Ten Day Ultimatum

Zhang Chenze's eyes widened, words failing her as she instinctively stepped back.
"What's wrong?" Qiao Jiajin’s view was blocked by Zhang Chenze, and he had no idea what had just happened.

He only saw the usually composed lawyer retreat several steps before collapsing onto the dirty ground, landing on her butt.
"You... you..." Zhang Chenze stammered, pointing at the female shop assistant.
Everyone turned to follow her finger and saw the female shop assistant holding a tiny arm in her open palm. The arm was clearly not that of an adult; the fingers were small and unmistakably human.

It looked like the shop assistant had cooked an infant.
And the infant’s arm was exuding an alluring aroma at that very moment.
Qi Xia observed the scene, recalled the circumstances in the staff room, and instantly grasped the horrifying truth.

"Is this... the little piglet?" Qi Xia asked tentatively.
"That's right," the shop assistant nodded. "You guys don’t want to have a bite?"
Qi Xia steadied himself and pressed further, "You said if we sleep with you, we can eat little piglets. These are the little piglets you meant?!"

"Yeah," the female shop assistant replied, her gaze vacant. "Little piglets are delicious."
The smell of blood was overwhelming. Bloodstains marred the shop assistant's thighs and the bed. If Qi Xia's suspicions were correct, this woman had given birth recently—and then cooked her own baby.
She let men sleep with her solely for the chance to eat the infant.

"I can only eat a little piglet about once a year..." The shop assistant smiled, revealing her dry, yellow teeth. "I just want to ask if any of you are willing to sleep with me? I give pig trotters in exchange..."
"We—we’re good..." Police Officer Li stammered, shaking his head.
"Since you’re good… then forget it..." the shop assistant muttered, fumbling briefly before stuffing the boiled baby’s arm into her clothing pocket and wiping the grease from her hands.

Zhang Chenze was speechless, watching the clothes she had given her now stained with oil.
She had never imagined that cooking human meat would produce so much grease.
Tian Tian slowly stepped closer to the shop assistant, her expression conflicted. "Miss, what you ate wasn’t a little piglet—it was a child..."

"Child?" The shop assistant’s lifeless eyes flickered as if trying to process the words. "It was definitely a little piglet. It jumped out and even hurt me."
Everyone exchanged glances, unable to respond.
"Heh... I’m hungry again," the shop assistant remarked, raising her eyebrows. "I’m going to drink pork soup. It’s great to eat until I’m full."
With that, she turned and walked back into the staff room. Just before closing the door, she turned back with a silly smile. "Please feel free to peruse around!"

Then she shut the door with ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) a heavy thud.
The rest stood frozen, silence stretching long and heavy over them.
Finally, Qi Xia broke the silence.

"Everyone, even if this wretched place isn’t destroyed in ten days, we won’t be able to return to the real world," Qi Xia said, rubbing his forehead. "If we stay here too long, we’ll go mad like her."
This time, Police Officer Li didn’t argue.
He, too, hesitated. In this blatantly abnormal city, under a dark red sky and a sun the color of dirt—how long could humans keep their sanity?

From inside the staff room came the clatter of kitchen utensils. The shop assistant had served herself another bowl of her grotesque ‘delicacy’ and was now gorging herself.
Just one door away, a woman was consuming her own newborn.
Everything in this place was profoundly wrong.

"I want to go out and explore," Qi Xia declared. "Aren’t you all curious? What is this place exactly? Who are these people? Is there an end to this city? What lies beyond? How did we get here, and how do we leave?"
Rather than curiosity, the expressions on everyone’s faces revealed fear.
"I just feel like there are dangers lurking everywhere..." Xiao Ran shook her head and told Qi Xia, "Instead of venturing out to partake in those games, I’d rather find a safe place to stay."

"Leng-mui, there’s nothing to eat or drink here." Qiao Jiajin touched his stomach. "We have to survive. We can’t actually eat 'little piglets,' right?"
His stance was clear. Rather than waiting here to die, he, too, wanted to venture out.
The nine individuals now seemed split—some eager to leave, others wanting to remain.

Doctor Zhao glanced at Han Yimo beside him. "It’s fine to explore outside, but this injured person can’t come. He’s staying here. As a doctor, it’s my duty to stay and take care of him."
"Then I’ll stay with you two," Xiao Ran whispered.
"Do you all want to give up on life?" Qiao Jiajin shook his head. "An injured man, a frail gal, and a doctor—are you really planning to live here?"

"I’ll stay too," Police Officer Li said suddenly.
Doctor Zhao and the others turned toward him, acknowledging that his presence would offer some security.
Police Officer Li nodded at Doctor Zhao. "The hoodlum is right. It’s too dangerous for the three of you to stay here alone. Besides those freaks in animal masks, even if that woman goes berserk, you won’t be able to stop her."

Now, with four choosing to stay, all eyes turned to Tian Tian, Zhang Chenze, and Lin Qin.
The three women had yet to speak.
"Without a doubt, I’ll be staying," Zhang Chenze said with a faint smile. "As a lawyer, I won’t act until I have all the facts. Jumping to conclusions leads to misjudgments."

With that, she stood and joined Police Officer Li and Doctor Zhao.
Now, only Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin remained on the side of those willing to leave. They seemed like outliers—eager to explore, like naive children untouched by maturity.
Tian Tian glanced at Lin Qin, then quietly stepped to Qi Xia’s side, offering no explanation for her choice.

"Hmm?" Qiao Jiajin raised an eyebrow. "I thought you’d stay."
"Stay?" Tian Tian smiled bitterly and shook her head. Then she pointed at the ground. "Can’t you all see it? There’s a wall here—and this wall gives me no choice but to go."
"Wall?" Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin looked down but saw nothing.

"On the other side of the wall are a policeman, lawyer, doctor, and writer. On this side, there’s a swindler, hoodlum, and prostitute," Tian Tian said flatly. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Our factions were decided from the start, weren’t they?"
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin's expressions shifted. They understood what Tian Tian meant.
Indeed, even if the nine of them were ordinary people thrown into this place, each belonged to a different faction.

Qi Xia, Qiao Jiajin, and Tian Tian lived in the gray area—bound to oppose the others.
Now, only Lin Qin had yet to choose her side.
Based on her role as a counseling psychologist, she should have joined the others.

Yet, to everyone’s surprise, she slowly walked over to stand beside Qi Xia and the others.
Qi Xia felt something was off about her, but couldn’t put his finger on it.
"You’re coming too?" Tian Tian asked, puzzled. "You’re not like us. If you stay with them, maybe—"

"But I’m very useful." Lin Qin interrupted, still covering her mouth and nose. She smiled. "I understand human nature. Maybe I can help."
Qiao Jiajin stretched leisurely. "Alright, with two leng-mui joining us, swindler lad and I won’t be bored."
"Don’t call me swindler lad," Qi Xia frowned. "And I don’t need any of you tagging along."

"Okay, okay..." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "So when do we leave? Now?"
"I..."
Before Qi Xia could reply, Lin Qin cut in, "It’s really late. Personally, I’d suggest we leave tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" All heads turned to the window, confirming the deepening dusk.
The sky had darkened into a deeper red, the atmosphere growing more ominous.