Chapter 85 - 85 Eighty-five

Words : 1326 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

85: Eighty-five. Over there by Shen Yuqiao 85: Eighty-five. Over there by Shen Yuqiao “How did you know the location of the note again...” the man in the leather jacket said, eyeing Lu Li with suspicion as he approached. “It’s quite simple, there was a camera there,” Lu Li said, brushing past the man in the leather jacket as he walked toward the door. A camera in each room, but in the dance studio, aside from the camera capturing the entire room, there was an extra one in the corner, filming only the area directly in front of it... The intention of ‘hiding something in plain sight’ was obvious. “So... so that’s how it is...” the man in the leather jacket stuttered, deep in thought, following Lu Li out of the dance studio with frequent glances back. Lu Li and the man in the leather jacket walked along the corridor until they reached the Haunted House’s third scene—an infirmary. Dirty sheets, walls covered in bloody handprints, and blood-stained surgical instruments all painted a scene reminiscent of an asylum’s operating room. “There shouldn’t be—” Mid-sentence, a loud, static-filled broadcast noise rang out from the ceiling. [Dear visitors, you have entered the Ghost Wall room. The Ghost Wall room’s rule: You must stay in the room for a full 10 minutes before leaving. Leaving prematurely will be considered a violation of the game rules—] Lu Li looked at the man in the leather jacket, puzzled, “Does the Haunted House really have this kind of game-like setup?” “Ah?” Startled by the sudden question, the man fumbled his words, “Um... yeah, generally Haunted Houses have these kinds of trap rooms... yeah...” Lu Li nodded, said no more, and quietly observed the well-decorated operating room. Meanwhile, Lu Li’s progress was temporarily halted as the ghosts inside the Haunted House accumulated their energy, preparing for a comeback— “Alright, I’ve made it so that visitor can’t move an inch. He won’t be able to leave the operating room...” A low voice from the boss came through the walkie-talkie. Three ghosts who had met with career setbacks exchanged glances and gave a sly laugh. “Heh heh heh, the boss is truly brave.” “This lone human is tough, let’s go find the others. The two girls over there look tasty and easy to scare, hee hee hee hee...” “I’m going to leave them with a lifelong psychological shadow...” Having suffered a setback at Lu Li’s hands, they were ready to make a comeback with Shen Yuqiao. ... Narrow walls were plastered with talisman-like symbols. Several decaying wooden coffins stood against the wall. Their cracked and holey lids exuded a dull breath that seemed to seep out of the coffins... “Ah...” The girl shrank back into her boyfriend’s arms, frightened. “Don’t be afraid, it’s just sound effects.” The smartphone’s flashlight shone on the coffins, the metal amplifiers inside gleaming with reflected light. “See?” Unlike the school-themed corridor on the right, the left side was clearly a different theme. Past the cluster of coffins, a row of fake severed limbs embedded in the wall appeared. Chunxue looked around with interest. Suddenly, she sensed an eerie chill spreading ahead. Was a ghost appearing? Chunxue reined in her well-hidden presence and drifted towards the source of the coldness. At an intersection, two ghosts lurked around the corner, ready to pounce. Obviously, they were preparing to surprise and attack the visitors as they reached the intersection. Chunxue didn’t want a few insignificant ghosts, oblivious to her proximity, to spoil her hard-won Haunted House adventure. Nor did she want to exorcise them, since Lu Li had said to figure out what they were intending to do first. She came up with a plan and stealthily set up a Ghost Wall barrier on the two ghosts hiding around the corner—they wouldn’t notice anyone passing by. After setting it up, Chunxue peeked around the corner to see three visitors approaching while chatting. Pretending as if nothing had happened, she floated back to Shen Yuqiao’s side, humming cutely and passed the intersection with the three of them. Having walked about ten meters, Chunxue quietly lifted the Ghost Wall. By the time the two ghosts at the corner realized what happened, she and the others were already far away. The first to notice something was amiss was the Headless Ghost, who patted the shoulder of the warped shadow in front of it. “Aaaaah!” The distorted shadow jumped in fright, swinging its twisted arms wildly before stopping its scream upon seeing who it was. It complained bitterly, “It’s you, geez, you scared me to death... don’t just suddenly pat someone on the shoulder, okay? Even ghosts can scare ghosts to death.” The Headless Ghost, holding its head, mumbled, “I just wanted to remind you that it seems the group of tourists has passed by...” “What?” The distorted shadow peered out and saw that the group of tourists had just disappeared around the corner at the end of the path. “Why didn’t you say something sooner!” “I just noticed it myself,” the Headless Ghost said, shaking the head it held in its arms. “You know, my vision isn’t good, and my reactions are very slow.” “That’s not right, though. If they just passed by here, there’s no reason we didn’t see them...” The distorted shadow sank into confusion, then suddenly shrieked, “We haven’t run into an actual ghost, have we?” “Ghost? Aren’t we ghosts?” the head expressed its puzzlement. “I’m talking about the kind that scares people.” “Aren’t we in the business of scaring people?” “Argh, it’s no use talking to a blockhead like you.” The distorted shadow waved its hand, giving up on explaining, and pulled out a walkie-talkie from its overall pocket, shouting, “Potato, potato, the tourists have already passed my area, heading your way.” A few seconds later, the ghost in the white dress replied, “Potato received, I’ll intercept them.” Pocketing the walkie-talkie, the distorted shadow looked worried. Something told it this group of tourists might be trouble... “Aaaaaaaah!!!” A scream echoed from ahead, interrupting its thought process, and the Headless Ghost exclaimed, “Potato did it!” ... “Don’t be afraid, it’s only fake...” the young man patted his girlfriend’s back, comforting her in a low voice. His gaze couldn’t help but flit to the hanging white-dress corpse in front of them. His heart raced madly; the sudden fall of such a large thing from the ceiling had nearly done him in. Especially since the white-dress corpse’s limbs were stiff, and it trembled as if electrocuted, almost as if it were alive. Perhaps it was a staff member in disguise? Shen Yuqiao, emotionless, pushed up his glasses from behind the couple, while Yang Chunxue, floating nearby, yawned and slid two fingers gently. The rope holding the white-dress ghost suddenly snapped, and the corpse plummeted, landing with a thud on the floor. “Yaaaaah!!!” The girl hopped back in avoidance, while the young man also stumbled backward a few steps, shaken to his core. “Hm...” A groan came from the white-dress ghost lying on the floor. The couple paused, was this a staff member? That moment, Shen Yuqiao stepped forward, extending a hand and asked, “Hello, do you need help?” “Mmmph!” The head lying on the ground shook violently; the white-dress ghost spun in place like a spider, crawling rapidly away before quickly vanishing at the end of the corridor. “So... so fast...” Could this be a real ghost? Shen Yuqiao turned around to inquire with Yang Chunxue, who gave a confirming look. It was indeed a real ghost. ... Haunted House, a secret room. Everything happening in the Haunted House appeared on the monitor screens. Under the dim light, four ghostly figures huddled together, whispering among themselves. Their secret murmurs dispersed.

Chapter 85 - 85 Eighty-five

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