Chapter 98

Chapter 98: The Ghosts: We’re Scared Too

Being able to see ghosts was one thing.

Actually seeing them face to face was another.

Even though she had prepared herself, the moment she truly saw them, Su Qian still couldn’t help being terrified.

The ghosts panicked too.

“She can see us?”

“What is she holding? That looks like Yama Kinglord’s protective jade talisman!”

Hearing Su Qian scream, Lu Yao’s expression sharpened.

He quickly pulled her into his arms. “Don’t be scared. I’m here,” he said in a low voice.

His voice was steady and calm, making people feel safe.

Su Qian’s shout scared the ghosts as well, and they shrank back into the corner.

Su Qian: “I’m so scared.”

The ghosts: “We’re so scared too.”

One was a big shot, radiating the pressure of another plane from head to toe.

One held Yama Kinglord’s protective jade talisman.

No matter how you looked at it, they were definitely the ones who should be more scared.

In the darkness, Lu Yao held Su Qian with one arm, while the other silently drew on the spiritual power inside his body.

In the surveillance room, the image flickered.

Then it went completely black.

Xiao Zhang smacked the equipment anxiously and muttered, “This crappy thing – it always fails at the worst time.”

“These young guys are seriously timid. They removed the NPCs and turned off the music, and they’re still scared like that.”

“Stop talking and go check. Don’t let the customers get scared into a real medical problem,” someone snapped.

They knew the haunted house was fake.

But if a customer was too timid, they could still end up feeling unwell from being scared too badly.

In the corner, the lingering souls were in total panic.

“Why is there Yama Kinglord’s aura here? What do we do now?”

One lingering soul trembled, clearly terrified. “H-how about we hide? If we really offend Yama Kinglord, we’re totally done.”

Su Qian clung to Lu Yao, gripping the jade token so tightly her fingers went white.

“Tch. A skeleton scared you that badly?” Zhou Ran walked over.

He noticed what Su Qian had pulled out while rummaging – a skeleton prop.

He had completely forgotten how he had freaked out over embroidered shoes earlier.

“Don’t panic. I’ll throw it away.” Zhou Ran grabbed the skeleton and tossed it three meters away.

He couldn’t see ghosts, so he didn’t understand what had really scared Su Qian just now.

“It’s fine now,” Lu Yao said. He gently patted Su Qian’s back, comforting her.

“Huh?” Only then did Su Qian realize she was still in Lu Yao’s arms.

Her face instantly turned red.

She hurriedly pulled away, lowered her head, and said softly, “Um… I was too nervous just now. Thank you, Lu Yao.”

Lu Yao looked at her shy expression, and the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.

Then his gaze landed on the jade token in Su Qian’s hand.

It faintly carried an aura from the Underworld.

In the darkness, he studied Su Qian for a long moment. [How does she have something from the Underworld?]

“What is it?” Su Qian couldn’t see Lu Yao’s expression clearly in the dim light, but she could feel his gaze.

Lu Yao withdrew his eyes and gave a faint smile. “Nothing. Let’s keep looking for clues and get out.”

Those lingering souls from earlier had already been dealt with by Lu Yao.

Zhou Ran watched the two of them and raised his eyebrows, teasing, “Tch, you two are pretty sweet. You almost blinded me just now.”

Su Qian shot him a look. “You really have the nerve to joke. Weren’t you scared out of your mind earlier too?”

“Haha, I’m just trying to lighten the mood,” Zhou Ran said, scratching his head.

Su Qian looked around.

Where were there any lingering souls left?

[No wonder it’s something Yama King gave. It really works,] Su Qian muttered to herself, mistakenly thinking it was all thanks to the protective jade talisman.

In the surveillance room, Xiao Zhang and the others were still nervously messing with the black screen.

“When is this monitor going to work again? Who knows what’s happening inside right now,” Xiao Zhang complained.

“Relax, relax. The technician is already fixing it. It should be soon,” someone said, trying to reassure him, even though he wasn’t sure either.

“It’s all Xiao Yuan’s fault. Why’d you keep that stupid embroidered-shoes prop? Now look what happened.”

Xiao Yuan looked wronged. “How was I supposed to know it would turn out like this?”

Not long after, the haunted house door slowly opened.

A bright beam of light poured in from outside, scattering the oppressive gloom inside.

“Lu Yao, you’re way too smart!” Su Qian looked at him in delight.

In only half an hour, he solved the puzzles, found the clues, and opened the door.

Zhou Ran let out a long breath, his face full of relief. “Ah, we finally got out. That was terrifying in there. I never want to go into a haunted house again in my life.”

“Huh? They’re already coming out?” Xiao Zhang stared when he saw the door open.

“H-half an hour???” Xiao Zhang and the others gaped in disbelief.

“That’s way too fast. How did they do it?”

“Usually people take two or three hours!”

“That’s insane.”

Xiao Yuan stepped forward awkwardly and apologized, “Sorry. This was my mistake. I forgot to remove the embroidered shoes, and I didn’t expect it to scare you guys that badly…”

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Su Qian waved her hand with a smile. “It’s not really your fault. Isn’t the point of playing a game to feel some excitement?”

“I’ll go wake your companions up-” Xiao Yuan started.

“They’re not my companions,” Su Qian said.

Before she could say anything else, Xiao Yuan turned on all the haunted house lights.

In an instant, the dim, eerie green space was lit up bright and clear.

All the scary props that had been half-hidden before were now fully exposed.

Without the creepy atmosphere, they just looked like ordinary props.

But Great Immortal Huang still had his eyes tightly shut.

Now and then, he mumbled something unclear in his sleep, as if he had been scared half to death.

Xiao Yuan went to push the buzz-cut young man too. “Brother, wake up. Stop sleeping. It’s over.”

The buzz-cut young man groaned, slowly opened his eyes, and looked dazed.

After a long moment, he finally realized where he was. “Ah! Ghost! There’s a ghost!”

As he shouted, he scrambled up in terror and ran out.

On the ground was a puddle of bright yellow liquid that reeked of urine.

“Holy crap, this buddy peed himself?” Xiao Zhang covered his nose in disgust. “That’s freaking nasty.”

“Don’t look. It’ll gross you out,” Lu Yao said, frowning.

He reached out and gently turned Su Qian’s face toward him, making her avoid that unpleasant scene.

“Okay,” Su Qian said, nodding obediently.