The King of Curses

Chapter 11 The Beginning

"What the hell is going on?"

A man in a suit and carrying a briefcase was pacing in circles, looking very anxious, and kept looking at his watch.

"What time is it? It's still dark? I'm afraid it's a solar eclipse."

"It won't take that long. We still have to go to work."

"Why are you still going to work now?" the young woman who ran downstairs in her pajamas complained, "Didn't you notice that all your neighbors are missing? What's going on?"

"Yes, they are gone. I thought they were all out...you too? Also, I can't get through to them on the phone. It's so weird."

Several people looked at each other, all confused.

They obviously all noticed that the current situation was unusual, but they didn't understand what exactly was happening.

Until an old man spoke tremblingly:
"You, didn't you notice those white shadows..."

"what?"

"We, too, saw it. A group of white shadows floated past my door..." said the husband of a couple. He looked pale and still frightened. His pregnant wife was so weak that she could only sit. "My wife and I hid in the house and waited for them to pass by for a long time before we dared to come out..."

"I saw it too! It was very clear. It wasn't a will-o'-the-wisp. It was something that looked like a human but not a human..." said another person. He grabbed his hair and still looked incredulous. "Is that a ghost?"

……

Cen Dongsheng and An Zhizhen stood at the entrance of the corridor not far from the patio, observing the reactions of the group of people.

After a long while, Sister Zhizhen finally spoke:
"I thought we were the only ones involved..."

"No, at least Miss Zhou was also a victim at the beginning. She was probably possessed by a ghost not long after the Xiaokang Building started to become a haunted house."

"Yeah……"

An Zhizhen let out a heavy breath, turned her head, and spoke softly:
"Dongsheng, can I help them?"

"Yeah, of course."

It was an expected question, and Cen Dongsheng answered it very clearly.

"...Won't that be troublesome for you?"

"Anyway, even if I want to leave the haunted house, it won't be done in a short time. I just wanted to come down to see what's going on." He shrugged, "If Sister Zhizhen can help me settle these people, it will save me some trouble."

The reason why the Exorcism Team wanted to rescue the survivors in the haunted house was not only out of humanitarian considerations, but also to avoid trouble for the people on the scene.

People who die in sorrow and extreme pain, in places like haunted houses where negative energy gathers, are likely to become new ghosts; not to mention that high-level ghosts have the ability to transform human souls into their own kind; these new ghosts may also become obstacles.

Of course, compared with the life safety of the front-line members and the goal of obtaining the core to exorcise the haunted house, the priority is relatively low. We can only say that we will rescue them within our ability, and if we cannot rescue them, we can only leave it to fate.

"Really? I can help you?"

Sister Zhizhen's eyes lit up, she clasped her hands together and looked very happy.

"I thought I could only be protected by you, and I felt a little depressed. It seems that I can still be useful. Dongsheng, you find a way to deal with the haunted house, and I will gather the remaining people and make sure they don't run around and hinder you... How do you think?"

Cen Dongsheng nodded, "So what are you going to do?"

An Zhizhen thought for a moment and asked again:

"How long do you think it will take to get out of here? Don't be too precise, just estimate!"

"To find the whereabouts of the core ghost in Xiaokang Building, we can only use the dumbest method without any clues, and check every floor and room..."

Cen Dongsheng did not hide anything and estimated the time based on his experience.

"About five days and nights to a week."

If there is a "ghost fairy" - a curse master who is good at reconnaissance and perception, the efficiency of the search can be greatly improved. This is the meaning of the team and the partners.

Unfortunately, he is on his own now.

"I understand."

An Zhizhen nodded slightly, looking quite confident.

Then, she walked towards the crowd alone, clapped her hands, and spoke in a louder voice:

"Everyone! Look over here."

……

"Doctor An, you're here!"

"Doctor An! I see you're here too. That's great..."

Most of the residents of the Xiaokang Building gathered here knew her, because she was really popular. Now several people who had received her help came up to her and asked questions.

"Doctor An, do you know what this situation is?"

"The weather is unusual, and there are strange things in the building. It seems like it's haunted..."

"what should we do……"

The man in the suit looked at the door shrouded in darkness and gritted his teeth.

"I can't stay here all the time. I want to go out and see what's going on."

"No."

An Zhizhen's attitude was unusually calm. The moment she opened her mouth, it seemed as if she had some kind of calming power that made people around her willing to listen.

"We can't get out for now, and no one will come to rescue us."

"Can't get out? What's going on?"

"Did anyone try to push the door?"

Including the man in the suit, several people who didn't believe in the evil walked towards the door.

But no matter how hard they tried, the tightly closed iron gate of the community did not move at all, and through the gap between the iron gates, they saw -

It was as dark as the bottomless abyss.

Cen Dongsheng had warned her that for those inside the haunted house, its boundary was insurmountable. It was equivalent to the intersection of two phase spaces, like a deep vortex.

Once ordinary people set foot in it, unpredictable dangers may occur...

But what exactly is it?

While thinking about this question, An Zhizhen walked closer to the crowd. She picked up a pebble from the lawn next to her and threw it out of the iron gate.

"..."

Without any reaction or sound, the pebble fell into the darkness and just disappeared.

"See? We have been locked up in this place, and no one from the outside world can come to save me... at least not ordinary people."

Some people swallowed quietly and could only hear An Zhizhen's voice quietly ringing in their ears.

"Then what should we do..." Before An Zhizhen could continue speaking, a gust of wind suddenly blew in the darkness.

A mournful, crying-like voice and a white shadow floated out from the third floor nearby. Groups of floating spirits formed a translucent bridge in the air.

"Then, what is that?"

Only a few people had seen ghosts before, and they even doubted their own eyes, but now, everyone present looked up and saw this strange scene.

There were children and pregnant women in the crowd. Screams rose one after another, and the panic that was already spreading among the crowd was suddenly ignited. Some wanted to escape, and some wanted to find a place to hide.

"Everyone, calm down first!"

An Zhizhen took the lead and walked towards the white shadow falling not far away. Under the horrified gazes of the people, she walked directly through the ghost.

"Don't be afraid. See? As long as you don't get close, these ghosts won't hurt you."

She turned around and explained to everyone without changing her expression.

...You get used to it really quickly, thought Cen Dongsheng, who was standing not far away with his hands folded.

"No danger...?"

"Yes, these white shadows are indeed harmless. However, there is something more dangerous hidden in this building."

She raised her voice again.

"It's not okay to hide alone. It will be terrible if you are discovered! We should unite and act together to avoid being alone. Then, wait for professionals to come and deal with it."

"Deal with it...? Didn't you just say..."

"Yes, no one outside will come to rescue us. But we are very lucky! There is someone in Xiaokang Building who can solve this supernatural incident."

Sister Zhizhen waved her hand and pointed at Cen Dongsheng not far away.

Facing everyone's gaze, the young man nodded casually.

……

An Zhizhen's actions and words at the right time temporarily controlled the situation. Even though the floating spirits were floating not far away, no one left in the end. They all subconsciously gathered around her and listened to her.

"Yes, at most, it will take about a week to a week and a half."

"But, but... didn't you say that there is a ghost in this house..."

The person asking the question looked nervous.

"So, the first thing we need to do is calm down and solve the problems one by one."

Although she was also a victim involved in a haunted house incident for the first time, Sister Zhizhen acted like she was experienced and reliable in front of everyone; she raised a finger and explained the next plan in an orderly manner.

"The first thing to do is for those gathered here to move what they need from nearby rooms and set up a makeshift camp. During this week, we will all stay in this camp and act as a group."

"The second thing is to organize people to search, patrol, and stand guard. If there are still people left in the building, have them come here together. It's too dangerous to hide alone."

"The third thing is, luckily we have a canteen in our building, and daily necessities also need to be centralized and managed. But everyone doesn't have to worry about going hungry during this week, not everyone is involved in this place, and there are more than enough supplies."

Then she clenched her hands into fists, as if to cheer on everyone present.

"All that's left is to wait patiently. As long as we work together, we can get through this difficult time."

……

Cen Dongsheng watched quietly from the side.

He had already prepared himself. If anyone opposed Sister Zhizhen or jumped out to get in the way... he would "show off his skills" and shock people.

But Sister Zhizhen's art of calming people's hearts with words was obviously very useful. Coupled with the good impression she had left on people in the past, she calmed down this group of unfortunate residents in just a few words, and they have already regarded her as their backbone.

It should be said that even without the curse, she still possesses certain qualities, the qualities of a leader.

I heard that the fate ban derived from the fate can reflect a person's personality traits and the greatest desire in his heart -

"Tian Kui Quan Shou"...

Cen Dongsheng was thinking with his head down when he suddenly saw a white arm swaying under his eyes.

He raised his eyes and saw Sister Zhizhen staring at him.

"Is this okay?"

"Of course. You did great."

After being praised, Sister Zhizhen immediately smiled happily and looked very satisfied.

"Great, I can finally help you."

"Yes. Also, if something dangerous happens when I'm separated from you..."

It was a good choice for An Zhizhen to build the temporary camp in the patio area. According to the central structure of Xiaokang Building, if something happened, he would not even need to use the stairs, but just jump down, and he could arrive in ten seconds from any direction.

However, he still couldn't be careless. If there was more than one ghost hiding in the building and they attacked separately, he might be entangled and unable to escape.

"Use this to contact me."

Cen Dongsheng stuffed a walkie-talkie into her hand.

"This is……"

"An intercom. The signal network doesn't cover the inside of the haunted house, so we can't contact the outside world. This thing can be used in an emergency."

"Thank you."

Seeing An Zhizhen carefully put away the walkie-talkie, Cen Dongsheng hesitated for a moment, but finally spoke.

"And one last thing." He sighed, "Your life is the most important to me, so if you really encounter an emergency, please consider your own safety first."

He never thought that one day he would have to talk to that big man who was famous for his ruthlessness and rationalism...

However, when ordinary people encounter sudden danger, it is not easy to just think about protecting themselves. Will anyone think of rescuing others in a short period of time and develop a detailed plan?

Just as he had been confused before, the real An Zhizhen in history was not quite the same as he had expected, a little... too kind.

"The most important thing... Yeah! I understand."

Sister Zhizhen smiled even more happily, her bright eyes were like crescent moons.

She looked mature most of the time, but occasionally she would reveal her innocent side in front of him.

...so cute that it made him a little uneasy.

Cen Dongsheng shook his head and turned away.

"Okay, just keep it in mind. I'll start the investigation, starting from the first floor here. I'll let you know when there's any result."

"Hey, are we going to start now? No need to take a break?"

Cen Dongsheng waved to her behind him and walked towards the staircase entrance without stopping.

(End of this chapter)