If we try to think positively, perhaps it’s the omnipresent power of the mysterious green jade in this place that has suppressed that terrifying insect, preventing its poison from taking effect.

After giving himself this temporary excuse for his injuries, Brian Cooper, though still tense, managed to breathe a brief sigh of relief. But soon, he began to contemplate his current predicament.

His situation was dire. At present, it seemed he was trapped inside this green jade chamber, while outside, that unknown and terrifying monster had slaughtered so many that corpses and rivers of blood filled the area. What was even more despairing was that, because the green jade chamber was sealed, he had absolutely no idea what was happening outside.

Had the monster already left, or was it still lurking right outside the door?

Brian Cooper didn’t want to rush out recklessly, but as he stared into the darkness, he felt a sense of bleakness in his heart. Even if he could hold out here a little longer, he knew he couldn’t stay in this place forever.

Because, after enough time, he would suffocate to death in here.

※※※

As for when the Holy City outside the Inner Ring would receive news from here, Brian Cooper wasn’t confident at all. When the previous incident occurred, he felt that most people had already died. And even if someone had survived by sheer luck, the current state of the Inner Ring—or rather, the area near this Heavenly Road—was clearly far more dangerous than before.

No one knew where that monster had come from, but it was very likely to attack other green jade chambers in the same way, as long as it could find where they were.

And even if the all-powerful Elder Council of the Holy City learned of this, how likely was it that they would immediately dispatch their strongest reinforcements, risking everything to venture deep into the Inner Ring and battle the monster to rescue Brian Cooper, who was trapped in the fourteenth green jade chamber?

Not to mention, perhaps the Elder Council of the Holy City didn’t even know there was still a living person inside the fourteenth green jade chamber.

At a time like this, if someone in the Holy City said, “Let’s take a long-term view and plan carefully”...

Brian Cooper didn’t want to think any further about what might happen next.

Unlike most people working in the Inner Ring, although he had never told anyone, Brian Cooper was not an ordinary person. He came from a powerful family in the Holy City. Although he himself was not the most favored or promising heir, the knowledge and experience he had gained since childhood allowed him to anticipate some of the possible reactions of the Elder Council.

So, after much deliberation, Brian Cooper realized with a sense of sorrow that, after all the pain and despair he had endured, he still might not be able to wait for rescue. If he wanted to survive, there was still a long road ahead.

At the very least, the great door outside would probably have to be opened...

Although the future looked bleak and hopeless, Brian Cooper carefully considered all possibilities and thought that perhaps there was still a slim chance of survival.

Moreover, after years of tempering in the Inner Ring, Brian Cooper’s character had long since become resilient. Not to mention, he had already witnessed far too many deaths, including the brutal massacre that had just occurred.

He pulled himself together in the darkness and, without lighting a torch, relied on his memory to grope his way through the green jade chamber until he found a storeroom. There, he rummaged around and found some clean water and food, which he quietly ate.

The stench of blood outside was still strong, but after staying here for so long, Brian Cooper seemed to have gradually gotten used to the smell and no longer reacted to it.

And so, he settled down in this completely dark and sealed place, eating when hungry, sleeping when tired, with no idea how much time had passed outside or how long he had been here.

Some say that complete darkness and confinement can drive a person mad, or plunge them into terrifying delusions.

Brian Cooper had heard people say this before, but only after experiencing it himself did he truly understand how terrifying that feeling was.

Chapter 7: The Green Egg (Part 1)

From the moment he fled in panic into the fourteenth green jade chamber, to the countless days spent in darkness afterward, Brian Cooper would occasionally feel that there was a deathly silence all around him, with not a single sound. Yet, in the darkness, there always seemed to be some strange soundwave that would suddenly echo, but when he listened carefully, there was nothing at all.

After this happened several times, Brian Cooper suddenly became alert, sensing that something was wrong with himself. It felt very much like the auditory hallucinations described in legends.

After repeatedly pondering the situation, Brian Cooper finally made up his mind—he couldn’t just keep waiting like this.

If this went on, he might really go mad without even realizing it.

Moreover, at the same time, he gradually began to feel some difficulty breathing—a faint, painful burning sensation seemed to scorch his throat with every breath.

Besides that, another terrifying danger, one he hadn’t considered before, had also arisen.

Yes! Brian Cooper noticed a putrid stench in the air... the corpses of those who had died were beginning to rot.

He couldn’t wait any longer.