This weekend, with a break from school, Song Mufang indulged in a rare lazy morning, lounging in bed longer than usual.
With no need to worry about life points for the next couple of days, Song Mufang felt particularly at ease.
After breakfast, he tucked a book under his arm, carried a lounge chair out to the small garden attached to the villa, and placed it in a shady spot. Settling in comfortably, he planned to spend the next few hours reading.
Just as he turned to a new page, he heard Mother Song calling from upstairs.
Looking up, he saw her standing by the window, holding a phone. “Mumu, your cousin Rui wants to invite you out. He tried calling your phone but couldn’t reach you, so he called me instead. He’s asking if you’re free today.”
The cousin she mentioned, Qi Rui, was three years older and already a college freshman. He and the original Song Mufang were close cousins.
Song Mufang initially intended to decline, but after some consideration, he changed his mind.
Song Mufang had many family and friends, and with an uncertain amount of time left before his departure, maintaining these relationships seemed necessary.
With this in mind, Song Mufang nodded, accepting Qi Rui’s invitation.
After changing clothes, he headed out and soon arrived at the agreed meeting place.
However, upon arrival, he found the situation slightly different from what he had imagined. Besides his cousin, three others were present: two girls and a guy.
One of the girls was likely his cousin’s girlfriend, as they were holding hands conspicuously. The other two were whispering to each other, seemingly another couple.
His cousin greeted him with a smile: “Mumu, good morning.”
Under the gaze of the other three, Song Mufang responded graciously, “Good morning, cousin.”
“When I was on the phone, this guy overheard,” his cousin said, pointing to the guy beside him, “and insisted on coming along. Then our girlfriends found out, said they wanted to check up on us, and tagged along too.” Qi Rui explained briefly, sensing Song Mufang’s curiosity about the unexpected crowd.
Song Mufang nodded, indicating he understood.
His cousin introduced Song Mufang to the others: “This is my cousin, Song Mufang. You can call him Mumu.”
Turning to Song Mufang, he pointed to the girl beside him and said, “This is your sister-in-law, Shen Xue. Just call her sister-in-law. This is Liu Wan; you can call her Sister Liu. As for this guy, just call him Brother Qiao.” Qi Rui introduced Qiao Du rather dismissively, earning himself a hard pounding from Qiao Du.
Qiao Du ended up introducing himself again.
Song Mufang politely greeted everyone in turn, as if meeting long-lost relatives, receiving friendly smiles in return.
His cousin asked, “Where do you all want to go? The zoo, amusement park, or do you have other suggestions?”
His girlfriend suggested, “Let’s go to the amusement park. I heard from my friend there’s a new haunted house there that’s really scary. I want to check it out.”
Everyone agreed, and his cousin turned to Song Mufang, the only one yet to express an opinion. “Mumu, what about you?”
“The amusement park sounds good. I’d like to go there too,” Song Mufang replied after some thought.
Due to his heart condition, Song Mufang had never been to a haunted house, nor had he watched many horror movies.
The thought of venturing into a haunted house excited him a little.
The amusement park plan was unanimously approved, and his cousin promptly decided they would go there.
The five of them headed toward the amusement park.
Song Mufang found himself awkwardly positioned between two couples, feeling like the odd one out.
[1111, I’m starting to regret this.] Song Mufang confided in 1111.
[Why are you regretting it?]
Song Mufang replied, [I regret not dating earlier.]
[…] 1111’s tone was serious: [Host, calm down. Your main task is to draw animosity from the male lead and be a proper malicious cannon fodder. Dating would distract you.]
Song Mufang acknowledged with a simple “Oh.”
He understood the logic behind the System’s words and hadn’t seriously considered dating.
But surrounded by couples, he felt a bit out of place.
The awkwardness eased upon reaching the amusement park.
His cousin generously bought tickets for everyone and headed straight for the haunted house his girlfriend had mentioned.
The haunted house was famous for its school theme, known to be particularly frightening. As they approached, they saw people running out, screaming, with disheveled hair, clearly terrified.
They exchanged glances.
His girlfriend clung to his cousin, playfully asking, “If a ghost tries to grab me, will you protect me?”
His cousin instinctively straightened up, confidently declaring, “Of course I will. If anyone dares to scare my baby, I’ll knock their head off!” He then reassured her, “Don’t worry, darling. I’m here. No one can scare you.”
Meanwhile, Liu Wan from the other couple was also clinging to her boyfriend’s arm, acting coy.
Song Mufang stood to the side, speechless.
I really shouldn’t be here!
“Let’s go in! I refuse to believe it can be that scary!” his cousin declared boldly as the haunted house staff opened the entrance.
Song Mufang was already having second thoughts, but it wasn’t the right time to back out, so he braced himself and followed his cousin into the abandoned school-themed entrance.
The haunted house had an eerie atmosphere. As soon as they entered, they were greeted by a wall covered in bloody handprints.
Song Mufang had never seen anything like it. His heart skipped a beat, and his hands started to sweat inside his sleeves.
He dared not glance around, focusing solely on the back of his cousin’s shirt.
A few steps in, Song Mufang felt something soft underfoot. Lifting his foot, he saw a red and white mush that had splattered around under his foot.
His cousin noticed too and remarked, “That’s brain matter!”
Song Mufang, horrified, jumped away from the mush.
Further ahead, an elevator-like door opened.
Several twisted humanoid figures lay on the ground, their thin limbs bent unnaturally, with sharp black nails. As they noticed the group, the nails scraped the floor with a “screech” and they crawled rapidly toward them.
“What the…!?” His cousin cursed, his earlier bravado gone, and he turned to run, clutching his screaming girlfriend.
The others also bolted, leaving Song Mufang bewildered and alone. Only when the twisted creature neared did he finally turn and run.
As he ran, he asked 1111 in his mind, [1111!! There aren’t real ghosts in this world, right?!]
1111’s tone was a bit weak: [This is an unfamiliar domain for the System.]
[So are there or aren’t there?] Song Mufang didn’t catch 1111’s tone, and looking back, he saw the creature still chasing him. He hugged his arms, shivering in the haunted house’s eerie atmosphere.
1111 steadied itself: [What you’re seeing is fake, made by humans. You’re not really scared, are you?] Its voice trembled slightly.
Unexpectedly, Song Mufang answered without hesitation, [I’m terrified!!! It’s too scary!! Why is it crawling on the ground?!]
1111 was silent for a moment, then sent Song Mufang some information: [I found this online. Supposedly, even kids next door aren’t afraid of ghosts after reciting it.]
Song Mufang closed his eyes and recited, “Prosperity, democracy, civility, harmony, patriotism, dedication, integrity, friendliness, freedom, equality, justice, rule of law!”
Opening his eyes again, “…”
Song Mufang: [1111, I feel like you’re messing with me.]
With no more sounds of pursuit, Song Mufang glanced back. The humanoid creature was gone, and he slowed his pace.
Now separated from his cousin and the others, he found himself in a creepy classroom. The lights flickered, and the wind howled, amplifying the eerie atmosphere.
Song Mufang pressed against the wall, cautiously scanning the surroundings.
Only now did he realize that after the earlier scare, his legs had turned to jelly.
[I want to go home.] Song Mufang cried internally, especially now that he was alone, separated from his cousin.
Suddenly, 1111 beeped.
[Beep, detecting the male lead within 20 meters of the host]
[Host, the male lead is in this haunted house.]
Song Mufang was stunned: [He’s here too?]
1111 confirmed, [Yes, he’s above you, approximately 20 meters away in a straight line.]
Song Mufang felt a sense of camaraderie, like meeting a fellow countryman in a foreign land. He eagerly asked, [Give me his exact location. I’ll go find him!]
1111 never forgot Song Mufang’s role as the malicious cannon fodder: [Since the male lead is here, seize the opportunity to increase his animosity toward you.]
In such a situation, Song Mufang readily agreed.
[System 1111 is at your service for navigation.]
The hallway in the classroom was terrifyingly eerie, and Song Mufang didn’t linger. He immediately followed the path 1111 provided, heading toward Jing Zhao’s location.
Along the way, he encountered a female ghost in a school uniform with half her head hanging bloodily on her shoulder. Before he could react, 1111, having spotted her first, screamed, [Ahhhh! A ghost! There’s a ghost behind you!!]
Song Mufang: “…”
Unable to resist, Song Mufang glanced back. The sight made his legs weak, nearly bringing him to his knees, but he gritted his teeth, pushed the ghost aside with his eyes shut, and continued running.
[I, I will never come to a haunted house again!] Tears welled up in Song Mufang’s eyes.
1111’s voice was weak: [Agreed.]
Song Mufang: [1111… I didn’t expect you to be afraid of ghosts too.]
[…] 1111 turned into an emotionless machine: [The male lead Jing Zhao is 13 meters away from you.]
Song Mufang didn’t tease it further. They were in the same boat, and it was pointless to laugh at each other.
On his way upstairs, he stepped on more brain matter and human limb remnants.
Finally, when he reached a warehouse door, Song Mufang was out of breath, tears glistening in his eyes, his strength nearly depleted, legs weak and shaky.
[Is he, is he in here?] Song Mufang asked, trembling.
1111’s voice was also shaky: [Yes, he’s, he’s inside.]
Song Mufang stepped forward, entering the deliberately aged and bloodstained warehouse.
The floor was littered with bits of flesh. Setting everything else aside, the props were so realistic, with a strong scent of blood in the air, that the authenticity was off the charts.
Song Mufang kicked aside the bits of flesh at his feet, hunched his shoulders, and nervously scanned the area. The System indicated that the male lead Jing Zhao was in a corner of the warehouse, their distance now within ten meters.
Song Mufang headed straight for Jing Zhao’s location. After only a few steps, he caught sight, out of the corner of his eye, of a pair of grayish-blue female feet hanging in mid-air, inching closer to him.
His heart skipped a beat, his throat tightening: [1111… did you see that?]
1111 trembled: [I saw it, a woman’s feet…]
Song Mufang dared not look again, quickening his pace toward Jing Zhao.
Soon, he saw a bare back facing him, tanned and uncovered, with a hint of blood, giving it an eerie look.
But Song Mufang couldn’t afford to worry about that. As he reached Jing Zhao’s back, about to tap his shoulder, a woman’s face suddenly appeared beside him, hair disheveled, with a cracked head oozing brain matter. She hissed at Song Mufang, full of menace.
Song Mufang screamed in fright, jumped up, and clung to Jing Zhao’s neck with his eyes shut.
Jing Zhao turned to see Song Mufang’s pale face, filled with terror from the scare, his eyelashes wet and clumped, looking utterly pitiful.
Song Mufang opened his eyes, saw Jing Zhao’s blood-covered face, and was startled again, quickly closing his eyes, clinging tightly to Jing Zhao’s neck, his voice trembling with fear: “Jing Zhao, can you take me out with you?”
At that moment, Song Mufang clung to him like a koala, and no matter how Jing Zhao tried to pry his hands off, he couldn’t.
Holding onto Jing Zhao, Song Mufang, though still scared, felt an unprecedented sense of security. With his eyes shut, his other senses heightened, he could hear the hissing woman fall silent after a knock and smell the warm breath of the boy he was holding.
Soon, a warm breath brushed against Song Mufang’s ear, tickling him slightly. “Don’t be afraid.”
Jing Zhao’s voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of reassurance: “It’s all fake.”