It's here.
Strangely enough, for Xiao Bai, what she felt at this moment wasn't just fear, but even a hint of inexplicable excitement, like the feeling she had as a child when opening a jack-in-the-box for the first time.
In the eyes of many relatives and friends, she had probably always been seen as an oddball. Xiao Bai didn't know where the problem lay, but it seemed her reactions to negative emotions like fear and sadness were always a bit slower than normal people's. Even when both her parents died in a car accident, she didn't feel much pain or grief. If she had to describe it, it was more like an empty, hollow sensation.
Perhaps to defy her own peculiar personality, Xiao Bai chose a profession that made others shrink back. Since she was already labeled an oddball, she didn't mind adding another label of being unconventional.
A cold, beautiful woman, spending her days facing equally cold corpses, naturally drew curiosity from many. But as time passed, people's attention eventually shifted, and the gossip gradually faded away. For Xiao Bai, those days spent dealing with corpses unexpectedly brought a rare period of peace, free from scrutiny and judgment, until one day...
A male corpse she was tidying up for a funeral suddenly let out a faint sigh and, in a woman's voice, broadcast a story like a radio show. After that, a new door opened in Xiao Bai's life.
The mysterious radio station, the bizarre stories, the terrifying ghosts, and the unprecedented thrill like an electric shock finally let Xiao Bai experience the long-lost feeling of "fear."
Of course, Xiao Bai wasn't some thrill-seeking pervert. Being drawn into the horror stories of the Strange Radio was more of a helpless situation, but she didn't blame fate. Instead, she adopted a mindset of taking things as they came.
Yet, the moment she solved a story's puzzle and passed perfectly, a flicker of excitement would flash through her heart.
Just like the feeling now—though tense, not overwhelmingly fearful. In the end, she didn't wake the sleeping Chen Cailing but opened the door alone.
Calm and composed—that was the impression Xiao Bai left on others. Even Ke Shufan, who had completed tasks with her, always saw her as a reliable older sister. But deep down, Xiao Bai didn't really care about these things.
How could someone who felt nothing even at her parents' death bother with irrelevant people?
For Xiao Bai, what she sought, perhaps from start to finish, was the challenge of facing an unseen opponent alone.
As if seeking some kind of proof.
Pushing open the door, the dark corridor was empty. Stepping out with the note in hand, Xiao Bai immediately sensed an invisible force spreading around her.
Supernatural power, like threads, enveloped the surroundings.
The game of "Drop the Handkerchief" from the nursery rhyme—Xiao Bai had played it as a child. The child who found the handkerchief behind them had to stand up and chase the one who dropped it.
Sure enough, at the door of a room, Xiao Bai found another note. On it was written: "Here."
So the ghost doll was playing a game with her?
Let me see what you're up to.
Steadying her breath, Xiao Bai reached out and pushed the door. The room was pitch black, but she could vaguely see shelves stacked with items of all sizes and bright colors. It looked like a toy room.
She pressed the switch on the wall, but the light didn't turn on, as if broken. Instead, a starry sky lamp on a toy shelf flickered to life, casting a soft yellow glow.
On the surrounding walls, all kinds of bizarre patterns were reflected.
Ding-ding-dong, ding-ding-dong. With cheerful music, the starry sky lamp spun, and shadows of countless animals raced joyfully across the walls. As the images sped up, the light's color shifted from yellow to orange, and finally to a blood-red hue.
In the blood-red light, bang-bang-bang, bang-bang-bang, the toy shelves around her began to shake violently. Dududu, dududu—a sound suddenly came from under her feet. Xiao Bai looked down and saw a small train emerging from beneath the dark bed, heading straight for her.
At the same time, *thump!* A loud noise came from behind. Xiao Bai turned her head and saw a giant teddy bear standing up, its open mouth revealing sharp, gleaming teeth.
*Bang!* The door slammed shut on its own. These toys, once full of joy, now revealed a sinister, terrifying side, as if possessed by something, slowly floating into the air.
Yet, at this moment, Xiao Bai's face showed little fear. Her right hand tightly gripped a chain pendant around her neck.
Clearly, this was a tool to repel ghosts, a special item she had brought back from a previous mission. But the real power to drive away spirits didn't lie in the pendant itself, but in a stamp-sized photo placed inside it.
A twisted ghost face, captured and sealed by a spirit-sealing camera!
As long as she opened the frame on the pendant, the spirit sealed in the photo would be instantly released, unleashing immense supernatural power.
The ghost face sealed in this photo was a powerful entity. However, this tool had a major flaw: once the ghost was released, it had to devour another spirit to return; otherwise, the user would face great danger.
Just as Xiao Bai gritted her teeth, ready to tear off the pendant and open the frame, suddenly—*thump!*—the eerie toys floating around her fell to the ground as if their souls had been drained.
What was going on?
The supernatural force had clearly launched an attack on her, so why did it suddenly vanish?
Xiao Bai was puzzled. She turned her head casually and saw that the closed door had somehow opened. At the entrance stood a humanoid figure draped in a blanket.
Though no supernatural event was occurring around her, at that moment, Xiao Bai's body began to tremble uncontrollably, as if driven by an instinctive fear.
Then, she suddenly realized why the supernatural force in the room had disappeared.
It wasn't because it feared her tool, but because a more powerful presence had appeared, scaring it away!
There might be different types of supernatural forces in this manor!
In other words, it was very likely that in this story, the participants would face multiple ghosts!
The humanoid figure draped in a blanket stood motionless at the door. The atmosphere grew terrifyingly tense. Xiao Bai's right hand, gripping the photo frame, turned pale at the knuckles as she hesitated whether to use the tool immediately.
This humanoid figure gave her an intense sense of pressure. If she waited until it attacked to use the tool, it might already be too late. But if she used it prematurely, and this wasn't a supernatural attack aimed at her, the sealed ghost would turn on her instead.
Just as Xiao Bai was wavering, suddenly, footsteps echoed again in the corridor. At the same time, *thump!*—the humanoid figure at the door vanished abruptly, leaving only the blanket on the floor.
--- Thanks to Blood Dance Qingcheng for the VIP point tip, here's an extra update. Also, thanks to everyone who gave me recommendation votes. Please keep supporting me, Tian~