Being an Extra Actor in an Escape Game

A football unfortunately, tragically landed right on the head of a runner doing his nightly laps. This runner is the grandson of one of the elderly present who practises Taiji.

The runner was knocked over, his head smashing right onto the concrete staircase nearby, and was sent to the hospital. The trauma sent him into a permanent vegetative state.

No one could have expected this to happen. It was a pure, simple, accidental, tragedy.

The footballers pooled together compensation and paid for the medical bills, and the stadium management also took up part of the cost. The patients immediate family accepted the mediation.

After the incident, the stadium has decided totake measures to divide up the grass field area with removable barriers to prevent similar accidents.

But before that could happen, some hate is already in the process of manifestation. With some particular insanity going around, it festered out of control.

The grandpa of that victim has already gone mad, but no one realised as he acted completely normal. He came to do Taiji again without looking at all strange, greeting the footballers like normal.

No one even knew he was the grandfather of that victim, so no one could have been any the wiser when he pulled out a knife.

Screams erupt from the grass fields.

Wu Jian looks up, and watches the crime taking place in front of him, murmuring, how terrible Killing someone wouldnt have let your grandson wake up either way. Even if he did, Im sure he would only feel sorrow upon hearing this

A-One asks, confused, bro, you know whats going on here?

Wu Jian nods.

He knows neither A-One nor A-Two have recovered their memories of the Tower yet, so he thinks about it, and decides not to explain in detail, telling him, Ive been here before.

Oh, really? A-One then asks, so whats happening here?

Wu Jian then gives them a brief summary.

A-Two furrows his brows, but compared to the scenes weve been through, this feels normal?

A tragic accident brought forth an even more tragic revenge.

To be honest, with or without a madness, this feels like it could have happened in everyday life, regardless.

Wu Jian is about to say something when another terrifying round of screams emerge, alongside sounds of vomit and puke.

He sighs, then says, looking rather exhausted, youll know when you see it.

A-One and A-Two look at each other, and walk over carefully.

The high-power floodlights of the stadium makes the grounds bright as day even during the middle of the night.

The two men see a group of people huddled around the place. When the grandpa started killing the footballers, the rest of the people are simply looking.

Some called the police, and some others seem like they want to try to stop him.

But then, when the heavy, disgusting scent of blood and gore spread out through the stadium, the mood shifts immediately.

Wu Jian also joins the two Missiontakers, and whispers, I suppose youve heard of something like self-care, and the myth thatwhatever you eat will strengthen the corresponding body part; these old people practising Taiji are at least in their forties, and obviously leadrather satisfactory lives.

Most of them are probably well-accomplished in society, with happy marriages and capable sons and daughters. So their topmost worry in life, would be their declining physical bodies The inescapable march to death.

Youve also heard those stories, right? That tyrants and other power-mad people would try to maintain youth by drinking virgin girls blood

Look, here. Blood. Fresh blood of young, active people.

The three of them watch as the blood drenches the white Taiji uniforms of the old people present, splattering onto their wrinkly, dried skins.

They look like desiccated apples folded, soft, rotten, possibly home to worms that would burrow out at any moment.

But perhaps thanks to what Wu Jian just told them, A-One and A-Two swear that, when blood starts to soak the mouths of the old people, they really do look a little more youthful and energetic.

A dozen or so old people, against a dozen or so young men and women.

The surroundings are so quiet it makes one want to puke. Even the songs of the cicadas of the summer night are gone.

A-One and A-Two both take a deep breath; A-One is even fanning himself with his hands, to chase away the revolting smell lingering nearby.

Wu Jian looks closely at one of the elderly men present.

He quietly adds, this grandpa seems to be convinced, that if he could suck the perpetrators blood dry, then his grandson will wake back up. An illogical but simple form of revenge.

A-One then looks at him, and looks a little bewildered. He asks, you said youve already been here so

Youre wondering if I have anything to do with this place? Wu Jian then drops a bomb, Im not directly related, but Thinking about their supposed roles in this Nightmare, he then explains, a friend of mineis.

A-One and A-Two are even more confused.

He Wu Jian makes it look like hes hesitant to reveal rather private details, so he just vaguely tells them, he is one of the people directly involved in this incident.

A-One and A-Two look at each other, and cant help but both think of the same person.

The victim.

Looking at Wu Jians age and how much he knows about the entire event, it would seem that Wu Jians friend must be that victim.

Wu Jians tone is rather conflicted, possibly because, without even realising it, he is actually giving the grandpa an excuse.

Of course, it is tragic for grandpa that his grandson ended up in a vegetative state through no ones fault, while the one who did it is still playing football with his youthful, healthy body.

This is definitely not a reason for one to attack someone else directly and open the curtain to this bloodbath, though.

After a while, A-One breaks the silence. Shrugging, he says, with a tone as casual as he can put it, alright, then. So where would the door be? Weve figured out whats going on in this scene, so the door should be here?

A-One is always a little happy-go-lucky like that. Hes able to help morale quite a lot in the Golddigging organisation, too, with his optimism and cheery mood. He would always help change the topic as naturally as can be when moods turn awkward.

Wu Jian thinks about it, then widens his eyes and suggests with a doubtful tone, could it be the goal?

The goal of the football field?

The three of them look at each other, and then look over at the field.

Wu Jian tries to recall and explain, from what I remember the football that hit the runner in the first place, only smashed with so much force and at that horizontal angle because the net was broken in a spot, so it flew right out without being stopped

Then lets go and find the goal with the broken net, A-Two says, but it sure is tragic that this all just happened by coincidence.

Of course it is, thinks Wu Jian. The runner was simply doing a night run. No one could have thought.

Its really like fate was trying to play a trick.

Thinking about that, he cant help but look up at the night sky.

A thought crosses his mind but doesnt what happened to the runner have an almost comical parallel in what happened to all of humanity to trap them all in the Tower, in a sense?

The thought spooks Wu Jian deeply, and he is full of goosebumps.