A flickering tungsten bulb, suspended by bck wires from the ceiling, cast a dim, sickly glow over the room.The silence hung like ink spreading in water, thickening the air.In the center stood a weathered round table, its surface scarred and chipped. Upon it sat an ornate clock, its intricate designs worn by time, ticking away with a metronomic tick-tock.Surrounding the table were ten figures, their clothes frayed and faces dust-caked, slumped in various states of slumber—some face-down on the table, others slumped backward in chairs.A man stood motionless beside them. His bck suit contrasted sharply with the gloom, his face obscured by a mask carved from a goat’s skull. The hollow eyes of the mask framed his own shrewd gaze, which roved over the sleeping group with morbid fascination.The clock chimed. Both the minute and hour hands pointed to twelve.Distant, ominous tolls echoed from beyond the room.One by one, the ten figures stirred. Confusion clouded their eyes as they blinked into the gloom, then turned to stare at one another. None could recall how they’d come to be there.“Good morning, nine of you,” the goat-masked man spoke, his voice smooth yet unnerving. “I’m pleased to welcome you. You’ve slept for twelve hours straight.”The sudden sound startled them. The mask’s yellowed, matted fur and the faint stench of decay emanating from it sent a shiver through the room.A man with tattooed arms frowned, his confusion morphing into suspicion. “You… who are you?”“I assume you’re all curious.” The man raised his hands, a practiced performer about to reveal a punchline. “Let me introduce myself.”Qi Xia, seated farthest from the stranger, leaned forward, his brow furrowed. The room was unnerving—no doors, no windows, just four walls, ceiling, and floor forming a sealed chamber. How had they entered? Had they been pced here after the walls were built?His eyes traced the walls, floor, and ceiling. Crisscrossing lines divided them into squares, like a grid etched into the very structure.Then he noticed the stranger’s slip: “nine of you.” There were ten people here, plus the man—eleven total.Reaching into his pocket, he found nothing. His phone had been confiscated.“A waste of time,” a cool-toned woman interrupted, brushing dust from her sleeves. “I advise you cease this charade. Your actions constitute illegal detention. Everything you say now will be used against you.”Her composure steadied others, but a middle-aged man in a b coat raised a hand. “How do you know we’ve been here over twenty-four hours?”She gestured to the clock. “It’s twelve now. I st checked the time at midnight before bed. The clock’s hands have circled twice since then.”A burly man in a bck T-shirt leaned forward. “Why did you say ‘nine’? There are ten of us!”The tattooed man, now red-faced, lunged to stand—but his legs buckled. “You son of a—!” he snarled, resorting to threats. “You’ll regret this!”The room’s tension spiked. But when others tried to rise, their limbs faltered too.Qi Xia stayed silent, studying the clock. Too perfect, he thought. If the stranger counted nine participants, one here must be an impostor.The goat-masked man turned to Qi Xia, then paused.All eyes followed his gaze to a young man at the table’s edge. His face, though smudged with dirt, wore a serene, almost joyful smile.The stranger’s hand rose, pressing against the youth’s skull. A wild, manic grin spread across the boy’s face.With a sickening thud, the stranger smmed the boy’s head onto the table.Pinkish-white matter spttered across the surface, coating everyone’s faces in warm, viscous liquid.Outside, the distant clock tolled again.Qi Xia’s stomach churned. The boy’s remains left a sticky residue on his cheek.A woman beside the corpse screamed, her composure shattered.The stranger’s voice cut through the chaos. “Ten were needed—to silence you.”