Ghost Binding

Zhou Ruiyao was a brave woman, having coaxed Huang Jia into joining them. Seeing Huang Jia's fear, she offered to help her get the props. The dim light of a flashlight illuminated the small attic, revealing what looked like a storage room filled with antique ornaments and books, deliberately distressed. A card sat on an old desk, a simple reminder that Huang Jia needed to return to the room where she'd been frightened by the staff last time.

Huang Jia was initially thankful that she didn't have to search for clues alone; it turned out that this scary game wasn't so kind. Time was limited, and Zhou Ruiyao still needed to find her own props on the large rooftop. If she waited for her, she wouldn't have enough time, and she would be separated by the staff downstairs.

Huang Jia didn't want to disturb her best friend from playing games, so she plucked up her courage and went downstairs first. After all, she had been scared in that room once before, so she was mentally prepared for the next time.

Ten minutes later, Huang Jia found a clue and returned to the room to discuss the plot. The other friends had already returned to their seats to wait for them. Huang Jia didn't see Zhou Ruiyao and wondered why she hadn't returned yet. In previous horror script-killing games, Zhou Ruiyao always found the evidence and returned first. Today, she was the last one to come back, and she still hadn't returned.

Huang Jia was worried that something might have happened to Zhou Ruiyao, so she asked a staff member to go up to the rooftop to check. A few minutes later, the staff member came downstairs and said that she was not on the rooftop. Huang Jia and several other friends ran out to look for her.

They searched everywhere but couldn't find her. The only thing they found was the door of the innermost room of the replica public restroom on the first floor, which was closed. No one answered their knocks. Suspecting Zhou Ruiyao was inside, they forced the door open.

Zhou Ruiyao hid in a corner, her head buried in her arms, curled up tightly. Huang Jia tried to help her up, but Zhou Ruiyao refused to respond, struggling to prevent anyone from approaching her. The strongest boy then forcefully lifted her up and carried her to the living room where they would discuss the matter.

Zhou Ruiyao was trembling slightly. With her friend's comfort, she slowly raised her head. Her eyes were filled with tears and lifeless, as if she had been frightened by something. She didn't answer when asked, but only shook her head weakly.

After her friend took Zhou Ruiyao to the hospital, they returned to check the security footage. The rooftop surveillance had a blind spot, and they only saw her descending the stairs. Her expression was normal, her hand clasped forward, as if she were holding someone's hand. At the first corner of the room, Zhou Ruiyao paused, her expression frightened. She turned and ran, hiding in the bathroom.

The boss finally explained that the staff in that room were preparing horror props, and that the corpse might have been too real to have frightened her. He politely apologized to Uncle Zhou and compensated her for her medical expenses and a small sum of money. The doctor explained that she was frightened and needed to be hospitalized for a few days for observation.

Ye Jing'an told Liu Muze the information Huang Jia had provided. Seeing that the staff over there were now free, he walked over and asked, "Hello, I'm Zhou Ruiyao's friend. She was playing here the other day and got scared. I'd like to see the surveillance footage from that day, is that okay?"

"I'm sorry, the boss installed a few more surveillance cameras the day before yesterday, so we deleted all the previous surveillance data," said the staff member.

"Okay, then I'll make another appointment for ghost binding. I want to see how scary it is and how it can scare people like that." Ye Jing'an said.

"Okay, handsome guy, how many people are there with you? This is a six-person dungeon, and it starts at 11pm." The staff reminded.

"Okay, book it for me, we'll come and play in the evening." Ye Jing'an said to Liu Muze, "Let's go, I've already made a reservation here, let's go back and have a barbecue first, and then come and play in the evening."

"Okay." Liu Muzhe said.

When they got home, Qiu Zimu and Wang Zhiyi had already washed and marinated the vegetables and meat and were grilling them.

"You're quite quick. Are you ready to eat now?" Ye Jing'an snatched the freshly grilled skewers from his hand and tasted them.

"Yeah, I just sent you a message asking you to come back for dinner." Qiu Zimu took another bunch of grilled chicken wings and handed them to Brother Liu. "What were you and Brother Liu doing in such a hurry? Why are you back just now?"

Ye Jingan told them what happened to Uncle Zhou's daughter and said with a smile, "Shall we go out and have some fun together tonight?"

Qiu Zimu decisively refused. The trauma left by the haunted house experience was too profound, and he never wanted to play any horror games again. He had no doubt that if he went this time, he would be the one lying in the hospital with a broken heart tomorrow.

"Don't be scared, what are you afraid of with the three of us here with you?" Ye Jing'an said.

"You just said there are single-line tasks. Where are you if you are on the single line?" Qiu Zimu retorted.

"Don't you know what level Brother Liu is at? Besides, Uncle Zhou's daughter is waiting for you to rescue her. Show some manliness, go for it!" Ye Jing'an picked up his phone. "I'll give you five minutes to think about it. This dungeon requires six people. I'll ask my sister to bring someone else to play with us."

Ye Jingning readily agreed on the other end of the phone. Ye Jingan caught a glimpse of Qiu Zimu's eyes, revealing his determination to never go, and said with regret, "Sister, it seems we can't get this person together. Qiu Zimu is absolutely unwilling to go."

"Give him the phone." Ye Jingning said.

Qiu Zimu took the phone with a dry smile. In less than a minute, he nodded in agreement with a sad face.

"That's right. It will be fun if we go together. I'll grill some chicken wings for you." Ye Jing'an said with a smile.

"Don't be afraid, everything will be fine with me here." Wang Zhiyi coaxed.

"Really? I feel like you look like you need more protection. At least I know witchcraft, but you are just a little taller, so what can you do?" Qiu Zimu asked.

Wang Zhiyi: “…”

Around eight or nine in the evening, Ye Jingning finished work and treated his friends to a late-night snack, intending to go straight to the script-killing game after a full meal. However, there was a traffic accident on the overpass, and Ye Jingning was stuck on the bridge, arriving half an hour late at the agreed-upon late-night snack shop.

When Ye Jing'an saw that the person Ye Jingning brought was Wu Yuling, he was secretly worried that Wang Zhiyi would impulsively do something to hurt her.

"Sorry for being late." Ye Jingning glanced at the new face next to Qiu Zimu and said, "Who is this handsome guy? Why haven't I seen him before? I haven't heard of him mentioning this friend before?"

"Sister, his name is Wang Zhiyi, a friend I met not long ago." Qiu Zimu smiled and introduced Ye Jingning and Wu Yuling to Wang Zhiyi.

Wang Zhiyi greeted with a smile, but when he heard Wu Yuling's name, his smile froze.

Ye Jing'an brought a stool for Wu Yuling, thinking about sitting next to her, and paying attention to Wang Zhiyi's little movements. After all, he was not familiar with this person. Although he felt that this person was not bad after spending time with her for a day, he could not say that he completely trusted her.

The atmosphere was quite harmonious as they ate and chatted. Wang Zhiyi didn't even look at Wu Yuling, but kept staring at Qiu Zimu. As soon as Qiu Zimu smiled at Wu Yuling, he turned his head away and drank his juice.

Ye Jing'an was amused. Seeing that Wang Zhiyi wasn't joining in the conversation, he decided to call him out and talk to him about Wu Yuling to see what his attitude was. It would be too easy to play script-killing games in the dark, with single-player missions.

"Why did you call me out?" Wang Zhiyi asked.

"Then sister is the one Lao Qiu likes. What is your attitude?" Ye Jing'an asked.

"No attitude." Wang Zhiyi said expressionlessly.

"I'm warning you not to try to kill anyone secretly. If Sister Yuling is in any danger, Brother Liu and I will not let you go." Ye Jing'an said.

Wang Zhiyi paused and said indifferently, "Do I look like this kind of person?"

Ye Jingan nodded: "Yes."

"..." Wang Zhiyi sneered, "I don't need to do anything behind someone's back if I want them dead. Besides, she's an unarmed girl, why would I deal with her? I respect Zimu's choice. I can't make him like me. It's my own fault. I can't blame anyone else."

"Brother, you have a very positive outlook. I admire you and wish you success!" Ye Jing'an secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Why did you two sneak out?" Ye Jingning asked.

"I'll buy you some wine. Just drink some. Don't get too drunk and beat up other staff members." Ye Jing'an handed the two bottles of fruit wine in his hand to Ye Jingning and Liu Muzhe.

"Your sister's alcohol tolerance is self-evident." Ye Jingning poured Wu Yuling some wine and drank directly from the bottle. "By the way, which store are you going to play script-killing games?"

"The IKEA Community Wonderful Story Detective Museum." Ye Jingan said.

"Oh, I know that store. I went there once with my sisters from the company. It was quite interesting. Have you made a reservation? That store is doing good business. If you don't make a reservation, you probably won't be able to go there." Ye Jingning said.

"I would only ask you if we have an appointment." Ye Jing'an said.

"What book?" Ye Jingning asked.

"Horror book, ghost binding." Ye Jingan said.

"That's fine. I've wanted to play a horror game before. It's okay that the girls weren't happy about it, but I was also scared of the grown-up men in it. So I ended up just playing a mystery game." Ye Jingning searched the introduction of this book and it seemed to be quite what she wanted.

It was almost time, and a few people staggered over.

The Wonderful Story Detective Museum is open 24 hours a day, and even at this hour, there are still people playing script-killing games, but there are fewer than during the day, and the store lacks the lively atmosphere of the day. Under the dim light, the whole room looks dead.

"Hello, do you have an appointment?" asked the staff.

"Yes, it's the ghost binding I told you about this morning." Ye Jingan said.

"I remember now. The room you reserved is on the 26th floor. The one who will show you is Miss Sisi. Please wait. She is just setting up the room upstairs and will be down soon. Just follow her upstairs." said the staff member.

After a while, a girl in a school uniform with a high ponytail came down and said to the group with a smile: "Hello, my name is Sisi, please follow me."

Sisi asked them if it was their first time playing script-killing games, gave them a brief introduction to the script-based gameplay, and then took them to the dressing room on the 26th floor. There were clothes of various styles on display here. Sisi pointed to the blue and white school uniforms and said, "Ghost Binding is a story that takes place on a campus. For an immersive experience, we need to change into school uniforms."