Huya's voice came through Weiba's phone—warm and gentle, like sunlight streaming into her heart.
"Sister Huya, listen to me. That ghost is hiding inside the printer. It dragged me to this cave. If you move the printer aside, you'll be able to see it."
"Got it. Don't worry, we'll be together again soon."
Listening to the voice on the other end, Weiba still felt uneasy. "You absolutely have to take the left corridor! When I first came out of the cave, I heard the sound of wheels rolling behind me. Something was chasing me. I didn't dare think too much and just picked a direction at random to run. Only after the sound stopped did I dare call you."
"We're already on our way. Keep walking forward, don't be scared, and don't hang up." Huya's voice kept coming through the phone, like a caring big sister.
Accompanied by that voice, Weiba felt strength returning to her body. She walked deeper into the darkness.
……
"The call won't go through."
Ah Nan stood at the crossroads, staring at the two paths painted white on either side, lost in thought.
"Which way should we go?"
The question had been troubling him for a long time. The underground morgue scene was completely different from any other horror set—this place was like an incredibly complex maze, and they were already trapped deep inside.
"No one's picking up. The haunted house owner is meticulous. There's probably a signal jammer installed in this scene." Xiao Li tried to offer a scientific explanation.
"It's not a jammer. The signal is full bars—it just isn't being answered." Huya put her phone away and stood next to Ah Nan, a hint of worry in her eyes. "Weiba might have dropped her phone somewhere while running for her life."
Huya offered the answer closest to reality, and it was the explanation she gave herself.
"So what do we do now? Another fork—which way?" Yang Chen watched Huya using her phone inside the haunted house and instinctively moved away from her. Something wasn't right, and he no longer wanted to stick his neck out. He'd keep a low profile.
His gaze swept furtively over the people around him. The unease in Yang Chen's heart grew stronger by the second. He silently took note, determined to find the source of that feeling.
"Neither path has any markings. They're both painted white. According to that medical student, these are body-transport corridors—roads meant for the dead. We probably shouldn't go in casually." After speaking, Xiao Li glanced at Bai Qiu Lin, perhaps hoping to get his support. Unfortunately, Bai Qiu Lin's attention had never been on him to begin with.
"There's no choice but to take a chance." Huya and Ah Nan didn't consult anyone else. The two exchanged a glance and headed straight into the left corridor. "Weiba's phone connects, but no one answered—she must have dropped it while running. And whatever made her flee in such a panic that she couldn't even pick up her phone must have been something truly terrifying chasing her. Most likely one of those small carts with wheels. In that situation, she would have chosen the closest corridor to her, and the left one is relatively nearer to where she would have been."
"In my opinion, your reasoning sounds more like wishful thinking—it doesn't hold up at all." Yang Chen was young after all, and he couldn't stay silent. "What if the horror monster chasing Weiba burst out from the left corridor? Then she could only run right. If we go into the left corridor, we'll run straight into those things."
"Relatively speaking, there's a greater probability that Weiba entered the left corridor. That's enough for me." Huya and Ah Nan entered the left corridor without looking back.
The two editors were determined to go. To keep the group intact, Yang Chen had no choice but to follow, even though he wasn't happy about it.
The twelve-person group had already shrunk to nine. If it fractured any further, their chances of clearing the scene would become even slimmer.
Yang Chen sighed softly. The more he thought about it, the more he felt he could never see through the haunted house owner. "Based what I know of the owner, the real horror of this scene only reveals itself after you find the photo. Everything so far is just an appetizer."
Just thinking a little deeper, Yang Chen couldn't stop sweating. The other side clearly hadn't even started trying yet. They'd only been in the scene for a few minutes, and the group that had been united as one was already falling apart. At this rate, forget about clearing the scene—even making it to the core area to find the photo was uncertain.
"This haunted house owner is too twisted! He doesn't leave even the slightest chance of survival!"
Yang Chen lamented inwardly, but his expression didn't change in the slightest. He was worried his emotions would affect the others.
"I can't rely on anyone else. Right now I need to make myself the core and prioritize my own people." Yang Chen glanced back. The group of visitors who had entered the haunted house had already split into several small factions.
The two editors were up front. Bai Qiu Lin and Xiao Li, both solo visitors, walked together. At the rear of the group were Lao
"Those two editors won't listen to reason—they're too set in their own ways. Bai Qiu Lin is proud and aloof, and seems to have deep scheming." Yang Chen surveyed the group, and finally his gaze settled on Lao Zhou. "That young couple are kind people. The husband has a strong sense of justice and is generous and magnanimous. The wife is gentle and soft-spoken. The two of them would be ideal teammates. I should make an effort to get closer to them."
Yang Chen whispered something to Li Xue, slowed his pace, and moved up alongside Lao Zhou on his own initiative.
When Lao Zhou noticed Yang Chen approaching him to chat, he showed a strong wariness. He still remembered how coldly Yang Chen had spoken when the chef had gone missing earlier.
He didn't give Yang Chen a warm reception. In his view, someone who could abandon the chef would just as easily abandon him too.
"What are you doing here?" Lao Zhou said with a stiff expression, though Duan Yue kept trying to smooth things over at his side.
Yang Chen apologized in a low voice, explained his predicament, and carefully analyzed the situation at the time for Lao Zhou. Only then did Lao Zhou's expression soften slightly.
But the moment Yang Chen proposed teaming up with Lao Zhou, the latter refused without even thinking. When Duan Yue asked about it, Lao Zhou said in a voice just loud enough for Yang Chen to hear: "Teaming up with them is like bargaining with a tiger for its hide. We're not clever people—next thing you know, they'll have sold us off and we'd still be helping them count the money."
Duan Yue nodded with a half-understanding look, while Yang Chen could only smile bitterly. But the more Lao Zhou talked like this, the more it strengthened Yang Chen's resolve to recruit him.
He didn't know why, but the unease in his heart kept growing stronger. It felt like danger was lurking all around him—perhaps even hiding among the other visitors. He needed to rally as much strength as possible to handle any situation that might arise.
While Yang Chen continued trying to persuade Lao Zhou, a new change appeared in the corridor ahead.
The smell of formaldehyde in the air grew thicker. A series of cold gusts blew out through an open iron door at the far end of the passage.