Free Web NovelChapter 37: Chapter 37: The Traitor in the Chat Group
Gao Tian hadn’t reached the point of complete despair. He still had a black card from the Living Human Apartments. By using it, he could instantly leave the white house and return to a safe zone.
But doing so meant losing his most important lifeline, one even more crucial than his Ghost Cards. He would also surely lose his chance to explore the fourth floor.
So, Gao Tian would rather stay and observe. He could sacrifice one or two Ghost Cards if necessary, but he couldn’t play this final ace in the hole.
The foul creature extending from the third floor resembled a giant white python with a human face. It slithered across the first-floor ceiling, its womanly face revealing a mouth like a black pit from which it constantly emitted a CACKLE CACKLE CACKLE.
Faced with this supernatural phenomenon, the few remaining goons had completely lost their usual ferocious demeanor. Some futilely aimed their guns at the woman, repeatedly pulling the trigger on an empty chamber. Others wet their pants, a foul stench spreading as they pissed themselves on the spot.
"Zhao..."
The female ghost’s lips writhed. She was beginning the next death roll call.
Gao Tian backed into a corner, calculating. ’Besides me, there are four other people still alive. The ghost has a one-in-five chance of picking me. With this much cannon fodder, I should be able to lay low for a while longer and figure out a path to survival.’
But the next moment, the female ghost’s neck shot out, stretching straight toward him. Her eyes, more white than pupil; her sallow skin; and the foul stench from her pitch-black mouth—it all rushed over him.
’She chose me!’
With nowhere to run, Gao Tian could only stand there and wait to die. The ghost’s soul-summoning cry echoed in his ears. Her killing curse was active—he was next!
"Zhao Qiang...
"Zhao Qiang.
"Zhao Qiang!"
Hearing the name she was calling, Gao Tian’s terror turned to relief. It took all his effort to keep from laughing out loud.
He was wearing Zhao Qiang’s face, so the ghost actually thought he *was* Zhao Qiang!
’Does she work like some kind of big data facial recognition, identifying a person’s name and identity based on their outer skin?’
It seemed the rules of the Shattered-Face Ghost took precedence over those of the long-necked ghost from the third floor.
Just calling a name couldn’t possibly kill Zhao Qiang. The real Zhao Qiang was already long dead and buried. And Gao Tian himself had nothing to do with Zhao Qiang. ’If you want to kill Zhao Qiang, why are you shouting at me?’
The scene was both terrifying and comical. But Gao Tian knew he had to at least play along. Given the ghost’s size, weight, and speed, she didn’t need a special curse to kill him; she could just crush him to death.
After the third haunting call of the name, Gao Tian clutched his chest, let out a muffled grunt, and stumbled forward a few steps. Then, finding a comfortable position, he fell heavily to the ground with a THUD. Rolling his eyes back, he played dead.
Seeing that she had "killed" Zhao Qiang, the female ghost didn’t linger over his "corpse." With a swing of her long neck, she turned and went after the others.
The surviving goons who witnessed this were so shocked their jaws practically hit the floor.
’Seriously? That actually worked?’
’That ham-fisted acting actually fooled the ghost?’
And besides, the ghost had called Zhao Qiang’s name three times. The first two victims had died instantly and horribly, so why was their boss, "Zhao Qiang," completely unharmed? He just plopped down on the floor like he was taking a nap!
But these men were simple-minded to begin with, and now was not the time to ponder it. The ghost’s long neck had already turned and was drifting toward them.
They couldn’t escape through the main entrance. The first-floor living room was large, but with few rooms, it was hard to evade the ghost. One man dashed into the bathroom and locked the door. Another, in a moment of desperate inspiration, actually turned and ran for the stairs to the second floor.
People will do anything when pushed to the brink. The burly men scattered in an instant, and the ghost couldn’t wipe them all out at once.
The woman’s face, suspended in mid-air, went silent for a moment as if in thought. Then, she immediately changed direction, retracted her neck, and drifted toward the second floor.
’Looks like the third floor of this old house really is hiding something important,’ Gao Tian thought. ’The ghost’s priority is to kill anyone on the second floor to stop them from accidentally reaching the third.’
With the first floor temporarily abandoned by the ghost, the eerie cackling fell silent. Playing dead, Gao Tian cracked an eye open. Once he confirmed the ghost was gone, the first thing he did was pull out his phone and open the Jialan Society chat group.
After reading the chat, Gao Tian knew this was bad. Xu Yuan was incredibly sensitive about his old home; the instant they had stepped into the white house, Xu Yuan had sensed their presence from within the chat group.
As for what a "Ghost Realm" was, Gao Tian wasn’t entirely sure. But it was definitely connected to the sky outside the white house, which had suddenly turned blood-red.
He speculated that the Ghost Realm was an enclosed space that had dragged the entire white house into an alternate dimension. The reason people trapped in the white house were instantly burned to death upon leaving was likely the work of this Ghost Realm.
No wonder Xu Yuan was so confident about his old home. Any ordinary person who entered would either be killed by the ghost inside or walk out of the house straight into the Ghost Realm.
The problem was, playing dead was only a temporary solution. After the ghost killed the others, she would surely return to roam the first floor. Trapped in the white house by the Ghost Realm, his fate was still, sooner or later, death.
The ghosts in the chat were full of praise for the inescapable trap Xu Yuan had set, seeing no flaws in it at all. Lying on the floor, Gao Tian grew anxious. The ghost upstairs could return at any moment. ’Is there really no weakness to this place at all?’
In his desperation, Gao Tian suddenly had an idea.
The key to breaking this deadlock was the Ghost Realm outside. The female ghost was restricted by her main body on the third floor, giving her a very limited range of activity. The real obstacle preventing their escape was the blood-red Ghost Realm enveloping the house.
But he didn’t understand specialized supernatural terms like "Ghost Realm" at all, much less how to deal with one.
’Who are the experts on dealing with a Ghost Realm?’
The answer was simple: the ghost users in the Jialan Society chat group. They had been Ghost Hunters in life and became ghosts in death. Furthermore, Xu Yuan himself had created this Ghost Realm. There was probably no one in the world who understood ghosts better than they did.
’The way to find out is simple. I’m a user in the ghost chat group now, too. Can I just pretend to be a curious student and ask Xu Yuan for advice?’
The foolish idea surfaced for only a moment before Gao Tian squashed it.
’Doing that would be suicide.’
’Ghost Cave is still suspicious of the living person in the group, and Xu Yuan is no fool. Besides, there are so many other ghosts lurking and watching.’
’If I actually asked such an abrupt, direct question in the group, it would be impossible for no one to suspect me.’
’Don’t be fooled by Ghost Infant’s usual giggling; she can literally crawl through the internet to kill you. If even one person in the chat group suspects my identity, she might show up in the next instant.’
So, here was the problem: the people who knew how to beat the Ghost Realm were right there in the chat group, but he couldn’t just ask them directly. The issue had come full circle, right back to a dead end.
’This isn’t a path to survival. It’s just a choice between two different ways to die.’
[Living Human Apartment]: freeweɓnovēl.coɱ
Looks like it was just a false alarm. The ones who entered my old home are just a few rats, not organized Ghost Hunters.
Getting rid of them is as simple as crushing an ant. Using a Ghost Realm on them is actually a bit of a waste.
[Burned-to-Death Ghost]:
@Living Human Apartment
So here’s a question.
The Ghost Realm blocks their escape, and the ghost you keep in the house hunts them down one by one. That combo really leaves no way out.
If an ordinary person were trapped in this house, what could they do to break the Ghost Realm outside and get out alive?
...
(The chat group was silent for a full thirty seconds.)
...
Gao Tian, seeing this, stared wide-eyed. He could hardly believe what he was reading.
The very question he wanted to ask but didn’t dare... the Burned-to-Death Ghost had just asked it for him.
Gao Tian suddenly understood why this guy was an outcast among the other ghosts, why Ghost Cave and the others treated him like he was invisible. The dude had zero social awareness, always asking a bunch of suspicious questions at the worst possible moments.
Of course, humans and ghosts had different perspectives. Right now, from the standpoint of a human trapped in a Ghost Realm, Gao Tian wanted to bow down and thank the Burned-to-Death Ghost for typing that message.
Faced with the Burned-to-Death Ghost’s inappropriate question, the other users naturally ignored him. Ghost Infant simply typed three periods to express her speechlessness. The only one who replied was Ghost Cave, and his message was dripping with sarcasm.
[Ghost Cave]:
What do you want to know that for? Whose side are you on?
You’re so eager to help a human escape... it’s making me suspicious. You aren’t the living person in this group, are you?
[Burned-to-Death Ghost]:
That’s not it.
I’m just asking. Why do you always have to make such a big deal out of everything?
See? You’re getting worked up again. First time being a ghost? You think everyone is human.
[Ghost Cave]:
Heh.
Just as long as you’re clear on that.
Who would randomly ask a question like that at a time like this?
...
...
If the chat log had ended there, it could still be explained away. The Burned-to-Death Ghost just had low social awareness, acted on impulse, and didn’t care what other ghosts thought, asking whatever came to mind.
It was, at least, within the realm of comprehension.
But the next thing the Burned-to-Death Ghost typed left even Gao Tian stunned.
He even started to think that the other ghosts were being far too tolerant by not kicking this guy out of the group already.
