Chapter 238 - 237: Elevator Plunge, Is Julian Fletcher Dead?

Chapter 238: Chapter 237: Elevator Plunge, Is Julian Fletcher Dead?

"I hope you live."

After inspecting the elevator, Asher’s gaze fell on Tim Zane.

He said he hoped Tim Zane would live...

’I knew he didn’t hope for "Tim Zane" the individual to live, but for humanity and one’s original good nature to live on.’

’People are inherently good at birth...’

’As long as someone isn’t born evil, an ordinary person should be given a chance to make a mistake and atone for it.’

Tim Zane was just an ordinary person among that group, a piece of chaff in the wind, swept along by the tide...

He never had the chance to choose his own path. He was ordinary, too ordinary. He fought with all his might just to stay alive...

"After we get out..." Tim Zane looked at Asher and smiled, but blood kept pouring from his mouth. "If I’m still alive... everyone should buy an insurance policy... from me."

I looked down at Tim Zane and smiled. "Yeah, we’ll buy the personal accident policy with the maximum coverage."

Tim Zane smiled back at me, but his eyes slowly lost focus.

He couldn’t hold on any longer and passed out.

Zeke Shaw looked away and pressed the button for the first floor.

’If we can get out of here alive...’

’Everyone should just try to live well.’

’Just... keep living.’

’Cherish the people around you. Cherish every day.’

CLANG!

Suddenly, the elevator got stuck at the tenth floor.

I frowned, looking at everyone in the elevator.

I had checked the control panel on the thirteenth floor and confirmed it wasn’t connected to the other floors, just like how Blake Young’s workshop was isolated from everyone else’s.

But the person behind all this still knew we were trying to escape.

That could only mean one thing. There was a problem with one of us.

The elevator made a grinding sound as sparks flew.

The lights inside flickered on and off.

Asher instinctively tightened his grip on my right hand...

And Julian Fletcher grabbed my left.

Disgusted, I tried to pull my left hand away, but he wouldn’t let go.

The elevator stopped between the tenth and eleventh floors. The doors suddenly slid open to reveal a solid wall, a terrifying sight.

"What do we do? Are we trapped in the elevator?" Claire Lawson cried in fear, trembling as she hid behind Lucas Grant and Zeke Shaw.

Madeline Quinn comforted her in a low voice. "It’s okay. Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. We’ll find a way out."

"We’re stuck in a buffer zone," Felix Foster said with a frown, looking back at Asher. "What now?"

CLANG! Suddenly, the elevator moved again, plummeting downwards.

Asher pulled me into his arms and said in a low voice, "Everyone, get against the walls and crouch down."

CREAK... Soon, the elevator stopped at the next buffer zone. The doors wouldn’t close, and sparks flew everywhere.

Claire Lawson was so scared she started wailing. Madeline Quinn was also frightened, curling up in Zeke Shaw’s arms.

Lucas Grant’s face went pale with fright. He cursed, "This is insane..."

"Someone is messing with the elevator’s power supply. It gets stuck when the power is cut," I said quietly, taking a deep breath.

"They’re just trying to toy with us until we die," Lucas Grant grumbled.

"They’ve found us..." Felix Foster said, warily eyeing everyone in the elevator. "There has to be a mole among us."

’I remembered what that lunatic on the eighteenth floor said: "I am among you..."’

Now, with some dead and others injured, the ones left were all more or less familiar with each other. But the more familiar someone is, the more likely they could be the killer.

"Don’t trust anyone," Asher said in a low voice.

"Was it you?" Madeline Quinn glared at Erin Whittaker. "Are you the one trying to get us all killed?"

Erin Whittaker was slumped on the floor, her face deathly pale with fear. She didn’t even have the strength to explain herself. "I told you the elevator wasn’t safe..."

"It has to be her. She’s the most suspicious one here," Madeline Quinn said angrily, raising her foot to kick Erin Whittaker.

Terrified, Erin Whittaker hid in Julian Fletcher’s arms.

Julian Fletcher instinctively looked at me.

I couldn’t be bothered with him. I got up and patted the wall.

"Madeline Quinn, stop trying to sow discord and carry out your personal vendetta! You just think I’m the one who got Cecilia Caldwell killed! Why don’t you say it’s you? You and Felix Foster are both suspicious. You were both dead, and now you’re suddenly alive again!" Erin Whittaker said angrily, gripping Julian Fletcher’s arm tightly. "Julian, don’t believe her. It wasn’t me."

Seeing Julian Fletcher frown, Erin Whittaker started crying hysterically. "If I really had something to do with this, I wouldn’t have come to this godforsaken place!"

She seemed to be having a complete emotional breakdown, crying out in despair.

I glanced back at her and said in a low voice, "You could cry a little louder. That way, we’ll die even faster."

Erin Whittaker stared at me with pure venom, her expression saying she wished I would drop dead.

By now, I just found her ridiculous. Pathetically so.

"If one of the killers is mixed in with our group, that’s actually a good thing," I said in a low, reassuring voice to calm everyone down. "At the very least, they won’t be actively seeking death, which means... the person behind this won’t actually let us all fall to our deaths in this elevator."

’I knew Erin Whittaker couldn’t be one of the masterminds behind this hunting game. She wasn’t worthy.’

My words clearly had a calming effect. Claire Lawson quieted down, huddling together with Madeline Quinn in fear.

The elevator slowly descended.

It stopped at the seventh floor. The floor was pitch-black, with no light at all.

"Well, it wasn’t a total waste of a scare. We dropped straight from the thirteenth floor to the seventh, skipping a few levels," Lucas Grant said, trying to lighten the mood. But he was too cowardly to be the first one out.

Felix Foster glanced at Lucas Grant, who had subconsciously grabbed his arm, and said in a low voice, "You really live up to that name you changed to."

Lucas Grant froze for a second, then looked at Asher angrily. "You told this kid about that, too?"

In Lucas Grant’s eyes, Felix Foster was just some high school brat.

Asher, as usual, ignored Lucas Grant.

"Heh..." Felix Foster let out a cold laugh, practically spitting the words through gritted teeth as he started dragging Lucas toward the seventh-floor opening. "Just how scared are you... of Charlie?"

’Lucas Grant. His chosen name was a deliberate provocation aimed at Charlie.’

The feud between Lucas Grant and Charlie... well, that’s a long story.

A chill ran down Lucas Grant’s spine the moment he heard Charlie’s name. "You know a lot for a little brat. Shut your mouth."

I pulled Asher out of the elevator.

Julian Fletcher wanted to get out too, but Erin Whittaker was sitting on the floor, crying and clinging to him. "Julian, let’s not go, let’s not go... I’m scared."

’So now she finally knows what fear is.’

Claire Lawson was also scared, trembling as she held onto Madeline Quinn, not daring to step out.

Madeline Quinn comforted her quietly. "We have to get out. The elevator isn’t safe. We’re already on the seventh floor, we’re close... We’re about to see victory."

Claire Lawson, her eyes red, nodded and followed Madeline Quinn out of the elevator.

Zeke Shaw called for Lucas Grant to help him carry Tim Zane out, his eyes scanning their surroundings warily.

"Get out, now!" Suddenly, the elevator moved. I yelled for Julian Fletcher to get out.

Julian Fletcher tried to leave, but Erin Whittaker was so paralyzed by fear she couldn’t even stand. She held on to him for dear life, dragging him down with her!

"Julian Fletcher!"

The elevator plunged downwards. Just as it was falling, Julian Fletcher shoved Erin Whittaker out. He was still inside as it plummeted.

I threw myself down at the edge of the elevator shaft, watching the car drop violently.

’This is the seventh floor... the seventh floor... plus the buffer zones below... if there are basements... then Julian Fletcher is going to die.’

’He... he shouldn’t have died.’

SLAP! I spun around and backhanded Erin Whittaker across the face, glaring at her furiously. "You’re the one who should be dead..."

Erin Whittaker looked as if her soul had left her body. She stared blankly at the empty shaft where the elevator had fallen, then collapsed weakly onto the floor.

"Julian..."