In the game screen, the white ghost floating in the air suddenly grabbed the pixel figure hiding behind the tombstone. At the same time, a scream rang out from the dialogue box at the bottom of the screen.
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
Meanwhile, Li Kai, who had just stood up from behind the tombstone, suddenly felt an intensely chilling sensation enveloping him from above. Realizing something was wrong, he immediately looked up and saw the pale, ghostly face he had thought had vanished.
"Ah... uh..."
A short, sharp cry was cut off abruptly. The female ghost's outstretched hands clamped tightly around Li Kai's neck, lifting him off the ground into the air. Hanging like a noose, the excruciating pain of suffocation made him struggle violently. But just like on the subway, though he flailed his arms trying to pry the ghostly hands from his throat, he couldn't touch them no matter what...
As the air in his lungs dwindled, the explosive pain in his chest seemed to fade away. In his last blurry sensation, Li Kai realized this was his final end.
After being killed by this ghost, would I become like Duan Xue and Feng Wenxuan, turning into a ghost to attack others?
No... I will never accept that ending!
Perhaps it was due to intense unwillingness and resentment, or maybe just the female ghost's deliberate torment. Suddenly, Li Kai felt a faint trace of air return to his throat. That tiny bit of breath gave him a sliver of strength in his final moments, but not enough to escape.
As if waiting for its prey to struggle for survival, the female ghost's pale face twisted into a sinister smile. But this time, Li Kai didn't futilely try to break free from her grip. Instead, he pulled a prepared knife from his pocket, flicked out the blade, and stabbed it into his own heart.
With no hope of survival, he would rather choose his own end than suffer the ghost's torture and later become a ghost attacking others after death.
Perhaps this was also his final, silent act of defiance against the Strange Radio.
But Li Kai didn't know that after his life faded, black mist continued to pour from the female ghost's body, eventually engulfing him completely. His phone, which had fallen onto the road, flickered twice, displaying a "game over" prompt and an email icon, before finally going black and shutting down.
Just as Li Kai's phone powered off completely, a melodious tune rang out from another phone. Chen Mo, sitting in the back seat of a taxi, wore a strange expression as he slowly pulled his phone from his pocket.
On the screen, the email icon was blinking, indicating a message from an unknown sender. Seeing this, a flicker of surprise crossed Chen Mo's face, followed by a bitter smile.
I didn't expect to receive this cursed game this time.
That means, from now on, I've been targeted by the ghost in the game...
And since I've received the game, it means Li Kai has been killed by the curse. But why haven't I gotten a call from Ye Sheng and the others?
Seeing Chen Mo's grave expression and hearing the eerie music from his phone, Dai Minghan's expression shifted as well, as if he understood something.
"You..."
"That's right, I've received this cursed game."
"Which means I'm the next one to be attacked by the ghost."
As he spoke, Chen Mo calmly stared at his phone screen. Amidst the eerie music, the game's visuals slowly unfolded.
It showed a little girl running ahead of him, as if leading him somewhere.
Chen Mo watched intently. Li Kai and Feng Wenxuan's experiences seemed to prove that the game's storyline not only foretold the arrival of death but also provided clues about the curse.
Guided by the little girl, the two pixel figures ran again to the cemetery behind the village. There, the strange well reappeared on the screen, and the stone statues around it had increased by one.
"Zhou Xiaomi"
"Feng Wenxuan"
"Duan Xue"
"Li Kai"
Four stone statues in total. After examining each one, a new prompt appeared in front of Li Kai's statue.
"You have obtained the Flower Crown."
As if struck by an idea, Chen Mo reached out and touched the pixel figure on the screen, opening an interface resembling a backpack.
In the item slot, three previously acquired items appeared.
Wind Shield, Water Ring, Flower Crown!
He tried using the three items, but nothing happened!
These in-game items were surely tied to his life and death, but what purpose they served, Chen Mo had no clue at the moment.
Putting his phone back in his pocket, he turned to Dai Minghan. "Call Ye Sheng and the others. I want to know what's happening over there."
Pausing for a moment, Dai Minghan immediately realized another thing...
Since Chen Mo had received the game, it meant the previous curse's infected person—Li Kai—had likely been killed by the ghost!
Of the seven participants, only four remained!
The phone rang over a dozen times before Lin Tianheng finally answered. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Lin Tianheng found it strange himself—he was usually highly alert, yet he had fallen so deeply asleep in the car!
A bad feeling suddenly struck him, especially when Dai Minghan mentioned Li Kai. His gaze quickly swept toward the back seat.
But aside from Zhang Yiming and Ye Sheng, who were still asleep, there was no sign of Li Kai!
"Damn it, Dai Minghan, Li Kai is missing!"
He cried out in alarm, his heart tightening. In this horror story, "missing" essentially meant being killed by a ghost, especially since Li Kai was the participant chosen by the cursed game.
"Sorry, I don't know why, but we all fell asleep just now..."
As he spoke, Lin Tianheng glanced at the driver beside him, who remained silent and focused on driving. A chill ran down his spine.
Though exhausted, there was no way all three of them would fall asleep for no reason, and so deeply at that. Without a doubt, it was the influence of supernatural forces. Unsure if the driver was involved, he decisively demanded the car stop, then shook Ye Sheng and Zhang Yiming awake before getting out of the taxi.
As they groggily opened their eyes and realized Li Kai was gone, Ye Sheng and Zhang Yiming were both shocked. Then, from Lin Tianheng, they received an even more startling piece of news.
The next person to receive the cursed game was Chen Mo.