Chapter 3

The four people who had fled from the house walked down a quiet path, surrounded by dense buildings with only a few windows lit. The streetlights flickered, creating a suffocating atmosphere.

"Does anyone feel like someone is watching us?" Lin Yifan scanned the surrounding windows, feeling very uneasy.

Liang Dong's eyes lit up, seizing the opportunity to mock Lin Yifan, "Chicken, we ran out onto the road, so贞子 definitely won't chase us."

Ignoring Liang Dong's mockery, Lin Yifan pointed to a window behind him, "Look at that."

The three others followed the direction Lin Yifan pointed to and saw a white figure fluttering behind the window of an old two-story house. The few who were experiencing the horror movie cycle for the first time felt their scalps tingle.

Zombies and such, you can see and touch them, and doors can hold them off for a while. But the ghosts in horror movies are the most troublesome; you never know when they will appear beside you, leaving you with no sense of security.

The other three were hair-raising, standing in place and trembling slightly. Lin Yifan was also scared, especially after seeing贞子's true form, the feeling of being choked and having his heart squeezed was terrifying.

But Lin Yifan also understood that in the face of such things, the more panicked you are, the more likely you are to be possessed. It's okay to be afraid, but you must not panic.

"Go after her!" Yao Ling drew the twin guns from her waist, but was held back by Lin Yifan.

Yao Ling turned and glared at Lin Yifan with a nasty look, but Lin Yifan said calmly, "It's no use, she's already gone."

"The newcomer is right. Regardless of whether it's an illusion, if it's a trap, we will surely die if we go after her," Liu Ming said with a tense expression, looking in the direction where贞子 had disappeared.

A while after贞子 disappeared from the window, Liu Ming's chest glowed a dark red!

"Not good, she's coming!"

"Active attack? Just as I like." Yao Ling aimed her twin guns at the front and back of the road.

The few of them, suppressing their fear, prepared for battle, but the surroundings remained eerily quiet. Lin Yifan held his breath, the street was so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.

Something was wrong. The pendant on Liu Ming's chest was getting redder, almost as if it was about to drip blood, indicating that贞子 was getting closer?

"The newcomer... you..." Liu Ming pointed at Lin Yifan's chest, the life-saving talisman was already half burned!

Watching the life-saving talisman burn, the sense of a countdown to death pressed down on him, making him feel both terrified and helpless.

Suddenly, Lin Yifan had an idea. He grabbed a stack of talismans from his backpack and threw them into the sky.

The talismans scattered like cherry blossoms, and when he saw the footprints on the yellow talismans less than half a meter away, the fear made his adrenaline surge. He aimed his gun at the direction of the footprints and fired two shots!

The bullets hit贞子, and the burning wounds emitted white smoke, forcing her to reveal herself!

贞子 let out a strange howl, and the white figure flickered and disappeared in front of the four. At this moment, Lin Yifan was drenched in cold sweat.

贞子 was coming for him!

Before Lin Yifan could catch his breath, the yellow talismans on the ground began to burn, and footprints appeared one by one. Not only was it贞子, but a large number of ghosts were also approaching!

"Is... is this really The Ring?" Lin Yifan's hands began to tremble, completely different from the plot!

Until now, Lin Yifan, the protagonist of the story, hadn't seen the main character.

Not to mention his hidden identity as the warden, the infinite flow he used to read on起点 (Qidian) never mentioned this, clearly indicating a difference from the infinite space. He knew very little about this place.

Everything was unknown to Lin Yifan.

"Of course it's The Ring, but now it's free mode, not plot mode!" Yao Ling aimed her gun at the ghosts surrounding them and fired wildly.

Bullets flew, but they couldn't stop the surging spirits.

"Newcomer, quickly take the exorcism talismans, the ones you threw were for revealing spirits!" Liu Ming grabbed a large handful of yellow talismans from his bag and threw them at the spirits.

Lin Yifan followed suit, taking out the exorcism talismans and throwing them to the other side. The flying yellow talismans temporarily suppressed the spirits, but also revealed their numbers to Lin Yifan and the others.

The spirits, now visible with the yellow talismans, let out hateful screams, forming a demonic symphony in the midnight.

At this moment, Lin Yifan, while scattering the yellow talismans, noticed several rotten arms emerging from the ground. He immediately shouted, "Quickly leave here, we can't stay, this place is sparsely populated and not a good place!"

"Into the yard, over the wall!" Yao Ling, having fired all the bullets in her twin guns, kicked open the wooden door of the fence.

The four of them ran into the Japanese-style courtyard. Liu Ming, who was at the back, pushed the door shut and sealed it with a yellow talisman.

As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw a little girl sitting on a chair, her back to them, holding a doll and swinging her feet while humming a sad tune.

Lin Yifan stopped, raised his gun, and hesitated, looking at the little girl.

Liu Ming, who was in a hurry, walked up and said, "Little sister, quickly leave here, we can't help you anymore, may you have good fortune."

Liu Ming didn't intend to save her but had overlooked her existence. Lin Yifan and the others, seeing that the girl remained seated, decided to leave without helping, preparing to climb over the wall.

"Take me with you."

As they were about to climb the wall, the girl suddenly spoke.

"What? We can understand what she said." Liu Ming stopped, surprised at the girl's back.

"Take me with you..."

The girl repeated the same words.

Lin Yifan raised his hand, stopping Liu Ming from approaching, shook his head, and slowly stepped back.

"Take me with you!" The girl's voice became increasingly shrill!

The four of them slowly backed away, pressed against the wall. Lin Yifan made a gesture to Liu Ming and Yao Ling to be quiet, preparing to climb the wall and leave quickly.

On the other side, Liang Dong, who was also backing away, pointed his gun at the little girl. Although he was jealous of Lin Yifan, in a life-or-death situation, he definitely followed Lin Yifan's advice, but...

Ding!

In the silent courtyard, a bell rang from inside the house.

Bang!

Liang Dong's hand trembled, and a bullet hit the doll in the little girl's hands.

"Run!" Yao Ling and Liu Ming immediately climbed over the wall and fled.

Lin Yifan also wanted to run but was held back by Liang Dong!

As the little girl went into a frenzy, a pale old woman suddenly rushed out of the house, wielding a kitchen knife and screaming, "You dare to harm my granddaughter!"

The little girl stood in place, her face twisted in a demonic scream, while the old woman with the knife charged forward.

Hell was full, and the dead roamed the earth, while the living were cursed. This urban area had become a half-ghost town!

Held back by Liang Dong, Lin Yifan wasn't the scared and unlucky girl.

"Go to hell!"

He kicked Liang Dong, who didn't expect Lin Yifan to suddenly kick him, causing him to collide with the crazy old woman.

"Ahh! The crazy old woman bit me!"

As Liang Dong screamed, Lin Yifan noticed a white-clad woman standing inside the house, who had just emerged from the TV, staring at him through her long, disheveled hair, her ghostly eyes fixed on Lin Yifan.

At this moment, Lin Yifan felt the life-saving talisman on his chest start to burn, turning into ashes.

In just a few seconds, the talisman was completely burned, and he couldn't move. Without the talisman, being stared at by the ghostly eyes made his heart feel uncomfortable. This wasn't just fear; it was the influence of贞子's resentment!

Clutching his heart in pain, he fell to the ground. Was he going to die of a heart attack like the characters in The Ring?

Just arriving in this world, only to be killed by a ghost? He was unwilling, having barely touched the tip of the iceberg of this world, and now he was about to fall...

Wait, that side mission!

Lin Yifan suddenly remembered the mission reward, which included not only a tape of贞子 but also ten minutes of rest.

Thinking of this, Lin Yifan struggled to get up, and at this moment, Liu Ming and Yao Ling were not around!

As Lin Yifan struggled to crawl towards Liang Dong,贞子 appeared in the courtyard, her ugly arm reaching out towards Lin Yifan.

Pulling out handcuffs to grab Liang Dong, Lin Yifan's heart felt increasingly uncomfortable, as if a hand was squeezing it!

Almost there, just a little more to handcuff Liang Dong.

As Lin Yifan stretched his hand, his leg felt cold, as if pressed by a block of ice.贞子's ghostly hand grabbed Lin Yifan's leg.

His heart skipped a beat. Seeing Liang Dong break free from the old woman, Lin Yifan, with his last hope, shouted, "Liang Dong, if you don't want to die, reach out your hand!"

"Huh?"

Liang Dong, lying on the ground, reached out his hand, but when he saw贞子 grabbing Lin Yifan's leg, a stream of yellow liquid flowed from his pants, and he instinctively tried to pull his hand back.

"Trying to run!" Despite the pain in his heart, Lin Yifan quickly handcuffed Liang Dong's arm!

"No!"贞子 let out a sharp scream.

As soon as Liang Dong was handcuffed, the scenery in front of Lin Yifan distorted, and the next second, a blinding light flooded his vision, just like when he first entered the infinite world, making his eyes ache.

After a few seconds of losing sensation, everything returned to calm, the cold, eerie atmosphere disappeared, replaced by the cold cement floor.

"Ouch... Where... are we?" Liang Dong, holding his head in pain, asked, with a tooth mark on his shoulder, indicating this wasn't a dream.

Lin Yifan, who had just stood up, was momentarily stunned but knew exactly where they were!

"Inside!"

He grabbed Liang Dong's collar and pushed him into the cell.

The cell door clanged shut, and Liang Dong, dazed, rushed to the door, grabbing the bars and looking at Lin Yifan, "You... what are you going to do?"

"Cyclical traveler Liang Dong, code 47548, found guilty, sentenced to life imprisonment."

A cold female voice came from the darkness, and the shadow grew closer, the sound of high heels echoing in the empty prison.

Lin Yifan, on edge, raised his gun, unsure if the shadow was human or ghost.

The shadow grew closer, emerging from the darkness.

"This..." Lin Yifan was surprised at the woman in front of him.

Dressed in a standard Victorian-era maid uniform, with straight, smooth black hair, her face was a mix of Eastern and Western features, making her look ethereal, as if she didn't belong to this world.

"Hello, Acting Warden, I am Head Maid Sophia Wang." The maid bowed slightly to Lin Yifan.

An English name with a Chinese surname? She must be a mixed-race person.

Lin Yifan stared at Head Maid Sophia's face, her beauty so breathtaking that he couldn't find the words to describe it.

She looked like a man-made ice beauty, with no flaws on her face.

"Acting Warden, I don't want to be stared at by bugs." Sophia's cold face showed disgust.

"Huh?" Lin Yifan realized he wasn't the only one who had lost composure; Liang Dong was also staring.

Head Maid Sophia glanced at Liang Dong in the cell with disgust, clearly referring to him.

"Please come this way, there are still some things I need to tell you, time is running out." Head Maid Sophia reminded Lin Yifan and turned to walk into the pitch-black darkness.

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