The Three-Second Rule: My Death Game System

Chapter 5: The Silent Corridors

 

BANG! CLANG! CRASH!

The heavy steel shutter vibrated violently behind them, buckling slightly under the sheer force of dozens of meat hooks and rusty cleavers smashing against it. The demonic shrieks of the Merchants echoed from the Flesh Market below, furious at losing their prey.

Kael didn't stop to catch his breath. He grabbed the woman’s wrist and dragged her relentlessly up the pitch-black, spiraling concrete staircase.

They climbed for what felt like an eternity, the air growing noticeably colder and thinner. Finally, Kael pushed open a heavy fire door at the top of the stairs.

They stumbled into an environment so jarringly normal it was terrifying.

It was a luxurious hotel corridor. Thick, crimson carpets lined the floor. Ornate golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a dim, warm light over walls adorned with expensive velvet wallpaper.

However, the illusion of luxury was shattered by the massive streaks of dried, blackened blood smeared across the walls, and the fact that every single hotel room door had been violently welded shut.

The woman collapsed onto the carpet, panting heavily, her face pale and streaked with dirt and blood.

Kael calmly checked his revolver. One bullet left. He tucked the gun into his waistband and tightened his grip on the rusted cleaver he had stolen from the Butcher.

He looked down at the woman. "Name."

"C-Chloe," she stuttered, shivering as she looked at his cold, emotionless face. She still vividly remembered how he had calculatingly bargained her life away to the Merchant just minutes ago.

"Listen to me, Chloe," Kael said, his voice dropping to a chilling whisper. "I didn't save you out of kindness. I saved you because having a second moving target decreases my own statistical probability of being attacked by fifty percent."

Chloe’s breath hitched, her eyes widening in horror at his brutal honesty.

"If you slow me down," Kael continued, his eyes devoid of any empathy, "or if you break a rule, I will break your legs and leave you behind as bait. Do you understand?"

Tears welled in her eyes, but she bit her lip and nodded frantically. She knew he meant every single word.

BZZZT.

The warm lights in the chandeliers flickered, turning a sickly, pale green. The hidden intercom speakers hidden in the ceiling crackled to life.

"Congratulations on reaching Level Two: The Blind Corridors," the synthetic voice announced, though this time it lacked the previous mechanical cheerfulness. It sounded hollow, like an echo in a tomb.

"Rule Number One: The Sentinels of this floor have lost their eyes, but their judgment is absolute. They cannot see your sins, but they can hear your fear. Any sound exceeding thirty decibels will be considered a transgression. The punishment is immediate termination."

"Rule Number Two: Find the elevator at the end of the corridor. You have exactly fifteen minutes before the floor is flooded with neurotoxin gas. Good luck."

[Countdown: 15:00]

Thirty decibels. That was the equivalent of a quiet whisper. A cough, a sneeze, or even a heavy footstep on a creaky floorboard would be enough to trigger a death sentence.

Kael immediately put a finger to his lips, glaring at Chloe. She clamped both hands over her mouth, her eyes wide with terror, not daring to even breathe too heavily.

The corridor was dead silent.

Kael took a slow, calculated step forward onto the thick crimson carpet. It absorbed the sound of his boots perfectly.

Thump. Thump.

A rhythmic, heavy sound echoed from the far end of the long corridor.

From the shadows emerged a Sentinel.

It was a towering monstrosity, easily eight feet tall, wearing the shredded remains of a classic bellhop uniform. But its head was a nightmare. It had no eyes, no nose, and no mouth. The upper half of its face was entirely smooth, pale flesh. However, protruding from the sides of its head were two massive, grotesque, bat-like ears that twitched frantically with every micro-sound in the environment.

The creature held a long, razor-sharp surgical scalpel in each of its elongated, multi-jointed fingers.

It was patrolling the corridor, sweeping its massive ears left and right.

Kael froze, holding his breath. Chloe was trembling violently behind him, tears streaming down her face as she forced herself to remain absolutely silent.

The Sentinel was about twenty yards away. They had to walk past it to reach the elevator.

Kael carefully lifted his right foot to take another step.

[Ability Triggered: 3-Second Precognition.]

Vision: Kael places his foot down on a seemingly normal patch of the red carpet. Crack. Hidden beneath the plush fabric is a fragile, hollow glass sphere. The sound is incredibly faint, maybe twenty decibels, but the Sentinel’s ears instantly snap toward the noise. In a blur of impossible speed, the Sentinel crosses twenty yards in less than a second. Its surgical scalpels slice through Kael's throat before he can even blink.

The vision shattered.

Kael’s right foot was hovering mere inches above the carpet. A single drop of cold sweat rolled down his temple.

Traps. The floor is rigged with micro-sound traps.

He carefully retracted his foot, shifting his weight and placing his boot three inches to the left. Absolute silence.

He had survived. But the corridor was fifty yards long, and the Sentinel was slowly walking toward them.

Kael turned his head slightly, locking eyes with Chloe. He pointed to his own eyes, then pointed to the exact spot where he had just stepped, signaling her to step exactly in his footprints.

If she missed by even an inch, the glass under the carpet would shatter.

[Countdown: 13:42]

The Sentinel paused, its massive, grotesque ears twitching wildly as it sensed a disturbance in the air currents. It slowly turned its featureless face directly toward where Kael and Chloe were standing.