Yang Xiao rembered that in that dilapidated house, there had been a block of cyan jade, emitting a strange cyan halo; at this mont, however, the area around the dilapidated house was shrouded in gray fog, exuding a sinister ghostly aura.
Suddenly, several figures with their backs to Yang Xiao sensed the arrival of a visitor and almost simultaneously turned their bodies, their steps stiff and movents identical.
From left to right, a man with a square face and scruffy beard, a middle-aged man with a potbelly, an elderly, tall, and thin man with a vertical wrinkle between his eyebrows and a salt-and-pepper goatee, and finally a woman around the age of 40, with a plump figure.
All together, there were four people, respectively known as number 40, number 9, number 189, and number 24, who had all died.
All four wore completely identical false smiles, like marionettes on strings, uniformly lifted their left hands towards Yang Xiao, gently waving him over.
An intense sense of crisis enveloped him, and although Yang Xiao knew there was a grave problem here, his legs uncontrollably moved forward, step by step he walked into the yard, towards the broken house, getting closer and closer, until he could clearly see the grotesque gums of the four smiling figures.
Suddenly, Yang Xiao’s gaze unintentionally swept across the area below their feet, where they stood in a puddle; the water rising above the surface of their feet reflected a horrifying scene in which their reflections had completely transford. The three n’s bodies were composed of chunks of flesh strung together, resembling blood gourds, while the last woman, number 24, was split down the middle, her organs hanging out of the ghastly wound, suspended in the mud and water—a truly horrific sight.
More terrifying still, after their disguise was exposed, the thick fog behind them suddenly surged, revealing the broken house behind them, and the rigid ghostly figure standing on the house’s threshold.
Feeling as if his scalp was about to burst, that ghostly figure had beco an incessant nightmare in Yang Xiao’s mind; he turned and ran, with the sound of feet not leaving the ground following behind him.
"Clack—"
"Clack—"
The sound of friction, like bone maggots that couldn’t be shaken off, followed Yang Xiao no matter how he ran; he couldn’t escape this small fishing village.
Just as the footsteps reached him, the ghostly hand almost grabbing him, Yang Xiao suddenly sat up, waking from his bed.
"Huff—"
"Huff—"
With continuous panting, his forehead and back already drenched in cold sweat, Yang Xiao shakily lifted his hand, his fingers still trembling uncontrollably.
The scene he had just experienced felt too real; he thought he was about to die.
After calming down, he got out of bed, unscrewed a bottle of mineral water, and violently gulped down several mouthfuls, slightly easing his tense nerves.
Picking up his phone, he sent a ssage to Yang Cha, informing him that he had successfully passed the qualification round and also asking him to inquire about the other three contestants from Rongcheng. He hadn’t expected that just after sending the ssage, before he could even put down his phone, he received a reply: Yang Cha had sent a ssage saying he had sothing very important to discuss face-to-face, and he would be there in a few minutes, asking him to co downstairs now.
"So urgent?" Yang Xiao was startled, sensing sothing off. What could not be said over the phone that needed a face-to-face conversation, especially at this ti?
The phone showed it was exactly 5 AM; at most, Yang Xiao had only slept for half an hour. He vaguely felt there was sothing fishy; he tiptoed to the door and peered through the peephole. The corridor was eerily quiet, and the ceiling lights emitted a gentle glow.
However, the calr it appeared, the more Yang Xiao felt it was peculiar. He rolled up his sleeves, his arms breaking out in goosebumps—as if premonitory.
Definitely sothing was amiss, although he hadn’t yet figured out what.
"Buzz—"
His phone suddenly vibrated; another new ssage arrived from Yang Cha, telling him he was already downstairs, asking for Yang Xiao’s location.
Arrived so quickly, Yang Xiao imdiately turned off the room’s night light and then quietly moved towards the window, hiding most of his body behind the wall as he lifted the curtains slightly to look downstairs; it was still dark outside, with only a few street lamps casting a dim light.
Beneath the street light stood a familiar figure. Yang Xiao’s heart shuddered, for just as he watched, Yang Cha, as if sensing his presence, also looked up. Yang Xiao saw a pale, smiling face.
Yang Cha lifted his left hand, slowly waving, greeting him.
With a buzz in his head, Yang Xiao "thump thump thump" uncontrollably backed away several steps; this scene seed familiar—downstairs Yang Cha’s greeting and the rigid smile eerily mirrored those of the four dead in the dreamy fishing village!
At this mont, he also realized what was off: he had gone to sleep at the break of dawn, yet after waking up, it was still dark outside.
It had co!
That... that creature had actually found him!
"Buzz—"
"I see you."
"Buzz—"
"I am here for you."
Continuous ssages made Yang Xiao breathe rapidly, hardly daring to breathe; his first instinct was to flee through the door, not to be trapped in the room, but the little sanity left resisted doing so—staying might be his only chance.
"Drama Robe! Drama Robe!"
Yang Xiao imdiately searched for his backpack, but when he grabbed it, he found the zipper on the side of the backpack already half open, and the Drama Robe was nowhere to be found.
"Buzz—"
"I am inside, on the first floor."
Yang Xiao was frantic, desperately searching the room for the Drama Robe—on the bed, inside the blankets, in the closet, under the sofa...
"Buzz—"
"I am on the second floor now, haven’t found you yet."
Yang Xiao’s room was on the 4th floor, and by this point, escape was no longer an option. He knew that the Drama Robe was his only chance to survive through the night.
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