Although the bathroom door wouldn't open, judging by the loud noises coming from inside, Feng Wenxuan... seemed to be trapped in there!
"Feng Wenxuan!"
"Feng Wenxuan! Are you in there?!"
The two of them pushed hard against the door while shouting loudly, but aside from the sound of rushing water, they heard nothing else.
There was no doubt—this was a ghost's attack! The reason the door wouldn't open was clearly due to some supernatural force blocking it.
Lin Tianheng rushed over without hesitation and pulled out a ghost-repelling talisman. The yellow paper charm burst into flames with a *bang*, engulfing the door. As black, ash-like substances peeled away, Chen Mo twisted the handle again with all his strength. The door swung open, and the three of them immediately charged into the bathroom.
Water! Puddles everywhere. In the corner, the bathtub's water was still churning violently, as if something had been stirring inside moments ago. Chen Mo's heart tightened as he hurried forward. In an instant, all three of their faces turned pale.
Feng Wenxuan... was indeed inside! To be precise, he was submerged at the bottom of the water-filled tub. His face was blue and purple, his eyes bulging—a clear sign of suffocation. His body was covered in marks from a desperate struggle.
But even with that struggle, he hadn't managed to escape the ghost's control. In the end, he had drowned in the bathtub.
Their gazes returned to Feng Wenxuan's face. His eyes twitched faintly, as if in a final moment of clarity, and his mouth opened weakly, as though trying to tell them something. Lin Tianheng leaned in to get a closer look, but Chen Mo reached out to stop him. Then, the three of them suddenly noticed—inside Feng Wenxuan's open mouth... there was a ghostly face! A woman's twisted, horrifying visage! In the next moment, his body seemed to tear apart from the inside. A torrent of blood instantly stained the water red. Then, the shattered remains and the bloodied water, as if controlled by some force, were swiftly sucked down the drain. Finally, the bathtub refilled with clear water, leaving not even a trace of blood behind!
It was as if what had just happened was nothing more than a nightmare. But the three people in the room knew full well—this was no nightmare. It was the ghost's method of killing! It was the supernatural force summoned by the cursed game from the story!
*Ding-dong, ding-dong~*
Just then, a sound came from somewhere unknown, making all three of them shudder simultaneously!
It was the notification sound of a phone!
The cursed phone had eerily risen from the bottom of the tub. Floating on the water's surface, its screen emitted a faint, ghostly glow. Blood trickled down from the top of the screen, forming the familiar words "GAME OVER." Then, an email icon began to blink incessantly on the phone's screen...
It was starting again—the spread of this cursed game!
Staring intently at the phone that was sending the message, none of the three dared to make a move. But after that, there was no further activity...
So, the next person chosen by the cursed game wasn't among the three of them?
After sending the message, the terrifying phone automatically shut down again. Then, as if completely broken, it refused to turn back on.
Feng Wenxuan's death, aside from leaving clues within the game, seemed to prove one more thing.
That this game didn't strictly follow a seven-day pattern for killing. If certain taboos were violated, the attack could come early.
Feng Wenxuan was dead, but the curse wasn't over. Perhaps in the very next moment, someone would receive that terrifying text message, and then the supernatural game would appear on their phone.
With no other choice, they split up to call the other participants who were on standby, informing them of Feng Wenxuan's death. But then, Dai Minghan discovered that one of them, a man named Li Kai, had his phone turned off!
A phone being unreachable in a supernatural story was often an ominous sign. Had something happened to this newcomer, Li Kai?!
But he was far from the ghost's attack location and wasn't even the target of this curse. Logically, he shouldn't have been attacked by the ghost!
Despite thinking this, Chen Mo immediately called another male participant, Ye Sheng. From Ye Sheng, he received a shocking piece of news.
Li Kai had left the school on his own, without informing anyone!
In every story, the radio station gave participants an identity within the story world. Certain roles, in specific situations, could help participants gather information more easily.
And this time...
What Li Kai hadn't expected was that, aside from being a student, the radio station had assigned him a warm, well-off family full of affection. These were things he had always envied in others but never had himself.
Over the past decade or so, his life had been filled with misfortune. His father, an ordinary worker, had died in an accident. His mother had remarried, taking him along, but in his stepfather's home, he was never welcome. He was often subjected to verbal abuse and harsh treatment, sometimes even physical violence.
*Why do I have to endure so much misfortune?* Li Kai often wondered in confusion. Sometimes, he even thought about running away or killing the man. But those thoughts always vanished when he saw his mother's weary face.
His mother was in poor health and couldn't work. The family of four relied solely on his stepfather's meager income. So, his stepfather's irritability and temper were somewhat understandable.
Understandable, but that didn't make it any less painful. Especially when interacting with classmates, Li Kai always felt a sense of inferiority. One day, when a classmate flaunted a newly bought handheld game console in front of everyone, Li Kai... couldn't hold back. During a break in gym class, he returned to the classroom and stole the console.
In the silent, empty classroom, his heart pounded so loudly he could hear it. But the stolen prize didn't bring him the joy he'd imagined. Instead, it plunged him into extreme panic. Just then, the silent classroom broadcast suddenly played a story—and that story was about him stealing during gym class...
From that point on, Li Kai was drawn into the Weird Tales Radio Station. This was his first official story. Even though he knew this was a story world created by the station, even though he knew it might all be fake, when he heard the woman playing the role of "mother" call him "Xiao Kai" in a gentle voice over the phone, telling him that his father had returned from a business trip and the whole family was waiting for him to come home for dinner... for Li Kai, it was an irresistible temptation!
Besides, the first person targeted by the curse was Feng Wenxuan. That meant the other participants were still relatively safe for now. After some thought, Li Kai couldn't resist the lure of this familial warmth. After telling Ye Sheng not to inform Chen Mo and the others, he left school that afternoon.
Afraid of being tracked, Li Kai even turned off his phone. He had made up his mind—just this once! He would recklessly experience the warmth of family and the care of loved ones. After that, he could throw himself into completing the horror story's mission without any regrets, even if it meant dying!