Seeing Ghosts

Seeing Ghosts

Ma Zirong's question went unanswered, because the very next second, he completely lost consciousness, his neck twisted at a bizarre angle as he stared up at the ceiling.

He was dead.

He had died right before everyone's eyes!

Yu Hanzhou's pupils contracted. He had clearly seen a pale hand reach out from the darkness behind Ma Zirong, seize his neck, and slowly tighten its grip.

Yet Ma Zirong seemed utterly unaware of it!

Even when his neck was completely crushed, he did not say a word or let out a single scream!

But because of that, seeing him die silently before their eyes made everyone's skin crawl, goosebumps rising all over their bodies.

Outside the window was a pitch-black night, and the wind whimpered at their ears. It seemed to be gnawing at the dust-covered window frame, making it creak.

No one knew what had once happened in this villa, and Yu Hanzhou had absolutely no interest in finding out the cause and effect.

This was a survival mission, not a timed mission!

The vicious ghost in this villa had no weakness. It had been dragged into the abyss by despairing hatred and resentment. It no longer possessed any consciousness, only the desire to drag every living being before it into the same hell!

Yu Hanzhou turned to glance at the clock hanging on the living room wall. It was eleven-thirty...

The long hour and minute hands were an especially glaring crimson. He had never felt time pass so slowly.

They had arrived here at seven in the evening. That meant they still had to remain in this terrifying, deserted villa for nearly twenty more hours...

And worst of all, the ghost had already begun to act!

While Yu Hanzhou stood lost in thought, the crowd began to panic.

"No, impossible! How could Ma Zirong die? He was sitting right across from me. He didn't look in the mirror, and he didn't turn around. Why was he killed?" Sun Wenjie's eyes were bloodshot, and something seemed off about his expression.

"Could Jieyu be fake? Could not looking in mirrors and not turning around both be misdirection? Maybe... maybe turning around is the real way to survive?!" Dong An began to waver as well. He instinctively voiced his guess, and the more he spoke, the more plausible it seemed.

At that moment, someone who had been silent all along suddenly turned deathly pale. He seemed to have thought of something and was about to say it, but he ultimately held back.

However, Yu Hanzhou noticed his expression.

"Lu Guo, did you discover something?"

Lu Guo shook his head slightly. His face looked awful, and deep down, he did not want to believe his own speculation.

Because... if his guess was true, then he himself... would die too!

And this time, almost all eight of them would die!

Except...

Lu Guo's unusual reaction put Yu Hanzhou on guard. He helplessly glanced at the people who had begun arguing. At this moment, the only ones who had not fallen into chaos were himself, Lu Guo, Zhou Changfeng, and that new female newcomer, Qi Nian.

To be honest, Yu Hanzhou's own thoughts were a tangled mess as well. He had watched Ma Zirong die with his own eyes, so bizarrely, right in front of everyone. What taboo had he violated?

It made no sense. He simply could not understand it!

Mirrors, turning around... Ma Zirong had not turned around, nor had he looked into a mirror. More precisely, there was no mirror in this living room at all...

Mirrors...

A flash of inspiration struck Yu Hanzhou. He vaguely felt as though he had grasped something. His brows furrowed tightly as he smacked his own head.

Damn it. He had clearly thought of something, yet he could not form it into a concrete line of reasoning.

Just then, Qi Nian suddenly said in a trembling voice, "C-can you... can you smell it?"

Her words should not have mattered. In truth, newcomers had almost no right to speak in Mist Gathering.

Especially a newcomer as unlucky as Qi Nian. On her very first time, she had encountered a survival mission.

Many people who had not believed in superstition before entering the strange Mist Gathering had no choice but to accept certain notions—for instance, that some people were born with exceptionally terrible luck, and getting too close to them could only bring trouble.

Clearly, Qi Nian was one of those people.

Incidentally, in the eyes of Mist Gathering's veterans, Bai Yanliang was also one of that kind.

After all, for a newcomer to become Grudge-Bound was an unprecedented level of bad luck.

Still, after hearing Qi Nian's words, everyone instinctively took them seriously.

In a place where life and death hung in the balance, no one would speak without reason. Moreover, women's intuition and sensitivity were extremely important, and highly trustworthy weapons.

This time, everyone finally smelled what Qi Nian had mentioned...

It was... a faint scent of jasmine, along with... the foul stench of rotting flesh and blood.

A very strange smell.

It carried an alluring fragrance, yet was also wrapped in a nauseating stench as it gradually drew closer. The night grew later and later, and the time crept closer to midnight...

"Dong—dong—dong—"

The clock suddenly began to chime, making everyone shudder.

Then, a faint sound came from outside the living room door.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Everyone's eyes widened abruptly. That was... the sound of footsteps!

Yu Hanzhou rose to his feet, took a deep breath, and stared at everyone as he urgently said, "Pairs. Split up. Go!"

Everyone froze, their gazes toward him complicated.

Ma Zirong had died under mysterious circumstances. Dividing up like this meant one person would have to hide alone somewhere in the villa, and judging by Yu Hanzhou's attitude, he intended to be that person...

Among these people, no one knew how many were grateful to him and how many thought he was a fool.

But in Yu Hanzhou's own view, he had merely made the most correct choice.

The seven quickly formed groups. Not daring to turn around, they stiffly scattered toward different parts of the villa.

Yu Hanzhou was the last to leave. He glanced at the living room's front door, which had opened a crack. A twisted, deathly pale arm had already reached inside.

He did not delay any longer and turned to head up to the second floor.

Ruyi Inn.

After Bai Yanliang suggested splitting up, he went to a place no one would have expected.

Room 405.

The room where he had awakened.

He opened the unlocked door and glanced inside.

The bed, the bedside table, the desk calendar, the television in the corner, a window...

Everything was just as it had been when he left.

But... this time, Bai Yanliang knew there was something else in his room...

He had an excellent memory, so he clearly remembered the direction Li Yuejun had stared in with terrified eyes when she had collapsed onto the floor.

It should be... under the bed.

Bai Yanliang closed the door. Though he had some idea of what to expect, his heartbeat still quickened after such a long time.

However, he did not dislike the feeling.

Taking a slight breath, Bai Yanliang knelt on one knee, bent down, and abruptly thrust his head beneath the bed.

A deathly pale woman's face suddenly appeared!

She was extremely close, only a few centimeters from Bai Yanliang's face!

A thick stench of decay suddenly rushed into Bai Yanliang's nostrils. Her malicious eyes, devoid of pupils, were less than an inch from his.

Yet at that very moment, Bai Yanliang actually smiled and said:

"Hello. There are some things I'd like to ask you."