Drip, drip, drip——
The sound of dripping water was slow and rhythmic. Duan Zhen slightly lifted the sheet and looked outside. The bathroom door was closed, and water was seeping out from under the door.
Duan Zhen gently placed the sheet back and stuck a talisman onto the bed frame.
With his keen hearing, he could discern the direction the water was flowing on the ground. It spread out in several directions, with one stream moving towards the bed at a leisurely pace.
Duan Zhen had carefully examined the area. Given the incline of the floor, normal water should flow back into the bathroom, not spread out in several directions. It must be the work of a local ghost.
It was as if a hunter was toying with its prey, deliberately slowing its actions, wanting to see him panic.
Duan Zhen glanced at the instrument, confirming the energy fluctuations before pressing his lips together and holding his breath.
Footsteps gradually approached, and the water seemed to shrink back in fear, but it was too late. It was grasped in someone’s hand.
Moduna looked down at it, his voice calm and cold: “Behave.”
He crushed the spirit in his hand.
After a sharp wail, silence returned. Duan Zhen propped one hand on the ground and gripped his weapon with the other, ready to attack at the slightest movement.
But after an unbearable few seconds of silence, Moduna did nothing and did not search the room. Instead, he turned and left, even closing the door behind him.
Duan Zhen, sure that the energy in the instrument had stabilized, was puzzled. He did not relax his guard. He lifted the sheet and peeked out, seeing nothing unusual.
He heard Moduna going downstairs and silently crawled out from under the bed, lightly knocking on the wardrobe door.
This was their agreed signal, but strangely, there was no response from Dan Zuo inside. In such a situation, it was impossible for him not to hear; he must have been unable to respond.
Duan Zhen’s expression changed slightly. He opened the door while keeping his gun ready.
Inside, a pale face appeared on the upper shelf. It was a little ghost, about five or six years old, with completely black eyes devoid of whites. It had a tight grip on Dan Zuo’s wrist, while Dan Zuo’s other hand pressed a talisman on its forehead, seemingly ineffective.
When the cabinet door opened, the little ghost instinctively opened its mouth to scream. Duan Zhen quickly shoved his gun into its mouth, yanked it out by the hair, and slammed it to the ground, slapping several talismans onto it. The series of actions was fluid, but unavoidable noise was made.
“Let’s go,” he said to Dan Zuo.
Dan Zuo, despite his bruised wrist, quickly jumped out of the wardrobe. Duan Zhen grabbed him, and they rushed into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.
As soon as the door shut, the instrument in Duan Zhen’s hand started beeping wildly. He opened the bathroom window and signaled for Dan Zuo to go out first.
They were both well-trained soldiers, silently landing outside.
Moduna, having dealt with the little ghost, sighed softly and walked into the bathroom, confirming no one was there.
He was about to leave when a bullet suddenly flew towards him.
Moduna reached out, stopping the bullet in mid-air. He turned to look outside and met Duan Zhen’s gaze: “That’s not a wise move.”
Duan Zhen smirked and swiftly retreated.
The bullet exploded with a bang, not harming Moduna but creating chaos and releasing a large amount of smoke.
Moduna casually waved his hand, dispersing the smoke, but Duan Zhen was already gone.
Standing amidst the rubble, Moduna couldn’t suppress a smile. His typically calm green eyes gleamed with delight.
“Interesting,” he murmured.
He slowly walked out of the ruins, glanced around, and chose a direction to follow.
“We can’t keep hiding like this. This situation is too unfavorable for us. Even if the tagger doesn’t catch us, the ghosts and monsters will still want us dead,” Duan Zhen said quietly. “The first game is the safest. At least we know Moduna’s identity as a human in the first game.”
“Senafel is also in this world. If he hasn’t appeared yet, it must be for another reason,” Dan Zuo added. “With your relationship, he wouldn’t just sit back and watch.”
“This is a fused world,” Duan Zhen pondered aloud as he carefully observed their surroundings.
A fused world meant there were two bosses, the Twins and Senafel. However, there was no sign of Li Xi. The Twins likely did something to trap him.
Duan Zhen’s thoughts were reasonable, but he didn’t realize Li Xi had trapped himself.
“We need to find Li Xi first,” he said. “He’s probably not in these rooms. We need to look for secret passages or hidden rooms.”
Dan Zuo agreed.
This time, they only had to avoid two bosses. With the instrument, it was somewhat easier as they could evade them in advance. As for the ghosts, Duan Zhen’s earlier probing revealed they were strong but not invincible, likely manipulated by Li Xi.
As they began searching for hidden passages, Xia Qirong and his group, upon hearing the explosion, exchanged glances.
They stayed on the first floor, hiding in a few rooms filled with strange artifacts and numerous sculptures. There were sculptures of women with snakes for hair, people with ribbon-like limbs, and other bizarre creatures.
Xia Qirong whispered, “I have a bad feeling about this place. We should leave.”
“Wait a bit longer,” Sun Le replied in a low voice.
“Did Duan Zhen cause that explosion upstairs? Why such a big commotion? The game has just started,” Shen Su asked suddenly.
“It sounded like him,” Xia Qirong nodded. “He’s probably distracting the boss and giving us a warning.”
Shen Su nodded in partial understanding, “You guys seem to have a strong bond.”
Sun Le motioned for silence as his instrument started fluctuating.
They hid behind a sculpture, covering themselves with a white cloth. Shen Su, next to Xia Qirong, accidentally hit a nearby statue in his nervousness. The statue of the woman with a snake head eerily turned its head with a crack.
Immediately, a door opened in front of them.
“Quick.” With the boss’s footsteps getting closer, Sun Le, the nearest to the door, pulled Xia Qirong and Shen Su inside.
The door silently closed behind them.
Without hesitation, they moved deeper inside, fearing the boss would follow.
“There might be ghosts in here,” Xia Qirong murmured as he gripped his talisman, chattering to Sun Le, “I wonder what the locals look like. That statue was creepy. Do you think they’ll come to life?”
With Duan Zhen not around to shut him up, Sun Le sighed and said, “Keep your voice down, or the boss will hear us.”
“This castle probably has many hidden rooms and passages,” Shen Su said, joining the conversation. “Was Duan Zhen trying to remind us to look for hidden rooms?”
“Possibly,” Sun Le nodded.
“This world is a fusion of Senafel and the Twins. Since the Twins are here, Senafel is likely hiding,” Shen Su speculated, “Maybe we need to find Senafel.”
Hest has yet to “appear”… I foresee some trouble >_>
Thank you for reading
