Chapter 440 – Palpitations from That World – Something’s Off About You (07)
Wen Junnan ignored the others and led Bai Tang upstairs. With every step they took, the wooden stairs creaked, each sound striking uneasily at their hearts. It felt as though something terrible might leap out from the pitch-dark second floor at any moment—despite knowing that the real danger wouldn’t appear until the game began in half an hour.
There were no electric lights in the room, so Wen Junnan lit the candle on the table. The space was modest, just right for one or two people. Unlike downstairs, it wasn’t covered in thick dust. The bed, blankets, and basic furnishings were all there—overall, it was perfectly livable.
Seeing that Wen Junnan and Bai Tang had gone upstairs without encountering any danger, the other players followed. Wen Junnan closed the door behind them, cutting off any prying eyes from outside.
Unsure about the soundproofing, he lowered his voice. “Tang Tang, stay away from Ning Sitong. Something’s not right about her.”
If Qiu’er were here, he would definitely be applauding the male lead—no surprise, his master’s perception was as sharp as ever. Unfortunately, Qiu’er was too busy at the moment, being harassed by Xiao A, who was imitating the male lead’s flirtatious style.
Bai Tang was secretly delighted that Wen Junnan had noticed Ning Sitong’s hidden agenda so quickly. Wen Junnan continued, “She’s very familiar with this place—or rather, with the process. No matter how bold someone is, if it’s their first time encountering something like this, there’s no way their eyes would be completely devoid of emotion.”
Afraid Bai Tang might not believe him, Wen Junnan carefully listed all the suspicious things about Ning Sitong. Tang Tang was so timid—what if he saw something terrifying later and got scared back into his original form? The house was full of danger; he couldn’t let Tang Tang take any risks.
Because of that, when Bai Tang suggested turning back into a little squirrel to accompany him in the game, Wen Junnan immediately refused.
He gently kissed Bai Tang’s forehead. “Be good, Tang Tang. Stay in the room and behave. The room is safe. It’s late—good children should be asleep.”
Bai Tang muttered, “I’m not that young anymore…” I’m old enough to get married.
He didn’t get the chance to finish the second half of his sentence—the clock struck midnight. It was time for Wen Junnan to go downstairs and start the game.
Before leaving, Wen Junnan repeatedly reminded him, even going so far as to warn that “going out on your own might attract something terrifying,” successfully scaring Bai Tang.
Qiu’er and Xiao A had already cut off contact—lights out, no connection. Since the original storyline didn’t include details about the game, Bai Tang had no one to ask for help.
“Then you have to be careful. I’ll wait for you to come back~”
“Alright. I promise you, Tang Tang—if anything happens, I’ll be the first to run.”
When the game time arrived, Wen Junnan kissed the corner of Bai Tang’s lips, then turned and left the room, thoughtfully closing the door behind him.
The house was fairly well soundproofed—so much so that Bai Tang couldn’t hear the other players going downstairs.
After all, A Nan possessed mysterious powers and was the male lead. With the protagonist’s halo on his side, he wouldn’t die so easily.
Bai Tang thought for a moment, then finally lowered his hand from the doorknob. A Nan didn’t want him going out and seeing something terrifying or getting hurt—so he wouldn’t go.
Not going out was one thing, but worrying was another.
Bai Tang used the points he had saved up for a long time to exchange for a Water Mirror from the system shop. With Qiu’er and Xiao A unavailable, he had to rely on himself.
The Water Mirror formed in midair, displaying a clear, high-definition image from a god’s-eye view. Meanwhile, the young man wrapped himself tightly in a small blanket and curled up on the bed.
Those who weren’t participating didn’t come downstairs. The game was dangerous—if you wanted to spectate, you had to be cautious too.
Wen Junnan had lingered in the room with Bai Tang for quite a while, but he still wasn’t the last to come down.
The last one was Jin Fenfei, her face pale as paper with fear. Supported by Li Pai, she walked down on unsteady legs.
Ning Sitong nodded at them and took out some items to distribute. “Time’s up. Let’s begin.”
It was rare to see a bold female player, and Li Pai couldn’t help glancing at her a few more times. He accepted the bright red apple, and as the sharp blade slid across his finger, crimson blood began to flow.
Jin Fenfei let out a small cry and accused Ning Sitong, “Are you trying to get us killed? You did that on purpose, didn’t you?!”
Among the only two female players, Ning Sitong was more attractive than Jin Fenfei. The boys all looked at her more, and combined with her leadership ability, Jin Fenfei had long disliked her.
“I didn’t do that on purpose. If you keep making a scene and wasting time, and something happens because we miss the timing, can you take responsibility for that?”
Ning Sitong wasn’t a fool. She could clearly sense Jin Fenfei’s hostility. She hadn’t reacted before because there was no need—but now things were different. If this continued, the bandaged figure wouldn’t be able to feed on fear, and she wouldn’t escape unscathed either.
“Feifei, let’s just listen to Ning,” Li Pai said, disapproving of Jin Fenfei’s attitude. Ning Sitong was doing her best for everyone—for the team’s survival. Jin Fenfei really shouldn’t be so hostile toward her.
“Oh, so you’re defending her now? I knew you two had something going on! Tell me—when did you start hooking up?” Jin Fenfei suddenly raised her voice, shaking loose a bit of dust from the chandelier above.
Wen Junnan brushed the dust off his clothes and silently stepped back a few paces, watching the farce with cold eyes.
Let them argue. He wasn’t the one delaying the start of the game—and besides, he was curious to see what would happen if they didn’t play.
Unfortunately, the commotion didn’t last long. Under Li Pai’s intervention, Jin Fenfei reluctantly accepted the red candle from Ning Sitong.
Soon, the reluctance on her face turned into unease and fear.
Ning Sitong and Jin Fenfei lit the red candles and stood by the mirror. Li Pai sat in front of it, while Wen Junnan stood behind him.
When the time came, Li Pai stared at the mirror reflecting his face and half of Wen Junnan’s figure, his hand trembling slightly as he peeled the apple.
Jin Fenfei couldn’t help but warn him, “Don’t break the peel! If it snaps, something bad will happen. Hurry up…”
They wouldn’t let him break the peel, yet kept urging him to go faster—it was practically torture for someone with weak nerves.
Although Li Pai had a certain level of mental resilience, he couldn’t withstand the constant nagging in his ear.
When a person is tense, they’re easily startled. The more frightened they are, the worse they perform. Under Jin Fenfei’s repeated urging, the apple peel snapped.
Holding the broken strip of peel, Li Pai’s face gradually turned pale. A blurry image of a woman’s face appeared in the mirror. He nearly screamed, but Wen Junnan, standing behind him, quickly covered his mouth with his fist.
“Keep peeling. Don’t stop,” Wen Junnan whispered in his ear.
Li Pai nodded, but several times the blade failed to line up with the broken edge of the peel.
The woman’s face in the mirror grew clearer. Li Pai sped up, but because of his nerves, he broke the peel again.
The first time, Jin Fenfei hadn’t seen anything in the mirror due to the angle. But this time, as the peel snapped again, the woman inside the mirror solidified. A withered hand slowly stretched out from the mirror’s surface.
Jin Fenfei’s eyes widened. She wanted to throw down the candle and run, but Ning Sitong’s cold voice came from beside her: “If you dare run, you’ll be the first to die.”
That completely froze Jin Fenfei in place. She bit down hard on her arm to keep herself from screaming.
The more nervous he became, the more frantic Li Pai grew. As the woman crawled out of the mirror, he no longer had the strength to hold the apple. It dropped onto the worn carpet with a dull thud.
The woman paused for a moment, then crawled even faster. Her filthy hair almost brushed against Li Pai’s face. Just before he could scream, a hand once again covered his mouth.
Li Pai didn’t cry out—but Jin Fenfei couldn’t hold back any longer. She threw aside the red candle and ran upstairs.
In an instant, the woman’s hair shot out toward Jin Fenfei, piercing through her back. Like a deflating balloon, Jin Fenfei rapidly withered away. The fear she felt at the moment of death reached its peak. Through the puppet-like woman, the bandaged figure fed on her fear, smiling gleefully from behind the scenes.
After dealing with Jin Fenfei, the woman turned her attention back to Li Pai.
The athletic young man’s pants were soaked, the sharp smell of urine spreading through the air. Ning Sitong subtly frowned. When the woman touched Li Pai, both of them let out piercing screams. The shrill howls shook dust loose from the ceiling, leaving Wen Junnan and the others covered in grime.
Fortunately, Ning Sitong was experienced. She protected the candle just in time, preventing the last red candle from going out—otherwise, she would have been finished as well.
The woman’s face was scorched. She glared viciously at Wen Junnan—more precisely, at the red string in his hand.
The red string was her nemesis. Just moments ago, she had bitten into it, nearly causing her physical form to disperse.
Although her appearance was grotesque, she clearly valued her own existence in front of the red string. Aside from glaring at them with hatred, she couldn’t do anything else.
Wen Junnan slowly advanced, holding the red string. The woman retreated step by step until her back hit the cold mirror. Unwilling to return like this, she hesitated—just one more victim, and once the bandaged figure was fully fed, she too could gain some strength.
What a pity…
Wen Junnan brought the red string closer to the mirror. With nowhere left to retreat, the woman could only withdraw into it. Her figure gradually faded until she completely disappeared.
Having narrowly escaped death, Li Pai ignored the embarrassment of having wet his pants and repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Wen Junnan. If not for him, he would have died just now.
The young man’s disheveled state was far from pleasant. The house already smelled bad, and combined with the stench left behind by the woman, the air became almost unbearable.
With a look of disgust, Wen Junnan shook off Li Pai’s grip. “The game is over. Tonight should be safe. We should head back.”
With that, he set down the red string and stepped around the shriveled corpse lying by the stairs as he went upstairs.
After the game ended, each player had to return to their own room.
When Wen Junnan passed Bai Tang’s door, he took a careful look. It was tightly shut, with no sign that it had been opened after he left.
He didn’t knock. The house had decent soundproofing—Bai Tang probably hadn’t been frightened. Better to let him rest well.
Ning Sitong felt even more satisfied watching Wen Junnan remain calm throughout the entire ordeal. Only fearless strength could defeat the bandaged figure. She believed that day wouldn’t be far off—and she was truly looking forward to it.
As for Li Pai, she secretly rolled her eyes. It was one thing to know players would be afraid, but compared to Wen Junnan, his performance was simply too disappointing.
She stuffed all the items back into the drawer. As for Jin Fenfei—who had ignored her warning and insisted on running off—once the players returned to their rooms, the puppets would come to clean up the aftermath. There was no need for her to do anything.
“Go back. Get a good rest tonight. We still have to continue tomorrow.”
Informing Li Pai at all was already an act of kindness on Ning Sitong’s part. She wasn’t being heartless—if she hadn’t been ruthless toward others, she would have died long ago at the hands of the bandaged figure.
Not long after Wen Junnan returned to his room, a faint squeaking sound came from outside the window.
At first, he thought he had misheard it. But when a small yellow-brown figure appeared on the glass, he quickly went to open the window.
The little squirrel jumped in, shook the dust off its body, and in the blink of an eye transformed into a young man. He immediately began patting Wen Junnan all over. “Are you okay? That woman didn’t hurt you, right? She rushed at you just now…”
Through the Water Mirror, Bai Tang had watched a thrilling live scene. To make it more immersive, the mirror even shifted perspectives—at the most dangerous moments, it felt as if he had become Li Pai, sitting there helplessly as the woman crawled closer and lunged at him.
It had nearly scared him into a heart attack.
Wen Junnan narrowed his eyes and asked with a gentle smile, “And how did Tang Tang know a woman appeared?”
Though he was smiling and his tone wasn’t harsh, Bai Tang could sense the storm brewing beneath it. If he didn’t give a reasonable explanation, the “volcano” was about to erupt.
“I didn’t leave the room, really!” The boy raised three fingers. “I swear—if I stepped out during the game, then I—”
“Alright, alright. I believe you.” Wen Junnan quickly covered Bai Tang’s mouth. Even dreams could lead into parallel spaces—he held a certain reverence for mysterious forces, and didn’t want Bai Tang’s oath to come true.
Phew—crisis over.
Seeing Wen Junnan’s expression soften, Bai Tang immediately changed the subject. He threw himself into the man’s arms, rubbing his cheek against his chest. “I can’t sleep without A Nan holding me~”
Squirrel-mode acting cute—unstoppable.
Wen Junnan asked, “Is it really okay for you not to follow the rules?”
The boy went soft in his arms, like a melting marshmallow. “I’m the bandaged monster’s pet. My task is to keep an eye on Ning Sitong. The rules don’t apply to me.”
Those rules were meant for people from another space. Of course, since Ning Sitong had already drawn suspicion from the bandaged figure, she was also somewhat restricted—but she still had more freedom than the players.
The little squirrel had already been sleepy. Nestled in the safest embrace, he quickly fell asleep.
With a soft chuckle, Wen Junnan laid him down on the bed. He went to the bathroom, dampened a towel, and gently wiped Bai Tang’s face. Even he felt like he carried a lingering stench—he had no idea how Tang Tang had managed to pounce on him earlier and rub against his chest.
After a quick wash, Wen Junnan lay down and held Bai Tang in his arms. “Good night, Tang Tang.”
That night, there were no dreams.
When he woke again, birds were chirping outside the window, and sunlight streamed through the glass. Wen Junnan had to squint for a while before his eyes adjusted to the brightness.
He was back—in the dormitory, sitting at his computer desk, exactly where he had been before falling asleep the night before.
He had forgotten to draw the curtains, and the sunlight had also woken his roommate.
Leaning on the railing of the top bunk, his roommate called down to him, “Not bad, Junnan. You slept hunched over all night and didn’t even get a stiff neck. But seriously—why didn’t you sleep in your bed? Why were you passed out at your desk?”