The door stood ajar. The blue-haired boy gave it a push; with a creak, it swung open, sending a wisp of fine dust into the air.
Before him lay a desolate scene of crumbling walls and ruins. Straight ahead lay the main hall, whilst to the right and left lay pots and jars that had been kicked to the floor.
“They’ve done a pretty good job here; even the dust looks authentic.” The red-haired girl waved her hand to disperse the dust swirling before her, then quickened her pace to avoid the cloud.
“My quest is to find a hairpin. Let’s hurry on.” The red-haired girl stepped past the blue-haired boy and took the lead.
Rooms appeared on either side, their walls creating a narrow passage just wide enough for two people to pass through.
The blue-haired boy and the red-haired girl led the way, with the other three trailing behind.
“Strange, why haven’t any NPCs appeared yet?” The white-haired girl brought up the rear, looking around curiously. “The ticket cost 218. It’d be a bit of a rip-off if there weren’t any NPCs.”
“What’s the rush? Maybe we haven’t reached that part of the storyline yet. Hey, there’s a door here—let’s go in and have a look!” ” The blue-haired boy at the front was the first to spot the door leading into the room.
Pushing the door open, they found the room festively decorated. To the right of the entrance stood a rosewood cabinet, topped with a red cloth that was dusty and faded. Directly opposite the door, in the centre, was a small, square table with a pot of tea steaming on it.
Diagonally across from the main door was a narrow passage just wide enough for one person to squeeze through. Inside lay a bed and bedding, with a full-length mirror placed directly opposite the bed.
Dust had settled everywhere in the room, yet the tea was scalding hot and the full-length mirror was spotless.
“There’s a cupboard here! Let’s have a rummage straight away—we might just find something!”
Someone called out, and the five of them began rummaging through the room.
The blue-haired boy walked over to the bed in the inner room.
The duvet was neatly folded. He’d never been one for fumbling around like everyone else, so he simply pulled the duvet back and shook the bed; if there was anything there, it would surely fall out.
“Clang—”
After shaking it vigorously twice, the blue-haired boy really did hear the sound of something hitting the floor. From the sound of it, it seemed to have fallen under the bed. He hurriedly crouched down to look under the bed, only to suddenly lock eyes with a pair of malevolent eyes.
“Ah!”
He let out a shriek and took a few steps back.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?”
Hearing the blue-haired boy’s cry, the others rushed over to see what was wrong.
The blue-haired boy composed himself and, suddenly realising they were in a haunted house, explained, “Everyone, be careful. There’s an NPC under the bed—it gave me a right fright.”
“Is that so? Let me have a look!” The yellow-haired boy hurried forward; this was his first time in a haunted house, and he wanted to see exactly how the NPCs scared people.
The yellow-haired boy steeled himself, but when he crouched down, he found the space beneath the bed completely empty, with only a thick layer of dust to greet him.
“Tian Shenglai, are you blind? There’s no one under the bed!”
The yellow-haired boy stood up, feeling thoroughly deflated; he’d even got himself all worked up about it.
“No one? That’s impossible!” exclaimed Tian Shenglai in astonishment. “I clearly locked eyes with a pair of eyes just now! ”
Refusing to believe it, he crouched down again. In the glow of the red light, there was indeed no one under the bed.
“Are you that easily spooked? You’re jumping at every little thing the moment you walk in.”
Had he seen things? Tian Shenglai stood up hesitantly, whilst everyone else had already scattered to continue searching for their belongings.
Shaking his head a couple of times, Tian Shenglai put the incident out of his mind and continued searching, though for some inexplicable reason, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching him.
…………
It was broad daylight, and not even the weekend, so there weren’t many people visiting the haunted house. Lu Mian started slacking off and playing on her phone, only to discover that someone from the School Youth Committee had added her on social media.
Lu Mian accepted the request immediately.
[University Youth Committee Staff: Hello, student. We’ve seen the email you sent. Would you be able to give us the full details? Once we’ve verified the information, we’ll take action as soon as possible.]
Lu Mian cooperated wholeheartedly, telling them everything she knew. Soon, she received a response that satisfied her.
[University Youth Committee Staff: Alright, we now have a clear understanding of the situation. We have rejected the Paranormal Society’s latest event proposal. As for whether to disband the society, that will be decided by the relevant staff after verification.]
In the Paranormal Society’s group chat, Chu Guanyue also posted a notification that the event had been rejected, and the chat was now buzzing with activity.
[Ye Zhiyu: Why was the event rejected?]
[Chu Guanyue: The School Youth Committee deemed the event incompatible with our values.]
[Fang Qinian: I’ve already bought the rice and pre-ordered the chicken blood! And now you’re telling me the event’s been rejected?]
[He Zhiluo: Are you all missing the point? If it’s been rejected, so be it. We’ll just do without the credits and play the game on the down-low. We’ll just play it secretly among ourselves.]
[Lin Mushi: Exactly. We don’t even need to change venues; we can still do it in the office. It’s not as if anyone’s going to be lurking in the office in the middle of the night, is it?]
Hey, Lu Mian glanced at the group chat and fell silent for a moment. Good grief, they really are determined, aren’t they? They’re going to play this game no matter what?!
[He Zhiluo: @Lu Mian, why haven’t you said a word? Do you want to drop out?]
[Lin Mushi: If you want to drop out, just say so. We’ll find someone else as soon as possible.]
Lu Mian jolted. She certainly couldn’t drop out. If she did, how would she monitor their movements? How would she report them to the police? How would she catch them red-handed?
[Lu Mian: No, I’m working a part-time job and can’t reply right now.]
[Ye Zhiyu: Right, the event goes ahead as planned. Meet at the office sharp at half past eleven the night after tomorrow.]
How could they be so stubborn?
Lu Mian was increasingly convinced that they’d all been brainwashed. That evil cult was only after their enthusiasm now; the next step would be to drain their blood.
When she was a child, she’d seen classmates chasing trends cut their arms with knives to draw blood, eventually leading them step by step towards death.
Such organisations must be eradicated. Lu Mian felt she’d taken on the mission of an undercover agent, keeping a constant watch on the group’s movements.
…………
“Congratulations, everyone, on making it out of the mansion safely. Hand over your items to me, and you may leave.”
The Taoist NPC reappeared. The five, having just fled the mansion, stood there panting heavily in disarray. Upon hearing this, they all handed their items over to the Taoist NPC.
The blond-haired boy exclaimed, “Your scene was incredibly realistic! That NPC has incredible stamina—he chased us the whole time. One moment he was at the front gate, and the next, he’d already caught up with us!”
“We look forward to your next visit,” the Taoist NPC said with a polite smile.
The five of them left the blood-stained path one after another and headed for the exit.
Tian Shenglai glanced back; he had a persistent feeling that he was being watched. In a moment of confusion, he thought he saw a greyish-white hand reaching out from the half-open door.
Tian Shenglai gave a start and hurried to catch up with his companions, so much so that he failed to notice the increasingly sticky sensation beneath his feet.
Watching the five leave the haunted house, Lu Mian looked at the blue-haired boy with pity. Lucky player, your horror package is about to be delivered.
Tian Shenglai turned back and met the ticket clerk’s gaze. Why did that look seem so… sympathetic?
Never mind, he shouldn’t dwell on it. He’d been feeling paranoid all day; it was all down to that haunted house getting to him. Tian Shenglai shook off his thoughts and hurried to catch up with his companions.
After wandering around outside for a couple of laps, the five went their separate ways, and Tian Shenglai boarded the bus home.
Just as he was about to start playing on his mobile, Tian Shenglai suddenly received a text message—
[I’ve come to find you]
The black text was twisted and grotesque, with what looked like blood seeping faintly from the black characters.