At this moment, the hearts of all the participants were lodged firmly in their throats, terrified that the other side might detect something amiss.
What they feared most now was that these two ghostly entities could sense the dolls. If they could directly perceive the destroyed doll hidden in the secret room, then the participants would have no choice but to face the worst possible outcome!
And now, there were still three full hours until the task's deadline!
Perhaps driven by sheer terror, Ye Xiaomei's body began to tremble uncontrollably. Noticing this, Xiao Bai subtly shifted his stance, shielding her behind him without a change in expression.
"No."
As Xiao Bai uttered these words, an eerie silence fell over the scene.
Under the unblinking gaze of the two ghostly figures, cold sweat broke out on the palms of the three participants.
Just as their taut nerves were about to snap, they heard the hostess speak softly.
"That's good."
"It seems your work is satisfactory."
Hearing this, Ye Xiaomei and Ke Shufan both let out a huge sigh of relief. Just as smiles were about to spread across their faces, the hostess's next words plunged their hearts into an icy abyss.
"But why haven't I seen Tongtong?"
Why hadn't they seen Tongtong? Because that doll had long been shattered, lying in the gloomy underground!
The participants couldn't escape this terrifying question after all, as if the story had deliberately arranged it. The two ghostly entities finally steered the conversation toward that horrifying doll.
In that instant, the expressions on Ye Xiaomei and Ke Shufan's faces nearly crumbled into despair!
Was there no escape after all...
The final deadly twist of the story!
Like a ghost's death knell, it was a question they simply couldn't answer!
After the extreme fear, a hint of hysterical madness flashed across Ye Xiaomei's face. Even facing two powerful ghostly entities, she wasn't about to wait for death!
Just as Ye Xiaomei resolved not to sit idly by, she realized her hand had been firmly grasped by Xiao Bai at some point. Clearly, he meant to stop her from acting rashly.
At the same time, Xiao Bai calmly answered the hostess again.
"Madam, Tongtong is already asleep. If you wish to see him, it would be better to wait until tomorrow morning."
"Is that so... Very well."
The hostess smiled. If one hadn't known her true nature, that smile alone would make it impossible to connect her with a terrifying ghost.
"Then, you should rest early too."
With that, the two ghostly figures walked straight through the living room and headed toward the bedrooms on the second floor.
Huh?
Startled, Ye Xiaomei suddenly came to her senses.
Her earlier tension had made her completely forget that it was now past 9 o'clock—the rest time clearly indicated on the list.
So the hostess's question might have been a trap set specifically for the participants. If they had tried to explain forcefully, it would have aroused the ghosts' suspicion.
Footsteps echoed on the wooden staircase, and the two terrifying entities seemed to have truly returned to their rooms.
Only after a long while, when no more sounds could be heard around them, did the participants' suspended hearts finally begin to settle.
Now, all they had to do was wait quietly for the clock to strike midnight, and this story task would be over!
None of them planned to rest that night. All the participants prepared to stay together in the hall, silently waiting for time to pass.
One minute, two minutes...
One hour, two hours...
Finally, as the midnight bell tolled, it signaled that the time limit for this terrifying story had been met!
At the same time, the long-awaited prompt echoed in all the participants' minds!
"This story task has been completed!"
"Participants can teleport out of the supernatural world after leaving the estate!"
"What? We have to leave the estate before we can teleport?"
The final line caught Ye Xiaomei off guard, but Xiao Bai wasn't surprised. The Creepy Radio had such a twisted sense of humor—in many stories, even after the task was done, teleportation wasn't immediately available, and instead, strange conditions were added.
"Don't let your guard down. As long as we haven't left the supernatural world, the danger isn't fully gone."
Despite Xiao Bai's warning, Ye Xiaomei's heart was already racing with excitement.
The radio's prompt had made her whole spirit soar.
So-called Creepy Radio stories weren't all that difficult, it seemed. Even without a veteran like Xiao Bai, she felt fully capable of clearing it on her own.
Though her heart was leaping with joy, she at least kept her composure and quickly thought of another issue.
"Look, that car!"
Outside the window, the black car was still parked in the garden. Most importantly, its headlights were still on.
"Great! Let's use that to leave!"
Seeing this, Ke Shufan was overjoyed. In her view, this was clearly the story's final arrangement. Otherwise, in the dark mountain path, leaving the estate on foot would take quite a while.
After a moment's hesitation, Xiao Bai ultimately followed the two to the car, watching Ye Xiaomei skillfully open the driver's door and slide into the seat.
"I'll drive. Don't underestimate me just because I'm a woman—I'm actually a great driver."
With that, Ye Xiaomei started the engine.
The motor rumbled lowly. Ke Shufan glanced back nervously, but the dark estate showed no signs of anything unusual.
It was as if the two ghostly entities couldn't sense their departure at all.
Though a lingering doubt gnawed at Xiao Bai's mind, seeing the car already running, he finally got into the back seat with Ke Shufan.
At that moment, Ke Shufan was also brimming with excitement and couldn't help but open up.
"Xiao Bai, you're amazing! If it weren't for finding the secret room and destroying that doll, this story wouldn't have been so easy to finish!"
Amid the engine's roar, the car slowly started and headed toward the estate's gate. Just as Ye Xiaomei was about to chime in, she suddenly froze.
From the driver's seat, her gaze inadvertently flicked to the rearview mirror, where she caught a glimpse of the dark estate behind them. In a corner on the second floor, a light had come on.
And in the glow of that light, a shadow appeared at the window once more!
A shadow silently watching them, steeped in ghostly menace!
"Ah—!"
Ye Xiaomei let out a scream and whipped her head around.
This time, the shadow at the window didn't vanish. This time, she finally saw it clearly.
It was a grim, rotting human face!