Chapter 18 What's Behind the Wall?
Led by Yang Guisi, the four of them walked towards the right, but subtly separated into two groups.
Anping had been slightly ahead of Chang Xile. After they had walked halfway down the corridor, Chang Xile finally lost control. She poked Anping and asked, "Didn't you say you would protect me?"
Anping nodded.
Chang Xile said sadly, "Then why do you let me be the last one? Is that right? Do you know how dark and cold it is out there?"
An Ping glanced at the two girls clearing the way and said hesitantly, "I think it's more dangerous up ahead."
"I can tell you've never been to a haunted house. Sometimes, in order to divert guests who are too scared to stay in one place for a long time or move slowly, we might have NPCs chase them from behind." Fang Xinai, who had pointed ears, immediately began to explain with a sly smile.
"What?!" Chang Xile imagined the scene and immediately took a few steps forward. Then she cast a pitiful glance at Anping. Something in her mind passed through her mind, and finally, fearlessly, she took a step back and stood beside him. "Forget it. Let's face this together. Let's go."
Anping didn't understand what was going on. He actually wanted to say something, but in the end he chose to keep quiet.
However, when the NPCs arrived, perhaps because we had delayed choosing the direction at the beginning, the staff started to push for faster progress.
Even though Chang Xile knew these NPCs wouldn't do anything to her, she couldn't handle being chased. Ever since she was little, she couldn't help but run away when adults pretended to chase her, even if nothing happened after they caught up.
However, the words "can't be caught up" have always been engraved in her heart.
The sound of machinery roared from the end of the corridor, and a man in a blood-stained white coat and disheveled hair rushed up with a grin and a chainsaw in his hand.
"Ahhhhhh!" Chang Xile started running, not forgetting to pull Anping along while running.
Fang Xin'ai and Yang Guisi were relatively less frightened, but Fang Xin'ai still advised Yang Guisi, "Anyone caught by him will have to complete side quests alone. I personally don't recommend getting caught. Run!"
However, the corridor was too narrow to support four people running quickly at the same time. When the four people ran to the end of the corridor, the wooden door leading to other roads was slowly closing.
Yang Guisi looked back as she ran. According to the nature of this haunted house, the wooden door would close completely after two or three people had passed through. Judging by the trend, the only one left was probably Chang Xile or Anping. Seeing Chang Xile's face pale as paper, clearly frightened, she couldn't help but sigh.
When they reached the wooden door, Yang Guisi simply stopped, and the other three had already passed her and entered the wooden door before they could react.
"Guisi!" Chang Xile subconsciously wanted to go back, but Anping put his arm around her shoulders, and the wooden door was completely closed in front of them.
"It's okay. I was going to take a look anyway and we'll meet up later." The girl's voice came from behind the door. Her tone was originally clear, but it seemed a little dull when blocked by the door.
Indeed, their purpose in coming here today was to encounter a ghost. Therefore, all their actions should be the opposite of normal logic. While others would think about how to escape, they should face it head-on.
Chang Xile looked up at Anping. She didn't know if it was because he was pale to begin with, or if he was frightened by the run, but his face was extremely pale, without a trace of blood.
Chang Xile felt the same way, because she was just as scared. She patted Anping on the shoulder and said soothingly, "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. It's all fake."
An Ping looked at her with some doubt and shook his head: "More than one person."
"What?" Chang Xile didn't quite understand.
"There was more than one person chasing us just now." Anping looked down at Chang Xile.
"Haha... Xile, your boyfriend's ghost story is quite convincing." Fang Xinai laughed dryly and explained, "But we basically only arranged for one person to conduct the chase in that segment, no one else."
"I didn't see anyone else either." Chang Xile shook his head.
Anping lowered his eyes and said no more: "But your friend will be fine. Let's go."
Of course, nothing would happen. But Chang Xile felt something was amiss when she heard this. However, if they stayed there any longer, who knew what NPC would suddenly appear and spur them to flee. Therefore, the most urgent thing was to continue moving forward and meet Yang Guisi after reaching the mirror house Fang Xinai mentioned.
Strangely enough, the next section of the road was filled with traps and NPCs in gory attire, but Chang Xile wasn't frightened. They made it through without incident, finally arriving at the Mirror House.
Upon entering, under the dim light, countless images of Chang Xile, Anping, and Fang Xinai appeared in the room. Every step required careful consideration, lest one lose their way amidst the sea of mirrors. Meanwhile, along with the eerie sound of music, there was the faint sound of a child crying.
"Is this crying sound a recorded audio or did they invite someone to come?" The crying sounded so shrill that Chang Xile couldn't help but shiver.
"A recording? I'm not sure." Fang Xinai shrugged. "It's always been there."
After observing the room, they did not see Yang Guisi. They didn't know whether they came too early or too late.
"You said before, which mirror was it in front of you when your ankle was grabbed?" The information gap at this point was crucial. Chang Xile really didn't want anyone touching her ankle. She was ticklish, to the point where she couldn't help but step on the hand of someone grabbing her.
"I don't know either. It's different every time. It depends on my mood." Fang Xinai obviously didn't want to go through it either, especially when the enemy was in the dark and I was in the light. I knew someone was waiting in the dark, but I could only wait for the "second shoe to drop." This feeling of waiting to die was very uncomfortable.
Fang Xinai looked around the room, trying to find the little boy who had worked with her in the room before.
However, after searching everywhere without success, Fang Xinai became somewhat discouraged. Perhaps the child no longer worked there. After all, the staff turnover in this store was very high, not to mention a child who should have been studying.
But she was genuinely curious about his assigned role in the store. He never had to do anything to scare anyone, simply sitting quietly in a corner, full of resentment, keeping strangers at bay. So, perhaps he was just one of the employees' children?
"Yang Guisi hasn't arrived yet?" Before entering the haunted house, their cell phones were collected and kept at the front desk, so they could not contact each other.
An Ping had been very cautious with every step he took since entering the room. He held Chang Xile's hand and took a step forward before motioning for her to follow. Hearing this question, An Ping tilted his head slightly and said, "She's here."
As soon as they finished speaking, a door creaked open to their right. Yang Guisi's image appeared in countless mirrors. However, before they could say anything, the lights in the room dimmed completely, and they could no longer see each other. At the same time, the music and screams in the room died down.
Chang Xile could only hold Anping's hand, while Fang Xinai was clearly beside them just now, but after a scream of "Ah", there was no movement anymore.
"Xiao Ai? Guisi!" Chang Xile felt uneasy because of the darkness. She took a step forward and was gently pulled by Anping.
"Hush," Anping said. "Follow me."
Chang Xile fell silent and slowly followed Anping's direction. However, after a while, she heard Yang Guisi yelling in the distance, "Xile, be careful of your boyfriend!"
What frightened her was that An Ping beside her didn't say anything. Instead, his voice rang out from the place they had just left: "Don't go with your roommate."
So, who is holding her hand at this moment?
Chang Xile felt goose bumps all over her body, and she tried hard to resist the urge to shake the hand away.
After those two loud shouts, the person next to her didn't react in any particular way, as if she hadn't heard anything. Chang Xile tried to calm down, squinting her eyes, trying to make out his appearance in the darkness.
After a period of adjustment, she was able to see some of the things around her more clearly. The first thing she noticed was that the person holding her hand was very short, only about waist-high. Then she realized that the hand holding hers was very cold, while Anping's hand was always warm.
No matter how cold a living person's hands are, the temperature will never be this low.
Chang Xile pursed her lips and suddenly stopped where she was, no longer following the direction the man was leading. The man didn't pull her away at once, but slowly stopped and looked back at her.
"Sister, I'm so hungry." A little boy's voice came from the front, the voice was soft and a little aggrieved. Chang Xile was stunned for a moment, she remembered the little boy Fang Xinai mentioned before who always squatted in the corner without saying a word.
"Come out with your sister. I'll take you to eat something delicious, okay?" After the things in front of her suddenly had a concrete image, Chang Xile was suddenly not so scared anymore. She squatted down patiently and asked him.
"No." The little boy was silent for a while, then he said, "I can't get out, sister. I don't know where I am or how to get out."
"Aren't you right here?" Chang Xile didn't understand. She thought for a moment and asked, "Where are you?"
"...I don't know." His mood suddenly became depressed. "But I can feel it. Sister, please follow me. Can you take me out?"
"Then... take me there and tell me where you are." Chang Xile stood up and followed the direction the boy led.
The boy seemed happy, and he walked around the mirrors one after another with ease. However, when he came to a wall, he kept walking forward as if he didn't see it. He kept hitting his forehead against the wall, but he seemed to be completely unaware of the pain, repeating this action.
The boy let go of Chang Xile's hand and just kept pounding on the wall: "I want to go out... Why won't you let me go out? I want to go out..."
“I’m so hungry.”
"I'm so hungry."
"I'm so hungry."
After this, he kept repeating this sentence and began to cry.
Chang Xile looked at the strange scene in front of him, staring at the wall without saying a word.
What is behind the wall? Chang Xile recalled the structure of the building they saw when they went upstairs just now.
Logically speaking, the room wasn't particularly large, and their conversation was quite noisy. However, Yang Guisi and the others remained completely silent, which was quite out of character.
Perhaps, the person in front of him was the starving ghost that Yang Guisi had mentioned who was pestering Fang Xinai.
But how could she help him? Chang Xile had no idea. The child's rigid behavior terrified her. Why was he trapped here? What had happened?
She took a step back, but felt her body was extremely heavy and out of control. At the same time, someone gently put their arms around her shoulders from behind, and she screamed in fright.
"Open your eyes, don't be afraid, I'm here." A familiar voice came, like the sound of a wake-up bell ringing in my ears.
Chang Xile thought to himself, what is he talking about? Aren’t I keeping my eyes open?
Suddenly, she had an idea and guessed that she might be dreaming - look, this weird scene, illogical plot, and heavy body, how much like an absurd nightmare?
When Chang Xile had a nightmare and couldn't wake up, her aunt taught her a method - when you realize you are dreaming, just blink quickly and open your eyes wide, and you will slowly wake up.
When Chang Xile opened her eyes, she found herself lying in An Ping's arms, with Yang Guisi holding Fang Xinai's hand. She hadn't mentioned being hungry in a long time, but now she squatted on the ground, her head in her hands, repeating in a tone that didn't suit her: "I'm so hungry, I'm so hungry. It's so dark, so dark, Mom... Mom!"
"Xile, are you awake? We just contacted the staff and they are on their way." Yang Guisi pinched Fang Xinai's mouth with one hand to prevent her from biting her tongue, and pinched her tiger's mouth with the other hand to keep her awake.
Anping held Chang Xile's cold hands tightly, trying to warm them up.
"I had a dream..." Chang Xile murmured. She recalled the contents of her dream and was suddenly startled. She struggled to her feet and ran towards the west wall.
She walked around the mirrors, came to the wall, and slowly placed her hand on the wall.
At this moment, the staff arrived and opened the door. Chang Xile turned around and asked them:
"What's behind the wall?"
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