Chapter 24: Is it fun to earn money with blood? (2) “There’s a ghost…
Meanwhile, the other goblins also began preparing. Having never experienced such a large-scale mission before, many of them chose unfamiliar props they had never used before. These props, in Mammon Gate, were suitable for multi-person operations, which was understandable, but… as for salesmanship, everyone knows that even if the salesperson's exaggerations are all true, it doesn't always mean the product is truly useful, as the shortcomings will be cleverly concealed in the introduction.
So after a whole day of experiments, some people were quite satisfied, while others felt they had been deceived and cursed Mammon behind his back.
Three days later, when the orange-red glow of dawn crossed the Gobi Desert not far away, the beautiful colors and warm temperature broke through the clouds and splashed onto this paradise. The tranquility was gradually broken, and the arrival of luxury cars made the manor lively.
Parking Lot 1, located directly south of the manor, was full by 10:00 AM. Subsequent vehicles were directed to Parking Lot 2 by staff. At the manor entrance, two free buses, used only for internal use, were already full and departed. Two more buses immediately arrived to take the senior monks and believers into the manor.
In the lobby on the first floor of the club, a sign-in desk and sign-in board have been set up. Guests who sign in can receive valuable gifts, ranging from ritual instruments and scriptures to famous cigarettes, liquors, jewelry, and luxury goods.
Some of the guests who completed the check-in process were led by the staff to check in first, while some were not in a hurry to check in and stayed here for the time being to greet and reminisce with friends they had not seen for a long time. The whole manor showed a thriving atmosphere in this busy atmosphere.
As noon approached, the guests grew hungry and headed out for food. Most of them opted for the restaurant on the third floor of the clubhouse, where the buffet offered a wide variety of dishes, all delicious and absolutely free. The spacious dining room was a great place for conversation, and some families with children could even let their children play.
However, there are always people who don't want to join in the fun, and several groups of people went to other places in the manor one after another. The Western restaurant opposite the convenience store soon had four tables of guests, a total of eleven people.
Ah Zhui idly floated back and forth in the aisle between the dining tables. When she noticed that the SAN values hanging above the heads of these eleven people were all gray, with no gold, she was a little disappointed: "There is not a single target person!"
After saying that, she turned her head to look at Si Ling who was standing by the kitchen door. Although Si Ling's face looked normal, Ah Zhui still asked, "Are you okay?"
"I don't feel anything for now." Si Ling shrugged without any pressure.
Now she has six ghost story scrolls on her. Since the ghost stories have been constructed, each one is continuously consuming her mana, but she has not found it difficult so far.
Soon, the two waiters finished taking orders and went into the kitchen one after another. When the second waiter went in, the first waiter hadn't come out yet. Si Ling seized the opportunity and snapped his fingers, and the strange story started instantly.
A subtle ripple appeared in the air, unnoticed by the diners. In the kitchen, two waiters carefully explained the diners' needs and dietary restrictions, then turned back to the restaurant.
As they were talking, they pushed open the metal door between the kitchen and the dining room. Just as they had sold one foot in, the boy walking in front of them was stunned: "What?!"
The people behind him were about to ask what was going on, but when they looked up, they were also confused - what appeared before them was not the restaurant, but the backyard outside the kitchen.
This should be visible only after opening the back door.
The two of them stared at each other in shock for three seconds, then turned their heads to look at the opposite wall - there was a metal door exactly the same as the one here, one leading to the restaurant and the other to the backyard.
Did they turn?
The two people walked towards each other while doubting their lives, reaching out to push the door...
Outside is still the backyard.
"Mr. Chef!" the two people exclaimed in unison.
The chef, who was carefully preparing the sauce, looked up and saw their pale faces: "It's... it's haunted!"
.
Inside the restaurant, the diners didn't notice if the two waiters returning from the kitchen were the same two. They continued their conversation, eagerly anticipating the large gathering. Among them, the father of the family of three at the adjacent table was named Wu Yunfeng. He was quite well-known within the group. He was not only a devout believer but also a renowned actor in China. Not only did he come from a wealthy family, he was also known as an "old artist," a true member of the upper class. This social status gave him considerable authority, attracting many followers and money to the Tunba family, and allowing him to make a fortune.
But Wu Yunfeng has been having some headaches lately because his seventeen-year-old son Wu Zhexian has been in contact with... a lot of women.
If this matter were to be exposed, it would undoubtedly have a devastating impact on his career. Wu Yunfeng had no choice but to seriously teach Wu Zhexian a lesson: "Be more honest, find a good girlfriend, and stop fooling around like this."
Wu Zhexian sat slouched on the chair without any proper manners. Hearing his father's muttering, he smirked and said, "Why wouldn't I keep myself clean? I'm practicing 'dual cultivation'; all high monks do it." He glanced at his father provocatively and said, "Dad, don't you do it often too?"
"You..." Wu Yunfeng's face turned pale and he was about to get angry when the chandelier on the ceiling suddenly flashed twice and then went out with a crackling sound.
"What's going on?" The guests at the next table were the first to express their dissatisfaction. Then, in the darkness, they heard the waiter's calm voice: "Sorry, maybe the power went off. I'll go check it out."
The sudden darkness was so uncomfortable that the guests stopped talking. In the silence, everyone could clearly hear the waiter's footsteps across the hall, followed by the sound of the metal door of the switch box opening.
Then, with the soft sound of the air damper being pushed up, the lights in the restaurant came back on. Some electrical appliances made a power-on sound after being restarted. Before the sound ended, Wu Zhexian noticed a piece of paper on the table. "What is this?"
He frowned and picked up the A4 paper. The diners at the other three tables soon did the same thing, because each of them had an extra piece of paper on their table.
They saw the following written on the paper:
"—Dear distinguished guests of the Tumba family, to ensure your dining experience is pleasant and smooth, please strictly abide by the following rules during your meal:"
“1. Except for drinks, please strictly follow the order to finish your meal;
2. If you need to communicate with the service staff, please be sure to use the service bell on the table to call the waiter;
3. If a waiter makes a request to you, you can refuse the request of a waiter with a blue bow tie, but you must accept the request of a waiter with a red bow tie;
4. This restaurant does not serve red wine. If you see red wine, please do not consume it.
5. This restaurant does not serve liquor. If you see liquor, please do not consume it.
6. Only the most devoted believers can leave here;
7. The devil is waiting for his sacrifice.
"What do you mean?!" The guest who had spoken when the lights went out was the first to speak. He asked the other diners blankly, "Is this a prank? Or is this a special event arranged for the party?"
As he spoke, he subconsciously looked at the camera in the corner, suspecting that the production crew was waiting for them to make a fool of themselves behind the camera.
His companion leisurely opened his wallet, pulled out two $10 bills, and placed them on the table. He asked the waiter, "What do you need us to do now? Do we need to clear a level?"
The waiter came forward with a standard smile: "Sir, you should call me through the service bell." There was deep regret in his eyes.
"Hahaha, are you so serious?" the man asked with a smile.
The next second, everything around him suddenly became dark.
He was still sitting on the chair, and there was still a dining table in front of him, but his companions who had been watching the fun with him had disappeared without a trace, and there was no trace of other people around him.
The only thing that accompanied him was the cold—not freezing, just chilly. That gloomy and cool feeling was overwhelming, seeping into his pores bit by bit, passing through his skin, and raising a thin layer of goose bumps.
"What, what's going on?!" The man opened his eyes wide, trying to see something in the darkness.
He soon reaped the rewards - a green ball of light appeared about ten meters ahead.
Then he heard crying again, the sobbing of a young girl, sad and mournful.
This kind of sound was already creepy in the darkness with a hint of green light, and what was even creepier was that it was erratic. The man could clearly hear the crying sound sometimes passing by the ceiling, sometimes floating past behind him, and the next second it might come directly to his ears, with a slightly cold breath that made people's hair stand on end.
The man became suspicious and felt that a ghost would appear behind him at any time. He jumped up from his chair and looked back again and again like a frightened bird.
SAN value -10%.
Si Ling stood in the darkness with his arms folded, watching him quietly. Ah Zhui sat cross-legged on the ground at Si Ling's feet and laughed: "This guy is too frightened. He lost 10% without doing anything."
After Ah Zhui finished speaking, he looked up at Si Ling and said, "Why don't we just stop now? Get a first kill and let the students open their eyes!"
"No rush." Si Ling laughed. As his thoughts turned, the man's surroundings suddenly lit up, and the scene of a clean and bright restaurant returned to his eyes. His companion was waving his hand in front of him, teasing him with amusement, "Why did you suddenly enter a state of meditation?"
"No...that's not right!" The man suddenly jumped up from his chair. Although everything around him was so real, the horror he had just felt was still vivid in his mind.
The man's eyes were wide open with fear as he shouted at the people, "There's a ghost... There's a ghost! This place is haunted!"
"Hey, sit down!" His companions felt that he was embarrassing, so they stood up and hurriedly tried to force him to sit down.
But the man was completely overwhelmed by fear. He ignored his companions' dissuasion and rushed towards the restaurant door shouting.
——Everyone saw him stumble out the door.
Then, as if their eyes blurred, they saw the man with a terrified face rushing in again.
"What..." The man froze, and so did the other guests, and several of them suddenly stood up.
They finally realized that this wasn't a prank, nor was they filming some party special, but it was really just like the man had said - the place was haunted!
The relaxed mood of watching the fun disappeared in a second, and cold sweat flowed down everyone's forehead.
At the table, Wu Zhexian suffocated and looked at the page in front of him again, his thin lips trembling as he muttered to himself: "Rules... strange rules, infinite flow... copy..."
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