The Man in Red

"What—"

Yu Xing saw that Hua Subai had stopped moving and was about to ask what was wrong when the other man raised an arm and forced out a hushed, "Shh."

Yu Xing fell silent at once.

The other debuggers crept up the stairs behind them and clustered behind the screen. Anyone could sense the unnatural chill on the second floor, let alone the thick, undisguised aura of ghosts.

This was an aura they couldn't fight head-on—not because the ghosts were especially powerful, but because...

Some kind of forceful rule hung over the place.

As the first person to step out from behind the screen, Hua Subai would undoubtedly be the first to bear the brunt of the rule.

The hideous ghost faces had greasy mouths, smeared with crimson scraps of food. They smacked their lips and eyed Hua Subai like an unwelcome guest trying to steal their meal. The moment they saw him, the viciousness of evil spirits was plain.

"You've come to eat, too?"

One of the evil spirits grinned. Its head lolled to one side, barely attached to its neck by a strip of flesh.

"You're too late!"

The other giggled as well. It seemed to have no flesh beneath its skin; whenever it moved, its empty hide crumpled. It clapped its hands. "Too late! Those seats are taken!"

Hua Subai reacted at once. Almost as soon as the ghosts spoke, he turned to the few people peering out and ordered, "Four of you, go back. Only eight people can come up here!"

Just as he'd expected. It was a trap.

Gao Yiling had said there were three tables upstairs, and since the travel agency had booked the place, they'd naturally assumed there'd be room for twelve.

But now, two ghosts had mysteriously taken two seats, and