INSIDER Chapter 101

The walls of the corridor were splattered with bright red blood. Bloodstained footprints and droplets covered the floor, and not far from the group lay a headless female corpse, the body twisted into an unnatural angle from being kicked.

Gao Yong swallowed hard, his eyes blank. “Is… it over?”

Lu Chu lightly affirmed with a “Hmm.”

Tang Shizhe softly praised, “Im… impressive.”

The group hadn’t yet recovered from their fright when they saw Lu Chu walking towards Chen Hong, asking him, “What happened before?”

Chen Hong, hearing his question, immediately snapped out of his thoughts. Though still fearful, he replied with a serious expression, “Not long after you left, that headless corpse suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Everyone was scared out of their wits and, as you saw, we all screamed and ran out.”

Lu Chu frowned. “Suddenly appeared?”

“Yes,” Chen Hong nodded, “when we were completely unaware, she suddenly appeared close by, arms swaying.”

Lu Chu pondered upon hearing this.

They had just left Chen Hong a short while ago. During this time, apart from not checking the kitchen and heading straight to the bathroom, they had nearly inspected every corner along the way, looking for traces of the three missing girls, but found nothing. Even if the corpse had come out of the uninspected kitchen and moved to the entertainment room, they should have noticed it. But in fact, until Chen Hong’s group fled, Lu Chu and the others had not seen the female corpse.

So it seemed, she indeed “appeared out of nowhere.”

Lu Chu vaguely remembered the three missing girls. From the attire of the corpse and the previously fallen ghastly head in front of Cao Wenwen, it was clear the corpse was one of the three girls.

Though they hadn’t participated in the spirit board game, they became the first victims, making Lu Chu question the origins and intentions of the game.

“Let’s gather everyone,” Du Yangnan suggested. “As they say in horror movies, don’t split up.”

Tang Shizhe went to knock on the women’s restroom door, calling out, “Come out, the female ghost outside has been dealt with. It’s not safe for just two or three of you to hide in the bathroom.”

“N… no way!” came the trembling voice from inside. “We’re safe here!”

Tang Shizhe tried to persuade them again, but the people inside firmly refused to open the door, so the group gave up.

Looking at the closed door, Lu Chu said, “Everyone has their own choices, and each choice leads to different outcomes. If persuasion fails, then it’s every man for himself.”

At this point, Zhang Qian lifted her head from Chen Hong’s embrace, whispering, “I want to leave here.”

Chen Hong comforted her with a few words, then looked towards the stairs, explaining, “Qian Qian, we can’t get out for now.”

Due to the maze-like effect of the ghost wall, going down to the first floor led them back to the second floor—taking the stairs down would bring them back from the third floor.

Hearing Chen Hong, Gao Yong suddenly asked, “If going downstairs doesn’t work, what about going upstairs?”

Du Yangnan considered this, stroking his chin. “We can try; it might work.”

“One person can try,” suggested a male student.

Tang Shizhe quickly shook his head. “The stairway, whether up or down, is pitch dark. I don’t want to go alone. Didn’t we agree not to split up in horror situations?”

“Together,” Lu Chu decided.

So the group collectively ascended to the third floor, circled the stairway platform, and descended, only to find themselves back on the second floor.

Lu Chu shook his head. “It’s the ghost wall; it won’t work.”

They were once again stuck, unable to move forward or backward.

Tang Shizhe suggested, “Since we can’t get those in the bathroom out, let’s gather the people in the kitchen.”

With no other progress, the remaining members agreed and headed down the corridor.

Everyone was trembling, afraid to fall behind.

In their earlier panic, some had kicked the severed head that had fallen at Cao Wenwen’s feet, causing it to roll down the stairs. Unbeknownst to them, the head rolled back up from the stairs and stopped in a dark corner. Its vacant eyes gradually regained an eerie light, and soon, they were fixated on Cao Wenwen with a sinister smile.

.

Reaching the kitchen door, Tang Shizhe knocked. “Open up. The thing outside is dealt with. In this situation, we should stick together. It’s safest not to be alone.”

A trembling voice responded from inside, “How do we know it’s safe outside?!”

Tang Shizhe snapped, “If it weren’t safe, could I be here talking to you?”

“What if you’re already dead?” the voice inside continued, “You might be trying to trick us…”

The terrified people inside thought that only by locking themselves in a bright, tightly closed room could they feel a sliver of safety, forgetting that the first female corpse had appeared out of nowhere in their very room.

Suddenly, the corridor lights began to flicker, accompanied by the buzzing sound of the filaments. The kitchen erupted with screams of terror from both men and women.

A chaotic clattering ensued, and someone ran towards the door, screaming and struggling with the handle. From the corridor, they could see the handle being twisted violently but barely moving, the door being slammed and pulled but not opening.

Seeing this, Lu Chu and the others rushed to help push the door.

But the door seemed enchanted, immovable despite their efforts, as if it had been easy to open for those who initially hid inside but now stood firm against them.

After another round of screams, everything in the kitchen went silent.

The final scream was close, just a door away, clearly from the person trying to open the door.

“Crack—”

At that moment, the previously immovable door suddenly cracked open a sliver. Through the narrow gap, they could see the brightly lit but blood-soaked floor inside.

Cao Wenwen screamed, now entirely disregarding her image, hiding deep within the group.

The body of the boy who had tried to open the door was blocking it, preventing it from opening further.

Lu Chu, muttering a silent apology, pushed the door open forcefully.

The body shifted, and they saw the kitchen carnage.

Inside lay two men and a woman. One boy was dead by the door. Another lay flat on the chopping board, his abdomen sliced open with his entrails spilling out, resembling a slaughtered animal. The girl lay splayed out near the stove, hot oil having poured over her head, leaving her face utterly disfigured.

Lu Chu raised a hand to stop those behind him from entering.

Having glimpsed the scene, Tang Shizhe began to retch.

After a moment of silence, Lu Chu said, “It’s not here.”

It, referring to the entity that had killed the three.

At that moment, someone behind Lu Chu screamed, pointing to the stairs on the other side of the corridor.

Lu Chu walked out of the kitchen and looked. He saw a ghostly woman with disheveled hair and a half-naked body, her skin a sickly blue-white, crawling slowly down the stairs from the third floor. Her body twisted at impossible angles as she descended, limb by limb.

When she reached the corridor, she raised her head, her pitch-black eyes staring through her messy hair at the group.

Terrified, the group shouted and ran towards the seemingly safe entertainment room.

In the chaos, Cao Wenwen was knocked down. As she struggled to get up, Lu Chu, passing by, tried to help her up. Instead of standing, Cao Wenwen clung to Lu Chu’s sleeve, crying in terror.

With a loud “Bang!” everyone ran into the entertainment room, and the door slammed shut automatically.

Cao Wenwen, realizing too late, let go of Lu Chu’s arm and tried to open the door. Finding it locked, she pounded on it in despair, then turned around, helpless, watching the ghost approach. Lu Chu prepared for a fight, loosening his neck and stretching his limbs.

The ghost seemed fixated on Cao Wenwen, lunging at her with its claws.

In extreme fear, Cao Wenwen pushed Lu Chu towards the ghost.

Unprepared, Lu Chu stumbled. Before he could react, the ghost’s foul claws were inches from his eyes.

In a flash, 7 appeared.

He grabbed Lu Chu, pulling him into his arms, and extended his other hand towards the ghost. With a fierce glare, the ghost disintegrated into dust.

Having done this, 7 kept his hold on Lu Chu, turning to look at Cao Wenwen with a gaze filled with coldness and death.

It was the look one gives to the dead.

Cao Wenwen stared blankly at the powerful man who had appeared from nowhere. Despite his stunning looks, he exuded a more terrifying aura of death than the ghost.

It felt like being strangled and shackled, unable to speak or move, only able to stand there, waiting for the inevitable.