Chapter 59

A woman in red had suddenly appeared in the black-and-white footage.
If it wasn’t a ghost, what else could it be?
The novice male player leaped back, putting as much distance as possible between himself and his previous position, then turned to look at Gu Yi’an and the others.
Xiao Ling was a step slower than the novice male player. When she noticed the scene on the screen, she gasped sharply and glanced around her.
Beside her, aside from Gu Yi’an, there was no sign of the red-dressed woman from the television.
Gu Yi’an remained calm.
She had encountered so many supernatural beings that she doubted another would appear near her now.
This allowed her to quickly figure things out.
"The ghost is inside the television, not beside us," Gu Yi’an said calmly.
To be honest, the sudden appearance of a woman in a red dress in the black-and-white footage was certainly eye-catching, but it also felt distinctly unnatural.
It was highly likely that this female ghost was confined to the television.
"Huh?"
Seeing how composed Gu Yi’an was, the novice male player wondered if he had overreacted and lacked courage.
He and Xiao Ling exchanged glances, then looked back at the television screen. They saw the red-dressed woman beside them in the footage step closer to the screen.
Suddenly, a magnified ghostly face appeared right in front of the screen.
"Ah!" Xiao Ling couldn’t hold back a scream.
The novice male player frantically scanned the room, looking for something to grab and throw.
Gu Yi’an observed the female ghost, who had yet to emerge from the television screen.
The ghost’s eyes were streaming with blood, and her expression grew increasingly menacing.
Gu Yi'an calmly walked over.
The female ghost's eyes, dyed crimson by blood, stared fixedly at her.
Gu Yi'an remained composed.
After all, the most terrifying beings were in her pocket.
If one were to compare, the cunning and sinister hanged ghost, the little girl who loved playing games with people, and Lu Zize, that guy who smiled while watching others walk into hell, were all far more frightening than the female ghost on the TV screen.
Having seen plenty, Gu Yi'an could stay calm.
In front of the novice male player, the female player Xiao Ling, and the female ghost, she unplugged the power cord.
Without electricity, the TV screen immediately went black.
Correspondingly, the female ghost's ferocious face vanished as well.
Could this method actually work?
Gu Yi'an had simply thought that since the female ghost was in the TV, unplugging it might make her disappear, so she tried it.
Suddenly, the female ghost was gone, which struck Gu Yi'an as a bit strange.
Perhaps the female ghost was afraid of the other ghosts she carried?
Gu Yi'an glanced at the TV, then at the novice male player and Xiao Ling.
She said to them, "It's temporarily resolved."
If the female ghost had wanted to come out, she could have emerged from the screen just now, but she didn't.
Xiao Ling, who had been frightened by the female ghost, was stunned.
In such a short time, Senior Gu had already dealt with that terrifying ghost.
Xiao Ling's gaze toward Gu Yi'an grew even more admiring.
This was a truly powerful female senior!
And someone she could learn from in this divine game.
Realizing this, Xiao Ling cast a fearful glance at the TV but resolutely stepped up to Gu Yi'an, mustering the courage to ask,
"Senior Gu, is this how we deal with ghosts from now on? By cutting off their means of appearing?"
She sought Gu Yi'an's advice on handling ghosts.
Gu Yi'an shook her head. "It depends on the specific situation."
This time, she was just lucky, turning off the TV stopped the ghost from appearing.
Or perhaps it wasn't just luck.
She still had the hanged ghost and the others with her; maybe the female ghost in the TV sensed it and didn't dare oppose her.
The novice male player's legs trembled slightly. He thought he was brave, but when faced with a real ghost, he was genuinely scared.
He moved closer to Gu Yi'an and asked, "Senior Gu, is that female ghost still in there?"
Gu Yi'an nodded. "Yes. She might still find another way to come out."
She had only turned off the TV, not truly eliminated the female ghost.
Hearing this, the novice male player quietly distanced himself from the TV.
The TV was only a short distance from the two beds in the room.
Although the room was quite spacious, the aisle space wasn't particularly ample.
Seeing the beds, Gu Yi'an recalled what she and Uncle Wu had seen earlier, the stains and strands of hair.
She kindly reminded, "Don't get too close to the beds either."
The novice male player immediately thought of the earlier conversation between Gu Yi'an and Uncle Wu.
He took a step to the side and confirmed, "The beds are really strange?"
Gu Yi'an gave a slight nod.
The novice male player let out a long sigh. "I understand. I won't touch anything."
He would just stand.
The male player thought of a question.
"Senior Gu, are there any good methods for dealing with ghosts? Do we need to use spells, talismans, or something like that to eliminate them?"
Gu Yi'an thought for a moment and replied, "Not necessarily."
"If you're ruthless enough and your aura is stronger than the ghost's, the ghost might not dare to provoke you. Even though they have no physical form, if your presence overwhelms theirs, you could take a kitchen knife and fiercely slash at them hundreds of times, that should be enough to kill them."
Gu Yi'an recalled the player Han Qiu she had encountered in her fourth game, a female player who chased after ghosts with a kitchen knife, making them avoid her. In the end, she even seemed to have successfully tamed one.
Sometimes, when people are too fierce, even ghosts are afraid.
"Hundreds of slashes? That's not easy to do. They won't just stand there and let us hit them."
The novice male player pondered for a while and realized this method was quite difficult to execute.
He said, "Senior Gu, I've heard rumors about butcher knives with particularly heavy killing intent. Can the malevolent energy on them disperse the forms of ghosts?"
Gu Yi'an listened, thought it over, and felt that what the novice male player said had some feasibility.
Ghosts have no physical form and are rather mysterious, much like malevolent energy.
"If you don't have anything suitable on hand, you can give this a try."
Gu Yi'an had encountered a female player with a kitchen knife who made ghosts fear her, surely a butcher knife would work just as well.
It all comes down to who is more ruthless, the person or the ghost.
Gu Yi'an advised them, "It mainly depends on your mindset. If you're not afraid of it, it can't scare you. The calmer you are, the easier it is to find the true path to survival."
Based on Gu Yi'an's personal experience, as long as one remains calm enough, they can usually find a way to deal with ghosts. Of course, there are no absolutes, and exceptions exist.
The novice male player knew this was Gu Yi'an's hard-earned wisdom. He took it to heart, performed an ancient cupped-hand salute, and said in a drawn-out tone, "Thank you for your guidance, Senior."
Seeing his deliberate attempt to lighten the mood, Gu Yi'an smiled politely.
The female player Xiao Ling remained silent nearby, listening attentively.
As she listened to Gu Yi'an's words, she warily glanced at the television.
The female ghost from earlier had left a deep psychological scar, making her fear the TV and constantly worry that a ghost might emerge from it.
Their conversation came to a pause, and the room fell into an unusually deep silence.
The hotel standard room was quite spacious, and the quietness made it feel particularly empty.
Especially after the ghost had just appeared on the television, the emptiness and silence here made the place feel incredibly eerie.
Xiao Ling quietly moved a little closer to Gu Yi'an.
She wanted to be strong, but she was still terrified that the ghost might reappear.
Gu Yi'an noticed her movement but said nothing.
For Xiao Ling to dare stay in this room after seeing a ghost was already quite brave.
The new male player was also bold.
Both newcomers were quite impressive.
The new male player felt that whenever the room fell silent, it seemed like something strange was about to happen.
He couldn't help but speak up to break the quiet in the room.
"Uncle Wu and the others have been downstairs for a while now. When will they be back? Should we go down and check?"
Hearing this, Gu Yi'an stated a fact: "The room card is with Dai Qi. If we go out, we won't be able to get back in."
She hadn't considered the possibility of leaving the room later.
Based on the events triggered so far, their task should be in this room.
The room card was with Dai Qi, but Gu Yi'an wasn't too worried.
He didn't seem like the type of player who would deceive others and never return.
Gu Yi'an was betting he wasn't.
After hearing Gu Yi'an's words, the new male player knew his suggestion wouldn't work.
If they went downstairs, all three of them would have to go together.
Without an experienced player leading the way, he truly didn't dare to move alone in this ghost-infested world.
The new male player paced in place, then turned to Gu Yi'an and asked, "Senior, I've been thinking, something doesn't add up. With so many cameras here, how can there still be ghosts?"
As soon as he spoke, he realized his words were a bit muddled and added an explanation: "What I mean is, didn't that female employee say there are no ghosts here? But there clearly are ghosts. With all these cameras, they should have captured the ghosts long ago."
The new male player pondered for a moment and speculated, "Are they deliberately sending us in here to die?"
As he spoke, he looked at Gu Yi'an as if hoping for her agreement.
Gu Yi'an did indeed agree with his speculation.
She said, "Do you remember what Dai Qi said to the female receptionist in the hotel lobby? He said, 'What if we accidentally go somewhere we shouldn't?'"
"There's a secret here!" The new male player's eyes lit up.
Gu Yi'an said, "The two-way mirror is their secret."
The new male player was taken aback.
The female player, Xiao Ling, spoke up: "They have a special passageway that allows them to enter and watch us through the two-way mirror."
Xiao Ling stated firmly, "That female employee was afraid we'd discover that secret passage."
Gu Yi'an's conjecture was similar to what the female player Xiao Ling had said, and she nodded.
"They couldn't possibly not know what has happened in this room. They believe in the ghosts here more than anyone else."
"So their goal is to make us die?" the male player questioned doubtfully.
Gu Yi'an thought for a moment and said, "Then we'll have to see what news Dai Qi brings back. He might be able to get some information from the security guard."
Gu Yi'an did not reveal her own speculation.
The male player paced back and forth.
The faintly yellowish light cast a glow over the people in the room.
After thinking for a long time, the male player couldn't come up with any solutions.
Yet, the current situation, where they could only wait for their teammates to arrive for a resolution, was making him extremely anxious.
He wanted to say that waiting here like this felt too leisurely.
Later, he thought that if it weren't for Senior Gu, he and the other female player would have been scared out of their wits by the female ghost in the television.
Who knows what might have happened then.
The male player's footsteps continued to echo in the room.
Gu Yi'an listened to the footsteps in the room and noticed that, at some point, she began to hear something different mixed in with the sound.
"Drip."
"Drip."
Was that the sound of water?
Gu Yi'an spoke up, "Stop. Don't move."
Her cool voice reached the ears of the male player and the female player Xiao Ling, instantly putting them on high alert.
Gu Yi'an was an experienced player. If she suddenly told the male player to stop moving, she must have noticed something unusual.
The male player quickly halted.
Xiao Ling, on the other hand, pricked up her ears. She glanced at the television first, then warily looked at the bed.
Without the interference of the male player's footsteps, the dripping sound grew clearer.
Xiao Ling's gaze shifted to the bathroom door.
She whispered, "It seems like the sound is coming from inside? Senior Gu, is that the sound of water?"
Gu Yi'an nodded.
Seeing Gu Yi'an's nod, Xiao Ling shuddered involuntarily.
She knew all too well that this sudden dripping sound signaled the onset of another eerie event. They hadn't heard any water sounds before.
This dripping sound seemed deliberately meant for them to hear.
It was loud.
The novice male player rolled up his sleeves and mustered his courage, saying, "I'll go check it out."
Though he said this, his pleading eyes turned to Gu Yi'an.
Seeing his expression, Gu Yi'an knew he wanted to go but didn't dare.
He mocked himself for being recklessly brave, but in reality, he knew when to back down.
Gu Yi'an thought this was actually a good trait in the male player.
If he had charged in recklessly, Gu Yi'an would have been the one with a headache.
After all, if a teammate insisted on rushing to their death, she wouldn't be able to save them in time, and might even end up getting herself killed in the process.
Gu Yi'an said, "Let me handle it."
She was carrying a bunch of ghosts with her, dozens just on her bracelet alone.
Who was to say whether she or the ghost in the bathroom should be the one afraid?
Most importantly, Gu Yi'an remained calm and composed, absolutely unwilling to show weakness in front of any ghost or monster.
She walked toward the bathroom with the same composed stride she had used earlier when approaching the ghost in front of the television.
Xiao Ling and the male player followed closely behind Gu Yi'an.
The bathroom light had been on the entire time.
Standing at the bathroom entrance, Gu Yi'an looked inside.
She could clearly see a black humanoid silhouette emerging on the newer tile section beside the double-sided mirror in the bathroom.
Perhaps the humanoid figure had noticed Gu Yi'an and the others approaching.
At that moment, a murky black liquid seeped out from the tiles.
The dark liquid writhed, clinging to the wall as it formed something resembling human features, a face, neck, body, torso, and limbs.
The sight made the novice male player and Xiao Ling, who were behind Gu Yi'an, gasp sharply in shock.
They both instinctively took a step back.
But it was this very step backward that made them immediately sense something amiss in the room behind them.
The male player and Xiao Ling turned around, their eyes scanning the room.
Instantly, they froze in place.
Staring at a particular spot in the room, they were momentarily unable to even scream.
Gu Yi'an knew the people behind her had stepped away.
Their attention was likely no longer on her.
So, she calmly observed the ghost, which was either stuck in the wall or simply trying to frighten her as it slowly took shape.
Her hands moved swiftly as she opened the pocket containing her tools.
A cute, white form immediately floated out of the pocket and hovered in front of Gu Yi'an.
It was the hanged ghost, making an early appearance.
"Shh."
Gu Yi'an gestured for it to be quiet. The ghost was her trump card, and she wasn’t ready to let the other players know she kept one. Besides, she didn’t want her ghost scaring the others.
Given the hanged ghost’s chattiness, if she didn’t remind it to stay silent, it could talk all day.
Heeding Gu Yi'an’s warning, the hanged ghost nodded its tiny head.
It promised not to speak.
In the next moment, the hanged ghost’s attention was captured by the half-emerged ghost from the wall.
It drifted directly toward that ghost, its body rapidly expanding into a long-necked man.
The long-necked man stretched out his head, his lengthy tongue still hanging out, and stared with pale, curious eyes at the ghost on the wall.
For a moment, the air seemed to freeze.
The hanged ghost and the humanoid figure formed by the black liquid stared at each other, each looking more eerie than the other.
The murky black liquid seeping from the wall suddenly stopped writhing.
Two seconds passed.
The humanoid shape abruptly dissolved back into the dark liquid, retracting with a "whoosh" into the wall, leaving the tiles clean and pristine once more.
The hanged ghost’s face immediately showed disappointment.
It turned to Gu Yi'an, awaiting her instructions.
Gu Yi'an gestured for the hanged ghost to return.
The hanged ghost hesitated slightly.
It seemed to want to linger outside a bit longer.
Nevertheless, it obeyed Gu Yi'an’s command.
Shrinking back in size, it reverted to its original form and floated back into the pocket of her coat.
Just like that, the ghost in the bathroom had been frightened away by the hanged ghost.
Gu Yi'an walked over to the sink, opened the drain, and watched as the water level quickly dropped.
The dripping sound from the faucet vanished.
The dripping they had heard earlier had been caused by the sink’s faucet.
Gu Yi'an turned on the tap, applied some hand soap, and prepared to wash her hands.
Her gaze inadvertently swept over the drain of the sink.
Gu Yi'an's eyes froze.
A human finger emerged from the drainpipe.
It rapidly elongated, shooting straight toward Gu Yi'an's face.
The incident happened too suddenly, giving Gu Yi'an no time to react.
She didn't even have a chance to step back.
But ghosts are always faster to react than humans.
Gu Yi'an was surrounded by numerous spirits.
A small doll flew out of her pocket and swiftly expanded to the size of a palm. Just as the finger was about to strike Gu Yi'an, it viciously bit down on it.
Gu Yi'an calmly took a step back.
This wasn't a situation for her to interfere in, the ghost could be left to the little girl to handle.
She felt no relief at having narrowly escaped danger; instead, she was pondering just how many ghosts were in this room.
The television, the tiles, the bed, and now the sink, at least four ghosts.
Had the three of them triggered all the ghosts in this room?
Or only a portion of them?
Gu Yi'an glanced toward the bathroom door and realized that the newbie male player and the female player, Xiao Ling, had been silent for a long time.
She turned and walked to the bathroom door, looking out.
In front of the door, the male player and Xiao Ling were huddled close together, leaning on each other. Their attention seemed entirely captivated by what was happening ahead of them, completely unaware of Gu Yi'an's movements.
Gu Yi'an's gaze passed over them and fell upon the scene unfolding in the room.
A young man was brandishing a cleaver, hacking at the female corpse on the bed.
The blade sank into the corpse without making a sound.
Gu Yi'an was momentarily stunned before realizing something was off.
This wasn't a real dismemberment scene; it was a reenactment of something that had already happened.
The ghost was replaying past events for them.
What were these ghosts trying to accomplish?
Gu Yi'an pondered.
Just then, the little girl with a slightly bulging belly flew up to her, circling around her happily.
Judging by the little girl's demeanor, the ghost that had emerged from the sink drain was likely beyond saving.
Gu Yi'an silently mouthed, "Well done."
The little girl saw Gu Yi'an's lip movements, smiled sheepishly, and flew into Gu Yi'an's pocket.
Gu Yi'an watched as the little girl disappeared into the pocket.
The next second, a small white head peeked out.
The hanging ghost looked outside the pocket, seemingly desperate to go out and play.
But it immediately noticed Gu Yi'an's gaze.
The hanging ghost promptly sank back into the pocket.
The small white head vanished.
Gu Yi'an shifted her gaze away and looked around the room.
The young man was chopping the corpse into pieces bit by bit.
The scene was bloody and brutal. Gu Yi'an averted her eyes and glanced at the profiles of the novice male player and Xiao Ling.
That was when she realized why the two were still standing.
Both of them only dared to look at the young man's head, avoiding the gruesome scene below.
No wonder they hadn't shown much of a physical reaction so far, supporting each other to remain standing, they simply hadn't witnessed the dismemberment.
They were quite clever.
Gu Yi'an asked, "What are your thoughts?"
The male player and Xiao Ling stiffened instantly.
A woman's voice suddenly breaking the silence in the quiet room, no matter how pleasant it sounded, was a shock to both players at that moment.
The male player, being bolder, turned his head directly to look behind him.
Xiao Ling reacted a bit faster.
She realized it was Gu Yi'an speaking and slowly turned to face her.
The male player said with lingering fear, "Senior Gu, this place is terrifying. It's full of ghosts."
They had also figured out that the young man and the corpse in the room weren't real, what they were witnessing was a reenactment of the past.
That young man was likely the ghost.
What they were seeing was an illusion created by the ghost.
Gu Yi'an shifted her gaze to Xiao Ling.
Xiao Ling thought carefully for a moment before speaking, "Senior, I have a theory. Those ghosts must be the people who died in this room. Could their appearances be a warning to us? Warning us not to stay here? Maybe they want us to expose the crimes that happened here?"
Xiao Ling believed that the frequent appearances of the ghosts without harming them might be a sign that the spirits were warning the intruders to leave.
Initially, she had been very wary of the ghosts, but after realizing they hadn't actually attacked and were reenacting past murders, she considered the possibility of them being silent observers and came up with a more compassionate explanation.
Gu Yi'an didn't question Xiao Ling's inference. She simply said calmly, "I was almost killed by a ghost just now."
She brought up her own embarrassing moment, admitting that she had let her guard down earlier.
Xiao Ling's eyes widened in shock, and she was momentarily stunned.
The male player was astonished and looked Gu Yi'an up and down, saying, "Senior, it's a good thing you're okay."
Gu Yi'an glanced at Xiao Ling and said, "I have an item on me that makes the ghosts temporarily afraid to approach us. But not all ghosts are intimidated by it. I hope both of you will be cautious when dealing with these spirits."
The two novices took her words to heart.
By using herself as an example, a veteran player with protective items who still nearly failed, they understood their own limitations and didn't dare to let their guard down.
The reenacted scenes from the past in the room were actually sped up.
In the blink of an eye, the young man began packing the dismembered corpse, while bloodstains spread across the floor.
Gu Yi'an glanced over, unable to fathom the purpose behind the ghost showing them this scene of murder and dismemberment.
If the ghost enjoyed putting on a show, then let it perform alone.
Gu Yi'an said, "Let’s go make a call at the service desk. Uncle Wu is probably still causing a scene over there. We can say there’s a ghost in the room, giving Uncle Wu a reason to keep the commotion going longer."
Dai Qi hadn’t returned yet.
If someone was watching them through a pinhole camera, they would likely alert the service desk when Uncle Wu left, informing them of his whereabouts.
The more Uncle Wu stirred up trouble, the more attention would shift to him rather than the room.
Who would want to keep watching a ghost?
With Uncle Wu causing a disturbance downstairs, he would inevitably draw the attention of most hotel staff, making it much easier for Dai Qi to retrieve the phone.
Gu Yi'an and the others walked over to the telephone.
As soon as they stepped away, the young man in the room finished packing the dismembered corpse into a bag, picked it up, and headed toward the bathroom.
The bag dripped blood incessantly, leaving a trail behind.
The bloodstains on the floor were glaringly obvious.
The novice male player noticed the young man’s unusual behavior and stared in shock. "Is... is he deliberately waiting for us to leave before going in?"
Gu Yi'an replied, "I’m not sure. In any case, be careful."
Her calm voice carried a powerful, soothing effect, reassuring both the male player and Xiao Ling.
What was there to fear? They had Senior Gu with them.
Gu Yi'an dialed the front desk number posted on the telephone.
After a moment, the call connected.
Gu Yi'an heard heavy panting from the other end.
"Huff, huff."
Gu Yi'an raised an eyebrow. It seemed this wasn’t the front desk. This telephone had issues too.
The person on the other end sneered, "Don’t rush me. I’ve been on my way for a while. I’m coming to send you off."
It was a male voice Gu Yi'an had never heard before.
The other party hung up.
Xiao Ling and the male player looked at Gu Yi'an.
Gu Yi'an said calmly, "There’s a ghost in the telephone too."