Chapter Fifteen: The Ferocious Bear Makes Its Entrance

"Miao Wenhao! You've gone too far! Was it really necessary to scare us like this?" Qu Meng stood with her hands on her hips, fuming with anger.

She was clever enough to guess what was going on—most likely, Miao Wenhao had set something up in advance just to frighten them.

Miao Wenhao paid her words no mind, his gaze fixed on the corner. "That's strange. The doll was definitely right there just now. Could I have seen it wrong?"

Puzzled, he turned to try and justify himself to Qu Meng, but as soon as he looked over, he saw a doll hanging from the ceiling, grinning at him.

"Damn! The doll’s up there!" Miao Wenhao jumped in fright, immediately pointing at the ceiling.

But when Qu Meng and Wu Wen looked up, the doll had vanished once more.

"Miao Wenhao, what on earth is wrong with you? Do you think this is funny?" Qu Meng’s cheeks flushed red with anger, and she stamped her foot.

"Come on, Hao, cut it out. I have a heart condition!" Wu Wen shot him a withering look.

"I... I..." Miao Wenhao stammered, unable to form a sentence. He was at a complete loss for words, but he realized now that they couldn't stay here any longer!

"I don't want to explain anymore. We need to leave—something's not right here!" Fear had already taken hold of Miao Wenhao; his legs had begun to tremble. This place was simply too strange. It was entirely possible they’d really run into the doll and the girl in red.

No sooner had he spoken than he turned to leave the way they’d come, the other two following close behind, at a loss for words.

But after descending one flight of stairs, they realized something was wrong. They were going down, yet somehow had ended up on the third floor again.

"What... what..." Qu Meng and Wu Wen were stunned. Miao Wenhao ignored their reactions and quickened his pace, continuing down.

Yet, no matter how many times they descended, they always found themselves back on the third floor. An eerie atmosphere enveloped the three of them, and now even a fool could tell something was amiss.

"Keep moving!" Miao Wenhao was unwilling to give in, convinced that if he just kept going, he would eventually get out.

The other two followed closely, not daring to pause for a second, but no matter how many times they repeated the process, they always returned to the third floor.

"Hao, what’s happening?" Wu Wen was on the verge of tears, now bitterly regretting his earlier bravado in agreeing to this adventure.

"Miao Wenhao, tell me—this is something you set up too, isn’t it?" Qu Meng grabbed his arm, clinging to the faint hope that this, too, was part of Miao Wenhao’s elaborate prank.

"I’m not a god! How could I possibly do something like this?" Miao Wenhao was scared, but fear was pointless now. The only thing that mattered was getting out.

"It’s all your fault for dragging us here to explore! We’re going to die here, all because of you!" Qu Meng finally broke down, her last line of defense shattered. She crouched on the floor, sobbing.

"Crying won’t help! We need to get out, now!" Miao Wenhao snapped at her, his terror boiling over into anger.

"You... you guys, look at that." Wu Wen pointed in a direction, cutting off their argument.

Everyone followed his gaze. There, squatting on the floor with her back to them, was a little girl in a red dress.

Once they had confirmed that it wasn’t just a piece of clothing, a chill ran through all of them. Had they really encountered the infamous girl in red from the stories?

Silence. Utter silence. None of them dared to breathe as they stared at the little girl, too afraid to make any move.

Suddenly, a sweet, crisp, childish voice rang out from the girl. "Are you all afraid of me?"

The voice was young but melodious. Yet, in their ears, it sounded as if it had come from the depths of hell—icy and chilling.

Miao Wenhao was the first to step forward, forcing himself to suppress his fear, his voice trembling, "Little sister, you’re so cute, how could we possibly be afraid of you?"

"Oh?" The girl uttered a puzzled sound, then turned around to face Miao Wenhao, fixing her gaze on him. Her face was a mangled mess of blood and flesh, writhing maggots crawling all over it, her mouth twisted into a bloodthirsty grin. "Really?"

"Ugh!" At the sight of her face, Wu Wen couldn’t control himself and vomited. Just as he threw his head back and retched, he suddenly felt someone grip his throat—tightly, mercilessly.

"I... I..." Wu Wen struggled desperately, his feet scrabbling against the floor, but it was all in vain. In moments, his neck was snapped, and he died on the spot.

Qu Meng clamped her hand over her mouth in terror, doing her utmost not to make a sound as tears welled in her eyes.

"Little sister, please... don’t be upset... can’t you let me go?" Miao Wenhao glanced at Wu Wen’s corpse, swallowing hard as he pleaded.

"Let you go?" This time, the voice didn’t come from the little girl, but from behind them.

Tense to the breaking point, the two whipped around. There, standing behind them, was a horrifying doll, its entire presence radiating a suffocating aura of terror that seemed almost tangible. Just one look was enough to plunge a person into an icy abyss.

"D... Doll! You’re the ones that have been all over the news lately..." Qu Meng stared at the doll, horror written plainly across her face. She’d always thought those urban legends were just people scaring themselves for fun—never did she imagine they were real.

The doll twisted its neck, then in a flash appeared beside Qu Meng, fixing her with a hideous glare. "Are you afraid of me?"

Qu Meng, recalling Wu Wen’s gruesome fate, was terrified but still shook her head. "N... No!"

No? The word seemed to trigger the doll. Its eerie smile warped into fury, and it drove its hand into Qu Meng’s eye. "Well? Are you afraid now?"

But for a long, long moment, the girl made no sound at all. When the doll finally withdrew its hand, her body collapsed, and from the ruined eye socket oozed not just blood, but a yellowish-white fluid.

The doll glanced at its hand, then looked almost apologetically at the now-alone Miao Wenhao. "Guess I used a bit too much force."

Miao Wenhao was completely petrified. He collapsed where he stood and fainted dead away, a dark, wet stain spreading beneath him—he’d lost control in his terror.

The doll and the girl in red were, of course, Feng Tianlin and Long Mengting. The voice that had come from Long Mengting just now was only Feng Tianlin using his Disguiser’s ability. The reason the group could never reach the second floor was because they were trapped in an illusion created by Feng Tianlin’s Divine Void Eye.

Now, with only one survivor left, Feng Tianlin had no intention of killing him—after all, someone had to spread the story. The sole reason for scaring them was that this man had picked him up earlier; he’d never planned to harm him.

Just as Feng Tianlin was growing bored and about to leave, he suddenly sensed a presence in the distance.

"Another of my kind?" Feng Tianlin narrowed his eyes, looking off in that direction.

A strange aura belonging to an uncanny creature was approaching, its power at F-rank. This was the first uncanny being Feng Tianlin had encountered since Long Mengting, and he was intrigued, deciding not to leave just yet.

With a thunderous crash, a furry figure burst through the window and landed before Feng Tianlin and the others. Bathed in moonlight, its yellow fur shone brightly—it was actually a moving teddy bear!