After saying this, Chen Mo immediately stood up and rushed toward the staircase where the noose hung, simultaneously twisting open the mysterious flashlight in his hand. A beam of dazzling light instantly pierced the dim room. The noose, struck by the intense glare, writhed violently like a snake touched by a hot poker, shrinking back toward the roof beam before vanishing into thin air!
Chen Mo's flashlight was indeed an exceptionally powerful special item. Wherever the light shone, the chilling, sinister aura steadily retreated. However, as time passed, a layer of dust-like film seemed to cover the flashlight's lens, and the once-blinding glow gradually grew hazy. It was as if something viscous in the air was constantly obstructing the light's penetration.
This substance was likely the supernatural force within the haunted house. In the hospital story, Old Zhang had used this flashlight to easily drive back the eerie power that enveloped the entire neighborhood. But now, in this cramped room, after only a few seconds, the flashlight's beam had already weakened—a clear sign that the intensity of the supernatural force here far exceeded what Chen Mo had encountered before.
As the flashlight's light grew dimmer, the illuminated area shrank further. The two of them stepped within that shrinking pool of light, just managing to cross the hallway and rush down the stairs, when the flashlight flickered twice, as if its battery had suddenly died, and finally went out completely.
With the light gone, the room plunged into darkness. In the last instant before the light vanished, an arm silently extended from the shadows, reaching from behind toward Chen Mo's shoulder!
In that split second, just as Chen Mo felt a chill on his back and a tremendous force pulling him into the darkness... Dai Minghan's gaze caught sight of the ghostly hand. Without hesitation, he activated the ghostly object in his right hand. As the pale, ghostly arm touched Chen Mo's shoulder, he simultaneously seized the ghost hand reaching out from the darkness!
When Chen Mo turned around, he witnessed this horrifying scene: Dai Minghan, with his bare flesh, dared to directly touch a ghostly entity that everyone else would flee from!
Once caught by Dai Minghan's right hand, the ghostly arm immediately released Chen Mo's shoulder and began to struggle frantically, trying to break free and retreat into the darkness. But Dai Minghan's right hand gripped it like a steel vise, holding it fast. Not only that, but he slowly, inch by inch, began pulling the pale arm out of the darkness...
Hiss...
A strange sound suddenly echoed from the darkness. In an instant, Dai Minghan felt the weight in his hand lighten. The pale arm snapped off at the wrist, fell to the ground, and then writhed like a snake, twisting as it dissolved into a thick black mist!
"Don't linger! Move!"
With the ghost hand severed, the surrounding chill abruptly receded. Seizing this brief moment when the supernatural force had been driven back, Chen Mo shouted and, in three quick strides, reached the house's entrance, kicking the iron door.
Bang!
With a loud crash, the iron door swung open this time. The two figures burst out of the house in quick succession, and the view before them suddenly opened up.
Once outside, the chilling aura dissipated. Looking back, the pitch-black room had instantly returned to calm. Yet, they saw it again—Yin Xiong's ghost, standing in the living room, staring at them with those unclosed eyes, glaring fiercely!
"Go... hurry..."
Even though they had left the haunted house and knew this wave of attack was over, being glared at by that vengeful ghost still sent chills down their spines. They didn't stop until they had run a good distance and could no longer see the eerie building, finally pausing to steady their pounding hearts.
That ghostly entity... hadn't even truly struck yet. Just the attack of supernatural energy had forced Dai Minghan to use his ghost hand ability twice, plus Chen Mo's exorcism flashlight. That meant, in this haunted house alone, the two of them had used three items!
Moreover, including the earlier door-breaking attempt, Dai Minghan had now used his ghost hand three times in this story!
According to information from other veterans, in a single story, exorcism items should generally not be used more than three times. Although Dai Minghan's internal ghost seemed to be a special parasitic item, judging by the changes in his arm after using the ghost hand and his grim expression, his ability clearly had its own unknown limitations.
"We have to find Yin Xiaowei's soul quickly... Otherwise, we absolutely can't withstand this ghost's attack!"
The core plot of the story had been revealed. The ghost's true form hadn't attacked them this time—perhaps it was the story's final buffer for the participants. But how to find Yin Xiaowei's soul in the real world? At this moment, Chen Mo was utterly clueless.
"Could the clue still be hidden in that cursed game?"
Dai Minghan's offhand remark sparked a thought in Chen Mo.
The game?
Could the quiet, introverted Yin Xiong have secretly hidden his love for his daughter within the game?
This sudden idea lit up another flash of insight in Chen Mo's mind.
"The original plot of this game is about a hero collecting treasures to defeat the demon king from the darkness... What if Yin Xiong had a sudden whim and designed himself as the demon king the hero needs to defeat?"
"What did you say?" Dai Minghan was momentarily stunned.
"If that's the case, when his daughter later plays the game, she can personally defeat her father in it—wouldn't that be quite interesting?"
"Chen Mo... how did you come up with that?"
"I don't know. Maybe just a feeling."
The vague thoughts floating in his mind, lacking certainty, Chen Mo didn't voice them.
But he had a guess.
Yin Xiong's ghost had appeared, yet the ghost's true form hadn't attacked them. On one hand, it could be attributed to story restrictions. But now that they had uncovered the story's hidden plot, shouldn't the ghost's restrictions usually be fully lifted by this point?
Perhaps there was another, even less certain speculation.
That the ghost's true form might not be in the real world at all... but inside the game?!
Continuing to ask everyone for recommendation votes—don't forget them in your pockets!