Chapter 33: The Malevolent Spirit of the Snow Mountain 03

Chapter 33: The Malevolent Spirit of the Snow Mountain 03

Zhou You asked, "Why seven days, though? Are those ghost movies deliberately giving them a chance to escape?"

Little A mentioned, "There's an ancient saying about the 'first seven days' being a cycle of reincarnation."

Pei Yi nodded, "Regardless, let's all be careful."

When it came time to sleep, there were two rooms: one for the boys and one for the girls. Each room had large beds arranged in a row, with ample space for everyone.

Upon reaching his room and glimpsing the snow outside, Pei Yi frowned. He had forgotten to mention something crucial: why hadn’t the couple returned yet? Ying Jun was experienced and wouldn’t intentionally break the rules.

With this worry in mind, Pei Yi found himself unable to sleep.

After lights out, he merely closed his eyes to rest.

The doctor, sleeping beside him, noted that Pei Yi, being tall, was better suited for the outermost bed, possibly to lighten the eerie mood. "Pei, you’re quite handsome, do you have a girlfriend?"

Pei Yi responded, "No, uncle, just a single dog here." Bankrupt as I am, how could I even think of dating?

"How come such a handsome guy doesn’t have a girlfriend?"

Pei Yi just smiled, didn't answer, and after a bit more small talk, they fell silent. Pei Yi intended to stay awake to wait for the couple's return but drifted off unknowingly.

In the middle of the night, a loud knocking woke Pei Yi, a light sleeper. Soon, the noise woke everyone else.

Pei Yi got out of bed, turned on the light, and saw the neighboring room's light also turn on.

The knocking persisted. As Pei Yi approached the door, intending to open it, the girls from the next room came out.

"Don't open it!"

"Right! We mustn’t open it, Brother Pei!"

The girls appeared very anxious.

Zhou You asked, "Why shouldn't we open it?"

Little A said, "Haven't you heard the story about a group of people climbing a snowy mountain? There was an avalanche, and the boyfriend went missing. His girlfriend was heartbroken until one night, he returned, intending to take her away and revealed a shocking truth. Everyone died in the avalanche except for her. That's roughly the story."

She pointed to the window, "Look at the heavy snow outside. How could a normal person survive in that? How do we know if the person outside is human or a ghost?"

Everyone looked outside to see nothing but darkness, with the sound of the wind and snow furiously beating against the window.

The other two girls looked anxious, "Our team leader is right. What if it's not a human? What if it lets the malevolent spirit into the house? If so, we won't need seven days; everything will be over!"

Girls really do delve deep into ghost stories.

The person outside continued to pound on the door desperately, his voice nearly breaking, "Please, open the door, my wife is barely hanging on. Please! Open the door!"

His cries were too tragic. The intense knocking struck at everyone's hearts.

Zhou You said, "I think the three girls are right, to die is to die. It's just a game, at worst we lose some points." He said this, but his voice betrayed his uncertainty.

The doctor added, "But after dying, many players disappear. What exactly does JC define as death? What if death here means actual death?" He's a doctor, and even in JC, he hasn't forgotten his duty.

After he spoke, Mrs. Wu squeezed her husband's hand.

Everyone looked to Pei Yi. Speechless, he faced a tough choice. "Let's vote. Those in favor of opening the door, raise your hand."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Two hands were raised. It was the doctor and Mrs. Wu.

Chen Mo looked at Pei Yi, "Brother Pei, if you raise your hand, I will too."

Pei Yi was frustrated, urging for some decisiveness, especially when it seemed even the girls were less hesitant. "Let's not open it then. Let's take a chance." The suggestion came from them, but the decision was his. He had no quarrel with the man outside; it was purely out of consideration for the group.

With heavy hearts, everyone returned to their rooms, leaving behind the sound of despair. Little B and Zhou You were the last to leave.

Seeing Zhou You speak up for them, Little B couldn't help but say, "Thank you, Zhou. Really."

Zhou You, true to his name, was rather superficial, especially regarding matters of men and women, "No thanks needed. It was nothing, and you made sense. With the malevolent spirit of the snowy mountain, it's definitely a ghost outside. You guys really know your stuff."

Little B said, "We're just speculating, but it's better to stick together in places like this."

"Yes, you're absolutely right."

"You don't need to. You're already at 180 points," Little B remarked. Those who've been through it know, the JC copies are really tough to beat. They've been at it for a long time and haven't crossed 100 points. Naturally, they view players who have surpassed 100 points with awe, as if they were gods.

Hearing this, Zhou You immediately perked up. What does this mean, does this girl have a thing for him? In today's team-up, he was in her group, while Little A and Little C went with Pei Yi and Chen Mo. He noticed that A and C were closer, leaving Little B somewhat outcast.

Earlier, when they went to check out the cable car and the restroom, he was with Little B.

Zhou You was quite pleased; he was handsome, tall, and although he couldn't compare to Pei Yi — who was exceptionally outstanding, causing most girls to keep their distance — Chen Mo was somewhat shorter.

"These points aren't enough for me either. I've always thought that if someone teamed up with me for the copies, we could progress faster. Have you made it into S1 yet?"

Little B shook her head, "No."

"No worries. There'll be plenty of opportunities in the future."

The more they talked, the more animated they became, who could sleep through such an event? The wooden door kept banging, thud, thud, thud. They sat in the living room, chatting. In this environment, a sense of security was so important.

It wasn't until 4 in the morning that the knocking on the wooden door gradually stopped.

Only then did Zhou You and Little B go back to their room to sleep.

Everyone was awakened by a burst of music, a piano piece playing on the radio.

The music was beautiful, shifting from cheerful to slow and sad, best described as sorrowful without being hurtful. Listening to the entire piece brought a subtle melancholy, enveloping listeners in a tragically beautiful atmosphere.

When the music finished, Pei Yi went to check, "It was set to play automatically." So it wasn't a paranormal event.

Everyone felt slightly relieved. Then, Zhou You went to the window and looked out, "Ying Jun is gone."

Pei Yi also looked and confirmed he was indeed missing. They opened the door and saw drag marks in the snow at the doorstep, clearly someone had dragged another person to the door.

Everyone exchanged glances, could it really be a person, not a ghost?

Pei Yi said, "Let's take this opportunity to look for their tracks. It's good if we find them, but let's not dwell on it if we don't."

Zhou You asked, "Car God, are we sticking to the previous groupings? I suggest each of us pairs up with one of the girls. Two per team."

Pei Yi agreed, "That works. Let the girls choose."

Zhou You wanted to team up with Little B, and they easily formed a pair. Little A, being more assertive, chose Chen Mo. Pei Yi was paired with Little C.

Once teams were assigned, the four groups set off in different directions, one after the other.

Pei Yi headed towards the direction he hadn't managed to explore yesterday, intending to check out the cable car.

But before they got there, Little C pointed towards a distant snowman, "Brother Pei, look, there's a snowman."

Pei Yi asked, "A snowman? What about it?"

"It wasn't there yesterday..." Little C whispered, "when Sister A and I came."

"So?"

"Brother Pei, haven't you heard such ghost stories? There might be a body hidden inside the snowman."

"...Are girls these days always this intense?" "I'll check it out."

"Okay."

It was a rather large snowman, making the possibility of concealing a body plausible. The snowman was crudely built, as if by a child, with only a head, torso, and lower body formed, and no facial features.

It was just a regular snowman. But in this setting, everything looked eerie.

Pei Yi picked up a stick and poked it into the snowman's body. His heart raced, hoping not to hit any severed limbs. Thankfully, there was nothing.

He breathed a sigh of relief, "It's fine. Let's go."

Xiao C nodded and as they left, she couldn't help but glance back at the snowman, which seemed to be smiling despite having no facial features.

At the cable car station, Pei Yi asked Xiao C to wait while he checked the ticket booth. Before leaving, he rolled his dice, trusting the amulet despite knowing it often brought bad luck.

The dice showed 'bad fortune.' Pei Yi tucked it back and headed to the ticket booth, a small pavilion next to the cable car track. The cable cars were locked.

Peering through the window, he saw nothing unusual - just an empty booth.

After checking several cars and finding them all locked, Pei Yi saw some writing inside one of the cable cars.

The text was plentiful but tiny, making it hard to read.

Intuitively feeling this could be a clue, Pei Yi tried to force the lock. It was rusty but firm, and he couldn't break it. He decided to return to the cabin to look for an axe to break into the cable car.

Thinking this, Pei Yi turned to ask Xiao C whether she wanted to come with him or stay.

But upon returning, he found Xiao C was gone.