Another D-Class personnel stepped forward, visibly nervous with trembling legs.

Number 2 also put on the helmet and entered the villa. After a few minutes, the captain spoke again.

"Number 3."

The older guy beside him stepped forward. Lin Ye was Number 4.

After the older guy donned the helmet and entered the villa, Lin Ye glanced at the fully armed overseers nearby and abandoned any thought of escape.

He couldn't outrun rifle barrels.

Several more minutes passed. Just as Lin Ye's mind began wandering, his vision suddenly blurred without warning.

……………

Buzz buzz buzz...

Lin Ye opened his eyes to find himself seated in a moving prison transport, the older guy who'd just entered the villa sitting beside him.

[Remaining simulations: 9]

Lin Ye: "......"

He exhaled heavily and roughly grabbed his own hair. It seemed he'd already died once, yet he hadn't sensed anything at all.

'This is bad. Those first two are probably dead, but waiting outside isn't safe either...'

'Only option is to go in and see what's happening.'

As in the previous simulation, Numbers 1 and 2 entered the villa in sequence. But when the captain called for Number 3 this time, Lin Ye stepped forward.

"I can't take this anymore. Let me go in first?"

The captain gave Lin Ye a look but said nothing, merely signaling a team member to fit him with the helmet.

"Can I get a weapon for self-defense? You want me to last longer, right?"

Lin Ye hoped to secure a handgun. Though untrained, shooting wasn't complicated.

A team member silently handed Lin Ye a dagger without uttering a word.

Resigned, Lin Ye accepted the blade. He'd known they wouldn't give him a gun, but trying cost nothing.

The two-story villa's entrance opened to a grand hall with high vaulted ceilings. One side featured stairs to the second floor, while several corridors branched off to other rooms.

Lin Ye moved slowly along the wall, surveying the hall by moonlight.

The helmet had an illuminator, but activating it would make him a perfect target in the darkness.

"Check the second corridor on the right. Avoid the first one."

The captain's voice crackled through the earpiece.

'Did he give other D-Class personnel instructions earlier?'

A sliver of doubt surfaced, but Lin Ye complied. With zero knowledge of the layout, any direction was equally unknown.

Hugging the wall, Lin Ye instinctively peeked down the first corridor as he passed.

An orange object hung at the far end. His pupils contracted—for the first time in his life, he regretted having sharp vision.

There hung his D-Class companion, disassembled and reconstructed like building blocks. The figure retained human shape yet bore no discernible human features upon closer inspection, suspended like avant-garde artwork. Only scraps of the distinctive orange prison uniform made identification possible.

'Fuck!'

Lin Ye recoiled involuntarily.

His back met something where empty hall should have been.

He sprang sideways like scalded water, but his body failed him. In his final moment, he saw his own disintegrating form.

……………

Buzz buzz buzz...

His pounding heartbeat roared louder than thunder. Even knowing the temporal divide made pursuit impossible, Lin Ye couldn't calm down.

His body was whole again, fully functional, yet within thirty minutes he'd face that entity capable of casually dismantling him.

[Remaining simulations: 8]

'Damn it, this is really...'

'What now, what now, what now, what now...'

'Eight tries left...'

'Then what? Do I return, or...'

Visceral terror gripped his heart, scattering his thoughts. Lin Ye struck his own head repeatedly, forcing composure.

'Deep breaths...'

'First floor's lethal—has that disassembling monster...'

'First two entrants got taken apart...'

'Head straight upstairs or...'

'No, entering first risks encountering it...'

'Eight simulations. Can try going upstairs first, then entering first if that fails...'

Soon the prison transport halted before the villa.

On his third entry, Lin Ye mentally prepared for death.

Again the third entrant, he received identical orders to investigate the second right corridor.

This time Lin Ye disobeyed, sprinting instead for the second-floor staircase.

His hypothesis proved correct—the disassembler operated exclusively on the first floor. He reached the second level unharmed.

The stairs opened to a living room flanked by floor-to-ceiling windows, with various rooms branching off.

At the center coffee table sat an impossible-to-ignore black box—darker than darkness itself yet demanding attention.

Its sliding lid stood three-quarters open, leaving one quarter attached.

Lin Ye approached unconsciously. The forearm-length cubicle contained only impenetrable blackness.

"Fully open the box to complete your mission. You'll be released from D-Class status with freedom to leave or join our organization."

The captain's voice whispered in his ear. Lin Ye raised his hand instinctively, yet dissonance stayed his movement.

'Open the box...'

'First time I died suddenly outside...'

'Open it quickly...'

'The captain didn't speak during Numbers 1 and 2's exploration...'

'Open it and all suffering ends. You'll receive due reward...'

'Will it truly end?'

Lin Ye slowly withdrew his right hand and turned. Beyond the windows, four pairs of eyes stared fixedly.

The captain and three team members stood impaled on black pillars, smiling at Lin Ye. Further back, more black pillars sprouted from the ground, each bearing a human form.

"Number 4, open the box."

The captain's toneless voice urged action through the earpiece.

Without hesitation, Lin Ye turned to close the box.

The lid felt frigid—like winter's biting pipewater.

As he pushed, Lin Ye felt his vital "warmth" draining. Before reaching halfway, he'd lost all bodily sensation.

Some essential life component exhausted itself. Consciousness slipped away soon after.

………………

Buzz buzz buzz...

Lin Ye awoke again from nightmare to familiar surroundings—the older guy beside him.

[Remaining simulations: 7]