Chapter 227: Huaishu Road Construction Site Strange Tales 25

Chapter 227: Huaishu Road Construction Site Strange Tales 25

Cui Wenxuan was quite skilled at scavenging and had collected a variety of miscellaneous items. The players didn't need them immediately, so he stored them all in his portable space.

The two teams gathered together, crowding the small room to the brim, recounting their experiences from the morning in great detail.

The other two teams did the same.

To avoid the crowd in Dormitory No.1, the West and North teams chose Dormitory No.4 as their meeting place.

Mi Yang opened the door and glanced outside. In the corridor, two NPC members who had been sent out were eyeing the door of Dormitory No.1 vigilantly, as if afraid that someone might come out and eavesdrop.

"Tsk." Yiwu glanced at the two with disdain, "Look at how petty they are. Who would bother to eavesdrop?"

As soon as he said this, several pairs of eyes stared at him eagerly.

Qi Xiu smiled sardonically, "I would."

Yiwu: "..."

Alright, he actually wanted to listen too.

Unfortunately, eavesdropping was destined to be impossible.

After the faction missions within the strange tale became clear, the opposing sides entered a heated confrontation, creating an atmosphere where only one could survive.

The West and North teams kept a close watch. Lu Cheng's vines couldn't be used, and Chen Zaocha stared intently at the wall, sweating profusely before slumping back onto the bed in defeat: "Nope, they must have used some kind of item over there."

After a while, players started coming out of Dormitory No.4.

Some came out alone, others in pairs, heading off in various directions with clear intentions.

Qi Xiu and Cui Wenxuan leaned against the door, watching the people coming and going outside.

The situation seemed to have reached a stalemate. Those two teams were running around everywhere, clearly working hard on the Yin-Yang Master's task.

But their own clues had run dry.

It was nearly noon, and the rain outside still hadn't stopped. The foreman was nowhere to be found.

Yiwu and An Yang had already tried earlier. Although they had accepted the female ghost's task, they couldn't step into the rain.

The heavy rain blocked the players' path to the construction site, trapping them in the small dormitory.

The unspoken anxiety gnawed at every player's heart in Dormitory No.1. People from Dormitory No.4 occasionally passed by the door, casting meaningful glances.

This stark contrast only exacerbated the players' anxiety, like dry wood thrown into a raging fire, crackling and snapping, lashing at everyone's emotions.

The fire burned hotter and hotter until after noon when the NPC responsible for delivering meals appeared at the entrance of the living area.

Only a few people came to collect their boxed lunches.

"Many from the other two teams went upstairs," Yiwu followed those people up and down the stairs, then returned to the first floor.

His expression was grim: "They're setting up candles upstairs, probably repairing the damaged formation."

He wanted to cause some trouble but couldn't find an opportunity.

Sinar Mas Department Store was an old commercial building with a simple internal structure. The elevators and safety exits on the fourth and fifth floors were closely monitored, making it impossible to enter or leave unnoticed.

"This can't go on," Qi Xiu seemed to have made a decision and turned to ask Lu Cheng, "What exactly did the female ghost say to you?"

Lu Cheng closed the lid of his boxed lunch and blinked: "She said she would come again tonight to tell me how to find her husband."

It was now certain that the female ghost's husband was on the opposite construction site. The East and South teams were just one step away from victory. If the female ghost could provide a method to save her husband and free him, everything would be resolved.

But, tonight.

Qi Xiu's expression was stern: "Tonight might be too late."

They couldn't leave the living area at night. Even if the female ghost told the players the specific method, they couldn't do anything until the next day.

And tomorrow, if it cleared up, the players would have to leave the department store early in the morning and head to the opposite construction site.

The margin for error was too slim.

Worse still, the West and North teams were making significant moves, backed by the Yin-Yang Master NPC.

If those people acted fast enough to weaken the female ghost's power significantly or even control her entirely before nightfall, the East and South teams would lose without a fight.

Cui Wenxuan bit his lip: "How about... we try to meet her earlier?"

Her, of course, referred to the female ghost.

Before lunch, the players had considered other methods. Almost everyone had left the dormitory, some going upstairs like Yiwu, others wandering around the women's clothing section on the first floor.

But none of them saw the female ghost.

Thinking back, the players were pulled into illusions on the fourth and fifth floors very early this morning. After ten o'clock, when the department store officially opened, the female ghost seemed to disappear.

Cui Wenxuan spoke with some hesitation, unsure about the suggestion he was about to make: "Last night, the female ghost appeared after the lights went out. We probably can't see her through normal means, but—"

He paused: "I have a mirror."

Mirror.

In this instance, the mirror seemed to be the medium for the female ghost's actions.

Yesterday, the NPCs on the construction site attacked Cui Wenxuan, who had a mirror. The rules of the living area also hinted at the danger associated with mirrors.

If Cui Wenxuan were to take out a mirror, it might bypass the restrictions on the female ghost's movements within the building and forcibly summon her.

"Isn't this too risky?" Lu Cheng felt that while the method wasn't bad, it was akin to placing his head on the edge of a blade.

It seemed a bit too crazy.

Cui Wenxuan: "It's fine."

Since he dared to propose such an idea, he naturally had ensured his own safety.

"We've already tested it. Having a mirror in the dormitory isn't a death sentence."

As long as it wasn't a rule that would lead to certain death upon violation, Cui Wenxuan had backup plans to protect himself.

"I have many different mirrors with me, one of which is my bound item," said Cui Wenxuan.

That was the infamous Demon-Detecting Mirror.

Everyone knew that this mirror could detect hidden ghosts around it, but in fact, it had more functions than just that.

It could also capture ghosts.

The Demon-Detecting Mirror's ability to capture ghosts was one of Cui Wenxuan's secret weapons.

The specific time it took for the mirror to contain a ghost depended on the ghost's strength; the more powerful the ghost, the shorter the time it could be held. However, once a ghost entered the mirror, it couldn't harm Cui Wenxuan during the scenario.

Qi Xiu listened silently to Cui Wenxuan and then spoke up, "In that case, let's vote."

The result of the vote was predictable; in less than five seconds, more than half the players raised their hands.

The remaining players saw no point in resisting.

"Is there anyone who strongly opposes?" Cui Wenxuan had already made the gesture to retrieve the mirror, asking symbolically before proceeding.

Qin Fei's gaze lingered on the two team leaders for a moment, slightly narrowing his eyes.

Actually, he had some different thoughts.

He always felt that everyone was being overly optimistic about the female ghost's stance.

Although they had received the task to help the female ghost, she never seemed to acknowledge them as her allies from the beginning.

Qin Fei hadn't forgotten that in this urban legend, they played the role of temporary workers hired to work at the construction site opposite the building.

This identity should be in opposition to the female ghost, and indeed, after the players entered Sinar Mas Department Store, the female ghost made every effort to drive them away, whether through the game on the sixth floor or the illusions on the fourth and fifth floors. She had been relentless.

Would such a ghost, who despised outsiders, truly trust them wholeheartedly?

In the background story of the urban legend, the female ghost became a vengeful spirit after her husband was killed by the board of directors of the department store and she found herself without any means of seeking help.

The phrase "without any means of seeking help" carried deeper implications.

On that day at the entrance of the department store, dozens of people witnessed the accident, yet why did the subsequent reports completely alter the facts?

Why didn't the female ghost target the wealthy young man driving the car from the start, instead starting with the store managers who used to work with her on the first floor of the department store?

All these facts indicated that the female ghost's death was not the work of a single person.

She was driven to her death, and before dying, she must have sought help from many people, begging them to tell the truth. But those people ignored her pleas.

Perhaps the board of directors of the department store threatened them, or perhaps they offered them benefits.

Regardless of the truth, in the eyes of the deceased female ghost, this was undoubtedly a betrayal.

Could a ghost, who had been hurt by human nature, really trust others so easily?

Qin Fei's eyelashes lowered slightly, his pale face unreadable.

However, Qi Xiu and Cui Wenxuan's concerns could not be ignored. Allowing the other side to act freely would only push things further against them.

Finding a way to meet the female ghost had become the only thing they could do now.

Whether it succeeded or failed would likely depend on fate.

As thoughts raced through his mind, a primitive-looking dark greenish-black bronze mirror appeared in Cui Wenxuan's palm. The mirror's surface was clean, and its frame was intricately engraved with complex patterns.

The moment the mirror appeared in the room, the air suddenly turned cold. The glass windows seemed to be covered by something, and the indoor light dimmed abruptly.

A click echoed—the sound of the door locking.

Crimson liquid seeped under the door into the room. The candles left burning in the corner by the players last night suddenly reignited on their own, flickering without wind and then extinguishing with a puff after a few breaths.

Everything happened in an instant.

A thick aura of death permeated the entire room.

A gradually solidifying figure slowly appeared in one corner of the room.

...

Oh no! It seems... we've made a mistake.

In Room One, all the players except Qin Fei immediately shared the same thought.