The thought of drinking water that had been steeped with two eyeballs was too much for Sylas Young to bear.
"Ugh… argh…" She gagged, trying to hold back. Luo Shu stood beside her, offering "comfort" with an unchanging calm:
"It's no big deal. I checked, and the eyeballs were infused with some supernatural force. They're fresh and haven't decomposed."
Sylas's retching intensified.
Luo Shu, however, grew a bit concerned. If she kept vomiting, dehydration would set in, lowering her health even further. Out in the normal world, this might be manageable with more water. But here, it could kill her.
Fortunately, as she continued gagging, she began to get used to the thought. Wiping her mouth in the dark, Sylas started to think things through. As disturbing as Luo Shu's methods were, he had a point.
This scenario was indeed a paranormal setup aimed at testing players' Sanity Levels. For most people, it would be a daunting challenge. Navigating this house while being tormented by the three ghosts, preserving resources, locating the basement key, and verifying the basement's safety to hide out was a taxing experience, even if it sounded simple. The reality was terrifying.
If she hadn't been paired with Luo Shu, she thought, and had instead been with someone who was also easily frightened, the results could have been disastrous. Even in the basement, had she fainted in the spirit's passive attack range, she might have died from losing health in her sleep without ever waking up.
All that made sense—but there were still plenty of unresolved questions.
"You! We'll overlook your 'encouragement' for me to drink water for now. But let me ask…" She couldn't help herself. "If what you're saying is true, then why don't the three ghosts come in here?"
Luo Shu shook his head. "Not sure. Maybe it's just the way this world works? Perhaps ghosts can't appear near their own remains? Or there might be some kind of boundary…"
Sylas pressed on, "Wait. Are you sure these three skeletons actually belong to the three ghosts? I couldn't look closely earlier…"
Luo Shu replied, "Let me borrow your lighter again."
Sylas took out a flashlight instead. "I have this. My last scenario was a survival one, so I'm well-stocked with outdoor gear. I didn't have time to grab it earlier, so I used the lighter on the fly. I also have a Swiss Army knife, an M9 bayonet, a signal mirror, sunhat, carabiners, rope…"
Luo Shu raised an eyebrow, astonished. "Impressive—though mostly useless. Just hand over the flashlight."
He switched it on, shining the beam over the three skeletons around him. Bathed in light, the bones, all in kneeling positions, formed a triangle as though they were in reverent worship of something.
"See, they're missing parts."
He pointed to the smallest skeleton, which was missing its head. "Judging by the size, this one's about six or seven years old. That would be the daughter."
He directed the flashlight to the skeleton with a slender frame and a mangled jaw, as though something had forcibly ripped away the entire lower half. "Missing the mouth. This one would be the mother."
Finally, he illuminated the most intact skeleton, belonging to the father. "And this is the father. He's only missing the eyes, so it doesn't impact the rest of the skeleton's appearance."
"I think…" Luo Shu continued, "if we could bring their missing parts here and attach them, something interesting might happen."
Sylas blinked in confusion. "But then why'd you return everything? Why not bring the eyes and the head here and try putting them back together? Maybe that's how we clear the level, without waiting another ten hours!"
Luo Shu paused in thought, his expression darkening as he circled the flashlight's beam on the floor.
"What I explained earlier was the simplest part of clearing this scenario," he said. "Now comes the next part…"
Naturally timid, Sylas shivered at his ominous tone, swallowing nervously. "W-what's that?"
"The reason I put the head, the eyes, and the woman's mouth back in their original places was because I don't want to be found by someone."
He angled the flashlight under his chin, casting his face in a ghostly light as he said, "This house didn't belong to just a family of three. There was a fourth person…"
"A person who went unseen, unnoticed…"
"An invisible person."
Just as he spoke, footsteps echoed from outside the house, heavy and deliberate.
In the vast cosmic web, where multiverses were as numerous as grains of sand, each Horror Game scenario was a real world. The gray fog outside was merely a restriction for players.
"Hmm… hmm…"
A boy in a black gakuran school uniform shuffled along the shaded pathway outside, dragging something heavy behind him. His long bangs covered his eyes, and in the dim light of dusk, his shadow stretched long over the road.
"Home so late… the sun's already set," he mumbled to himself.
"Father, Mother, and my little sister… they'll be upset with me."
Then he stopped abruptly, his tone shifting to something more deranged.
"Hah! What am I thinking?"
"They won't scold me at all…"
"They never even notice…"
"Because they've never seen me! Ha-ha! Hahahaha!"
He dragged a large burlap sack behind him, heavy and unwieldy. From within, something squirmed, and blood leaked out, staining the dirt path through the forest.
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。