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Join the ServerSu Mian watched Lu Yang’s earnest fabrication of a ‘horror story.’ The background of the ‘medical accident’ sounded rather… contrived, even a little comical. For a moment, she was utterly speechless.
The tension in her nerves, taut from social embarrassment and complex emotions, was somewhat diluted by this abrupt and clumsy turn. She even felt a slight urge to laugh.
However, as her gaze returned to the building before them, that fleeting amusement quickly vanished. The sky was gradually darkening, and the lingering twilight painted the horizon with a final stroke of orange-red, making the deliberately aged haunted house appear even more sinister.
The dilapidated exterior walls, the gaping, black windows, and the flickering, dim lights at the entrance silently created a chilling atmosphere.
It had to be said, setting aside the ridiculous backstory, the exterior alone delivered maximum horror.
The group arrived at the ticket booth, where a staff member greeted them warmly: “Welcome! Are you planning to enter as one large group, or would you prefer to split into two-person teams?”
He paused, then added, “I personally recommend two-person teams. It offers a more immersive and interactive experience, making the game even more thrilling.”
Upon hearing this, Lu Yang immediately perked up. He chuckled, “Absolutely, that’s the only way to make it fun!”
He rubbed his hands together, his gaze already scanning the two girls Xia had brought along.
No one seemed to explicitly object, but the crucial point was how to form teams.
Su Mian seized the opportunity almost instantly. She quickly turned to Shen Zhixia beside her, extending an invitation with a hopeful tone: “Zhixia, shall we be a team later? We can look out for each other.”
She thought this was an excellent chance to deepen their bond. Her gaze, however, was fixed on the two girls Xia had brought, and then on Xiao Moyuan, who stood out most in the crowd.
Almost simultaneously, the two girls approached, their voices soft and inviting: “Student Xiao, can we be in your group? I’m a little scared…”
“Student Xiao, I want to be with you too, if that’s okay?”
The two girls surrounded Xiao Moyuan, whispering as they vied for the chance to team with him, completely ignoring the eager Lu Yang nearby.
Su Mian watched this scene, her recently relaxed mood inexplicably sinking again. An indescribable sense of irritation coiled in her heart, causing her to unconsciously purse her lips.
Lu Yang was equally displeased. He had originally planned to use this opportunity for some close contact with one of the girls, but now, his hopes seemed slim.
He cast a mournful glance at Xiao Moyuan, the object of their ‘contention,’ feeling like nothing more than superfluous background scenery.
Just then, Shen Zhixia’s body stiffened almost imperceptibly.
She had received a cold, clear command from Xia, transmitted through their bloodline.
Biting her lower lip, she suppressed the struggle within her. She then looked up at Xiao Moyuan, her voice imbued with a deliberately crafted fragility: “Moyuan… I, I’m also a little afraid of the dark… can we go together?”
For a moment, the scene became somewhat chaotic. Xiao Moyuan was the absolute center, with three girls explicitly or implicitly hoping to be in his group.
Normal two-person teams were impossible.
Ultimately, with the staff’s suggestion and the unavoidable reality, everyone decided to enter together, forming a temporary large team.
Though Lu Yang felt a little disappointed, he quickly resigned himself to the idea, thinking that with more people, it would be lively, and perhaps he’d still get a chance.
Xia maintained his gentle smile throughout, as if completely indifferent to the team outcome. Yet, the occasional assessing glance he cast toward Su Mian betrayed his true thoughts.
***
After buying tickets, they pushed open the heavy, creaking ‘hospital’ door. A cold gust of wind, mixing the scent of mildew with a faint hint of disinfectant, assailed them.
The door slowly closed behind them, swallowing the last sliver of external light. Instantly, everyone was enveloped by boundless darkness.
The light inside the haunted house was incredibly dim. Only a few eerie green emergency lights in the corners and the occasional flickering, pale white lights provided limited illumination, barely allowing them to discern the blurry outlines of the path beneath their feet.
The air echoed with unsettling background music—like a woman’s weeping, children’s laughter, and the sound of something metallic dragging—layer upon layer, constantly assaulting their eardrums.
“Ah—!”
They had barely taken a few steps when a figure, dressed in a blood-stained nurse’s uniform with a ghastly pale face, lunged out from around a corner, letting out a piercing shriek.
The two girls Xia had brought immediately erupted in high-pitched screams, huddling together and trembling uncontrollably.
Su Mian’s heart also stopped dead from the sudden fright. She gasped, instinctively leaning closer to the person beside her.
Feeling a chill creep up her spine, she whispered to the blurry figure behind her in the darkness: “Zhixia, you, you get closer to me. If you’re scared, you can, you can hold onto my arm.”
She tried to project her ‘manly’ side, even though her own voice trembled slightly.
Lu Yang’s eyes lit up at the sight, sensing an opportunity. He immediately chimed in loudly, his tone both encouraging and subtly self-serving: “That’s right, that’s right! Girls, if you’re scared, don’t be shy, just grab the arm of whoever’s next to you! Safety first!”
As he spoke, he deliberately squeezed into the crowd, especially closer to the two girls, hoping he might be lucky enough to have someone cling to him.
Just then, another anomaly occurred!
A figure wearing a terrifying doctor’s mask and wielding a chainsaw burst unexpectedly from behind a broken door, charging directly towards Su Mian’s position!
The roar of the chainsaw was amplified to its extreme in the cramped space.
“Waaah—!”
Su Mian was scared out of her wits. Almost instinctively, she closed her eyes and lunged sideways, her hands tightly clutching the arm of the person next to her, her entire body pressing against them.
In her terror, her mind went blank.
The sensation on her arm, however, felt somewhat familiar.
It was firm, steady, and conveyed a reassuring sense of strength.
This arm felt like one she had touched many times before.
A clear, pleasant scent of cedar lingered at her nostrils. Trembling, she used the faint glow of a pale green indicator light on the wall to lift her face, almost pressing her cheek against the person she was holding.
A chiseled jawline, tightly pursed thin lips, a high-bridged nose…
It was Xiao Moyuan!
Su Mian froze instantly, her blood seemingly congealed.
‘How could it be him?’
‘How did I manage to grab Xiao Moyuan’s arm so precisely in the dark?’
‘This is too preposterous. No wonder I felt this arm was so familiar just now, and I didn’t feel repulsed by the physical contact…’
Her first reaction was to let go immediately.
But she was genuinely timid. The unknown horrors of the haunted house and the lingering shock of the scare made her legs weak.
Moreover… for some inexplicable reason, tightly holding Xiao Moyuan’s arm and pressing against his warm body, enveloped by that familiar cedar scent, gave her an unprecedented sense of security. Her heart felt much more settled.
Her mind was in fierce conflict:
‘Let go? I’m scared!’
‘Don’t let go? Too embarrassing!’
‘Will he push me away?’
However, Xiao Moyuan did not push her away.
He didn’t even look down at her, simply allowing her to cling to his arm steadily.
After all, Lu Yang had just said those words…
In Su Mian’s view, it was so dark in here that Xiao Moyuan probably hadn’t recognized her.
He must have mistaken her for one of the two girls Xia brought, or perhaps Shen Zhixia, which was why he didn’t show disgust or push her away.
After all, how could he tolerate his ‘love rival,’ Su Mian, holding him like this?
Just as Su Mian was torn, clinging to this sense of security yet deeply ashamed, Xiao Moyuan’s low, steady voice came from above her head, cutting through the eerie background sound effects with striking clarity:
“If you’re scared, hold on tighter.”
His tone revealed no particular emotion, as if it were merely a polite and gentlemanly reminder.
But hearing these words, Su Mian felt as though they confirmed her suspicion—he really hadn’t recognized her!
He thought she was another girl!
A subtle, inexplicable sense of loss flickered in her heart, but it was overshadowed by a stronger feeling of ‘thank goodness I wasn’t discovered.’
As if granted some tacit permission, she not only didn’t let go but instinctively held his arm even tighter, her cheek almost buried in his clothes, drawing in that reassuring scent and warmth.
Hidden in the darkness, Xia and Shen Zhixia, with their excellent vampiric night vision, saw the entire scene clearly.
Shen Zhixia watched Su Mian cling tightly to Xiao Moyuan, and Xiao Moyuan’s unresponding, yet acquiescent posture, her eyes filled with extreme complexity.
‘Does A’Mian even know who she’s holding…?’
However, Shen Zhixia knew that Su Mian was quite timid, so she didn’t think much of it.
She simply felt that Su Mian’s behavior was becoming more and more like a girl’s. Yet, it was precisely because of this that she had never harbored any romantic feelings for Su Mian since childhood.
Simply put, in Shen Zhixia’s eyes, Su Mian had always lacked any masculine charisma.
Just then, Xia’s cold voice resonated directly in her mind, carrying an undeniable command: “This haunted house has a complex structure, with many empty consultation rooms and operating theaters.”
“Find an opportunity to lure Xiao Moyuan into one of those rooms. Then, strike.”
The instruction was clear and ruthless.
No sooner had the words faded than Shen Zhixia felt Xia’s aura beside her suddenly become indistinct.
His elegant figure silently glided backward into the deeper darkness, taking advantage of a sudden scare actor who leaped out, causing a commotion in the crowd.
Instantly, he used his vampiric abilities, his form concealing itself like a ghost, slipping into the shadows of the chaotic crowd.
Night and chaos were, after all, a vampire’s best hunting ground.
Su Mian was still tightly hugging Xiao Moyuan’s arm, her heartbeat not yet fully calmed, when she suddenly felt a slight but irresistible force shove her from behind!
“Ah!”
She cried out, stumbling. Her hands, which had been clutching Xiao Moyuan’s arm, instinctively loosened.
Then, as if caught in an invisible current, she was involuntarily pushed and stumbled, crashing through a slightly ajar wooden door. She tumbled inside.
“Bang!”
The door slammed shut behind her with a dull thud, cutting off all external light and sound.
Instantly, absolute, deathly darkness completely swallowed her.
Su Mian lay on the ground, the cold, rough floor digging painfully into her.
She scrambled to her feet in a panic.
“Is, is anyone there?”
“Xiao, Xiao Moyuan?”
“Zhixia? Boss Lu?”
Her voice trembling, she softly called out her companions’ names again and again, her voice eliciting faint echoes in the small, empty room.
Responding to her was only a chilling, boundless silence.
It was as if the entire world was left with only her.
No, not alone.
Xia was now only a few steps away from her.
In the darkness, Xia’s usual gentle smile had vanished, replaced by an undisguised, cold expression, filled with a hunter’s excitement.
His pale blue pupils were gradually transforming into horrifying, blood-red orbs!
And from the corners of his mouth, two sharp, non-human fangs slowly extended, seemingly glinting with a bloodthirsty chill in the profound darkness.
Su Mian also sensed that something was amiss. A heavy breathing sound came from beside her.
There was definitely someone else here.
…
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Read : Crow's Golden Fragment
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