Chapter 214

"Why are you looking for me? The person you want is in room 207! Why don't you go find them first?"

"And... there's someone in 214 you want too! It's not me... it's not me!"

"You've got the wrong person!"

Floyd screamed in despair, but the only response was the sight of those mangled figures and the increasingly clear sound of laughter.

Before Floyd could finish his words, he suddenly felt dizzy, the world spinning around him.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself surrounded by the seven bloody figures, each holding a sharp knife dripping with blood.

They began to cut into his body. Though he couldn't feel any pain, the fear of his life slowly slipping away made him almost suffocate.

Floyd watched in horror as chunks of his flesh were sliced off, but he felt no pain, not even any sensation.

It was as if this body wasn't his own.

In a daze, he remembered a clue Charles had mentioned earlier.

He tried to mimic the ghosts' smiles, even letting out the same eerie laughter.

Floyd laughed with all his might, his whole body trembling. He thought this might save his life, but it was all in vain.

The seven bloody figures continued to mechanically cut into his body, undisturbed.

Slowly, his limbs were severed, and the last bit of sensation in his body disappeared. When his head was finally cut off, he felt a tangible sense of "existence," as if he was gradually disappearing from this world.

It was then that Floyd realized Charles had tricked him.

Responding to the ghosts' smiles was not an escape route at all!

Despair broke through Floyd's mental limits. He began to cry and laugh simultaneously, his sobs mixed with incoherent laughter.

Eventually, the ghosts, perhaps annoyed by Floyd's noise, stabbed a sharp knife into his neck. Floyd's voice abruptly stopped, his face frozen in a final smile, but his eyes were filled with emptiness and despair.

After the dismemberment ritual was complete, the pale figures picked up a prepared black plastic bag and broom, sweeping Floyd's remains into the bag. Then, they turned and walked towards the next door.

It was Briar and Finnegan's room, the door smeared with Floyd's blood, standing out starkly in the darkness.

Soon after, the eerie birthday song echoed through the hallway again, accompanied by sinister laughter.

"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday... to you..."

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and into the dormitory, Charles slowly opened his eyes.

He looked around and saw that Floyd's bed was already empty.

He touched his hair, where Floyd's blood still lingered, indicating that the target of the "Smiling Boy" tonight was him.

Charles took a deep breath and stood up.

He knew he had to act quickly to find a way to break this curse.

Although he still had the Eerie Artifacts from Tidewater Village, he was reluctant to use them unless absolutely necessary.

He walked out of the dormitory and opened the door to Floyd and Finnegan's room. The sight before him made his heart tighten—a black plastic bag lay quietly on the floor, the air thick with the smell of blood.

He knew at least one person had already been killed.

Charles frowned deeply and picked up the card from Floyd's door, examining it closely. "Could my theory be wrong..."

He pondered, realizing that the key might not be the card itself, but how to interpret the rules of this game.

He knew he had to find an exit, or the next to fall could very well be him...