Something sinister and secretive was definitely going on.

Xu Xingcheng moved so quickly Gu Mian only caught a glance from afar before he vanished.

Gu Mian immediately shifted his attention, turning his gaze to the pitch-black corridor.

The entrance was so close, yet he had no idea where it might lead...

As he thought, he took a step forward and walked in.

The faint flashlight beam illuminated the narrow hallway, casting a bizarrely long shadow of Gu Mian. Coupled with the guitar on his back, the shadow dancing on the ground looked just like a grotesque figure out of a movie.

If any unsuspecting passerby were to see this, they would most likely be scared witless.

This black hallway was even narrower and shorter than he'd anticipated.

However, after a few steps, Gu Mian spotted the staircase ahead. Strangely, there were only stairs leading down and none leading up.

"Such a damp place, and with no windows, it must be underground," Gu Mian muttered, furrowing his brow as he looked at the staircase not too far ahead.

This place must be something like a basement.

Logically, there should be a staircase leading up to the surface, but instead, there was one leading further down. What the hell…?

Gu Mian paused for a moment before stepping forward to investigate.

But just as he took that first step, he felt something snag his pant leg.

Whatever held him had little strength, though, and he easily broke free from its grip with a single step.

Having taken the step, Gu Mian shone his flashlight down. "What? Is there wire here on the floor to snag clothes?"

But when he clearly saw the thing by his feet, Gu Mian realized it wasn't wire that had snagged him. It was a pale hand.

This was a common scene in horror films. When people were alone, studying, or reading, a lonesome ghost would often reach out from the shadows, trying to grab hold with its pale claws. And it was happening to him now.

Gu Mian stared silently at the pale hand.

It reached out from a dark corner nearby. Since Gu Mian had been focused on what lay ahead, he hadn't noticed a small corner situated in the darkness beside him.

The hand, not having caught its prey, was still desperately fumbling about beneath him, seemingly trying to grab something.

Gu Mian speculated that its target was his pant leg.

He dimmed the flashlight beam, tucked it inside his jacket, and carefully sidestepped the persistently groping hand, stealthily heading toward the corner from which the hand extended.

Reaching the corner, he hugged the wall and halted, not daring to venture in yet, merely peeking inside with half his face.

Behind the corner, a woman was squatting. Gu Mian only saw her by looking down.

She crouched there motionless, her head bowed low, only her slender arms swayed slightly as they groped about.

Gu Mian stared intently at the top of her head.

Before long, the woman on the floor seemed to sense the malice directed at her scalp.

Gu Mian saw her slowly raising her head.

"AHH!" As Li Yibai was darting about frantically in a corridor flanked by doors on both sides, he heard a distant, piercing scream.

Even though the scream seemed to come from behind several walls, he recognized it as Guo Jimei's voice.

Right then, Keke was trailing right behind Li Yibai.

The two had just witnessed a gleaming chainsaw piercing through a door, their faces marked with panic.

Hearing Guo Jimei's voice, Li Yibai immediately halted.

Keke also recognized the voice. "That was Guo Jimei, right? It seemed to come from the direction we just came from…" As she spoke, she stopped, her face showing worry. "Should we go take a look?"

"Don't!" Li Yibai immediately objected. "Didn't you hear what Gu Mian said? There's a ghost between Guo Jimei and Yuan Qinghua. Besides, Guo Jimei is suspicious anyway. She said she didn't vote, but the ballots disappeared without a trace—not even a shred of paper was found... She could very well be the ghost, trying to lure people over, right?"

"Even if she isn't the ghost, a scream like that usually means she's encountered one. If she really has encountered a ghost, you going there won't be of any help."

Keke nodded. "You're right... What should we do next?"

The two of them were fortunate to have been teleported together. Moving as a pair felt much safer.

Li Yibai held up his small flashlight. "I need to see if Lin Qi's around here, and also look for an exit. Let's not head towards Guo Jimei; let's go the other way."

Although there were doors on both sides, Li Yibai didn't dare interact with any of them, fearing there might be a ghost or something similar behind them.

They only moved within the corridor, at most listening at the doorways for any sounds from inside the rooms.

Keke nodded in agreement.

The two moved forward again.

Li Yibai scanned their surroundings with his flashlight. For some reason, he felt a strange sense of familiarity with this place.

But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't recall when he'd been here before. Li Yibai instinctively thought Keke might know the place and asked, "Doesn't this place seem a bit familiar to you?"

No one answered.

Li Yibai slowly came to a stop.

In the darkness, what had been two sets of footsteps had, at some unknown point, dwindled to only his.

He froze for a moment, then turned to look behind him.

Behind him, it was completely empty. He stood alone in the vacant corridor. Some of the doors nearby were cracked open, as if something was spying on him from the darkness within.

Gazing at the emptiness behind him, Li Yibai swallowed hard and cautiously called out, "Keke? Xu Keke?"

The only response was the echo in the corridor.

He took a few steps forward, attempting to locate Keke, but to no avail.

The dark corridor seemed to consume everything, even sound. It was so silent he couldn't even hear his own breathing.

Li Yibai called out a few more times, still receiving no response.

At this moment, he felt the place was incredibly eerie, as if at any second something could float towards him from the end of the corridor, or emerge from the partially opened doors.