Putting aside her doubts about 037, Ruan Qing'an decided to go back for the time being. After all, she had given Jiang Shihe enough of a strange feeling, and this perceptive Mr. Jiang would not let her go unpunished and would come looking for her sooner or later.

Ruan Qing'an felt a chill on her body, though she wondered if she had picked up something unclean in the studio.

037: [What's wrong, ancestor?]

"Shouldn't this ghost be looking for the player? Why is it looking for an NPC?"

Ruan Qing'an pinched the bridge of his nose, saying with a headache.

Unexpectedly, 037 replied: "[Because the original owner was also a character in the instance, but ghosts only harass NPCs. When they harass players, they probably go all out, and it's quite brutal.]"

Ruan Qing'an paused, "You seem to know quite a bit about this?"

No, no, my ancestor, you can play as much as you want.

037 seemed to be concealing something, or perhaps intentionally revealing a subtle abnormality, making Ruan Qing'an ponder even more.

The original owner's home was in a high-rise apartment building near F University. Just as Ruan Qing'an walked into the community, he suddenly stopped.

It seemed as if someone was lurking in the shadows, watching from the shadows.

But when Ruan Qing'an looked up, she saw nothing. She simply narrowed her leaden eyes and walked in without making a sound. It wasn't until the sky began to darken that the dungeon finally revealed its hideous claws and gaping maw.

The sky was faintly tinged with blood, and as night fell, the surrounding environment became increasingly quiet, with even pedestrians almost disappearing, making it seem like a completely different city from the daytime.

When Nguyen Thanh An stepped into the apartment elevator—

A hooded man with his head down ran in. He pulled the brim of his hood up and stood in the corner. He didn't press the floor button until the elevator doors closed.

037: [Ancestor, he's a player.]

"...I guessed it. They probably saw me enter the sealed-off area before, so they came looking for clues."

At this moment, Zhang Da cautiously observed the woman beside him. He had once obtained an item in a dungeon that allowed him to detect the presence of vengeful ghosts in supernatural dungeons.

It can only be used three times, and this time the sensation landed on Ruan Qing'an. Not only that, she was also able to enter and exit the cordon.

This woman is definitely suspicious!

After the elevator doors closed, they quickly felt themselves moving upwards. When Zhang Da looked up, his gaze fell on the elevator doors—they were made of a subtly reflective material that allowed him to see the inside of the elevator, which in turn reflected his image against the elevator wall.

As soon as Zhang Da looked up, he saw a dark, blurry figure reflected in the elevator door right behind him!

What is that?!

He was startled, but before Zhang Da could turn around, the overhead light flickered for a moment, and the shadow on the elevator door disappeared. Zhang Da quickly turned to look behind him, but it was empty.

The only reflection was of the terrified expression on my own face.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Just as Zhang Da was still somewhat shaken, the white dress stood out starkly in the reflection on the elevator wall.

The woman standing in another corner turned around at some point.

Then, her beautiful face slowly broke into a smile, her lips, which were painted with lipstick, looked as if they were stained with blood...

Zhang Da was startled and instinctively pulled out a ghost-repelling talisman!

"Aaaaaahhhhhh—"

The next moment, a piercing scream suddenly rang out in the cramped elevator space. The entire elevator seemed to shake and came to a stop, the overhead lights flashing incessantly—

In a flash, it suddenly turned blood red!

A figure was suddenly reflected on the elevator wall. The body was shriveled and the corpse looked as if it had been drained. The face was blank, and in one of the withered hands were two eyeballs, while the other hand held a picture frame containing the unfinished portrait of Ruan Qing'an.

At this moment, it stood silently behind Ruan Qing'an, its reflection in the elevator wall distorted with pain.

"There was definitely something wrong!"

Zhang Da's face turned ashen as he pulled out a pile of props.

At this moment, the elevator was sealed off, and no one could escape. After roaring, the ghost stared at Zhang Da with its empty features, as if it was enraged by the attack, but it was restrained and did not attack directly. It just stared at him intently.

Seeing that Zhang Da was already close to the elevator door, and the elevator was about to arrive, Ruan Qing'an showed a friendly smile.

"Sir, are you sure you don't need my help?"

"If you don't need it, could you do me a favor? I mean... it seems to be missing a face, could you give it to me?"

The overhead light was a blood red, flickering in the dim light like fresh blood. The vengeful ghost, devoid of facial features, was shriveled and withered, its empty eye sockets even more terrifying. And that wasn't all—the woman wore a long white dress and had long black hair.

Her smile was beautiful, but it didn't look human; it looked more like a vengeful ghost.

Zhang Da: ...

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Zhang Da rushed out. A vague sense of crisis lingered in his heart, and he dared not linger. Soon, only Ruan Qing'an was left in the elevator.

After the enclosed space opened, all the strangeness disappeared, and the elevator returned to normal. However, Ruan Qing'an could still feel the eerie, cold sensation that clung to him.

037: [? ? ?]

[No, ancestor, what are you doing?]

"Didn't you realize I was trying to scare people? What's the point of a horror dungeon if the NPCs don't scare the players?"

037: ...And it even has some twisted logic?

Ruan Qing'an chuckled, her leaden eyes glancing discreetly behind her. There was nothing there anymore, but—it was probably because Zhang Wu had drawn her portrait in the middle of the night before his death that it was unexpectedly connected to her.

037: [Then why didn't it attack that player?]

"Face."

Ruan Qingan paused: "The painting that was drawn for me didn't have a face, and Zhang Wu, when he became a ghost, also didn't have a face. And that player must have been wearing a mask and hood to follow me, so I couldn't see his facial features."

037 realized: [Oh right, there are limits to how many times you can kill someone in a dungeon, this player was lucky!]

Ruan Qing'an nodded slightly. As she walked down the elevator, she arrived at the door at the corner and prepared to open it with her key.

But... her movements suddenly stopped.

Ruan Qing'an subconsciously raised her head and looked at the door with the character "福" (fortune) pasted on it. She couldn't help but frown. The original owner's entire house seemed to be faintly exuding yin energy, as if there were evil spirits causing trouble.

037: [What's wrong, ancestor?]

"Can't turn it on, and the 'little nuisance' is back again."

Ruan Qing'an paused, then put down the key in her hand. The key couldn't be inserted into the lock at all, and it fell to the ground with a 'clatter'. She turned her head, but the elevator behind her had already disappeared.

The long corridor stretched on, and large swaths of crimson blood spread from the execution site. Not only that, but blood pooled on the ground to a height of an inch, followed by footsteps.

"Little system, close your eyes."

"The ghost is here..."

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