Global Collapse-Chapter 717 - 682: Reading Horror Novels in the Middle of the Night_1
The two quickly left the place, groping in the dark until they found a spot where a truck was parked.
The truck was about three meters high and parked near a supermarket. They hid behind it, studying the Polaroid camera and the photo.
Ningmeng Busuan didn't wear the Polaroid camera around her neck but put it in her jacket pocket.
Her jacket pocket was large enough to accommodate the Polaroid camera perfectly.
"Is it really okay to keep this photo with us?" Ningmeng Busuan felt the Polaroid in her pocket and looked up at the photo in Su Lian's hand, feeling uneasy.
She was slightly worried that the ghost might find them through the photo.
"This photo is very important," Su Lian said, staring at the blurry bowl in the middle of the photo. "Jin Ye Bai died after taking this photo. He must have captured the ghost that was eating at the time."
"They must have thought that taking photos of the ghost was their way to survive," she continued, "but instead of being sealed in the photo as they had hoped, the ghost immediately killed Jin Ye Bai."
"The photo does not restrain the ghost. So, I presume its only function is to make the ghost visible." Su Lian suddenly handed the photo to Ningmeng Busuan.
Taken by surprise, Ningmeng Busuan held the photo, feeling slightly dazed.
"They're just tools to make ghosts visible?" she asked, pondering the ghost's actions in the group photo. "So, even if we destroy the photo, it won't affect the ghost, right?"
Ningmeng Busuan had previously speculated that the ghosts might have appeared in this world because they had burned the photos. Perhaps they had released the ghosts by burning the cage that confined them.
But Su Lian told her that wasn't the case.
"I think these photos are irrelevant to the ghosts. They are neither a seal that confines them nor a weapon that kills them. They are merely photos that can make the ghosts visible." Su Lian's tone suddenly grew urgent.
Ningmeng Busuan frowned in thought. Just as she was about to ask more questions, she was suddenly pushed by the person in front of her.
Stumbling backward, she looked in confusion at Su Lian, who had just shoved her.
Then, she saw the person in front of her open her mouth and say, "Run."
As soon as the words fell, Ningmeng Busuan heard a very faint crawling sound.
It was coming from underneath the truck!
She widened her eyes to look at the source of the sound.
In the dark gap under the truck, an emaciated hand had somehow reached out and was now clenching Su Lian's ankle.
Ningmeng Busuan's mouth fell open. She reached out to pull Su Lian, trying to yank her away from the hand.
Before she could grab her, the emaciated hand abruptly pulled the spectacled female player completely under the truck.
The world once again fell silent.
Ningmeng Busuan froze for a moment, then, clutching the photo, she turned and ran desperately.
Another one dead... Another one gone...
Overwhelmed by immense fear, she sprinted, tears threatening to stream from her eyes as she ran.
Three... three had died right in front of her eyes already.
She didn't dare to imagine how many other players had died in places she couldn't see.
All she could do was run, run for all she was worth, trying to escape the ghost's line of sight.
The sky was already beginning to lighten in the east; the sun would rise soon.
A few pedestrians appeared on the road, mostly early morning vendors.
They all stared strangely as Ningmeng Busuan sprinted into the distance.
Wenqin Tan Jiu and Hao Laoshi were hiding inside a two-meter-high dinosaur model at the entrance of a children's park. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮
The dinosaur model was hollow. It had a broken door on its side, through which the two had easily slipped. The space inside, however, was rather cramped.
"The ghost will never think to look for us here, right?" Hao Laoshi nervously peered outside through a crack in the dinosaur model.
"Not necessarily," Wenqin Tan Jiu replied, unconvinced. "Sometimes these ghosts seem to have GPS; no matter how well we hide, they can find us."
"But ghosts also often pass right by us when they're searching," Hao Laoshi murmured. "I've often seen them go past me while I'm hiding."
"That's just your good luck." Wenqin Tan Jiu also peered out through the dinosaur's crevice.
"We can't keep hiding like this forever," Wenqin Tan Jiu sighed. "We need to find a way out, and soon."
"Let's rest for a bit," Hao Laoshi said, leaning against the inner wall of the dinosaur. "We've been cycling all night. My legs feel like jelly; I doubt I could outrun a ghost if we ran into one now."
Wenqin Tan Jiu wasn't faring much better.
He had been attacked by a ghost, and his waist still throbbed with a dull ache.
The area where the ghost had grabbed him was now a terrifying, dark bruise.
"Let's wait till dawn," he said, looking out through the crack at the gradually brightening sky. "Once it's completely light, we'll go find the others."
Splitting up had already proven ineffective; their only hope now lay in strength in numbers.
While resting inside the dinosaur model, Wenqin Tan Jiu began to think rapidly.
The ghost is invisible, only revealing its form in photos, Wenqin Tan Jiu mused. But taking a photo doesn't restrain it. Does it really appear by climbing out of the photos?
Just as he was pondering this, the sound of hurried footsteps suddenly approached from the distance.
Hao Laoshi, who had been leaning against the inner wall of the dinosaur, straightened up abruptly. He silently turned his head towards the crack, looking in the direction of the sound.
Wenqin Tan Jiu also stopped thinking. He looked out anxiously, afraid the sound was made by a ghost.
After a few seconds, a familiar figure appeared in their line of sight.
It was Ningmeng Busuan!
They saw her running rapidly towards them, then dash past their hiding spot and continue onward.
The two inside the dinosaur exchanged a look, speechless for a moment.
Ningmeng Busuan was clearly being pursued by a ghost.
They didn't dare to act recklessly.
The two hid silently inside the dinosaur model for several more minutes. Only when they were certain no other sounds followed did they dare to speak.
"She must have run into a ghost," Hao Laoshi said, looking hesitantly in the direction Ningmeng Busuan had fled.
Wenqin Tan Jiu also frowned. "Yu Ji wasn't with her. She might be dead already..."
"Should we go out and follow her?" Hao Laoshi asked, steadying himself against the inner wall of the dinosaur. "She can't have gotten far."
Wenqin Tan Jiu checked again to make sure there were no other sounds, then nodded. "Alright. Let's go."
Ningmeng Busuan ran nonstop for several minutes, only stopping when she could no longer see the truck behind her.
She stopped in front of a clothing store with a 'Shop for Lease' sign, leaning against the glass door and gasping for breath.
But before she could catch her breath, footsteps sounded from behind her.
Ningmeng Busuan snapped her head back and saw Wenqin Tan Jiu and Hao Laoshi running towards her.
On seeing the two of them, Ningmeng Busuan was nearly overcome with joy and relief.
It was so good to see other living people!
"You... why did you come back?" she asked, her relief mixing with curiosity.
When she had found Jin Ye Bai's body and the empty bowl nearby, she knew they must have returned.
"A ghost wall," Wenqin Tan Jiu said, his expression grim. "We didn't intend to come back, but the ghost forced us. What about you? Did a ghost wall bring you back too?"
Ningmeng Busuan didn't know about ghost walls. She shook her head in confusion. "No, I didn't encounter anything like that... I came back on my own. Yu Ji was killed right in front of my eyes, and that's how I realized the ghosts are invisible."
"I thought only the Polaroid camera could reveal the ghost's form, and that the way out must be related to it. That's why I came back to find you all."
Wenqin Tan Jiu's expression darkened. "No, the Polaroid is useless. We've already tried it."
"I know..." Ningmeng Busuan said. She took the Polaroid camera from her jacket pocket. "I've seen Jin Ye Bai's body."
