Chapter 48

When the actor met the deceiver, they exchanged pleasantries, and in the cold and dim corridor, a scene unfolded as if they had met an old acquaintance in a foreign land.

Han Fei chatted with the ghost behind him for about half a minute. He became increasingly natural and enthusiastic, but he never turned around. A few times, he almost turned his head, but he stopped at the crucial moment.

Gradually, the ghost behind Han Fei became impatient.

"You call me brother, but you don't even have the courage to turn and look at me. Isn't this clearly a trick to deceive a ghost?"

The familiar voice gradually faded away, but Han Fei was still not satisfied. He called out a few more times in a low voice, and when he received no response, his expression slowly changed: "Are you angry?"

The corridor was deathly silent. The ghost standing behind Han Fei knew that words could not tempt him to turn around, so it seemed to be changing its strategy.

At that moment, the ring on Han Fei's finger began to emit a cool sensation, and the ghost following him shed its disguise.

The cold feeling at his fingertips grew stronger, and Han Fei could not judge the ghost's strength. His body instinctively wanted to move forward to create distance, but the ghost clung tightly to him.

Worse still, Han Fei felt his body becoming heavier, as if something was pressing down on him.

As the cold spread through his body, Han Fei detected a faint, foul odor, which he had never smelled before. It was somewhat like the smell of rotting things, and just a whiff made his stomach feel uneasy.

Drip, drip...

Viscous liquid kept falling on his back, and Han Fei felt something choking his neck. The ghost seemed to know that it could not trick him with words, so it prepared to act directly.

Breathing became difficult, and Han Fei's face turned red. He remembered this familiar feeling.

When he first logged into *Perfect Life*, he was scared by a ghost in a haunted house during a sleep task and fled.

He ran all the way to the first floor, and the motion-activated lights suddenly went out, plunging the corridor into darkness.

Later, something followed him in the darkness and choked his neck just like this.

Han Fei slowly pieced it together: the victims in the haunted house did not harm him and did not leave the house. The ghost that tried to strangle him must have been the one now following him.

"Why does this guy insist on making me turn around? Could it be that if I see his face, I will become his substitute victim?"

The more Han Fei thought about it, the more he believed it was possible. The first time he logged into the game, he had no experience and was terrified, focusing only on escaping. In the end, he faced a life-threatening situation and logged out right in front of the ghost.

"If the ghost following me now is the same one that tried to kill me, it might know I am a living person and wants to capture me as a substitute victim. That makes sense."

His neck was deformed by the grip, but Han Fei's thoughts were unusually clear: "Knowing I am a living person and seeing me log out, this ghost cannot be left alive."

Although the ghost on the third floor had also seen Han Fei log out, he had been fooled at the time. Moreover, the ghost on the third floor was just a child, far less cunning than the one now following him.

The best way to deal with a ghost skilled in manipulation and extremely cunning was to have other ghosts devour it.

Han Fei could neither retreat nor turn around, so taking the ghost to the haunted house was almost impossible.

Recalling a detail from earlier, the ghost had first closed the door to the haunted house when it followed him, indicating that it was aware of the danger and would not follow Han Fei into the house.

Unable to trick the ghost into the haunted house, Han Fei, while he still had strength, began to climb the stairs.

Breathing became increasingly difficult, and Han Fei used all his strength to reach the fifth floor, where he wanted to seek help from a neighbor.

"Xu Qin..."

His shoes stepped on bloodstains, and he stumbled, gripping the doorknob of room 1052 and calling Xu Qin's name.

Xu Qin was not related to him, and Han Fei knew the chances of her helping him were low, but he had no better options.

He knocked on the security door, and although the sound was loud, the motion-activated lights did not turn on, confirming his suspicions.

When he first logged into the game, he had encountered a similar situation in the corridor.

The cold from the ring grew stronger, and Han Fei realized he had underestimated the ghost. Judging by the cold from the ring, the ghost's strength was equivalent to that of the two victims in the two-body puzzle case.

More terrifyingly, the cold from the ring continued to intensify.

"Is anyone there!"

Han Fei started knocking on the door. This was not the time for politeness; if he did not make some noise, the ghost would surely play with him until he died.

Under normal circumstances, he would never dare to do this, but now he just wanted to stir things up and attract some ghosts to help him share the pressure.

He made a lot of noise on the fifth floor, but the residents did not intend to open the door. Instead, the sound of doorknobs turning came from other floors.

By this time, Han Fei was completely out of breath and had no choice but to look at room 1051.

The black shadow had originally stood in the corridor and then disappeared, but the door to room 1051 was still open.

Moving quickly, Han Fei reached the door of room 1051.

The dark room was invisible, but it emitted a terrifying aura, as if anyone who entered would never leave.

"The information Meng Shi gave me did not mention room 1051. This room shouldn't be that scary!"

Han Fei could not afford to hesitate any longer and stepped into room 1051.

As his front leg entered the room, half of his body was already inside. At that moment, the ghost behind him let out a piercing scream. Its ten pale fingers, like fishhooks, clutched Han Fei's neck, trying to pull him out of the room.

Pain shot through his neck, and just as Han Fei felt his neck about to be snapped, the amulet hanging from his chest shattered with a crisp sound.

An intense cold burst from the amulet, and the fingers choking his neck were pushed away. Han Fei successfully entered room 1051.

Darkness enveloped everything. After entering room 1051, the darkness inside became even more intense, as if all light entering the room was consumed.

The ring continued to emit a bone-chilling cold, and a pair of blood-red eyes slowly opened in room 1051.

Looking at the sickly eyes in the darkness, Han Fei's body trembled, but he still waved his hand in a friendly manner: "I live downstairs. It's my first time visiting, and I thought it would be rude to come empty-handed, so I brought you a ghost."

A delicate balance now existed. The ghost following Han Fei did not leave, but it was reluctant to enter room 1051. The entity hidden in room 1051 also seemed to be wary of the ghost behind Han Fei.