The trick to clearing this haunted house was quite bizarre: you had to reverse the roles and successfully scare three ghosts.
Qi Xu pondered the method, glanced at his currently not-so-hard fists, and sighed. It was another game of brains rather than brawn.
"The carousel spins and spins, stopping at three and a half turns..."
As the haunted house's theme song played, Qi Xu couldn't help but get goosebumps. Why this song again?
Could this place be connected to the little boy? Qi Xu suddenly felt a surge of anticipation. It made sense; he had already searched the entire amusement park. Unless it was hiding inside one of the rides...
The sound-activated lights flickered. Under the pale light, the wallpaper peeled and curled downward, revealing the gray-blue brick crevices underneath, looking like gaping mouths.
A cold draft seeped in from somewhere, swirling the paper ashes on the ground and bringing a damp chill as it brushed past his ankles. The set design was quite realistic; the atmosphere was spot on.
Vaguely sensing something floating up behind him, Qi Xu successfully pinpointed the direction of the sneak attack and instantly spun around.
"Huh, why are there no ghosts? Where are the ghosts?"
The floating little ghost froze dumbly right behind Qi Xu. If you hadn't turned around, you would have seen me! It gathered its energy for another charge, but the moment it rushed forward...
Qi Xu abruptly spun around again, playing dumb. "And they call this a haunted house? There's not even a single ghost."
The little ghost's mouth twitched. It adjusted itself into its most terrifying appearance and gathered its energy for another sneak attack. Just then, Qi Xu casually grabbed a broom from the side and swung around like he was playing badminton.
With a critical hit, the little ghost was instantly smashed into the "Psychiatric Hospital" sign above.
"Buzz, buzz, buzz. Where did this pesky fly come from?"
Talk about adding insult to injury. The little ghost was swatted by the broom so hard that it was plastered against the metal sign. Rust flakes rained down from the sign. Its newly formed hideous grimace was still frozen on its face, but a hint of bewilderment managed to squeeze out of its two dark, hollow eye sockets.
Was this plot... right?! According to the script, the human should be screaming and scurrying away with their head in their hands right now. How did it end up receiving a home run swing instead?
It struggled to float down, but Qi Xu had already approached with the broom, poking its hem with the bristles. "Hey, are you hanging up there as a specimen? Hurry up and come down, or I'll soak you in disinfectant. Speak up! Were you scared by me?"
The little ghost was so furious it spun in circles in mid-air. Its transparent body was almost solidifying from anger. It was just about to bare its fangs and unleash its ultimate "Ghost Wail" move...
...when Qi Xu suddenly squatted down and yelled at the air, "Oh my, why is there a severed hand on the ground? It's still moving! Did you drop this?"
The little ghost subconsciously looked down. The moment it leaned its head over, Qi Xu smacked the broken mop handle in his hand right into its face. "How can you be so gullible after already falling for a trick? You deserve this beating."
The little ghost: "..."
It finally understood. This guy wasn't here to clear the level; he was here to wreck the place!
Worried that he wouldn't be able to meet the clearance requirements in the end, Qi Xu yanked the little ghost down from the sign, stepped on it, and forced it to beg for mercy and admit it was terrified before letting it go.
The little ghost was now in a trance, drifting to the corner to draw circles on the wall. Who bullies ghosts like this?!
He was too stingy to even give a single scream, and he kept tricking ghosts. If word of this got out, how would it ever survive in the haunted house industry!
Qi Xu looked at the sulking shadow in the corner and smiled with satisfaction. "Oh, shutting down already? Looks like you were scared. If I don't successfully clear the level later, I'll come back to play with you. So, you know what choice to make, right?"
Qi Xu clapped his hands and turned to walk deeper into the corridor. "Two more to go. Time to find the next unlucky bastard... I mean, the next 'ghost that needs to be scared'."
He hadn't taken two steps when the chandelier overhead suddenly creaked and dropped halfway down. A female ghost with disheveled hair hung upside down from it. Her tongue stretched out incredibly long, eerily dripping blood.
Qi Xu looked up and suddenly chuckled. "Miss, your tongue is quite long. Can I use it as a swing? Looking at the length, it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
The female ghost: "..."
Qi Xu reached right out, grabbed the female ghost's tongue, and swung himself all the way to the far edge of the corridor, successfully yanking the female ghost down in the process.
The female ghost clutched her neck tightly, twitching from being pulled. She suddenly felt like she couldn't do this job anymore...
As before, he beat her up first until the female ghost cried that she was scared and completely terrified. Only then did Qi Xu toss her onto the same sign as the little ghost.
Then, he set off again to find the next little cutie.
Perhaps Qi Xu's notoriety had spread. He walked for ages, but not a single ghost was willing to come out and play.
Qi Xu grew increasingly tired and hungry as he walked. He had clearly just eaten breakfast that morning, but his stats were dropping at double the rate right now...
Fortunately, because the temperature in the haunted house was quite low, the cotton candy in his hand hadn't melted. He figured he should replenish some sugar first and eat the cotton candy.
Just as he opened his mouth...
Another little ghost floated over from the distance.
It didn't say a word, just sat quietly in front of him. It looked human, though its face was as pale as paper.
The answer was already so obvious; how could Qi Xu not guess it?
He handed the cotton candy straight over. "Here, you can eat it, kid."
"I'm not eating that."
Qi Xu grinned. "Then I'll eat it."
Without waiting for the little boy to say another word, he opened his mouth wide and stuffed the whole thing in within a couple of bites.
Having eaten 18 of them in a row yesterday, he was already an expert at it.
As if provoked, the little ghost instantly widened his eyes. "Didn't you say you were going to give it to me?"
"Would you even eat it? Cotton candy is probably the thing you hate the most, right? If I really gave it to you, I'd fail the challenge, wouldn't I?"
After all, the last time he ate it, he was abandoned by his parents and scolded for being disobedient and running around. Anyone thinking logically wouldn't believe this child would still be willing to eat cotton candy.
Buying cotton candy non-stop yesterday and wandering all over the park was simply for the purpose of drawing him out.
"Then go to hell!"
The little ghost was completely enraged. Its small body lunged fiercely at Qi Xu, carrying a sharp force unique to children, yet it looked more like the futile counterattack of a cornered beast whose sore spot had been poked.
Its nails weren't exactly sharp, but it clawed at Qi Xu's arm with a vicious intensity, roaring indistinctly, "You're not allowed to say it! You're not allowed to mention it!"
Qi Xu didn't dodge, allowing the slight stinging sensation to land on his skin. At the same time... he cast his eyes down at the bristling little ghost in front of him. Its eye sockets were clearly red, yet it glared stubbornly, as if desperately trying to protect something that was already broken.
"I'm not wrong," Qi Xu's voice was very calm. "You don't hate cotton candy. You hate the memories it brings..."
.........
