Chapter 50: The Ineffective Curse
The door to that room had always been firmly locked. Yet, despite this, the actors had continued to die one after another. Why? It had to be connected to that room.
Inside... lay the very source of all evil!
This was not Allen's first time in this place. However, he had never felt this way before.
Suddenly, a thought struck him with sudden clarity.
Three days! The "Master" had insisted they remain here for three days! But why exactly three days? Why not five, seven, or any longer period?
What significance did three days hold?
Tomorrow... would be the third day.
And now, the third day was drawing ever closer...
Indeed, on the third day, during the Fourth Act—the final act—would something extraordinary occur? Would everything change?
As this thought settled into his mind, Allen's resolve solidified. No matter what, he must reduce his indebtedness before then—perhaps even... turn his redemption credits back into positive numbers!
Having ventured deeper into the basement, his redemption credits had plummeted to -285. The threshold of -500 now loomed ever closer.
In this oppressive silence, neither Allen nor Cheryl spoke. Only the dim glow from their phones illuminated the pitch-black shadows surrounding them, where it seemed as if ghosts and specters might be lurking, waiting to strike.
At last...
The two of them arrived once more at the door to the sealed room.
The ancient door, unchanged from the image on the movie poster. The Ouyang family had sealed something inside, entrusting its guardianship to seven individuals...
Allen stared at the door, his gaze seeming to penetrate its surface, desperately seeking to uncover the ultimate mystery hidden behind it. What dark secrets lurked in this villa? What malevolent spirits had taken residence within its walls?
Cheryl, already prepared, had slipped his hand into his coat to retrieve the painting scroll. Confident in his ability to unroll it swiftly, he knew its power—while not as portable as the severed finger or the high heel—was certainly no less potent in terms of saving their lives.
Allen, too, was on high alert. His left hand gripped the phone, while his right hand clenched the high heel in his pocket.
The two moved in perfect synchronization, each vigilant of the other's side, sharing the burden of watching their surroundings.
And then, suddenly... the door trembled ever so slightly.
A trick of the eye?
No. Almost immediately, they knew this was no illusion. For next...
The door began to shake violently!
The door was made of an alloy—though it was impossible to determine its exact composition, it was clear that without any tools, there was no reason for the door to shake with such force...
Both Allen and Cheryl instinctively took a step back.
Could it be...?
Could whatever was behind that door be about to emerge?
Sweat began to bead on both their foreheads as they stood frozen, their hearts racing with terror.
Cheryl instinctively took a step back, his resolve faltering. If whatever lay behind that door were to emerge, the consequences would be unimaginable! As a mere third-string character, he knew that if even Hank, the protagonist, had perished, staying here was no longer about earning redemption—it was a direct path to certain death!
Allen shared the same apprehension. The door appeared on the verge of collapse, as though it might open at any moment...
Both of them began to retreat, but soon, in a swift motion, they turned and fled in haste.
As they dashed down the corridor, Cheryl suddenly halted, a deep sense of unease gripping him.
He had just passed a doorway...
He had distinctly seen...
It was merely a room filled with ordinary food jars, and the door had been left wide open.
But now—could it be? No, it was impossible!
Without a second thought, he rushed into the room.
Inside, the same unremarkable food jars remained. Nothing seemed out of place.
"Just now... what did I see?"
Was it an illusion?
Or perhaps...
At that moment, he failed to notice that behind him, among the jars, a shadowy figure began to slowly rise.
Suddenly!
With swift reflexes, he drew the painting scroll from his coat and unrolled it in a single motion.
The painting depicted a hollow-eyed little girl, and behind her, countless hands reached toward her. The cursed artifact originated from the horror film Susan's Painting, where the image initially showed twelve hands, but sometimes—if you counted them again—there would be thirteen.
And as the scroll was unfurled, the number of hands naturally became thirteen!
Behind him... nothing.
Cheryl gasped for breath, quickly retreating from the room and slamming the door shut behind him. But just then, a hand gripped his shoulder!
"Ahhhh!"
His heart leapt in terror as he turned to see... it was Allen.
"What's wrong with you? What is that painting?"
"This... this is a magical painting passed down in my family. I'll explain it to you later!"
"Alright, let's go!"
Without another word, they sprinted towards the stairs.
Cheryl breathed a slight sigh of relief. Once the painting was unfurled, they would be safe—for now. Yes, for the moment, they were safe...
But in the next instant, that fleeting comfort shattered.
For the painting... had once again become one with twelve hands.
Cheryl knew the arrangement of the hands by heart. The extra hand, the thirteenth one, was unmistakable. He had intended to roll the painting back up just before the ten-second mark...
Why?
How could this be possible?
The curse...
Was ineffective?
The curse had lost its power! Such things, indeed, do occur. Cursed artifacts are by no means invincible, unerring talismans that guarantee safety. For instance, in the highest-difficulty horror films like The Ghost Ritual series, even if this painting were to be brought in, its effect would be little more than marginal. In such places, only individuals like Julian or Donna would dare to claim they had the slightest chance of survival. But this... this was a low-difficulty horror film!
A sudden thought struck him—could Hank's death have been the result of this very thing?
Had he perished because... the cursed artifact lost its potency?
Quickly, he rolled up the painting and tucked it away, then, with a sharp glance toward Allen, they took off, sprinting for their lives. At this moment, Allen was acutely aware of the stakes: if they could just escape the basement alive... his redemption tokens would surely increase!
Faster... faster... faster...
Turning the corner, the elevator to the basement—normally used for leaving—lay just ahead! Once they reached it, everything would...
As they neared the corner, Allen's eyes wandered to the wall, and in that fleeting moment, he was struck with an utterly terrifying sight.
In the faint light from his phone, he saw something on the wall behind them...
A long, slender shadow was creeping up behind Cheryl's, its hands entwined around his neck!
For a moment, Allen's mind blanked, before instinct took over. He grabbed Cheryl's arm and swiftly drew out the high-heeled shoe!
Now!
As the shoe was pulled free, he also pulled back from Cheryl, creating a gap between them.
When he glanced back, the shadow behind Cheryl vanished.
Had it worked?
Not pausing for a second, Allen continued to run ahead. Escape... escape was the only goal!
Finally, he reached the bottom of the stairs. However, to his shock, the door at the top—the entrance to the basement—was now closed!
Allen rushed up the stairs. He had anticipated this scenario, but he had believed that with Cheryl's presence, and the two cursed artifacts together, there was no way they wouldn't be able to open the door! But now, Cheryl couldn't use his artifact for another half hour!
And Cheryl had caught up with him.
Together, they drew closer to the door. With each step, the distance grew smaller—ten steps, eight steps, six steps...
Allen's high-heeled shoe would last only four more seconds! Cheryl, meanwhile, took a single stride, almost at the door handle...
In that moment, Allen, holding his phone, turned the light toward the door.
There, projected onto the door, behind his own shadow, that long, slender figure stood directly before him, its hands tightening around his neck!
In that instant, Allen's hand, which had been reaching for the door handle, froze in midair.
A suffocating, very real sensation overwhelmed him.
The phone slipped from his grasp and fell to the ground.
Three, two, one...
His current redemption tokens were insufficient. He could no longer afford to overdraw.
As the time ran out, the high-heeled shoe's curse was completely sealed, transforming back into an ordinary, powerless shoe...
Just as the sensation of suffocation made Allen feel as though his life was slipping away, he suddenly cried out, "Lu Zhenan! Take the talisman from my left pocket and use it!"
Cheryl, as if waking from a dream, immediately understood, and with swift motion, he retrieved the talisman. As long as Allen permitted him to take it, it was not considered stealing the cursed artifact.
Then, with the talisman in hand, he pressed it toward the void in front of them.
The bloodstained talisman ignited in flames, and an intense blaze erupted!
The final talisman, taken from The Horror Bus! Allen had not acquired ownership of this talisman; he simply handed it to Cheryl. And Cheryl... still possessed the redemption tokens required to wield it!
For any cursed object, if it's not in one's possession, the person who holds it and uses it is the one who bears the cost on their redemption tokens. While there was a rule that the object must be discarded if not attached within three seconds, Cheryl had used the talisman in under that time!
Instantly, the suffocating sensation around Allen's neck vanished. The talisman hovered in mid-air, slowly burning to ash.
Allen surged forward, kicking open the heavy door and dashing outside!
He was alive!
With newfound vigor, he sprinted straight into the living room!
When he finally laid eyes on Hank, he was nearly overcome with dizziness, his vision blurring as if he might collapse.
Summoning every ounce of strength to steady himself, he made sure to place the high-heeled shoe carefully.
"Are you... alright?" Hank rushed over to support Allen!
At that moment, Allen's redemption tokens surged—an astonishing gain of 800 tokens!
His tokens had been at -285, and after using the high-heeled shoe for ten seconds, it had dropped to -435. Now, with the increase of 800, he had accumulated 365 redemption tokens!
Leaning against the sofa, Allen gasped for air, his chest heaving, at last seizing a fleeting chance of survival!
Yet, just then, a sudden realization struck him.
"Wait... Lu... Lu Zhenan? Where is he? Why didn't he come with us?"