Once Amber managed to control her emotions, she slightly pushed open the attic door behind her and said:

"Sean, would you like to come in and have a look?"

Wu Chang's face revealed a smile. After waiting for a long time, he finally was about to gain Amber's approval again.

"Of course, I'd be willing."

He followed Amber into the attic, and the scene inside was not quite what he had imagined.

Before entering, he had preconceived notions about the scene inside the attic.

The disdainful attitude of Dean Susan at the orphanage made him think that Amber's experiences might subject her to some form of cold violence.

Like a cold, damp living environment, a dark room, and chaotic clutter.

He also considered that Amber might have a cruel side, and the attic might be filled with dissected animal specimens, human limbs, or even some nefarious sacrificial rituals.

But in fact, Amber's room was tidy and warm, everything organized meticulously.

Everyday items were new, many of the furniture pieces made to measure for the attic, fitting perfectly.

Just a bit of carelessness, and the final effect of the furniture wouldn't be as aesthetically pleasing; you could tell that Amber had received considerable attention from previous foster families.

At a glance, there was nothing unsightly in the room. The only thing that caught Wu Chang's attention was a small patch of colorful fluorescent bacterial colony growing in the corner.

They appeared as spread-out mold at first glance, but upon close inspection, each mold patch had a distinct shape; some resembling spread-out flowers, some like magnified snowflakes, and many were orderly, round water droplet-like spots.

The attic's dim lighting made the bacteria in the corner look especially dazzling, possessing a bizarre and eerie beauty.

Amber noticed Wu Chang's gaze and softly asked: "Can you see them?"

Wu Chang showed a confused expression, "Them?"

He noticed Amber used "them" instead of "it."

Amber gently nodded, "They are my friends, but only I can see them."

As Amber uttered the word "friends," the bacterial colonies in the corner began to change; they rapidly reproduced, weaving into a thick bacterial carpet.

The colorful fluorescent bacterial carpet spread outward, and within the blink of an eye, it covered the entire attic.

Thin fungal threads wrapped around each other, growing into bizarre, slender mushrooms, swaying side to side like closed umbrellas, producing a rustling, singing-like sound.

Amber's face showed an unguarded smile, and she said to Wu Chang, "Sean, they're greeting us."

Amber followed the mushrooms' rhythm, softly humming, and with her humming, the mushroom caps opened, revealing human faces hidden beneath.

Then they pulled out their roots, transforming into pairs of human feet, and in mere seconds, the mushrooms grown from these bacterial carpets turned into children with mushroom caps on their heads.

They circled around Amber, singing and dancing amidst the vibrant bacterial carpet as if in a fairytale.

Wu Chang rubbed his eyes, wondering if these mushrooms had become sentient; without ingesting them, simply seeing them caused sprites to jump into view.

Surrounded by the mushroom children, Amber's face was full of excitement and joy, yet her eyes showed hollowness and bewilderment.

Although Wu Chang had never seen anyone poisoned by eating mushrooms, seeing Amber's state made him realize that falling into mushroom-induced hallucination was likely what was happening.

The present situation was highly bizarre, prompting him to call out: "Amber! Wake up!"

Amber was very close to him, yet completely unheard his call, her face sporting a silly grin, and she murmured:

"Sean, did you see them?"

Wu Chang frowned, retrieved the Loud Horn, and stepped closer to Amber.

Sensing Wu Chang's movement, the mushroom children ceased their spinning, their cute expressions vanished, revealing faces filled with resentment and ferocity. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

That expression could easily play the role of Kayako's son in Ju-On.

Now Amber is beguiled, completely done with pretending, right?

Wu Chang scoffed, shouted at the mushroom children:

"Bold demons! I could tell at a glance that you are not human!"

The mushroom children collectively looked at Wu Chang and coldly said:

"Do not disrupt us."

"Amber only needs us."

"You are redundant."

"Disappear immediately."

The mushroom children merged into a massive, wriggling bacterial mass. As the mushroom children revealed their true form, blobs of pale red resentment surfaced on their bodies.

"Go die! Go die!"

Accompanied by their shouts, Wu Chang's body became heavy, surrounded by dense black fog; the fluorescent bacterial mass somehow summoned a curse mark.

Moreover, this time the curse mark was stronger than the previous ones.

The big one is coming!