The black figure swayed in the candlelight, and the smile on the face was creepy.
"It's you..."
A black figure came to a huge iron cage and pulled the man, who looked like a frightened deer, out of the cage.
'Please, please, let me go.'
The man pleaded bitterly.
"Let you go......"
The black figure laughed out loud towards the sky as if he had heard a joke.
"sure…''
''real? "
The man was completely confused about the situation and asked uncertainly.
"How could I let my foolish prey slip away..."
The black figure dug a bloody heart out of the man's body. The moment the man fell, the black figure grabbed him and threw him into a pool.
The water in the crocodile pond was originally dark green. The moment the smell of blood spread, ripples suddenly appeared on the water surface.
Dozens of pairs of yellow pupils emerged from the bottom of the pool. When the man's body was thrown into the pool, the first crocodile that rushed up bit off his arm. The sound of broken bones mixed with the splash of water, startling a blood mist all over the pool.
The black shadow threw the heart into the big pot of green bubbles, and stirred the potion in the pot with a thick stick, muttering something in his mouth.
"It's almost time to take the next step."
He stopped what he was doing, looked up at the crystal ball floating in the air and said.
The room they were in suddenly shook violently. Chao Youye and Mu Xinrong, who were originally downstairs, also came up. A dazzling white light flashed across, and the three of them disappeared without a trace.
When the light gradually dimmed, Chao Youye opened her eyes and found herself lying on a clean bed.
The sheets were starched linen and scented like lavender laundry detergent—but beneath that, there was a faint odor of rust. The chandelier on the ceiling was a vintage crystal style, but three of the crystal pendants were chipped, revealing the dark red filling inside.
"Mu Xinrong? Ye Qingliu?" His voice echoed in the empty room. The bedside lamp lit up automatically. In the cold white light, he saw an oil painting hanging on the opposite wall: a girl in Victorian clothing standing in a rose garden, her shadow having the outline of a wolf.
There was a photo frame on the bedside table with three scratches from fingernails on the glass surface. In the photo, a middle-aged man was hugging two boys, and the youngest son was holding a rabbit doll with missing ears.
"Wait..." Chao Youye sat up suddenly, his heart pounding - the eldest son in the photo was wearing the school uniform of the Municipal No. 3 Middle School with a silver school badge on his collar, and he was wearing a white T-shirt of the same style at this moment.
He looked down at his hand. There was a light brown mole on the inside of his wrist, exactly in the same position as the boy in the photo.
[Welcome to the game world of "Haunted Mansion"]
Mechanical sounds came from all directions, and Chao Youye felt a sting in his eardrums. He looked up and saw a translucent panel slowly descending from the center of the ceiling.
In the flashing blue light, words emerged like flowing water, and the last line was particularly eye-catching: [Once you die, it is true death].
[You cannot use external forces to clear the level. You can use any means you want to clear the level while completing the mission.]
[More hidden plots need to be explored and discovered by the players themselves.]
A translucent panel appeared before his eyes. He clicked on it and his personal information popped up.
[Player Name: Chao Youye]
[Spirit value: 0]
[Luck value: 10]
[HP: 100]
[Agility: 10]
[Attack: 40]
[Intelligence: 84]
[Skill: None]
[Points: None]
"Mr. Chao!! Got it, please reply!" The voice from the speaker was filled with electrical noise, like the hissing of an old radio.
When turning towards Youye, he saw the surveillance camera in the corner of the wall turn slightly, and the red light on the lens suddenly lit up and then quickly went out.
He noticed a drag mark at the foot of the bed, extending from the wardrobe to the side of the bed, shaped like a twisted snake, with a small dark red stain at the end.
The sound of the iron door opening made the floor tingle. First there was the metallic scraping of the key inserting into the lock, then the hissing of the hydraulic rod releasing pressure. The corridor light leaking in through the crack in the door was like a sharp knife, slicing through the dimness of the room.
The man who broke in was wearing a silver-gray chemical protective suit, goggles on his head, a walkie-talkie and a stun gun hanging on his waist, and the wind created by his footsteps brought the smell of disinfectant.
"No. A-07, vital signs are normal, no external injuries." The man's voice was muffled through the mask, but his right hand accurately grasped Chao Youye's wrist, and his index finger pressed on the radial artery to count.
Chao Youye saw beads of sweat on the inside of his goggles and a dark brown stain on the shoulder of his chemical protective suit, shaped like a claw mark.
The man suddenly raised the flashlight and shone it into his eyes. The strong light made Chao Youye subconsciously turn his head, but he caught a glimpse of the work badge on the other's chest: "Security Department·Chen Mo", number 037. There was still half a piece of grass leaf on the cuff, with jagged bite marks on the edge.
"Thank God..." Chen Mo took off his goggles, revealing deep wrinkles at the corners of his eyes and a scar on his right eyelid that extended from the base of his eyelashes to his cheekbone.
He panted heavily and pulled a silver card case from his tactical waist pack. He noticed the thick calluses on his thumbs, as if from constant gun handling. "17th simulation test, and finally someone survived."
The card box made a crisp click when it opened. The surface of the work ID was covered with a matte film, and "Haunted Mansion Game Supervisor" was printed in gold font. The photo column was empty, with only a line of small words: "To be entered".
When Chao Youye took the work ID, her fingertips touched the calloused skin on Chen Mo's palm. It was unusually cold, as if it had just been pulled out of ice water. Inside the ID was a note with the words "Don't trust the mirror" written on the back in red ink. The handwriting was so strong that it pierced the paper, and the final period left a small ink stain.
Chen Mo suddenly leaned closer and lowered his voice: "Before your spirit value drops to zero, find the ventilation hole on the third floor of the basement."
He took two steps back, and his chemical protective suit rubbed against the chest of drawers, knocking the picture frame to the side and revealing a scratch on the wallpaper behind it - it was a cross-shaped scratch with dark red spots at the intersection, exactly the same as the scratch on the desk in the old house.
"Remember, don't touch anything with a bell." When Chen Mo turned around, Chao Youye saw a bulge on the back of his chemical protective suit, shaped like the claw of some creature.
The moment the iron door closed behind him, Chao Youye heard the laughter of a child coming from the end of the corridor, mixed with the sound of iron chains dragging on the ground.
He looked down at his work ID and found that his fingers were casting a shadow on the surface of the ID, and a line of small words vaguely appeared in the shadow: "You are not the first Chao Youye."
The buzzing sound in the room suddenly became louder. Chao Youye turned his head sharply and saw that his reflection on the wardrobe glass was slowly distorting - his smile became exactly the same as that of his eldest son in the photo, and the copper bell brooch appeared out of thin air on his left chest, emitting a faint buzzing sound that did not belong to this world.
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