The scene before Xuan Yun made her blood surge, and he found it hard to breathe. Before he could even let out a scream, his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
Moments later, Zuo Si, dressed in a clown costume, walked in. With a hint of boredom in his voice, he said, “This is really dull; it’s so easy to scare…”
He then dragged Xuan Yun by one arm, pulling him along like a dead dog as he headed towards the staff passage.
*****
In another hospital room, Hao Meili, Lu Tao, and Wu Yaoyao had gathered together.
After experiencing a scare, Lu Tao was too frightened to act alone.
All three of them had pale faces from the fright.
Hao Meili seemed a bit better, but Wu Yaoyao was trembling like a leaf, and Lu Tao was sweating profusely, never having imagined that Zuo Si’s haunted house would be so terrifying.
Both Lu Tao and Wu Yaoyao wanted to leave, but they were afraid of leaving a bad impression on their superiors, so they gritted their teeth and endured. No matter what, they had to successfully pass through!
This was Hao Meili’s directive! As employees of the funeral home, if they couldn’t even get through a haunted house, wouldn’t they be laughed at? Moreover, the director was still present.
“I think I just heard someone shouting for help, there’s a murderer…” Wu Yaoyao said, her voice trembling as she looked at Hao Meili.
“What would a murderer be doing in a haunted house? Don’t talk nonsense; it’s just those two who are too scared and have lost their nerve,” Hao Meili replied.
“But…”
“There’s no ‘but’! If you want to work in a funeral home, you can’t have such a weak heart!”
“Oh…” Wu Yaoyao pouted, feeling wronged. The salary at the funeral home was much higher than other jobs, and she had worked hard to secure this opportunity; she absolutely did not want to give it up so easily.
Creak… creak…
A sound came from outside the door; the hospital room door was not closed. A tattered puppet rode by on a bicycle, tilting its head and staring at the three people inside with a vacant gaze, a strange smile on its lips.
Lu Tao’s face changed, and he exclaimed, “It, it appeared again! It seems to be following us…”
Hao Meili was somewhat speechless; it was one thing for Wu Yaoyao to be like this, but how could Lu Tao, an experienced employee, react this way? However, the terrifying scene was indeed frightening. Hao Meili had already acknowledged Zuo Si’s haunted house; this Huaxing Haunted House could definitely collaborate with their funeral home.
“These are just the little tricks of the haunted house owner to scare people! What’s there to be afraid of? We haven’t even found a single key yet! If we can’t pass through smoothly, you can afford to lose face, but I can’t!” Hao Meili surveyed the hospital room; it was a single room, tidier than the other rooms. The white sheets and blankets looked brand new, and a little girl’s doll stood with its back to them at the window.
“Quick, look for a key here!” Hao Meili commanded, and Lu Tao and Wu Yaoyao dared not disobey.
The room wasn’t large; Wu Yaoyao only dared to search the obvious places, while Lu Tao checked under the blankets and in the cabinets. As for the doll standing by the window? Even after searching the entire room, neither Lu Tao nor Wu Yaoyao dared to touch it.
“What about that doll?!” Hao Meili looked at the two with dissatisfaction.
But Lu Tao and Wu Yaoyao both wore bitter expressions and did not dare to move.
With no other choice, Hao Meili had to search for it herself. The doll felt somewhat heavy, a dead weight that felt just like a c0rpse. Slowly turning the doll around to face her, Hao Meili wanted to prove that these things were not scary, so she hugged the doll to her chest.
“Look, what’s so scary about this? This doll is quite pretty,” Hao Meili said proudly, but the more she looked at the little girl’s face, the more something felt off.
“This… why does it look like a dead person’s face…?” After so many years in the funeral industry, she could easily distinguish between the living and the dead.
This was clearly a dead person…!
Had someone turned a corpse into a doll after death?
Hao Meili was suddenly overcome by a chilling sensation.
“Director, Director!…” Lu Tao’s terrified voice echoed.
Hao Meili turned to look at Lu Tao and Wu Yaoyao, only to find the two of them staring in horror at the object in her arms, continuously retreating…!
The dim lights began to flicker, alternating between brightness and darkness.
A wave of unease washed over Hao Meili as she lowered her gaze to the doll in her hands.
The long-lost feeling of terror surged through her body…!
Her scalp prickled!
The once delicate skin of the doll rapidly wrinkled. The innocent face transformed in an instant into that of an old woman. The skin was dry and wrinkled, resembling a corpse that had been buried for a thousand years.
Suddenly! The thin, withered hands of the doll clutched Hao Meili’s arm.
A low voice, as grave as that from a grave, emerged.
“Ah… ah… lend me a bit of your life… lend me a bit of your life…”
The stark contrast from a cute girl to a corpse-like old woman shattered Hao Meili’s composure.
Screams of terror echoed through the corridor…
*****
Xue Wu was standing in front of a zombie, feeling conflicted, when he suddenly heard the desperate screams, sending a chill of sweat down his back. He had already triggered two scare points, and his face turned pale with fright.
Just moments ago, a murderous clown had dragged a corpse past the ward door, and Xue Wu dared not even breathe. He never imagined that Qingshui City would have such a terrifying haunted house.
“The difficulty of this haunted house is truly hellish!” Xue Wu could no longer afford to think about anything else; he clearly remembered the bet he made with Zuo Si.
Losing meant a thousand yuan!
For an ordinary person, that was no small sum.
Gritting his teeth, Xue Wu looked at the zombie in the coffin.
This zombie looked exactly like ‘Old Master Ren’ from the movie “Mr. Zombie.”
The scene where Old Master Ren turned into a zombie had left many with psychological scars.
Xue Wu was no exception; standing before this zombie, he couldn’t help but hold his breath, fearing that Old Master Ren might open his eyes at any moment.
In this ward, besides the zombie, Xue Wu had searched everywhere and found no sign of the key.
“The haunted house owner wouldn’t place the key in plain sight; these scare points are the best places to hide the key.” Xue Wu swallowed hard and reached out to search Old Master Ren’s body.
The touch was icy; this zombie was incredibly lifelike.
As he moved his hand down, just as he was about to reach the hand, it seemed Old Master Ren’s hand suddenly twitched.
Xue Wu stepped back in fright, thinking, there couldn’t be such a large prop that moves, right?
“A prop this big shouldn’t move… I better not scare myself.”
He resumed his search. Feeling around, he touched the palm with sharp nails… pockets… shoes… nothing!!
“There are still many rooms left; if I search them all, I might just die of fright. Twenty minutes are already up; I should head to the surgery room entrance to regroup with the others…”
Xue Wu slowly stood up, and just as he raised his head, he saw Old Master Ren glaring at him fiercely, sharp fangs bared…
He breathed… and exhaled a chilling breath from his mouth.