Chapter 26: Heartbeat Warning, the Terrifying Abandoned Warehouse

Everyone’s expression turned grim. The sender of the letter was, in fact, a ghost. From the very beginning, this had been a supernatural incident. Lin Yuan’s wife had passed away, but her lingering attachment to her husband had transformed her into a vengeful spirit. It was a story of love that transcended death. And yet, the robbers they were roleplaying as had killed Lin Yuan in the process.

The situation was dire. If the female ghost, Xinran, discovered her husband had been murdered, it wouldn't be as simple as just calling the police. They had to write a reply to deceive a ghost. If she sensed even the slightest suspicion, their entire group would be wiped out. No matter how powerful a player might be, they were limited by their lack of Ghost Coins. Without the constraints of the system, a rampaging ghost was unstoppable. Therefore, surviving seven days in the town meant successfully handling seven letters from the ghost; they could not afford a single slip-up, or the game would end. Given that the previous three waves of players had been completely annihilated, this was by no means an easy task.

"Old man, what was Lin Yuan’s wife’s name?" Bai Wan, standing behind the group, suddenly asked.

The old man pondered for a moment before replying, "I think it was... something Xinran."

Bai Wan nodded. While the probability of Lin Yuan having a second wife was low, it was a mistake they couldn't afford to make. It seemed the sender was indeed Lin Yuan’s late wife, Xinran. The group wanted to gather more information, but the old man claimed he was tired and returned to his house, cutting off their lead.

They searched the village for a while longer but found very few people. Only a few elderly residents remained inside their homes; they wouldn't open their doors even when Bai Wan and the others approached, and the group didn't dare force their way in. With no results and darkness falling, they had no choice but to head back to Lin Yuan’s house. It was dangerous to stay out after dark.

As Sun Qian and the others passed the abandoned warehouse in the courtyard, they couldn't help but glance at it, then silently steered clear and took a detour. Luo Ya, who was easily frightened, even had trembling legs. She stared at the warehouse, not daring to take a full breath. What was inside? A terrifying ghost? A mysterious space? Or perhaps their own corpses? The unknown was the most frightening thing of all. Every horror story Luo Ya had ever seen was flashing through her mind.

Fortunately, she passed the warehouse successfully. She let out a sigh of relief, but then instinctively turned back to look at it, and a shiver ran down her spine. The warehouse door had opened! Luo Ya’s eyes widened instantly. No, that was impossible; it had definitely been closed before. A chilling cold swept through her body. She wanted to scream, but almost instantly, she looked at the door again and saw it was closed.

*Hoo...* Luo Ya breathed heavily, staring at the closed door, beginning to doubt her own eyes. Was that just an illusion? Because she was too worried, she had hallucinated. Yes, that made sense; she remembered reading online that people under extreme stress could experience such things.

Just as she was lost in thought, her boyfriend Wang Jian’s shout came from behind. "Yaya! What are you doing?! Why are you standing so close to that door!"

The voice startled her, and when she snapped back to reality, she turned deathly pale. *Whoosh!* To her horror, she realized that at some point, she had walked within half a meter of the warehouse door! She could clearly see the texture of the weathered wood, while Wang Jian and the others had already entered the house, leaving her alone in the courtyard. Luo Ya’s legs went weak with fear; she wanted to leave, but she had no strength left. Fortunately, Wang Jian rushed over and carried her back into the house.

Once inside, she was still shaken. It was so close. If Wang Jian hadn't called out to her, she might have walked right into the warehouse, and that would have been the end of her. Sun Qian and the others stared at the warehouse in the distance with heavy expressions. That place was too ominous; simply walking past it was terrifying enough. It must contain something they could never hope to fight. No wonder the system had issued a heart-rate warning. From now on, they would stay indoors whenever possible.

Suddenly, Sun Qian reflexively scanned the corner of the room, his head buzzing. "Wait a minute, where is Lin Yuan’s body?"

The group froze, looking at the spot where they had placed the body. Their hearts sank—the corner was completely empty. "We locked the doors before we left; no one could have come in... besides, there aren't many people in this village anyway." Wang Jian had found the keys to the house in the bedroom; he was certain he had locked everything properly.

"Even if someone did get in, no one would steal a corpse," Sun Qian said, wiping cold sweat from his forehead. If no one had entered, then... it meant Lin Yuan had crawled away himself. The dead Lin Yuan had crawled away and was likely hiding in some corner of the house. The thought of a ghost lurking in an unknown corner watching them made everyone feel icy cold.

Suddenly, Xu Bing, who had been standing in a secluded part of the hall, spoke up. "Come look at this."

The group hurried over, bracing themselves; they could detect a hint of fear in the voice of the usually aloof Xu Bing. Even with that anticipation, the sight before them was shocking. *Hiss...* A black-and-white photograph hung on the wall, showing Lin Yuan holding hands with a woman. The moment they saw the woman, they knew it must be Lin Yuan’s wife, Xinran. Whether it was an illusion or not, everyone felt as if the two people in the photo were staring directly at them. In the dim room, the dark photograph looked like a funerary portrait.

"When did this photo appear? It definitely wasn't here before!"

At this moment, everyone felt the crushing pressure of an "unsolvable" dungeon. First, the ghost letter; then, Lin Yuan’s corpse disappearing and likely becoming a ghost hiding in the house; and now, that mysterious warehouse. It was only the first day of the game, and the dungeon was already this terrifying. It was hard to imagine surviving for seven days in such an environment.

"Everyone, this isn't the time to be afraid. We need to reply to the letter, or if the ghost gets suspicious, we'll be in real trouble." Su Yueling was also very timid, but she tried her best to pull herself together. If the ghost noticed something was wrong and came to find them, they were finished. Her words focused their attention back on the letter. They had to reply; they couldn't afford to delay.

"How should we reply?" Wang Jian asked.

"We don't have enough specific information about Lin Yuan and his wife yet, so we can only provide generic content that doesn't reveal our ignorance," Sun Qian said.

"Exactly. And it’s best not to use names, as we don't know how they addressed each other," Su Yueling added.

"The biggest problem is the handwriting. If the script doesn't match, it will be easy to give ourselves away," Bai Wan remarked after some thought.

The group fell into deep contemplation. Handwriting was indeed the biggest hurdle. "Use your left hand. Say you injured your dominant hand," Xu Bing suggested.

"Any other options?" Sun Qian couldn't think of a better one. After some more discussion, they decided to go with Xu Bing’s plan.

"Alright, let’s draft the lines first, then write them on the letter," Sun Qian said, feeling very tense. What they were doing was deceiving a ghost, and they couldn't be too careful. They brainstormed together, and finally, using a pencil they found in the bedroom, Xu Bing—who had the best handwriting—carefully wrote with her left hand:

*I received your letter. I miss you terribly, too. It doesn't matter that our parents don't bless us; I believe in our love. I fell while walking yesterday and accidentally twisted my hand, so I can only write this reply with my other hand. I cannot write much—please take care of yourself and don't worry about me.*

The content was essentially a rephrasing of the ghost’s own letter; they didn't dare add anything else. Although the letter had plenty of flaws, with the limited information they had, this was the best they could do.

"The letter is finished. How do we send it?" Another problem arose. They didn't know the address. Suddenly, the air above the table distorted, and the letter vanished into thin air. Seeing this, they breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed the game handled the delivery, so they didn't need to worry about the ghost’s address.

After finishing the letter, the hour was late. "It’s ten o'clock. Time to sleep. The game requires everyone to stay in separate rooms, or Ghost Coins will be deducted," Sun Qian said, looking at the time and the dark sky outside. *Damn it,* he really didn't want to sleep in a room alone. The day had already been so strange; who knew what would happen at night?

Some of the female players were terrified, and Su Yueling was no exception. She had been afraid of ghosts since she was a child, and even joining the official organization hadn't changed that much. She glanced at the others and saw they were all looking grave, then noticed Bai Wan was yawning... *Good grief, are you seriously trying to sleep?*

The group chose their rooms. Lin Yuan’s house was a large self-built structure with enough rooms for everyone. The doors, however, were of an odd design—they looked like modern metal doors from the outside, but they had large gaps at the bottom through which one could see outside. It seemed the artist’s taste was quite different from the norm. This made everyone feel very insecure. What if a ghost crawled through the gap at night?

Even though they were reluctant, to avoid losing Ghost Coins, everyone braced themselves and entered their rooms. Bai Wan, however, felt quite secure. Before entering the dungeon, he had purchased his "Door Disappearance" bug skill and still had 530 Ghost Coins left, mostly given to him by the Lancheng squad members. It was enough to use the "Blood-Stained Skeleton Bandages," and even if he fused them with the "Blood Statue" on his arm, he could use it for a few seconds—that was an Abyss-quality item. He also had the cute sunflower on his shoulder, which was currently absorbing sunlight; it should be enough to summon a plant.

In addition to his main methods, Bai Wan had many miscellaneous items, including the two "Ghost Blood Seals" Su Yueling had given him. He was no longer the novice player he had been when he first entered a dungeon. He checked his bug skill, "Door Disappearance," again. Because of its high level, it wouldn't be usable until the later stages of the game. A small lock icon appeared on the skill, showing a countdown of four days.

*I’ll just try to survive the first four days. Once the skill unlocks, I’ll trap the ghost in a wall!* With that plan in mind, Bai Wan entered his room, locked the door, and sat on the bed. The bed was a bit hard, and the room wasn't very clean—a far cry from the guest rooms on the Ghost Ship. He searched the room and found a small hammer, probably for repairs, and tucked it into his pocket just in case. Everything prepared, he lay down and closed his eyes to rest; in a dungeon like this, no one dared to truly sleep.

...

Wang Jian leaned against the wall. Although he was exhausted, he didn't dare sleep. This was an "unsolvable" level dungeon; a single moment of carelessness could mean death. He was worried about his girlfriend; Luo Ya must be scared alone in her room. Three years ago, he had seen her working at a supermarket checkout and fallen in love at first sight. It had taken a full year to win her over. He truly loved the beautiful Luo Ya, even if she always complained about him.

Time passed quickly while he was lost in thought, and the sky seemed to grow even darker. Unlike the city, there was no activity in the village at night, and no one opened their doors, leaving the outside world in a deathly, pitch-black silence. Wang Jian’s mind drifted back to the terrifying warehouse from earlier. Luo Ya had almost entered it. It was too dangerous. What exactly was inside? Why would a painter like Lin Yuan have such a terrifying thing in his warehouse? He couldn't understand. The difficulty of this "The Letter" dungeon was truly high.

*Creak...* Suddenly, he heard a sound outside—not from the hallway, but from the courtyard. Because the glass in his room faced the courtyard, he heard it clearly; it sounded like a door being opened.

*Hoo...* Wang Jian’s body stiffened. *Wait,* the courtyard gate was bolted from the inside and couldn't be opened. The only door that could be opened was the warehouse. That warehouse door was open... Had something come out?

A sudden surge of fear washed over him. In the now-deserted courtyard, an extremely terrifying ghost might be wandering around.

*Tap.* Suddenly, footsteps echoed through the main hall. Wang Jian held his breath. Then, a knocking sound rang out. *Knock, knock, knock...* His bedroom door was being tapped.

"Brother Jian, I’m scared. I can’t sleep." Luo Ya’s voice, trembling with tears, came from the other side. She sounded helpless.

Wang Jian instinctively rushed to the door, ready to open it for his girlfriend. Of course, she was scared being in a room by herself. But as he reached for the handle, he hesitated. He was so used to helping Luo Ya without thinking that he had forgotten he was in a supernatural dungeon.

Wang Jian regained his composure and peered through the peephole. He saw a girl weeping, tears streaming down her face—it was Luo Ya. Seeing this, he let out a sigh of relief, unlocked the door, and reached for the handle. As he did, his gaze inadvertently drifted downward.

At that sight, his hand froze. Through the gap at the bottom of the door, he could see Luo Ya’s feet. She was wearing the same slippers, but the person outside had a mole on their ankle.

His girlfriend did not have a mole on her ankle.

He had helped drag Lin Yuan’s corpse to the corner earlier. If he remembered correctly, the corpse of Lin Yuan... had a mole on its ankle!!!

*Buzz!* At that thought, Wang Jian’s heart skipped a beat. He hurriedly tried to pull the door shut, but the handle was yanked from the other side.

*Creak.* The door swung halfway open, revealing a gap where a pale, gaunt face was staring at him with a sickening, artificial smile.