Translator: Cinder Translations
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Jiang Cheng believed he was a normal person, so he decisively gave up on jumping out of the window and instead chose the wardrobe, which in horror movies is known for having a ridiculously high mortality rate. When he reached the wardrobe, he took a deep breath and opened the door.
Thankfully, no ghosts or anything jumped out.
He immediately turned around and squeezed inside.
At the same time, the strange footsteps arrived on the second floor.
The two were mere seconds apart.
After calming himself down, Jiang Cheng gradually suppressed his erratic heartbeat. Soon, even his breathing returned to normal. He slowly took a breath and then held it in.
He could hear that after arriving on the second floor, the frequency of the footsteps suddenly sped up. They first moved in one direction, toward a spot that seemed to be the window.
The wardrobe door had a small crack, and Jiang Cheng slowly leaned forward and peered outside through one eye.
He saw a broken figure standing outside, and as he expected, that figure was holding a terrifying large knife.
The ghost moved its body, but its speed was surprisingly fast. In a blink of an eye, it was at the window.
The next second, Jiang Cheng's eyes widened.
He saw the ghost stretch out an arm, exposing its bare bones, and it ripped the window off.
That's right, it tore it off, as if ripping a poster off the wall.
The window was fake!
The ghost seemed to realize its scheme had been seen through, and it let out an angry "huff" before tearing the extremely realistic "window" into pieces.
Jiang Cheng furrowed his brow and immediately thought of the brushes and other tools on the desk on the second floor.
If he remembered correctly, there was also some paper and a pile of small jars with various colors.
It looked a lot like the paint jars used by older generations of artists.
Even Jiang Cheng, who had a rock-solid mental fortitude, was impressed by this ghost's method. She had actually hand-painted a "window" and pasted it on the wall.
This meant that if anyone tried to escape through the window...
It could lead to extremely terrifying consequences.
Jiang Cheng even wondered if the ghost would immediately crawl out of the "window."
Based on his understanding of nightmares, this was entirely possible.
After tearing apart the "window," the ghost looked around. It then set its sights on the very conspicuous wardrobe.
In almost a blink, it appeared in front of the wardrobe.
Just a thin door separated it from Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng remained crouched in the crack, watching carefully.
The ghost swung its arm, and its sharp nails slashed through the air like lightning.
The force behind it could easily rip off a grown man's head, but it didn't break the thin wardrobe door. It only left a deep scratch on it.
Just as Jiang Cheng had thought.
The seemingly unreliable wardrobe was, in fact, the only way out.
It was the terrifying, dense claw marks that made Jiang Cheng decide to believe that the wardrobe was the escape route left by the task.
From what he observed, although the wardrobe looked flimsy, it was actually quite sturdy. It would be very difficult for a normal person to leave such deep and numerous claw marks on it.
Therefore, the claw marks could only have been left by the ghost.
But why did the ghost leave claw marks on it? What was its purpose?
The first thing that came to Jiang Cheng's mind was that someone might be hiding inside, and the ghost was trying to catch and kill that person, which is why it attacked the wardrobe.
The most important thing was that after countless attacks, the wardrobe hadn't been destroyed.
What did that mean?
Congratulations to the player for finding a safe house, Jiang Cheng's mind quickly flashed those words.
But after several tasks, Jiang Cheng knew that while ghosts represented extreme malice, it didn't mean they were without awareness. They not only inherited some of their behaviors from their previous lives, but also carried on their obsessions.
For example, seeking revenge on those who killed them.
They could even disguise themselves as teammates in the task and trick others into triggering deadly taboos.
Pei Qian was a living example of this.
Jiang Cheng had survived by reacting quickly.
Outside, the ghost was frantically attacking the wardrobe, its scarlet eyes hidden in the shadows. Jiang Cheng remained unmoved inside the wardrobe.
Although nightmares were full of dangers, they still followed certain rules.
And these rules not only restricted the players but also bound the ghosts in the task.
Within the rules, both humans and ghosts could act recklessly.
For example, right now, Jiang Cheng had found the escape route left in the task and hid in the wardrobe, which was a safe house. According to the rules, the ghost could not harm him.
As long as he stayed quiet, even if he sang a song inside, the ghost couldn't do anything to him.
As long as he didn't leave the wardrobe.
Otherwise, no matter what he did, he would be doomed.
These were the rules.
Jiang Cheng was a reasonable person, and he felt that rules were a good thing. He sincerely hoped that both the ghosts and players would work together and respect the rules.
Just as Jiang Cheng was about to test the ghost's limits, he suddenly heard a strange muffled groan.
That was not a sound a ghost could make.
He slowly turned his head and looked toward the other side of the wardrobe.
The wardrobe had two doors—one on the left, one on the right. Jiang Cheng was behind the left door.
Both doors were separate spaces, with a wooden partition in between.
In other words, Jiang Cheng didn't know what was behind the right door.
After the ghost's repeated attacks, the wardrobe began to shake, and though Jiang Cheng knew this was just an illusion, the vibrations still stirred up a lot of dust.
Jiang Cheng felt a tickle in his throat.
Clearly, the other side must also have someone.
Jiang Cheng's eyes narrowed as he recalled the third set of footprints on the stairs.
The ghost's attacks were furious, but they didn't last long. After about a minute, the ghost gave up, and its bloodshot eyes showed deep dissatisfaction.
But there was nothing to be done; the rules were the rules. Even if she was unwilling, she had to turn and leave.
The soft, slumped footsteps faded as she went down the stairs.
After the ghost left, the atmosphere inside the wardrobe became somewhat subtle.
The person hiding in the wardrobe before Jiang Cheng had to have known there was someone beside them, and Jiang Cheng had already realized someone was there. Yet, they both silently agreed to remain quiet.
But as the saying goes, "Gentlemen go first." After confirming that the ghost had left, Jiang Cheng was the first to open the wardrobe door.
After leaving the wardrobe, he didn't immediately open the right door to see who was inside or look for a way to escape. Instead, he moved a wooden table to gently block the right wardrobe door.
It seemed that he was afraid the table wouldn't hold, so he moved a beam to support it from behind.
(End of the Chapter)
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