Chapter 436 - 380: Chaisi - The Last Minute

Chapter 436: Chapter 380: Chaisi - The Last Minute

"What?"

For a moment, Chaisi thought Han Liuyue had gone mad. Was she meowing? "Say that again."

Han Liuyue enunciated clearly, "Oww."

’Oww?’

"The sound you heard... was ’aww’?"

Chaisi had to confirm it again—the two sounds were similar, but not identical, and surely Han Liuyue wouldn’t mispronounce such a simple syllable. "The elevator announcement said... an interjection?"

"No, wait." Han Liuyue hurriedly rummaged through her bag and found a hospital pen in a side pocket.

She had no paper, so she opened her palm and wrote on it with the ballpoint pen. But what she wrote wasn’t an English letter, but a symbol.

The symbol looked strange, like a square frame that had been pushed in by a small pillar, creating a dent. It was impossible to tell what it was supposed to be.

Chaisi stared at it for a few seconds. "What is this drawing?"

"It’s not a drawing. It’s a character."

"A character? What language?"

"Chinese," Han Liuyue answered immediately.

He didn’t remember Han Liuyue knowing Chinese.

"What does it mean?"

"I don’t know," Han Liuyue said. "I can’t read Chinese."

They stared at each other blankly, a few seconds passing in silence.

Chaisi rarely had moments like this: the questions and confusion were so immense, they weighed him down, and he had no idea where to even begin asking.

"Then how did you know the syllable from the announcement corresponds to this Chinese character?" His brain finally started working again. He asked, "Did the elevator announcement directly form an impression of this character in your mind?"

"Yes," Han Liuyue nodded at once, her eyes lighting up. "That’s Brother Chaisi for you, figuring it out in a second. The moment I heard the sound, I clearly realized it corresponded to this character on my hand, and that it was a Chinese character... even though I don’t know a lick of Chinese beyond ’nihao.’"

Even having discovered that the elevator was secretly teaching Han Liuyue a foreign language, neither of them knew how to interpret this, much less what to do about it.

"What was the third piece of information you heard?" Chaisi decided to set it aside for now and continue recalling the messages.

Han Liuyue murmured, "Areas with good ventilation do not easily gather moisture and are more likely to be dry and safe."

Though not surprised, Chaisi still felt a surge of anxiety.

Just now, they had both heard the elevator announcement at the same time and listened to it in silence, only to discover that the content they heard was completely different?

"How thoughtful," Chaisi said with a cold laugh. "To think it prepared a separate version for each of us."

As he spoke, he looked up, subconsciously scanning the elevator’s interior again—even though he had already examined it countless times and found nothing out of the ordinary.

His eyes met his own reflection.

They were sunken deep in the shadows of his brow, a stubborn, arrogant glint floating within them like a will-o’-the-wisp.

A few strands of his slicked-back hair were already threatening to fall forward.

The long, groggy sleep of the past few days had left a haggard, bluish shadow on his face. It floated in his pupils, pooled beneath his eyes, and settled into his now-gaunt cheeks.

His eyes met his own reflection.

"Brother Chaisi?" Han Liuyue raised an eyebrow at him. "Say something. What did you hear?"

"...Oh." Chaisi jolted, snapping back to reality.

He took a moment to steady his breath, then answered, "What I heard was, ’The maximum capacity of this elevator is a 15-minute observation period.’"

"Huh?" Han Liuyue’s mouth fell open.

Before answering her, Chaisi’s eyes scanned the elevator one more time.

The sealed, iron-gray doors, the unremarkable metal walls, the gleaming black camera hanging in the corner, and the worn-out floor beneath his feet... everything was as bland and unremarkable as before.

’...What just happened?’

’What was that feeling?’

There were too many questions. The longer they spent in the elevator, the more mysteries piled up, and not a single one could be untangled. Forget answers—he couldn’t even find the words to describe the strange feeling from moments ago.

Judging from Han Liuyue’s expression, she clearly felt the same.

Her mouth opened and closed a few times, confusion as thick as fog, making her eyes lose their luster. But when she spoke again, it was still only a single sound: "...Huh?"

The thought that something had gone wrong in Blackmoor City and Uncle Kai was alone made Chaisi so agitated he wanted to smash the elevator to pieces. But Han Liuyue was already dizzy with hunger. Someone had to stay calm and control the situation.

’Convex.’

"I don’t know why the maximum capacity is measured in time, and I don’t know what ’observation period’ means," Chaisi said, taking a deep breath. "Did you hear a fourth message?"

"Yes."

Like him, Han Liuyue had to actively try to recall the information to pull it from her memory. But this time, as she remembered the fourth message, her expression suddenly darkened.

She looked at Chaisi and said in a low voice, "...If passengers remain in the elevator for more than ten consecutive minutes without taking action, the elevator will begin to descend again. Upon reaching floor negative one, the passengers will be deleted. Conversation, emotional fluctuations, or other actions that do not result in a significant change in the situation are all considered inaction."

Chaisi’s heart clenched violently—but not because of her words.

Under Han Liuyue’s gaze, he managed to say in a low, strained voice, "...7 minutes and 40 seconds."

That was how much time had passed since they entered the elevator—or rather, since they realized they were in the elevator. During this period, by the message’s definition, they had clearly been "inactive."

It went without saying what "deleted" implied.

’But trapped in an elevator, what action could they take? Change floors? Would going from the first floor to the fourth, while still remaining inside the elevator, count as a "significant change in the situation"?’

Chaisi felt like he was being subjected to a never-ending flogging.

The last lash had barely fallen, and before he could suppress the searing pain and panic, the next one was already on its way. Just as Han Liuyue was speaking, he too had just recalled the fourth message he’d heard.

Chaisi felt so exhausted he just wanted to collapse, close his eyes, and let the world do with him what it would.

Han Liuyue, the person he had been so determined to save, risking his own life to do so...

Was it all going to be a futile effort in the end?

"Brother Chaisi," Han Liuyue’s voice pulled him back. "What was your fourth message?"

Chaisi looked at her and fell silent for a few seconds.

He had never lied to a Kai Family Hunter—because there was no need, and because he was unwilling to.

In the past, if there was something he didn’t want to say, he simply didn’t say it. But in this situation, he couldn’t just tell Han Liuyue, "Don’t ask."

’...Should I tell her the truth?’

To put it simply, it meant he couldn’t trust her.

To put it simply, it meant he couldn’t trust her.

"Brother Chaisi?" Han Liuyue called out. "Have you remembered it?"

She thought Chaisi was still trying to recall the message.

’No. I can’t look at Han Liuyue, knowing full well I’m about to lie to her—I can’t do it.’

Lies were the refuge of the weak. To lie would mean he was incompetent; so incompetent he couldn’t even face his own subordinate.

"Moisture manifests in a space as ’water’ or ’water stains,’" Chaisi said in a low voice, looking at her. "After moisture invades the human body..."

Han Liuyue listened with bated breath. After her near-death experience, her complexion was no longer as clear and bright as before; she always looked somewhat drained.

"Brother Chaisi?" she prompted when he trailed off.

Chaisi took out his phone, opened the camera app, and switched to the front-facing camera. He handed the phone over, watching as Han Liuyue took it, her gaze falling on the screen to meet her own face.

"A person contaminated by moisture, after it invades the body, will look like they are sweating."

Han Liuyue stared at the phone, motionless. Her forehead was covered in a fine sheen of sweat, glistening faintly. Even the tip of her nose and her chin shone with a subtle glint of perspiration.

’...Why hadn’t I noticed it before? How could I only see it now—’

Chaisi didn’t touch his own forehead, but he knew his face and body were dry, without a single trace of moisture.

’(Had he seen it before? Had he actually looked closely at his own face?)’

They were both trapped in the elevator together. The only difference between him and Han Liuyue was that she couldn’t resist when she saw the restaurant and had rushed out.

He still remembered that floor with the restaurant: the wet footprints all over, the mist from evaporated body heat fogging up large patches of the windows, and the people whose clothes were soaked through.

Just from that brief moment of contact...

Han Liuyue had already been contaminated by the moisture.

’Does this mean that no matter what I do, I can never save someone the Nest wants to claim?’

"Brother Chaisi..." She looked up, her expression surprisingly calm. "Do you know what happens to people invaded by moisture?"

He opened his mouth to speak but just shook his head.

"I don’t know either. But I know what you should do next."

Han Liuyue seemed to want to hand the phone back, but after a moment’s hesitation, she pulled a piece of clothing from her backpack, wrapped the phone in it, and placed it on the floor. "I had no idea I was sweating so much... Just now, I remembered the fifth message I heard."

Chaisi waited for her to continue.

"’Please discard all unnecessary items,’" Han Liuyue said, still calm. "So this is what that was for."

Fuck.

"Don’t talk nonsense," Chaisi cut in immediately, as if pricked by a needle. "You are not an—"

"Please be advised,"

The elevator announcement suddenly rang out: "As the passengers have been inactive for ten consecutive minutes, this elevator will now begin its descent. The descent will last for one minute. During the descent, if the passengers take effective action that results in a significant change to the situation, the elevator will halt its descent and a new ten-minute countdown will begin."

After a pause, it added: "In other words, this is your final minute before deletion."