Brother Hero’s gaze was fixed tightly on the stone in his hand, trying to find a feasible solution through it.
Time was pressing, and his forehead was covered in beads of sweat from the urgency.
In the room, Ren Huixi, Mrs. Hero, and the Cleaner Auntie were staring tensely at the direction of the door, none of them noticing Brother Hero’s actions.
Instead, it was the man in the suit who saw the stone in his hand, his gaze immediately captivated by the complex and beautiful pattern on it.
This stone, it was black?
And judging by its overall smoothness, it seemed to be naturally formed? Even the patterns on it did not show any signs of human carving.
Such a discovery made him feel both shocked and absurd.
How is it possible? With that appearance, those lines, how could they be naturally formed?
The man in the suit, owing to his profession, noticed many peculiarities about the stone at first glance, but his common sense and experience told him it was impossible!
Such natural yet contradictory emotions rolled continuously in his mind, drawing his attention unconsciously to the stone.
Brother Hero, at this moment, was completely unaware of the person beside him, since he had taken out the Starry Stone, his focus had been on trying to find a way to break the predicament.
Suddenly, a sentence muttered by the woman who had lost a shoe earlier emerged in his mind, making him suddenly realize some things.
"A coincidence? The monster was searching and searching and then came up to the sixth floor, is that really a coincidence?"
"No! It’s not a coincidence at all! It’s all because of me! Because I understand them! That’s why they find it even easier to notice me!"
"This is... cognitive resonance!"
"That Corpse Demon, it was actually attracted here by me!"
"It... It’s here for me!!"
Brother Hero’s eyes widened, the shock in his heart rolling like mighty waves; by now, he had realized exactly what was going on.
"In their eyes, you shine like the light in the dark night..."
He remembered what Zhang Xiaoman had said before, filled with intense regret. He had known this all along, so why hadn’t he thought of it earlier?
Could it be that my mental fortitude is really that bad?
Do I panic the moment I face danger?
If it were Xiao Man here, she certainly wouldn’t be as slow as me, right?
Brother Hero looked at the Starry Stone and then at his wife, finally making up his mind.
He was going to activate the stone and leave this place!
Go to Rebirth Island and find Zhang Xiaoman for help!
This wasn’t running away because he knew that if he continued to stay here, he might end up harming them.
So, he had to leave quickly before the monsters fully discovered their hiding place.
"Wife, wait for me, I’ll be back."
He made eye contact with Mrs. Hero beside him, and she seemed to understand his intention, but there seemed to be a misunderstanding.
Mrs. Hero suddenly grabbed his arm tightly, clinging to it and not letting go, her eyes filled with anxiety, while her blinking eyes conveyed the following message:
"No way! Don’t be foolish! I won’t let you go to your death!"
A drop of cold sweat traced Brother Hero’s forehead, caused by the painful grip.
"Who would have thought that in my wife’s eyes, I actually have such a towering image..."
He couldn’t help but sigh in his heart.
However, time wouldn’t allow him to waste any more, as the monster outside was already getting closer.
Brother Hero gave Mrs. Hero a look, indicating that he wouldn’t go out, and then he began to make his return move under her skeptical gaze.
The use of the Starry Stone required the use of Dark Energy to draw the Formation on it, and the length of this process depended on the user’s affinity for, control of, and proficiency in Dark Energy.
Given Zhang Xiaoman’s current level, it would take at least twenty seconds to complete the drawing, let alone Brother Hero.
Although this wasn’t his first time using it, it was clear that Brother Hero was still a novice.
Fortunately, using the Starry Stone did not require the continuity, coordination, and stability needed when drawing a Dark Energy Technique.
It only required the user to guide the Dark Energy into the patterns on it during use, just so long as no mistakes were made in the process.
Of course, no vigorous movement or long pauses were allowed either, as that would still result in failure due to the diffusion of Dark Energy along the lines.
Brother Hero immediately began to draw the Seven-pointed Star Array.
However, due to the relationship between nervousness and proficiency level, this caused him to draw particularly slowly.
Mrs. Hero and the man in the suit noticed his hand movements, both somewhat puzzled.
"What is he doing? Why is he touching the stone?"
The man in the suit was confused, but when his gaze swept over the part of the stone Brother Hero’s fingers had passed, his eyes involuntarily widened.
"What’s that? The pattern on the stone is lighting up? Did this man do something? But how could the stone illuminate?"
A series of questions churned in his mind, so much so that for a moment he even forgot the environment he was in, and subconsciously wanted to ask out loud.
However, just at that moment, a gulping sound suddenly came from outside the Cleaner’s room, so close it seemed to be coming from just a few steps away.
Even the man in the suit shivered involuntarily after hearing this noise, the words on the tip of his tongue swallowing back instinctively.
This sound was truly terrifying, as if carrying a strange frequency that caused an involuntary sense of fear in those who heard it.
The rest had pale faces, terrified that at the next moment the monster would crash through the door and rush in.
Brother Hero was sweating profusely; partly from fear, partly from nervousness. The slight trembling of his arms nearly caused him to make a mistake.
With several muffled footsteps, the monster seemed to have reached the door of the Cleaner’s room.
Another eerie call came, this time even closer, as if it was emitted right beside the door.
The people inside the room were now all holding their breath, the man in the suit turned pale with fright, completely forgetting his earlier conjecture.
Though he was a novice, Brother Hero had already been through two crises before, and his performance was much better than that of the others at this point, at least his hands never stopped moving.
"Quick, quick, quick! Just a little more!"
Brother Hero mentally shouted anxiously. It had been more than a minute since he started drawing the Array, and now he was finally about to finish.
"Thud thud... sizzle..."
Two sounds followed one another, causing a repressive feeling in everyone’s heart, almost making them want to scream out loud, as if that was the only way to release the deep-seated fear inside.
Images began to form in Ren Huixi’s mind – a Faceless Monster stretching out its claws, gently touching the glass outside the door, then dragging down, as if knocking...
Right after, while everyone was still nervously watching the door, a burst of light suddenly radiated from under Brother Hero’s feet. Before they could react, his entire figure abruptly disappeared from their sight.
PS: Thanks to Miyou Travel’s Brother Shui for the 100-point reward, and thanks to Qing Shan Zhan Jian Xiao for the 100-point reward.