Lin Tianheng wanted to say more, but an intensely chilling aura once again enveloped him from behind. In an instant, even the surrounding space seemed to freeze, rendering him utterly unable to move.
The malevolent spirit, its face twisted with hatred, reappeared behind him. Its movement appeared slow, yet in a flash, it pressed against Lin Tianheng's back.
Though he couldn't see the ghost behind him, the sudden icy sensation on his spine made his heart sink.
But just then—
A crisp voice, like a heavenly melody, rang out in everyone's consciousness.
"Stop, Dad!"
"Don't kill anymore!"
The little girl clutching the white rabbit doll had large eyes shimmering with crystalline tears like starlight.
"Dad..."
"Hiding here is because I'm angry and sad! But this anger and sadness aren't because I'm dead."
"It's because Dad and Mom have become terrifying versions of yourselves I don't recognize!"
"The game you made, Dad—I never played it, but after death, a part of my soul seemed to enter it instead."
"In that game, I could meet Dad and Mom again, but seeing so many people die because of it, seeing their souls trapped in such agony, I didn't feel your joy of revenge. Instead, I experienced pain multiplied beyond death, over and over."
"All along, I wanted to tell you—but I didn't know how."
"Dying from illness by accident—it's regrettable and full of pain, but it's not Dad and Mom's fault. Meeting again in the afterlife and living together forever as a family—isn't that another kind of happiness?"
"Dad, Mom, I never resented you for my death. So can I ask you to let go of your resentment and stop this cursed game?"
As her final words faded, a small light suddenly appeared in the center of the little girl's pale body. Illuminated by this glow, her form gradually grew blurry!
"Ah, this is?"
"Has the time finally come?"
"So souls like ours can't stay forever..."
"How regrettable. What I wanted most, I still couldn't get."
The little girl's figure became increasingly translucent. But just then, another pale ghostly shadow suddenly appeared in midair, as if trying to block the light steadily dispersing from her spirit.
The pale shadow gradually revealed the form of a woman.
"Is this... Mom?"
The pale shadow was no longer a vengeful female ghost radiating malice, but merely energy existing in a spiritual form.
"Xiao Wei..."
"I've finally seen you, my Xiao Wei."
"Actually, Mom has so much she wants to tell you. Mom wants to live happily with you and the family too, but somehow, I don't know why, I suddenly felt boundless hatred for everything."
"If Mom ever did something wrong, can you forgive me?"
A white light also appeared within the woman's spirit, dispelling the surrounding black mist and dissolving her soul into scattered, radiant particles.
Then, these two glowing spiritual entities stood together in the air, gazing at the last ghost.
The one who started it all.
Yin Xiong's spirit.
At that moment, the ghost floated silently in the air. Though still in spiritual form, the chilling aura from before was steadily fading.
His hate-filled face now looked somewhat dazed.
Finally, a white light, like that in the other spirits, appeared within his body. Under its radiance, the energy sustaining his spirit scattered bit by bit.
But just as the ghostly shadow grew increasingly transparent, the little spirit in midair—Yin Xiaowei's soul—suddenly drifted down and lunged toward Yin Xiong's ghost.
Yet, since both were spirits, they couldn't touch each other, passing right through.
"Can't touch Dad... because we're both dead?"
But Yin Xiong's ghost slowly opened his arms and, from the void, embraced his beloved daughter.
"Thank you, Xiao Wei."
"Long time no see. Did you miss Dad?"
Their untouchable hands clasped together in the void—father, child, and mother—a family of three, standing hand in hand beneath the lighthouse.
Above them was the lighthouse's white beam; before them, a pitch-black sea.
Just like the final doodle in the picture book.
Until they gradually became transparent and vanished completely!
Though darkness still surrounded them, the sun would rise again soon, and the world would be restored to light.
Ding-dong, ding-dong.
Just then, the phone in his pocket vibrated again. Chen Mo pulled it out and opened the screen, his expression shifting slightly.
"How can this be..."
On the phone screen, the "Cursed Game" had appeared again!
What was going on? They had already broken the curse and ended the entire story. Why was the cursed game still sending messages?
This sudden development caught all participants off guard. But when they opened the game, they saw that the village had somehow returned to peace. The pixelated protagonist seemed to have taken something like a letter from the mailbox by the door.
The opened letter had only a few words:
I'm sorry,
Thank you.
The letter was signed at the bottom: Yin Xiaowei.
"Tch, you scared me," Lin Tianheng muttered with a shrug. "Having fun with that?"
Seeing the signature on the letter, a faint smile crept onto Chen Mo's lips.
With the truth revealed, this story no longer felt terrifying. Instead, it stirred a sense of melancholy and reflection.
Still, four newcomers had died in the story.
Before this, Chen Mo had wondered: each item had to be obtained after creating a stone statue. To collect all four, wouldn't at least four people—including the protagonist—have to die to drive the plot?
But in reality, these four items never truly played a role in the game.
From start to finish, the key clue players needed was Yin Xiaowei's soul. Only her appearance could stop the two ghosts from killing and end the story.
Whether true or not, this should all be over now!
Ding.
A single notification echoed in everyone's mind at that moment.
"Congratulations, participants, for uncovering the truth hidden behind the cursed game. This story ends early!"
"This story has achieved a perfect ending. All participants will receive additional rewards."
"Surviving participants in this story: Chen Mo, Dai Minghan, Lin Tianheng."
"Deceased participants in this story: Ye Sheng, Li Kai, Duan Xue, Feng Wenxuan."
"Beginning teleportation out of the supernatural world..."
Finally, the fourth volume has concluded. Some friends have said this volume wasn't very scary. I actually wanted to try different story styles. See you in the next story, and feel free to keep guest-starring!