Just as Ye Xiaomei let out a scream, Xiao Bai and Ke Shufan simultaneously turned their heads from the back seats, naturally also catching sight of the terrifying ghostly face revealed in the lit window!
This time, the ghostly face didn't vanish upon being seen by the participants; instead, it stared grimly at the speeding car!
At the same time, Xiao Bai finally recalled that when they first arrived at the estate, the shadow they had seen was also at the same window—the window of the estate owner's room!
In other words, from the very moment they set foot in the estate, those two ghosts had been watching the participants from afar.
They've been discovered!
In that instant, as if triggered by some dangerous intuition, Xiao Bai's heart began to race wildly!
They... hadn't truly fooled those two ghosts after all; perhaps this was all just a game of letting them off the hook.
The mountain road ahead was pitch black, making it impossible to drive fast on such a path, and the prompt for teleportation had yet to sound. Behind them, it was equally dark, but a foreboding sense of dread was spreading through everyone's hearts.
Those two ghosts would never let them off so easily. With their abilities, they might appear right outside the car window at any moment!
Though overwhelmed by terror and with her limbs going numb, Ye Xiaomei gripped the steering wheel tightly, gritting her teeth, silently praying not to be caught by the ghosts...
Faster, just a little faster...
As long as the radio station judged they had left the estate, they could immediately teleport and escape this bizarre, terrifying world!
What gave her a slight sense of relief was that the two ghosts didn't seem to be chasing them immediately; perhaps they lacked the eerie teleportation ability of the dolls.
But just then, Ke Shufan in the back seat suddenly let out a scream.
"No! Xiaomei! No! Stop! Pull over!"
Ye Xiaomei, startled and furious, snapped, "What do you mean?"
Pointing out the front window, Ke Shufan's face was already deathly pale. "Look at that tree... Are we... are we back again?"
What?!
Ye Xiaomei and Xiao Bai both gasped sharply. On the dark mountain road, surrounded by shadowy woods, everything looked similar, but Ke Shufan's reminder made them realize.
Wasn't that big tree ahead the same withered one where Chen Cailing's body was found?!
They had been desperately trying to flee the estate, yet after driving so long on the mountain road, they had somehow ended up back here!
Looking closer, the estate gate was right before them. If Ke Shufan hadn't reacted quickly, they would have charged through that gate again.
Thinking back, there were no forks in the mountain road, so this eerie, ghost-wall-like encounter was undoubtedly the ghosts' doing!
Though the ghosts hadn't shown themselves yet, the supernatural attack on the participants had already begun.
Ye Xiaomei, her face ashen, silently turned the car around and drove away from the estate again. For a moment, everyone fell silent, a heavy, terrifying atmosphere settling over them.
Even though they had left the estate gate far behind, no one knew if the mountain road would eerily bring them back again!
In the silence, Ye Xiaomei's heart pounded wildly. Her nerves were stretched to the breaking point!
On a moonless, starless night, the mountain road was devoid of any light, relying solely on the car's headlights. Ye Xiaomei pushed the car to the fastest speed she could control.
But as she drove, suddenly, she felt something gently blow on the back of her neck.
A cold breath brushed against the fine hairs on her nape.
A chill shot through her heart, and Ye Xiaomei instinctively looked back.
What she saw was...
In the back seat, Xiao Bai and Ke Shufan had vanished without a trace, replaced by two pale, sinister faces.
The two in the back had turned into the "missing" butler and gardener!
At that moment, their rotting faces wore eerie expressions, staring at her unblinkingly.
Ah—!
Ye Xiaomei screamed inwardly, but having experienced numerous supernatural events, her courage had grown since entering this world. Though terrified to the core, she didn't panic. Instead, she closed her eyes briefly, silently telling herself.
This is an illusion!
It's just the ghosts casting an illusion on us participants!
In the horror story group, veterans had warned that creating illusions was a common ability of ghosts in story missions. However, most ordinary ghosts' illusion abilities weren't as powerful as in movies. If a participant firmly believed it was just deception, there was a good chance of breaking through the attack.
She squeezed her eyes shut tightly, repeating the self-suggestion in her mind.
Then, opening her eyes again, she looked at the rearview mirror.
But to her horror, behind her were still the two terrifying ghosts, and the butler's sinister claw had already gripped her shoulder.
Then, it tightened around her throat.
No...
This can't be...
At that moment, Ye Xiaomei realized in terror.
This wasn't an illusion!
It was real!
At some point, the two ghosts behind her had replaced the two participants!
In other words, she was now truly sharing the car with two ghosts.
Her mind was in chaos.
How could this be? The doll had been destroyed, the event was over!
What had gone wrong?
And after using the item to seal the doll, hadn't the butler and gardener disappeared? How were they back here?
She hadn't expected the gardener to be a ghost too...
And now it was attacking her...
Though Ye Xiaomei struggled desperately, the force from behind grew stronger. She lost control of the speeding car, and with a loud crash, it slammed into the mountain wall, overturning on the road.
Bleeding profusely, Ye Xiaomei grabbed the iron spike she had brought from the secret room and stabbed fiercely at the ghost behind her!
But to her shock, the item, which seemed capable of sealing spirits, vanished from her hand upon contact with the ghost.
What...
What was happening?
Ye Xiaomei's mind completely shattered!
Why, after the event was resolved, had the butler and gardener, these two vengeful spirits, reappeared and attacked her...
Why was the ritual item that could seal ghosts now utterly useless...
As the grip on her throat tightened, everything before her began to blur.
Ye Xiaomei suddenly understood.
This supernatural world was one she was destined never to leave.
This horror story was far more complex than she had imagined.
After an unknown amount of time, her beautiful eyes remained wide open in the darkness, frozen in their final expression.
Until death, she never figured out why she had died.