Forced into a romantic relationship.

One of the girls whispered, "Yueyue, did you see that just now? That boy is so handsome, and he's so brave. He doesn't seem scared at all."

The girl called Yueyue looked on with envy: "That girl is amazing too. She was wearing a school uniform, and she looked like a high school student. I wish I could have that kind of courage someday..."

The girl comforted her, "It's okay, it's okay. You can build up your courage. Isn't that why we came to the haunted house?"

"I hope so..."

Yueyue looked a little melancholy, and hugged her best friend tighter as she spoke, saying with a worried expression, "I feel like I'm getting more and more timid."

"She's telling the truth."

Just then, a voice suddenly chimed in, "Of course haunted houses can test your courage. If you don't believe me, you can turn around and look at me."

Yueyue was taken aback, feeling that the voice was a bit strange, as if someone was speaking in a low voice.

And there should be a wall next to her, so why is there a sound?

She turned her head and saw a pale face suddenly emerge from a photo frame on the wall beside her, its eyes filled with blood.

"what!"

The two girls screamed in unison and scrambled forward, quickly huddling next to Han Zhou for protection. It was rather strange, though, that the two girls didn't forget to cling to each other even while running away, leaving Han Zhou completely bewildered.

The people behind them were also startled by the sudden scene. Coupled with the terrifying screams coming from the passage behind them, they dared not dawdle any longer and hurriedly ran forward. If they stepped on any severed limbs, they would run even faster.

As the NPCs appeared one after another, the scene immediately became chaotic.

"You're all dead if you get caught!"

Hearing the venomous roar behind him, Han Zhou recalled that the background story of this haunted house seemed to be related to hide-and-seek. He thought to himself that the NPCs' acting skills were really good. This voice was probably a warning that they were making too slow progress.

So he said to the girl next to him, "The people in the haunted house seem to think we're moving too slowly. You just said some bad things about the haunted house, so they might chase after you. Let's hurry up and stay close to me."

As he spoke, he quickened his pace.

Because the corridor was too dark, one had to feel one's way along the wall to run. The people behind were clearly terrified, and their escape could only be described as tumbling and crawling. They squeezed Han Zhou so much that he couldn't move. He couldn't push them away, so he was practically being led along by them the whole way.

Among them were several creatures that were clearly not players, dressed in rather frightening attire, who, during the chase, even knocked off his baseball cap.

He quickly bent down to pick up the hat, then ran with the group, reminding them as he ran, "Watch your step, don't trip."

The crowd ran in a chaotic frenzy, and no one responded. However, someone was heard shouting angrily, "Who the hell touched my ass?"

Just then, a killer wielding a chainsaw suddenly sprang out from the darkness ahead. The loud noise of the chainsaw terrified everyone, causing them to scream and some even to run back, fearing that the thing was real.

Han Zhou was also startled, his scalp tingling and cold sweat pouring down his face. However, it wasn't because of the NPC's enthusiastic performance, but because he suddenly realized a very serious problem—

Mo Yixia is lost.

Chapter 110 You're Not Afraid, But I Am

Han Zhou panicked.

He really didn't expect that he would lose Mo Yixia without even realizing it; she was clearly with him not long ago.

Getting lost in a haunted house isn't necessarily dangerous, but fear is inevitable. You have to understand that in such an environment, the courage of one person is completely different from that of a group of people. Even though Mo Yixia had shown considerable courage before, she might not be able to remain so calm after being alone.

The thought of that guy wandering around alone in this eerie and terrifying haunted house made Han Zhou's heart clench.

Moreover, given that guy's personality, even if he's scared, he'd never obediently let the staff take him out of the haunted house. He's probably huddled in some corner right now, trembling with fear.

The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. The most important thing right now was obviously to find Mo Yixia as soon as possible. This haunted house had many forks in the road, and if he didn't turn back and find her immediately, it would be difficult to deal with her if she ran off somewhere else in a panic.

Han Zhou dared to stop and lean against the wall to think, but the others didn't have his courage. They were so frightened by the sudden appearance of the chainsaw killer that they screamed and scrambled to the front, disappearing from sight in no time.

Soon only two people remained in the same spot.

Besides Han Zhou, there was also the chainsaw-wielding killer wearing a terrifying hood standing in front of him.

It has to be said that this NPC is quite dedicated, trying his best to look scary. The chainsaw is whirring as he tries to drive the lingering player forward, but the player stands still and doesn't seem to be afraid at all, as if he doesn't take him seriously at all.

This deeply hurt the NPC who played the murderer.

Han Zhou wasn't being disrespectful on purpose; he was simply trying to recall exactly when he had stopped seeing Mo Yixia.

The haunted house was unusually dark, and everyone had to hold onto the walls to move. He recalled that, at least before the haunted house NPCs appeared, Mo Yixia had been staying close to him.

The other party getting lost obviously happened after the NPC appeared.

As everyone was frightened and ran around, the scene became chaotic. Not only him, but Mo Yixia also seemed to have been pushed away from her original position by the running crowd and gradually drifted away from him.

As for when that guy disappeared, Han Zhou had no idea. He hadn't paid much attention at the time, so even now, he couldn't remember.

He felt somewhat guilty. He was clearly responsible for Mo Yixia getting lost. Ultimately, it was because he trusted that guy too much, assuming that the other person would always stay close to him. As a result, he didn't pay much attention to the other person's movements, which eventually led to the two of them being separated.

Of the two girls he is most familiar with now, Guzheng has amazing physical abilities. She is not afraid of anything except ghosts. Not to mention protecting her, he can even make her protect him.

Mo Yixia, on the other hand, remained remarkably calm at all times, even in the haunted house, seemingly unafraid of anything.

Well, these two guys are both too reliable, which sometimes makes him subconsciously overlook the fact that the other is actually a relatively weak girl.

If he had been more careful, Mo Yixia wouldn't have been lost.

But that guy wasn't one to shout or yell. Even though he was pushed far away, he didn't utter a sound. I don't know if he was too reserved to speak or too calm and indifferent.

Han Zhou pondered for a moment. Mo Yixia was clearly not the type to be reserved. If she really wanted him to turn back, she would probably call him "husband." So there must be another reason...

He suddenly remembered something. In his memory, when everyone was running away, Mo Yixia seemed to have reached out her hand to him, but she withdrew it before he could react, and then her pace slowed down.

Han Zhou snapped out of his thoughts. Now was not the time to waste. Mo Yixia had gotten lost not far behind him. If he moved quickly, he could find her soon. He remembered the route he had taken back, so he immediately started running back along the wall.

Seeing this, the chainsaw killer who had been putting on a show for half a day without success couldn't hold back anymore. He thought to himself, "This tourist is ignoring me, but does he not know how to tell directions?"

So he lowered his voice and kindly reminded him, "It's best not to get separated from your companions in the village. You should go in that direction, hehehe..."

He pointed to the other side of the corridor, the direction everyone was fleeing in. Although it was a well-intentioned reminder, he still couldn't help but let out a sinister laugh, maintaining his persona as a capricious and ruthless killer.

"Thanks for the reminder, but I'm going back to find my lost companions now."

Han Zhou spoke very quickly. He was worried that if he dawdled any longer, Mo Yixia might go astray. So, as he spoke, he grabbed the wall and ran away.

……

Meanwhile, Mo Yixia, alone, was walking slowly down the dark corridor.

She tripped over something while running, tried to grab the wall but accidentally pushed open a door and stumbled inside. She was startled by the NPC hiding in the room, and when she came out, she found that Han Zhou was gone.

Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh.

That idiot was so focused on running that he didn't seem to notice that he had left her behind. But even if he's slow on the uptake, he should have realized it by now and is probably on his way.

Mo Yixia was certain that once he realized he was missing, he would definitely come back.

She began to reflect on herself, realizing that she hadn't shown enough of the fragility a girl should have in her daily life. Even after entering the haunted house, she hadn't shown any fear, which made Han Zhou quite trusting of her and thus neglect to pay attention to her.

This doesn't seem right... Should I become a little more delicate?

Mo Yixia ended up alone partly by accident and partly by deliberate choice.

She had originally planned to grab Han Zhou's hand and run away together, but then she thought that such things should be done by the other party, since she was a reserved and innocent high school girl, so she withdrew her hand.

However, it's hard to say whether that idiot was too serious or too slow-witted, because he didn't react for a long time. Since that guy wasn't taking the initiative, she would have to create an opportunity herself.

Mo Yixia looked ahead. She remembered that everyone had run along this road. If she kept walking, she should be able to see Han Zhou soon. She would definitely make him apologize properly.

There's nothing I can do if they don't admit their mistake.

After all, I couldn't bear to hit or scold him.

The haunted house wasn't as interesting as she had imagined. It had very little effect on increasing her heart rate, let alone verifying the suspension bridge effect. Perhaps Han Zhou was right; even doing some strenuous exercise would have made her feel her heart rate increase more.

And it's free.

Han Zhou probably never imagined that Mo Yixia was much braver than he thought, and that she wasn't afraid even when walking alone in the haunted house.

This is a courage that even the guzheng player can only envy.

Mo Yixia never considered herself a very brave person. The reason she wasn't afraid was simply because she was more rational than most people and could more clearly distinguish between reality and falsehood.

She couldn't be sure if ghosts existed, but knowing that everything in the haunted house was fake, fear was clearly an unnecessary emotion.

It sounds impressive, but in Mo Yixia's opinion, sometimes it's not a good thing to be too clear about the difference between truth and falsehood.

Looking at the dark corridor ahead, her eyes flickered slightly. Fear could be avoided, but walking alone in such a dark environment, loneliness seemed to be an inevitable emotion.

She instinctively crossed her arms to her chest, but found them empty. She then realized that the black cat doll had been taken away by the haunted house staff for temporary care.

Without that guy around, the haunted house seems less interesting.

Mo Yixia continued forward, when she suddenly heard a strange noise ahead. Then she saw two figures with strange walking postures appearing at the intersection ahead, wandering back and forth in the darkness.

There were no other roads around, which meant that to continue forward, they had to pass by these two long-haired, face-covering men.

Mo Yixia could basically guess how these two guys would scare her next. Most likely, they would suddenly pull back their long hair to reveal a terrifying face as she passed by, and then chase after her while screaming.

She calculated the time and felt that the current situation should basically meet her expectations, so she decided to wait for Han Zhou here and kill some time.

Thinking of this, she immediately pretended to be trembling, looked at the two figures in the distance, and said in a trembling voice, "Um... can you please stop scaring me? I've gotten separated from my boyfriend."

Her voice was soft and she tried to look pitiful, but unfortunately, this was a haunted house, and the two NPCs weren't buying it.

A girl all alone? That's quite rare.

As staff members of a haunted house, scaring people is both their job and their fun, so they certainly won't go easy on players just because of a few words from them.

Instead of moving aside, the two people lingering ahead immediately stopped, mechanically twisting their necks, their eyes beneath long hair fixed on the girl wearing a mask not far away.

As the two blocked the road, the girl trembled even more violently, her voice trembling with tears: "Please, I'm a coward, please just let me through, okay? I want to meet up with my boyfriend first..."

The two NPCs did not respond, but stared at her without moving, already imagining what kind of terrified expression she would show next.

Seeing that her pleas for mercy were in vain, the girl was anxious and scared. She stood there hesitating for a long time before finally making a difficult decision to muster her courage and slowly move forward.

She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and carefully moved forward, feeling her way along the wall, seemingly intending to pass through with her eyes closed to minimize her fright.

"What a naive girl, does she think this will work?"

The two NPCs were thinking in sync, both determined to make the masked girl scramble to her feet and flee the place, as that would be a fair wage for them.

But just as they were eagerly waiting, the masked girl suddenly opened her eyes, looked behind her with a terrified expression, and screamed, "Who? Don't tap my shoulder!"

Her voice sounded like she was about to cry.

However, despite her terrified tone, there was clearly nothing behind her. The two NPCs could see it clearly; there was absolutely no one behind her, and no one patted the girl on the shoulder.

The two chuckled to themselves, thinking that this little girl was really timid. Was she just imagining things because she was scared?