Indeed, this idea was too far-fetched, and even Chen Mo himself wasn’t entirely sure at the moment. Although there was no direct evidence, there were still some clues that seemed to guide the participants through the fog to uncover the truth.
What bothered Chen Mo the most were the three items given in the game: The Wind Shield, the Water Ring, and the Flower Crown. These were presumably the equipment meant to defeat the demon king in the original game, but they couldn’t be used now, perhaps because the collection hadn’t been completed yet.
At that moment, another question crossed Chen Mo’s mind. Even though the hidden plot in the story had been revealed, it seemed the game’s storyline wasn’t finished yet. In other words, they hadn’t “cleared” the game.
“By the way…” A fragment flashed through his mind again. “Dai Minghan, do you remember how Zhang Yiming told us about the curse of this game?” “The Seven-Day Death Game—if you can’t clear it within seven days, the curse will kill you.” “Is there something wrong with that statement?” “The statement itself isn’t wrong. Before, we’ve been thinking about how to find the truth from reality to break the curse. But if you think about it from another angle—if failing to clear the game in seven days means death by curse, then wouldn’t clearing the game break the curse?”
Dai Minghan paused, stunned. “Damn, that makes sense!” “But we still don’t know how to clear this game!”
Before Chen Mo could respond, his phone suddenly rang. He pulled it out and saw the caller ID—it was Lin Tianheng. A bad feeling surged in his heart. The moment he answered, he heard urgent words on the other end. “Chen Mo, we’ve been attacked by that female ghost!” “What?” Chen Mo was taken aback. Lin Tianheng and the others were far away from that haunted house. “You were attacked too?” “Too? What’s happening on your end?” “Nothing… we should be safe for now. Tell me what happened over there first.”
As he listened to Lin Tianheng’s account, Chen Mo’s expression grew increasingly grim. It turned out that while they were facing a series of deadly attacks from Yin Xiong’s ghost in the haunted house, Lin Tianheng’s group had also been attacked by the female ghost again. Was it because they had triggered the core clues? Not only had the two who triggered it encountered supernatural attacks, but Lin Tianheng and Ye Sheng, as fellow participants, had also been assaulted by the ghost! And Ye Sheng and Zhang Yiming… both had been killed by the ghost in the recent attack. Even Ye Sheng was dead!
According to Lin Tianheng, after receiving the cursed game, they didn’t stay in the enclosed space. Instead, they immediately went to a suburban park with an open view, hoping to spot any ghostly presence early. But even that didn’t prevent the attack. At the time, the sky suddenly darkened, and thick black fog swirled around them. Lin Tianheng, Ye Sheng, and Zhang Yiming had been standing together, but somehow, they got separated by the fog, losing their sense of direction. In the fog, Lin Tianheng and Ye Sheng both heard Zhang Yiming let out a short, sharp scream. Lin Tianheng immediately drew his dagger and stabbed into the fog, rushing toward where the scream came from. But when he got there, all he found was a phone lying on the ground—no sign of anyone!
Then, Lin Tianheng suddenly felt a cold touch on his lower back. Without thinking, he swung his dagger backward, but it hit nothing. Instead, the surrounding fog seemed to recoil from his weapon, rolling back. After a while, Lin Tianheng realized something was wrong. He and Ye Sheng had both heard Zhang Yiming’s scream and headed in the same direction, so they should have met up by now. But strangely, Ye Sheng, like Zhang Yiming, gave no response no matter how much he called out. Lin Tianheng wandered through the fog for a few more rounds before finding Ye Sheng’s phone on the ground where the fog had receded.
After an unknown amount of time—perhaps because the fog feared the exorcism item in Lin Tianheng’s hand—it slowly dissipated. But aside from the two phones left behind, Ye Sheng and Zhang Yiming had vanished without a trace!
After hearing Lin Tianheng’s account, Chen Mo had to accept that the likelihood of those two being killed by the ghost was extremely high. Had the last newcomer, Ye Sheng, also been killed in the supernatural attack? Now, of the seven participants who entered this story, only he, Dai Minghan, and Lin Tianheng remained. It wasn’t luck, but simply because the three of them all held powerful exorcism items. However, those items had already been used once or multiple times, and their ability to repel ghosts had been weakened by the story. The two ghosts in the game would eventually come for them!
“Lin Tianheng, wait a moment…” Suddenly, another thought struck Chen Mo. He hung up the phone and immediately opened the cursed game that others would avoid at all costs. The game’s display was glitched, almost unreadable, like corrupted data. But relying on memory, Chen Mo maneuvered the pixel character to the cemetery behind the village. “Chen Mo, what are you doing?” Seeing Chen Mo seriously “playing” the cursed game, Dai Minghan looked puzzled.
At that moment, next to the well in the cemetery, two more name-engraved stone statues had appeared. “Zhang Yiming” “Ye Sheng” After investigating the two statues, a final prompt appeared on the screen. “You have obtained the last item: Stone Sword.” “You have completed the item collection.”
Completed the item collection? Seeing the prompt on the screen, Dai Minghan’s face showed a thoughtful expression. So that was it—he should have realized earlier. Every time a participant or story character died, a new stone statue appeared by the well. These statues seemed to be called “Statues of the Dead,” and the previous three story items had been obtained by investigating them. Every time a new statue appeared by the well, a new item was gained! The Wind Shield, the Water Ring, the Flower Crown, and the Stone Sword. All four items were finally collected.
“What should we do now? How do we actually play this game?” Even though all four items were collected, the screen only showed the prompt “You have completed the item collection” without any further information! Then, suddenly, the game world itself began to change. The once bright and picturesque village darkened, the screen blurring as if shrouded in a layer of black fog!
Thanks to classmate Orange Cat for the ten-thousand-token reward, and thanks to Mu Ye for the tip. Hehe, thanks for the support~