The more he watched the show, the more familiar it seemed.
*Ghostwatch.* Thanks to Dan Lee’s past life as a horror buff, he had dipped his toes into all kinds of horror films, including found-footage specials like *Ghostwatch*.
Of course, this wasn’t an American program, but a British one—a television network and a production crew spending an entire night conducting a “paranormal investigation.” The host, a blogger specializing in the occult, and a camera crew were examining the truth behind “London’s most haunted house.” Although the specific content wasn’t identical to Dan’s memories, it carried a massive amount of implicit information: hauntings were not unique to the United States.
Similar things were happening in other countries and regions, too.
Japan, in particular, was overflowing with urban legends about ghosts and monsters.
For now, Dan’s most urgent task was checking the news on the American side.
He clicked open a website dedicated to paranormal research, which was filled with a mix of real and fake news articles and videos.
There were video clips as well as local legends from various towns.
For instance, a user named Judith shared a terrifying tale about a small town’s history involving Mary Shaw, a ventriloquist from the 1940s.
Below the post, some believed it while others scoffed.
Dan, however, believed the legend was true—because he knew that nursery rhyme.
*Beware the stare of Mary Shaw, she had no children, only dolls…* Then there was another town where the child disappearance and mortality rate was six times the national average.
A female cave-exploration team that vanished inside a cavern system.
A California mental asylum that was allegedly haunted, where all the doctors and nurses vanished overnight.
Disappearances reported along remote highway stretches.
A series of killer doll murders…
Dan couldn’t be one hundred percent certain, but based on the available clues, he could preliminarily identify potential shadows of *Child’s Play*, *Halloween*, *Dead End*, *Hellraiser*, *Paranormal Activity*, *Tales of the Unusual*, *Antlers*, *The Possession*, *It*, *The Descent*…
And those were just the ones he had stumbled across so far.
Who knew how many more were lurking in the dark?
He had felt a modest sense of security with two Mutants acting as his bodyguards, but looking at it now, running into almost any of these events meant a high chance of dying on the spot.
Against ordinary humans or slasher killers, Mutants could probably hold their own.
But the moment the supernatural intensity stepped up, Mutants would likely be torn to shreds in an instant.
Just as Dan felt a chill run down his spine, a soft, warm body leaned up against his back.
Jessie wrapped her arms around Dan from behind, glanced at the computer screen, and murmured, “Honey, why are you browsing a website like this?” It was pitch-black outside, nearly midnight.
On top of having just narrowly escaped death, Jessie was bound to feel a bit frightened.
She needed comfort from Dan—or rather, mutual comfort.
“Just curious.” Dan quietly closed the browser, turned around, and looked down.
Jessie was wearing nothing under her bathrobe.
No wonder the feeling against his back had been so vivid.
“Time to rest, Dan,” Jessie whispered, her meaning unmistakable.
…
The next day.
Apart from Chris, who got up bright and early, the other four slept in without exception.
By the time they assembled downstairs at the motel, the group went to the local police station to ask for updates.
The answer they received was that the investigation was still ongoing, and the patrol officer who had gone out to investigate yesterday had lost contact.
Hearing this, Dan knew that the unlucky patrolman was almost certainly dead.
As for going back in broad daylight to hunt down that little Mutant Cannibal…
forget about it.
That forest region was far too vast; there was no point in wasting time.
Dan, Jessie, Scott, and Carly decided to head home.
After going through such an ordeal, none of them had the heart to continue their road trip.
Compared to other states, Florida—with its familiar land and people—felt a whole lot safer.
Since their original vehicles were ruined, they had no choice but to rent a new car.
Dan paid the rental fee out of pocket.
He couldn’t help it; his parents had left him a massive inheritance.
Even though he had been a spendthrift before awakening his past memories, he still never had to worry about money.
On the drive back, Scott was still the one behind the wheel, but this time he drove with extreme caution.
His eyes were practically glued to the road, scanning frantically for spikes or barricades.
It seemed *Wrong Turn* had left a deep, lasting shadow on his mind.
Dan, on the other hand, relaxed comfortably under the warm sun with a beauty in his arms.
As far as he was concerned, this trip had turned out quite well.
Right now, his top priority was containing ghosts, evil spirits, and similar intangible entities.
Mutants could only defend against physical human threats; they couldn’t stop incorporeal evil spirits or ghosts.
Without a few spectral bodyguards around, he was terrified to step outside for fear of accidentally bumping into or stepping straight into a horror scenario.
The journey went smoothly for most of the way.
It wasn’t until late afternoon, as the sun began to set and the car passed a sprawling estate, that the temperature suddenly plunged.
Dan had always possessed a robust physical constitution; even stepping outside in midwinter was manageable for him.
But here, it was so bone-chillingly cold that he wished he could wrap himself in several heavy winter coats.
The fence surrounding the estate was imposing and tall.
Thanks to his enhanced vision, Dan saw clearly into the grounds: someone seemed to be standing just inside the estate’s main gates.
But in the blink of an eye, the figure vanished.
His heart sank to the bottom of his chest.
*No way…* Dan pulled out the card and glanced at it.
Crimson text had already flooded the entire surface of the card.
[Detected traces of Containment Object: Ghost Manor!] [Detected traces of Containment Object: Ghost Manor!] [Detected traces of Containment Object: Ghost Manor!] …
Even though it was still daylight, Dan couldn’t feel a single trace of warmth.
“Scott, step on it!” Dan let out a sudden roar that startled Scott into slamming the accelerator all the way down.
The vehicle instantly accelerated well past the speed limit, and only when the estate faded far into the distance behind them did Dan’s heart begin to settle down.
He looked back once more.
The estate had completely vanished.
What a joke!
Faced with Jessie’s concerned inquiries, Dan said nothing.
Right now, he just wanted to get as far away as possible.
That estate back there strongly resembled Bly Manor from the UK.
True to its nature, there were no living humans inside—only vengeful spirits and ghosts.
Into a place like that, Dan wouldn’t step a single foot until he managed to contain a King or Queen-level containment object, even if it cost him his life.
Fortunately, the rest of the trip went without a hitch.
It seemed that the Ghost Manor had only appeared by sheer chance.
The four of them made it back safely to Clam Shell Town.
Dan parted ways with Jessie and the others.
Although he and Jessie had shared a passionate night, they hadn’t entered a formal relationship.
First was their difference in background, and second, their ages didn’t quite line up for anything serious.
Jessie had actually dropped hints, but Dan had gently turned her down.
Having a woman around was fine, but taking on an official girlfriend required serious thought.
After returning to the largest villa in town—his local home while studying abroad—the first thing Dan did was search online for information about the Ghost Manor.
At the same time, he kept the Ghost Card right next to him on the desk.
The moment any prompt popped up indicating traces of danger, he would immediately shut down his computer to avoid walking blindly into a trap.
Sure enough, his online search turned up a few faint leads.
They appeared to be secrets regarding the Ghost Manor…