Demon Chapter

Chapter 5: Seven Seconds of Life and Death

About ten minutes later, Gavin Lin staggered back again.

The difference this time was that the cell phone he’d been holding was gone.

Caine’s gaze shifted once more from the hanging cage toward Gavin Lin. This time, Gavin noticed that the old man was actually watching him closely—and immediately realized he’d been seen through.

Caine was a master of recognition. In the game, he knew nearly everything, capable of identifying all kinds of weapons and equipment, so it wasn’t surprising that he could see through Gavin’s disguise.

Surprisingly, Caine—who remained suspended in the cage—subtly pulled a white scroll from his sleeve and just as quickly tucked it back away.

It was clearly meant as a deliberate signal to Gavin Lin.

In an instant, Gavin understood the old man’s intent.

“Indeed, a wise man. Not only did you see through my disguise, but you also showed me that ‘Town Portal Scroll.’ That means if Caine is freed from this hanging cage and given a moment, he can use the scroll to open an escape portal. That’s exactly what you’re trying to tell me!”

Gavin formed a plan in his mind and gave Caine a slight nod.

In the game, after being rescued from the hanging cage, Caine opens a portal to escape Tristram. Similarly, Gavin could use that same portal to flee this place.

By now, the repulsive zombie skin covering Gavin’s body had begun to harden—signaling that his time pretending to be undead was running out. Fortunately, everything was ready. Though he couldn’t be certain the plan would succeed, Gavin knew this was his only chance.

His strategy was simple: “Lure the tiger away from the mountain.” He needed to draw the monsters in the chapel away—especially Griswold. With that brief window, he could rescue Kain.

It was a straightforward plan—something any reasonably clever person might devise. But executing it was fraught with difficulty.

First, he had to figure out how to lower Kain as quickly as possible. Second, he needed to ensure the lured monster wouldn’t suddenly return. Most critically, he had to confirm whether it was even possible to lure the creature out at all.

Earlier, Gavin had been stuck on this problem—until he saw the mobile phone. That gave him an idea. Still, he couldn’t guarantee the phone would work as bait.

So he needed to test it.

Slowly approaching the base of Kain’s hanging cage, Gavin finally made out the setup: the wooden cage suspending Kain was held by a rope threaded through a wooden pulley, the end of which was tied to a stake fixed in the ground.

That meant cutting the rope would free Kain.

Keeping up his zombie act, Gavin began wandering “aimlessly” like the others.

Near a wooden stand with a corpse nailed to it, he spotted a dagger. There was a good chance—perhaps nine in ten—that the blade belonged to that body. The entire dagger gleamed with a cold sheen; it would more than suffice to sever the rope.

Still feigning aimless movement, Gavin silently counted time in his head.

Beside a burning wooden stand, he discreetly pulled out three coins—ones he’d found earlier in the room and never spent. Now, he held them in his hands: using two coins as tongs, he clamped the third and held it close to the flame, secretly heating it.

Even with two layers of metal between his fingers and the flame, the heat quickly seared through.

At that moment, a sound utterly out of place echoed through the world:

“It was you who wanted to break up—so we broke up. Now you want to win me back with true love…”

The loud song blared out, startling every monster in Tristram. Even Kain, suspended in his cage, lifted his head curiously and pricked up his ears.

The area had been silent, and the monsters’ hearing was sharp—so the noise was more than enough to shock them.

Griswold, the undead blacksmith, reacted first.

Watching the undead creature sprint out faster than an Olympic hundred-meter runner, Gavin’s expression darkened. He’d expected Griswold to be fast—but not this fast.

Still, his surprise didn’t derail the plan. The moment Griswold vanished from sight, Gavin started counting.

Three seconds later, the music abruptly cut off.

Gavin knew this was the alarm he’d deliberately set—the sound came from his phone. He’d configured the first track to play for exactly three seconds, purely to test whether the monsters would be drawn by the ringtone. A second alarm was scheduled to go off one minute later, with no time limit this time.

His internal countdown continued. The plan had taken its first small step: Griswold had been lured away, along with a few other monsters—though most remained behind.

Seven seconds after leaving, Griswold’s massive figure reappeared, clearly furious. Its blood-red eyes flared wide—it hadn’t found the source of the sound. In a rage, it smashed a zombie blocking its path clean in half, then stomped back to its original post.

“Seven seconds? A bit short… but if I move fast enough, it’ll be enough!” A faint smile touched Gavin’s lips.

By now, the coin in his hand had been heated to searing intensity. Despite using two coins as insulation, the skin on his fingers burned with sharp pain.

“You have been burned by the flames. Health decreased by 1 point.”

Clearly, Gavin had taken damage.

But he held the coins tightly and didn’t flinch. The burn inflicted 1 point of damage every three or four seconds—negligible against his 30 health points. His eyes stayed locked on Griswold, waiting for the second ringtone.

Moments later, the second alarm finally rang.

Every muscle in Gavin’s body tensed. He knew this was the decisive moment—success or failure hinged on what happened next.

Griswold roared in fury, pinpointed the sound’s direction, and charged out violently.

And Gavin moved.

He dashed toward the dagger, simultaneously hurling the red-hot coin at the still-living Contractor #1064 nailed to the wooden rack.

“Sorry,” Gavin thought grimly. “You’re already pinned here with broken bones—you won’t survive anyway. If you must die, buy me some time first!”

The next second, the scorching coin struck the man’s skin with a sizzling hiss. The previously unconscious Contractor let out a pig-like shriek, instantly drawing the attention of every monster in the chapel.

In just two seconds, Gavin snatched the dagger, grabbed several pieces of fallen leather armor nearby, spun around, and sprinted to Kain’s hanging cage. With a sharp stab, he sliced through the rope.

Only four seconds had passed since Griswold had left.

But at that exact moment, the ringtone outside cut off abruptly.

Gavin knew Griswold had found the phone—and within seconds, that terrifying Wang Xin De would be back.

Meanwhile, the agonized screams of Contractor #1064—awakened by the burning coin—held the full attention of every monster present. With Griswold gone, the zombies began tearing into the unlucky man’s flesh, creating the perfect diversion for Gavin and Kain.

“Kain, open the teleportation portal—now!” Gavin shouted without hesitation.

With a crash, the hanging cage hit the ground and shattered. Kain stumbled out dazedly—but he too understood this was a matter of life and death. He quickly pulled the Town Portal Scroll from his chest and began to unroll it.

It seemed they would make it—

—but then, something completely unexpected happened, something Gavin had never foreseen.