Nightmare Assault

With her back on the door, Chu Jiu's eyes were filled with despair. No matter how hard she tried, when the darkness approached her, the university junior was still very scared. Her body shook. She couldn't see the other party, but she could sense the bone-tingling chill.

A pair of bloodthirsty eyes opened in the dark. They stared at her. Her life was about to be harvested. The moment the door closed, her ending was decided. She couldn't tell why she made that decision. When she saw Sister Chen Yi, Hua Luo, and Wan Xiaoning's lives blooming like fireworks and falling into silence, she really didn't want to abandon any more people.

Perhaps… she was no longer willing to face her former cowardly self. She was tired. The thing in the painting was too heavy. She chose to run away. She left the painting to Banana Wolf. She couldn't hold onto the torturous thing anymore. The moment the painting left her hands, she reverted to her most authentic self. She was a girl who would feel fear and cry.

The images from this mission flashed in her mind like a movie. Sister Chen Yi pushed open the car door and jumped out. Her last smile. Hua Luo, who hugged the ghost's ankles tightly and screamed for her to run. Wan Xiaoning was silent and would blush when meeting her eyes. Who would have thought that she was such a good fighter? She charged at Wei Jingting to buy her time. She was like a butterfly charging at the flame. Banana Wolf was a kind person. It was clear from how Wen Qing treated him.

Chu Jiu smiled.

When he came back and was interrogated by the group, his hands curled unnaturally together like a boy who was caught with his hand in the cookie jar. The man was called Jiang Fugui. Chu Jiu thought he looked so approachable. She didn't know why. Perhaps… it was because he didn't look like a bad person. She trusted him implicitly.

After Sister Chen Yi left, he tried his best to share his survival secrets with her. They were the simplest things. He didn't know she probably knew more than he did. However, seeing how serious he was, Chu Jiu didn't have the heart to interrupt him. She listened to him patiently and nodded along.

Fatty was very impressed by how clever she was.

Finally… another man appeared in Chu Jiu's mind. Hao Shuai.

How could she put it?

She couldn't read this man. His expression was more vibrant than his thoughts. Sometimes, he stood beside her, but something was always between them. The distance was from his heart. He didn't seem to care about anything.

When the mission started, he looked at her and Wan Xiaoning salaciously. However, after Sister Chen Yi died, he changed. She still remembered the fear in his eyes and the hand that lingered in the air after the taxi left the tunnel. He was like a child who had his toy stolen. At least at that moment, Chu Jiu believed he was willing to save Sister Chen Yi. It was a bit too cliche to call it love. She just couldn't put a finger on it. Maybe in that moment, he wasn't trying to save Sister Chen Yi but himself.

When he realised Sister Chen Yi could never return, the fear in the man's eyes was replaced by irrepressible anger.

Chu Jiu froze. Then a hand grabbed her hand and pulled her into the door. The door closed softly. Chu Jiu could sense a new person beside her because she could hear breathing. However, she couldn't tell if it were a ghost or a human. Therefore, she curled up in the corner and covered her lips. The person leaned on the door and then slowly walked towards her. "It's me," The person whispered.

It sounded like the danger outside the door was still there. When she heard the voice, Chu Jiu almost jumped from excitement. It was Jiang Fugui!

"Calm down!" Fatty quickly covered her lips. "The thing is still outside. Do you want to die?" Then, Fatty pulled Chu Jiu to the balcony that was far from the door. "Why are you here?" Chu Jiu asked pleasantly.

Fatty shook his head around. He appeared perplexed. "I don't know. I was with Hao Shuai and Banana Wolf, but as I turned around, they were gone."

"Did they die?" Chu Jiu gasped in shock. She had just handed the painting to him. He wouldn't die so soon, right?

"No." Fatty quickly tried to update her on what had happened to them. Banana Wolf encountered her after he got separated from them. No wonder Banana Wolf was so anxious when she ran into him. He didn't have the time to explain anything.

The icy presence lingered. However, for some reason, the thing didn't enter the room. After all, a ghost shouldn't be stopped by the door. Remembering something, Chu Jiu's face changed. She summoned her courage to sneak to the door. She knelt to inspect the frame. Then, she slunk back and sighed. "It's not a canvas frame. This room shouldn't be a new story. The thing outside the door is probably not in a hurry to kill us because we don't have the painting. He just needs to trap us here."

Fatty agreed with her.

"We should find things like a rope." Chu Jiu whispered, "If there's nothing like that, we can turn the curtain into a rope and then lower it from the balcony. Maybe we can escape that way."

Fatty thought about it and added, "Okay. To be honest, I've thought of the same thing, but I didn't want to say it because I didn't think the plan was perfect."

"As expected of Brother Fugui. You're so clever." Chu Jiu chuckled softly. She didn't waste time. She humoured him. After all, the ghost was still wandering outside.

Chu Jiu handed the flashlight to Fatty, and she used the phone Hua Luo left for her. They searched the room. The rays of light swept the wall. A giant photograph in the middle of the wall caught Fatty's attention.

It featured a man and a woman.

It looked like a wedding photo.