Every Mafia's Favorite Girl novel Chapter 131

Chapter 131: "Sorry About This, Whoever You Are"

Aren remained exactly where she was long after the door was shut.

There was no point rushing.

At least not during the opening minutes, when every contestant shared the same handicap:

Complete blindness.

Carefully, she removed the earmuffs first.

Almost immediately, distant metallic echoes reverberated through the underground labyrinth as other launch gates slammed shut one after another, announcing that the remaining contestants had finished entering the maze as well.

Only then did she untie the blindfold.

Pitch-black darkness greeted her.

Absolute darkness.

There wasn’t even the faintest glimmer of light to distinguish floor from ceiling.

Even so, her other senses immediately began piecing together a picture of her surroundings.

She attempted to stand.

Thunk.

Her forehead struck solid concrete almost instantly, forcing her back down with a quiet wince.

’The ceiling’s too low.’

Running both palms across the surface beneath her, she found rough, damp concrete instead of steel.

She slid her palms outward until they met curved walls on either side, then traced them upward until both arcs met above her head.

A perfect cylinder.

’I’m inside a pipe.’

’I’ll have to crawl out as soon as my eyes adjust.’

’This space is terrible for fighting. If someone entered this pipe with me, I wouldn’t even have room to throw a proper punch.’

Keeping that firmly in mind, she remained perfectly still, listening for any movement beyond the suffocating darkness.

One minute passed.

Then five.

Then ten.

Throughout the silence, faint echoes drifted through the underground network.

Someone else was crawling.

Rapidly.

Through another pipe.

The scraping came from somewhere beyond several intersections, heavy enough for her to estimate the person’s weight.

’Definitely a man.’

Judging by the fading echoes, he was still far enough away that he posed no immediate threat.

Gradually, the darkness softened.

As the faintest outlines slowly emerged from the total blackness, Aren shifted onto her hands and knees.

’Alright.’

’Time to move.’

’I’ve got to find Jordan and Oscar’s team as quickly as possible.’

She crawled forward slowly and deliberately, taking care not to splash the thin layer of water coating the concrete floor.

After several yards, the pipe no longer felt perfectly straight.

Her fingertips found an opening.

An intersection.

She paused.

From both the left and the right came distant echoes, enough for her to determine that the man she’d heard earlier was somewhere to her left.

Straight ahead, however, the airflow carried the stagnant scent of deeper water.

She dismissed the man almost immediately.

Instead, she chose the path ahead.

One intersection gave way to another, then another, until a different sound reached her ears.

Rustling.

Then breathing.

Someone was crawling ahead of her.

The unmistakable rasp of cargo pants scraping against concrete echoed through the narrow tunnel. Whoever it was couldn’t have been more than fifteen feet in front of her.

Her focus sharpened.

’Could it be Jordan?’

’Or Nazario?’

She listened intently, searching for a familiar breathing pattern or rhythm of movement, but the confined tunnel distorted every sound.

There wasn’t enough information.

Only two options remained.

’I can shadow him and see where he leads.’

’Or engage him now and eliminate him before advancing.’

’But a fight will make noise.’

’Noise will attract everyone nearby.’

At last, she chose the quieter option.

Silently, she followed.

One crawl.

Two.

Three.

Then, without warning—

The rustling stopped.

Aren froze.

One heartbeat later, it resumed.

Only this time—

It was coming directly toward her.

’Oh no.’

’He’s noticed me.’

’This isn’t going to be pleasant.’

The sounds closed the distance with alarming speed.

Closer.

Closer still.

Every muscle in her body coiled tight as she lowered her center of gravity, bracing herself for the impact.

Without warning, a dark silhouette exploded from the blackness.

A fist shot straight toward her face.

She snapped her head aside at the last possible instant. The knuckles grazed her cheek instead of smashing into her nose, and she immediately drove her shoulder forward into the attacker’s chest.

’Sorry about this, whoever you are.’

THUD!

The cramped tunnel instantly dissolved into chaos.

Neither of them had enough room to throw proper punches. Instead, elbows hammered into ribs, knees slammed into concrete, and bodies crashed against the curved walls in desperate attempts to gain even the slightest bit of leverage.

The man growled and lunged for her throat, trying to pin her against the curved wall.

Aren felt his weight the instant he collided with her.

’Too bony to be Jordan.’

She trapped his wrist beneath her forearm and shoved upward with everything she had.

"Argh!"

His balance faltered.

’Too crude.’

’Definitely not Nazario either.’

’Just another contestant.’

THUD!

THUD!

THUD!

’The struggle drew attention.’

’Two competitors.’

’Different directions.’

’They’ll be here any second.’

’I’ve got to get out of here. Fast.’

’There it is.’

’The end of the pipe.’

’Just a little farther.’

It wasn’t solid.

’...Wait.’

’It’s water?’

She eased herself down another few inches.

The water continued rising around her legs until it reached the middle of her calves before her feet finally settled on the submerged floor.

’Great.’

’The entire chamber is flooded.’

’Moving through here will be even harder. If I start running and splashing, everyone nearby will know exactly where I am.’

Fortunately, unlike the pipe system, this chamber wasn’t swallowed by absolute darkness.

Somewhere high above, a dim crimson glow filtered into the room, scattering faint reflections across the stagnant water.

It had to be coming from the illuminated exit hatch — the only source of light inside the maze. Judging by its faintness, however, the hatch was still far beyond this chamber. The glow was only strong enough for her eyes to distinguish vague shapes.

The room itself was enormous, stretching much farther than she’d expected.

Countless support pillars rose from the flooded floor, positioned at irregular angles instead of orderly rows. Their overlapping silhouettes obscured nearly every line of sight, making it impossible to tell what — or who — might be waiting beyond them.

’I need to be very careful.’

’Anyone could be hiding behind those pillars, waiting for someone to pass.’

Behind her, muffled echoes continued drifting from the pipe she had just exited.

The other competitors were getting closer.

There wasn’t time to hesitate.

With painstaking care, Aren advanced into the flooded chamber.

Rather than lifting her boots clear of the water, she slid each foot carefully across the submerged floor, minimizing the ripples and suppressing every splash she could.

One step.

Then another.

Then—

The floor vanished beneath her.

’What...?’

Her body dipped suddenly before she caught herself.

The water, which had reached only the middle of her calves moments before, now surged nearly to her knees.

’The floor isn’t level.’

’Wonderful.’

’If it’s already this uneven, there are probably deeper sections scattered throughout the chamber.’

From then on, she slowed even further.

Every step now tested the ground before she committed her weight, careful not to lose her footing in the unseen depressions hidden beneath the murky water.

As she cautiously surveyed her surroundings, something overhead caught her attention.

Far ahead, suspended among the maze of pillars, a small object hung from the ceiling.

She narrowed her eyes.

A key.

It dangled from a length of string fastened to a metal peg overhead, swaying ever so slightly in the stale underground air.

’A key?’

’Here?’

’It has to unlock something.’

’Maybe it’s connected to where the coins are hidden.’

With that possibility in mind, she picked up her pace slightly.

She slipped past one of the larger pillars — and the water behind her suddenly stirred.

Aren spun around the instant she sensed the disturbance.

At that same moment, another figure burst from behind a pillar.

In the dim crimson glow, Aren caught only the outline of a woman’s face and the sharp arc of a high ponytail whipping through the darkness, just as a fist came hurtling straight toward her face.