Chu Changge knew Gu Mian always liked to mess with the ghosts in instances.
But he had never witnessed Gu Mian directly chasing after a ghost.
Thanks to this event, he was witnessing it now.
Right after Gu Mian's voice sounded, Chu Changge had the fortune to see a ghost that moved faster than a rabbit.
The white, ghostly figure at the entrance of the adjacent changing room didn't hesitate at all. It dropped the curtain in its hand and bolted, running incredibly fast without a single glance back.
It didn't answer Gu Mian's question.
And Gu Mian, who had poked his head out, didn't hesitate either. He gripped his chainsaw tightly and gave chase, shouting things like, "Don't be afraid!" as he ran.
Of course, in the end, Gu Mian still didn't catch up to this white figure.
A ghost was a ghost, after all; it was incredibly fast. In just a few seconds, it shot out the main door and vanished.
Gu Mian stopped at the doorway, glanced outside, and then silently closed the door.
At this moment, Chu Changge also poked his head out from the last changing room.
Gu Mian turned to look at him.
His starting position wasn't far from Chu Changge's. Gu Mian had only taken a few steps down the small alley when he encountered Chu Changge, who was also searching for cover.
During the first fifteen minutes, no one was in the mood to guess lantern riddles; their priority was finding a place to hide.
There was such a changing room nearby. Gu Mian and Chu Changge quickly agreed and decided to hide there. Since the individual stalls inside were too small, they ended up hiding in separate ones.
Gu Mian was hidden quite well, making no sound at all.
So, initially, the ghost only sensed Chu Changge in the innermost stall. The rıghtful source is 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭•𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦•𝘯𝘦𝘵
But it never imagined Gu Mian's face would appear from the second-to-last stall.
Ultimately, this ghost didn't answer Gu Mian's question and just fled.
This changing room had no lights, so it was still very dark.
At this time, Chu Changge was looking at his game panel. He then said in a low voice, "It's 7:18 PM now. In two more minutes, these ghosts outside will leave."
Gu Mian spread his hands. "After they leave, can we parade around the streets openly?"
Chu Changge tilted his head slightly. "I think you could parade around the streets openly right now."
Of course, Gu Mian ultimately didn't do anything so out of the ordinary.
In the darkness, Chu Changge said, "This event has a five-minute period of ghost manifestation every fifteen minutes. For other players, these five minutes are extremely dangerous, but for you, it's different..."
He said, pushing up his glasses, "In fact, your dangerous period should be those fifteen minutes."
It's unknown how many players have poured into this place. Wherever there are people, there will be disputes, and accidents are bound to happen here.
"I remember a team kept watching us before we entered the event." Chu Changge looked towards the doorway.
Rustling sounds could still be heard from outside.
Apart from these sounds, there was nothing else outside. Players were all hiding carefully, not daring to make the slightest noise.
Therefore, their voices sounded somewhat eerie in the silent darkness.
The soundproofing in this place wasn't good. Just then, a player was hiding in a large, empty water cistern not far from the changing room, shivering.
Rustling sounds periodically came from near him. Fortunately, those things showed no intention of lifting the cistern lid for a look and simply passed by.
Because it was so quiet, the sounds from those things outside seemed greatly amplified, every detail unnervingly clear.
He curled himself into a ball, pressed tightly against the bottom of the cistern.
Less than two minutes... he thought, looking at his game panel. In less than two minutes, these ghosts will return to the lanterns. I have to hold on!
As he thought this, he secretly sighed in relief.
But just then, he suddenly heard what sounded like people talking outside.
The voices were extremely faint, but he still caught them.
The man was rather shocked. Pressing his ear against the cistern wall, he thought, What's going on? How can I hear people talking? Who's so bold, don't they want to live?
But even pressing his ear tightly against the cistern, he could only make out a little sound, barely discerning that it seemed to be two people conversing.
The rustling sounds around him continued unabated, yet none of them moved towards the direction from which the voices came.
The man in the cistern frowned in surprise. When these few minutes are up, I absolutely have to go see what those two are all about!
Meanwhile, Chu Changge was still speaking to Gu Mian in a hushed voice.
"Many people participating in this event harbor ill intentions. You need to be careful during the safe fifteen-minute intervals, especially that team we saw before the event started."
Gu Mian nodded. "So, for this event, not only do I have to guess lantern riddles and hide from ghosts, but I also have to evade other players?"
Chu Changge paused slightly. "Hiding from ghosts... you probably don't need to do that."
Gu Mian rubbed his chin, then walked to the only window in the room.
This window was somewhat strange. It was small and positioned at about a person's height. When Gu Mian walked over to it, only his head could peek out.
He saw several white figures flash past the window. Their speed was immense, and Gu Mian couldn't see them clearly.
The only things he could make out clearly were those that were stationary.
They were currently in a place resembling a courtyard, with the changing room situated in one of its corners.
There were some green plants in the courtyard, and some tracks were laid on the ground, looking like they were for camera equipment.
Looking up, white lanterns hung above, emitting a faint glow that illuminated this eerie place.
Just then, Gu Mian saw something moving among the green plants in the courtyard.
He took another careful look. In the verdant flowerbed, there seemed to be a hat. But after a few seconds, this hat suddenly ducked down and then vanished without a trace.
Gu Mian was speechless. That hat... he felt like he'd seen it somewhere before.
And soon, the remaining two minutes passed.
Finally, all sound outside ceased. It was now 7:21 PM.
The dangerous five minutes were over.
But at this time, few people dared to emerge. Everyone was still immersed in the terror from moments ago, planning to observe a while longer and only go out after confirming it was completely safe.
Gu Mian, however, had already begun to move.
He quickly pushed open the door and looked outside. Not far off, there were several large water cisterns, seemingly for cultivating lotus flowers, all covered with lids.
In the center of this courtyard was a flowerbed, lush and green, though it was unclear if the plants were real or artificial.
Gu Mian specifically glanced into the flowerbed. Forget a hat, there wasn't even a ghostly shadow.
Directly opposite their door was a covered walkway. Following it with his eyes, he saw a large residence at its end.
Chu Changge observed the scene before him. "This place has been altered."
"Altered?" Gu Mian was a little puzzled.
Chu Changge glanced at the moon in the sky, then nodded. "The layout wasn't before."
The previous layout...
Gu Mian also looked up at the sky, then rubbed his chin. "You've been here before?"
He and Chu Changge had known each other since childhood and were both orphans. He didn't recall his friend ever having visited Hengdian.
Chu Changge nodded but didn't answer directly. "Let's guess the lantern riddles."
Gu Mian didn't press further. He looked around and immediately spotted a white lantern hanging in the covered walkway.
He took a few steps to the lantern and looked up at the riddle written below it.
"Empty room, bright mirror. A lone person extinguishes all light sources, stands with their back to the bright mirror for one minute. What will they see if they suddenly turn around?"