The Flaying Ghost

After the ghost director left the room, Lin Luo let out a long breath, releasing the tension pent up inside him.

He had done everything he could to distract himself and suppress his fear, yet facing the ghost director had still filled him with endless dread.

His first face-to-face encounter with a ghost had felt awful.

It had left him with an urge to flee immediately, as far away as possible.

But he couldn't.

Compared with Lin Luo, the other three students were in even worse shape.

Zhang Xiaoli had wet herself on the spot. Now she sat on the floor with vacant eyes, at a loss as to what to do.

Liu Yanyan gasped for breath, her forehead covered in beads of cold sweat.

Zhang Zhihao's face was deathly pale, and he had clenched his fists so tightly that they had turned purple.

After a long while, Liu Yanyan finally calmed down, comforted her best friend Zhang Xiaoli, and repeated what the ghost director had said.

Zhang Zhihao added a few details from beside her.

Meanwhile, Lin Luo had regained his composure and was checking his personal information.

Everyone who entered the horror game had a personal information panel. It displayed their physical condition, assigned position, and the tasks they needed to complete.

Open personal information panel!

Player: Lin Luo.

Strength: 15.

Speed: 20.

Ghost power: 0.

Ghost items: none.

Skills: Golden Right Hand, thumb (locked), index finger (Crimson Demon Finger), middle finger (locked), ring finger (locked), little finger (locked).

Crimson Demon Finger: when the index finger touches a ghost, it can glimpse portions of that ghost's stream of memories.

Position: orderly at Yellow Springs Hospital.

Main quest: survive (7 days).

Side quest: help change the dressing for the patient in bed 1 of ward 103. (Mandatory)

Ghost coins: 0.

Skills???

Is this a perk of being forcibly teleported here? Or did the system get an upgrade?

Lin Luo was stunned.

The horror game he knew had no such thing as skills.

So this finger gives me a chance to see a ghost's memories!

A moment later, Lin Luo realized just how important the Crimson Demon Finger was to him now.

If he knew what a ghost was thinking and what it liked, his chances of survival would improve dramatically.

Is this a literal cheat finger?

Lin Luo gently clenched his right hand, a glimmer of determination entering his eyes.

Then he looked at the other three. Zhang Xiaoli had come back to her senses, and all three seemed distracted, clearly checking their own tasks.

With time running short, the group followed the directions straight to the storeroom.

The storeroom door stood open. The shelves were piled with boxes of assorted supplies, and one box held neatly arranged white staff uniforms.

Zhang Zhihao stepped forward first to take a uniform.

The next instant, the incandescent bulb overhead began flickering wildly, alternating between light and darkness.

Then a gust of cold wind swept in from behind them.

Lin Luo and the others instantly tensed, every hair on their bodies standing on end.

A skinless, blood-drenched Flaying Ghost suddenly appeared behind Zhang Zhihao.

A chill ran down Zhang Zhihao's spine. The moment he turned around, he found a mangled, bloody face pressed against his own.

He stumbled and fell straight onto the floor.

"Filthy vermin, this isn't a place you should be!"

The Flaying Ghost spoke coldly, turning to look at Lin Luo and the others as he spoke.

As the Flaying Ghost slowly turned, his full appearance came into view.

There wasn't a scrap of skin anywhere on his body. His muscles and blood vessels lay exposed in a mangled mass of flesh.

Most horrifying of all, the Flaying Ghost had a finger dangling from his mouth, chewing on it every so often.

His eyes were filled with contempt. He looked at Lin Luo and the others as though they were ants he could crush on a whim.

Facing the Flaying Ghost, Lin Luo actually felt far less fear and pressure.

Partly, this was because it was his second encounter with a ghost, and he had grown a little more accustomed to it.

The other reason was that Lin Luo could sense that, despite the Flaying Ghost's terrifying appearance, he was nowhere near as frightening as the ghost director.

Humans really are worth no more than ants here!

Lin Luo grumbled inwardly. Even though he had known this already, it still made him deeply uncomfortable.

"W-we're here to collect our uniforms!"

Zhang Zhihao, who was closest to the Flaying Ghost, mustered the courage to speak.

"If you want uniforms, trade your skin for them!"

An icy voice emerged from the Flaying Ghost's throat. Blood dripped from his body onto the floor and slowly flowed toward Zhang Zhihao.

"N-no, don't, don't..."

Watching the crimson blood spread toward him, Zhang Zhihao felt as though he was about to be swallowed whole.

The courage he had just mustered collapsed in an instant.

Still seated on the floor, he kept scooting backward, his face filled with terror.

Seeing Zhang Zhihao panic, the Flaying Ghost laughed with delight, his eyes full of enjoyment.

Liu Yanyan was just about to step forward when she noticed the Flaying Ghost turn his gaze toward her. She instantly froze in place.

As for Zhang Xiaoyan, she was trembling like a leaf.

Lin Luo checked the time. More than half of it had already passed.

If they didn't collect their uniforms and reach their workstations soon, they would be late.

Compared with the Flaying Ghost before them, the consequences of failing their tasks were even more serious.

And under the rules, this Flaying Ghost was allowed to attack them directly.

Understanding this, he mustered his courage and forced down his fear.

Lin Luo stepped forward.

The moment he moved, the Flaying Ghost's icy gaze swung toward him.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, Lin Luo still shuddered when he faced the Flaying Ghost head-on.

Rather than retreat from his fear, Lin Luo chose to confront it.

To face terror head-on.

And so his steps grew faster.

Seeing Lin Luo's actions, the Flaying Ghost's eyes grew even colder. A low, hoarse laugh rose from his throat, sinister and chilling.

This filthy vermin actually dares to defy me.

The next instant, the thick, crimson blood on the floor changed direction, converging on Lin Luo as though to swallow him whole.

Instead of stopping, Lin Luo quickened his pace.

"Lin Luo... what is he doing?"

Liu Yanyan watched as Lin Luo reached the Flaying Ghost and even raised his arm.

It looked as though he was about to slap the Flaying Ghost!

That was a ghost!

How did he dare?

"Lin Luo is going to get us killed."

Zhang Xiaoli spoke in a trembling voice.

Seizing the opportunity, Zhang Zhihao hurriedly crawled away from the Flaying Ghost, looking utterly pathetic.

The Flaying Ghost was a little stunned too.

From the look of it, this filthy vermin wants to hit me?

At that thought, the Flaying Ghost smiled.

A strange smile spread across his mangled, bloody face, making him look especially hideous.

"Are you really refusing to give us our uniforms?"

Lin Luo lowered his arm, pointing straight at the Flaying Ghost as he challenged him.

He knew that his tone and gesture were painfully melodramatic, but he had his reasons.

The instant he drew close to the Flaying Ghost, his index finger discreetly touched him.

Crimson Demon Finger: when the index finger touches a ghost, it can glimpse portions of that ghost's stream of memories.