I Have Yet to Become a Doll Today

Chapter 809: Chapter 809: The Duplicate
 

A group of people retreated, retreating back into the Stone Chamber they had just left.

Bai Youwei said, “Keep going back.”

Asarina replied, “If we go back further, we’ll arrive at the mural.”

Bai Youwei nodded, “Let’s go.”

They continued on their way back, but this time, they did not see the mural, the iron door, the 12 locks, the pillars—nothing. There was only an empty Stone Chamber.

Everyone realized something was off. They had returned the way they had come, but the place they returned to was not where they had started.

Had they been confused about the direction, or was there some trick to the Stone Chamber’s interior?

Du Lai held a flashlight, closely inspecting each stone brick and lightly tapping on them, testing for potential traps.

Shen Mo leaned his head against the stone wall, frowning as he listened for a while, then gestured for Du Lai to stop, “There seems to be something nearby.”

Everyone quieted down, pressing against the wall, listening intently.

It was the sound of a beast’s heavy breathing… huff, huff, very coarse and deep, accompanied by heavy footsteps, one after another, passing along the cold stone wall…

For a moment, the image of a towering Minotaur materialized in everyone’s mind.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝονǤ0.ƈο

“There was no sound before,” Du Lai said, looking at Bai Youwei. “Could it be… this creature is looking for us?”

Their nerves instantly tensed.

When they first entered the labyrinth, they had stayed in the room with the mural for a long time and had carefully listened to the noises coming from the four doors without hearing any sound. Now, the emergence of noises, did that mean the creature was drawing closer to them?

Bai Youwei thought for a moment, “In myths and legends, Minotaurs would devour humans offered as sacrifices. Perhaps while we search for the key, the Minotaur is also searching for us. We should try to avoid it as much as possible.”

She looked again at the door they had retreated through, “However, what’s more important now is to figure out our direction.”

If they couldn’t determine their direction, they might keep going in circles in this place.

Shen Mo took out a compass, checking it—if the compass wasn’t malfunctioning, the door they had exited from, which was the direction indicated by the third mural, was to the east.

“Should we change our direction?” Du Lai asked.

The two Stone Chambers to the east had been exactly the same, which likely meant they would lead nowhere.

Bai Youwei looked at Shen Mo and said, “Try to make a mark on the wall.”

Shen Mo nodded, unraveled the paper doll on his wrist into a dagger, and carved a “Z” on the wall at one spot.

Afterward, they opened the door to the south, which led to another empty Stone Chamber.

Bai Youwei pulled out two spent batteries from her bag, stood them up in the middle of the Stone Chamber, and then once again asked everyone to return to the previous room.

The breathing sounds became more distinct, as if they were very close now, and they didn’t need to press their ears against the wall to hear them clearly.

The breaths were mixed with a low growl, huff… huff…

The footsteps were anxious and heavy, thump… thump…

Chen Hui couldn’t help but edge closer to Leonid, her face tense as she stared at the northern door, murmuring, “It seems… it’s getting closer…”

Bai Youwei asked Shen Mo, “Is the mark still there?”

Shen Mo shook his head, his expression serious, “The mark is gone.”

Du Lai carefully observed each door’s texture, “These Stone Chambers are all exactly the same, there’s no difference to tell them apart, it’s like… they’re copies.”

Asarina, wielding a knife, listened for a moment to the noise from the northern door, then asked Bai Youwei, “That thing is very close to us, should we leave here first?”

“Let’s still take the southern door,” said Bai Youwei.

The six people entered the door to the south, and outside was still a Stone Chamber. Bai Youwei went first to the middle of the Stone Chamber and found that the two batteries she had placed there—just like Shen Mo’s mark—were gone.

Bai Youwei frowned, “This is getting troublesome…”