Chapter 59

Thick darkness surged outdoors, deeper than the darkness itself.

Zhang Yuanqing had eyes that could see through the night, but he could not penetrate this terrifying aura. He could only vaguely make out the figure in a wedding dress, walking unhurriedly, crossing the threshold.

At this moment, Zhang Yuanqing experienced the greatest terror of his life.

This terror was not the shock of being drained of yang energy by a shoulder-riding ghost, nor the panic of being pursued by a zombie. It was the terror of having an emotional explosion in your heart while your body could not react at all.

Unable to resist, unable to defend, endless despair.

The abilities of the Night Roamer were useless at this moment; he was completely suppressed.

Little Doudi was so frightened that he didn't even dare to cry. His small, plump body trembled continuously. A few seconds later, his useless owner trembled along with him.

Darkness surged into the house, and the figure in the wedding dress approached step by step, the dense aura of death enveloping every corner of the room.

At this moment, the cat king speaker in Zhang Yuanqing's pocket emitted a sound out of context:

"She has come, bringing unparalleled terror... The groom sits by the bed, thinking about his plan, but he appears calm, though he is actually terrified..."

The cat king speaker stopped here, as if interfered with, emitting a 'buzzing' sound. A few seconds later, the sound resumed, but the content shocked Zhang Yuanqing:

"The groom appears calm, but he is actually overjoyed, for the bride is beautiful and graceful, gentle and dignified, a rare match. Yes, that's right... buzz..."

Then it fell silent.

Overjoyed? Are you sure that's what you meant to say at first? There are too many points to criticize, and Zhang Yuanqing couldn't even begin. He lowered his head, not daring to look at the ghost bride.

Sweat beads as large as beans rolled down his forehead, and his body trembled slightly.

Then, with his head lowered, he saw a pair of red embroidered shoes stop in front of him.

...

Time passed minute by minute. Xie Lingxi sat on the edge of the bed, not daring to move. Her delicate and refined features, set against the wedding room, made her look like the bride at first glance.

In the old version of the strategy, those chosen by the ghost bride were doomed to die. This should not have changed in the new version. Whoever she chose would be dead... Xie Lingxi secretly swallowed her saliva.

She had always known the strategy for the haunted house but didn't mention it. Originally, she planned to use it as leverage after entering the haunted house. Later, she discovered that Wang Tai was a Night Roamer, and the mission had changed, adding elements like the dowry and the wedding invitation. She then realized that the old strategy was no longer useful.

So she didn't mention it.

Xie Lingxi was very afraid. Although she had experienced two solo spirit realms and two group spirit realms, during which she encountered dangers, especially in the solo spirit realms, which were uniformly of the death type.

However, her profession's solo spirit realm could be described as thrilling, but it had nothing to do with "terror."

Jinshui Amusement Park was the first spirit realm Xie Lingxi experienced that contained supernatural elements. It was too terrifying. This terror was not just about the threat of death; the very existence of ghosts and monsters naturally evokes human fear.

I will never watch horror movies again... she silently vowed in her heart.

There was no concept of time in the bridal chamber. In the endless torment, Xie Lingxi suddenly heard the spirit realm prompt:

"You have completed the haunted house (ghost marriage) mission. You are currently on the 'Heart-Pounding' mission series, which includes: roller coaster — underground parking lot — haunted house (ghost marriage) — detective reasoning hall. Please proceed to the fourth location within half an hour."

"Is it over?"

Xie Lingxi was stunned, then a strong sense of joy surged within her, as if she had walked through a long, dark night, and she was so happy she wanted to cheer.

Finally, this terrifying spirit realm is over.

Then, her second thought: Who died?

She eagerly pushed open the lattice door, came outside, and looked around. The night was misty, with lanterns hanging from the eaves, and there was no sign of movement.

But soon, footsteps sounded behind her. Xie Lingxi immediately turned around and saw the red-haired Fire Demon also emerge from the bridal chamber.

The Fire Demon's face was a mix of joy, and his eyes seemed to be filled with anticipation. "It seems Wang Tai or Sun Wukong is dead."

Xie Lingxi's delicate brows furrowed slightly upon seeing him alive.

The Fire Demon was in high spirits and said:

"The most dangerous part is over. The next detective reasoning hall should not be too difficult. If we can get out, we will complete the S-level first kill. Tsk tsk, I'm already looking forward to the rewards, oh, and the strategy. Just the strategy alone will keep me busy for a long time."

Xie Lingxi glanced at him and said coolly:

"We don't know much about the strategy for the haunted house. Wang Tai knows the most. The value of the strategy you write will be greatly reduced."

The Fire Demon shrugged: "Even so, it's still very precious."

The two didn't wait long before they heard footsteps behind them and turned around.

"You?" The Fire Demon's expression changed slightly, then he recovered and chuckled:

"It seems Sun Wukong will stay here as the groom. This guy is both cowardly and timid. If he could leave the spirit realm alive, that would be unfair."

"Wang Tai!" Xie Lingxi smiled sweetly.

Zhang Yuanqing nodded slightly, looked at the Fire Demon, and said in a low voice: "After all, we are comrades. There's no need to say such cold words."

"Right, right, whatever you say. Let's leave here quickly. I don't want to stay a moment longer. The sooner we leave, the sooner we complete the mission and go our separate ways."

The phrase "go our separate ways" was emphasized heavily.

Thus, under Zhang Yuanqing's lead, the three passed through the inner courtyard, the main hall, and the outer courtyard, encountering no crises along the way, and smoothly left the haunted house.

The three quickly left the dark alley, not stopping for a moment, showing a默契 (默契 means默契, but in this context, it means a strong sense of mutual understanding or默契) as if they all had significant psychological shadows from this place.

Ten minutes later, following the road signs, they found the detective reasoning hall.

It was a white building, with large, thick pillars supporting a triangular roof, a standard Western style.

The iron gate was open, and there was a fountain in the front yard.

"Do you need to rest?"

Zhang Yuanqing stopped at the iron gate, seeking the opinions of his two teammates.

Xie Lingxi and the Fire Demon shook their heads.

The terror of the haunted house was more mental than physical. The ten-minute journey was enough to calm their emotions, and they didn't need to rest.

Moreover, at this point, they were eager to end the nightmare-like mission of the night.

The three entered the gate, bypassed the fountain, and walked into a building that resembled a museum.

The detective reasoning hall's main hall was paved with square tiles, and the dome was adorned with eight exquisite crystal chandeliers, casting a bright and dazzling light.

The main hall displayed cabinets with various exhibits, including pipes and canes, red bow ties and footballs, symbols of dancing figures, and the "Washing Away Wrongs" in a line-bound edition...

Pipes and canes were one thing, but there was even a red bow tie, which felt like a play on words... As a reasoning enthusiast, Zhang Yuanqing, who aspired to emulate his grandfather and become an excellent police chief, was not unfamiliar with these items.

The three quickly scanned the cabinets and soon focused on the six statues in the center of the hall, each covered with a red cloth.

The Fire Demon looked at the red-clothed statues, his eyes flickering, and said:

"What is the task for this level? Reasoning? I hate this kind of mental task the most."

Xie Lingxi remained silent.

Zhang Yuanqing pointed at the six statues and smiled: "Isn't the question already given to us?"

As he spoke, Zhang Yuanqing, Xie Lingxi, and the Fire Demon simultaneously received a mission prompt in their minds:

"Welcome to the Detective Reasoning Hall!"

"Your unnecessary items have been cleared. The Detective Reasoning Hall is a place to test intelligence. Physical conflicts are prohibited, and violators will be eliminated. Please have the team leader uncover the red cloth."

Xie Lingxi and the Fire Demon did not move, but Zhang Yuanqing stepped forward and uncovered the red cloth on the statues.

The six statues were identical, and each had a name tag on its chest, reading: Commoner, Neutral, Neutral, Guardian, Traitor, and Evil.

"Is there an Evil in our team? This explains why the roller coaster strategy didn't change, and He Bo died. Wang Tai, you must have wanted to warn us then." The Fire Demon suddenly understood and looked at Zhang Yuanqing with surprise:

"Are you the team leader?"

Zhang Yuanqing smiled and turned back: "Didn't you already know?"

The Fire Demon fell silent.

At this moment, the mission prompt echoed in their minds again:

"Attention! The team leader's mission is to note that there is an Evil in the team. Ensure that the number of team members is at least 3, or you will be punished, and your current level experience will be reset. Note: Conceal your role."

"Attention! Each team member has a role. The team leader must deduce their identities and place name tags. If any are placed incorrectly, the 'Detective Reasoning Hall' mission will fail, and the entire team will be eliminated."

"Each team member has the right to defend themselves."

"Complete the deduction within half an hour. Failure to do so will result in mission failure, and the entire team will be eliminated."

"Two things in the world cannot be directly faced: the sun and the human heart. Time starts: 00:30:00"

I see, that's why the hidden mission required us not to reveal our identities. Zhang Yuanqing mused, and as if sensing something, he noticed that an item had been added to his inventory.

Opening it, he saw that the items in the inventory were gray (unusable), but one slot was normal, containing a stack of name tags.

He took out the name tags, six in total, each with a team member's name.

"Time