Chapter 135: Brother Long Cried!
Her delicate face was dotted with purple blood spots, her eyes lively, her lips thin, and her smile truly beautiful when she laughed.
Pei Hu had never been this close to a girl before. Staring at the face twisted 180 degrees backward, his mind went blank.
"Why did it turn out like this? The first time a girl didn't reject me, the first time I wasn't scared off by fear and abandoned my friends—two joyful things overlapping. And these two joys brought me even more happiness. What I should have gotten was a time as blissful as a dream... but why? Why did it turn out like this?"
The mannequin, twisted 180 degrees with its head hanging on its back, blinked gently. Its seemingly flawless skin appeared swollen and purple, as if from suffocation.
Looking at those bulging eyes, Pei Hu was completely stunned.
"Help!"
A high-pitched male voice rang out from Muyang Middle School. Pei Hu grabbed the school badge and bolted toward the classroom door!
The badge was tied around the mannequin's neck, dragging its body along as desks and chairs were knocked over. All the mannequins in the classroom began to stir.
Pei Hu sprinted desperately toward the door. His commotion startled Wang Wenlong, who had already been suspicious that the mannequins were following him. Without a second thought, Wang Wenlong also dashed for the exit!
The two were close to the classroom door, one after the other, but poor Wang Hailong, who had wandered alone to the far end of the classroom, was left behind.
The collision sent mannequin heads rolling and limbs toppling, making it look as if they had all come to life!
"What the hell! What's going on?" Brother Long, standing alone in a corner of the classroom, felt like he had fallen into hell—a scene he would never forget!
"Wait for me!"
Grabbing the school badge on a desk, he scrambled and crawled, barely escaping the pile of mannequins. Before he could get out, he heard Pei Hu scream again: "Don't chase me, don't chase me!"
Pei Hu forgot that the badge in his hand was tied around the mannequin's neck. In his panic, he dragged the mannequin with him to the classroom door.
"Stop chasing me!"
He felt like something was clinging to his back. As he rushed out of the classroom, without thinking, he grabbed the door and slammed it shut!
"Damn it!" Brother Long behind him was furious. Running at full speed, he couldn't stop in time and crashed headfirst into the door!
"Thud!"
He fell to the floor. In the pitch-black, dim classroom, heads rolled everywhere, and countless eyes fixed on him.
The faces of mannequins swayed before Wang Hailong's eyes. He felt completely drained of strength, his body ice-cold, and tears unknowingly filled his eyes.
"Pei Hu, I'll fucking kill you..."
Outside the last classroom, Pei Hu and Wang Wenlong, having burst out, leaned against the wall, gasping for air.
"Scared me to death! This classroom is messed up, totally messed up!"
"The mannequins move! She winked at me!"
"Pei Hu, your back! Look at your back!"
Two girls screamed in alarm. Pei Hu snapped back to reality and turned his head to see the girl mannequin hanging on him.
He shuddered in fright and quickly tossed the mannequin into the middle of the hallway.
The mannequin fell, its beautiful, lifelike head rolling off its body, its eerie smile frozen in a corner.
"That mannequin was smiling at me earlier, and it even followed me out." Pei Hu was still shaken. "Maybe we should quit. This haunted house is too intense. No wonder the boss dared to throw down twenty thousand—no one can finish it within the rules!"
"We've only been in for four minutes, and we're giving up? How are we going to show our faces outside?" Wang Wenlong panted heavily before recovering. "The classroom should be the hardest scene. Now that we've found the badges inside, I think there's still a chance of success."
"You guys play if you want. I'm leaving first."
"Wait." Dou Menglu, who had been silent, glanced into the classroom. "Wait, why are only the two of you out? Where's Brother Long?"
"Brother Long?" Pei Hu and Wang Wenlong looked around, their faces changing instantly. "He... he might still be inside."
They quickly opened the classroom door. Brother Long was lying stiffly at the edge of the podium, faint tear stains still visible at the corners of his eyes.
"Brother Long! Why are you still in there?!"
His lips were purple. Hearing this, Brother Long's eyes welled up again. "You two have the nerve to ask why I'm still in there? I'd fucking love to know why I'm in there! Help me up!"
After several attempts, Wang Hailong finally stood up.
He flexed his hands, his knuckles cracking.
"Brother Long, maybe we should call it quits. Let's just sit at the entrance for twenty minutes, then leave, pretending we toured for twenty minutes. No need to be embarrassed." Wang Wenlong whispered his suggestion.
"Nice idea." Wang Hailong discreetly wiped his eyes. "Pretending to tour is like admitting we can't hack it. Remember, there are no ghosts in this world. It's all tricks from the haunted house owner. He's probably watching us on the monitor right now."
"Brother Long has a point. If we really sit at the entrance, and the owner opens the wooden board, how awkward would that be?" Xia Meili sided with Brother Long.
"But we still don't know how big this scene is. If we go deeper, what if we run into something even scarier?" Pei Hu said with a grimace. "We haven't even seen a single actor in this haunted house, and we're already this scared. I think we should stop pretending. It's just suffering for the sake of saving face."
"Enough talk. I haven't settled the score with you two for leaving me alone in the classroom. Now you want to rebel again?" Wang Hailong glared at them. "Look at you two, pathetic. Even the girls are braver than you."
"It wasn't us who cried earlier..."
Wang Wenlong muttered under his breath. Wang Hailong pretended not to hear and continued, "You have to get up where you fall. I figure we still have about ten minutes. If we move fast, we might have a chance to find all the badges."
With that, he raised his hand, holding a badge. "I found this at the far end of the classroom. With Pei Hu's and the first one, we already have three badges."
"It's four. I found one in a drawer too." Wang Wenlong pulled out his badge.
"Great. Though it was a rough ride, the result is good." Wang Hailong pocketed all the badges. "Honestly, when you think about it, the classroom isn't that scary. Just a bunch of realistic mannequins. The key is we can't panic, especially you, Pei Hu. Stop jumping at shadows."
"But I really saw the mannequin blink! Her face even changed, like someone was choking her, and she was suffocating!" Pei Hu felt wronged.
"Give it a rest. If you're scared, stand in the back with Meili and keep your mouth shut." Wang Hailong waved his hand impatiently and headed deeper into the Muyang Middle School scene.
"I'm telling the truth." Pei Hu followed behind. As they moved forward, no one noticed the mannequin's body left in the middle of the hallway slowly crawling toward the lifelike head that had rolled into the corner.