In the entire building, Han Fei had only made a friend of one elderly person, and he had exerted great effort just to increase Meng Shi's friendliness toward him. If something happened to Meng Shi, all his previous efforts would be wasted.
"Cry had been trapped by me, so that room should have been very safe. Could it be that Chenchen was not in Room 1034?"
Han Fei picked up the kitchen knife and ran to the third floor. The security door covered in talisman papers was completely open, but the elderly person was nowhere to be seen.
"Granny? Chenchen?" Han Fei extended his hand, wearing the landlord's ring, into the room. The ring on his hand did not react, which meant the room was safe.
After hesitating for a moment, he slowly entered Room 1034, looking at the room's dilapidated furniture.
The room was also full of talisman papers everywhere, on the floor, walls, and ceiling. The whole house was as if it had been sealed with talisman papers.
"This looks too creepy! Even the haunted house I'm living in isn't this exaggerated!"
Han Fei was very cautious: "Something doesn't seem right. That little kid who came to play at my house didn't seem very strong, definitely not worthy of such a display. There could be something else in the room."
Although the ring did not react, Han Fei still decided to exit first. But as he moved backward, he suddenly discovered that the door to Room 1034 had been unknowingly closed.
Cold sweat immediately broke out, and Han Fei's body froze in place: "No way!"
He had just locked that little kid in the bedroom, and now he was locked in Room 1034 himself. The heavens have a sense of reincarnation. Han Fei was quite devastated inside.
"What to do now? Should I let Wei Youfu bring the child over to swap hostages? The key is Wei Youfu won't listen to me! Besides, that kid probably could have already reincarnated."
Standing there, Han Fei held onto the last hope and twisted the door handle. The security door was not locked, yet he just couldn't open it.
"This is really shameless. Even as ghosts, they're playing dirty."
After pausing for over ten seconds at the door, Han Fei finally calmed down.
"The landlord's ring hasn't emitted any coolness yet. This is probably the only good news right now."
There was something bad in the room, but the other party didn't reveal its presence, hiding for some reason.
Knowing that he temporarily couldn't leave, Han Fei's mind started racing, quickly scanning the interior with his peripheral vision.
"The windows are completely sealed with wooden boards and covered with talisman papers. So jumping out isn't an option. Room 1034 is directly below the haunted house I'm living in. If I make a lot of noise here, the residents should react."
His gaze quietly moved toward the kitchen, where he glanced at the gas stove: "This house hasn't been lived in for a long time, probably the gas has been turned off. Even if the gas hasn't been turned off, if there's a big explosion, I'm sure to be the first one to lose my life."
After thinking through all the methods he could imagine, Han Fei helplessly realized that it seemed like he couldn't escape no matter what.
"I could leave the game now, but the problem is that once I sign off and log back in, I would still be in this room, and by then it would be impossible to escape."
Gathering his spirits, Han Fei decided to take advantage of being able to exit the game to carefully investigate this room.
Since there's no way to avoid it, I'll take it step by step and see.
Han Fei clutched the pendant given by the elderly person around his neck and slowly moved in the living room.
He dared not make any sound, moving as slowly as possible.
This room plastered with talisman papers was truly terrifying, with white rice scattered on the floor, Spiritual Altar-like objects in the corners, and occasionally seen ripped papermen.
Each of those torn faces was smeared with various paints, just looking at them made one's skin crawl.
"What exactly happened in Room 1034 before? Why was that child called Cry?"
With things on his mind, Han Fei pushed open the bedroom door.
The old, rusty door hinge creaked, and when Han Fei was about to enter the room, a child blindfolded rushed to hug his waist.
"Gotcha!"
"Chenchen?" Han Fei stared at the child at the door with eyes covered, then looked into the bedroom where Meng Shi lay unconscious on the floor, her shabby clothes covered in children's palm prints.
"I finally got you!"
Chenchen laughed joyfully, but Han Fei raised his hand and gave him a smack on the back of his head: "You still have the mind to play around?"
After pulling the cloth off Chenchen's eyes, Han Fei realized the problem. In Chenchen's eyes, there were only the whites, resembling that of someone under a curse, looking utterly terrifying.
"I got you! Now it's your turn to be the ghost! Your turn to be the ghost… Your turn to be the ghost!"
Chenchen repeatedly chanted the phrase, his voice growing louder and louder. Gradually, an echo appeared in the house, as if others were also repeating the same phrase.
Han Fei tried to cover Chenchen's mouth, but even when he did, the voice continued to echo in the house. What's worse, the ring on Han Fei's hand started to emit a chill!
The ghost arrived!
A chilling aura seeped in from all directions, Han Fei shielded Chenchen and the unconscious Meng Shi behind him, turning his head to survey the surroundings.
"It's your turn to be the ghost, it's your turn to be the ghost."
The Spiritual Altar in the corner got upended, wet handprints appeared on the wall, and the paperman's face on the ground seemed to smile happily.
Soon, Han Fei saw a pale hand extending from the wardrobe, followed by half a ghastly white little face.
The sound of footsteps echoed in the empty living room, a round head poked out from behind the TV, and a little girl with a ponytail crawled out from behind the sofa.
Spooky voices continuously emerged from the shoe cabinet, kitchen, canvas, curtains, and quilts—children with ghostly white skin and eyes showing only whites crawled out one by one.
Han Fei found it hard to breathe, his legs were weak, and he leaned against the wall to prevent himself from falling.
These children seemed to be the missing ones from the neighborhood, their numbers were overwhelming, so many that it sent shivers down one's spine!
The air in the room was frozen, each child turned their gaze on Han Fei.
This stifling scene nearly sent Han Fei over the edge, his heart was about to leap out of his throat.
The chatter of the children's voices gradually diminished, an irritating cry echoed in the room, following that cry led Han Fei to discover a shadow squatting in the corner.
The shadow was not tall, he was different from the other children in the room.
"Is he the genuine crying?"
The children entered the bedroom one by one, holding blindfold strips, fixating on Han Fei's eyes and repeatedly chanting the phrase about being a ghost.
Han Fei didn't agree, and just then one of the children leapt at him, its sharp nails aimed directly at Han Fei's eyes!
Unwilling to wear the blindfold meant gouging out one's eyes?
Many small hands gripped Han Fei's clothes, hindering his movement, forcing Han Fei to watch as those fingers enlarged in his pupils.
Everything seemed predestined, yet as Han Fei began to feel pain, the amulet on his neck suddenly emitted a crisp sound, a cold aura promptly erupted.
"Bang!"
The child poised to gouge Han Fei's eyes fell to the ground, clutching its broken fingers and wailing, other children were also frightened into loosening their grip.
"Was it Granny's amulet that saved me?" Han Fei glanced down, seeing his amulet cracking all over, estimating it would shatter after one more use.
"What now? The others will eventually uncover the amulet's secret! I must quickly devise a way to get out!"
A lingering cry echoed in his ears, the shadow somehow entered the bedroom, seeming to embody the house's darkness and coldness, he truly was the "cry!"
While other children dared not move forward, he silently stared at Han Fei, then picked up the blindfold from the floor and extended it toward Han Fei.
Meng Shi's amulet could be used only once more, Han Fei realized even refusing the "cry" wouldn't change his predicament, his nerves were tightly strung, knowing this was the crucial moment.
Han Fei didn't reach for the "cry" blindfold, nor reject the hide-and-seek game, after contemplating briefly, a sinister cruel smile slowly crept across his face.
Kneeling down, Han Fei leaned close to the shadow: "Ordinary hide-and-seek is boring, why don't we play something big."
With a hand in his pocket, an obsessive gaze showed on Han Fei's sickly face, he brimmed with uncontrollable excitement: "Typically one ghost hunts everyone down in hide-and-seek, today let's reverse it, all of you ghosts try catching me alone!"
Grinning widely, Han Fei's face nearly touched the shadow: "I'll wager my entire life, if within an hour you find me, my life is yours to deal with as you please; if you fail to find me, then you'll do three tasks for me."
His eyes ablaze with malice and madness, the cold aura unleashed from the amulet hadn't fully dissipated, at this moment Han Fei appeared as a fellow being to those little ghosts.
The room gradually fell into silence, after inexplicable time, the shadow nodded, leading all the little ghosts out of the bedroom.
Han Fei also helped Meng Shi and Chenchen out, placing them by the living room door, his smile growing more perverse, body trembling endlessly from excitement: "If you don't find me in this house, you might check with other neighbors in this building, consider this my hint."
As the little ghosts and shadow turned around, Han Fei walked to the living room door, twisting the knob again, the door remained locked.
"Such interesting little ghosts," Han Fei overlooked all the children in the room: "Remember our wager, search for me with all you've got!"
With the most cruel and menacing expression, Han Fei laughed audaciously: "Now, the game begins!"
Opening the Attribute Panel, Han Fei opted to exit the game.
The world turned blood red, spinning chaotically; once Han Fei reopened his eyes, he swiftly removed the game helmet.
Sweat soaked him thoroughly, desperately grasping his hair, his eyes bloodshot.
"It's over, it's over, this time I went too far trying to show off!"