Run!

Seeing such a terrifying scene suddenly, especially in this semi-enclosed environment where it was pitch black all around, the two girls were naturally startled.

But neither Ye Zijun nor Xiao Ding had any mental preparation before following the Chinese boy into the abandoned subway passage. In addition, the two of them had "seen the world" and experienced some things before, so when faced with this extremely shocking scene, neither of them screamed or turned around and ran away.

Ye Zijun's first reaction was to shout, "Xiao Ding, don't be afraid! Look at the camera screen, it might just be our imagination!"

At the same time, she pulled out the stun gun she had been holding in her pocket, and instead of retreating, she pressed it against the neck of the Chinese boy whose face was covered in small mushrooms and whose eye sockets were still oozing moss.

After being shocked, the mutated boy's body stiffened for a moment, but then he raised his hands and grabbed Ye Zijun's neck accurately and forcefully. Various kinds of moss, green, black and purple, sprouted from the back of his hands and spread along his fingers to Ye Zijun's neck.

"It's not a hallucination! It was captured on the camera!"

After Xiao Ding looked down at the camera screen as Ye Zijun instructed, he looked up and saw Ye Zijun's condition. Without hesitation, he rushed forward and delivered a powerful side kick to the mutated boy's knee. "Fuck you!"

Taking advantage of the moment when the man's body swayed as Xiao Ding kicked him and his grip loosened, Ye Zijun grabbed the man's wrists with both hands and slammed his knee into the man's groin.

The mutated man finally released his grip. After escaping, Ye Zijun did not continue to attack. Instead, he picked up the flashlight from the ground, grabbed Xiao Ding, and ran in the direction they had come from.

As they ran back to the entrance they had come from, the beams of their flashlights swept across the walls of the passageway beside them, and they were shocked to find that the walls were also covered with various kinds of moss and mushrooms—they weren't there when they came in, but they had sprouted up in such a short time?!

Ye Zijun still suspected that it was all an illusion, but now was not the time to verify it; she should run first.

Finally, the flashlight beam reached the doorway. We were about to run out. Although it was still underground, in the subway tunnel, at least the space was wider, there were more escape routes, and we were closer to the outside.

But they soon discovered that two huge lizards were crawling up from the doorway and into the passageway inside; one was lying on the ground with its forked tongue lolling out, while the other was climbing up the wall.

Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding almost simultaneously recalled the story of the "mermaid" that the Chinese boy had told them on the way here. When they heard that the "mermaid" was said to have four legs and live on land, they thought it was probably a lizard, since they had already seen a live monitor lizard outside in just a few days since they arrived in Australia.

Unexpectedly, I actually ran into him here.

These two monitor lizards were quite different from the ones they had seen in front of the interviewees' homes. They were not only much larger, but also covered in colorful moss and mushrooms, which were enough to send chills down one's spine and give one goosebumps.

"Sister, what should we do?" Xiao Ding asked nervously. There were mutated giant lizards blocking their way in front of them, and a tall, mutated boy behind them. It seemed like there was no way forward and pursuers behind them. They were in a desperate situation.

Ye Zijun hesitated for a moment. Judging from her instincts, the mutated boy behind her should be easier to deal with. But the problem was, if they turned back, they would go further and further in, getting further and further away from the exit. They would also be chased by the two mutated giant lizards and would fall into an even more complicated situation.

But if they charged straight ahead, she felt they might both die a horrible death.

Just as she was hesitating, Xiao Ding suddenly exclaimed, "Sister! Your... your face!"

The camera flash in Xiao Ding's hand focused on Ye Zijun's face, revealing that her face was covered with strange moss, and there were even mushrooms growing from her neck.

Ye Zijun was stunned for a moment, raised her hand to touch her face, and immediately jumped back as if she had been burned, startled.

Then she immediately rubbed her neck and face vigorously. The disgusting sensation filled her with despair. She wanted to peel those things off, but they seemed to be growing on her face, as if they were an integral part of her skin.

Footsteps sounded behind them, and the mutated boy limped up. Ye Zijun raised her flashlight and shone it on him. The boy's entire face was covered in mushrooms, and his exposed skin was covered in moss, which was quite terrifying. She then shone the flashlight on the entrance, where the two giant lizards were slowly approaching.

She gritted her teeth and made a decision, saying to Xiao Ding, "Run towards the door! If you can get out, be sure to send the video out!" She had made up her mind; she would first attract the attention of the two monitor lizards, hoping to allow Xiao Ding to escape safely.

If it were last year, or before I went to Montamira and saw the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusion," even if Ye Zijun knew that he would most likely not survive to get out, he would never have been able to make such a life-threatening decision in such a short time.

But now, making this decision is an instinctive and natural reaction for her; she knows it's the best choice.

"Sister!" Xiao Ding naturally understood the meaning and resolute tone in Ye Zijun's words. She immediately knew that no matter what her face looked like, Ye Zijun was still Ye Zijun, still the sister who took good care of her.

So Xiao Ding followed Ye Zijun and rushed towards the door, ready to use her camera as a weapon to fight alongside Ye Zijun. She couldn't abandon her and run away no matter what!

The two had only rushed forward a few steps when the two giant lizards were suddenly pulled backward as if their tails were being dragged by something.

But under the beam of the flashlight, they couldn't see that the two monitor lizards' tails were gripped by anything; it was as if they were being held by an invisible force.

The two monitor lizards were dragged behind the door, letting out screams, followed by the sound of them hitting the wall.

Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding both paused slightly, but the strange man behind them was already closing in. They had no time to hesitate and, without thinking too much, continued forward and rushed out of the small door.

When they reached the door, the first thing they saw was a pretty little girl in a white dress standing a few meters away, holding something that looked like a pork knuckle.

"Get out of the way!" The girl not only looked Chinese, but she also spoke Mandarin.

Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding instinctively parted to the sides, and then the piece of pork knuckle in the little girl's hand was thrown over, flying between the two of them and straight into the door behind them.

Then they heard a crashing sound, and then the limping footsteps stopped; clearly, the mutated man chasing them had been hit.

But how much power could something that looks like a pork knuckle have when thrown by a little girl who looks no more than five or six years old?

Ye Zijun and Xiao Ding both instinctively turned around and shone their lights on the passageway behind them, but they saw nothing except for the ever-growing moss covering the walls. They did not see the mutated boy.

They turned back to look at the spot where the little girl had appeared, only to find that she had vanished.

They dared not explore or linger, and ran wildly along the path they had come from. But after only a few steps, they discovered a large number of mutated creatures covered in moss and small mushrooms ahead. The large ones included giant lizards, and the small ones included rats, snakes, toads, and so on, and they came in dense swarms.

Instinctively, they wanted to turn and run away, but as soon as they moved, they heard a very faint buzzing sound coming from beside them, and then they saw red lines appear among those creatures. The red lines were rotating and cutting, eliminating those mutated creatures at an incredible speed.

"Hurry up." A deep, hoarse voice, like the scraping of metal, snapped the two people out of their daze.

They instinctively grabbed their flashlights and scanned the area, but saw no one. Judging from the voice, it was clearly not the little girl from before.

Just as they were about to continue forward, they heard footsteps ahead. Ye Zijun raised her flashlight and shone it, but the flashlight suddenly went out. However, when she moved the flashlight away, the light immediately returned.

A shadowy figure approached, grabbed her by the neck, and shoved her against the wall beside her.

Ye Zijun was startled, but the large hand gripping her neck wasn't actually exerting any force. She wasn't having trouble breathing, nor was her neck being choked. The large hand seemed more like a doctor holding her neck and chin still. Moreover, she instinctively felt a sense of obedience to the owner of the hand, without feeling panicked or afraid. So she neither screamed nor struggled, simply letting him "choke" her neck and press her against the wall.

Then she felt a bunch of fine things cover her face, covering her entire face, and a cool sensation came over her.

Xiao Ding was startled. She could also sense a figure approaching, but the lighting on her balancer couldn't reach that person. Whenever she shone it on the person, the light would go out and come back on, as if that person could devour light.

But she couldn't photograph that person; instead, she could photograph Ye Zijun. She saw Ye Zijun being choked by a large hand, and Ye Zijun's face covered by a bunch of tiny beads. Terrified, she screamed and rushed over, jumping onto the person, smashing the camera with it while biting the person's neck.

But as soon as she opened her mouth, something blocked it and bounced away. She removed the object and discovered it was a crispy pork knuckle, and... it actually tasted pretty good?

While Xiao Ding was holding the crispy pork knuckle, lost in thought, she noticed that the small beads on Ye Zijun's face had disappeared, and the large hand that was "choking" her neck had also vanished. Somewhat bewildered, she picked up the camera that Xiao Ding had dropped on the ground, grabbed a flashlight, and walked over.

"Xiao Ding, I'm alright."

After Ye Zijun spoke, Xiao Ding finally reacted, looked up at her, and then, using the light from the side, exclaimed in surprise, "Sister, your face... your face has recovered!"

Ye Zijun touched her face and found that her skin had indeed returned to its smooth state, without the disgusting sensation of moss and mushrooms.

She heard slow footsteps and instinctively raised her flashlight to shine towards the entrance, but it went out halfway through. She immediately realized that the person who had just "choked" her was there, walking in that direction.

"Who are you... who are you?" Ye Zijun couldn't help but ask.

"Let's go." It was a relaxed male voice, but it sounded different from the previous hoarse, deep voice; it seemed to be a different person.

Ye Zijun hesitated for a moment, said "thank you," and then walked out with Xiao Ding.

Finally, they emerged from the abandoned subway tunnel, reached the platform, and stepped out onto the ground, where they saw the sunlight. Both of them felt a sense of relief, as if they had survived a close call.

"Where's my pork knuckle?" Xiao Ding suddenly looked at his empty hands and asked in surprise.

"What pork knuckle?" Ye Zijun asked, puzzled. He didn't understand why Xiao Ding was talking about pork knuckle right after escaping. Was he hungry?

"Sis, did you... see the pork knuckle I was holding just now? Crispy pork knuckle," Xiao Ding said.

"No."

Xiao Ding paused for two seconds, then turned to look at the entrance leading to the abandoned subway station behind them, her voice trembling slightly. "Sister, do you remember the little girl we saw when we came out of that passage?"

"Of course I remember," Ye Zijun said.

The experience that followed was so unbelievable, with so many shocking scenes and experiences that it left her with an indescribable sense of unreality. But perhaps because she had seen the "Eight-Armed Eight-Eyed Giant illusion" in Montamira, even though she had just been on the verge of death several times and was in dire straits, she was still relatively calm and did not feel much fear or terror.

Even towards the pretty little girl in the white princess dress, towards that deep, hoarse voice, towards the person in the dark hole who was choking her and removing the moss and mushrooms from her face, there was an inexplicable sense of closeness.

Is it because they all speak Chinese?

She suddenly noticed that Xiao Ding's expression was a bit strange; her eyes seemed to show more shock than fear. She couldn't help but press her shoulder with concern and ask, "What's wrong? Are you alright?"

Xiao Ding turned to look at her. "Sister, that little girl... I've seen her before."

"Huh? You've seen him before?" Ye Zijun was genuinely surprised.

"Sis, do you remember what I told you about... the ghostly encounter at the unfinished building? Even though it was just a fleeting glimpse, I'll never forget the little girl's face," Xiao Ding said with a mournful face. "I hadn't even realized it until now that I'm up here. Sis, I'm already abroad, how could she have followed me... Is she haunting me?"

Ye Zijun's mouth gaped slightly, also shocked by the news, but she quickly said, "Even if she's attached to you, she's not trying to harm you. She just saved us. Besides, isn't the reason you want to work with me to find the truth behind these paranormal phenomena?"

Hearing this, Xiao Ding paused for a moment, then nodded and said, "Yes..."

"Check the camera to see if we took a picture of her," Ye Zijun said.

So Xiao Ding quickly looked down to check their camera, but when he opened it, he found that all the footage they had shot was gone; the memory card was empty, without a single video or photo.

"Was it broken?" Ye Zijun asked, frowning, somewhat disappointed. She had thought that these video clips would definitely be able to create a viral video.

Xiao Ding tried taking some more photos and videos with the camera, then, as if remembering something, said thoughtfully, "No, it's 'her' who won't let us take pictures."

Ye Zijun recalled her own experience and the accounts of those who had experienced the Montamira incident, whom she had interviewed before, and slowly nodded. "It seems so."

"By the way, Andy is still downstairs. He... he doesn't know what happened to him. Should we call the police?" Xiao Ding said.

"Yes," Ye Zijun said, "But we need to contact Lao Xu first, explain the situation to him, and see if we need to contact the embassy or a lawyer."

As they were talking, Ye Zijun suddenly noticed that Xiao Ding's expression was a little off and asked, "What's wrong?"

Xiao Ding suddenly started gagging. On the fifth gag, he vomited some liquid and food residue, which also vaguely contained blood clots the size of rice grains.

Xiao Ding let out a long breath and suddenly felt much lighter.