Chapter 10: The Key to Escaping the Horror Game

One hour later, the system announced the beginning of Day Four.

"Day Four has begun."

"Remaining players: 8."

"New objective: The family must hunt the remaining players."

I stared at the words in front of me.

"Absolutely not."

My husband looked at me helplessly. "Honey, we don't have a choice."

"Of course we do."

I held up the metal key we had found in the hidden room.

"This key exists for a reason."

Liam frowned. "But we don't even know what it opens."

"Then we'll search until we find out."

I walked out of the room and immediately stopped.

The apartment was a disaster again.

Blood stains covered the hallway. Black footprints ran across the carpet, and one of the lamps had been ripped from the ceiling.

My eye twitched.

"Before we save the world, we're cleaning this house."

My husband stared at me.

"Now?"

"Yes. Now."

Liam sighed and grabbed a mop.

Penny happily picked up a bucket.

For the next twenty minutes, the terrifying family that had slaughtered countless players cleaned the apartment under my supervision.

When the last bloodstain disappeared, I finally felt better.

Then someone knocked on the door.

Three short knocks.

A pause.

Two more knocks.

My husband immediately became alert.

"It's one of the players."

I walked toward the door.

"Don't open it," Liam warned.

"Why?"

"Because he's trying to lure us outside."

I looked through the peephole.

A terrified young man stood in the hallway.

He was covered in scratches and blood.

"Please," he whispered. "I know you're inside. Help me."

I opened the door a crack.

The man's eyes widened when he saw me.

"You're still alive?"

"Obviously."

He stared behind me at my family.

His face went white.

"They're the monsters!"

Liam's eyes darkened.

Penny's claws slowly emerged.

My husband stepped forward.

"Don't touch my family."

I raised my hand.

"Everyone calm down."

I looked at the player.

"What do you want?"

"The game sent me here. It said if I brought you outside, I'd get a chance to escape."

I immediately understood.

The game was using the remaining players to force my family into killing again.

"Come inside," I said.

The player stared at me in disbelief.

"What?"

"Take off your shoes first."

He looked completely confused.

I pointed toward the shoe rack.

"I said take them off."

He obeyed.

After washing his hands and changing into clean clothes, he sat at the dining table.

I gave him a bowl of soup.

He began crying after taking the first bite.

"I haven't eaten properly since entering this place."

I looked at him sympathetically.

"Eat slowly."

The system suddenly appeared.

"Unexpected action detected."

"Player protection protocol activated."

"Family favorability remains stable."

My husband stared at the screen.

"What did you do?"

"Nothing."

I shrugged.

"I just fed someone."

The player suddenly looked at the metal key in my hand.

"Where did you get that?"

I turned toward him.

"You know this key?"

He nodded rapidly.

"I've seen it before. There's a locked elevator underneath this building."

My eyes lit up.

"Where?"

"The basement. But nobody can open it."

I smiled.

"Then we can."

We returned to the basement together.

The player stopped when he saw the wall covered with photographs.

His face became pale.

"Those are all the players who disappeared."

I nodded.

"And this is the last room."

At the back of the basement, behind a row of old cabinets, we found a steel elevator door.

There was a tiny keyhole beneath the control panel.

I inserted the metal key.

Click.

The entire building suddenly shook.

The elevator doors opened.

Inside was complete darkness.

The system's voice became distorted.

"Unauthorized access detected."

"Return to your assigned roles."

I smiled.

"No."

My husband looked at me.

"What are you doing?"

"Choosing my own role."

I stepped into the elevator.

My family followed immediately.

The surviving player hesitated before joining us.

The doors closed.

The elevator began descending.

Floor 10.

Floor 9.

Floor 8.

Then the numbers disappeared.

The elevator continued downward.

My husband suddenly grabbed my hand.

"Whatever you see down there, don't believe it."

"Why?"

He looked at me with fear in his eyes.

"Because that place is where the game was created."

The elevator stopped.

The doors opened.

Beyond them was a massive underground laboratory.

Hundreds of screens covered the walls.

Every screen showed a different player.

And on the largest screen was our family.

A message appeared beneath us:

"FAMILY OF FOUR — EXPERIMENT 001."

I stared at the screen.

Then another message appeared.

"PRIMARY SUBJECT: MOTHER."

My breath caught.

"Mother?"

My husband suddenly looked away.

"Honey... there is something you don't know."

I turned toward him.

"What?"

He swallowed hard.

"You weren't brought into this game by accident."