As he stared at Alicia's miserable, revolting corpse and the mechanism that had now stopped turning, Tyler's heart was about to burst from the adrenaline.
It felt as if someone were strangling his neck. Living or dying depended on the mood of the Judge of Death.
A feeling of helplessness washed over him completely. He felt humiliation, as if he were a chess piece on the board of a cowardly man who did not show his face.
Suddenly Tyler began to laugh out loud.
The blood-tinged saliva in his mouth kept leaving stains on the floor.
Everyone who looked at him thought he had gone completely insane.
For some this was normal; it wouldn't be a surprise if someone mentally collapsed when the Judge of Death puts you in a game where living or dying depends on the tests.
Right now Tyler's hands had been burned, he had cut his tongue, and his best friend—who had been more lover than anything—was dead.
In the end, he discovered that all of this could easily have been avoided. If it had been me, I would have collapsed too.
Everyone thought injustice would win, but who would have thought that this man would actually die?
While the Internet filled with discussions, Tyler suddenly laughed until he trembled. His smile was very strange, and yet he was very nervous. It gave the spectators an unsettling feeling.
"If you want to play, so be it. From what I can see, you don't want us to leave alive. Luckily she's dead, since that way no one can distract me," Tyler thought as he stuffed a cloth into his mouth.
…
At the police station, Elena was surprised by the scene and said, "This guy doesn't seem afraid, he's still very excited. The Judge of Death seems to have awakened his fighting spirit."
Daniel shook his head when he heard that. He had worked for many years on rather complicated operations, so he had more experience dealing with this kind of people.
"Try to hold on. But the reality is that his spirit has completely collapsed. Look at his eyes. They're already broken and shattered. There's no hope. He won't be able to get past the game later. He's finished and he knows it, he just wants to play until he dies and beat the Judge of Death's games."
Larry in the darkness said to him: "You're wrong, Tyler. Although I am judge and my mission is to punish assholes like you, my goal is not to kill people. I only want to play with you. If you cooperate and sacrifice yourselves, surely there will be people who come out alive. Hopefully, in some cases everyone will come out alive."
"Fuck! Stop pretending to be a good person! You'll see. If I get out of here alive, I will kill your whole family! I'll let you taste how I feel now!" Tyler thought angrily.
Seeing Tyler's fury, Larry remained calm and said coldly, "It's a pity, I didn't expect you to be so useless. One of you died in the first round. It seems you're the only one who can find a way to complete the second."
"Listen carefully… After ten seconds, this room will fill with poisonous gas. You must enter the next room to avoid the poisonous gas and complete the game. If you manage it, you will live, but if you fail, you will die. By the way, don't look at the third test."
With that, the alarm in the room sounded.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
Ten seconds later, a yellow gas began to leak toward the ceiling and spread rapidly throughout the room.
At the same time, the door to the room, tightly closed, suddenly opened with a creak. Behind it, the darkness was total and it was hard to make out what was there.
Tyler didn't hesitate for a second. He walked straight to the door and entered the second room.
Boom!
The door shut and the dark room lit up instantly, illuminating the whole space.
The room was narrow and very long. It looked more like a corridor, and at the end of the corridor there was a door.
Suddenly, blue flames began to burn on the floor at the end of the corridor. It wasn't a flame that burned naturally, but a flame that rose vertically, like from a flamethrower.
The fire spread quickly up to two meters in front of Tyler and stopped. Tyler could already feel the high-temperature gas on his face. The strange thing was that the flame did not set the wall on fire, and it was only half a meter high, not reaching the ceiling.
Tyler heard Larry's voice again.
"Welcome to the Corridor of Flames."
"In front of you is a corridor 10 meters long and barely 2.3 meters wide.
The floor is covered in fire, and the temperature reaches 1500 degrees Celsius.
It won't turn you to ashes instantly, but it is enough to burn you to death."
"If there were two people, you could advance with your feet supported on one wall and your back on the other. That way, you might only suffer minor burns."
"But you are alone. And you will barely be able to keep yourself by holding onto the wall. I recommend that you don't run. If you do, the flames will reach you in seconds."
"And don't expect help either. In a minute, the fire will consume all the oxygen in the room, and when that happens… breathing will be almost impossible."
"At the end of the corridor there is a door.
If you manage to cross it and open it, you will come out alive."
Just as Larry finished his last sentence, the room's timer began its countdown to one minute.
"Shit! Shit! Shit! Let me out now!" Tyler thought like a madman and cursed furiously with strange noises.
He knew very well that he had a fractured foot and his left arm burned. It wouldn't be so easy to support himself against the wall.
Feeling the wave of heat on his face, he knew he would undoubtedly be burned alive if he rushed. He thought he might as well have died with Alicia. At least he wouldn't feel such unbearable pain at that moment.
Upon hearing Larry's explanation, the audience watching the live stream also understood what the second round was about.
This level is crafted with exquisite mastery. If both had been here, they would have easily overcome it. Unfortunately, one of them died.
All the viewers, especially the family members who had been invited to watch this spectacle long before it began, were enjoying seeing the people who had caused the disasters in their lives suffer to death.
All of Tyler's escape routes have been cut off.
He can only rush into the fire!
Seeing this, Daniel in the meeting room inside the police department was also surprised by the Judge's mental control.
At the same time, he immediately contacted the team members who were searching outside.
"How are things on your side? Any leads?"
"The Urban Planning Office staff are still searching for possible locations, but they have already sent personnel to investigate some suspicious factories. If I have any news, I will inform you immediately!"
"Tell me something, did you see the live broadcast? Ask the people from the Urban Planning Office where those flames can be found."
"They are already investigating. It could be an abandoned crematorium."
Daniel sighed and asked, "Agent Jimenez, any progress on your end?"
"I was about to call you. Alicia and Tyler were kidnapped at Malcolm's mansion where the reading of the will was to take place. The surveillance camera captured the back of the Judge of Death. We're going to investigate the vehicle. If we find the suspicious vehicle, we'll be able to find the Inquisitor of Death!"
This was the most valuable lead at that moment, which excited Daniel again.
"Be careful! We must catch the Judge of Death!" Daniel warned his officers.
"Yes, sir!"