Chapter 47

"The door is covered with the word 'death,' and blood water seeps out from below the door. Is such a neighbor really suitable to be a friend?"

Meng Shi said Xu Qin lived in room 1052 and that although Xu Qin was a bit crazy, she was actually a nice person.

At first, Han Fei had some expectations for Xu Qin, feeling that they could get along harmoniously. However, after seeing the door covered with the word 'death,' he suddenly realized that Meng Shi thought Xu Qin was nice in comparison to the other neighbors in the building.

Among a group of psychopathic killers, ghosts, and monsters, any slight virtue in Xu Qin would be infinitely magnified.

Now, Han Fei was in a very conflicted state. He had to complete a task to leave the game, but there were no more tasks available from the neighbors he was familiar with. He could only explore unfamiliar floors.

However, the unfamiliar floors were clearly very dangerous, and he had no guarantee that he could escape back.

"The new task must be forcing me to explore unknown areas. I remember when I first quit the game, the system said it hoped I could speed up my exploration."

Looking at the dark corridor, Han Fei gripped the kitchen knife tightly and slowly lifted his foot.

"Since I can't avoid it, I can only move forward."

Just as his foot landed on the step, Han Fei heard a 'clatter' from downstairs, as if the chain on the iron gate at the entrance had been removed.

"The iron gate at the entrance has been opened? Did someone leave the apartment building, or did someone from outside enter the apartment building?"

The motion-activated light on the first floor turned on, and Han Fei quietly approached the railing, finding an angle to look down.

A shadow appeared on the wall between the first and second floors, as if someone was crawling on the ground.

"The situation doesn't look good."

Seeing the strange shadow, Han Fei immediately prepared to retreat to the haunted house, but just as he was about to turn around, a cold voice from the system echoed in his mind.

"Player 0000, please note! You entered the corridor at 3:04 AM, triggering the hidden task in the corridor—Do Not Look Back."

"Hidden Task: In this open world, various random tasks are hidden. The higher your luck, the higher the probability of triggering a random hidden task."

"Do Not Look Back (one of the hidden tasks in the corridor): Within fifteen minutes, do not retreat or look back, no matter what happens. If you violate this, you will die."

Hearing the cold, mechanical voice in his mind, Han Fei's heart sank.

His body stiffened, and he dared not move his neck.

"How did I trigger another hidden task? Didn't Huang Ying say that hidden tasks have an extremely low probability of being triggered and are very rare? I've only reached level three and have already encountered two hidden tasks!"

Holding his breath and listening intently, Han Fei's Adam's apple trembled: "Within fifteen minutes, I can't retreat or look back, or I will die? This task description is too direct, leaving no room for maneuver!"

Maintaining his posture, Han Fei stopped between the fourth and fifth floors. He knew that someone was crawling on the ground on the first floor and running upstairs, and he also knew that a shadow had just entered the fifth floor. Neither of them seemed to be good news.

His breathing became more rapid. The task required him not to retreat, so if something came, he could only run upstairs. However, the danger upstairs was clearly much greater than downstairs. He still clearly remembered that after crying and running upstairs, his arms were torn off.

"What should I do? Should I light a cigarette to calm down?"

Wearing the amulet given by Meng Shi, Han Fei touched the lighter in his pocket. He didn't know what would happen if he lit a cigarette, but he wanted to be prepared.

The motion-activated light did not turn on again, but Han Fei heard faint, irregular footsteps behind him, as if the person had just learned to walk.

Slowly leaning against the wall, Han Fei hoped his passive ability, Hide and Seek, would take effect. Unfortunately, Hide and Seek only reduced his presence, and there were no obstacles in the corridor. Anyone who wasn't blind could see him.

The footsteps from downstairs grew closer, and Han Fei's heart began to race.

One of the requirements of the task was not to retreat, and Han Fei dared not walk upstairs unless absolutely necessary, as the further he went, the farther he would be from the haunted house.

In the middle of the night, standing alone in the corridor, listening to the footsteps getting closer, Han Fei's heart began to race uncontrollably.

He subconsciously gripped the kitchen knife, and the footsteps behind him were clearly audible. Suddenly, they disappeared.

"No sound?"

Han Fei resisted the urge to look back, maintaining his posture. But just a few seconds later, something happened in the corridor.

"Creak..."

The chair blocking the entrance to the haunted house was moved, and the security door of room 1044 was gently closed!

The moment the haunted house door closed, Han Fei felt a loss of connection to his home. A cold chill crept up from his ankles to his chest, and his legs trembled.

Drip, drip.

Whether it was water or blood, some viscous liquid dripped onto his back. Han Fei could feel that something was standing behind him.

Subconsciously taking a step forward, two sets of footsteps appeared in the corridor as he moved.

"It's only been one minute..."

Han Fei tried to stay calm, but even with his strong mental fortitude, he began to feel fear.

"Don't panic. As long as I don't look back within fifteen minutes, I can complete this hidden task and exit the game."

Biting his tongue, Han Fei used the pain to dispel his fear: "The other party doesn't seem to want to kill me right now. I hope they have the mindset of a cat playing with a mouse, slowly torturing me to death, so I can buy more time."

"Hey? How did you get trapped here too?"

While Han Fei was thinking, a familiar voice suddenly came from behind him. The voice felt very close, like a friend from his past, but he couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"I didn't expect to see you in this ghost place. How did you get in?"

The voice came again, but Han Fei still didn't turn around.

Although the voice felt very familiar and the tone was very friendly, and the content was extremely interesting, Han Fei knew very clearly that he had never had any friends before! Not a single one!

So the voice must be from a ghost, trying to trick him into turning around.

The ghost standing behind Han Fei probably didn't expect this and continued to coax him with a friendly tone.

To buy time, Han Fei quickly got into character, adjusting his tone as if he was about to remember who the other person was.