The NPCs in the haunted house dutifully scared everyone who entered. The couple who had gone in ahead of them screamed nonstop; their shrieks and curses could be heard from far away.
The girl cursed, "You bastard, what happened to your promise just now? You said you'd protect me, and what did you do? You left me behind and ran off on your own."
"Pah, scumbag. We're breaking up as soon as we get out."
The boy was still explaining, "I was just too scared. I panicked, so I left you and ran. Honey, don't be mad. I won't do it again."
The girl accused him, "How am I supposed to trust anything you say? A man's mouth is nothing but lies."
"Honey, I really was wrong. If I run again this time, may a car hit me and kill me when I walk out."
The moment he finished speaking, a blood-covered headless ghost lunged at them. The boy let out a scream and ran off, leaving the girl standing there in stunned disarray.
He had promised never to do it again, only to run faster than a rabbit.
The headless ghost NPC took the opportunity to reveal his head and say, "That's a scumbag for you. Don't hesitate. Break up with him as soon as you get out."
The girl sobbed out a thank-you.
Compared to the commotion up ahead, An Yubei's group was rather quiet. They ignored even the NPCs who came out to scare them.
They concentrated on solving the puzzles, completely undisturbed.
The NPC who had been circling them for ages: "...!"
Couldn't you show us a little respect?
There was no sense of accomplishment in trying to scare them, so the NPC switched to the next group.
Li Liang still tried to edge closer to An Yubei, but Lu Jinsheng blocked him every time. After several attempts, Li Liang lost much of his enthusiasm.
He did quite like An Yubei. He had found him attractive from the very first glance.
He had also deliberately bumped into An Yubei to catch his attention, and everything had been going smoothly.
There were simply too many people around him. He couldn't squeeze in at all.
Just as he was feeling dejected, he suddenly remembered that one of the challenges in the zombie zone ahead seemed to involve triggering a mechanism and being locked in a coffin for ten minutes.
The coffin was cramped and could only hold one person. If two people could get inside together, wouldn't that mean intimate physical contact?
Li Liang pressed his lips together in a smile, privately congratulating himself on being such a genius. He really knew how to create opportunities for himself.
Having come up with a plan, Li Liang suggested, "We're pretty much done with the puzzles here. Let's check out the zombie zone. I heard it's pretty fun over there, and a little harder too."
An Yubei was starting to feel rather bored, so when he heard Li Liang's suggestion, he agreed to take a look.
Ji Shang and Lu Jinsheng had no objections either, though they remained wary of Li Liang's suggestion.
After all, they were all old foxes. Who was he trying to fool with those tricks?
The four of them arrived at the zombie zone, which resembled the aftermath of a Resident Evil-style disaster. There were more NPCs here, slouching and staggering as they watched the newly arrived prey.
These four hadn't been scared once since entering the haunted house. Feeling that his haunted house had been challenged, the owner issued a strict order: they had to scare these four.
Whoever scared these four would get an extra chicken drumstick that evening.
The zombies immediately perked up, looking at the four as though they were chicken drumsticks. They were practically drooling.
Once the four entered, the door to the zombie zone closed, turning the entire room into an enclosed space.
Soon, alarms blared and the zombies began to attack. Although it was called an attack, they merely chased people around, caught them, and locked them in a little dark room for ten minutes before releasing them.
Only by finding a way out could they truly end the zombie chase.
The zombies chased them for ten minutes, then rested for five, repeating the cycle.
The players needed to find a way out during those five minutes of rest.
Li Liang knew the rules here perfectly well, so he began stirring up trouble.
When the zombies charged over, Ji Shang and Lu Jinsheng both stayed close to An Yubei to protect him.
They gave the zombies no chance to approach, turning the chase into a one-sided pursuit with no one to catch.
Seeing that the zombies were getting tired and about to start resting, Li Liang seized his chance and pretended to trip, pushing Ji Shang out. Just like that, Ji Shang was caught and locked in the little dark room.
Li Liang said innocently, "Sorry, I didn't mean to. I got nervous and stepped on my shoelace."
Looking down, his shoelace really was untied.
An Yubei wasn't so suspicious. They were only playing a game. "It's fine. Once the zombies rest, we'll hurry and find the exit to get my brother out."
The zombies had now entered their five-minute rest period. An Yubei seized the chance to search for the mechanism that opened the exit.
An Yubei was easy to fool, but Lu Jinsheng wasn't.
He had fought his way through crowds of shrewd people. How could he easily believe Li Liang's nonsense?
Besides, these tricks were all things he had long since finished using. They weren't worth mentioning.
The only reason he stayed quiet and didn't expose him was that Li Liang had gotten rid of the annoying Ji Shang.
He found that rather satisfying too.
Ji Shang had stolen his thunder all day. It was time for him to show what he could do.
"Xiao Bei, let's look over here." Lu Jinsheng took An Yubei by the wrist and led him north to examine the mechanisms there.
The mechanisms were ingeniously designed and dizzyingly complex. An Yubei didn't understand them very well, so Lu Jinsheng seized the opportunity to display his knowledge, explaining what they did.
An Yubei praised him sincerely. "Lu Jinsheng, you're amazing. No wonder you were the provincial top scorer."
The male lead in the novel had been written as an academic overachiever with heaven-defying abilities and extraordinary intelligence.
Otherwise, all those women wouldn't have liked Lu Jinsheng.
An Yubei was a little puzzled. Where had all the people who liked Lu Jinsheng gone? Wasn't the male lead supposed to be endlessly charming?
Lu Jinsheng had no idea what An Yubei was thinking. He simply did his best to explain, then activated the mechanism to see whether it was the exit.
Listening nearby, Li Liang kept curling his lip. All you do is show off. You finally got your chance.
You make it all sound so convincing, but do you know where the switch is?
Li Liang secretly pressed a switch. A concealed door opened, and he repeated his old trick, pretending to stumble again and pushing Lu Jinsheng inside.
The door shut, and Lu Jinsheng clenched his fists. He had been so focused on An Yubei that he had forgotten there was a petty schemer behind him.
An Yubei: "...!"
If he still couldn't tell Li Liang was doing it on purpose this time, he really would be an idiot.
An Yubei pouted in displeasure. "Why did you push Lu Jinsheng away on purpose?"
He said angrily, "You pushed my brother on purpose too, didn't you?"
Li Liang kept up his act. "Beibei, you have to believe me. I didn't mean to."
"The zombies are coming. Let's run!"
As he spoke, Li Liang reached for An Yubei's hand, but An Yubei dodged him.
An Yubei was genuinely angry. He hated people who deliberately schemed.
"I can run on my own. I don't need your help."
Li Liang said as he ran, "I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to."
"Don't be angry anymore."
An Yubei felt that Li Liang now sounded just like that boy. Not a single word out of his mouth was true.
After running for a few minutes, Li Liang suddenly grabbed An Yubei and said, "Let's hide in that coffin. Then the zombies won't be able to catch us."
The first round of chasing had drained a lot of their stamina. Although they had rested for five minutes, they were still exhausted. After two minutes of running, their bodies couldn't take it anymore.
An Yubei couldn't run any farther either, so he agreed to Li Liang's suggestion.
The coffin stood right in the middle of the zombie area. They hurried over, and Li Liang activated the mechanism. The coffin lid lifted on its own.
Li Liang told An Yubei to get in first. Seeing how little space there was, An Yubei hesitated.
Li Liang shoved An Yubei inside. Just as he was about to climb in himself, a hand seized his collar and dragged him back down.
Seeing that the coffin was about to close, Ji Shang worried that An Yubei would be scared and took the opportunity to climb inside.
The mechanism closed, leaving the coffin pitch-black. They couldn't see anything.
"Brother, is that you?" An Yubei felt around in the dark and touched Ji Shang's face.
Ji Shang braced his arms on either side of An Yubei's shoulders, trying not to put his weight on him. "It's me. Don't be scared, Xiao Bei."
An Yubei felt reassured. He had thought he was imagining things, but now that his brother was here, he wasn't scared anymore.
But he still wanted Ji Shang to hold him, so he softened his voice and pleaded sweetly, "Brother, hug me. I'm scared."