions hungry. They saw value in her—fresh, young, healthy. To them, she wasn't a person. She was premium merchandise.She was brought to stand beside a young woman who had alr
Eamon and Waymond had just been thrown out of the Chamber of Commerce. Waymond's face was flushed with fury, his eyes red. "Eamon, why didn't you let me speak earlier? Mr. Lincoln was being unreasonable!"Eamon, ever perceptive, shook his head. "Mr. Lincoln's been bribed. He was never going to take our side."Wise and strategic, Eamon had always been top of his class—but now, he was even sharper when it came to reading a room."I'm guessing Aria found something during her investigation that made them nervous," he continued. "Durand couldn't have controlled Lincoln on his own. There's more to it."Waymond frowned, still struggling to piece things together. "But who could bribe Mr. Lincoln? Not even the mayor has that kind of sway. He's—""What if it's someone from the state?" Eamon cut in, eyes flicking back toward the building. "We need to tell Dad. There's no point in staying here, but there is someone we can talk to.""Who?" Waymond asked quickly. "Lucas Murray—the new secr