As Liu Kang's group made their way through the third basement level, the cameraman quietly pulled out his phone and glanced at it when they rounded a corner.
There was a new message — Get over here and meet me now! I think I've found a way out!
"The assistant found a way out?" The cameraman didn't mention it to Liu Kang. He sneaked a reply: Where are you? Where should I look for you?
The big man had no intention of sharing this information with the others. He knew Liu Kang all too well.
That guy had bragged in front of millions of viewers on the livestream. For the sake of face, Liu Kang would never choose to flee.
But the big man was different — he'd only been invited by Liu Kang to do the filming. Why should he suffer alongside Liu Kang?
"This haunted house is too cursed. If anything else goes wrong, I'm leaving with the assistant." The big man already had a rough plan forming in his mind. He balanced the camera on one hand while the other sat in his pocket, affecting an air of nonchalance on the surface, while ready at any moment to pull out his phone and interact with the "assistant."
Shortly after, the "assistant" sent another message: There's a hidden passage inside the ghost school! I saw a haunted house employee push open a mirror in the library, and behind that mirror is a concealed tunnel!
Reading the assistant's message, the big man thought back to the note left behind on the floor after the assistant had disappeared. It had contained the same information — there really was a hidden passage in the ghost school, one that could be used to leave the east and west campuses.
He wasn't lying to me!
The big man typed with one hand: Are you at the library right now?
"Yes. Where are you?"
"Brother Kang wants to go to the faculty apartments. That Lan Dong guy has him completely brainwashed — he won't listen to anyone else."
"The haunted house is too dangerous. I can't come find you either. Try to talk some sense into him! Let's meet on the first floor of the library! Remember that — the first floor! There are definitely scare points set up near the passage! Be careful!" The assistant emphasized his points repeatedly, hammering home the key details. This manner of speaking made the big man even more certain that the person sending the messages was indeed the assistant.
"Got it." The cameraman memorized what the phone said and kept the information to himself.
The group exited the male dormitory in a miserable state. Inside this haunted house, time seemed to freeze — every second dragged on unbearably. With no way out in sight and no end to be found, hope was slowly ground away, and despair took root like poisonous weeds in their hearts.
The color of the corridor walls shifted, and a fork appeared ahead. The left path led to the office building, the right to the faculty apartments.
"Let's check the apartment building first. Teacher Bai's room probably has information related to the art club." Ali leaned against the wall, his gaze unfocused, as though a small child's silhouette stood within his pupils.
"Fine. After we come out of the faculty apartments, we can swing by the offices." Lan Dong produced the ring of keys. "I'm curious what secrets Teacher Bai has hidden."
"I think maybe we shouldn't go running around aimlessly." Ali had once been Lan Dong's eager follower, never contradicting anything Lan Dong said. But ever since entering the haunted house, Ali had been slowly changing.
Lan Dong shot Ali a sidelong glance and ignored him, striding directly into the faculty apartment building.
The apartment building spanned two basement levels. They had no idea which room Teacher Bai occupied, so they had to search door by door.
Gradually, footsteps returned to the once-quiet corridor. The sound was strange — it seemed to come from directly overhead.
"Something's coming! Hurry up! Don't linger on this floor! Teacher Bai's room should be on the second basement level!" Ali suddenly shouted, pressing his fingers against his temple as memories seemed to overlap. He could vaguely recall the exact location of Teacher Bai's room. "I think he lives in the middle of the second basement corridor!"
Liu Kang was in the middle of a livestream and couldn't very well criticize Ali, so he just smiled. "You're not a haunted house employee — how would you know where Teacher Bai lives?"