After that, she could see the full view of the haunted house, and... a mysterious black fog.
Crunch... crunch...
Fallen leaves and twigs were crushed under heavy footsteps. Within the black fog, countless slender silhouettes trailed behind a tall, hulking figure.
As 8:00 AM approached, the Knocking Ghost left the haunted house and walked off toward some unknown destination.
The ghosts in the fog all paused along with the Knocking Ghost. As if by reflex, countless shadows turned to look in Shigure Kira's direction, their gazes dark and their expressions bizarre.
They made no further moves. The ghostly figures in the fog gradually blurred until they faded away completely. It was now 8:00 AM.
Shigure Kira leaped down from the crumbling wall and walked straight to the entrance of the haunted house.
"Phew... This is the place."
"Lights?"
Shigure Kira paused. The main door of the haunted house was wide open, which contradicted the information Li Mo had given her.
But she wouldn't doubt Li Mo. It was more likely that something had happened—for instance, a new group of curious adventurers had entered the house.
The door to the haunted house could only be opened from the outside. Once inside, opening it from within was nearly impossible.
A living person could only escape by jumping out of a window. However, surrounded by the black fog, their chances of survival were likely lower than if they just stayed inside.
"The black fog isn't as thick. Maybe this is the 'temporal division' he mentioned. I could try to adjust the time."
"I don't know if I can even do it... Forget it. I should conserve my energy. The more I use this power, the more likely I am to lose myself."
"Before I find and resurrect him, if the ghost inside me awakens, no one will be able to stop it. I'd better save my strength for the third and fourth floors."
Shigure Kira was extremely cautious about this sudden impulse. She didn't intend to act recklessly just because she had acquired Bizarre Kiana's time-space abilities.
No matter how useful a Bizarre power was, it was still Bizarre. To steal another's authority for one's own use would surely come at an equivalent price.
The third floor was where Li Mo had died, and the fourth floor was his suspected last known location.
The black fog wasn't too thick. Perhaps the house was more "lenient" toward first-timers, deliberately letting them live.
Otherwise, dying in the fog before even getting inside would make the situation impossible to solve. After all, the key to breaking the curse was inside the house. If just entering was a major challenge, how could anyone complete the ritual?
Shigure Kira entered the haunted house and heard the clamor of voices from within.
The noise wasn't loud, but it was lively.
Shigure Kira stood in the darkness of the doorway. The black fog weakened most of the light. Standing silently at the entrance, she practically merged with the shadows. You wouldn't even notice someone was there without looking closely.
"Are we really staying here all night? I'm a little scared. This haunted house has been trending on the paranormal forums lately. What if it's all real?"
"Hehe, relax, it's definitely fake. How could ghosts actually exist? Besides, why would people on the forums post videos of themselves leaving if it was that bad? It's a total contradiction, right?"
"Exactly! A talking, blood-soaked newspaper, strange knocking at night, a figure at the end of the hall... It all sounds scary, but it's just a spooky atmosphere they're trying to create. Look, I'm standing right here, and nothing's happened, right? Let's be real, don't be so paranoid. This place is so hyped, if I livestream, who knows how much I could make in one night! I'll treat you all to dinner when we get back, hehe~"
Shigure Kira glanced over. Eight people, all with youthful faces. They were probably local students who had come here after hearing the rumors.
"Curiosity truly is a ghost's best friend," Shigure Kira mused.
Knock, knock, knock!
Out of courtesy, Shigure Kira knocked on the wall first to alert them.
"Who—who's there!?"
In an instant, the students huddled together, pointing their phone flashlights toward Shigure Kira in the doorway.
Shigure Kira: "..."
How should she introduce herself?
"There are ghosts here, you should leave now"?
Or maybe, "I'm here to handle a paranormal incident, please cooperate with me"?
Neither seemed likely to work. Without proof, no one would be foolish enough to believe such a one-sided claim.
Shigure Kira was starting to understand why Li Mo always wore such a sour expression. He had no choice. Saying something was the same as saying nothing, and a warning might just get you labeled as a psycho.
Human communication was so flimsy. Suppression by force, on the other hand, was far more efficient. Who cares what they think? Just listen to me and don't get yourself killed.
"Hello. My name is... White Flower."
After the simple introduction, Shigure Kira fell silent, observing everyone's reactions.
She would never give her real name. If speaking her true name triggered some kind of supernatural rule, she'd be the biggest fool in the world.
Most Bizarre paranormal rules operated on the level of cause and effect: trigger, judgment, and execution. They probably didn't care what world or what timeline you were in.
"What a... simple name. Haha... Your outfit is really cool, are you cosplaying? It's already autumn, aren't you cold dressed like that? Is it for the stream? Are you a streamer too?"
The person holding the phone gave Shigure Kira a "you-know-what-I-mean" look and immediately pointed the camera at her.
"Chat, get a load of this! A gorgeous European beauty just appeared in the haunted house! Fair skin, beautiful face, long legs, perfect curves—she's stunning! Could she be a ghost in disguise? You know, like Nie Xiaoqian from those classic Chinese ghost stories..."
Blah, blah, blah. Once the female streamer started talking, she didn't stop, offering all sorts of explanations and commentary.
Watching her performance, Shigure Kira thought that if she hadn't gotten a detailed briefing on the house from Li Mo, she might have actually been fooled by the streamer. She spoke with such confidence, even though none of it was correct.
But none of that mattered to her. Shigure Kira knew exactly what she had to do.
The rule on the first floor was "Being Alone." She had to find a companion and then enter the second guest room.
"Hehe, hey beautiful, I feel like we've hit it off. We have a real connection. How about we link up for a stream battle?"
The streamer gesticulated wildly, motioning for Shigure Kira to take out her phone.
Shigure Kira shook her head. "I'm not streaming."
"Aw, what a shame." The streamer sighed deeply. With Shigure Kira's looks and outfit, she would have been perfect for the stream and could have pulled in a ton of new followers.
"Hey beautiful, since you're here anyway, you might as well join us instead of exploring alone."
"You probably came here out of curiosity after seeing the haunted house blow up on the paranormal forums, right? They say the black fog in the city is spewing out from here too. Well, not that there's any scientific basis for it."
"Don't worry, I'll protect you. No ghost stands a chance against me," the streamer said, patting her thickly-wrapped chest with full confidence.
Shigure Kira paused for a moment, then replied naturally, "Alright."
This was perfect. It would prevent her from triggering the "Being Alone" rule.
Li Mo had warned her that triggering the "Being Alone" rule would pull her into the "inner world." There, the ghosts were far more active and it was much more dangerous than the "Outer world."
The afternoon passed quickly in a lively atmosphere.
At dusk, the sky darkened. Vague, shadowy silhouettes began to appear in the black fog. It was almost 8:00 PM.
After dinner, the group rested in the now-clean main hall.
That's right—the nine of them had just worked together to clean the entire first floor.
But Li Mo had said the first floor of the surface world had already been cleaned. This meant the haunted house she was in now was likely from the same time period as when Li Mo first entered it.
However, she hadn't encountered the so-called "Paranormal Division," but rather a group of like-minded netizens.
"A different timeline... similar, but not the same," Shigure Kira concluded.
She was now extremely sensitive to concepts of time and space, so she easily noticed the discrepancies.
In her current timeline, she had also detected many similar temporal nodes. However, due to the degree of "corruption," these nodes were very blurry. Shigure Kira knew they existed, but couldn't discern their specifics.
Night fell quickly. Shigure Kira shot to her feet, pulling the streamer toward the second room.
"Huh? Beautiful, heading to bed this early?" the streamer asked, confused. For young people like them, not staying up until one or two in the morning was one thing, but it was only eight o'clock! Eight o'clock! Wasn't that a ridiculously normal bedtime? So normal, in fact, that it felt abnormal.
Shigure Kira looked back, pursed her lips, and finally said, "You can have fun in your rooms, too. You all should get some rest. Who knows, a real ghost might show up tonight."
The moment she finished speaking, the atmosphere in the room instantly became boisterous, with laughter echoing through the hall.
In a blurry oil painting on the wall, the portrait seemed to come to life, its eyes fixed on the jeering humans.
"Hahaha... So White Flower is actually worried! Relax, with so many of us together, according to horror movie logic, a ghost would never just show up right in front of us..."
Before the person could finish, the heavy front door swung open. Countless dark figures stood at the entrance, their features obscured.
"Who's that? Are there more people coming to explore the haunted house this late?"
The streamer was about to shine her flashlight on them when Shigure Kira grabbed her and pulled her toward the second room down the hallway.
"Follow me," Shigure Kira said decisively before hurrying down the hall.
In truth, she didn't know if her well-intentioned warning would do any good, but it was better than everyone dying without knowing why. Save as many as you can.
"White Flower, those are probably just newcomers, here to explore the house like us. No need to overreact..."
"Is that so? Then take a look at your stream's chat," Shigure Kira said.
"Huh?"
The streamer pulled out her phone and carefully scrolled through the comments. The chat was on fire, an absolute frenzy.
TurkeyFlavoredRiceCracker: Did anyone else notice that group that just came in? I think they didn't have shadows. I couldn't see clearly, the candlelight is too dim. Not sure, did anyone else see it?
LMAO_ItsTheModsFault: Stop trying to scare everyone. White Flower and the streamer are obviously just putting on a show for views. They're probably actors the streamer hired, like friends or classmates. We must believe in materialism and reject superstition! It starts with you!
PlushieBall: @LMAO_ItsTheModsFault What about you? Aren't you forgetting someone?
LMAO_ItsTheModsFault: Ahem, well, you know, it's better to be safe than sorry. Believing a little doesn't hurt.
TurkeyFlavoredRiceCracker: @LMAO_ItsTheModsFault Wow, you folded fast. Master of the tactical retreat. Anyway, streamer, can you pull up the VOD? Show everyone if that group at the door had shadows or not.
The streamer was stunned. After Shigure Kira pulled her into the second room, she immediately opened her stream's recording.
In the footage, the figures' faces were unclear. In the dim light, the dark floor and any potential shadows seemed to blend together.
"Wait... where are their shadows?"
There were lit candles in the hall. With a light source, living people would definitely cast shadows. But in the recording, not only were there no shadows, their feet weren't even touching the ground. They were floating...
"Wh-White Flower..." The streamer's voice trembled.
Shigure Kira walked over to her side, confirmed what she saw in the recording, and said, "Message your friends. Tell them to hide in the rooms quickly. And by the way, don't go into the ninth room."
"O-okay." The streamer agreed immediately, her fingers trembling as she typed out a message telling her friends to retreat.
"I sent it. They think I'm joking. What do I do?"
"Then we can plan their funerals in five days."
Shigure Kira shook her head and sat down on the sofa, minding her own business.
She glanced up at the intact candle in the second room. It was burning steadily, showing no signs of flickering.
Am I not considered a ghost right now? Shigure Kira wasn't sure. But if she used her power too much, she would definitely be classified as one, and then she wouldn't be able to hide in the rooms. So, holding back on the first and second floors was the right choice.
"Right, remember to tell anyone who hides in a room to watch the candle."
"And if it flickers?" the streamer asked nervously.
"If the candle flickers and burns down quickly, it means at least one ghost has entered the room. A friend you thought you knew may have already been replaced by one," Shigure Kira stated bluntly.
Explaining it now, after what just happened, would be far more convincing than it was at the beginning.
"Ah... h-how can that be...?" The streamer's expression was starting to crack. Though she tried her best to control her emotions, fear lingered deep in her eyes, refusing to fade.
This was all to be expected. Shigure Kira wasn't surprised.
"White Flower... you know so much."
"You... you'll protect us, right?" The streamer's voice was no longer as bold as it was before; it had become weak and pleading.
"I'll do my best," Shigure Kira replied calmly.
There was supposedly a highly intelligent ghost on the first floor. Although Li Mo had already dismembered it, there was no guarantee it hadn't devoured more people and returned to its original state.
That ghost was extremely cautious and would never show itself unless it was going for the kill.
Shigure Kira figured she needed to play dumb, lure the ghost out, and then finish it in an instant.
Squelch—
Squelch—
The sound of tearing flesh rang out, muffled and indistinct from inside the room.
The livestream chat exploded. The comment feed flooded, viewer counts skyrocketed, and gifts poured in.
But there was no trace of joy on the streamer's face.