Chapter 23

In the entire building, Han Fei now only had one elderly friend. He had gone through great efforts to increase Meng Shi's friendliness, and if something happened to her, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

"Ku has been trapped, so the room should be safe now, right? Could it be that Chenchen isn't in Room 1034?"

Han Fei picked up the kitchen knife and ran to the third floor. The anti-theft door, covered with talismans, was fully opened, but there was no sign of the elderly woman.

"Granny? Chenchen?" Han Fei extended his hand, wearing the landlord's ring, into the room. The ring didn't react much, indicating that the room was safe.

After hesitating for a moment, he slowly entered Room 1034, looking at the old furniture inside.

Room 1034 was covered with talismans everywhere—on the floor, walls, and ceiling. The entire room seemed to be sealed with talismans.

"This is too eerie! Even the haunted house I lived in wasn't this exaggerated!"

Han Fei was very cautious: "Something's not right. The child who came to play at my place doesn't seem that strong, so this setup doesn't match. There might be something else in the room."

Although the ring didn't react, Han Fei still decided to leave. However, when he moved backward, he suddenly noticed that the door to Room 1034 had been closed at some point.

Cold sweat instantly broke out, and Han Fei's body froze: "No way!"

He had just locked the child in the bedroom, and now he was locked in Room 1034. The irony of the situation made Han Fei feel utterly devastated.

"What should I do? Should I have Wei Youfu bring the child over to exchange hostages? But they won't listen to me! Besides, the child might have already reincarnated."

Standing there, Han Fei tried to open the door handle one last time. The anti-theft door wasn't locked, but he couldn't open it.

"Really, no shame at all. Even as a ghost, you still play dirty."

After pausing for a few seconds at the door, Han Fei finally calmed down.

"The landlord's ring still hasn't turned cold, which is probably the only good news right now."

There was something bad in the room, but it wasn't giving off any aura, hiding for some reason.

Han Fei knew he couldn't leave for the moment. His mind started racing, and he scanned the room with his peripheral vision.

"The windows are completely sealed with wooden boards and talismans, so jumping out isn't an option. Room 1034 is directly below my haunted house. If I make a lot of noise here, the residents in the building should react."

His gaze shifted to the kitchen, and he glanced at the gas stove: "This place hasn't been lived in for a long time, so the gas might be off. Even if it's on, if I cause a big explosion, I'll be the first to die."

Han Fei thought of every possible way to escape but found himself unable to leave no matter what.

"I can leave the game now, but the problem is that when I log back in, I'll still be in this room, and then I'll be trapped for sure."

Gathering his courage, Han Fei decided to explore the room while he could still leave the game at any time.

Since there was no way to avoid it, he decided to take one step at a time.

Han Fei held the pendant given by the elderly woman and slowly moved through the living room.

He didn't dare to make any noise, moving as quietly as possible.

The room, covered with talismans, was quite scary. White rice grains were scattered on the floor, and there were spirit altars in the corners. Occasionally, he saw torn paper figures.

The faces on the torn paper figures were smeared with various colors, just looking at them made one shudder.

"What happened in Room 1034 in the past? Why is the child called Ku?"

While thinking, Han Fei pushed open the bedroom door.

The old, rusty door hinges creaked, and just as Han Fei was about to enter, a child with a blindfold over his eyes hugged his waist.

"I caught you!"

"Chenchen?" Han Fei stared at the child with a blindfold, then looked inside the bedroom. Meng Shi was unconscious on the floor, her old coat covered with the child's handprints.

"I finally caught you!"

Chenchen laughed happily, but Han Fei slapped the back of his head: "You still have the heart to play?"

Removing the blindfold from Chenchen's eyes, Han Fei realized the problem. Chenchen's eyes were only whites, and he looked possessed, his appearance terrifying.

"I caught you! It's your turn to be the ghost! It's your turn to be the ghost... It's your turn to be the ghost!"

Chenchen kept repeating this, his voice getting louder. Gradually, echoes filled the room, as if someone else was repeating the same words.

Han Fei tried to cover Chenchen's mouth, but even if he did, the voice still echoed in the room. Worse, the ring on his hand started to emit a cold aura!

The ghosts were coming!

Cold air came from all directions. Han Fei protected Chenchen and the unconscious Meng Shi behind him, looking around.

"It's your turn to be the ghost, it's your turn to be the ghost..."

The spirit altar in the corner was overturned, and wet handprints appeared on the walls. The faces on the paper figures seemed to be smiling happily.

Soon, Han Fei saw a pale hand stretch out from the wardrobe, followed by a pale, ghastly face.

Footsteps echoed in the empty living room, a round head poked out from behind the TV, and a girl with a ponytail crawled out from behind the sofa.

Terrifying voices kept coming from the shoe cabinet, kitchen, canvas, curtains, and blankets. One by one, pale-skinned children with only whites in their eyes slowly crawled out.

Han Fei was having trouble breathing, his legs weak, and he leaned against the wall to keep from falling.

These children seemed to be the missing children from the neighborhood, and their numbers were overwhelming, making his scalp tingle!

The air in the room had solidified, and all the children looked at Han Fei.

This suffocating scene almost sent Han Fei over the edge, his heart almost jumping out of his throat.

The children's voices gradually lowered, and an ugly cry echoed in the room. Following the cry, Han Fei saw a dark shadow crouching in the corner.

This shadow was not tall and was different from the other children in the room.

"Is he the real Ku?"

One by one, the children entered the bedroom, holding blindfolds and staring straight at Han Fei's eyes, repeating, "It's your turn to be the ghost."

Han Fei didn't respond, and at that moment, one of the children suddenly pounced on him, his sharp nails aiming for Han Fei's eyes!

Not willing to wear the blindfold, they wanted to blind him?

Small hands grabbed Han Fei's clothes, preventing him from moving. Han Fei could only watch as the fingers loomed larger in his vision.

Everything seemed predetermined, but just as Han Fei felt pain, the amulet around his neck suddenly made a crisp sound, and a cold aura burst out.

"Bang!"

The child preparing to gouge out Han Fei's eyes fell to the ground, clutching his broken fingers and crying. The other children were scared and let go.

"Was it the amulet from Granny that saved me?" Han Fei looked down; the amulet around his neck was now full of cracks and would likely break with one more use.

"What should I do? They will eventually discover the secret of the amulet! I must find a way to escape as soon as possible!"

A faint cry reached his ears, and the dark shadow had entered the bedroom. It seemed to represent the darkness and coldness of the entire room, the real "Ku"!

While the other children hesitated, it silently stared at Han Fei, picked up a blindfold from the floor, and extended it to Han Fei.

Meng Shi's amulet could only be used once more. Han Fei knew that even if he refused, his situation wouldn't change. Every nerve was taut, and he knew this was the critical moment.

Han Fei didn't reach for the blindfold from "Ku" nor refused to play hide-and-seek. After a moment of thought, a cruel and evil smile slowly spread across his face.

Squatting down, Han Fei brought his face close to the shadow: "Ordinary hide-and-seek is boring. How about we play a bigger game?"

Putting a hand in his pocket, Han Fei's face showed a hint of obsession, his eyes filled with uncontrollable excitement: "In regular hide-and-seek, one ghost catches everyone. Today, let's do the opposite. All of you ghosts will catch me!"

His lips curled up, and his face almost touched the shadow: "I'll bet my life. If you find me within an hour, you can do whatever you want with me. If you can't find me, you'll do three things for me."

His eyes burned with malice and madness, and the cold aura from the amulet had not completely dissipated. At that moment, Han Fei gave the ghosts a sense of kinship.

The room slowly became quiet. After an unknown amount of time, the shadow nodded and led all the ghosts out of the bedroom.

Han Fei also helped Meng Shi and Chenchen out, placing them at the living room door. His smile became more twisted, and his body trembled with excitement: "If you can't find me in this room, you can check the other neighbors' homes in this building. Consider it a hint from me."

When all the ghosts and the shadow turned around, Han Fei went to the living room door and tried the handle again, but the door still wouldn't open.

"What a bunch of interesting ghosts." Han Fei looked down at all the children in the room: "Remember our bet, and do your best to find me!"

With the most cruel and evil expression, he laughed without restraint: "Now, the game begins!"

Opening the attribute panel, Han Fei chose to exit the game.

The world turned blood red, and the world spun. When Han Fei opened his eyes again, he tore off the game helmet.

Drenched in sweat, Han Fei clutched his hair, his eyes bloodshot.

"Finished, finished, this time I overdid it!"