Three days later.

In a residential area.

"Specters, the specters are coming!"

Leon said with a bloodless face, "That woman in white... she... she... is right out there in the hallway..."

This ordinary man was nearly scared out of his wits.

"It's fine!"

Yue Shan glanced at him, removed his gloves, and pressed against the door.

An invisible standoff ensued.

Footsteps lingered outside the door, attempting to break in...

But in the end, it chose to leave.

"We... we've been saved."

Leon slumped to the ground, looking up at the Yue siblings, "Both of you, you're people with abilities, sent by the gods to save me, aren't you?"

"Sorry, no..."

Yue Shan's expression was icy as he opened his walkie-talkie, "Chu He, where are you?"

"Just handled a case, led one troublesome guy away..."

Chu He stood atop a tall building, watching darkness recede.

Amidst the darkness, there seemed to be the screams of people and the roaring of cars.

Those were... employees of the same company!

After all, it was only those, who possessed items of the supernatural, who could struggle against the powerful and strange, becoming targets to attract fire.

Ordinary people, who would die at the slightest touch, didn't even qualify to act as bait!

Even though they were all employees of the same company, the corporate culture at Anywhere Express Company was one of backstabbing, by any means necessary for survival, so Chu He felt no pity for those who had resisted him in any shape or form.

"Thank you for your sacrifices..."

He nodded indifferently, then turned and walked down the stairs, speaking into the walkie-talkie, "We can prepare to evacuate..."

In reality, Chu He had a lingering doubt within him.

Although Deceit City was indeed filled with danger, with stray entities roaming about,

for the employees of the company who had grasped the power of these entities and dealt with similar incidents countless times, surviving for three days wasn't such a difficult feat.

Keep in mind, even Leon, that chap who knew nothing, had managed to live for nearly a month.

Something was not right!

This simply didn't match the difficulty level of the annual meeting's task!

And during this time, they had only dealt with some entities wandering within Deceit City, akin to mere parasites.

The true horror of Deceit City had yet to reveal itself!

...

"Is it time?"

"I've checked three times already, my phone, my watch... all timers indicate that the third day has passed."

Yue Shan answered excitedly, his eyes filled with the hope that is life.

"So... the real danger of the annual meeting's task is the moment we leave Deceit City?"

Chu He did not relax in the slightest, and upon their reunion, he became even more tense.

"Chu, you promised you'd take me out of here, right?"

Behind the three of them followed a tail, Leon.

"Yes, I promised, but it's only a chance. Whether or not you can seize it is up to you."

Chu He responded coldly.

The reason he'd brought Leon along was simply to have someone to test the waters when necessary.

And now, even Yue Qin had come to accept this approach.

The group of four left the place they had been staying and arrived at a broken-down bus station.

Chu He looked around, took a deep breath, and took out a coin.

It was another coin for summoning Bus 444 that he had kept private, not telling anyone!

As a wise man, of course he had considered his escape route well in advance.

But now, as he caressed the rusted and icy coin, Chu He suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation.

"Chu He!"

Yue Shan scanned the road, urgency etched onto his face, and urged him on.

To his sister, this place was synonymous with danger!

"Yeah, there's no way back."

Chu He sighed and tossed a coin.

In the enveloping mist, a bus slowly emerged.

"Oh, God, is this the angel you sent to save me?"

Leon stared at the bus, almost ready to kneel and kiss the ground.

Clang!

The door of the bus swung open.

Even though he knew that the bus was just as dangerous, and that returning to the real world would require untold tribulations,

Chu He quickened his step and boarded the bus.

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

At that moment, a long and clear bell chimed above the city, reverberating back and forth.

The next instant, Chu He looked startled.

He and the siblings, Yue Qin and Yue Shan, were already standing at another bus stop, watching Bus 444 fade into the distance.

"We only just arrived in Deceit City, and Brother Bing and Sister Hong..."

Yue Qin spoke with a face full of sorrow and fear.

Beep beep.

The company's text message arrived on time.

"What do you mean just arrived? Aren't we supposed to be leaving? Why did the bus leave without us? No... this isn't..."

Yue Shan pressed his temples with a face full of panic.

"Yue Shan, do you still have your memory?"

Chu He took a deep breath and suddenly spoke out, "Yue Qin, have you forgotten that we've spent three days here?"

"What three days?"

Yue Qin asked, utterly bewildered.

"Ah!"

Yue Shan screamed madly.

The joy of imminent departure compared to the current predicament was utter irony.

To think they were stepping into heaven, only to find themselves plunging into the abyss.

Such is the irony of life!

"I think I understand now."

Without another word, Chu He dashed toward the commercial street.

Yue Shan, confused along with Yue Qin, hurriedly followed behind.

A moment later, inside a convenience store, Leon, who looked like a vagabond, was dragged out.

"Leon, answer me one question," Chu He demanded, his eyes bloodshot, "When did you come here? Tell me the date you disappeared from the real world!"

"How... how do you know my name is Leon?"

Leon, completely bewildered, immediately gave a date.

That was... a year ago!

"What the hell is going on?"

Looking at the date on his phone, Yue Shan felt like he was going mad.

"This so-called Deceit City... is a time loop, a constantly restarting loop..."

"And Deceit City... can restart the loop at any time, returning us to the moment we arrived when we are about to leave."

Chu He spoke dryly, "That's why... the company mission states three days, but in reality, for us... the task duration is... infinite!"

A sense of eternal despair suddenly welled up within Yue Shan's heart.

"This..."

He looked at Yue Qin, who was equally confused, and at Leon, who had been restarted multiple times and was oblivious to how long he'd been trapped in the cycle, unable to utter a word, "Why... do we still have our memories?"

"Only trickery can defeat trickery. Although the trickery in us cannot combat the restart, it can preserve a sliver of our previous memories... but this only brings more despair..."

Chu He looked wretched, "The previous reset interval of Deceit City seemed to be half a month, using Leon as a reference... but after our arrival, the interval between restarts seems to have shortened..."

"If this cycle continues, the interval might shorten to a day, an hour, a second..."

"At that point, we will be forever trapped in a time paradox... I cannot even imagine that kind of terror..."

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