INSIDER Chapter 99

What is a fierce ghost? Regardless of whether one likes horror stories, everyone has some understanding of them deep down.

It’s precisely this understanding that makes them more terrifying.

Fear gradually spread across everyone’s faces. Lu Chu touched the red mark on his chest, appearing scared on the surface, but in reality, he felt no waves of fear within.

Tang Shizhe listened to Lu Chu’s explanation, and even though he had some idea, he still asked with a bitter smile, “Attracting other things?”

“That’s right,” Du Yangnan nodded and continued explaining, “During the process of summoning spirits, we might attract other ferocious ghosts. They lurk near us, and if the resentment and Yin energy of this ghost are too strong, it can push away the summoned spirit and replace it to answer the questions asked. After the game ends, if we can’t send it away smoothly, if it can’t be sent away—”

Du Yangnan glanced at the pen that had broken into two on the table, “We might all die here.”

The girls were so scared that they huddled together, and some of the more timid ones even started sobbing softly.

Zhang Qian’s face turned pale. She grabbed Chen Hong’s sleeve and kept snuggling into his arms. Chen Hong quickly hugged her and patted her back continuously.

Cao Wenwen looked at Zhang Qian’s state and then at how Chen Hong was comforting her. She suddenly let out a disdainful laugh, “What’s there to be scared of? Others are just trying to frighten you, and you believe it when they say there are ghosts?”

Seeing her, Du Yangnan got angry. Ignoring any gentlemanly courtesy towards women, he directly scolded her, “Trying to frighten you? If you don’t believe in ghosts, why did you play this game? If something really happens, won’t it all be because of you?”

Cao Wenwen couldn’t stand others saying she was wrong. She angrily retorted to Du Yangnan, “Du Yangnan, don’t forget, it was you who suggested playing this game at midnight.”

“Yes, it was me. I apologize to everyone here first,” Du Yangnan admitted the accusation directly and then continued sarcastically, “If we followed the proper procedure, respectfully inviting the spirit and then respectfully sending it away, there would be no problem. But who knew there would be someone with unclear thoughts playing the game.”

The reason he suggested playing the game at midnight was primarily because summoning games like “Pen Fairy” and “Plate Fairy” are only effective at midnight. If not summoned at midnight, the spirits cannot be summoned, and the game fails.

This incident was partly his fault. He never thought that as adults, someone would be so desperate for attention that they would end up in a situation like this.

Seeing the argument continue, Chen Hong, the host of the gathering, quickly intervened, “Stop arguing, nothing has happened yet, so why blame each other?”

Wu Xuan’s drunkenness had completely dissipated by this time. Reflecting on himself, he said, “Stop arguing. I was wrong too. I shouldn’t have suggested playing this game.”

Lu Chu, Tang Shizhe, and Gao Yong, being Chen Hong’s roommates and brothers, naturally couldn’t let the argument continue, making Chen Hong feel isolated. They walked up to the two and pulled Du Yangnan back to the sofa where the boys were sitting.

As for Cao Wenwen, since she had just mocked most of the girls, no one came to persuade her. She sat on the ground with a face full of disdain.

Du Yangnan had turned on all the lights earlier, and now the room was bright, dispelling some of the group’s fear. As time passed, everyone’s emotions gradually stabilized.

Instinctively, no one spoke loudly anymore. Instead, they whispered among themselves. The girls put their feet up on the sofa as if touching the floor would get them grabbed by ghostly hands from under the sofa.

Tang Shizhe clutched Lu Chu’s arm tightly and asked in a low voice, “Lu Chu, are you scared?”

Lu Chu shook his head, “I’m okay.”

“Are you an atheist?” Tang Shizhe asked softly, “Honestly, even though I look tough, I’m really scared inside. My grandma believes in Buddhism and ghosts. I grew up in the countryside and was influenced by this from a young age. Even though people told me to believe in science as I grew older, saying that nothing can’t be explained by science, I’m still half-believing in these things… I kind of believe there are ghosts in this world…”

Hearing this, Lu Chu patted his shoulder to comfort him, “My family lives in the countryside, and my parents and elders also believe in ghosts and gods, so I can somewhat understand your feelings.”

Gao Yong, who was squeezed next to Tang Shizhe, overheard their conversation and said nonchalantly, “Don’t be scared, you two. Not to mention that I don’t believe in ghosts. Even if there are ghosts, there’s a saying, ‘If you do no wrong, you don’t fear the knock at midnight.’ We’re all good youths who have done nothing wrong and even help old ladies cross the street. What are we afraid of?”

Tang Shizhe asked, “Have you helped old ladies cross the street?”

“No, I haven’t had the chance to meet any,” Gao Yong scratched his head, “I was just making an example.”

While their emotions eased a bit, things weren’t looking good on Chen Hong and the girls’ side.

Zhang Qian seemed very afraid of these things and kept her head buried in Chen Hong’s arms, sobbing. Some of the braver girls tried to comfort the frightened ones, but to no avail.

Zhang Qian, with red eyes, asked Chen Hong, “Are we staying here all night?”

Chen Hong replied, “We can’t leave even if we want to. It’s late, and the dorm is locked. But don’t worry, we’re all together.”

The other girls then asked, “Can’t we find a hotel or something? Staying here feels creepy.”

Another boy sighed and answered, “It’s too late to book a hotel now. There aren’t many around here, and they’re probably full.”

The original plan was to sleep here if the party ended before dawn. The KTV and game room had several long sofas for the girls to sleep on, and the boys could make do until morning. Booking hotels was too expensive and room distribution would be troublesome.

However, after what happened, they didn’t dare to turn off the lights, let alone sleep.

Thus, the topic ended unresolved, and they continued huddling in the corner, drawing comfort from each other and waiting for dawn.

Since arguing with Cao Wenwen, Du Yangnan hadn’t spoken again, remaining silent and staring at the broken pencil.

Lu Chu asked, “Did you find something?”

Du Yangnan shook his head, “I’m waiting.”

Tang Shizhe asked in confusion, “Waiting for what?”

Du Yangnan paused for a second, looked at him, and answered briefly, “An accident.”

While everyone was waiting in fear or disdain, several girls cast reproachful looks at Cao Wenwen.

Cao Wenwen still didn’t think she was wrong and, seeing this, felt the others were just ignorant cowards, so she stood up and said, “I’m going to the bathroom, then I’ll sleep in the KTV. You guys keep playing the night watch game.”

She turned and was about to step off the sofa.

At that moment, all the lights in the room suddenly went out, plunging the entire room into dense darkness.

“Ahhhh—”

“Damn!”

The girls screamed in succession, and even the boys cursed, and the scene fell into chaos.

Then, someone suddenly shouted, “Phones! Use your phones for light!”

In a panic, everyone fumbled for their phones.

Lu Chu was the first to pull out his phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, and turned on the flashlight, breaking the deep darkness with a bright but limited light.

“That side?! Ahhh!” A girl suddenly pointed behind Cao Wenwen and screamed, then closed her eyes, covered her ears, and screamed frantically.

Everyone’s eyes were drawn there.

In the intersecting bright light of the phones, at the spot behind Cao Wenwen still not illuminated, the dim light revealed a terrifying, pale woman’s face.

So close to Cao Wenwen, it seemed to be hovering over her shoulder.

After being discovered, the ghost’s pitch-black, eyeless gaze turned towards everyone, cracked a ghastly smile, and then disappeared.

Suddenly, the lights came back on, and the room was bright as day again.

Cao Wenwen thought the light flicker was just a glitch. Though startled, she didn’t take it seriously and looked at the still-screaming girl with displeasure, “Why are you pointing at me and screaming, trying to scare me?”

Everyone hadn’t recovered from the frightening scene and collectively moved away from Cao Wenwen, trying to distance themselves.

Cao Wenwen, unaware of what had happened, got angry and was about to speak when Lu Chu interrupted her.

Lu Chu pointed at the table, “Look.”

Everyone, numb and slow, followed his direction.

On the table was still a piece of white paper and a broken pencil.

Tang Shizhe was the first to cry out, “The paper…on the paper!”

The others, initially thinking there was nothing unusual, focused on the white paper they used for summoning the pen spirit. Originally, the paper had the circle they drew, the pen spirit’s responses, and the chaotic lines from when the spirit got angry.

But now, the paper was blank, without a trace of writing or the marks from the pencil’s tip.

What appeared before their eyes was a smooth, clean piece of white paper, with a single word written in black and red viscous liquid.

—”Death.”