Evil Laughing Thing

Hearing Gao Tian's command, the two men named Crocodile and Gray Wolf had a change in their expressions. Their education was a bit low, but they weren't stupid. They naturally knew their boss was using them as a test, sending them up first to see if there was any danger.

Although the two didn't believe that vengeful ghosts existed in this world, they also knew that whatever was making the laughing sound upstairs was no good. Furthermore, due to "Zhao Qiang's" tyranny, they didn't dare to refuse directly. They hemmed and hawed, acting hesitant, and stood at the entrance of the stairs, unwilling to go upstairs.

Gao Tian saw through their thoughts and said calmly:

"We're all in this business, with our heads on the line every day. You're not afraid of people, so why are you afraid of ghosts? If you're afraid of ghosts, ask if the bullets in your hands are afraid of ghosts.

"Whoever goes upstairs first, whether they find a pot of gold up there or not, I'll transfer fifty thousand yuan to each of you on the spot. If you cowards don't want to earn this money, then get aside and stand there obediently."

He had inherited most of Zhao Qiang's memories. He basically knew the other party's bank account numbers and assets. With Zhao Qiang's net worth, a hundred thousand yuan for two people wasn't a large sum. As long as Crocodile went upstairs, he would transfer it immediately.

Under a heavy reward, there must be brave men. Crocodile and the others who were in this line of work were all tough guys, hardened by society. They wouldn't truly be scared away by a woman's laughter from upstairs. It was merely them trying to negotiate a better deal with their boss. If they hesitated and were afraid to go upstairs in the face of so much money, they wouldn't be able to show their faces in the circle anymore.

Shou Hou mocked:

"Two brothers, this fifty thousand yuan is so easy to earn. Just take a walk upstairs and the money is in your account. If you don't want to earn this money, then I, Brother Monkey, won't be polite."

The strange giggling sound continued in their ears. Crocodile gritted his teeth, pulled the safety on his gun, and sneered:

"Damn it, I've been in society since I was twelve. Haven't I seen everything? Strange defeat, I want to see what the hell is pretending to be a ghost upstairs. Even if there really are ghosts in this world, give them two bullets and see if they still laugh."

Motivated by money, he took the lead, stepping onto the stairs first. His heavy body made the wooden floor creak. Gray Wolf behind him saw this, wiped the blood from his mouth, and cautiously followed.

In this line of work, face was the most important thing. If the events of tonight got out, and it was said that he didn't earn fifty thousand yuan because he was afraid of ghosts, then he would really have no face to continue in this profession. He wouldn't even get opportunities like guarding places.

Gao Tian and the other brothers stood below, waiting for them to go up and investigate clearly, and then see if any killing rules would be triggered.

About three minutes later, the strange giggling slowly subsided. Footsteps could be heard from upstairs. Another two minutes passed, and the figures of Gray Wolf and Crocodile slowly emerged from the stairs. They had put away their guns and weren't injured, but their expressions were somewhat bewildered:

"Brother Qiang, we checked as you requested.

"There are no living people upstairs, not even a ghost. It's just a pile of junk, plus a leaky, broken restroom. We didn't find the source of the giggling."

The ghost isn't on the second floor?

Gao Tian said nothing. As promised, he promptly transferred fifty thousand yuan to each of them. Seeing "Big Brother Zhao Qiang" act so generously, the others also took note.

"Let's go, let's go upstairs and take a look."

Under Gao Tian's command, Crocodile and Gray Wolf were left to guard the first floor, preventing any unexpected situations from blocking the escape route downstairs. The other five people filed up the stairs towards the second floor.

The situation on the second floor was similar to the first. There was a strange smell, as if no one had lived there for a long time. There were water stains seeping from the restroom area, a yellowish hue deeply ingrained in the tiles, likely impossible to clean.

Before the group could even begin searching, the strange giggling sound, like the buzzing of flies, rang out again. However, this time everyone had experience and was mentally prepared. The source of the sound came from the third floor.

Gao Tian's heart turned cold.

The strange thing that was laughing has moved to the third floor?

No wonder Crocodile couldn't find it on the second floor.

He gave San Hu and Shou Hou a look. These two knew that this opportunity to make money had fallen into their laps. Without saying much, they raised their pistols and cautiously stepped onto the third floor, heading towards the direction of the incessant cackling.

Meanwhile, Gao Tian, waiting on the second floor, pondered:

When the laughing thing was on the second floor, it could still run to the third. Above the third floor, there were no more floors, only an attic. There was nowhere left to hide.

Crocodile and Gray Wolf were relatively lucky. San Hu and Shou Hou weren't so fortunate. After they went upstairs, they were bound to have a head-on collision with that unclean, laughing thing.

After the two men went upstairs, the unpleasant cackling sound subsided again, and the laughter stopped. The three thugs waiting on the second floor relaxed a little, thinking that Shou Hou and the others would be back down soon.

Some even envied Shou Hou and San Hu. Just by going upstairs, they could easily earn fifty thousand yuan. Such a good deal. They risked their lives and earned so little in a month.

The clock on the second floor, which had completely lost track of time, continued to emit an irritating drip sound. Three minutes passed, five minutes passed, and ten minutes were almost up. After Shou Hou went up, not only did the strange cackling disappear, but so did any sound from the two adult men.

This wasn't right. This White House had such poor soundproofing. When Crocodile and the others went up to the second floor, Gao Tian and the others downstairs could clearly hear their footsteps. Now that Shou Hou and the others had gone to the third floor, why was there no sound at all yet?

Even if they encountered any attacks upstairs, two thugs with guns, having fought countless fights before, should have been able to struggle a bit, fire a couple of shots, and make some noise.

How could they just disappear on the third floor? Did they just fall asleep after going upstairs?

Fifteen minutes later, a middle-aged thug on the second floor with tattoos all over his neck couldn't stand it anymore and cursed upstairs:

"Damn it, whatever you see upstairs, say something! Are you going to sleep up there all night? Do I have to wait for you on the second floor all night too?"

No matter how he yelled, the two upstairs seemed to have fallen into an endless abyss, unable to make any response. The strange cackling sound started again, as if mocking the others downstairs for waiting in vain for so long, just wasting their time.

Gao Tian also knew that they had encountered some accident on the third floor. They had probably stepped on some extremely potent killing rule, the kind that killed on sight. He immediately said:

"All three of you, go up and take a look.

"When you reach the middle of the stairs, one person goes up to the third floor, and two people guard the middle of the stairs, holding their guns, ready to provide support at any time.

"At least figure out what happened on the third floor."

The thugs weren't stupid. They could earn this fifty thousand yuan, but they needed to live to spend it:

"Boss, tell us the truth, what's going on with this White House?

"Ever since we came here, we've felt uncomfortable all over. And you said at the beginning that we were just here to deal with one person tonight, and we could go back after it was done. But you never told us we'd be exploring a dilapidated haunted house in the desolate mountains."

Gao Tian directly interrupted him, coldly raising two fingers:

"Two hundred thousand.

"Go up and check once. Confirm whether Shou Hou and the others are alive or dead. Whether they are alive or dead, each person gets two hundred thousand after coming down."

Twenty thousand. How long would it take these low-level henchmen, who relied on their strength, to earn that much?

Once they got that twenty thousand, how long could they rest afterward? How many girlfriends could they change?

The immense profit clouded the minds of these henchmen. Even if there really was a ghost upstairs, they had guns in their hands. Who among them, who lived by the sword, hadn't paid homage to Guan Gong? They weren't afraid of these evil spirits.

The impulse for money made these tough guys forget their fear again. The middle-aged man and the remaining two discussed it. He would take the lead, the first to face the greatest danger. Afterward, the other two behind him would each give him fifty thousand.

After all, the most dangerous position was left to him, so it was reasonable for him to get a larger share.

After the discussion, according to "Brother Qiang's" request, the three acted as if facing a great enemy. Holding their guns, they bent their waists and slowly filed up the stairs that had just devoured Shou Hou and San Hu.

Giggle, giggle, giggle...

That eerie laughter became even more unrestrained when it sensed people coming up from downstairs. Perhaps because the thing upstairs had fed on two people, its strength had recovered somewhat.

"What kind of thing is pretending to be a ghost? Die for me."

Halfway up the stairs, the middle-aged man aimed directly at the general source of the laughter in the darkness above and pulled the trigger, firing two bullets. The BANG BANG of the gunshots was exceptionally abrupt in the dead silent room, and the smell of gunpowder filled the air.

In the darkness, he felt like he hadn't hit anything. But he didn't know if his bullets had had an effect. The giggling laughter stopped again, as if intimidated by the deafening gunshots.

"Damn it, keep pretending for your grandpa."

Seeing that the handgun seemed to be effective, hitting the thing on the third floor that was constantly making strange noises. The middle-aged man regained a bit of his courage. He signaled the two below to continue following him, and he slowly moved towards the third floor.

At this moment, Gao Tian, who was still standing on the second floor, was also closely observing any disturbances on the stairs.

Suddenly, he saw something white moving at extreme speed within the gap between the stair railings of the third and second floors.

It should be on the floor of the third floor, something like a mouse was moving at high speed.

Of course, that thing was round and pale, so pale it was ghastly. It was definitely not a mouse.

When Gao Tian realized what had flashed past, he felt his blood freeze:

"Get away from the third floor, come down quickly!"

"Quick! Quick! Quick!"