A kiss can clear the way!
At the same time, in the live stream’s screen, the images of the punishment world were vividly reflected. From the sound to the images, everything was incredibly clear. When the tall man on the screen leaned in and said to the poor contestant, “Just give a kiss,” the barrage of comments exploded even more wildly. If the contestant rewatched the live stream during the review, they might be shocked by the dense stream of comments filling the screen.
Before long, when the beautiful snow-white face on the screen was blocked, the live stream went completely black. It was unknown what mechanism was triggered, but the escape variety show deemed that there was content that could not be shown during this segment of the stream, leading to an immediate blackout. However, even with the screen off, the sound remained, and the audience could still infer what was happening in the live room from the faint noises. They could only imagine how this poor, weak contestant was being “punished” by the NPC in the escape variety.
【What’s going on! Why is it black screen!】
【Ahhh, surely it’s more than just a kiss, right? They are still two people now, and there wasn’t a blackout when they kissed before!】
【Peeking failed, diving straight into the screen, heading directly under the wife’s clothes】
【The standards of escape varieties are getting stricter day by day. What a decline in societal mores.】
【Maybe the bad man doesn’t want us to see the wife. Relax (though it doesn’t make much difference)】
***
Yan Chuan touched his lower lip, sluggishly feeling a slight sting of pain. He didn’t look in the mirror, but it was definitely more swollen than before he entered. Yan Chuan stood at the entrance of the open door, facing a somewhat familiar corridor, with light pouring in from above and the far end of the hallway, close yet distant.
Upon encountering such harsh light, Yan Chuan instinctively squinted and raised his hand to shield his eyes. His “punishment world” had ended. When the cold, mechanical voice sounded, Yan Chuan felt a bit dazed. Only after the task completion announcement ended did he realize it.
The task ended? Before he had even figured out what his task was?
Yan Chuan found it hard to believe, even suspecting that he was just hearing things because he wanted to pass so badly. However, the inexplicably altered apartment confirmed his suspicions. The living room, like peeling paint on a wall, continued to shed layers, reverting to the pitch-black form he had first encountered when he entered the punishment door.
The difference was that the door was now open, as his task had been completed.
Yan Chuan felt a bit stunned. The punishment world created by the escape variety show was reintegrated into the apartment script, dealing with the husband who had already been conspired against and “killed” by him and his lover. Yet he had scarcely been inside for a day and had walked out in a daze like this.
Even the details of the task were unclear?
Standing at the doorway, Yan Chuan found himself uncertain about whether to leave directly. He pressed his lips together; this habitual action made him frown slightly because his lower lip was already red and swollen, showing signs of barely broken skin.
Yan Chuan slightly parted his lips, touching the tip of his tongue that also felt a bit sore. It was a result of the “long-lasting kiss” from his “husband.” That man was not only the boss of the apartment script but also an NPC in the punishment world.
Of course, in a sense, it was actually two people.
The thought tightened Yan Chuan’s delicate brows further. He still had no idea what was going on in the punishment world. From what he knew, Yan Chuan was aware that he had successfully conspired with his lover to “kill” the husband, yet the husband returned, splitting into another version of himself. He likely was here to cause trouble for Yan Chuan.
In such a situation, he didn’t need to focus on the specifics of the task; he had to stabilize the seemingly evil husband and continue to explore the specifics of the task through the details.
However, Yan Chuan had completed the task within less than a day. The content of the task remained: “Soothing the ghost, letting the murdered husband no longer hold a grudge.”
Not only was Yan Chuan’s face flush, but even the lobes of his ears were turning an increasingly vibrant red.
His small, white earlobes were hidden under his black hair and peeked out slightly because of his movements, appearing a color that was nearly dripping with blood.
Little did he know that the “murdered husband” needed a kiss. A kiss that was actively sought, with their lips touching. Different from the gentle, fleeting kiss from last night.
One reason was that he could still mutter a few words of refusal at that time, and the other was because he now had to face not one, but two “husbands.”
Yan Chuan touched his lower lip again. Not just there, but another part hidden beneath his clothes felt uncomfortable against the thin fabric.
After a moment’s pause, Yan Chuan decided to step outside. He had spent almost a day in the punishment world and was uncertain about what had happened outside, or whether the other contestants in the hall had completed their tasks successfully.
12:45.
Yan Chuan glanced at the time; it had been just before twelve when he went in, meaning he had spent a little over an hour in the punishment world.
After more than an hour, the atmosphere in the hall was even more oppressive. The number of contestants was noticeably fewer; those who survived had varying expressions of surprise when Yan Chuan emerged from the corridor. They were probably curious as to how this weak contestant had emerged unscathed.
Yan Chuan avoided their astonished gazes and returned to his original seat.
The flow of time differed inside and outside; contestants might feel like only half an hour had passed, while they could have spent seven to eight days in the punishment world. Yet, whatever injuries they sustained in there would inevitably accompany them back.
So did Yan Chuan.
After a trip to the punishment world, the most severe injury he bore was his possibly bitten-up mouth.
No one else had returned yet, and as he sat at the long, empty table, Yan Chuan reached out to touch his lips.