Chapter 446

Jack was the only miserable one. He groaned inwardly. After much pleading, his subordinates finally released his collar, threatening, "Open the passage and let us through!"

"What are you going to do?" Jack asked.

Seeing the clear intent to kill in their eyes, Jack reacted instantly. "You want to" He mimed slitting his throat.

A subordinate glared at him and said coldly, "Cut the crap and do as I'm told!"

"Okay"

Jack reactivated the Treasure Pavilion mechanism, closing all checkpoints under Tiffany's control. Without the threat of checkpoints, the subordinates immediately surged forward. Since the mechanism was malfunctioning, they had to proceed manually.

The chessboard's outcome was decided, and a path slowly revealed itself. Tiffany stood gracefully at the other end. "Let's go," she said.

Kenneth was shocked. "What? She cleared the level like that?"

Tiffany's effortless method of clearing the level repeatedly stunned him. Initially, he'd been extremely shocked, but now, only mildly so. He mused, Could the Treasure Pavilion be deliberately making things easy for Tiffany? Or does it belong to her family? Otherwise, how could she have gotten in so easily?

Shaking off his distracting thoughts, Kenneth followed the safe path toward Tiffany.

At that moment, he heard hurried footsteps behind him. He turned to see several men in black rushing toward them—the assassins they'd encountered in the valley hours earlier, the same ones who'd pursued Tiffany. Kenneth's expression changed. He feared they would call him "Mr. Harper," revealing his identity to Tiffany.

Before the assassins could speak, he whispered, "Who are you? What do you want? I warn you, stay back! Otherwise, you'll regret it!"

Just as an assassin started to speak, Kenneth hurled a vase at them. He then grabbed Tiffany's hand and ran upstairs with her.

"Hurry! They're the assassins who tried to kill you in the valley!" Kenneth said.

Tiffany, unable to see, could only follow him.

As they ran up the ninth-floor stairs, they heard the sound of rushing wind. Tiffany, acutely aware of the danger, shoved Kenneth to the ground. A bullet ripped through the wall above his head. "Let's go," Tiffany said, quickly rising. Kenneth reacted swiftly, smashing another vase beside the staircase before running upstairs with Tiffany's hand in his.

Chapter 446

This was the ninth floor—a true purgatory.

Kenneth's pupils constricted as he assessed the situation. The gun-toting assassins were behind him; there was no escape, so he had to press forward! "Let's go!" he urged, leading Tiffany to the next level.

This level presented nine doorways, each with a different design. Some depicted angels, some demons, and others, small, indistinct figures.

Kenneth intended to take Tiffany through the door with the angel design. Unexpectedly, Tiffany tilted her head and said, "There are nine doors here? Don't go to that one; go to the last one."

Kenneth was astonished. He suspected she'd been here before. He hadn't even mentioned the doors, and she couldn't see, so how did she know? And the familiarity and confidence in her tone were striking. However, the situation was critical, leaving no time for reflection. Kenneth immediately changed course, rushing toward the last door, which depicted menacing demons. I'll take my chances, he thought.

He threw open the door just as the assassins arrived. He pushed Tiffany inside first. The next second, gunshots rang out, followed by a muffled groan and the smell of blood. Kenneth had been shot, but fortunately, the door closed. The assassins were frustrated and enraged, but helpless. They could only stamp their feet and guard the door, unable to (The passage ends abruptly).