Chapter 4: Tower of Terror 04

Chapter 4: Tower of Terror 04

"Chen Mo! Chen Mo!"

"Ah!" Chen Mo woke from the nightmare to see Pei Yi, and seeing a real, living person was more comforting than anything,

"Pei Yi!"

"Are you okay?"

Chen Mo looked around, still inside the cupboard, and ran out as if fleeing for his life, "Pei Yi! There's a ghost." He went to the door and saw clearly the number 404 on it.

"A ghost?" Pei Yi surveyed the room, which was very basic in its layout, roughly 30 square meters, with a window on the north side to the left, a large bed against the south wall, and the cupboard in the northwest corner, allowing a direct view of the bed.

Like the previous rooms, nothing special stood out.

"Tell me everything you saw."

With a trembling voice, Chen Mo recounted everything he had witnessed.

Pei Yi pondered, considering it an important clue, "Did the system say anything after you discovered this?"

Chen Mo shook his head, "No."

How could that be? But Pei Yi certainly wouldn't pass up free points.

"Okay. Let's examine this room to see what else we can find."

Chen Mo agreed, though still visibly shaken and distracted. Pei Yi looked around but found nothing, even the drawers were empty.

No albums or anything else, it seemed they weren't meant to find information easily. Perhaps clues only appeared when the lights were out?

He turned to Chen Mo, "When you looked out from the wardrobe, was there anything in the room?"

"Ah?" Chen Mo thought for a moment, "Maybe, I didn't look closely, but the red nightgown!" He turned to check the wardrobe again, only to find it empty, devoid of anything.

Pei Yi concluded, "I understand, maybe clues only appear when the lights are off." But they couldn't just stand around; they decided to check the fifth and sixth floors first and return to room 404 when the time was right.

As they left 404, a white shadow flashed across the clear windows, unnoticed by both.

Passing the staircase, Pei Yi took a closer look. Its design was unique, winding upwards like a spiral maze, gradually ascending.

Upon reaching the fifth floor, they inspected each room with Chen Mo, but unfortunately, they found little of interest. The conversation earlier had taken up some time, and by the time they were almost done with the sixth floor,

Time was quickly approaching midnight.

"Are you planning to hide in a room on the sixth floor this time, or head down to the second floor?"

"What about you, Pei Yi?"

"I'm heading to 404."

"What?!"

"I want to try to find some clues, earn some points."

Chen Mo truly admired Pei Yi's courage; even if it killed him, he wouldn't go back to that room again.

"Then... okay then. Pei Yi, be extra careful, see you later."

They parted ways, and Pei Yi checked his watch as he walked; it was 11:50 PM, giving him enough time to reach room 404. But as he calmly made his way, a series of snaps sounded, and the corridor lights went out in an instant.

He was still a whole half-corridor's distance from 404.

The corridor plunged into darkness. Without the lights, his long strides would normally take 2 minutes, but now, reaching 404 without incident seemed uncertain.

Just as Pei Yi was about to proceed, a loud whistle echoed through the silent hallway, followed by the sound of keys clashing, and brisk footsteps, not those of zombies, but a man.

The man seemed in high spirits, walking step by step towards Pei Yi.

Pei Yi couldn't help but quicken his pace, counting the time in his head, guessing the man was a temporary presence. As he sped up, so did the man behind him. He ran, and the man also started running.

In this chase, Pei Yi dashed into room 404, slammed the door shut, and quickly hid in the cabinet. Meanwhile, he checked the time; it was exactly midnight.

—Another round of hunting began.

Thinking of the halls now teeming with those horrifying, jumping zombies, Pei Yi felt goosebumps all over.

Yet, mysteriously, room 404 was completely silent, unnervingly so.

Reaching behind, Pei Yi found the red nightgown, just as Chen Mo had described.

Peering through the cabinet crack, he saw the previously empty room slowly reveal its true appearance, limited by his narrow field of view.

A picture frame was placed on the bedside table next to the bed, and a water bottle and teacup were on the desk by the door. These changes, if not closely observed, could easily be overlooked, especially since the room was dimly lit, making it hard to see clearly.

Pei Yi was about to push out of the cabinet when he heard the door outside being opened, and a man walked in. Pei Yi felt this man was not the same as the one before; this man didn't have keys on him.

Soon after, Pei Yi heard the sound of a woman showering from the bathroom inside, the man pushed open the bathroom door, and sounds of the two engaging in activities became louder, seemingly moving back to the bed.

Pei Yi saw through the crack of the wardrobe that the woman on the bed was indeed wearing a red nightgown.

Listening to these noises was truly annoying; Pei Yi felt uncomfortable and glanced at the time, hoping it would pass quickly. Accidentally, he bumped the wardrobe. At that moment, footsteps approached, and Pei Yi held his breath, thinking, "Here it comes."

He had already decided that once the person opened the wardrobe door, he would first throw the red nightgown over their head and then rush out the door swiftly.

As it stood, the zombies outside posed a lesser threat than this malevolent spirit.

The eyeball slowly approached, rolling around—a large, grayish-white eyeball, like that of a dead fish, fierce-looking. The man peered into the wardrobe through the door crack, his gaze moving mechanically up and down, thoroughly searching the interior.

Suddenly, with a hideous laugh, the man flung open the wardrobe, reaching in to grab something, only to hear a woman outside say, "Enough, why tease him like that?"

"The little brat always likes playing hide and seek. One day I'll end him for good."

"Talk of death, let's just go."

The door closed with a bang after a creaking sound as the two left. Pei Yi looked outside to find the room indeed empty and breathed a sigh of relief. The man was lucky; otherwise, it would have been unclear who would have ended whom.

The moment the door shut, the light turned on. Half-past twelve. Pei Yi emerged from the wardrobe, and the room returned to silence.

At the same time, the system voice played.

[Player Pei Yi, a hidden mission has been triggered, Wardrobe Hide and Seek 1/5. Reward Points: 1.]

[Player Pei Yi, player Chen Mo, staying until after midnight, Reward Points: 1.]

Pei Yi left room 404, waiting for Chen Mo to come up. Seeing him, Chen Mo was surprised, "Brother Pei? You're alright."

"If I'm alright, of course you're alright. Did you hear the system sound? It seems the system counted you as failing because you passed out."

Chen Mo: "..." He would rather have remained unconscious. "Now that we've checked the sixth floor, what do we do next?"

"Getting points for staying until midnight means the difficulty of the next stages will increase." Pei Yi was a bit annoyed, and when annoyed, he wanted to smoke, but realized he was out of cigarettes. "Clearly, the clue is in room 404."

Chen Mo sighed, seemingly reluctant to think about it, but he truly dared not stay in room 404—it would require a superhuman courage...

"So, Brother Pei, what did you see just now?"

"Pretty much what you saw, but this time, the couple seemed to be quite affectionate, all lovey-dovey. After they were done, the man wanted to open the wardrobe, and the woman said something like 'don't always tease me.' The man called him a little rascal for always liking to play hide and seek. When he opened the wardrobe to grab me, he didn't reach in my direction; I was tucked in the far left, but the husband reached to the right and even made a punching gesture. —Catch my drift?"

"..." Chen Mo felt goosebumps all over upon hearing this. Touching his arm, he indeed found goosebumps. With a trembling voice, he said, "Brother Pei... are you saying that, besides us, there was someone else inside the wardrobe?"

Pei Yi said, "Yes, I suspect it was a child, the couple's child, who likes to play hide and seek. The 'little rascal' the man cursed at was him."

Hearing this, Chen Mo felt an urge to vomit so strong that he retched several times but nothing came out. No wonder he felt exceptionally cold inside that wardrobe, an eerie and bizarre kind of cold.

Which means, this family of three had already died.

"A Chinese version of 'The Grudge,'" said Pei Yi. "Now, you tell me everything you saw."

Chen Mo's voice shook, "I... I suspect the room I was in wasn't 'clean' either. I was heading to the room at 11:55 but before I could get there, the lights went out, and I just randomly entered a room. But this room had no wardrobe, only a bed."

"So, you hid under the bed."

Chen Mo nodded. "But I think I heard someone watching TV... the sound was very, very low."

"Which room?"

"I didn't pay attention to the number, it seemed like it was on the third floor, the second or third one, I forgot. I didn't dare to look."

"TV..." Pei Yi pondered. This was clearly an important clue. But let's focus on the hide and seek mission for now.

Pei Yi went back and took another look at 404, suspecting one of the hiding spots was under the bed. It seemed necessary to start in room 404. Each spot, he guessed, had to be discovered to count as a success.

"Brother Pei, you're not thinking of..." Chen Mo looked at Pei Yi staring at the bed and asked, "Forget it, it's too terrifying. At least a wardrobe offers some protection, but who knows what you might see under the bed."

"You're right, but it's all about the lack of money." With more money, one could afford better cigarettes. "Listen, Xiao Mo, if you're scared, just stay hidden on the second floor in the room you first hid in. I think the lower the floor, the safer it should be, but that's not guaranteed. Be especially cautious of the rooms beyond the third one. I'll try to solve the clues as quickly as possible, so we can get out together."

Pei Yi looked at his bracelet, "Wonder if we can add each other as friends or something." With that thought, "Try pressing this button on your bracelet at the same time as me." There was a black button on the outside.

Chen Mo did as instructed, and they really could add each other as friends. Additionally, the bracelet could be used as a walkie-talkie.

"Done. I'll head up to the rooftop again now. You prepare to go to the second floor; I suspect time anomalies might occur."

As Pei Yi spoke, he checked the time, realizing that it had already reached 12:50 PM while they were chatting.

Neither had anticipated time passing so swiftly, "Head downstairs right now; I won't go to the rooftop anymore." He said this as he moved towards room 404, but it was too late.

In an instant, the lights in the corridor went out again.

—Time had accelerated!