Chapter 41

Gu Yi’an remained calm and slowly turned around, the small coffin in her hand ready to be thrown at any moment.
A man’s head with an extremely long neck and eyes that were entirely white appeared before her.
Its body was inside the house, but its neck stretched out unnaturally, about a meter long, bringing its face right up to Gu Yi’an’s.
Perhaps due to the fear in her heart, Gu Yi’an could see the ghost before her with unusual clarity.
She even noticed traces of blood on its exposed teeth.
It stared at Gu Yi’an, its mouth curling upward, and a grating voice spoke.
“Sweetheart, what kind of ghost are you?”
As expected, she had been mistaken for a ghost.
Gu Yi’an knew her gamble had paid off.
In her own world, the chubby uncle who sold talismans had once said she carried a heavy ghostly aura. He suspected she was raising a spirit.
Gu Yi'an showed no sign of joy on her face. She calmly watched the long-necked ghost.
Seeing that Gu Yi'an was ignoring it, the long-necked ghost wasn't angry but muttered to itself, "Why are all you pretty female ghosts so unfriendly? Judging by your appearance, are you a water ghost?"
"Water ghosts tend to be a bit plumper, fair and chubby."
A paper phone drifted out of the window and floated in front of the long-necked ghost's head.
The long-necked ghost spoke into the paper phone, "I've encountered an incredibly beautiful female ghost. Hehe, I'm not showing her to you."
Then, its white eyes turned to Gu Yi'an and said, "Hey, beauty, I'm a hanging ghost. I'm currently live-streaming catching humans. Want to join me for a delicious meal?"
Live-streaming?
Gu Yi'an immediately thought of the live streams she had watched before.
The ones she used to watch were of people exploring eerie places, checking if there were really ghosts there.
This time, it was a ghost doing a live stream to catch humans, and from what the hanging ghost said, humans would be their food.
The players were placed in a strange village, and a ghost was live-streaming catching and eating humans. This game set by the god was truly twisted.
As the hanging ghost spoke, its body finally floated out of the window.
Gu Yi'an tried her best to ignore the bizarre scene before her.
Clutching the small coffin in one hand, she said, "You're doing a live stream? Where can I watch it?"
Hearing this, the hanging ghost ignored the paper phone floating in front of it and immediately replied, "Beauty, just open your phone, go into the live-streaming app, and search for 'hanging ghost.' My livestream has a lot of ghosts watching, and they're not the good kind, they like to hog the food. I'm a bit better. Want to join me for a meal? I can smell human scent."
Gu Yi'an handed over her paper phone and said, "Can you help me get in? I'd really like to see your livestream."
Upon hearing this, the hanging ghost grinned. "Leave it to me, beauty. I guarantee my livestream is full of delicious food. Let me help you with that. Your ghostly aura is too weak; using a phone isn't easy for you."
In the eyes of humans, Gu Yi'an carried a heavy ghostly aura, but in the eyes of ghosts, her ghostly aura was very faint.
The hanged ghost didn't suspect Gu Yi'an in the slightest, even coming up with excuses on her behalf, rendering the explanations she had prepared completely unnecessary.
With a lift of its hand, a pulling force drew the paper phone from Gu Yi'an's grasp into its own.
It took a deep breath and blew onto the paper phone.
The airflow hit the screen, and Gu Yi'an watched as the display gradually lit up.
So the power button and shutdown button were just for show, the real way to operate it was by using ghostly energy.
The hanged ghost tapped an icon on the screen and showed it to Gu Yi'an.
"Little sister, you must be a newly departed ghost and might not know how to use this. See, this is the live stream room. The one with the highest popularity is mine. Give me a follow."
The hanged ghost tapped into the live stream, and the screen displayed the scene of it demonstrating the phone's usage to Gu Yi'an.
The hanged ghost's paper phone was aimed directly at Gu Yi'an and itself.
A flurry of comments scrolled across the live stream:
"You've been tricked."
"Hanged ghost, you've been tricked."
"Streamer, you've been tricked."
The hanged ghost looked confused. "What do you mean, I've been tricked?"
Gu Yi'an glanced at the comments and changed the subject. "Can this phone make calls?"
The hanged ghost, still puzzled by the comments, temporarily set them aside upon hearing Gu Yi'an's question.
While operating Gu Yi'an's phone and using a guest account to follow its own live stream, it replied, "Of course. What kind of phone can't make calls? If it couldn't, you could always appear in your family's dreams and ask them to burn you a new one."
After finishing the follow, the hanged ghost tapped other parts of the paper phone's screen and showed it to Gu Yi'an again.
"Little sister, yours can make calls."
Gu Yi'an looked and saw a dialer app icon on the screen, almost identical to the smartphone she had in the living world.
The hanged ghost asked curiously, "Little sister, who are you planning to call? Some secret lover? Is he as handsome as me?"
Gu Yi'an glanced at the hanged ghost's appearance. Ignoring its slightly protruding long tongue and bulging white eyes, its facial features seemed relatively normal, neither ugly nor particularly attractive, just peculiar.
Gu Yi'an said, "Among hanged ghosts, you're probably considered handsome."
The hanged ghost was overjoyed by this compliment.
It handed the paper phone back to Gu Yi'an and turned to its own live stream, still broadcasting. "See that? See that! Such a pretty little ghost sister says I'm handsome. Look at all you ugly ghosts out there, some missing heads, some with broken arms, barely any of you look normal. None of you are as handsome as me.
You all think you're normal? What kind of ghosts are you again? I forgot. Anyway, you're ugly, and I'm the most handsome."
Gu Yi'an took the now-powered-on paper phone and watched as the hanged ghost became fully engrossed in arguing with the ghostly audience in its live stream.
If she didn't slip away now, when would she ever get the chance?
Gu Yi'an quietly stepped back, moving with the utmost care.
The hanged ghost, absorbed in bickering with its viewers, didn't notice her movements.
Gu Yi'an retreated to the corner of the room, turned, and disappeared around it.
The hanged ghost continued its pointless banter with the ghosts in the live stream.
"It's because I'm handsome that the girl called me good-looking. You're saying she's human and has questionable taste? Bullshit. My good looks have nothing to do with whether she's human or not."
The Hanged Ghost suddenly caught on, "Why are you saying she's human?"
"Her face? Her face looks like a living person, not a ghost? But she has ghostly energy around her."
The Hanged Ghost immediately turned to look where Gu Yi'an had been.
The area was completely empty!
Even the slow-witted Hanged Ghost realized he'd been tricked.
And the person who tricked him had escaped!
Furious, the Hanged Ghost floated up into the air, the paper phone following along with him.
"I'm going to skin her alive and eat her raw."
The Hanged Ghost made his vicious threat.
He looked at his livestream, where comments were flooding in, most of them mocking the Hanged Ghost for having his eyesight strangled out of him when he hanged himself.
But one ghost's comment stood out among the ridicule from the ghostly audience.
"That new viewer, Spirit Board Huang Qiao, you're telling me not to eat her? Are you saying the right thing? Humans are our food, and you're telling me not to eat her? You're not another human who sneaked in, are you?"
The thought that he had just foolishly instructed a human on how to watch his livestream made the Hanged Ghost so angry he felt like his nose would twist off.
Just then, the Hanged Ghost suddenly saw a comment take over the entire screen of the paper phone, a special effect from a privileged account.
The comment read: I want this sacrifice.
The sender was: Ghost King!
The Hanged Ghost's eyes locked onto that name.
In an instant, his foul mood vanished, and his face, with only the whites of his eyes showing, hurriedly contorted into a smile.
"Ghost King, rest assured, I guarantee I'll complete the task. That woman looks tender and delicate, her flesh must be fine and soft, with excellent texture. She's a bit thin, not much meat, but she'll definitely make a delicious meal for you."
The Hanged Ghost gave his assurance, promising he would bring the woman before the Ghost King for his enjoyment.
But as soon as he finished speaking, another comment appeared, also from the Ghost King, saying: You cannot touch her.
The oxygen-deprived brain of the Hanged Ghost went blank. Don't touch her, but still bring her over? How is that supposed to work?
Ghost King, aren't you making things difficult for a ghost?
The Hanged Ghost thought this to himself but didn't dare say it out loud, assuming the Ghost King just preferred his food fresh.
Verbally, the Hanged Ghost complied, "Ghost King, I will definitely follow your instructions."
His body, floating in the air, seemed a bit desolate and forlorn.
It couldn't touch people, yet it had to bring someone over. How was it supposed to handle this?
It had thought bringing a corpse would suffice.
Forget it, the human scent was so strong, there must be more than one person. It would look for someone else first.
It decided to put this matter aside for now and avoid that woman.
Having made its plan, the Hanged Ghost deliberately flew far away to avoid running into the woman who had just deceived it.
If it couldn't handle her, it could at least stay out of her way.
Below the Hanged Ghost, at the window it had just left, Gu Yi'an stood watching its retreating figure.
She frowned slightly. Was the Hanged Ghost intentionally avoiding her?
After a moment's thought, she opened the streaming app on her paper phone and entered the Hanged Ghost's live stream.
Since the stream would emit sound, Gu Yi'an had refrained from using the paper phone earlier, worried the Hanged Ghost might discover she had returned to the room.
As Gu Yi'an entered the stream, a notification appeared at the top: "A visitor has entered."
The ghostly viewers in the Hanged Ghost's stream immediately guessed the new visitor was actually human.
Their previously synchronized comments swiftly changed, carefully avoiding any mention of the Hanged Ghost's task to deliver this person to the Ghost King.
"Oh, the one who tricked the ghost is here."
The ghostly viewers sent comments to alert the Hanged Ghost, even attempting to engage with Gu Yi'an.
"Hey, human, was it fun deceiving a ghost?"
"Want to try tricking me? I'm very gentle, I only eat organs."
Gu Yi'an ignored all the ghostly viewers' remarks.
She focused her attention solely on the Hanged Ghost, observing what it intended to do and what its purpose was.
The Hanged Ghost was well aware that a human had entered the stream, after all, it had personally taught her how to access it.
But since it still hadn't figured out how to complete the Ghost King's task, it deliberately avoided looking at its paper phone, muttering to itself, "A human, a human... I see a human!"
No human figure appeared on the screen, yet the Hanged Ghost abruptly dove downward.
The ghostly viewers flooded the chat with question marks, baffled by the Hanged Ghost's evasion.
Gu Yi'an was equally puzzled but understood that something she wasn't aware of must have happened.
Since the Hanged Ghost was deliberately avoiding her, she could temporarily set aside concerns about it causing trouble.
With a tap, Gu Yi'an exited the stream and clicked the dialer icon on her phone screen.
She recalled meeting a player in the second game who had mentioned that if she had an item like the small coffin, he would trade a resurrection badge for it.
As for how to contact that player, he had said to use the underworld phone and dial the number on a small slip of paper.
Gu Yi'an still remembered the number on that slip: 4444, easy to memorize.
She entered the number and made the call.
The call connected instantly.
A cold, androgynous voice spoke.
"This is the Underworld Transfer Station, offering premium suicide services. Please wait three seconds. After three seconds, you will experience a delightful death."
Gu Yi'an showed no surprise upon hearing this.
She had guessed that the entity behind this number was not human.
Without changing her expression, Gu Yi'an stated, "I need to consult about item information."
Silence lingered on the other end of the line.
The previously cold voice suddenly shifted in tone. "Props... Hah, that idiot is at it again with his business."
Gu Yi'an remained silent, guessing the person being insulted was likely the one who had provided the phone number.
After a moment, a male voice she hadn't heard before spoke up. "May I ask who's calling? What props are you looking to exchange?"
Gu Yi'an wasn't sure if this was the same Merchant she had encountered in the second game. Her goal was simply to inquire about props, so she didn't dwell on it and asked, "Do you have any props that can allow two players to enter the same game session?"
The person on the other end thought for a few seconds before replying, "Yes, we do. What props do you have to exchange?"
Gu Yi'an asked, "What kind of props are you looking for?"
"Any survival, attack, or special-type props will do."
Hearing this, Gu Yi'an said, "Are you collecting various kinds of props?"
"More or less."
Gu Yi'an replied, "Alright. Can I contact you again later?"
The other person chuckled. "We'll be waiting anytime."
The call ended.
Gu Yi'an pondered. She didn't have many props on hand, it all depended on whether she could obtain any in this round.
While Gu Yi'an stayed in her room thinking, on the other side, a male player appeared outside the ancestral hall.
It was the male player referred to as Third Brother.
He glanced back at the distant figure of the hanging ghost continuously pushing open doors and entering villagers' houses.
Then, he tossed a palm-sized human-shaped wooden plaque onto the ground and, without hesitation, pushed open the ancestral hall's door.
Third Brother entered the ancestral hall.
Holding his prop cautiously, he carefully surveyed the interior.
Beyond the main door was a courtyard, and past another door lay the main hall of the ancestral hall.
The ground was paved with small bricks, devoid of any weeds.
Third Brother keenly noticed something unusual and looked down at the paper phone in his hand.
For some reason, the paper phone had suddenly lit up.
A sense of unease crept over him.
No matter what they had tried before, this phone hadn't lit up. Why did it activate only when he entered the ancestral hall?
The main hall of the ancestral hall had no lights, leaving Third Brother momentarily uncertain whether to advance or retreat.
As he scanned the spacious courtyard, his eyes fell on the paper phone's screen.
It looked no different from a smartphone, displaying icons for dialing, messaging, and even a live-streaming app.
The live streaming icon shouldn't exist among a phone's basic functions.
Third Brother clicked into the live stream.
He saw that the top-ranked broadcast room was hosted by someone called "Hanged Ghost."
The moment Third Brother saw the words "Hanged Ghost," he thought of that long-necked figure in the sky.
A vague, unsettling suspicion formed in his mind, but he clicked in anyway.
The moonlight from the sky seemed unable to penetrate the courtyard. The brightest source of light in the yard was the phone in Third Brother's hand.
In the darkness, unnoticed by anyone, vines crept over the courtyard wall, silently spreading across the ground.
From the paper phone came the excited voice of Hanged Ghost, "I see her! There's a woman hiding behind the tree!"
Third Brother focused intently on the screen of his phone. He also saw a figure appear in the video, it was the female player known as Sixth Sister.
Sixth Sister had been discovered!
Third Brother's emotions were complicated. Seeing this scene, he naturally guessed what Hanged Ghost was doing.
It was live streaming a hunt!
And their prop, the paper phone, was meant for watching these live streams!
The question was, Third Brother had no idea how his paper phone had even turned on.
Suddenly, his gaze froze.
A possibility occurred to him.
What if a ghost here had turned on his phone for him?
Where was the ghost?
The moment Third Brother shifted his gaze away from the paper phone, he froze on the spot.
Because he was surrounded by dense, snake-like vines!
The light from his phone happened to illuminate these vines. Their thorns were sharp and pointed.
The vines swayed nimbly, as if they truly had a life of their own.
The moment Third Brother noticed them...
The dense vines shot down through the air, giving the player no time to react.
The courtyard was eerily quiet, even as an unnoticed strangulation unfolded at its center.
A few minutes later, in front of the ancestral hall's entrance, the human-shaped wooden plaque lying on the ground suddenly began to change.
In an instant, it swelled and grew, taking on a human form. Soon, human hair, facial features, and clothing gradually took shape, transforming into the likeness of Third Brother.
Third Brother glanced back at the ancestral hall and let out a heavy sigh.
Inside the ancestral hall, there was a great terror not to be provoked. Outside, ghosts were live streaming hunts. It seemed this game was designed to ensure none of the players survived.
No one left alive, Third Brother mulled over the phrase.
Was this a scenario where the players were doomed to die?
Gu Yi'an sat quite leisurely inside the house, watching Hanged Ghost's live stream.
After Hanged Ghost left, it had deliberately avoided this house, making it relatively safe. They didn't even have to worry about the coffin inside.
Gu Yi'an watched as Hanged Ghost nearly caught the female player Sixth Sister in the live stream, only for Sixth Sister to escape with a "rabbit kick" move.
The whole sequence was fast and thrilling, making Gu Yi'an hold her breath for Sixth Sister.
Having let Sixth Sister escape, Hanged Ghost was mercilessly criticized by the many ghost viewers in the live stream, who mocked it for being too weak.
Twice now, it had been bested by women.
The first time, it was tricked; the second time, it was kicked.
All talk of eating people, yet not even a shadow of success.
Hanged Ghost had no retort.
Worse, it had to deliver bad news: because the players had scattered in different directions, the entire village was now filled with their scent, making it even harder to track them down.
This statement earned Hanged Ghost ruthless ridicule from the ghost audience, who taunted it for having lost its brains after hanging itself.
If the theme of this livestream weren't about hunting people, Gu Yi'an might have felt a bit sorry for the Hanged Ghost being mocked by the crowd.
But the problem was, the players were now the prey. To Gu Yi'an, this livestream felt more like a death trap.
They couldn't let the Hanged Ghost find them, or death would be waiting.
"Creak"
The door was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Gu Yi'an knew it couldn't be the Hanged Ghost, who was still flying around doing the livestream. She calmly looked over.
It was the male player known as Third Brother, who seemed honest and simple but had slipped away faster than anyone else.
Gu Yi'an said, "Third Brother, it looks like you've found some important clues?"
Hearing the address, Third Brother looked momentarily confused before realizing she was referring to him.
"I have clues. Let's exchange."
As soon as he entered, Third Brother noticed the lit phone in Gu Yi'an's hand. He knew right away that this female player was no ordinary character.
He had come back hoping to find other players so they could work together to uncover clues.
Since Gu Yi'an had referred to him as Third Brother, he went along with it. "Seventh Sister, I'll tell you what I saw at the ancestral hall. You tell me how you managed to turn on this phone."
"I had the Hanged Ghost turn it on," Gu Yi'an replied without any hesitation.
Third Brother was stunned. That answer was completely unexpected.
Of course, he knew who the Hanged Ghost was. He had seen the livestream and knew the Hanged Ghost was broadcasting the hunt.
He had assumed Seventh Sister had gotten a ghost from a coffin to turn on the phone. He never imagined she would be so bold as to ask the Hanged Ghost directly.
Third Brother was impressed.
"Admirable, admirable."
He didn't press for details on how Gu Yi'an had convinced the Hanged Ghost to turn on the phone.
Gu Yi'an said, "This phone probably requires ghostly energy to activate. Since we're not ghosts, we can't turn it on ourselves."
She glanced at Third Brother's hands but didn't see the paper phone. She wasn't sure if he had put it away or lost it.
Gu Yi'an didn't ask further. Her attitude was straightforward, no hiding, no beating around the bush.
Third Brother didn't waste words either. "When I entered the courtyard of the ancestral hall, the phone suddenly lit up. I saw the livestream app and entered the broadcast. While I was watching, vines surrounded me. I managed to escape but couldn't get inside the ancestral hall. Still, I could sense that the vines were probably guarding something inside."
Gu Yi'an said, "You want us to go into the ancestral hall together to look for clues?"
Third Brother replied, "More people mean more strength. If we stay outside, our fate is certain, we'll be killed by the ghost. We have to take the risk and enter the ancestral hall."
Gu Yi'an didn't respond immediately.
After learning how to use the paper phone, she had focused her attention on the live stream and hadn't given much thought to the ancestral hall.
She had just been speculating whether the phrase "no one survives" meant that they could only survive by becoming ghosts themselves.
As for the ancestral hall, Gu Yi'an wasn't keen on going in.
The temptation to enter was too obvious.
If the situation were urgent, she would be willing to take the risk.
But it wasn't urgent yet. Gu Yi'an wanted to find more clues before venturing inside.
She said, "The Hanged Ghost has left. The other players will probably come here soon to check if we're still around. Let's see what everyone thinks."
Third Brother keenly sensed Gu Yi'an's reluctance toward the ancestral hall.
He asked, "Is it too dangerous there?"
Gu Yi'an replied, "I'm not sure. I'm afraid it might be a trap. From the looks of it, we'll have to go in there eventually."
She glanced around the room they were in and said, "In all the villagers' houses we've entered, the furniture is empty, and only the coffins remain. There are traces of people having lived here. I'm wondering if something happened to them, and they either evacuated this place in an orderly manner, or they never left and are all inside the coffins."
Third Brother said, "That just means we don't have enough clues. We need to go to the ancestral hall."
Gu Yi'an insisted, "Let's wait for the others a bit longer."
If the other players realized it was inconvenient to act alone, they would surely come looking for them.
Gu Yi'an watched the live stream on her phone.
In the stream, the Hanged Ghost was wandering aimlessly around the village, with no sign of anyone.
Knock, knock!
A knocking sound came from the door.
Gu Yi'an and Third Brother looked toward the entrance.
Sixth Sister, who appeared quiet and gentle, entered.
She glanced around the room and said, "Just the two of you? Are we waiting? Are we going to the ancestral hall?"
Her voice matched her demeanor, quiet and sweet.
Third Brother said, "Let's wait a little longer."
Sixth Sister remarked, "I feel like the hints in this round of the game aren't very clear. Could it be that we were deceived by the player who claimed to be a beginner?"
Third Brother replied, "When he spoke, we all thought he was right. Now that we're doubting him, he's not here, so it's useless."
Sixth Sister glanced at Gu Yi'an and said to Third Brother, "I've seen items that can make others believe the user."
Gu Yi'an stood up and handed her phone to Sixth Sister, saying, "Take a look at this live stream."
Sixth Sister hesitated for a moment before taking the phone.
Gu Yi'an said, "Let's set aside the phrase 'no one survives' for now. The most important thing right now isn't to find clues, but to deal with this ghost that's live-streaming and hunting people down."
As soon as Sixth Sister saw the Hanged Ghost's face in the live stream, her expression changed. She remembered narrowly escaping from it.
Quickly, she understood the implication of Gu Yi'an's words.
Sixth Sister said, "This ghost isn't strong. We can kill it."
Gu Yi'an knew Sixth Sister had the ability, she had seen her escape from the Hanged Ghost.
Gu Yi'an asked, "But what if something unusual happens after we kill it?"
Sixth Sister fell silent.
She was also considering this possibility.
They waited a little longer, and the eldest brother arrived with the newbie male player.
The newbie male player’s face was ashen, with none of the coolness he had shown when they first met him.
Five of the six players had arrived; only Fifth Sister was missing.
The eldest brother glanced at the group and said, "Let’s not wait for her."
Fifth Sister still hadn’t come, which likely meant she had encountered an accident along the way, or she simply didn’t want to act as a group.
There was no need for the others to wait for her.
Two hundred meters away from the house where Gu Yi’an and the other players were gathered, the female player they were thinking of, Fifth Sister, lay entangled among countless twisted vines.
The vines bound her limbs, restrained her hands from using any items, and tightened around her neck, causing her eyes to gradually lose their light.
Her gaze was fixed on the moon in the sky.
Before her consciousness faded into darkness, only one thought remained in her mind:
This round of the game was meant to kill all of them!
No player witnessed the moment of her death.
The five players regrouped in the room and saw the live stream on Gu Yi’an’s paper phone.
The eldest brother suggested, "Let’s try exploring the ancestral hall. I searched a few villagers’ houses and didn’t find any clues."
The newbie male player spoke up, "Not finding any clues is the biggest clue. The people here either left or died, but before that, they deliberately cleared out their homes."
As the others discussed, Gu Yi’an kept her eyes fixed on the live stream on her phone.
The camera angle of the stream showed an aerial view of the entire village.
The hanged ghost was still searching for people in the sky, which was why the other players felt safe enough to discuss in the room.
Suddenly, Gu Yi’an realized something was wrong.
She spoke up, "We need to change locations immediately. It deliberately let us gather here."
As soon as Gu Yi’an finished speaking, an unpleasant voice came from outside the door.
"Too late."
Under the dim light, a flat, pancake-shaped head squeezed through the crack of the closed door.
It took a breath, and the pancake-shaped head swelled into a spherical one.
Every player present recognized that head.
It was the hanged ghost!
The hanged ghost stared at them with a gaze full of greed.
"Finally, I’ve caught you all."