Little Chen, you're not hurt, are you!

Zhang Peng sprinted out of the staff passage, stumbling about like a headless fly. The Haunted House had a complex layout, and with the lights off, he realized with despair after running a few meters that he had lost his way back.

"Why stop running? Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you; I just want to use you for a small experiment." Gripping the hammer with both hands, Chen Ge followed Zhang Peng like a ghost, driving him toward a dead end.

"Won't hurt me? You broke my bone with one hammer strike less than three seconds after we met! You call that not hurting me?" Zhang Peng had already dropped his knife. His left arm was bleeding, and his right arm was completely numb, hanging from his shoulder like a noodle. For a fleeting moment, he felt an overwhelming sense of grievance, even harboring the impulse to turn himself in to the police.

"Stop struggling. I advise you to be obedient and do as I say, otherwise, you might spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair." Chen Ge approached slowly, feeling no sympathy. Zhang Peng had come to kill him; if he hadn't discovered him in advance, he would have been the victim by now.

"Big Brother, is that something a victim should say? I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes!" Zhang Peng had long since lost track of where he dropped his knife. Unarmed, he dove into any path he saw.

"You run quite fast." Chen Ge continued the chase. After a few steps, that eerie cutting sound echoed in his ears again, and a black shadow darted out from the staff passage!

The Mirror Monster had likely only just figured out the situation, realizing its opportunity had arrived.

Panicked and disoriented, Zhang Peng raced through the first floor of the Haunted House. As he passed a corner, he vaguely saw someone waving at him.

Perhaps the pressure Chen Ge exerted was simply too great; without much hesitation, he ran toward where that person was standing.

Chen Ge, following behind, witnessed this scene and felt a chill in his heart. The height and build of that black shadow matched He Feng—it was the Mirror Monster!

"There is a path to heaven, yet you refuse to take it; there is no gate to hell, yet you insist on breaking in. That is a genuine ghost!" Before Chen Ge could speak, Zhang Peng had already reached the end of the corridor with the shadow. Guided by the figure, he hid inside the restroom.

"The mirror in the first-floor restroom is intact. The Mirror Monster lured him there; it clearly intends to strike!" Now that it had reached this critical moment, Chen Ge grew tense. He rushed to the restroom and shook the door handle, only to find it locked tight.

The situation was gradually deviating from his plan. The black shadow had appeared suddenly and snatched Zhang Peng away before he could subdue him.

"Ah!"

Only a few seconds later, a shrill, miserable scream erupted from the restroom. Something was knocked over and shattered; Zhang Peng seemed to have encountered something truly terrifying.

"What is happening in there?" Chen Ge raised his hammer and smashed it against the lock. The lock broke off, but the door still wouldn't open; someone had propped a storage cabinet against it from the inside.

Unable to see the scene inside the restroom, Chen Ge grew slightly impatient and began hammering relentlessly at the wooden door.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The massive commotion could be heard even outside the Haunted House. Chen Ge used all his strength, smashing through the hollow wooden door. The storage cabinet behind it began to wobble, revealing a gap half a palm wide.

Peering through the gap, he saw the black cloth that had covered the restroom mirror lying on the floor. Zhang Peng was staring at the mirror surface with a dazed expression, and even more terrifyingly, a tall black shadow stood between him and the mirror!

The figure was slowly changing, eventually taking on the same build as Zhang Peng. It stepped back, merging half of its body into the mirror, and then the strangest thing happened.

The vacant-eyed Zhang Peng walked toward the mirror of his own accord. His face pressed tightly against the glass, and at that moment, his body fused with the half of the shadow that remained outside.

After about three or four seconds, Zhang Peng's unconsciously parted lips curled upward, revealing an eerie smile!

He turned slowly, looking at Chen Ge through the door and the cabinet. He reached out, dipped his fingers into the blood on his arm, and wrote something on the mirror surface.

A second or two later, Zhang Peng's eyes returned to normal. He shuddered, and without a word, he climbed over the restroom window and fled outside the Haunted House.

Has the Mirror Monster moved into Zhang Peng's body? Why does this thing hold such a grudge against me? Is it because I've repeatedly ruined its plans? The Mirror Monster had previously attacked He Shan and He Feng, but both attempts failed due to outside interference. Perhaps that was why the monster held a grudge against Chen Ge, the owner of the Haunted House.

The restroom door was jammed and couldn't be opened in the short term. Chen Ge hurried toward the main entrance, but before he could step out, he heard Captain Li's voice from outside.

"Chen Ge! Hold on! We're arriving now!" With a loud bang, the protective bars of the Haunted House were pried open, and several police officers swarmed in.

Seeing the situation, Chen Ge immediately tossed his hammer into a corner and removed his mask and jacket.

Footsteps echoed in the corridor. Captain Li was the first to rush in. Seeing Chen Ge standing dazed in the hallway, he ran over: "Xiao Chen, are you hurt?"

Chen Ge took a step back, leaning "weakly" against the wall, and patted his chest gently: "I was a bit frightened, but I'm fine. Don't worry about me, go after Zhang Peng! He escaped through the restroom window!"

"Leave the rest to us. You've worked hard tonight."

"It's no trouble. As long as we can catch the suspect, what is this small sacrifice of mine?"

"You really shouldn't be so impulsive in the future. Tonight was so dangerous!" Captain Li's eyes were full of admiration. He arranged for the others to pursue Zhang Peng while he stayed in the Haunted House with Chen Ge to inspect the scene.

He entered the staff lounge first. Seeing the blood on the sheets, he immediately grew tense: "Xiao Chen, are you injured? Let me see!"

"That blood isn't mine..." Chen Ge didn't know how to explain: "It was very dark in the room, and the suspect seemed to have cut himself."

Captain Li nodded. He raised his flashlight, looking at the gruesome knife marks on the sheets and quilt with a solemn expression: "Someone unskilled with a knife would only cut themselves while in a state of extreme frenzy."

He pointed to the marks: "Seventeen cuts in total! This is enough to be charged with attempted murder. This is evidence!"

Staring at the marks on the sheets, Chen Ge felt a lingering fear.

Captain Li put on his gloves and signaled for Chen Ge to step out: "Don't touch anything in this room. Someone will be here soon to take photos and collect evidence."

"Understood, I will cooperate fully." Chen Ge retreated from the room. He quietly doubled back, hid the hammer, and then stopped at the restroom door: What was it that Zhang Peng wrote on the mirror just now?