Compared to the calm pair over here, Shao Yuye and Jiang Yuan on the other side were in complete chaos.
“Holy crap, it’s a haunted house!”
Jiang Yuan was a bit scared too and asked, “I-is it too late to back out now?”
Shao Yuye didn’t like hearing that at all. He grabbed Jiang Yuan and dragged him a step forward, stressing, “Damn it, real men can’t say they can’t—…WAAAHHH—!”
A ‘ghost’ suddenly sprang out, scaring him so badly he jumped on the spot. His legs went weak. If Jiang Yuan hadn’t held him up, he would’ve practically dropped to his knees.
[Hahahahahaha help!]
[Brother Ye, calm down, you’re hurting my ears!]
[Hahaha sorry everyone, my husband’s a bit timid, please excuse him.]
[Never thought you were like this, Brother Ye, hahahaha!!]
The two of them huddled together, shivering as they moved forward. Any little movement sent them shrieking. Still shaken, Jiang Yuan clung to Shao Yuye’s arm.
“Good thing I’m not teamed up with a girl.”
Otherwise, being this cowardly would definitely get him disliked!
Shao Yuye scanned his surroundings warily, swallowed hard, and complained, “At a time like this, you’re still thinking about girls.”
Jiang Yuan muttered, “You’re just talking big because it doesn’t hurt your own back.”
Shao Yuye was about to retort when a green flash suddenly crossed his vision. A ghastly, green-faced, fanged visage appeared sinisterly before him, and his hair stood on end.
“AAAAAH—!”
There was almost no light inside the haunted house.
Compared to a traditional haunted house, it was more like a large-scale scripted simulation game.
Because besides ‘ghost’ NPCs, there were also ‘human’ NPCs.
Shen Wanwan and Qi Luozhou reached a corner and spotted a hidden nook with a treasure chest placed there.
Shen Wanwan’s eyes lit up. Just as she was about to open it, an anxious voice called out—
“Don’t open it!”
They turned to see a little boy dressed in a black robe.
His body seemed to merge with the darkness; only his eyes shone unusually bright in the gloom.
Staring at the chest behind them, the boy said haltingly, “There may be good things in the chest… but it also brings misfortune…”
As he spoke, it was as if he remembered something. Terror flashed in his eyes; he took two steps back, then turned and ran off.
[Ah… what kind of misfortune??]
[Oh my god, he made it sound so ominous. Maybe don’t open it?]
Shen Wanwan glanced at the chest, then looked at Qi Luozhou.
“Open it?”
Qi Luozhou’s expression was calm. “Up to you.”
Shen Wanwan undid the latch and lifted the lid.
Inside lay a retractable toy knife and a pair of shackles.
The inside of the lid also had a speaker attached, and a voice-over explanation sounded.
“Ghost-Slaying Knife—just as the name suggests, it can kill any ‘ghost’ with one strike. Uses: 5.
“Curse of Misfortune—please have both participants put on the shackles. Do not remove them without authorization. Duration: 1 hour. During this period, if the shackles are opened, current progress will be wiped. Please take note.”
[Huh? Director, are you sure this is the haunted house segment and not a dating show?!]
[This counts as a curse?! Please give me this kind of curse too!! I want to be tied to God Zhou as well!]
[Uh… it actually does count as a curse. They could’ve split up before, but once shackled their movement is restricted. And they can’t open it. If they do, progress gets wiped. Both their actions are limited now…]
Shen Wanwan and Qi Luozhou bent down at the same time.
She picked up the ‘Ghost-Slaying Knife,’ while Qi Luozhou took the shackles.
They were wooden, cold to the touch.
Qi Luozhou gently rubbed them with his fingertips. His dark brown eyes looked at her as he leaned closer.
Shen Wanwan was still testing the toy knife.
“Don’t move.”
He said softly, his arm reaching over.
With a *click*, their wrists were locked together by the shackles. In the sudden closeness, their little fingers brushed against each other unintentionally.
Two completely different sensations.
The shackles were cold; his fingertips were warm.
Shen Wanwan tilted her face up. In the darkness, the contours of his brows and eyes blurred slightly.
But that didn’t stop her from clearly seeing the smile in his eyes.
She curved her lips as well.
Yet all that calm lasted only for that one second.
The next moment, the ground trembled, and a terrifying inhalation echoed in the darkness.
In the pitch-black room, many square areas suddenly lit up with faint white light.
People ran in all directions, shouting.
“Night has fallen… hurry to the safe zones!
“Run! Anyone who doesn’t reach a safe zone will be wiped out—!”
They rushed desperately toward those circles of light.
Shen Wanwan and Qi Luozhou exchanged a look and, in perfect sync, sprinted toward the nearest safe zone.
The live comments grew tense:
[Ahhh! Wanwan and God Zhou, run! There’s a ‘ghost’ behind you!!!]
[Go go go!! That ‘ghost’ is so fast!!! Ahhh this is making me nervous!]
[Friendly reminder: you are allowed to breathe while watching this scene.]
The wind howled past their ears. A safe zone meant for only one person was suddenly crammed with two.
This spot was a recessed niche in the wall. Shen Wanwan’s back was pressed against the icy surface, her body facing Qi Luozhou, and there was no avoiding the warmth radiating from him.
At some point, their hands overlapped. They were so close that they could even feel each other’s breathing.
Behind them, the ‘ghost’ in pursuit was only an arm’s length away, standing there in irritation and staring at them.
[Aaaah!!! Let me possess Shen Wanwan, right now!]
[I want to stick close to God Zhou, I want to stick close to God Zhou!]
[Am I the only one who wants to possess God Zhou? Shen Wanwan looks… really beautiful right now 😋😋]
Just as the barrage said, Shen Wanwan had always been exquisitely beautiful.
But the frantic escape had messed up her hair a little. A single lock fell along the side of her face, giving her an extra touch of fragile, pitiful brokenness—enough to stir protective instincts not only in men, but even in women.
The two of them had already hidden in the safe zone, which gives them absolute safety.
Yet the ‘ghost’ refused to leave. It circled nearby, staring at them, occasionally making *huff huff* noises. It even leaned in provocatively, grinning at them with a sinister smile.
[Hahahaha! This staff member is hilarious!]
[Ghost: Sure, this is a safe zone, but you two squeezed in here, hey—come out, one of you!]
The barrage hadn’t even finished laughing when—
Shen Wanwan suddenly struck.
With a swift, decisive motion, the ‘Ghost-Slaying Knife’ stabbed straight into the ‘ghost’s chest. The blade was retractable: the moment the tip touched the ‘ghost,’ it slid back into the handle.
But visually, it looked exactly like she’d stabbed him through the body.
The ‘ghost’ rolled his eyes back at once, tilted his head, and collapsed to the ground.
Shen Wanwan tucked the loose strand of hair behind her ear and said coolly:
“Don’t smile at people from that close again. It’s impolite.”
The barrage froze for a moment, then exploded with wall-to-wall “Wow”s!
[Shen Wanwan is so badass!!]
[Who would’ve thought this would be the ending? ‘WanZhou’ shippers, are you eating this?]
[🤦♀️🤦♀️I was actually imagining a pure, innocent little white flower being forced to hide under the same roof as the male god… I really overthought it.]
[Wanwan: Oh? I hear you’re pretty arrogant?]
[God Zhou : To be honest, I’m terrified right now.]
[Hey, hey, hey—does that look like fear to you?! I don’t know why, but I think it’s even more shippable now, ORZ.]
Soon, the ‘earthquake’ ended. The moment of utter darkness passed, and a faint light returned to the surroundings.
Everyone else, still shaken, emerged one after another from their safe zone.
Shen Wanwan and Qi Luozhou also stepped out of the narrow space together.
The ‘ghost’ she had just stabbed was still lying on the ground, dutifully playing dead.
They walked around his ‘corpse,’ when Qi Luozhou suddenly said seriously, “The key seems to be gone.”
“Hm?”
Shen Wanwan looked at him.
He opened his palm and held it out before her eyes.
It was clean and bare, there was nothing there at all.
“The key to unlock it is gone,” he said. “Probably dropped it when we were running.”
Shen Wanwan thought it was something major.
She merely responded with a calm “Oh,” then said, “It’s fine. Let’s just stay tied together.”
Qi Luozhou curved his lips into a warm smile.
Lowering his lashes, he said softly, “Sorry.”
The barrage erupted into another frenzy.
[So the mission isn’t over, and the two of them have to stay tied together?]
[Possession stance ready! God, did you hear that? Please arrange it!!]
At that moment, a wail of grief came from afar: “Uncle! Uncle—!”
Shen Wanwan and Qi Luozhou turned their heads at the same time and looked in that direction.
The little boy they had seen earlier was clutching a ‘corpse’ on the ground, crying bitterly…
Meanwhile, on the other side, Shao Yuye was shrinking back timidly, his neck hunched. One hand rested on Jiang Yuan’s shoulder, the other clutched his chest, his mouth constantly muttering:
“Three souls and seven spirits, return to me—demons and monsters, get away…
“Heavenly spirits, earthly spirits, Supreme Lord, please show your power…”
[Tsk, my idol really looks so worthless right now.]
[I’m dying laughing—Brother Ye’s faith is a Chinese–Western fusion? Not only believes in light, but also in mysticism?]
[Hahahahaha Brother Ye: As long as I believe in enough things, at least one of them has to work!!]
The two of them had already been inside the haunted house for quite some time.
But instead of growing braver as time went on, the two of them became even more timid, like startled birds, jumping at the slightest hint of danger.
Just dodging the ‘ghost’s pursuit earlier had already scared them half to death.
Shao Yuye somehow managed to turn the haunted house into a parkour course. Even while being scared out of his wits during his frantic escape, it didn’t stop him from sprinting straight into a safe zone, then laughing loudly at the helplessly enraged ‘ghost’ on the other side.
But he only got cocky for that brief moment…
After the earthquake, the lighting in the shelter dimmed and it no longer offered protection. The moment he stepped out, a long-tongued ghost suddenly jumped out at him, making his heart leap as he recoiled in fright, stumbling back several steps.
He reunited with Jiang Yuan, who asked, “Have you noticed that we’ve basically been going around in circles in this area the whole time?!”
Shao Yuye was so scared his brain had practically stopped working.
“Damn it, don’t scare me like that!”
“I’m serious.”
Just as Jiang Yuan was about to list everything he’d observed, Shao Yuye suddenly cursed, “Shit!”
Jiang Yuan froze.
Shao Yuye turned his head, his gaze burning as he stared intently into the distance.
At that very moment, a ghost jumped out without warning—
“Waaah!!!”
Shao Yuye stood perfectly still, his expression cold, not moving an inch.
As if the one who’d just been scared stiff by all kinds of ghosts wasn’t him at all.
[???]
[What is Brother Ye looking at?]
[Judging by how intense that pupil quake is, something really terrifying must be charging over there… oh my god, I’m a coward, I suddenly don’t even dare to look!]
[So what’s over there? Brother Ye isn’t even afraid of ghosts anymore!]
As if responding to the cries in the live comments, Shao Yuye suddenly charged straight in that direction.
The lantern in his hand lit up his face from below. Backlit like that, Shao Yuye’s expression looked even more terrifying than the ghosts.
He sprinted all the way to the end of the corridor.
A head abruptly shoved itself between Qi Luozhou and Shen Wanwan. His gaze dropped downward, landing on their hands, shackled together, seemingly clasped as one, as he spoke in a gloomy voice:
“You two… what are you doing?”