Roadside.
The viewers gasped for breath, staring at one another. Their pale faces were filled with terror.
"That was—"
"Shut up!"
Someone tried to say the word, but was immediately cut off harshly.
"Everyone, we have to leave. Once we get out, we'll call the police."
After standing there for a while, streamer Zhang Ming spoke up.
"Damn idiot, what's the point of calling the police? You think the cops can deal with... that?"
The bleached-haired man usually lacked exercise. After running for a while, he crouched on the ground and dry-heaved several times before recovering.
Hearing Zhang Ming say they should call the police, he immediately objected.
He hated those people more than anything.
"You've got it wrong. We have to call the police in a situation like this. It's one thing if that guy is still alive, but if he's dead, we have to find a way to clear ourselves of suspicion."
Zhang Ming took out the phone he had just used to film.
"I didn't turn off the camera when I picked up the phone. It recorded what happened after he entered the house."
"This can be used as evidence."
When the bleached-haired man heard Zhang Ming argue with him, he immediately flew into a rage.
"You don't know shit. Are you going to tell the cops that a ghost grabbed him? Do you think they'll believe you?"
After the bleached-haired man repeatedly insulted him, a trace of anger flashed through Zhang Ming's eyes.
"Of course we can't say we saw a ghost. We'll just say he was detained after entering the house."
"Also, you little bastard, watch your mouth. I'm not your father, and I won't indulge you."
"What did you say?"
The bleached-haired man flew into a rage. He picked up a rock from the ground and was about to smash Zhang Ming with it.
Everyone hurried forward to restrain him, urging him not to act rashly.
They were all grasshoppers tied to the same boat now. This was no time for infighting.
"All right, all right, enough. I think this brother has a point. If that person is fine, then forget it. But if he really dies here, every one of us will be a suspect. We might as well call the police ourselves."
The balding uncle also stepped forward, though he was clearly siding with Zhang Ming.
The bleached-haired man looked extremely displeased. He shouted, "It's not like there's no one in this village. We can have the villagers come out and look for him. Call the cops? Fuck your mother, you moron."
As he spoke, the bleached-haired man went to the entrance of a nearby two-story building and raised his hand to knock on the door.
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Bang, bang, bang."
"Is anyone there?"
After a series of knocks,
"Creak."
The door opened a crack from inside, and a ghostly green light shone through.
"I was saying—"
The bleached-haired man reached out to pull the door open, just about to say something.
Suddenly, a withered, blackened hand thrust out from inside and clamped around the bleached-haired man's neck.
"Mm! Mm! Mm!"
The moment his throat was seized, the bleached-haired man began struggling desperately.
In his panic, he pulled a dagger from his pocket.
"Fuck you."
A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as he stabbed the hand.
But the hand did not move at all. It continued to clamp down tightly around his neck.
The bleached-haired man's face began to flush red.
Then it slowly turned purple.
"Crack."
A bone-chilling sound rang out.
The bleached-haired man's body stiffened. He stopped struggling and went limp.
"Bang!"
The hand yanked him into the house, then shut the door.
"Crack, crack, crack."
A horrifying sound of chewing faintly emerged from inside the house.
The others did not see what happened to the bleached-haired man.
The instant that monstrous hand appeared, everyone started running again.
"Huff—"
"Huff—"
"Huff—"
They ran until they could not take another step, only stopping then. Several of them collapsed onto the ground, feeling as though their lungs were about to explode.
After resting for quite a while,
someone suddenly said, "Have you noticed? We've run this far, but we still haven't seen the village entrance. We're still on this road."
Those words made everyone tremble.
Quite a few of them had noticed the problem long ago, but out of a desperate refusal to face reality, they had instinctively avoided acknowledging it.
Now that someone had said it aloud, a chill rose from the soles of their feet and shot straight to the tops of their heads.
"Damn it. We're probably screwed tonight."
Someone could not help whispering, his voice trembling.
The girl brought by the bleached-haired man crouched on the ground and began sobbing softly.
But no one paid attention to her now. Even the glasses man, who had kept sneaking glances at her earlier, looked utterly distraught.
"It's over. It's over."
He muttered to himself.
"Brother, I remember you live nearby. Do you know your way around here? Is there anything we can do?"
A young man beside the glasses man handed him a cigarette and asked in a low voice.
"What can I do? This place looks like Hujia Village, but it's also different in some ways. Besides, we've probably encountered a Ghost Wall. Even if I know the way, what good will that do?"
The glasses man gave a bitter laugh.
"Ugh."
A sense of helplessness welled up inside him, and he secretly regretted coming to this godforsaken village to explore.
But what use was regret?
Despair began spreading through the group.
"Everyone, listen to me."
At that moment, the balding uncle suddenly spoke.
His own mind was in turmoil. He should never have come along for this excitement tonight. He must have been bored out of his mind.
But this was not the time for blame.
What mattered was solving the problem at hand.
Seeing everyone's eyes turn toward him, the uncle took a deep breath and said, "Normal people can't escape a Ghost Wall by walking."
"If we keep wandering around, we'll only be wasting our energy."
"So I suggest we find a corner and hide there for the night. Once dawn comes, the Ghost Wall will naturally disappear."
"But what if we stay here and a ghost comes out?" someone asked worriedly.
"If you keep moving forward, does that mean you won't encounter a ghost? Since we've already encountered a Ghost Wall, we've entered the trap laid by the ghosts." Although the uncle was panicking inside, his expression grew increasingly calm.
He had to stay calm. Even pretending was better than nothing.
Everyone was already in a panic. If they encountered another idiot like the bleached-haired man, someone might do something rash.
So he had to keep them under control.
The others were afraid, but they also felt that what the uncle said might make sense.
Mainly because they had no other options.
Thus, everyone sat down in a patch of grass beside the road, intending to spend the night there.
Under the pitch-black night sky, there was no sound besides their breathing.
The girl who had been sobbing softly had also fallen silent, afraid to make another sound.
Time passed, one second at a time.
Third floor of the hotel.
After killing the Vicious Ghost, Jiang Qiao did not linger. Instead, he kicked open the door beside him.
There was no coffin in this room, but it was in complete disarray.
Furniture and appliances lay overturned haphazardly across the floor.
The walls, ceiling, and floor were covered in black bloodstains.
It seemed that something terrifying had once happened here.
Jiang Qiao searched the room carefully and eventually found a filthy doll in the corner.
The doll wore a tattered dress. Its limbs had been unnaturally bent backward, and its body was covered in all kinds of scratches.
Jiang Qiao sensed no Ghost Qi from it. But when he picked up the doll, footsteps once again echoed through the corridor outside.
"Hell, this rundown hotel keeps sending them one after another. Do I have to unseal every monster myself?"
He threw the doll onto the floor and returned to the corridor.
At the end of the corridor, a tall, fierce-looking Bald Man was walking toward him step by step.
The Bald Man was bare-chested, his beer belly sticking out. His entire body was covered in scars and stitched-up wounds.
He looked extremely vicious.
"Could every room in this hotel correspond to a murder case?"
As he speculated, Jiang Qiao walked toward the Bald Man.
"Heh heh."
The Bald Man split his mouth into a grin, revealing a row of sharp teeth.
"Go heh your old mother."
"Boom!"
Before you continue