Chapter 49: Xiao Chen, You're Not Injured, Are You?

Zhang Peng sprinted out of the employee corridor like a headless chicken. The haunted house's layout was a labyrinth, and with all the lights off, he covered several meters before he tragically realized he had no idea where he'd come from.

"Why did you stop running? Don't be afraid, I'm not going to hurt you — I just want to use you for a small experiment." gripping the iron hammer in both hands, Chen Ge followed close behind Zhang Peng like a ghost, herding him toward a dead end.

"Not going to hurt me? You broke my damn bone with one swing before we'd even known each other for three seconds! And you call that not hurting me!" Zhang Peng had already thrown away his knife. His left arm was bleeding, and his right arm had gone completely numb, hanging from his shoulder like a wet noodle. In that moment, he actually felt a deep sense of grievance — he even had the urge to call the police and turn himself in.

"Stop struggling. My advice is to just do as I say, follow my instructions. Otherwise, you might spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair." Chen Ge approached slowly, feeling no sympathy whatsoever. Zhang Peng had come to kill him — if Chen Ge hadn't figured it out in advance, he'd already be dead.

"Brother, does that sound like something a victim would say? I must have pissed off every god in every past life!" Zhang Peng's sharp knife was long gone, nowhere to be found. He was completely unarmed, and whenever he saw a path, he dove into it.

"You sure can run." Chen Ge continued the chase, but after a few steps, that eerie cutting sound suddenly echoed in his ears again — a dark figure burst out from the employee corridor!

The mirror monster must have only just figured out what was going on. It understood that its opportunity had arrived.

Zhang Peng ran frantically through the first floor of the haunted house. As he passed a corner, he faintly saw someone waving at him from the side.

The pressure Chen Ge had been putting on him was probably just too great — he didn't hesitate for more than a second before bolting toward where the figure stood.

Chen Ge, following close behind, saw the same thing, and a chill crept through his heart. The dark figure's height and build matched He Feng's perfectly — it was the mirror monster!

"Heaven has a road and you won't take it, Hell has no door and you barge right in — that's a genuine ghost!" Before Chen Ge could even open his mouth, Zhang Peng had already reached the end of the hallway with the dark figure. Guided by it, he ducked into the bathroom.

"The mirror on the first-floor bathroom is completely intact. The mirror monster lured him there — it's clearly about to make its move!" At this critical moment, Chen Ge felt his nerves tighten. He rushed to the bathroom and rattled the door lock, only to find the door sealed shut.

Events were gradually deviating from his plan. The dark figure had appeared out of nowhere, and before Chen Ge could get Zhang Peng under control, it had already whisked him away.

"Aaah!"

In just a few seconds, a piercing scream erupted from inside the bathroom, followed by the sound of something being shoved over and smashed. It sounded as though Zhang Peng had encountered something absolutely terrifying.

"What's happening in there?!" Chen Ge raised the iron hammer and slammed it into the door lock. The lock was smashed off, but the door still wouldn't budge — a storage cabinet on the other side had been jammed against it.

Unable to see inside the bathroom, Chen Ge grew increasingly anxious. He hammered the wooden door over and over.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The tremendous noise could be heard from outside the haunted house. Chen Ge swung with everything he had. The hollow wooden door was smashed through, and the storage cabinet behind it began to wobble, revealing a gap about half a palm wide.

Peering through the opening, Chen Ge saw that the black cloth covering the bathroom mirror had fallen to the floor. Zhang Peng stared blankly at the mirror's surface, his eyes glazed and unfocused. Even more terrifying, standing between Zhang Peng and the mirror was a tall, dark figure!

The silhouette was slowly changing shape. Its build gradually shifted until it matched Zhang Peng's exactly. It took a step backward, merging half of its body into the mirror — and then the strangest thing of all happened.