Free Web NovelChapter 64: Chapter 64: It’s Normal for the Unexpected to Happen
"Hey, I think something’s moving inside that TV." ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
Lan Chu turned, seemingly drawn to something inside the shattered television.
She reached out, about to press the power button.
Jiang Yang wanted to tell her not to touch anything. But on second thought, ’This might be an opportunity.’
He bit his tongue and stood beside Xia Ta.
At the slightest sign of trouble, Xia Ta was ready to raise her "No Fierce Ghosts" sign.
Lan Chu’s hand froze in midair; she hadn’t pressed the button. But the television, which had been broken beyond repair, once again hissed with the sound of a signal being received, as if it had reconnected.
The indicator light on the utterly shattered screen flickered back on. As the picture distorted, the face of the female anchor reappeared—her mouth was black, but ringed by a thick layer of lipstick.
Behind her stood the male anchor, his neck twisted at a ninety-degree angle, black fluid staining his designer suit.
"Hey, I didn’t touch the TV! You all saw me."
Lan Chu took a half-step back, like a frightened kitten.
The male and female anchors wore the artificial smiles of inhuman things. They had already set down their scripts and were now smiling at Xia Ta, Jiang Yang, and Lan Chu before them, speaking:
"Welcome... residents of the fourth floor... to our home.
"For each... of you... we have prepared... a suitable room... the most satisfying place to die...
"Especially you... Xia Ta... my sweet daughter...
"Can’t you even... recognize... your own mother...? My dearest... sweetest daughter...
"For you... I have prepared...
"The most special...
"...room.
"Please... enjoy... this family time..."
With every word the female anchor spoke, their faces rotted and withered at an incredible speed. Chunks of charred flesh sloughed off, and soon only two skeletons remained, wrapped in scraps of black, desiccated meat.
Their appearance on the screen was now nearly identical to that of the two desiccated corpses on the sofa.
At the same time, the azure planet backdrop behind the anchors vanished, replaced in an instant by a pitch-black room. A decrepit old sofa now sat behind them. After the female anchor spoke her last words, the two skeletal figures simply leaned back. The scene inside the television and the room outside it were now perfect mirror images.
"Go!"
The moment the female anchor reappeared and began to speak, Xia Ta and the others didn’t just stand there gawking; they sprang into action.
Jiang Yang bolted to the wall socket and yanked the television’s plug.
The broadcast continued, hissing with static.
Xia Ta pulled a warning sign from her coat and held it high. It depicted a black, ghostly figure with a red line slashed through its body, signifying "No Fierce Ghosts."
This was Xia Ta’s Supernatural Artifact. The "No Fierce Ghosts" effect was now active.
For the next eight seconds, all fierce ghosts in her vicinity would be forced to obey four rules.
"You guys go first!" freeωebnovēl.c૦m
This television was definitely the problem. The ghost’s killing pattern had been triggered, so their objective was complete.
No matter what the killing pattern was, it would be completely blocked by "No Fierce Ghosts."
Eight seconds was more than enough time for Jiang Yang and Lan Chu to escape.
Lan Chu was surprisingly obedient, spinning around and bolting for the door. From out of nowhere, she produced a metal chain that looked like a dog leash. With a practiced motion, she looped it around the neck of one of the desiccated corpses on the sofa. As she fled, she gave it a powerful tug, dragging the corpse out of the room behind her!
"Are you fucking nuts!
"Why the hell are you dragging a corpse out of the room?!"
Waiting in the hallway, Zhao Zhenjia and Gao Tian watched her charge toward them, dragging a corpse in her wake. They fought the urge to kick her right back where she came from.
At that moment, a faint, blood-red number appeared above everyone’s head, both inside the room and out in the hall. The number, which looked like it was made of flesh and blood, was counting down.
Not even Zhao Zhenjia and Gao Tian by the door were spared.
The closer a person was to the television, the smaller their number.
Jiang Yang, by the wall socket, had a blood-red 2.
Lan Chu, who had fled the room, had a blood-red 4.
Gao Tian had an 8.
Zhao Zhenjia, a 9.
The strange thing was, the number above Xia Ta’s head was a 0.
Everyone else’s timer was counting down, but Xia Ta’s had started at 0 and couldn’t go any lower.
Still standing in the middle of the room, a million thoughts raced through Xia Ta’s mind.
’Even with ’No Fierce Ghosts’ active, one of the ghost’s patterns still triggered?
’That means this rule doesn’t violate the four tenets of ’No Fierce Ghosts’.’
Recalling the anchors’ strange words, she began to understand the meaning of the countdowns.
’It’s teleportation. The ghost is sending the five of us to different rooms.
’If it’s only teleportation and not killing, it does indeed bypass all the rules of ’No Fierce Ghosts’.
’The anchor on the TV... just called me her sweet daughter?
’Whatever. At this point, all I can do is try to disrupt whatever this thing is doing.’
Xia Ta raised a single finger to the ceiling. Countless motes of light converged from all directions, coalescing in an instant into a giant warhammer of solidified light. The hammer was nearly as large as Xia Ta herself.
This was Xia Ta’s true trump card. She could create a weapon perfectly suited to her needs just by thinking it. Moreover, such weapons could destroy some Supernatural Artifacts and nullify ghostly effects.
Xia Ta hefted the massive hammer of light with a single hand. The great weapon, which had to weigh dozens of pounds, felt as light as a feather as she swung it.
On the screen, the pair of anchors, now desiccated corpses, watched her in silence.
’The others have already gotten away safely, I hope.
’That’s good.
’What’s the deal with these two?
’Why did they call me their daughter?
’Do these two ghosts really think they’re my parents?
’That’s ridiculous. Utterly absurd.’
The more she tried to remember, the more her head throbbed. Finally, she couldn’t be bothered to think anymore. She brought the massive hammer of light down, smashing it onto the top of the old television.
BOOM—
...
...
「Meanwhile」 Out in the hallway, the moment the blood-red countdowns appeared, Zhao Zhenjia had grabbed Gao Tian. The two of them sprinted away from Room 413, heading for the stairwell.
He hadn’t clearly heard what the anchor was saying inside, but the moment he saw the countdown, Zhao Zhenjia knew some kind of ghostly power had been activated.
’No Fierce Ghosts’ hadn’t stopped it from taking effect.
’That means the ghost’s goal isn’t to kill.’
Regardless, this couldn’t be good.
The blood-red countdown’s range was massive, affecting everyone, inside the room or out. Zhao Zhenjia’s only hope was to get downstairs and escape the curse’s wave.
Once the countdowns over their heads were gone, they could return to the fourth floor.
The stairwell was just ahead, but it was too late.
First, Zhao Zhenjia saw the number above Gao Tian’s head hit 0. His body began to disintegrate as if made of molecules. Like a collapsing tower of blocks, he simply vanished.
Zhao Zhenjia fared no better. His countdown was only a second behind Gao Tian’s. He watched as his hands, then his legs, broke apart into black "blocks" that scrambled away from his body, leaving only his head. Finally, even his eyes turned to dust on the floor.
Jiang Yang, Lan Chu—not one of them escaped. All of them dissolved into black particles and vanished.
Finally, there was Xia Ta, still standing in the middle of the room.
The television behind her was a pile of scrap, smashed by her hammer. Broken electronic components and a few remaining wires emitted a pointless BZZT BZZT.
Smashed to pieces like this, there was no way the two anchors who called her "daughter" would be appearing on screen again.
Though the television was destroyed, Xia Ta watched as her own hands began to dissolve into black particles, vanishing into thin air.
The ’No Fierce Ghosts’ effect was still active.
This meant that, up to this very moment, the ghost had not killed or harmed any of them.
For some reason, the countdown above Xia Ta’s head remained at zero, and her body was disintegrating far more slowly than the others.
Recalling the anchor’s words, Xia Ta was now one hundred percent certain this was a displacement effect. It was teleporting all five members of their team to different rooms on this floor, forcibly splitting them up.
’So the main battlefield has shifted.
’It seems using our numbers to overwhelm Room 413 in one go is impossible.
’I don’t know which rooms Jiang Yang, Gao Tian, and the others ended up in. I can only wish them good luck.’
Xia Ta’s expression didn’t change.
The unexpected was normal. So far, things were still within an acceptable range.
People always died in supernatural incidents.
This war had only just begun. The master of Room 413 had already revealed themselves.
’They’d better pray I don’t make it back into this room alive again.
’Because if I do, not even God himself will be able to save those two hosts hiding in the television.’
While waiting for her body to finish disappearing and teleporting, Xia Ta slowly walked over to the sofa. She nudged one of the desiccated corpses aside with her hip and sat down in the comfortable spot right in the middle.
"A ghost who calls me her sweet daughter, huh..."
...
...
Gao Tian slowly opened his eyes.
The moment the countdown above his head ended, the scenery around him had suddenly rushed backward. He watched helplessly as Zhao Zhenjia, who had been in the same hallway, grew more and more distant. The other man had been desperately shouting something, trying to reach out and grab him, but it was all futile.
The feeling was a bit like being forcibly teleported after using a Black Card.
But teleporting without knowing where you’ll land—that feeling of losing control over your own fate was awful.
When Gao Tian felt solid ground beneath his feet and regained his senses, he realized he was in a new place, completely different from the fourth-floor hallway.
This godforsaken place... it was hard to say if he was even still inside the apartment building.
Gao Tian slowly lifted his head and saw another "Gao Tian" above him, staring down with a look of equal parts shock and confusion.
He slowly turned his head. Behind him and to his left, three other "Gao Tians" who had their backs to him turned in perfect unison, their gazes just as puzzled and scrutinizing.
Gao Tian’s gaze returned to where it started. In the distance, countless other "Gao Tians" stared back, their resolute expressions tinged with helplessness and an urge to make a sarcastic comment.
This was a narrow and crowded alley.
The alley contained nothing but endless mirrors.
Hundreds of mirrors, packed tightly together, stretched from where he stood into the infinite distance.
