Reborn in the Enemy's Embrace

The words "13th floor" were written on the wall.

But there was no way to get in. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

"Where’s Taylor? He ran off earlier. Where could he have gone?" Quinn asked curiously.

Eason checked the wall carefully. "It’s a solid wall-no gaps, no way to move it. It’s stuck in place."

I patted the wall and looked back at the exit stairway leading downstairs. "Can’t we just walk down?"

The 13th floor was blocked off. Were we supposed to go straight to 12?

No more games?

"She’s my wife."

"Divorce is an option."

"I’m not getting a divorce."

Behind me, Dexter and Damien were still debating about the possibility of a divorce...

I sighed. The air around us became tense.

"Get over here!"

Dexter ran over staggeredly. "Honey..."

"Figure out what’s going on." I feel like I wasn’t even as smart as Dexter was at the moment. My memories had not completely recovered, so my brain was still a bit of a mush. Dexter was overjoyed that he could be of service to me.

"The 13th floor is blocked off. There’s probably something that we’re not supposed to see in there. Let’s just go straight down to 12.

"I want to get out of here, not look at what each floor has to offer." Dexter started making his way downstairs while holding my hand.

The safe passage led straight to the 12th floor.

Everyone seemed to be curious about what was on the 13th floor and why it was blocked off.

As the saying went, curiosity killed the cat.

"What’s on the 13th? Why is it off limits?" Eason asked curiously.

"There’s a secret passageway that leads straight to the first floor. How else did you think the people behind this got up?

"The 13th floor is the control hub for the entire building. It’s where they controlled the holograms on the 14th floor as well. It’s also where the people who fell through the floor ended up at," Dexter explained.

Of course, they needed a control center for such a huge building. Especially with the amount of technology set up on the 14th. An entire floor was needed to store all the necessary equipment.

Zion caught the main point and looked at Dexter with a bright expression. "So, Violette and Joel might’ve just fallen down and are actually still alive? They just wanted us to feel sad and hopeless?" "I’m not sure. I can only tell you that innocent people won’t die." Dexter shook his head.

Everyone fell under the influence of the gas back then. If all of us had crossed the red line and fallen, those who were guilty would’ve been immediately killed off by the people downstairs. On the other hand, those who weren’t supposed to die would’ve been set free in advance.

If Joel and Violette were indeed innocent, they wouldn’t need to worry about their lives being in danger.

However, it seemed like Dexter didn’t trust anyone...

"So, what we need to do now is get out of here alive as soon as possible. Eason nodded. "Else, we’ll get the police to surround the area and launch an investigation. I’m sure we’ll be able to find some clues."

The lights on the 12th floor abruptly came on following a sinister laugh.

"How naive," the eerie voice rang out again.

"Welcome to the 12th floor. You must be hungry. The food on the table was specifically prepared for all of you."

Without the reminder, I hadn’t even realized that I was parched and starving. Humans tended to get elevated adrenaline levels when they were focused on survival.

Upon the reminder, I suddenly felt like I was dying from hunger.

"Some of the food in front of you contains deadly poison. You’ll die if you happen to ingest any. Who among the lot of you is planning to be the first to take a bite?" the voice asked with a laugh.

I cast a glance at Taylor, who was lying listlessly on the floor. He probably ran in and started munching, which was why was poisoned to death.

The food he ate must have been poisoned.

If we were to calculate the possibility, the remaining ones would be...

"Here, Sophia." I hadn’t even started calculating before Dexter walked over and took a bite out of a loaf of bread. He handed it to me after making sure it wasn’t laced with poison.

Everyone was stunned speechless.

Eason gave Dexter a thumbs-up. "My friend... My brother, could you help me take a bite of this?"

Dexter shot him an uninterested look. "You’re not worthy."

Everyone was hesitating. They stood staring at the entire table filled with food, unable to muster up the courage to eat any.

"Don’t you love Damien Coleman, Ms. Turner? Why don’t you help him test for poison?" The voice chuckled.

To everyone’s surprise, she named Juliet.

Juliet was slightly panicking as she stared nervously at Damien.

On top of his excessive blood loss, Damien was struggling to stand upright from hunger. He sat on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"It turns out that Ms. Turner doesn’t love Mr. Coleman, after all." The eerie voice laughed out loud.

"Are you willing to take a bite of the food for the one you love, Mr. Coleman?" She directed her attention to Damien instead.

The man in question cast me a glance before reaching out to pick up a waffle. Then, he took a bite.

After making sure it wasn’t poisoned, he handed it to me.

"Just eat it yourself," I said through gritted teeth.

"Mr. Landon, what if I told you... I’ll grant you a wish if you get something to eat? Would you do it?" the voice was asking Zion now.

Zion furrowed his brows and picked up an apple from the table. "Give me Violette back."

"Sure, as long as you eat it."

We were gambling with our lives to prove our sincerity.

The amount of food that was safe to consume gradually grew less. That only meant that the probability of choosing something that was poisoned had increased.

Without any hesitation, Zion took a bite of the apple.

After a while, he realized that he felt nothing. He had made the right choice.

The voice couldn’t help but laugh.

Everyone looked around curiously at the surveillance cameras around. Something felt off about the operator on this floor.

"Now, Mr. Eason Grant, do you have a wish?"

The voice pointed Eason out again.

Eason pointed at himself and said, "Who, me? A wish? Send Joel back too, then."

As if the person was holding back their laughter, they said, "If I may ask, would Mr. Eason Grant dare to finish the remaining food on the table? From what I know, there’s a high chance that the remaining food is poisonous."

Eason frowned, then turned around to look at Dexter and I.

He grumbled, "Is this person crazy? Is he mocking me?"

Dexter nodded solemnly.

"Yeah. He’s looking down on you, but I don’t know why you’re letting him do it."

That was a very somber way to provoke somebody.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

Dexter stared at me in amusement for a while.

Provoked, Eason grabbed a bottle of milk from the table.

"If I die, I die. Everyone dies in the end, but I don’t want to die."

And so, Eason took a sip of the milk with a straw.

To his surprise, he survived.

Dexter looked at Eason as if he was an idiot.

Dexter shook his head and whispered to me, "Do you see that? We’re both students of the advanced class, but we’re very different."

I nodded solemnly too.

Just as the voice was about to speak, Taylor, who had been "dead", gradually regained consciousness.

In a feeble voice, he said, "Water..."

Quinn hid behind Zion in fear.

"H-He’s alive!"

Finally, the voice couldn’t help but break out laughing. With the voice changer, it sounded eerie.

"He simply choked because he was being too greedy! None of the food is poisonous."

Zion frowned, finally realizing that something didn’t add up.

He looked at the camera warily.

Suddenly, the ceiling opened up, and Violette popped her head out.

"You guys are so funny!"

Zion looked at Violette in shock.

"Violette..."

Behind her, Joel poked his head out and mocked Eason, "You’re still dumb, as always."

Eason almost choked on the milk.

"The fuck? What’s going on?"

"Somebody took us away after we fell into that trap. I passed out, but strong man Joel held his breath, se he remained conscious. He dealt with the people down there. When I woke up, I discovered the control panel on this floor!"

Violette continued to laugh heartily.

Meanwhile, Zion’s expression was grim.

"Hurry and come down. It’s not safe there."

Violette continued shaking her legs as she sat up there.

"Mr. Zion Landon, are you worried about me?"

Then, she laughed. Zion huffed in dissatisfaction, but he remained quiet.

"Why don’t you all come up and have a look? There’s a tunnel that leads

straight to the first floor," said

Violette, holding back her laughter.

"How do we get up there?" asked Quinn, who was nervous about the height.

"I found a rope. I’ll pull all of you up."

Joel tossed the rope down.

Taylor, who escaped prior, felt guilty. He had been hiding in the back and staying silent.

"Wait. Let us eat first."

Dexter took a piece of bread and took a bite. He continued, "We need stamina."

Everyone else walked over and began eating too.

"Zion, I want an apple. Pass one over," Violette ordered Zion with a smile.

Zion huffed again, but he picked up an apple anyway and gestured to throw it to Violette.

"I don’t want that one. It doesn’t look sweet," Violette said coyly.

"How can you tell?" Zion asked.

Zion paused. Then, his ears became bloodshot. He was shy because of how Violette was teasing him.