Gone

Translator: CinderTL

"Banana Wolf, where are we going?" Yu Lan clung to Banana Wolf's arm, her eyes darting around. But it was too dark to see anything.

A nameless fear was fermenting in her heart.

Her only solace was her teammate, Banana Wolf.

But ever since he had led her away, he had spoken little. Sometimes, she would ask several questions before he would reluctantly answer one.

Yu Lan assumed he was being cautious, not wanting to expose themselves.

But... this path seemed too long.

Gradually, Yu Lan began to sense something amiss. The surroundings were pitch black. How could Banana Wolf see the way?

It was like a bomb exploding in her heart.

Yu Lan's legs went weak.

She dared not speak, only slowly feeling her way down Banana Wolf's arm until... she touched a hand.

Compared to the icy touch, what truly filled Yu Lan with despair was the shape of that hand.

And the abnormally long, sharp nails.

"Ah! Ahhh!" As she screamed, Yu Lan mustered her last ounce of courage, flinging her hand forward and turning on her flashlight.

She had seen the ghostly hand Banana Wolf had severed. It was... it was that one!

That ghost... had come for her!

The light illuminated the area, but there was no one in sight. Banana Wolf—no, the ghost—had vanished.

She immediately shone the light around. It seemed to be a confined space, neither too large nor too small, with rows of shelves taller than a person.

What filled Yu Lan with terror was that the shelves were lined with rows of human heads.

Of course, they weren't real heads.

They were mannequin heads used for wigs.

Perhaps it was the preconceived notion playing tricks on her, but seeing so many chestnut, brown, and black wigs made Yu Lan's skin crawl.

The story the shop owner had told them began to replay in her mind.

She swallowed hard.

Her experience was indeed not as rich as others', and that was something she couldn't fake. She had only been through one mission and had survived only because of her good teammates.

She knew clearly that her only hope of survival was to leave this place, to escape what was likely the storeroom of the wig shop from the owner's story.

The door.

She needed to find the door!

And then flee.

There would be a chance, she encouraged herself. She would definitely survive!

After a few steps, she would look back because she always had this indescribable feeling that something else was here, that she was being watched.

The light swept back and forth, and the different colors of the wigs reflected the light differently, creating a suffocating sense of despair in the darkness.

"Tap, tap, tap."

The sound of leather shoes hitting the ground echoed rhythmically.

She first found the wall and then planned to walk along it, believing she would eventually find the door.

Of course, that was assuming she could survive until then.

The number of wigs on the shelves far exceeded her expectations. She had been walking along the wall for ten minutes and still hadn't found a corner.

She swallowed hard and stopped, knowing something was wrong. She had observed this mall from the outside; it was of average size and couldn't possibly have such a large storeroom.

Moreover, a wig shop located here wouldn't need to stock so many wigs.

Damn it.

She forced herself to calm down but couldn't.

"Drip."

She froze.

"Drip."

"Drip."

She looked up sharply, certain it wasn't her imagination. There was a sound nearby.

The sound of dripping water.

And it was close.

Within 10 meters of her.

She had no curiosity about it because, in most ghost stories or horror movies, the majority of deaths were caused by curiosity.

Yu Lan roughly determined the direction of the dripping sound and immediately ran in the opposite direction.

But to her despair, no matter how fast she ran, she could still hear the water. Even covering her ears was useless, and the sound was getting closer.

Closer and closer.

8 meters, 5 meters, 3 meters... These distances, usually hard to discern, seemed to materialize at this moment, at least for Yu Lan.

Until the sound stopped right beside her.

She stopped running; she couldn't run anymore.

"Drip."

"Drip."

With trembling hands, she shone the flashlight toward the source of the sound. It was on the ground beside her, where there were spots of blood.

Moments later, right at her feet, a drop of blood fell, shattering on the ground and splashing onto her white leather shoes.

So dazzlingly red.

Clenching her teeth, she slowly raised the flashlight until... she saw it.

It was a human head, hidden among the mannequin heads, a real human head.

It was... the Nail Art shop owner!

Her eyes were open, her posture identical to the mannequin heads beside her. The torn skin of her severed neck was flipped open, revealing the bloody flesh inside.

Blood flowed from the severed neck, mingling with the disheveled hair, and dripped down the edge of the shelf onto the ground.

The owner had also been killed by the ghost.

Just as she was in shock, the next second, she witnessed the most terrifying and final scene of her life. The owner's lifeless eyes suddenly focused, staring straight at her, and then her lips curled into a grotesque smile.

The flashlight went out instantly.

"Ahhh! Ahhh!!"

In the darkness, a group of people moved swiftly. Wan Yuanning led the way, with Banana Wolf handing her his knife since he didn't have eyes that could pierce the darkness.

"Wait," Hua Luo suddenly spoke.

Hearing this, the two stopped. "What is it?" Banana Wolf asked, shining the flashlight around but finding nothing.

Hua Luo sniffed lightly, then his expression changed. "There's a smell of blood."

He pointed ahead. "It seems to be coming from that direction," he said quickly. "The wind carried it over."

Everyone understood. Yu Lan... was likely in grave danger.

Before leaving, Wan Yuanning took a photo from the wall, framed in wood, clearly showing a figure.

It was the woman who had introduced herself as the owner.

Beside it was a line of small text: "Song Xiaoyou's One-Year Anniversary Commemoration. Wishing Sunshine Tales and the owner eternal beauty."

Next to her stood a plump woman who looked more like the owner, with a mean expression and wearing a leather jacket that was clearly too small.

Wan Yuanning's words had confirmed it earlier. She said Yu Lan had been taken by the female ghost Song Xiaoyou, who had introduced herself as the owner.

Song Xiaoyou held Yu Lan's hand, while another ghostly hand with sharp nails covered her eyes.

The two of them walked away, swaying.

Like puppets.

"Ghost's blindfold," Hua Luo frowned and whispered.

(End of the Chapter)

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