"Hey, handsome. What a coincidence," I chirped.

The giant snake, which was now in human form, was dressed in flowing black robes with long white hair cascading over his shoulders like moonlight, giving him the air of a charming, old-world gentleman.

The slight flush on the tips of his ears added a touch of vivid beauty to his otherwise cold and severe features.

"30 survivors left."

The icy mechanical voice interrupted my thoughts. In just half a day, a quarter of us were already dead.

Seeing the increasingly dangerous look in the man's eyes, I instinctively wrapped my arms around his strong waist and pulled him closer. There was no avoiding each other—the space between us was impossibly tight.

Suddenly, a pair of enormous wings sprouted from the man's back, and the scales on his body seemed sharper than ever. There was even a faint, eerie shimmer about them.

At the same time, a wave of drowsiness hit me, almost causing me to fall asleep instantly. In my groggy state, I could still feel the scorching gaze fixed intently on me, and I heard a muffled, indistinct voice whisper by my ear.

"I'll keep you around for a few more days—for now."

When I woke up again, it was the next day. My little pocket snake was somehow now coiled around the snake-man.

He still wore that calm, indifferent expression, but I knew he was not as harmless and docile as he appeared. Who knew how many people he had eaten at this point?

"All players, please take note. Congratulations! You've triggered the hidden stage. All players must immediately bring their host families and gather in the clearing by 2:00 pm."

A hidden stage?

Though my mind was filled with suspicions, I didn't dare refuse to go. I could only turn to the snake-man beside me for help. But what I saw startled me terribly. In his hands was a severed head, and he was steadily sucking out its contents through a straw.

The slurping sounds were loud, echoing clearly throughout the cave we were in.

Brain matter mixed with some unknown fluid—pale yellow and red—was savored with relish. He even wore a faint grin at the corners of his lips.

The other snakes nearby also gathered around, coiling obediently at his feet. It was as if, with a single command from him, they would all swarm the decapitated corpse and devour it completely.

As I fought back the urge to vomit, I finally recognized the headless body. It was none other than my bastard ex-boyfriend.

Noticing my gaze, the snake-man handed the head to me and smiled. "Want my help? Sure. Have a drink with me first."

The eyes of my ex-boyfriend stared straight at me, as if conveying his terror. It sent chills down my spine.

If I didn't accept, the snake-man wouldn't help me, let alone bring me to the clearing. But if I took the head, I'd have to…

After thinking for a few seconds, I reached for the head, smiled, and said, "Sure. Let's have a drink together."

As I spoke, I casually tossed the head aside, then pulled out an unopened can of soda from my backpack and took a sip.

I tentatively offered it to the snake-man. "That stuff isn't good for you. Try this."

He stared blankly at the can in my hand for a long while before accepting it. After taking a gulp, his eyes brightened noticeably.

I glanced down at my watch. It was currently 1:57 pm, with only three minutes left until the time mentioned in the broadcast.

With that in mind, I couldn't be bothered with anything else. I reached out, grabbed the snake-man, and dragged him along with me.

When we finally reached the clearing, everyone was watching us.

I also noticed that in just a day, half of the people were gone. Meanwhile, our former class president was missing a leg, and the remaining survivors all bore injuries of varying degrees.

"Next, we will commence the role-playing stage. Every player must participate along with their host families.

"Those who do not participate… will die."

As it spoke those words, the mechanical voice grew noticeably colder.

My heart sank completely. Hidden stage? As if. We were clearly just pigs waiting for slaughter.

As despair settled over me, an elbow nudged mine. A sweet female voice said, "Do you want to swap host families with me?"

I looked up and immediately recognized her. It was my college roommate, Crystal Caldwell.

One of Crystal's eyes was already blind, while the other stared unblinkingly at the snake-man beside me.

She continued, "How about we swap? My host is really nice. He's really not scary at all."

My mouth twitched. I knew exactly what kind of person she was, and without a second thought, I turned and strode off.

At the same time, the scene before my eyes shifted. The clearing morphed into streets and walkways that looked like something from the '70s or '80s, before finally focusing on the doorsteps of a paper effigy shop, with two dim lanterns hanging at the entrance.

I looked up at the lanterns. They were translucent, about as thin as butterfly wings, yet they glowed with an eerie light. After staring for a few seconds, realization hit me, and I abruptly took a step back.

On the surface of one of the lanterns was a faint greenish image—it was unmistakably a human tattoo.

These were lanterns made from human skin.

The snake-man scoffed. "This skin is of terrible quality. If they'd used newborn babies or unmarried maidens, it would've looked a hundred times more beautiful than this."

Hearing his disdainful words, I instinctively took a step away from him.

Suddenly, the door of the paper effigy shop flew open, and a brisk, middle-aged woman stormed out.

There was a greenish hue to her complexion, and despite the blazing summer heat, a scarf was wrapped tightly around her neck. Without missing a beat, she grabbed my ear and yanked me inside.

"You little wench! I asked you to gather pig feed, yet you ran off to fool around with the male student again! Have you no shame?"

As she yelled, she shot a fearful glance at the snake-man beside me, seemingly wary of him.

I stood rooted to the spot, utterly confused. What pig feed? What male student? Wait… Role-playing! Was my role here this woman's daughter?

Before I could figure it out, she slapped me across the face with both hands, hard enough to leave me reeling.

I looked down, and only then did I notice I was wearing ragged clothes covered in patches. My high ponytail was gone. It was replaced by a braid.

As for the white-haired snake-man who had been watching the drama unfold from the doorway, he had, at some point, transformed into a black-haired male student.

A few more slaps came flying my way. Trying to deflect the attacks, I went straight for her arm and yanked hard.

The woman fell to the ground and immediately started rolling around, wailing loudly. Her already greenish face now alternated between darkening and turning pale in a deeply unsettling way.

As I stared at her face, a strange sense of familiarity suddenly struck me, but I couldn't remember why.

Since this was the role-playing stage, I must be playing the middle-aged woman's daughter right now. In that case, what were the conditions for clearing this stage?

While I pondered, the snake-man's airy voice drifted over. "Do exactly what the original owner of this body did when she was alive. Once you trigger the key plot point, you'll clear the stage."

Amid the heart-wrenching wails, I finally caught what he said and asked, "What if I can't trigger the key plot point?"

He glanced at me coolly. "If you don't trigger it within two days, you'll be trapped in this storyline forever. And just so you know—time spent surviving here also counts toward the seven days."

As soon as he finished speaking, the woman dragged me straight into the bedroom.

The room was filled with paper effigies of all sizes. Their pallid cheeks were rouged in patches, making them look extremely creepy.

The woman seized me and viciously kicked the back of my knees. "On your knees!"

She spat at me. "You little wench. I'll sell you off tomorrow. Serves you right for messing around with that poor student!"

A middle-aged man entered from the next room, presumably the head of this household. The man had a thick, brutish-looking face, yet his complexion was deathly pale. He was nearly eight feet tall, and when he spoke, the floor seemed to tremble.

He produced a whip and lashed it mercilessly across my body.

The man's strength was tremendous, and the blows landed with dull, heavy thuds. But for some reason, I wasn't injured at all.

He cursed as he struck. "You little bitch! You dare seduce people? How shameless of you! How on earth did we Effins end up with a daughter like you?"

His yelling continued as a piece of paper fluttered onto my face.

"Planning to elope tonight? Do you think we're dead or something? Dream on!"

I turned a deaf ear to their cruel words.

Could eloping with a poor student really be the key plot point?

I stared at the paper, both surprised and doubtful, but I had already made up my mind. Whatever happened, I had to go and see for myself.

When night fell, I followed the address written on the piece of paper and arrived at the rendezvous point. Immediately, I spotted the black-haired male student—currently being role-played by the snake-man—standing with his hands behind his back.

"Hey, is eloping the key plot point?"

I wasn't afraid. Compared to all the half-human, half-demon creatures lurking in the dark, this snake demon, who looked more human than not, actually seemed safer.

"Elias Vaughn," he said, turning his head slightly.

Under the pale moonlight, his usually sharp, deep features seemed exceptionally gentle. The sight of this spectacular, god-like beauty stunned me, and it took me a long while before I realized he'd been telling me his name.

After a few seconds, I asked again, "Does this count as the key plot point?"

Elias didn't answer. He just stared thoughtfully past me.

Realization struck, and I spun around, only to find the middle-aged couple chasing after me, like vengeful spirits here to drag me into the abyss.

They drew closer and closer. I panicked and grabbed Elias' hand, wanting to run. Elias, however, remained rooted to the spot.

As I saw the distance between them and us closing fast, an idea struck me like a bolt of lightning.

Looking at his gorgeously beautiful face, I steeled myself and leaned into him, pressing my lips against his. The cold breath he exhaled brushed evenly across my face.

Elias' golden pupils dilated slightly, reflecting my face, which held an equal measure of horror and bashfulness.

"What about this? Does this count?"

His warm fingertips brushed my cheek, and his usually stoic and indifferent expression now held a trace of flustered helplessness. Pursing his lips tightly, he looked at me with an exasperated look that suggested he was at a loss for words.

For a few seconds, everything went silent. Then, suddenly, I found myself plummeting downward. He had pushed me straight into the river below the bridge.

Icy river water mixed with mud rushed into my body. I felt like a kite with a broken string, diving lower and lower.

Just as I felt like I was about to die, a warm current suddenly surged in, enveloping my entire body.

My vision blurred from the mingling lights. Through the water, I caught sight of Elias' slightly guilty-looking face.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the paper effigy shop. I tried to move but found that I couldn't. Only then did I realize that my whole body had been bound.

A blubbery face zoomed into view. He grinned at me before turning to Mrs. Effin, the middle-aged woman.

"This is the deposit. Once we consummate our marriage tonight, I'll give you the rest of the money."

Great. I'd been sold again. Soon, I'd be tied up and thrown into the bridal carriage, again, and delivered to wherever it was he was going to consummate the marriage.

Suddenly, fragmented memories flooded my mind, finally settling on the day we first arrived at the village. There had been a middle-aged couple standing right in the center.

Even though their faces had been shrouded in black mist, the couple shared one identical feature—both their heads had been cleanly severed. That was why they had looked so familiar to me. The Effins had been from this very village, too.

Snapping back to reality, I glanced at them. Sure enough, I found a faint, almost invisible red line around their necks.

"Mom, Dad… I've come to my senses. I'll marry him. That poor student? He can get lost."

At my words, the Effins' heads twisted unnaturally, turning in unison to look at me with vacant eyes.

All the gazes in the room fell on me, carrying a deadly chill. Combined with the already dark and gloomy room, I dared not move a muscle for a moment.

"That's good. Marrying a butcher means you'll never have to worry about feeding yourself again, even in the next life."

However, he still didn't untie me. While the Effins were busy talking, I quietly worked at the bindings around my wrists until they came loose.

Just then, a chilling voice belonging to a little boy rang out.

"Sissy, where are you going?"