Chapter 39.5 ?

She lowered her head, pulled out the egg-shaped object from the insulation bag, quickly tore off the employee badge wrapped around it, and without hesitation, hurled it at the other side amid the blubberman’s exclamation—

With a “bang,” the egg-shaped object hit the ground. Xu Ming wiped her hands on her pants, her tone inexplicably filled with some anger:

“You don’t have to glare at me like that, I said I don’t want it. If it wasn’t to keep the butterfly from having it, I wouldn’t have taken it in the first place.”

“I understand your actions. If I were you, I wouldn’t sit still either. Even if it was just for self-preservation, I would have to snatch this root. I just don’t understand, why did you have to act at this particular time…”

Even if it was just a day later, the few of them still alive in the hotel wouldn’t have ended up in such a mess.

…But then again, as long as the rule of the urban legend area is still operating, the hotel guests won’t be cut off. Even if it wasn’t them, others would be affected. Thinking this way, it’s actually lucky it was their turn.

After all, others might not even have the chance to escape.

Realizing this, Xu Ming’s anger subsided a bit. She then wondered if the other side had acted at this time because they knew about the Urban Legend Demolition Office; meanwhile, the opponent’s anger also gradually subsided as if they had finally listened to her.

Then, Xu Ming suddenly felt a cool sensation on her forehead—like something touched her.

A strange feeling surged up, and she seemed to hear a ticking clock. Xu Ming fell into a brief dizziness, and when she came to, she found that the wound on her leg had disappeared.

Not only her leg, but the wound on her right arm was also gone. Even her shoulder felt much better.

“Huh, healing?” The blubberman clicked his tongue in surprise, “It can do that too?”

Xu Ming seemed to see something, slowly raised her head, and her gaze gradually shifted to her right side. A moment later, she took a deep breath.

“No.” She looked at the huge figure in front of her and answered slowly in her mind, “It should… have just reversed my time.”

Reversing her bodily time to restore Xu Ming’s body to its state a few days ago—but correspondingly, the idiot trait was reset.

So, Xu Ming could see now.

She could see the huge figure standing in front of her, its neck almost touching the ceiling.

Its outline actually looked like a woman, even wearing a complicated dress; but on its twisted neck, instead of a head, there were countless hanging clocks like fruits, the central one dragging long hair.

Many of the clock faces were deeply cracked.

It had hands, slender and beautiful fingers. Xu Ming watched as it reached down, picked up the egg-shaped object, and, with a forceful squeeze of its white nails, split it in half.

Then, it handed one half to her.

The loud ticking of clocks sounded, giving Xu Ming a headache. The blubberman in her mind promptly translated: “It means this is for you, as a key to return.”

Xu Ming: “…”

Return? Return where? Here?

Are they expecting me to be a repeat customer?

Xu Ming was momentarily stunned and then noticed a few figures passing by. She instinctively turned and saw several translucent figures with animal heads wandering aimlessly at the end of the corridor.

They were the remaining residents of the Butterfly Mansion.

So… do they want me to come back and take more people away?

Xu Ming wasn’t sure if she was overthinking, but after a brief silence, she nodded.

“Okay.” She said softly.

She wanted to say more, such as her thoughts on leaving here entirely, but the other side didn’t give her more chance to communicate—almost as soon as she responded, the figure retreated. The huge body turned translucent upon touching the wall, then silently melted into it like liquid, leaving only a beautiful round clock hanging on the wall, ticking away orderly.

Xu Ming couldn’t help but look at it for a while, feeling that the clock looked more like an eye.

The corridor fell silent again, with only the faint whispers and footsteps of the old guests coming and going. Xu Ming stood still for a moment, then struggled to stand and staggered out. When she reached the lobby, she saw that the clock showed it was 14:51.

The actual time used was even shorter than the agreed twenty minutes.

The main door was also open now, with several staff members busy. Some were moving clocks, some cleaning, some adjusting their shattered facial features in the clock’s reflection, or sitting alone in the corner of the lobby, piecing together their fallen limbs and heads.

When they saw Xu Ming coming, they consciously turned their bodies away, as if considering that the scene might not be suitable for living people.

The receptionist, Qiu Xiaomei, had also returned to her post. Still with that cold and arrogant face, she slightly lifted her eyes when Xu Ming passed by.

Then, she pressed her lips and nodded at Xu Ming.

“The people inside have already left.” She said, “You are the last one.”

“…Okay.” Completely not expecting her to speak proactively, Xu Ming was taken aback. After a moment, she said, “Thank you.”

The receptionist ignored her again, looked away, and continued typing on the keyboard.

Seeing this, Xu Ming said nothing more. She shrugged and walked out.

Inside the hotel, time had already pointed to nearly three in the afternoon; outside the hotel, sky was just starting to lighten.

As she stepped out the door, slightly humid air greeted her face. Xu Ming squinted her eyes, instinctively raised her head, and saw the white light in the east, the dawn light, inexplicably giving people the illusion that the world was being illuminated.

In the next second, she felt a blur in front of her eyes—

When she regained consciousness, she saw Qiu Yufei’s anxious yet relieved face beside her.