Chapter Eight: The Trap of Time

While Ember was fiercely striking the spirit derivative, the security squad on the ground was also engaging the enemy.

As expected, the Apostles of Chaos arrived hot on their heels, breaching steel gates one after another with powerful explosives. Hearing the thunderous detonations drawing near, the security lieutenant made a snap decision to activate the majority of their pre-set traps. The dim corridor was instantly transformed into a hellish lightning prison, as arcs of electricity crackled and danced. The vanguard of the Apostles of Chaos had nowhere to escape and were charred to cinders among the electric serpents, suffering heavy casualties in an instant.

Sparks flew.

The three players hiding behind cover, including Scaled Arm, were astonished by the scene. They had thought this deadly escape would be a one-sided slaughter, never expecting the security squad to mount such a fierce counterattack! Yet they were unaware of the heavy burden weighing on the security lieutenant’s mind. The Third Security Team patrolled areas that contained various high-risk anomalous objects, so they were specially equipped with powerful suppression measures to prevent a chain reaction in case of an anomaly’s escape.

But now, forced to use their trump card against the Apostles of Chaos, the lieutenant realized that if any other dangerous anomalies breached containment, they would be left with no way to respond with confidence.

At this moment, all the lieutenant could do was pin his hopes on Ember and Rain Tomorrow. If they could retrieve the Fifth Security Officer’s access card, all would be well. If not, they would have no choice but to venture into the lion's den.

A single lightning trap was not enough to repel the pursuers, so the lieutenant immediately rallied all security personnel to open fire into the electrified hell. The battered remnants of the Apostles of Chaos, unable to break through the still-active trap, could only return fire from a distance.

For a while, the corridor before the Endless Staircase became a storm of bullets.

Gunfire blazed, bullets whizzed through the air.

The three players who had dared to peek out moments before now had no choice but to duck and cover. Meanwhile, blue energy shields flickered in front of several guards, blocking bullets from the Apostles of Chaos.

Throughout Facility Nineteen, the Third Security Team’s equipment was among the best. Though regulations prevented them from using anomalous gear, their arsenal was still superior to the invading Apostles of Chaos.

Thus, in this long-range skirmish, not a single security guard was lost, while the Apostles of Chaos suffered further losses.

But the lieutenant knew that continued resistance was not a long-term solution. The lightning trap was fading, and once it vanished, the long-restrained Apostles of Chaos would reveal their madness. Close-quarters combat was not the guards’ strength. He could easily guess that the Fifth Security Team had been wiped out because the Apostles of Chaos charged fearlessly into their midst, negating the advantage of firearms.

“Any word from the Endless Staircase?” the lieutenant asked, pulling a specially-made grenade from his belt and hurling it forward. This was a basic component of the lightning trap; a few had been left unused due to time constraints.

Just then, Rain Tomorrow, in utter disarray, emerged from the stairwell. Still relieved to have escaped with his life, he was completely unaware of the current situation. The moment he spotted the three players huddled in the corner, a deafening explosion sent him flying uncontrollably.

A thunderous blast.

The high-explosive grenade performed exceptionally well, its detonation triggering another surge of the lightning trap. Electric serpents lashed out, causing more agony for the Apostles of Chaos attempting to break through, and buying the security squad precious time to retreat.

Rain Tomorrow, caught off guard, crashed into a wall like a severed kite, his health reduced by half.

The lieutenant had no concern for his survival. Striding over, he hauled the dazed and battered player to his feet and demanded, “Where’s the access card? Why did only you come back?”

Still reeling from the overwhelming noise, Rain Tomorrow forced himself to respond with his prepared excuse: “We ran into a monster on the way. I’m the only one who made it back.”

“Damn it!” With the crisis at hand, the lieutenant didn’t doubt him and abandoned any hope of detouring through the Fifth Security Team’s area. He immediately decided to leave Ember behind and ordered a full retreat before the Apostles of Chaos could recover, allowing Rain Tomorrow to breathe a secret sigh of relief.

After scrambling up the staircase, Rain Tomorrow slipped beyond the reach of the Gray Ghost’s domain. Still shaken, he dared not double back, but unwilling to leave empty-handed, he had decided early on to lie, letting the lieutenant abandon Ember to his fate. With Anomaly Park’s communications down, no one could verify his story—it all depended on his word.

His act might deceive the game’s NPCs, but it didn’t fool Scaled Arm and Not an Expert. This mission was clearly set up for Ember; how could Rain Tomorrow be the only one to escape?

Something was definitely up with this guy.

They exchanged a knowing glance and, without saying a word, rejoined Rain Tomorrow as they moved on.

…

Oblivious to the events above, Ember kept his eyes on the timer of his flashlight. When five minutes had passed, he abruptly stopped.

Something puzzled him. With his current stamina, even if he wasted not a single second, it was impossible to complete the entire mission within five minutes. Not only did he have to run up and down forty flights of stairs and fight a battle, but he also needed to explain his purpose to the dying Fifth Security Officer and collect the follow-up mission. It was simply not doable in five minutes.

Had he missed a crucial detail? Or was there a flaw in the mission’s design?

Ember shook his head, doubting both theories. The test route was so linear, with hardly any extra information, that missing a key step seemed unlikely. Rather than a design flaw, it seemed more like an intentional setup by the designer.

Looking back at the mission description, there was neither a time limit nor a specified delivery target—vastly different from the strict requirements of the key-escort mission.

This led Ember to conclude that, upon reaching the Fifth Security Officer, he was destined to act separately from the other players—a result fraught with danger. Without the security team’s protection, he could die at any moment, but the risks also made his heart race with anticipation.

Not an Expert had gained an experience lead through a specialty quest, but Ember had received a much more perilous task. If he could survive each trap, his reward would be far more than just experience.

Faced with this situation, Ember had no intention of backing down. While he didn’t crave a prestigious title like Zouma did, a daunting challenge was enough to awaken his fighting spirit.

But hot blood alone would not suffice here. Forcing himself to calm down, Ember considered his next move.

The silence and darkness gave him the perfect environment to think.

“If the five-minute mark set by the lieutenant coincides with the Apostles of Chaos arriving, then a battle is certainly raging upstairs. The lieutenant’s mission is to assist the control center, so he’ll only use traps to delay them—he won’t risk everything in a direct fight. In that case, no matter how the battle unfolds, if I charge out now, there’s a seventy to eighty percent chance I’ll run right into the Apostles of Chaos. If I’m right, staying here for now is actually the best choice.”

Analyzing the situation with all available information, Ember switched off his flashlight and paused on the tenth stairwell, delving deeper into his thoughts.

“The mission designer wouldn’t let me simply hide on the Endless Staircase until the test ends, nor can I just ignore the mission. So, the question is: how long should I wait? There’s more than one group of Apostles of Chaos in Facility Nineteen, and the fall of the Fifth Security Team may already be known to their orchestrators. They might send more to attack the control center, and they might also investigate the Endless Staircase in search of the [Active Soft Body] anomaly’s unlocking key.”

Ember frowned in thought. “Go too soon, and I’ll die; wait too long, and I’ll miss my chance. If there are no clues or hints, and players must rely on blind judgment in this unfamiliar place, the difficulty of this mission is truly life-threatening.”

With no other choice, Ember waited. Thankfully, after another five minutes, just as his patience was about to run out, a precious hint finally appeared.

The access card in his hand suddenly vibrated, and scarlet letters appeared on its surface—

“Control Center in distress! Control Center in distress!”

The message flashed by in an instant—had Ember not reacted quickly, he’d have missed it. He tried to use the card’s communication function to contact the control center, only to get a “no signal” warning. Clearly, the Chaos Beacon’s information suppression was still in force. The control center’s distress signal seemed more like a last desperate cry.

Still, the long-awaited sign had come. Without further hesitation, Ember gripped his baton and dashed up the Endless Staircase.

[Notification: You have completed the assessment mission—Recovered the Access Card. Contribution points awarded.]

“Good grief, half the corridor is blown apart!”

Hearing the completion notification and seeing the Apostles of Chaos crushed beneath collapsed debris, Ember was grateful for his caution.

Now, with thirty minutes nearly up, only half an hour remained to earn a passing evaluation.

But Ember was not satisfied with that.

Using the simple map on the back of the access card, he quickly located the Fifth Security Team’s sector. With the door unlocking and sliding open, he set off on a solitary journey.