Chapter 18 The Extra Player

"The female ghost...came out of the painting?" You Qi's voice changed. He looked at the door in terror, as if the female ghost might appear at any moment.

Currently, that seemed to be the only explanation.

And coupled with Zuo Qing's disappearance...

"Has anyone seen Zuo Qing?" Xia Meng seemed to realize something and suddenly asked, "Whose next person is Zuo Qing?"

Although everyone was wearing identical paper-doll heads and the same red opera costumes, some differences could still be discerned from their figures. Zuo Qing was taller than Xia Meng, and slimmer than Chen Qiang and Jiang Cheng.

"My next person should be You Qi," the fatty said first.

You Qi immediately said upon hearing this, "So you're the one who patted me." He then complained, "Why did you do it so hard? You scared me to death. I thought a ghost was coming!"

The fatty scratched his nose sheepishly and didn't reply.

You Qi recalled that his next person was a tall, thin figure, but when he patted the person's shoulder, he felt that they were quite sturdy, so it should be a man.

"What part of the shoulder did you pat?" Jiang Cheng asked, tilting his head.

"The right shoulder," You Qi said. "My left arm was numb at the time, and only my right arm could be raised, so..."

Jiang Cheng nodded. "It was me."

Only An Xuan and Jiang Cheng fit You Qi's description. Chen Qiang was tall, but rather thin; everyone had noticed that when they were changing clothes.

An Xuan also nodded and said, "The person who patted me patted my left shoulder."

"My next person should be you," Jiang Cheng said, looking at Xia Meng.

Xia Meng glared at him fiercely. After realizing that the person behind her had not only patted her shoulder but also taken the opportunity to grope her a few times, Xia Meng immediately realized that it must have been Jiang Cheng.

A normal person wouldn't do such a thing.

Xia Meng's next person was An Xuan. An Xuan admitted to this as well. The fatty knew there was something going on between them from the way they were exchanging glances.

An Xuan's next person was Chen Qiang.

According to Chen Qiang, the person behind him patted his left shoulder twice and then pressed down on it. An Xuan nodded, admitting, "That was me."

Fatty – You Qi – Jiang Cheng – Xia Meng – An Xuan – Chen Qiang.

After sorting out the order, the line was connected.

Now everyone's eyes were focused on Chen Qiang. According to the rules, his next person should be Zuo Qing.

Under everyone's almost interrogative gaze, Chen Qiang's expression became very strange. After thinking for a moment, he raised his head with a strange look in his eyes. "No," he said. "My next person...wasn't Miss Zuo."

"That person's body was very bloated, I thought..." He glanced at the fatty, and then his gaze paused on You Qi for a moment, the meaning self-evident.

He thought that person was the fatty, or You Qi.

"What were the characteristics of the person who patted you?" Jiang Cheng turned to look at the fatty.

"Left shoulder," the fatty recalled. "Once."

Chen Qiang took a deep breath. "I patted the right shoulder."

"So...so the one who connected with you wasn't Zuo Qing," You Qi swallowed. "It was...was a ghost?"

Recalling the bloated ghostly figure reflected on the paper door, Chen Qiang felt uneasy. In this mission, the only people who were bloated were not just the fatty and You Qi...but also ghosts.

So the ghost had also joined the game.

The extra branch...was prepared for the ghost in the painting.

There were a total of eight participants in this game.

Seven people, one ghost.

The previous drumbeat was to notify everyone to evacuate and return to their rooms. There was still one last drumbeat that hadn't sounded, which would signal the complete end of the mission.

Everyone else had left, so what was Zuo Qing...doing now?

The time limit hadn't been reached yet, so she should still be alive.

Slowly, a very terrifying idea surfaced in everyone's mind – Zuo Qing was now very likely circling the lake alone with the ghost on her back, searching for teammates who didn't exist and had already evacuated.

"We have to find her," An Xuan said firmly. "While there's still time."

"Now...go out and find someone now?" You Qi glanced at the door, and couldn't help but swallow.

It was obvious that this put a lot of psychological pressure on him.

Xia Meng echoed, "We don't have much time left. If we can find the living Zuo Qing, we might get important clues about the ghost."

"I agree," Jiang Cheng raised his hand and said, "Miss Zuo is so pretty and has such a good figure, I don't want her to die."

The fatty blinked in confusion, and after a moment, reluctantly said, "Then...count me in too."

"I'll go too," Chen Qiang said, getting up.

Seeing this, You Qi could only reluctantly agree. After all, whoever stayed behind would be all alone.

The group immediately set off and headed towards the lake.

A light rain had started to fall from the sky at some point, and the fog on the lake was getting thicker, enveloping the area within a dozen meters of the lake, making it look very eerie.

The six people gathered into a small circle and searched counterclockwise along the lake. Because visibility was so poor, they kept a very close distance from each other, ensuring that everyone was within sight of the others.

...

"Huff...huff..."

Zuo Qing's footsteps were getting slower and slower. In stark contrast, her eyes were becoming more and more desperate.

She had already sensed that something was wrong.

She had been walking for too long, but hadn't met anyone.

Where were they?

Where had everyone else gone?

She couldn't be sure about the others, but the captain would definitely not abandon her.

He wasn't that kind of person.

The "bride" behind her was getting heavier and heavier. She wasn't sure, maybe it was just her illusion. After carrying her for so long, her strength was about to be exhausted.

She realized that she was probably tricked.

But what she couldn't figure out was, what exactly did she do wrong, why...did the ghost target her?

There was a rustling sound coming from ahead, as if something was coming.

More than one.

Just as she was about to find a place to hide, a voice that was obviously suppressed, but could still be heard as very happy, came over, "Found her!"

It was Xia Meng's voice, Zuo Qing immediately reacted.

Then, six figures appeared in front of her. An Xuan was in the rear, but the joy in his eyes couldn't be concealed. After letting out a long breath, An Xuan felt a huge weight lifted from his heart after finding Zuo Qing.

"How are you?" Xia Meng asked as she walked up.

Zuo Qing stared at them, her eyes wary, her tongue pressed tightly against the tree branch, and didn't answer.

Appearing to know his team members well, An Xuan didn't say any unnecessary words. He glanced around and said, "This isn't a place to talk, let's avoid it first." He turned his head to look into the fog, and lowered his voice, "There's something behind us."

The group found a slope and hid behind it. The thing on Zuo Qing's back was very quiet, as if it were asleep.

After a moment, a strange sound came from the fog, with a faint light.

"Crack-"

"Crack-"