Chapter 318: Don't Move a Single Step
After giving his instructions, Xiao Ye untied the three of them.
He waited for them to change their clothes, then waited a moment longer for their breathing to steady before they headed outside.
The stone chamber was the same as before, with a group of masked, black-robed people gathered together.
Every time they spoke, their voice changers made them sound nearly identical, sometimes making it impossible to tell who was talking.
But that didn't matter. You didn't need to know who was speaking, only what was being said.
Xiao Ye led them into the crowd, blending in.
He lowered his voice. "Don't worry. Just stay together and pretend to chat. If anyone approaches, stop talking."
"Can't we just leave now?"
The female celebrity was terrified. If it weren't for the black robe, her trembling body would have already given her away.
Facing these devils, she found it impossible to remain calm.
Right now, all she wanted was to escape, to get away from this place for good!
She knew these people were capable of anything!
"No, because I still have things to do. Besides, there are guards outside. You can only get in; you can't get out until the ritual is over."
The female celebrity's voice trembled. "But once the ritual starts, we'll be exposed! They'll find out we've escaped!"
"They'll kill me! They... they're so cruel, so terrifying. They literally kill for sport!"
"I've seen it... Please, I'm begging you, get me out of here!"
Someone had already glanced over, as if they had noticed something.
"If you don't want to die, shut up. I don't need much time. I will get you out of here."
The female celebrity said no more, but judging by her state, she clearly didn't believe him.
'Someone so desperate to live will inevitably try to save herself, which might just end up ruining everything.'
Right now, Xiao Ye still wasn't sure about the layout of the cave or how many weapons there were.
Only by figuring that out would he know the best way to make his move.
'Looks like I'll have to figure out a way to get these people out first.'
"Give me five minutes, and I'll get you out of here. During these five minutes, don't do anything. Understand?"
"Remember, stand right here. Don't move. Don't take a single step!"
After speaking, Xiao Ye turned and left.
None of the three spoke. They would wait for five minutes.
If Xiao Ye was telling the truth, they would live.
If he was lying, they would have to find their own way to survive!
Xiao Ye walked to a passageway on the other side. There was clearly another area here.
And surprisingly, no one stopped him. He entered smoothly.
Sure enough, there was a room here, but the door was locked tight.
Xiao Ye took out a piece of wire. With just three quick motions and a CLICK, the door opened.
He slipped inside. It was pitch-black. As the light from his phone's flashlight cut through the darkness, the scene before him nearly stunned Xiao Ye where he stood.
Even someone as worldly as him was almost frightened by the sight!
The room was filled with transparent jars, and inside them were the corpses of various animals!
Faced with such an abrupt sight, anyone else probably would have screamed.
Xiao Ye was surprised for only a moment before quickly regaining his composure.
He approached one of the jars and took a closer look.
At first, it looked like the corpse of a very ordinary black dog.
But upon closer inspection, he realized that wasn't the case at all. The head was indeed a black dog's, but the body clearly belonged to another mammal.
A theory formed in Xiao Ye's mind. He looked at the other jars and saw they were all spliced combinations of different animals.
However, because the stitched parts were only visible up close, a casual glance made them seem like normal creatures.
Xiao Ye took out his phone, snapped a few photos, and then walked to the side.
This was where the electrical box was located.
Through his black robe, he ripped out a wire, stuck something to the bottom of the electrical box, and flipped a switch.
'Once the power comes back on, this will give the people here a huge surprise.'
「At the same time.」
The entire stone chamber was instantly plunged into darkness.
"What's going on? Is it a power outage?"
"Impossible. This place runs on solar power. With all the energy we've stored up, there's no way we'd be out of electricity."
"Damn it, did something unexpected happen?"
"We all handed in our phones, or we could use them for light. But don't worry, the power will surely be back on soon."
In the darkness, every sound was greatly amplified.
The female celebrity and the other two captives were also panicking.
The next second, she felt someone grab her arm.
She was about to scream instinctively when she heard Xiao Ye's voice in her ear. "Don't scream. It's me. The three of you, hold hands."
The three of them had been standing together without moving a single step. Hearing his voice, they immediately started fumbling for each other.
Once they were holding hands, Xiao Ye led the female celebrity into the darkness.
He remembered the way he came and could navigate it smoothly, even in the dark.
Soon, under Xiao Ye's guidance, the three of them reached the exit.
While there were no guards at the main entrance, there were guards at the second door leading inside.
Using the darkness as cover, Xiao Ye pushed the three of them into the passageway, making sure to distract the guards. "Why did the power go out? What's going on?"
The guard didn't think much of it, assuming it was just someone who had wandered over in the confusion.
"Don't worry. Someone's already on their way to fix it."
Xiao Ye said no more. Once he was sure the sound of the trio's footsteps had faded, he turned and went back inside.
The female celebrity and the other two paid no mind to the darkness, running outside as fast as they could.
It was a short period of time, but to them, it felt terrifyingly long.
Finally, they saw the setting sun outside.
Winter days were always so short.
But in that moment, looking at the dimming sky, they wanted to weep with joy.
However, they didn't dare stop there. They ran a long way further until they couldn't run anymore, then collapsed onto the ground.
The female celebrity didn't dare take off her black robe, terrified that there were still others on the mountain.
"Now... now what?" one of the others asked.
"The man who saved us... he didn't come out!"
The female celebrity had been counting on Xiao Ye to lead them down the mountain. Hearing this, her heart sank.
"What do we do? Is he going to die in there?"
The female celebrity shook her head. "No, he won't. He's clearly not an ordinary person, and he knows that place inside and out. Otherwise, he couldn't have led us out in the dark."
"Let's not worry about him for now. We have to get down the mountain as fast as possible. The longer we stay here, the more dangerous it is."
"Let's go. We'll follow this road down."
But the other person didn't want to take that path. "But what if we run into their people on the way? We'll definitely be dragged back!"
If they took off their black robes, they would reveal their true identities.
But not taking them off was also suspicious, because none of the members would leave before the ritual was over.