Evil Spirit: Have I Met a Fellow Professional? (Continued)

These rookie newcomers hadn't experienced the terror of evil spirits yet, but they could clearly see the despair on the Middle-aged man's face. Even a "veteran player" was this hopeless... A shadow fell over everyone's heart.

The Middle-aged man took a deep breath and said hoarsely:

"That's all I have to say. Whether you can survive from here on out is up to you... Don't look at me. Even I have no confidence that I'll survive. That's just how hopeless this world is."

"Usually, though, evil spirits don't start killing people right away. You can use this time to look for clues. You might be able to improve your chances of survival..."

Before he could finish,

Thump.

A soft sound suddenly came from the villa's front door.

All the Unlucky people turned around and stared nervously at the door.

"Was that... someone knocking?"

"Could it have been an auditory hallucination?"

"It wasn't. We all heard it."

"Maybe something accidentally bumped into the door?"

"..."

Thump, thump, thump.

The clear, rhythmic knocking sounded again, shattering the Unlucky people's wishful thinking.

All the rookie newcomers looked anxiously at the Middle-aged man.

His expression was especially grim as he stared fixedly at the door. He hadn't expected an evil spirit to come knocking right after the blood-written message appeared. He lowered his voice and said:

"Stay calm. Don't panic yet. The evil spirit is probably knocking to put pressure on us. It won't really come inside..."

Before he could finish, the front door suddenly creaked open, slowly pushed from the outside by some kind of creature.

The rookie newcomers: "..."

The Middle-aged man: "..."

Beyond the open door, a blood-red moon hung high in the night sky. Two blurry figures with indistinguishable faces stood in the doorway.

"Run in different directions!"

The Middle-aged