Chapter 64: Eaten?
His neck was tightly gripped by the monster in the mirror, and the killer holding a knife was just three or four meters behind him. There was no time for hesitation. Seeing Zhang Ya’s exclusive page, Chen Ge directly reached out and typed two words on it—Save me!
The eerie laughter in his head grew louder. Before Chen Ge could input anything else, Zhang Peng’s knife thrust toward him.
He rolled to the side, grabbing杂物 from the cabinet and hurling them at Zhang Peng.
His arms were losing strength, and his neck had already begun to deform slightly. In a moment, even if Zhang Peng didn’t act, the mirror monster would strangle him to death.
Veins bulging on his arm, he touched his neck but felt nothing. His last hope rested on the black phone.
Turning his head, he glanced at the phone screen on the floor. A line of text appeared on the blood-red exclusive page: "She has received your intent. Please confirm the content of the first agreement."
Even if Zhang Ya demanded something excessive from him now, Chen Ge would agree without a second thought.
Moving his finger, he struggled to touch the confirm button on the screen.
The moment his fingertip made contact, the temperature in the sealed repair room plummeted, and cold wind swept in from all directions.
The eerie laughter in Chen Ge’s mind abruptly stopped. The monster behind him was trembling—it, too, could feel fear.
Drip, drip. The sound of blood dripping came from somewhere unknown. The mirror monster, which had been pressing on Chen Ge’s back, suddenly let go and scurried back into Zhang Peng’s body.
The repair room fell silent. Zhang Peng, still holding the knife, sensed something was wrong. This desperate gambler realized what was happening but didn’t retreat at the critical moment. Instead, he raised the knife and lunged at Chen Ge.
But he only took one step before his expression shifted. The mirror monster forcibly took over his body, driving him to flee.
One person and one ghost were locked in internal conflict. As they struggled, Chen Ge’s shadow slowly rose, and a blood-red robe pressed against his back.
Perhaps it was the deep psychological shadow left by Zhang Ya at Xicheng Private Academy. Zhang Peng and the mirror monster, upon seeing the red-clad vengeful spirit behind Chen Ge, instantly reached a consensus and turned to run without hesitation.
Freed from the mirror monster’s grip, Chen Ge was released as well. Having just teetered on the edge of life and death, he was seething with anger and had no intention of letting Zhang Peng escape.
He grabbed the skull-crushing iron hammer and stood up, but the red-clad vengeful spirit moved faster than him. Zhang Ya seemed to have a particular fondness for slaughter, and without needing Chen Ge’s command, strands of black hair lashed into Zhang Peng’s body.
The killer’s pace slowed. Chen Ge wouldn’t miss such an opportunity. He swung the hammer and smashed it into Zhang Peng’s shoulder.
The immense force sent Zhang Peng stumbling forward. Chen Ge pressed the advantage, aiming another hammer blow at Zhang Peng’s thigh.
Screams echoed from the repair room. The mirror monster hiding inside Zhang Peng knew the situation was hopeless. It abandoned Zhang Peng without hesitation and darted toward the bathroom.
"The first floor only has a mirror in the bathroom—damn it!"
Before Chen Ge could speak, Zhang Ya had already abandoned Zhang Peng and chased after the mirror monster. This ugly creature had piqued her interest.
"I need to find a way to cover the mirror." He looked around, grabbed the half-used bucket of artificial blood from the repair room, and ran to the hallway.
The bathroom door swayed in the wind. When Chen Ge arrived, he saw half of the mirror monster’s body pierced by black hair, and it was already very close to the mirror.
"I won’t let you escape this time!" Whether it would work or not, Chen Ge splashed the half-bucket of artificial blood onto the bathroom mirror.
The mirror was obscured. The shadow paused in front of it, but before it could react, its body was bound by black hair. Strands of hair pierced through it, and soon, it was no longer recognizable as a human shape.
The blood-red robe fluttered. After Zhang Ya had her fill of amusement, she tore the crumpled, blurry shadow in two. Half she swallowed herself, and the other half she shredded completely before gently blowing it toward Chen Ge’s face.
He shivered, feeling something drift into his eyes. His body suddenly felt extremely cold.
"What was that?" Chen Ge wanted an answer from Zhang Ya, but this brutal, terrifying red-clad vengeful spirit simply vanished into a shadow after finishing everything.
The bathroom door still swayed slightly. No trace of anything remained in the room, as if nothing had ever happened.
"The mirror monster was just eaten by Zhang Ya, and part of it was blown into my eyes." Chen Ge stared at the bathroom mirror, feeling a sense of unreality. "The mirror ghost is dealt with. There shouldn’t be numbers appearing in the mirror tomorrow night, right?"
He still didn’t understand what the numbers in the mirror meant, but he vaguely sensed that they hid a great secret.
Closing the door, Chen Ge took out his phone and called the police. This time, he didn’t bother Team Li—after all, no one was made of iron, and Team Li had been working too hard these past few days.
Blocking the doorway, Chen Ge looked at Zhang Peng, who was slumped on the ground. When the mirror monster left his body, it seemed to have taken something from him. Now, he appeared listless, his eyes vacant and dull.
"It’s karma, I suppose."
Around six in the morning, personnel from the West City Police Station, the city’s criminal investigation team, and the park’s management and administrators gathered at the entrance of the Horror House. The last suspect connected to the five-year-old Ping’an Apartment massacre had finally been apprehended.
Watching Zhang Peng being escorted into the police car, Chen Ge’s tense nerves relaxed. He didn’t talk to anyone else and returned alone to the haunted house, locking himself in the staff break room.
"The loose ends from Ping’an Apartment are tied up. The mirror ghost has been eaten by Zhang Ya. My Horror House has no more hidden dangers. Once dawn comes, I can open all the scenes and welcome visitors." Chen Ge lay on the bed, thinking about the future. "Expanding the haunted house is urgent. Without expansion, I can’t unlock new trial missions. When I wake up, I’ll go test the waters with Uncle Xu. No matter what, I have to rent the underground parking lot."
Closing his eyes, Chen Ge suddenly felt cold. Even covering himself with a blanket didn’t help. The chill seemed to seep from his eyes.
"Zhang Ya blew part of the mirror monster into my face. Could it be because of that?" Chen Ge found a mirror and checked his face. Everything looked normal, except his eyes seemed deeper, his pupils like still, dark pools.
After staring for a long time without finding the cause, drowsiness overtook him. He placed the mirror face-down under his pillow and soon fell asleep.
At ten-thirty in the morning, having slept only a few hours, Chen Ge was woken by his phone ringing. He glanced at the caller ID and put it on speaker: "Xiao Wan, no work this morning. Come in the afternoon."
"Boss! There’s a huge crowd downstairs! Police and reporters too! Did you do something?!"