On one side, despair spread endlessly; on the other, something seemed to faintly drift within his mind. That’s right—it was the final conversation with the little girl in the game.
"There’s a kind of flower that glows at night. If you find this magical flower and follow it, you’ll find the way back." "But be careful to avoid the ghosts on the road."
It seemed like simple dialogue, but in reality, the game’s content mirrored what was about to happen in the real world. When the little girl in the game warned him to watch out for ghosts, a supernatural event did occur in reality—the ghosts of deceased participants and story characters appeared!
In other words, this cursed game was closely tied to reality. Li Kai’s heart pounded fiercely; he wanted nothing more than to share this crucial discovery with the others. But first... he had to survive this wave of supernatural attacks!
Earlier, he had been consumed by extreme fear and panic. Now, catching a glimmer of hope, his mind suddenly became crystal clear. It was at this moment that Li Kai realized that in this endlessly looping death subway, the scenes inside each car weren’t entirely identical!
Some cars had posters plastered on the walls, others had broken toys on the seats, and still others had windows covered in bloody handprints...
Before this, Li Kai had dismissed these as the supernatural force’s way of terrifying the participants. But now, he noticed that these cars repeated in cycles over time, though the cycles seemed to follow no discernible pattern.
Even though the scenes inside the cars kept changing, every car bore only one number—"4"!
If this death subway was a seemingly endless loop, why did the interior scenes keep changing in detail? Was it to confuse the trapped participants, hiding the clues to breaking the secret within?
Like peeling away layers of silk, the fog before his eyes gradually cleared. In his excitement, Li Kai didn’t notice that his pace was unconsciously slowing, and the ghost behind him was now only a hair’s breadth away from his back.
As he entered the cycle of Car No. 4 once more, Li Kai’s gaze suddenly fell on a windowsill on one side.
This car looked no different from the others, but because he had already meticulously compared them, Li Kai quickly spotted its unique feature.
On the windowsill sat a potted plant, its white flowers glowing with a faint, ghostly light under the fluorescent lamps.
Could this be...
A sharp pain shot through his shoulder. The swollen, purple face suddenly appeared before him. Though he wasn’t sure if this was the right answer, clearly, he had no more choices left.
Li Kai threw himself with all his might toward the nearest door. At that moment, a miracle occurred—the door that had refused to open before slid silently to both sides. Li Kai’s body crashed heavily onto the platform, the subway still speeding past before his eyes. The ghost that had attacked him, seemingly bound by the story’s rules, remained trapped in the subway, continuing its endless loop!
I survived! I actually escaped the ghost’s attack!
Standing up from the ground, Li Kai’s entire body trembled with excitement. He was just a newcomer, yet he had managed to survive a solo encounter with a ghost. Even he found it hard to believe.
Aside from successfully figuring out how to escape the subway car, the key was the Buddhist amulet.
That amulet must have been a hidden aid from a previous participant in the story. If he hadn’t "gone home," he wouldn’t have had the chance to obtain this one-time ghost-repelling item!
Even if it was just the story’s arrangement, Dad, thank you for saving me this once!
After silently reflecting for a moment, the phone in his pocket rang again with the game’s music. Opening the screen, it seemed a new plot had appeared in the game.
This time, the scene shifted to a house. Besides the little girl he had encountered before, there was also a woman who looked like her mother. At the bottom of the screen, a dialogue appeared.
"You lost the offering prepared for the ceremony," the woman said, sounding angry. "I’m sorry, Mom." "Forget it. We’ll figure something out next time."
With that, the woman ignored the little girl and walked out of the house alone. The little girl, left behind, walked to the window and stared blankly outside.
She seemed lonely and desolate.
Just then, the game’s plot seemed to conclude, and the phone automatically shut down again, leaving Li Kai with a thoughtful expression.
Was the little girl in the game scolded by her mother because she had helped him escape the ghost’s attack?
In other words, the one truly trying to kill the participants was the woman in the game, not the little girl!
Threads of clues seemed to be emerging, but for now, the truth behind it all remained elusive.
After catching his breath, Li Kai finally reopened his phone and found Ye Sheng’s number.
"Hello..."
---
Receiving Li Kai’s call suddenly relieved Ye Sheng, who had been anxiously waiting. But the description that followed startled him.
"What?! You received that cursed game and were attacked by a ghost?!"
Sensing Ye Sheng’s exaggerated reaction, as if he might jump out of his skin, Li Kai couldn’t help but force a bitter smile. This was only the ghost’s first attack. The cursed game on his phone was still ongoing. Who knew when the next supernatural assault would come? Perhaps that thing wouldn’t stop until it killed him.
Without the protection of the amulet, how many times could he escape the ghost’s attacks?
Seven Days to Die...
It seemed this game didn’t wait until the seventh day to strike. Once cursed, the participant was in danger for the entire seven days. The ghost had only just attacked him, so at least there should be a brief reprieve now.
Thinking this, Li Kai walked through the school gates. As expected, the school was as silent as the streets at night, and he encountered no obstacles.
Just then, a light appeared in the darkness ahead. Seeing Ye Sheng and Chen Mo walking toward him together, Li Kai’s face showed a hint of apology. After all, his unauthorized actions might have caused trouble for the other participants.
"I’m sorry..."
Before Li Kai could finish, Chen Mo interrupted him. "You were just attacked by a ghost?"