The secret passage was only wide enough for one person to pass through while stooped over. It was covered in dust, completely out of place with the luxurious Zhou residence.
Given the Zhou family's influence, they could have hired skilled craftsmen to build a magnificent secret passage even if it were hidden.
Why was it so crude?
Nan Yue did not hesitate. She shone her flashlight ahead, and after seeing no immediate issues, she crawled inside.
【Holy crap, she really is gutsy!】
【She's just going into this tunnel without a second thought?】
【Tips! Tips!】
Nan Yue's total tip amount currently stood at 320 yuan.
Zhu Xi Ning and Jiang Siyan were following right behind her, so she didn't have to worry too much about her rear. However, this passage hadn't been used in years; the air was stale and murky, and she couldn't see the end of it.
Strange. Why were there no snakes, insects, rats, or ants in this tunnel?
A place like this shouldn't be so clean.
Nan Yue was tall and had to walk bent over; if she encountered anything, there would be no way to escape.
As a result, her entire body was tense.
【Hey, did you see that?】
【Ah, yeah.】
Most people were still commenting on Nan Yue's appearance, vibe, and bravery, but she still noticed these two slightly strange bullet comments.
She didn't know if the audience saw the same things she did, as the streaming equipment worn on her head should be able to rotate its perspective 360 degrees.
Nan Yue struggled to look up. The tunnel ahead was empty, showing only the light from her headlamp and the sand and soil beneath it.
Was it behind her?
But Zhu Xi Ning was right behind her. If there were something, she should have warned her.
Unless...
Nan Yue's heart tightened. Unless the person following her wasn't Zhu Xi Ning.
Was it an illusion? Or a ghost loop?
Nan Yue held her breath slightly, listening intently to the movement behind her.
"Shhh..."
"Shhh..."
She hadn't paid special attention before, but now that she listened, Nan Yue realized the footsteps were too light and accompanied by a dragging sound. It wasn't the sound of Zhu Xi Ning's footsteps.
It seemed to be someone very light, and they were... dragging their feet as they walked.
"Sob, sob..."
A faint sobbing sound echoed through the passage. At first, it sounded like the wind, but there was no wind in the tunnel, and the sound was coming from behind her.
The laughter and chatter in the bullet comments gradually vanished as others noticed it too.
【Did you guys hear that? Was it the wind?】
【Are you stupid? How could there be wind here?】
【It sounds like a woman crying.】
【Holy shit! That scared me!】
【Tsk, how terrifying. How can it be that thing...】
The bullet comments were dense, and the message they conveyed was very clear: something was indeed following Nan Yue, and it was terrifying.
However, Nan Yue didn't panic. She was simply contemplating the fact that she was the first streamer to encounter a supernatural event during a stream.
No, the first should have been Ma Junyang, but the bullet comments hadn't noticed it then.
That meant the thing behind her was far more attention-grabbing than that strange Smiling Bodhisattva.
Should she keep going?
Or turn around?
Nan Yue slowly came to a halt. This passage was too long; something wasn't right.
The person in the bullet comments who had told her to check out Liping Garden said that it was essentially inside the Zhou residence, just separated by a high wall.
They had seen the layout of the Zhou residence from the outside. While it was large, it shouldn't be this massive. She had been walking in the passage for over ten minutes already.
Was it a ghost loop?
【The streamer stopped.】
【Streamer, don't stop! Run! Don't let it catch you!】
【Run! There's something behind you! If it catches you, you're finished!】
Nan Yue hesitated for a moment but decided not to listen to the bullet comments.
Firstly, her personality wasn't one to run when faced with trouble. Secondly, she hadn't found an exit after walking for so long, so running likely wouldn't help anyway.
Her constitution made her more prone to attracting unclean things in mission worlds, but it was also possible that Liping Garden was simply very malevolent, making the risk for anyone coming here much higher.
【It's over, it's over. The streamer is done for.】
【That thing has caught up.】
Nan Yue felt it too—a chill coming from behind her. This cold was bone-chilling and carried a fishy smell of stagnant water.
Water?
Something pressed against Nan Yue's back, and half of her body went numb.
She could feel that it was likely a person. Their hands were slowly wrapping around Nan Yue's neck.
Should she use her ability?
No, the mission had just begun. It shouldn't lead to an unavoidable death trap just because of her constitution.
This should be a normal, avoidable danger.
Going back wasn't realistic, and turning around to face this thing was too dangerous. Seeing its face might trigger a killing intent.
After all, many ghosts in illusions were also trapped within them; the person they saw might not be Nan Yue herself.
The only option was to keep walking.
Nan Yue gritted her teeth, ignored the thing behind her, and continued walking forward at a steady pace.
She couldn't run, and she couldn't panic. She had to pretend the person behind her was just a freezing Zhu Xi Ning.
Nan Yue walked forward with firm steps. The thing behind her had already wrapped its arms around her neck and pressed its entire body against her.
Nan Yue felt the thing climb onto her back.
But this movement...
Nan Yue's heart stirred. She reached back with her hands.
She touched two cold, stiff legs.
The thing on her back wasn't provoked by her action; it seemed that this had been its intention all along.
It wanted Nan Yue to carry it.
Nan Yue supported its knees with her hands. The thing on her back wasn't heavy, just terrifyingly cold.
Based on the weight, it should be a girl, and neither her age nor her size was very large.
Nan Yue used her peripheral vision to look at its hands. The woman she was carrying wore a pink opera gown, though the garment was already tattered by the passage of time, its original exquisite patterns no longer discernable.
This kind of clothing looked very much like an opera costume.
Was the thing on her back an opera performer from Liping Garden?
How could an opera performer be in this passage?
Nan Yue continued forward when suddenly, a ghastly pale finger appeared before her eyes.
The thing behind her leaned over her shoulder, its body tilting forward. Its face moved beside Nan Yue's, long black hair veiling its features. Its finger, which had already rotted into withered bone, pointed toward an unusually small hole in the side of the passage.
Nan Yue stopped.
It wanted her to go this way?
Nan Yue walked over to examine the hole. One would have to crawl on all fours to get inside. If there were something in there, there would be no way to run out.
Nan Yue smiled bitterly to herself. Because of the pollution in her body, she had unexpectedly gained powerful abilities, but because of that same pollution, she also attracted ghosts in missions too easily.
Normally, except for extreme missions, ordinary missions wouldn't set up a situation with no way out without triggering a rule.
But she had encountered it once in Multi-fortune Town, when a ghost infant suddenly appeared and nearly killed her.
Was this the same situation?
Nan Yue clenched her fist. However, her abilities were no longer what they used to be. Not to mention a ghost infant, she had even survived extreme situations like Antswamp Village.
Could there be clues here?
For the members of her team, getting 4,444 yuan in tips was easy, but she didn't want to stop there.
Rate on N.U.
