As this voice sounded, a bright white light seemed to envelop everything before his eyes, and all around him gradually blurred within that radiance...
When Chen Mo opened his eyes again, he was back in front of his familiar computer, and his surroundings had returned to the familiar office.
Everything he had just experienced felt like a dream. He looked down—there was not a trace of blood on him, but the sensation of pain still lingered in his memory.
Zhuang Fei, Zheng Ling—Chen Mo vaguely recalled these two names. Now that he thought about it, the corresponding participants in the story should have been Old Zhang and Yang Xiaoyu. Unfortunately, neither of them had managed to hold on until the story's end.
This second story, in terms of both complexity and danger, far exceeded what could be called a novice script. Of the three participants, only one had survived.
And now, looking back, when Yang Xiaoyu died so horribly, they should have realized that the most dangerous presence in the story wasn't Qi Dongsheng, but Zhou Xue. That single mistake had nearly led to their complete annihilation.
Even his own escape in the end was a matter of sheer luck.
As he recalled the experiences in the story with lingering fear, Chen Mo suddenly noticed that, at some point, a cylindrical object had appeared in his hand.
It was Old Zhang's flashlight.
Staring at the flashlight in his hand, Chen Mo was astonished to find that he had brought it out of the story world.
He examined it closely—no matter how he looked at it, it seemed like an ordinary old-fashioned tin flashlight. He casually pressed the switch, but no strange light emitted from it; it seemed to be broken.
Still, simply because this flashlight could be brought out of the story world, Chen Mo wouldn't treat it as just an ordinary item.
He glanced at the time in the lower right corner of his computer screen. It had just jumped from 9:59 PM to 10:00 PM. He had spent most of a day in the supernatural story world, yet in reality, only three hours had passed.
The entire company was long deserted.
The night was deep, and there was no point in staying any longer. Chen Mo shut down the computer, picked up the flashlight, and stood up to leave.
In the late-night corridor, only the sound of his own footsteps echoed. Even though he knew this was the real world, it still sent an inexplicable chill through him.
So far, he still had no idea about the trigger mechanism for the stories. The first time he had crossed over, it was because he had received the so-called "Creepy Radio." But what had triggered his second entry into the story world?
With a *ding*, the elevator car, radiating a soft light, stopped in front of him. Lost in thought, Chen Mo stepped inside absentmindedly.
The elevator ran for a while before stopping at the thirteenth floor. The doors opened, and a female passenger in a red dress stepped in.
Even though it was late at night, this was an office building, so it wasn't unusual for there to be overtime workers. Chen Mo didn't pay much attention and continued pondering his questions.
The light inside the elevator was a reassuring, soft white. After a moment, Chen Mo looked up at the changing numbers above, then shifted his gaze slightly—and inadvertently saw...
Under the bright light of the elevator, the red high heels of the woman beside him weren't actually touching the ground.
In other words, this "standing" woman in red was actually floating lightly in midair.
At the same time, as if sensing Chen Mo's gaze, the woman in red, who had been staring at the elevator doors, slowly turned her head and looked at him with a blank expression.
In an instant, a chilling dread crept up Chen Mo's spine.
What's going on?!
Isn't this the real world? Why am I encountering "that kind of thing" again?!
Why is it looking at me? Did it notice something's wrong? Or should I keep pretending nothing's amiss?!
Just as cold sweat began to form on Chen Mo's forehead, the elevator chimed and stopped at the first floor. The doors opened without any abnormality.
Fortunately, he had dealt with real vengeful spirits before. Though deeply shaken, he didn't show it too obviously and walked out of the elevator as if nothing was wrong.
Through the glass doors of the lobby, the woman in red had vanished without a trace.
He didn't encounter anything unusual until he stepped out of the office building. Chen Mo finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, then furrowed his brow.
These past couple of days had been nothing short of thrilling. Would he have to deal with these deadly things for the rest of his life?
Was there no way out?
Fretting over this question, he unconsciously walked into a small park at a street corner.
Cutting through this park was a shortcut to the subway station. During the day, Chen Mo had walked this path countless times. But in the dead of night, with no one around, even the rustling shadows of the trees in the park gave off an eerie feeling.
Just as Chen Mo decided to quicken his pace and hurry through the park to the subway station, he suddenly noticed that the woman in red, who had disappeared earlier, had reappeared not far ahead. Her pale, expressionless face was still fixedly staring at him.
"Ah!"
In the late-night park, the relentless female ghost sent a wave of terror through Chen Mo. Sensing something was wrong, he instinctively pulled out Old Zhang's flashlight from his pocket and aimed it at the woman in red, pressing the switch!
*Swish!*
The flashlight, which had refused to work earlier, suddenly emitted an eerie light. The female ghost, who had been staring at him blankly, instantly twisted her face into a hideous snarl, letting out a sharp shriek as her pale hands transformed into ghostly claws!
But this ghost wasn't driven back by the flashlight's light like the vengeful spirits in the story!
Just as Chen Mo was filled with horror, a voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
"Stop!"
Hearing this voice, Chen Mo was startled. From what he had seen, ghosts weren't beings that could be communicated with, but this voice didn't seem hostile...
As the flashlight's light faded, the female ghost let out a piercing howl and dissolved into a red shadow, disappearing into the night. At the same time, Chen Mo turned around and saw another figure standing behind him, appearing as if from nowhere.
It was a woman in a white dress, with long black hair and a cold expression that made her look like a ghost hidden in the darkness. But the shadow beneath her feet showed that she was unmistakably human.
The voice from behind had undoubtedly come from her.
Though he was certain she was a human, facing this young woman, Chen Mo still felt a strong sense of unease.
A peculiar aura emanated from her.
Even though she was young and beautiful, Chen Mo was sure that this aura had nothing to do with femininity.
He gave her a wary look and tentatively spoke: "You are..."
The woman brushed her long hair aside, revealing her pale neck and a faint, enigmatic smile.
"Let me reintroduce myself. I am the host of Midnight Ghost Stories, the Creepy Radio."