25. Ascend to the third floor.

Without leads or clues, the office fell into a heavy silence. Suddenly, someone’s stomach let out a loud growl. Everyone turned their gaze toward the source of the sound. The man clutched his stomach, his face flushing with embarrassment. "I’m sorry," he muttered. "I… I’m hungry." Hearing this, the others slowly looked away. Relieved, he sat in the corner, opened his bag, and pulled out a rice ball. It had been bought too long ago, and even with an insulated bag, the warmth had long since faded. It was completely cold. Yet, that didn’t affect the taste; it was still delicious with every bite. Even though he tried to be as discreet as possible, the sounds of chewing and swallowing seemed amplified in the quiet office. Seeing him eat made the others realize they were hungry, too.

Meng Shuyin silently pulled out her phone and opened the app. She navigated to the exchange shop, which was stocked with a variety of items. However, everything was exorbitantly expensive—six bullets alone cost six hundred points, and these new points were incredibly difficult to earn. She browsed the food section and selected the cheapest item available, instantly depleting the ten points the system had gifted her.

As an egg appeared out of thin air in her hand, the others widened their eyes in shock. "There’s food in the app?" Chi You asked, stunned. Meng Shuyin nodded, peeling the eggshell. "Yes, the new version has many new features." The three others immediately pulled out their own phones to check and, sure enough, found the food category. But the high point requirements quickly extinguished their excitement. What was the point? Without points, it was just something to look at, not to eat.

Outside the door, the nurse paced back and forth. The eyes covering her body rolled more violently, shifting from black to red, making her appearance even more bizarre and terrifying. She clawed at the door in frustration; without her keys, she was clearly becoming more agitated. "Keys... give me back my keys," she mumbled, obsessed with retrieving the keychain. Unfortunately, Chi You had brought the keys into the office, and the nurse could not enter.

After finishing their food, the group began to plan how to defeat the nurse so they could proceed to the third floor. "My chainsaw should be able to finish her off," Chi You said, pulling out her pink chainsaw and revving it.

"I’ve got a shotgun," Jiang Pan added, drawing his weapon. He chambered a round and smiled. "That should be enough to blow her head off."

Seeing their weapons, Meng Shuyin and Zheng Hong glanced down at their own. The contrast was stark; their tools felt flimsy, seemingly incapable of inflicting any real damage. "Shall we go, then?" Chi You asked, looking at them intently.

"Let’s go," Jiang Pan agreed, standing up and heading toward the door. Chi You followed closely, and seeing the two leading the charge, Meng Shuyin hurried to catch up, clutching extra paper talismans in case they weren't enough. Zheng Hong gripped his copper coin sword tightly, terrified of dropping it.

The three local residents watched them in stunned silence. The nurse was right outside—weren't they afraid of death? Even the Broodmother hovered invisibly behind them, ready to fight at a moment's notice.

As the door opened, several eyeballs lunged at them. The Broodmother’s hair instantly sliced them in half. The nurse had changed; she was even larger than before, her face more grotesque, and the eyes on her body had turned red. She had become a monster. The Broodmother’s hair immediately engulfed her, piercing directly into the eyes on the nurse’s skin. Blood sprayed through the strands, showering down like a fine, crimson mist. The sight of the white walls being stained red was chilling.

Watching this, the three locals immediately retreated, their feet drawing back. They decided it was safer to stay inside; perhaps they could leave once dawn broke.

The Broodmother released her, and the nurse collapsed to the ground, her body riddled with dark, empty eye sockets. She lay motionless, but just as they thought she was dead, her hand began to twitch. She started convulsing on the floor—she wasn't dead yet! They stepped back, watching her with extreme caution, fearing a sudden counterattack. Another unkillable monster—her vitality was too tenacious.

If the second floor was guarded by such a formidable nurse, wouldn't the levels above be even more dangerous? It was no wonder Task 2 was simply to survive. Being hunted by these monsters made survival seem almost impossible. "Dear Director," they thought, "give us a hint."

"Keys—" the nurse roared. She only cared about the keys now. Without them, she would die. "Give me the keys!" she crawled toward them, the eyes on her body slowly beginning to regenerate. She shrieked desperately, demanding the keychain.

"Quick, give them to her," Chi You shouted. If the nurse was this desperate for the keys, they must be important. Zheng Hong turned to grab the keys, but Brother Wang snatched them first. He looked at the keys in his hand with a sinister grin.

"Want the keys?" he sneered. "Beg me." He insisted they kneel and beg him; otherwise, he wouldn't hand them over. He was still bitter about them threatening him with guns earlier.

Zheng Hong looked at him, his face expressionless. "Chi You," he called out, "he won't give me the keys."

Chi You turned to see the man laughing maniacally, clutching the keys. "Get on your knees and apologize to me," Brother Wang demanded.

Liu Qiang and the other man felt a sense of utter disbelief. What good was holding onto the keys if he didn't give them up? "Just give them to them! Do you want to die here?" Liu Qiang snapped, his face dark.

Brother Wang sneered, "I got them first. Why should I give them to them?"

Chi You didn't humor him. She turned to the other three and said, "Let's go." She stepped out of the room with her chainsaw, and the others followed. Jiang Pan, walking last, looked back at the three men and smiled. "Good luck, gentlemen." With that, he shouldered his gun and left.

Seeing this, Liu Qiang panicked and scrambled to follow. Once they were gone, the nurse—no longer blocked by the Broodmother—charged into the room the moment she saw the keys in Brother Wang's hand.

"Keys! Keys!"

Brother Wang watched the nurse lunging toward him, his composure shattering. "Help! Don't come over here! Ah—"

The four of them, already heading toward the third floor, heard the screams. They didn't stop; they just kept climbing.