Jiang Cheng believed he was normal, so he abandoned the window and chose the dresser where most victims would die in horror movies. He took a deep breath and pulled open the right dresser door. Thankfully, no ghost jumped out. He instantly crawled into it.
At the same time, the strange footsteps came to the second floor. The difference between the two was less than a few seconds. After Jiang Cheng calmed down, he slowly suppressed his beating heart. Soon, his breathing also returned to normal. He sucked in a big breath and held his breath.
After the footsteps came to the second floor, the frequency became quicker. They headed in a certain direction. Based on the location, the ghost probably went to check the window. A gap was left in the dresser door. Jiang Cheng leaned over to check outside. He noticed a broken figure outside the dresser. As he expected, the figure was dragging along a scary cleaver.
The ghost wiggled her body, but she was fast unexpectedly. In just a few blinks, she arrived at the window. The next second, Jiang Cheng widened his eyes. He saw how the ghost exposed her bony arm and then tore off the window… That’s right, just like how one would tear down a poster on the wall. The window… was fake!
The ghost huffed angrily when she realised her conspiracy had been exposed. Then, she tore the extremely-realistic ‘window’ into pieces. Jiang Cheng frowned as he was reminded of the various tools on the second-floor study table. If he was not mistaken, Jiang Cheng also saw multi-coloured small cans. They were like paint cans used by the older generations.
Even Jiang Cheng was impressed by the talent of the ghost. She managed to paint out a ‘window’ and place it on the wall. If someone tried to escape through the window… The consequence would be deadly.
Probably, the ghost would crawl out from the ‘window’. It was totally possible in the nightmare realm.
After shredding the window, the ghost looked around. She instantly locked onto the conspicuous dresser. With a swing of her body, she appeared before the dresser. There was only a thin door between her and Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng curled up in the corner. The ghost raised her arm, and the sharp nails flashed like lightning. The force was enough to yank off a human head. However, it failed to break the thin and fragile wooden dresser door. It only left a scratch mark on it. It was as Jiang Cheng expected. This dresser was the only lifeline.
It was the scary scratch marks that compelled Jiang Cheng to believe that this was the way to survive in this situation. Based on his observation, the dresser might look fragile but the material was solid. A normal person would have a hard time leaving such deep scratch marks… therefore, the culprit had to be a ghost. Why would the ghost scratch the dresser? What was her goal?
‘Congratulations on finding a safehouse!’ the notification appeared in Jiang Cheng’s mind. After experiencing a few missions, Jiang Cheng knew that even though the ghosts represented extreme resentment, it didn’t mean that they had no self-consciousness. They retained their habits in life and might even have obsessions from when they were still alive. The best example was how they were often going after those who harmed them. They could even disguise themselves as the travellers and then lure the travellers to trigger the taboos to kill them. Bei Qian’s incident was the best example.
Jiang Cheng only managed to survive because he reacted quickly. The ghost slashed the dresser madly from the outside. The red eyes hidden in the dark felt familiar. Jiang Cheng, who was hidden inside the dresser, was serene and calm.
Even though there were dangers everywhere in the nightmare realm, the rules were ubiquitous. Plus, the rules did not only apply to the travellers but also to the ghosts in the mission. Within the rules, the travellers and ghosts could do anything they wanted.
For example, Jiang Cheng found a safehouse during the mission. Therefore, based on the rules, the ghost couldn’t harm him no matter what. Even if he started singing while he was inside the dresser, the ghost couldn’t do anything to him… given that he didn’t leave the dresser. That was the power of the rules.
Jiang Cheng was a reasonable person. He believed the rules were a good thing. He also hoped sincerely that both the players and the ghosts would respect and follow the rules. Just as Jiang Cheng prepared to probe the ghost’s bottomline, he suddenly heard a low groan. That was not a sound the ghost could make.
Jiang Cheng… slowly turned to look beside him. The dresser had two doors, one on the left and the other on the right. Jiang Cheng was behind the left door. There were independent spaces behind each door. There was a wooden partition between them. In other words, Jiang Cheng had no idea what was happening in the space behind the right door.
The dresser shook violently as the ghost attacked it. Even though Jiang Cheng knew this was an illusion, the dresser still shook up a lot of dust. Jiang Cheng felt his throat become uncomfortable. Clearly… it was the same with the person in the space next door to him.
There was another person hiding in the space beside him!
Considering the third set of footprints on the stairs, Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes.
The ghost did not persist for long. About one minute later, the ghost gave up. Her bloodshot eyes overflowed with unwillingness. However, she couldn’t do anything against the rules. She could only turn and leave. The slapping footsteps moved down the stairs before disappearing.
After the ghost left, the atmosphere became weird.
The other person was already inside the dresser before Jiang Cheng arrived, so they definitely knew about Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng realised their presence. Both parties said nothing.
Jiang Cheng pushed open the door immediately after the ghost had left. He didn’t move to check who his neighbour was or find a path to escape. Instead, he silently moved a wooden table to block the right door of the dresser. Worried, he moved the partition to support the table.