Chapter 41: Haunted House

“Mother! When did this sly rope drop down?”

Wang Ziwen jumped from surprise and grabbed the top of the rope, dragging it down, but the rope was securely fastened to the ceiling, unable to be pulled down any further.

“Forget it. I won’t pull on it anymore. I’ll have to pay for the damages if I break it.”

But, it was strange. No matter how much Wang Ziwen tugged on it, the noose wouldn’t budge. It still maintained its current height and swayed in small arcs, just as it did when they first entered the room.

Seeing the rope stop sagging, Wang Ziwen unconsciously relaxed and released a sigh of relief. She felt that the anxious feeling she experienced just now was completely gone. Just as she thought, a staff member was manipulating the props, moving them as he pleased to give them a good scare. If she had pulled on it more, the staff member would be worried that she’d break the rope.

“Xiaojing, I told you that there’s no need to be scared. No matter how intimidating it is, it’s still fake.” Wang Ziwen quickly took out a tissue from her pocket and handed it over Xu Xiaojing, saying with concern in her voice, “Come and wipe your tears away. We’ll be playing in the haunted house next, don’t be scared and be driven to tears like this again later.”

“Strange. How could this girl not encounter any trouble? Could it be that the way to survive in this level is through unrestrained courage? If we confront the ghosts without any fear in our hearts, then we won’t die?” Su Yize had second thoughts. He continuously poked Bai Yan’s side, softly asking, “What do you think?”

“I think that this escape room isn’t technically part of the haunted house, so the ghosts haven’t killed anyone yet.” Bai Yan opened the trunk, rummaging through it while continuing, “The tip that the game had given us before, about the escape room, it didn’t seem to have anything wrong with it. The ghost also hasn’t showed up, so maybe our actions would be the ones to lead us to danger.”

Seeing Wang Ziwen once again court disaster, Bai Yan acted quickly, and based on an NPC’s values and principles, he warned, “When I first saw the hangman’s noose, I felt that it was somewhat amiss. Perhaps there’s something wrong with this escape room, so let’s quickly find the key and leave. Don’t dwell on unnecessary things.”

“Right, right. A person has died in this escape room, and the maggots and flies from the corpse’s body had shown up on the bed’s mattress, so there’s a possibility that a ghost is here.” Su Yize also advised, “Didn’t the hangman’s noose scare you when you saw it? You have such big guts for a girl!”

“It’s not because I’m brave or anything, it’s just that you two are cowards.” Wang Ziwen didn’t care at all as she continued to speak, “My friend is faint-hearted, so don’t go on and make the situation creepier to scare her. I really can’t believe it today!”

After Wang Ziwen said her piece, she swiftly walked towards the bed and lifted the bed’s mattress.

However, there was nothing under the bed.

Wang Ziwen didn’t believe this anomaly. She still thought that there was surely a machine under the bed. As a result, she opened her phone, kneeled, and crouched to look under the bed’s board, but the brown-colored wood looked flat, with no signs of anything stuck to it. Once she was done inspecting the bed, she couldn’t find anything that suggested a mechanism was hidden in there.

“That’s weird. There’s no way that there aren’t any.”

Wang Ziwen called over Xu Xiaojing and handed over her phone with the flashlight still on, wanting to lean in closer and take another look for the concealed mechanism. Fortunately, by this time, Bai Yan was finally able to find the key hidden away in a small crack on the desk and opened the escape room’s door.

“Handsome brothers and pretty ladies, congratulations. You solved it.”

Once the door opened, Bai Yan heard the guide’s congratulating voice.

The guide had been standing close by the door with a smile plastered on her face as if she were waiting for them at the exit.

When the door had already opened, the staff members were standing outside, making Wang Ziwen’s cheeks flush with color from the embarrassment of seeing her lift bed’s board.

She awkwardly got up from her position and snatched the cell phone from Xu Xiaojing’s hand, pretending as if nothing happened and following everyone as they left the escape room.

After they departed from the escape room, the guide led the group through a dark and eerie passage, not asking to cover up their eyes this time.

As they reached the end of their path, they turned left and finally reached their destination. Inside the entrance was painted only black. Even if everyone was just a few steps away, they still couldn’t make out what items were inside.

“Okay. Ahead of you is the haunted house. Prior to entering the haunted house, I need to explain some ground rules first.”

The guide clapped her hands, grabbing everyone’s attention to her alone, and with a smile on her face, “First, under any circumstances, everyone must not hit staff members disguised as ghosts. Being employees in a haunted house is not easy. I hope that everyone could act in a civilized manner and not hit anyone.”

The two girls nodded their heads in understanding. Having guests unintentionally hit the haunted house staff because of fear was a common occurrence, but naturally, both girls would never do such a thing.

Bai Yan and Su Yize also believed that this statement was normal, and continued to quietly listen to the guide’s instructions.

“Second, the passage inside the haunted house is extremely narrow. For the sake of everyone experiencing the thrill, may I ask everyone to stand in one straight line. You may decide amongst yourselves what order you want to go in, but once you enter, you won’t be able to switch places.”

After the guide had stopped talking, Xu Xiaojing was the first one to react, saying, “I don’t want to be at the front or at the very back!”

Once she finished speaking, she looked at Bai Yan and Su Yize and hesitated, “Ms. Guide, may I ask? Will you accompany us inside the game?”

“Yes, I will be standing at the very front and will be leading the way. Pretty lady, if you’re afraid, I can hold your hand. It’s alright.” The guide displayed a wide smile.

Seeing that the guide looked good-natured, Xu Xiaojing had made her resolve again. She could ask the two men she was unfamiliar with to stay at the back. Wouldn’t it be too embarrassing if they see her cry again from terror?

And, if she were the first in the line, she would be pulled along by the good-natured guide and behind her would be her close friend, having her back. This arrangement made her feel at ease the most.

As a result, Xu Xiaojing shyly said, “I’ll still be at the front. Wenwen, could you stay behind me? I get scared easily, so I might be more comfortable if you’re there.”

She looked inquiringly at Wang Ziwen and the boys, none of who seem to have a problem with it.

Since the two girls’ positions were already fixed, it meant that the two players were left.

Bai Yan was one step ahead and knowingly stood at the third spot, basing it from their arrangement when they entered the escape room earlier.

Upon seeing this, Su Yize’s complexion turned unsightly. He incessantly tapped Bai Yan’s shoulder and said in a low voice, “Brother, let’s exchange positions.”

“Why don’t we just follow the sequence we had before?” Bai Yan feigned ignorance.

“Brother, in reality, I’m also easily scared. Standing at the back sends me shivers down my spine.” Su Yize admitted how terrified he was, “Let’s switch. We can change back inside the haunted house.”

“This is embarrassing, but I’m also scared. Let’s retain our current places.” Bai Yan let out a burst of gentle laughter as he declined. The guide explicitly stated earlier that once they entered the haunted house, exchanging positions won’t be easy. Moreover, standing at the very back contained in the biggest risk, so why on earth should he change.

Seeing how Bai Yan amiably refused, a mist slowly clouded Su Yize’s eyes. Yet, he knew that if he were in Bai Yan’s shoes, there was no way that he’d easily let someone take his spot. Although unpleasant, he had no other choice but to endure it, so he stood at the fourth position in a melancholy manner.

“Since you have all decided the order you will be going in, then let us now go in!”

“Wait a moment. Ms. Guide, would you know the name of the haunted house’s boss?” Bai Yan abruptly asked.

“Why do you ask?” The guide questioned in surprise, but she still answered, “The boss’s surname is Du. Are there any other questions?”

“No more.” Bai Yan shook his head, the current haunted house boss, and the lady boss who committed suicide share the same surname. He must have been Du Zhaodi’s younger brother all along.

The guide confirmed that everyone was prepared and gently pulled Xu Xiaojing’s hand forward, leading the string of people to enter the haunted house.

The interior of the haunted house was extremely dusky. The setting around them was all painted pitch-black, causing everyone to only see the person in front of them but still with difficulty.

He followed the flow of the direction they were headed, and after just a few steps, Su Yize couldn’t help but turn his head around and look at what was behind him, only to discover that the entrance was nowhere to be seen.

Danger would surely find them after they entered the haunted house. They all knew this deep in their hearts. Su Yize noticed Bai Yan not turning around, so he decided to not tell him this new piece of information yet.

The haunted house was indeed narrow. Everyone was also sticking quite closely to one another, so much so that Bai Yan could smell a fragrant whiff of Wang Ziwen’s hair.

After walking approximately a dozen steps, a ray of light slowly lit up the dusky environment, while miserable music played over their heads, which had an annoyingly higher volume than the music in the escape room. Every musical note they heard made their frowns etched deeper on their faces.

Bai Yan and Su Yize silently followed behind, their gazes concretely fixed on the person in front of them, in case someone gets taken by the ghost.

At the same time, they also took note of the walls beside them to not run into them, carefully taking each step.

“Roar!!!”

A ghostly scream came through, and an employee with a black cloth draped over his head suddenly jumped out. On the spot, Xu Xiaojing’s tears flowed right out.

“Ahhh!!!!! A ghost!!! I don’t want to play anymore!!! I don’t want to play anymore!!!”

“Xu Xiaojing, don’t be scared. Everything is fake!” Wang Ziwen quickly soothed her hand to calm her down. On the other hand, the guide remained a calm and collected composure as if she was used to this kind of reaction.

“Mwahahahahaha!!!!”

The staff member continued to shout. He felt a sense of accomplishment when he saw the guest make a scene and cry right then and there. As a result, he twisted his waist more and immediately, and vigorously yelled.

“I don’t want to play! I don’t want to play!”

Xu Xiaojing wept endlessly and shook her head in refusal, but the guide still tugged on her hand without offering her words of comfort, steadily pulling her forward to continue their way.

After a few more steps, another person completely covered in black cloth with his face covered with a malicious spirit mask unexpectedly jumped out of the corner and scared them. Just like earlier, Xu Xiaojing let out a loud shriek, and her teardrops flowed down profusely, making her look pitiful beyond relief.

As they continued, there were many more surprise jump scares from these ghosts, and every time this happened, Xu Xiaojing screamed out loud and cried. While this happened, Bai Yan carefully observed each ghost that jumped out on them, but all of these ghosts felt like they were all human. All of them wore extremely fake masks, and they didn’t give him a certain feeling he had when he encountered ghosts in the previous games.

What’s going on?

Could the game be this simple that they only needed to obediently go along and then they’re done?

Bai Yan didn’t believe for a second that the game would be this benevolent.

Xu Xiaojing cried the entire time as the guide kept coaxing her to walk forward using her gentle voice.

However, half-way through their path, Xu Xiaojing kept being frightened by the ghosts that came out of nowhere, so she suddenly let go of the guide’s hand, quickly crouching down and defensively putting her hands behind her head while balling, “I don’t want to play anymore. Please tell them to not jump out and scare us anymore! I give up! Can’t I just give up?”