But Yang Xiao was clear that his other hand had reached into the backpack, and that Geisha Face was inside. If any of them tried to use force, Yu Kai would imdiately open the wooden box and release the Geisha Ghost.
He didn’t bla Yu Kai for playing tricks; everyone was trying to survive. He understood. If he were in the sa situation, he would make the sa choice. He had learned long ago that in the Nightmare World, both good and bad people die. Only smart people deserve to live.
In a sense, it was just like the rules of the real world: the strong don’t care about good or bad, and the winner takes all.
"Did you... hear the bell?" A voice ca hauntingly from the back seat. Through the rearview mirror, Yang Xiao could only see a face hidden in the shadows.
Yu Kai slowly leaned forward, his face pale, lips ghostly white. Now, Qu Hong could also see clearly: one of Yu Kai’s hands was inside the backpack.
"Yu Kai, don’t do anything stupid!" Qu Hong feared Yu Kai would take them all down at a critical mont. One of her hands was already gripping a dagger, prepared to act at any ti.
Yu Kai glanced at her, disdain in his eyes. "You’ve wanted to do sothing to for a while, haven’t you? If it weren’t for Chu Xi stopping you, I’d be dead already."
To everyone’s surprise, including the terror-stricken Qu Hong, Yu Kai’s left hand ca out of the backpack empty.
The next second, Yu Kai picked up the backpack and threw it to Yang Xiao. After catching it, Yang Xiao confird that the wooden box holding the Geisha Face was inside.
"Chu, keep this safe. If I survive, I’ll buy you a drink when we get out. If I die, you must protect it. Dou Jie and Xi Huijun are hopeless idiots, and Qu Hong is not trustworthy either!"
"I hear the bell again..." Yu Kai’s gaze began to blur.
The next mont, an earsplitting screech of brakes filled the air. Yang Xiao, who was looking back at Yu Kai in the last row, felt a force lift him up, his body lost balance, and then his back hit sothing hard. A figure fell onto him.
After an unknown amount of ti, Yang Xiao felt soone slapping his face. He struggled to open his eyes, only to see a bloodied face in front of him.
The sight shocked him awake instantly. The bloodied face was Xi Huijun. At the mont of the car crash, inertia had thrown her out, wedging her upper body between the driver’s seat and passenger seat, eyes closed, life or death uncertain.
It was Boss Sun who was trying to wake him up. His clothes were also torn, and a bruise had ford on the right side of his face from the collision.
"Wake up! Co on, wake up!" Boss Sun, seeing Yang Xiao awake, then reached out to try waking Xi Huijun, who fortunately also showed signs of life.
Yang Xiao was grateful he had buckled his seatbelt; otherwise, he would have been severely injured if not dead, and the mission would have ended.
The scene in the back of the car was even more chaotic, with objects scattered everywhere. Dou Jie was clutching his arm, lying in the back seat groaning in pain, while Qu Hong, slightly better off, had only so scratches on her face. She opened the car door with effort and stumbled out.
Yu Kai was curled up on the floor of the car. After Yang Xiao got out, he and Qu Hong opened Yu Kai’s car door and pulled him out. But the mont he grabbed Yu Kai’s body to drag him out, Yang Xiao realized sothing was wrong.
The temperature was off; Yu Kai’s body was already cold.
When they turned Yu Kai over, both Yang Xiao and Qu Hong gasped. Yu Kai’s eyes were tightly shut, his pale face covered in ugly purple blotches, his limbs curled up as if trying to squeeze into a small space.
"Lividity..." Qu Hong’s eyes filled with uncertainty. "He didn’t just die; he’s been dead for a while."
The scene instantly reminded them of Xiao Yaqin’s corpse. After Dou Jie and Yu Kai had returned, they had described Xiao Yaqin’s body in the sa way.
Suddenly, as if realizing sothing, Yang Xiao returned to the car. Shortly after, he found the backpack, opened it, and saw the wooden box was still there. Lightly shaking it, he confird by feel that the contents were intact.
"What the hell were you doing driving?" Dou Jie could no longer hold back his pent-up rage, venting it all on Boss Sun. It was clearly a straight road, yet Boss Sun had swerved and crashed the car into a roadside tree.
Boss Sun, grabbed by the collar, felt both aggrieved and terrified. "S-sorry, I didn’t an to. I saw soone in the middle of the road. I swerved to avoid them!"
"Who?" Yang Xiao stepped forward, signaling Dou Jie to let go. When Dou Jie heard Yu Kai was dead and that his death was almost identical to Xiao Yaqin’s, he lost his aggressive deanor.
Staring at Yang Xiao, Boss Sun gulped and glanced helplessly at the deserted road. They had taken a shortcut, a seldom-used road. At this hour, it was deserted, let alone a trace of anyone.
"Boss Chu, you have to believe . I really did see soone—a woman. She was very pale, wearing a white and blue striped garnt. She was standing in the middle of the road. I don’t know how she vanished in a blink."
Boss Sun, feeling apprehensive, cautiously asked, "You think... you think we encountered another one of those things?"
"Yes," Yang Xiao didn’t hide the truth, responding directly. "You’ve gotten involved with it. If you don’t settle this, you’re going to die."
Boss Sun, hearing this, panicked again, lips quivering as he stamred, "So... what do we do now?"
"Can the car still run?" Compared to any ghosts, Yang Xiao was more concerned about being stranded in the middle of nowhere, unsure what kind of road Boss Sun had picked.
"Yes, it’s not a big problem. This car’s not great, but it’s sturdy," Boss Sun hurriedly reassured.
"Check the car, we’ll leave soon."
Leaving those words, Yang Xiao was called over by Qu Hong. Yu Kai’s body lay on the ground, but his arm had been pried open, and Qu Hong was holding a black object, about the size of half a palm, resembling a pager.
"I found this on him. He was clutching it tightly before he died. I nearly broke his arm trying to get it," she handed the object to Yang Xiao.
It was Yang Xiao’s first ti seeing such a thing. It looked like a walkie-talkie, but its bottom had a broken wire attached. There was only a single red button on the device. Yang Xiao pressed it tentatively, but nothing happened.
To be thorough, Yang Xiao personally searched the corpse ticulously, ensuring nothing was missed.
Xiao Yaqin’s body had a shredded hospital paper. So this black device likely ca from the sa hospital. Unlike Xiao Yaqin, Yu Kai was skilled. Whatever he had clung to like his life depended on it must be extraordinary.
This device, resembling a walkie-talkie, might be the key to their mission. Yang Xiao suddenly thought of their missing teammates.
Could it be... this walkie-talkie could connect to another team?
The more Yang Xiao thought about it, the more alard he beca. It wasn’t impossible; Yu Kai might have discovered this too.
Carefully running his fingers along the device’s surface, Yang Xiao noted its relatively new condition. Few scratches indicated recent use.
Under Yang Xiao’s direction, they left Yu Kai’s body and continued on. Boss Sun, being smart, didn’t ask unnecessary questions, placing all his hopes on Yang Xiao.
After the incident, everyone remained silent. Boss Sun searched for road signs while keeping to the marked route on the map. Finally, around dawn, he turned into an unassuming side road, bringing the car to a stop.
"We’ve arrived." Boss Sun said, parking the car.
"Where is it?" Dou Jie looked around through the car window at the pitch-black surroundings. "Weren’t we headed to the city?"
"No, the hospital is on the outskirts. Look." Boss Sun pointed to an inconspicuous sign partly hidden in the roadside weeds.
"100 ters ahead, Ren De ntal Hospital." The sign had a thick arrow directing into the darkness.
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