Chapter 47: I Have a Date with a Corpse (Part Five)
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The live broadcast of “Escape Panic” was a special New Year’s edition of the online version, only undergoing preliminary editing and processing. However, the playback effect turned out to be unexpectedly good. Some scenes appeared a bit rough, but they looked even more realistic. The first day’s story ended with Huang Wei being eliminated, and in just one night, the popularity soared from tens of thousands to millions. Netizens screamed in terror while being unable to stop watching.
By the second day, there were already tens of millions of people watching online. The story progressed to the evidence of the guests finding out that the innkeeper’s wife was a vengeful ghost, and they decided to escape the inn. While they packed their bags, An Bu was applying makeup in her room. The camera alternated between scenes, making netizens impatient.
【Why are you still packing? Hurry up and run!】
【The innkeeper’s wife is putting on makeup, ready to show her tricks. Why are you wasting time???】
【It’s urgent; can’t you leave lightly? What’s there to tidy up with a few pieces of old clothes!】
【Whispering, am I the only one who wants to see the innkeeper’s wife turn into a vengeful ghost chasing the guests?】
【Me too…】
【D*mn, what’s that mirror behind the innkeeper’s wife?!】
In the video, on the dressing mirror behind An Bu, it reflected not her back sitting in front of the dressing table but her front side applying makeup. After drawing her eyebrows, the person in the mirror revealed a sinister smile.
After a moment, the dressing mirror returned to normal, but there was an additional ghost shadow next to the innkeeper’s wife, sitting side by side, making final adjustments in front of the mirror.
In the silent night, in the old room with dim lights, the face in the mirror, the blurry ghost shadow… created a creepy scene in the video.
【Oh my, my heart!】
【This scene could be used as a poster for a horror movie.】
【Who is the actress playing the innkeeper? She’s so expressive! Isn’t she afraid to stay alone in the room? This program uses multiple cameras for free shooting, and unrelated staff generally don’t stay on set.】
【Now is not the time to discuss this; the innkeeper has finished her makeup!】
【D*mn it, why haven’t they left yet?!】
When An Bu turned the doorknob, the guests had just left the room. Suddenly, there was a loud thunder outside. As An Bu stepped out of the room, the camera turned to the lobby, where the guests stood at the entrance, looking up at the sudden heavy rain. The scene froze with the silhouettes of the guests standing at the entrance, looking at the rain.
【D*mn it! What about the next part?!】
【Is this the rhythm of team wipeout?!】
【Ah ah ah ah, rolling on the floor, please continue!】
【This heavy rain might be a trick by the crew, deliberately making them stay.】
【I wonder if anyone will dare to leave in the rain.】
However, everyone did not expect that the innkeeper, who seemed like a bad ghost, not only did not run out to take lives but also did something unexpectedly kind.
However, the subsequent story progress was not publicly broadcast by the director. Because the character of the innkeeper’s wife collapsed, the story stopped at a very interesting point. He was considering whether to follow the established script and directly enter the next scenario tomorrow or temporarily modify the progress. Taking the inn as the mainline and treating other scenarios as subplots, as long as the general direction remained unchanged, the completeness of the plot would not be significantly affected. The important thing was that an abnormal situation occurred during the shooting. If they didn’t want to be forced to stop, they had to adapt to changes.
“Tingting, where did you find the girl playing the innkeeper?” the director asked looking at Ge Tingting.
Ge Tingting smiled, “She’s my cousin’s wife. How is she? Not bad, right?”
The director asked, “… I just want to know, is your cousin okay?” With such a girlfriend by his side, can he sleep at night?
Ge Tingting stared at the director discontentedly: What do you mean by that?!
At this moment in the lobby, everyone didn’t dare to go back to sleep. They forced themselves to stay awake, playing on their phones, eating snacks, chatting… trying to distract themselves. By around 2 a.m., everyone was getting a bit exhausted.
Only An Bu remained energetic, standing by the window, doing leg presses while reading a book. Several Yin spirits roamed around her, sometimes transforming into physical formulas, sometimes into geometric shapes, sometimes into elemental structures, and sometimes into cosmic stars… It was clear that she was now reading a physics book.
After completing a set of exercises, An Bu saw that everyone looked tired. She spoke, “Aren’t you guys going to sleep?”
Who can sleep in this environment! What if they fall asleep and suddenly want to commit suicide? Or encounter something scary in their dreams? Will they have a chance to wake up?
An Bu also knew that it was challenging for them to fall asleep in such an environment, so she didn’t try to persuade them anymore. After daybreak, they could find a local residence and get a good night’s sleep.
At this moment, Gao Liqian tugged at her boyfriend’s sleeve with a hint of crying in her voice, “Ah Feng, I want to go to the bathroom…”
Wan Feng said awkwardly, “Find a girl to go with you, okay?”
There was only one bathroom in the inn, on the west side of the backyard. The team had turned off the bathroom light earlier to create a scary atmosphere, and now it was pitch black. Only the light from their phones illuminated the way, and not many people dared to go, even the bold Xiao Qing fell silent.
Gao Liqian’s pleading eyes swept across the girls, finally landing on An Bu’s face.
An Bu was willing to accompany her, but the problem was that as soon as she left, the Yin spirits in the lobby would target others.
“Let’s go, everyone, let’s go together,” An Bu said, “Anyone else needs to use the bathroom; let’s handle it together.”
The group exchanged strange looks, but eventually stood up and followed An Bu, forming a team to go to the bathroom.
Each person held a smartphone, attempting to illuminate every dark corner, even behind them.
Arriving outside the bathroom, Xiao Qing, Gao Liqian, Zhu Shanhu, and Xiao Q, the four girls, entered first, while others stayed outside, vigilantly scanning their surroundings.
An Bu leaned against a wooden post, glanced at Yi Zheyan, and then shifted her gaze from his face to behind him.
Yi Zheyan’s heart tightened, subconsciously turning to look. Behind him, there was nothing except a mottled wall.
“Did you see something?” He looked at An Bu and asked in a deep voice.
An Bu replied, “What you’re thinking is what I saw.”
Yi Zheyan suddenly felt a chill on his left shoulder. He turned to look and, subconsciously, saw a bloody baby crawling onto his shoulder, its two eyes pitch black, oozing sticky blood.
An Bu: You’re still imagining things. Do you want another miscarried female ghost?
Just as he thought of this, another female ghost with an open abdomen appeared behind Yi Zheyan… well, that was An Bu’s doing.
At that moment, a sound of teeth chattering reached their ears. An Bu followed the sound and found that Old Zhao was diligently holding a camera, pointing it at everyone present.
An Bu guessed what he had seen through the lens. All male guests had one or two Yin spirits beside them, synchronizing with the horrifying scenes they imagined.
The ghostly baby on Yi Zheyan’s shoulder, the long-haired female ghost behind Wan Feng, the reaching hands on the ground under Cheng Ziming, the hanging ghost above A Fei’s head… Now, when Yin energy was at its peak, through the lens, relatively clear ghost shadows could be seen.
Then, trembling, Old Zhao moved the camera towards An Bu. Only around her, there were ink shadows swirling, like creating an ink painting—splashing, spreading, fading, disappearing. It was a freehand style that instantly calmed his frantic emotions.
However, not long after, one by one, the girls walked out of the bathroom with pale faces. Among them, Ah Q from the photography team looked the most terrified. Since there was no camera in the bathroom, she had to supplement the footage. So, while dealing with her personal matters, she also had to film the bathroom environment. It was easy to imagine that she also saw the ghostly shadows, but fortunately, only one Yin spirit was with them. By diverting attention through chat, they didn’t imagine too many terrifying scenes.
However, just the environment of the bathroom was scary enough, not to mention there was a mirror inside. After this footage was broadcast, it would undoubtedly make the audience shudder.
An Bu greatly admired the dedication of the photography team members. Clearly terrified, they still insisted on carrying the cameras.
After the girls finished, the male guests also went inside. Although they were nervous and frightened, the process went smoothly. However, nobody dared to do the no. 2; they all quickly finished their business.
When everyone was done, An Bu led them back to the lobby.
After relieving themselves, many people’s faces improved a lot. Just as a few people were planning to sit down and eat something, a muffled knocking sound suddenly came from outside the courtyard, thumping through the sound of rain, striking everyone’s hearts.
The relaxed nerves tightened again, and everyone stood still, nervously looking towards the courtyard outside the lobby.
Who would come to knock on the door outside this old mansion in the pouring rain at three in the morning?
The knocking continued, and everyone’s breathing became heavier as they all looked at An Bu.
An Bu also didn’t know who it was. Just as she was about to go open the door, the main door suddenly creaked, pushed open by someone.
D*mn it, the door wasn’t locked!
Everyone widened their eyes, pricked up their ears, carefully distinguishing the footsteps mixed in with the sound of rain.
Chila, chila, chila… The sound got closer, and a blurry figure gradually appeared in the pouring rain.
Without realizing it, everyone took a step back. Just as the person stepped onto the stairs and entered the range of light, An Bu, who had been calmly observing, suddenly moved. She rushed towards the newcomer, arms wide open, embracing the drenched body.
“Mr. Jian!” An Bu sighed comfortably, and her vitality value soared.
At this moment, Jian Ningxuan, wearing a rain cloak, was dripping wet, his whole body soaked. He looked weary, presenting a dusty and exhausted appearance.
“I’m all wet, don’t get soaked.” He gently pushed An Bu away and stepped into the lobby.
The moment he entered, all the evil spirits within a radius of ten meters disappeared without a trace. A warm air rushed in, dispelling the chill from everyone’s bodies.
Jian Ningxuan took off his raincoat, dropped his backpack, and then turned to face An Bu. “I brought the information you wanted.”
His mountaineering outfit was mostly wet, his hair disheveled and hanging over his forehead. Water droplets slid down his cheeks, and his feet were covered in mud. He lacked the usual cleanliness and neatness, but his gaze remained clear, shining with the colors that An Bu liked.
Looking at the cat master who had come from afar to bring warmth, An Bu was momentarily at a loss for words.
According to the original route, Jian Ningxuan should have arrived in Kangquan Town long ago. However, he encountered heavy rain halfway, got stuck in a mud trap, couldn’t start his car, and had no phone signal. Not wanting to wait idly, he left the driver to continue dealing with the car, and he carried his backpack, braving the rain, walked tens of miles for three hours, finally reaching Kangquan Town.
He had seen the map of the town before, so it was easy for him to find the location of the Inn. Seeing An Bu rushing towards him, he felt the tension in his heart ease.
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