Chapter 25: Ten Ways To Summon Ghosts (4)

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html

"I understand." Shu Yushuang looked at Qin Su’s gradually fading figure and finally added, "Thank you."

Qin Su sat on her bed inside the detention room. The corners of her lips could not help but curl into a smile, but that smile disappeared at once.

"You must survive!"

At the same time Qin Su left, Shu Yushuang also received the detailed information for the second ghost-summoning task.

"Ten Ways to Summon Ghosts, Part 2: Ghost At The Door.”

The task requires all executors to work together. The remaining executors will enter Room 201 at midnight (Note: Only nine executors are left, and if one more person joins, they are not an executor) and draw lots to determine the order. After the order is decided, Executor No. 1 will open the door and go out, close the door, and count to ten facing the door. Then, they will knock three times. No. 2 will open the door, let No. 1 in, and then No. 2 will go out. This process will repeat until something appears behind someone outside the door. If nothing appears by the time No. 9 goes out, No. 1 will open the door for them, and the process will continue as described.

At this moment, the time was 11:30.

Only nine Executors remained. It seemed that Deng Yue had really been killed by the prop she had taken out herself.

With half an hour remaining, Shu Yushuang did not plan to arrive at Room 201 early. The task details only required the Executors to enter Room 201 at midnight, without specifying that they should go early to draw lots.

This task detail made her feel uneasy. If one more person joins… Could the evil ghost appear right from the beginning this time?

With ten minutes remaining, Shu Yushuang pressed down on her stomach, which was aching from the nervousness, and got up to leave the room.

The other Executors had already gathered in the hallway. Shu Yushuang counted the number of people and found that there were exactly nine, including herself.

Liang Qi stood alone in front of Room 201, her face haggard. When she saw Shu Yushuang coming out, a flash of resentment appeared in her eyes, but she immediately lowered her head.

Shu Yushuang noticed the resentment in her eyes but acted as though nothing had happened, leaning against the wall and standing still.

Some of the other Executors were silent, like them, while more were gathered together, discussing this task.

A few sentences from their discussion drifted into Shu Yushuang's ears.

"This time, everyone has to participate, so the evil ghost shouldn't be that dangerous."

"I think so too. It says here that the task ends once something appears behind a person. So, when that happens, if we just lock him outside, won't we escape unscathed?"

"But isn't that harming someone?"

"When your own life is at risk, who cares about harming others? Sacrificing one to save everyone else, that's a good deal."

"But what if that person is you? Would you be willing?"

"I... how could it be me? If it really is me, you better pull me inside."

"But you just said, sacrificing one person to save everyone else is a good deal."

"That doesn't mean it should be me!"

Shu Yushuang sneered repeatedly. This is human nature: when it comes to sacrificing others, they speak nobly, with righteous indignation, but once it’s about sacrificing themselves, they become selfish and unwilling to budge. No wonder Qin Su emphasized that she should be cautious of the Executors.

The time hit midnight, and the door to Room 201 opened on its own.

The others exchanged glances, none of them daring to be the first to step into the eerily opening door.

Shu Yushuang frowned, pushed past the person blocking her way, and strode into Room 201.

Compared to the last time she carried out a task, there were a few small changes inside Room 201.

The mirror on the table was gone, replaced by a drawlot barrel. Shu Yushuang casually drew a lot, and it was No. 4. Not very lucky, but she didn’t mind.

When the others saw that nothing happened after Shu Yushuang entered, they felt at ease and hurried in.

Once everyone was inside, Shu Yushuang counted the number of people again, and it was still nine. Strange, when would the extra person show up?

After everyone had drawn their lots, the door made a "bang" sound and closed.

Almost everyone was startled by the sudden sound. The person who drew the No. 1 lot looked at the tightly shut door and nervously swallowed.

He was a short, thin young man who looked like a college student.

Shivering, he walked to the door and placed his hand on the doorknob.

Before going out, he anxiously scanned the room, looking at all the others.

"If... if something else appears behind me, you must not lock me outside!"

Shu Yushuang could tell this man was one of the people who had been discussing outside earlier—specifically, the one who did not want to harm others.

The rest of the people ignored him. Only Shu Yushuang gave him a slight nod.

The man glanced at Shu Yushuang with gratitude, then reached out with trembling hands and opened the door.

He stepped out and closed the door. After a brief silence outside, knocking suddenly sounded.

One, two, three!

The person who drew number two was a girl wearing glasses. Her face was also a little pale, but she was much calmer than the others.

After the three knocks ended, the girl immediately opened the door.

Outside, there was nothing behind the man. This made everyone inside breathe a sigh of relief—except for that girl.

The girl walked out with a serious expression and repeated the previous man's actions.

The one who opened the door for her was a man with small eyes. He was No. 3.

The small-eyed man opened the door and saw nothing behind the girl. His expression was full of disappointment.

After the girl entered the room, the small-eyed man also walked out.

Shu Yushuang took a deep breath and walked to the door.

Liang Qi looked at her back and smiled sinisterly.

One, two, three. It was still three knocks. Shu Yushuang quickly opened the door.

Outside, the small-eyed man's face was pale. There was nothing behind him.

Shu Yushuang stepped aside to let him in, then walked out of the room herself.

After closing the door, she silently counted in her heart: One, two, three...

Just as she counted to eight, she suddenly felt a chill rise up her back. She forced herself to finish the last two numbers, then gently knocked on the door three times.

The door opened. Standing behind it was Liang Qi.

Source: https://www.gongzicp.com/novel-1388844.html
This translation was originally posted on https://love4baihe.blogspot.com

Liang Qi looked behind Shu Yushuang. She was stunned for a moment, then a strange smile appeared on her face.

“It’s just your bad luck. Don’t blame me.”

Before Shu Yushuang could react, Liang Qi quickly shut the door.

Right after, Shu Yushuang felt the cold behind her growing stronger. She immediately understood—something had definitely appeared behind her.

Shu Yushuang no longer doubted it. She definitely had the kind of body that attracted ghosts.

She had no time to resent Liang Qi. The evil ghost behind her was almost pressed against her back.

Shu Yushuang pulled out the stone knife from her pocket and, without turning her head, slashed backward with all her strength.

She felt the knife strike something solid, and the chill behind her back eased a little. Shu Yushuang used the chance to run downstairs quickly.

Inside Room 201, the other executors began to accuse Liang Qi.

“There was an evil ghost outside! How could you shut that girl out?”

“Yeah! You two were in the same group before. Don’t you have a conscience?”

“You did that on purpose!”

Liang Qi’s cold eyes swept over their ugly faces.

“You’re all talking big now. If it were you, I bet you’d have slammed the door even faster than I did. That’s right, I did harm her. But aren’t we safe now?”

The room went silent. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Just then, the glasses girl who’d drawn lot number two suddenly spoke. “Alright, what’s done is done, so let’s stop arguing. Right now, we’re all on the same side. Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Hu Yue.”

The others were reluctant, but they still gave their names.

The short, thin guy with lot number one was called Ke Yan. The small-eyed guy with lot No. 3 was Li Hefei. The four lucky ones who didn’t even go through the ghost-summoning process were two men and two women. The slightly taller girl was Qi Sisi, and the shorter one was Zhu Yao. The sturdier man was He Fei, and the jittery one was Yang Zeng.

*Li Hefei (李鹤飞) and He Fei (何飞) are two different people.

He Fei was the same person who suggested sacrificing one to save the rest.

Everyone else introduced themselves, except for Liang Qi. She stood off to the side with her arms crossed, coldly watching them without saying a word. At that moment, everyone’s eyes fell on her, but she still didn’t look like she planned to speak. The atmosphere turned awkward.

Hu Yue stepped up again to smooth things over. “Alright, alright. We should all help each other now. No more fighting. Miss, what’s your name?”

Liang Qi stared at Hu Yue for a long time, then finally spat out two reluctant words. “Deng Yue.”

Hu Yue was very satisfied. She did not really care what Liang Qi's name was. What she cared about was the other executors’ “obedience” to her.

Some people are just like that—once they’re in a small group, they always want to be the leader.

Then Hu Yue said, “Right now, we’re safe. But once the ghost kills the person outside, it’ll definitely come back for us. During the first three days, that ghost couldn’t pass through walls, but that doesn’t mean this one can’t. Does anyone have any ideas?”

Liang Qi’s lips moved. She wanted to say something, but after thinking of what had happened before, she just gave a cold laugh and shut her mouth.

That was when Zhu Yao spoke up in a shaky voice, “We… we shouldn’t have left them outside…”

Her voice trembled. It was clear she was a very introverted person. She must’ve gathered all her courage to say that.

The others started jeering again. “That’s already over, so why bring it up? Things are already like this—what can we do now? If you’re so kind, then go bring her back yourself!”

“N-no…” Zhu Yao’s face turned bright red. “I… I just remembered something. This ghost game… I’ve seen it online before. If someone has a ghost behind them, we’re not supposed to close the door. We’re supposed to blow at the ghost together. That’s the only way to drive it away.”

The moment she said that, the room instantly fell into a hopeless, dead silence.

Everyone had the same thought at the same time—they had just cut off their own way to survive.

He Fei shouted angrily, “Why didn’t you say something earlier if it was that important?!”

He yelled as he walked toward Zhu Yao. She got so scared that she kept backing away, her eyes filling with tears.

As she backed away, she said, “I… I only just remembered. This game needs too many people. I’ve never played it before, so I didn’t think of it right away. Next time… in the next game, I’ll definitely remember how to break the game.”

“Next time? Can we even survive until next time?!”

By the time he said that, He Fei was already in front of her. He raised his fist. Zhu Yao got so scared she shut her eyes.

Hu Yue shook her head and sighed, but still stepped in front of He Fei.

“That’s enough. Things are already this bad. Yelling at her won’t help. Instead of wasting time, how about helping us figure out another way to survive?”

Hearing that, He Fei glared at Zhu Yao again, then finally lowered his fist.

He turned and walked toward Liang Qi, to punch her.

In his mind, this woman was the real cause of everything. He badly needed someone to take out his anger on.

Liang Qi let out a cold laugh and raised a small bottle. Inside was the same poisonous scorpion Deng Yue had used earlier to threaten Shu Yushuang.

“I suggest you stay away from me, or you’ll die a horrible death.”

“*!”

He Fei cursed angrily, but still dropped his fist.

While He Fei was going after Liang Qi, Zhu Yao’s legs gave out. She almost collapsed on the floor.