Puzzle Madness

Chapter 167 Autumn is the Hunting Season (Part 3)

The sour soup bak kut teh waved its hand, as if trying to shoo away the surrounding mosquitoes; the nail polish reflected the flashlight beam, but there weren't many flies on the ground.

"It's just about experiencing the atmosphere. Don't we all know that haunted houses in amusement parks are fake? We'll still go if we want to, and they haven't gone out of business."

"Glasses, you're a local; don't you know? The Culture and Tourism Bureau or something should be involved in 'Super Psychological Exploration.' They're putting on a show to help the industry grow."

Eyeglass Guy shrugged, his flashlight idly swaying as he followed the line of sight.

"Are you talking about equity investment and assistance? How would I know? I didn't found the magazine. But it seems like there are more tourists lately. Come to think of it, aren't you here as tourists too?"

"Since we're here to have fun, let's immerse ourselves in it; there's not much else to do in Mong Cai."

The man with the sour soup bak kut teh raised his hand, straightened his bangs in the dim light, and did not answer.

The four of them ventured deeper into the area, choosing forks in the road according to the painted map on the wall; so far, they hadn't encountered many forks, and Big Head Hong's rope axle still seemed quite spacious.

There are doorways on both sides of the air-raid shelter. Some of the rusted iron doors are wide open, but they are empty; others are completely blocked by cement, leaving only traces and outlines.

What's inside? It looks like some kind of painted fake door, existing solely to deceive visitors.

As we walked, it started to get a bit boring. It was supposed to be an adventure, but it was really just hiking, only the location was underground instead of outdoors; without the embellishment of imagination, everything was so dull.

Seemingly noticing this, the guy with the glasses pushed up his glasses and suddenly blurted out:
"Let me warn you first, air-raid shelters are quite dangerous; getting lost here can be fatal."

“When I was a child, my father ran into this air-raid shelter and I never saw him again.”

These words only made the atmosphere even more tense, and everyone slowed down – not because of the so-called [danger], but because of the sudden sincerity revealed by the guy in the eyeglasses.

Words are like a tangible weight, pulling everything down.

Both Sour Soup Bak Kut Teh and Wong Yau Tim felt a little uncomfortable, but Big Head Hong did not slow down the speed at which he released the rope.

As he adjusted the rope, he broke the silence first:
"I told you guys, right? Damn it, I'm already starting to regret it; thank goodness I brought this rope, damn it."

"Is it missing? Or has a body been found? Speaking of which, I had a dog when I was a kid, and it also disappeared into the outhouse at my old home—"

Huang Youtian impatiently waved his hand, shooing him aside:
"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting? Did your head get choked by that hat?"

“Your rope isn’t long enough! You ran out of rope halfway through!” He turned around and patted his companion’s thin shoulder hard. “Eyeglasses, I’m sorry, but this brought up this, uh, sad memory.”

The guy with the glasses pushed up his glasses and shrugged. Even if he still cared about it, it wasn't revealed in his calm words:
"No way, that was more than ten years ago. Now that I think about it, he probably just moved to a different place and left Jiaozhi; I probably have several younger brothers and sisters by now."

The man with the sour soup bak kut teh stared at the man in the glasses for a while before looking away:

"You're pretty carefree. If it were me, I wouldn't go back into this air-raid shelter. Besides, you're being a bit too forward with us, you know?"

Before the boy with the eyeglasses could respond, Huang Youtian's eyebrows shot up high:

"Damn, you woman are really mean! Why don't you just say '-'?"

Shh! Shh!
The three turned their heads and saw Big Head Hong with his index finger to his lips, exhaling fiercely; like a lizard.

"Don't speak! What's that sound? A strange noise!" Everyone fell silent in unison, covering their mouths with their hands. Although the flashlights were still pointed at the bend ahead, they didn't offer much concealment.

But since they were all enthusiasts of "Psychological Exploration," they were interested in bizarre things in life and didn't subconsciously feel that it was dangerous.

In this tranquility, the only sound is the faint, indistinct dripping of water; water droplets are falling.

Soon, they heard the strange noise that Big Head Hong had described:

The dripping of water droplets mingled with muffled sounds, very rhythmic.
Tap tap tap tap tap.
The muffled thuds quickly turned into sharp, ringing sounds. It was the impact of shoe soles against the concrete floor, one after another.

No matter what it is, the distance shrinks to almost touching in the blink of an eye:

Da da da da da!
The continuous sound of running echoed through the tunnel, the reverberation making one's head ache and feeling like bullets pounding into one's ear canals.

Someone was running towards them, splashing water everywhere.

Three flashlights were simultaneously raised and pointed in the direction of the hurried footsteps.
She was a girl in a school uniform, half of her face illuminated by the light, the other half blurred by her movement. Her hair was carefully tied into a ponytail at the back of her head, and even while running, it didn't come undone, only swaying and swinging.

Once her figure was illuminated by the light, everyone realized that her posture was quite agile.

His hands moved up and down forcefully as if trying to cut something; his feet moved rapidly, taking long strides – it was an exaggerated running style.

She burst out of the darkness with wide eyes, her breathing rhythmic; she carried no lighting equipment, as if she were simply practicing long-distance running and exercising in this damp air-raid shelter.

"Holy shit!"

Bang! Startled, Big Head Hong fell backward to the ground, making a hoarse sound in his throat.

Why would a female middle school student be running in an air-raid shelter?
Before they could even catch their breath, the female high school student had already rushed in front of them; after turning the corner, she was even faster.

She remained expressionless and showed no sign of slowing down. Suddenly, she opened her mouth wide and let out a roar:
"run!"

Whoosh--
She swept past the group, carrying with her the cool breeze of the air-raid shelter and the echo of her own shout; she plunged straight into the darkness.

Tap tap tap tap tap. The sound of running grew quieter until it was barely audible, and everything returned to silence.

The four of them stood frozen in place, looking at each other; occasionally turning around, they couldn't find a trace of the girl behind them.
"Oh my god, I wasn't the only one who saw it, was I? That wasn't a hallucination, was it? That face..."

Big Head Hong propped himself up with his hands and sat down in the puddle; half of his buttocks were soaked.

"It's a ghost, it's definitely a ghost! I saw it too!"

Huang Youtian's voice was firm and resolute, his eyelids twitching nervously. He shifted his feet uneasily, wavering between running away and staying put.
"Did you guys notice? That girl has burns on half her face—damn, was there a fire here that burned someone to death?!"

"This must be some kind of earthbound spirit, trapped here forever, unable to escape the fire!"

"We need to stay close together so our yang energy is stronger! Hey, Big Head Hong! Aren't you still a virgin? Do you need to pee? Hurry up and pee some!"

(End of this chapter)