Chapter 294 Didn't Call for Search and Rescue?

Chapter 294 Didn't Call for Search and Rescue?

"I wasn't really interested at first. After all, most haunted house mazes on the market are just gimmicks with no real substance.

But the announcement said that anyone who successfully completed it would get a five thousand dollar prize.

I happened to urgently need money for something at that time, so I was tempted.

I agreed to come and participate in this event."

"There were a lot of people who came to participate that day, probably over a hundred.

The organizers divided us into several groups,

and arranged us to wait in different rooms,

about thirty people in each room.

The organizers said this maze was extremely difficult with a very low completion rate, and only true experts could make it out."

"I was pretty lucky and became one of the first to complete it.

But while going through the maze, I noticed the design was very intricate,

especially the core structure of the honeycomb maze - every passage was designed to be extremely hidden,

plus the deliberately placed horror sound effects and visual effects inside,

it could easily cause people to have a mental breakdown."

There was a hint of lingering fear in his electronic voice,

"I couldn't help thinking at the time,

what if someone with poor mental strength, or really bad sense of direction, got trapped inside and couldn't get out -

would they actually die in there?"

"But back then my mind was completely focused on getting the prize money, I didn't think much about it.

After getting the five thousand dollars,

I immediately left Royal Peaks Manor,

and never paid attention to what happened there again.

Later I occasionally heard people say Royal Peaks Manor was haunted,

I thought it was just a marketing tactic by the business, didn't take it seriously."

"Until recently, strange things started happening frequently at my house."

His tone suddenly became urgent, you could hear his fear,

"First the gas stove would turn itself on when no one touched it, flames shooting up high, almost causing a fire;

then the knives on the kitchen counter would fall down without warning, the blade landing right next to my feet;

the scariest was when showering, the water temperature would suddenly rise for no reason, the scalding hot water almost burned me."

"I was terrified. I found several well-known local shamans to come check my house,

but none of them could find the problem. They said I hadn't done bad things or harmed anyone, so there shouldn't be any vengeful spirits attached to me.

I thought about it for a long time myself, but couldn't figure out what was going on."

His voice was full of grievance and confusion,

"Until today when I came across your livestream and saw the bodies in the maze,

I suddenly realized - could it be that those who couldn't get out back then

wanted to use me to tell the world the truth about what happened?"

Isabella frowned and listened carefully the whole time, without interrupting him.

After he finished, she asked in a serious tone,

"When you came to participate in this event, were all the people you met professional players like you? Was there anything unusual?"

At this question, he suddenly fell silent.

You could hear slight breathing sounds from the other end of the phone,

as if 'Maze Saint' was desperately trying to recall the details from that time.

After a long while, he slowly said,

"The people in our room, when they introduced themselves at first, most were engaged in maze and adventure-related work, so they were professional players.

But I later noticed that the other thirty people who entered the maze with us

seemed a bit off - among them were old and young, and their backgrounds looked very mixed."

"What do you mean by old and young?"

Sophie couldn't help but ask, while turning up the volume on the streaming equipment, afraid to miss any details.

"I mean some people looked like they were already in their fifties or sixties, wearing shabby clothes, carrying a strange smell, looking like homeless people,

and some were very young, only about seventeen or eighteen, wearing school uniforms, looking like high school students."

'Maze Saint's' voice carried a hint of guilt,

"At the time I thought they were all experienced maze enthusiasts who just didn't look impressive, but were probably as professional as me, so I didn't ask much.

After all, my mind was full of thoughts about the prize money, and the organizers didn't say whether the prize would be split if too many people completed it.

I was worried that if I asked too much, more people would know the completion techniques, causing the prize money to be divided,

so I selfishly didn't care about others,

and never asked whether those people made it out in the end."

His electronic voice was full of regret,

"Looking back now, this was the biggest selfish act of my life, and my biggest regret.

If I had just asked one more question back then, maybe I would have noticed something was wrong, and might have been able to save a few people."

"So you're saying you clearly saw people of different ages and backgrounds enter this maze, right?"

Isabella confirmed again, with a hint of seriousness in her tone.

"Yes, Ms. Tudor, I saw it very clearly."

'Maze Saint' answered without hesitation, his tone firm.

"Okay, I understand."

Isabella nodded, her tone softening a bit,

"I can help you solve the problem you're facing now.

Send me your detailed address through the livestream backend,

I'll mail you something to ward off evil spirits. Hang it in the center of your living room, and those strange things won't happen anymore."

She paused, then continued,

"If you have time during this period, buy a bouquet of white flowers,

and place it at the entrance of Royal Peaks Manor, and sincerely apologize to those who died.

Their resentment is mostly due to unwillingness and grievance,

your apology and remorse might help them find some peace and forgive your selfishness."

"Really? Thank you so much Ms. Tudor!"

'Maze Saint's' electronic voice instantly became excited, even carrying a hint of choking up,

"As long as you can solve my problem,

I'll do anything you ask!

I'll definitely thank you properly!"

"I don't need your thanks."

Isabella shook her head, her tone flat,

"The fact that you voluntarily came forward to tell the truth about what happened back then

already shows you have a conscience.

Rather than thanks, I hope you can remember this lesson,

and never again ignore other people's lives for your own selfish interests."

After ending the call, the livestream chat completely exploded,

with comments flooding like a tidal wave, instantly breaking through one million.

[Oh my god! So there was so much inside information back then!]

[The organizers were so irresponsible! They actually tricked non-professionals into the test too?]

[Those homeless people and high school students were so tragic - they probably just wanted to experience it, but ended up losing their lives]

[What the hell? So it was the testing project from back then that killed people! The designer was the instigator, and the organizers were even more cold-blooded - knowing the maze was dangerous but not taking proper safety measures, and not conducting search and rescue when something happened - absolutely heartless!]

Some viewers raised questions:

[If those people died inside, didn't the organizers notice that the number of people going in didn't match the number coming out? Why didn't they call the police for search and rescue?]