"Ahhh—!"
This scream reached both Chen Mo and Li Yan's ears at the same time, sending a jolt through both of them. That shout from Fatty meant something had definitely happened!
"Liu Bo!" "Fatty!"
Though blocked by layers upon layers of mirrors, the voice didn't sound far away, so Chen Mo and Li Yan both shouted back in unison.
"What happened!"
Li Yan? Chen Mo?
Hearing their voices suddenly, Fatty's face lit up with joy. But glancing back at the endless mirrors behind him, a deep fear surged back into his heart.
"There's a ghost in the mirror! There really is a ghost in the mirror!"
Chen Mo and Li Yan were both startled. Though they were certain supernatural events would occur in the mirror maze, Fatty's yell still made their hearts tighten.
"What's going on! Did you see the ghost?"
Through the overlapping mirrors, they both shouted back loudly.
"Yeah, I saw it... It can disguise itself as a reflection! And... there's more than one ghost... I also saw, saw a little girl...!"
"What?!"
Though the description was incoherent, Chen Mo grasped the general meaning.
There's a ghost in the mirror. More than one ghost. One ghost disguises itself as a reflection, and another looks like a little girl!
Wait, a little girl?
Chen Mo paused for a moment, just as a chill crept up from behind him. He spun around abruptly, only to see his own reflection in the mirror behind him suddenly twist into a sinister expression.
Its hands transformed into ghostly claws, reaching out from the mirror's surface toward him.
Thanks to Fatty's earlier shout, Chen Mo's senses were on high alert. The moment the mirror ghost moved, his body reacted instantly, leaping several steps away!
The identical "self" in the mirror, just as it was about to separate from the glass, seemed to be yanked back into the mirror by an invisible force.
So that's it!
This reflection ghost, disguised as a mirror image, was limited—it couldn't leave the mirror.
Just then, tap-tap-tap, tap-tap-tap, hurried footsteps came from ahead, followed by a familiar voice.
"Chen Mo!"
Li Yan rushed over, having seen the reflection ghost lunge out of the mirror just moments ago.
But instead of turning to flee, Li Yan charged forward, clearly trying to push Chen Mo out of the way.
Fortunately, Chen Mo's reflexes were equally sharp. In that perilous moment, he dodged the ghost's attack, though he nearly collided with the oncoming Li Yan.
"I'm fine. There's a mirror behind you too—watch out!"
Seeing a mirror appear behind Li Yan, Chen Mo shouted a warning. Now that they knew one mirror ghost's attack pattern, both felt slightly more at ease, but that was far from being safe.
Because in this mirror maze, there were mirrors everywhere!
In fact, there was almost no place to avoid their reflections!
"Everyone, don't panic. I just got attacked by a mirror ghost, but one thing's for sure—this reflection ghost can't exist outside the mirror. As long as we keep enough distance, it can't threaten us!"
However, hearing Chen Mo's warning, Liu Bo's forehead broke out in more cold sweat. The reason was simple: the mirror ghost had started attacking them one by one, and being alone and trapped in the maze, he was clearly the most vulnerable.
All around him were mirrors, and any reflection in any of them could turn into a terrifying ghost!
Two out of four had already been attacked. Next would be me!
At that moment, Fatty felt no excitement from uncovering the mirror ghost's attack method, only fear and despair.
What was truly terrifying wasn't being devoured by the ghost itself, but the crushing pressure and the mental torment of knowing death could come at any moment.
And Liu Bo had never been a strong-willed person.
For him, from childhood to now, he'd never stuck with anything—whether studying, exercising, or pursuing a girl he liked.
His life seemed destined to be that of a "lazy shut-in."
Not wanting to die was human instinct, but his feet refused to move, and his mind went blank.
Just then, as if hallucinating, he seemed to hear a voice.
"Liu Bo, we're coming to find you right now. Hang in there a little longer!"
Forget it. I can't take this anymore!
One terrifying experience after another, one bout of inner torment after another—how much more of this would he have to endure?
In the mirror before him, Fatty saw his own fear-twisted face. The image of Bai Yin being devoured by the mirror ghost flashed through his mind again.
Why did I have to go through this? Why couldn't I just quietly be a useless nobody?
Being a shut-in wasn't my fault. Why was I being punished like this?
Wei Ran died. Gao Jie died. How could I possibly survive this mission?
I'm dumb, cowardly, and fat. I've been bullied and mocked my whole life, and now I'm dragged into this.
Sure enough, I'm always the unluckiest one.
Thinking this, a strange sense of relief washed over Fatty. The bone-deep fear eased slightly.
At the same time, Chen Mo sensed something off.
Fatty, who had been so panicked and terrified moments ago, had gone completely silent.
No way, had he already...?
"Chen Mo, Li Yan, don't bother with me," Fatty's weary voice rang out again.
"Let me just fend for myself."
"What do you mean by that?" Chen Mo was surprised when Li Yan suddenly snapped angrily, "We've come this far, and now you want to give up?"
"I really can't hold on anymore..."
"Shut the hell up!"
"How many people wanted to live but didn't make it? And you're here whining? Get your ass up, now!"
"I..."
"Liu Bo, listen. We'll find you in a few minutes. You've made it through two ghost trials already, so trust that you can survive this!"
"Li Yan, are you freaking annoying!"
"Do you think I have no dignity?!"
Even a lazy shut-in had pride. Fatty finally got angry and roared.
But after that roar, he looked at himself strangely.
The anger had made him forget his fear for a moment.
What was this?
Though his hands and feet still trembled, his mindset had shifted oddly.
Right, he was the one who'd figured out how the ghost killed in this mirror maze.
And hadn't he made it through the Ferris wheel ghost encounter unscathed too?
"Maybe the author's giving me a cheat code..."
Perhaps because he'd watched too many anime and comics, a bizarre thought popped into Fatty's mind. He even wondered if everything he was experiencing was just a story someone was controlling. For a loser like him to survive this many episodes—wasn't that the author's protection?
With the author backing me up, why should I fear a ghost?
Though his legs were still weak and he trembled with fear, Fatty's resolve suddenly hardened!
"Chen Mo! Li Yan! I'm over here!"
"Good! We're right ahead of you!"
Scrambling to his feet, Fatty shot forward like a cannonball, charging ahead recklessly. Behind him, a mirror showed his reflection, which didn't turn to follow his back but instead glared viciously at the "self" running farther away.
As he ran, Liu Bo stayed alert, watching the mirrors around him. Suddenly, a small white figure flashed across a nearby mirror again!
There it was again—the little girl.
Terrified, Fatty halted and turned to look, but the fleeting figure had already vanished into the mirror maze. Just then...
Thump—! Thump—! Thump—!
A red ball, seemingly thrown from nowhere, bounced a few times and rolled to a stop at Fatty's feet...