Chapter 48: "The Game of Fear Begins: Trapped in Terror"

"Ding--"

"Hint: Fear point from Zhang Deshuai +0.001!"

"Hint: Fear point from Wang Qian +0.002!"

…

At this moment, Jiang Chen suddenly heard the system notifications ringing in his mind.

He frowned slightly. "Where are these fear points coming from?"

Then, as he glanced at the motion cameras mounted on the heads of Barlow and the others, a realization struck him like lightning.

"These… are coming from the audience?"

Jiang Chen's lips curled into a smirk. He had just confirmed another way to farm fear points—by scaring not only those around him but also the millions of viewers watching his live stream in real-time.

Even if each audience member only contributed a tiny amount, with millions watching, the accumulation would be terrifyingly effective!

"No matter how small the mosquito legs are, they're still meat," Jiang Chen muttered to himself, feeling more confident than ever.

Now, he had the perfect strategy to milk as many fear points as possible.

He glanced at Barlow and the other Western explorers, who were still forcing themselves to maintain a composed front, despite their rapidly fading bravado.

Jiang Chen knew that if he kept pressuring them with more psychological terror, they would break completely.

So, he did exactly that.

Using a deliberately provocative tone, he baited Barlow and the others into another spirit-summoning game, daring them to test their courage.

And despite their initial resistance, none of them could afford to back down.

After all, they were broadcasting live to the world. If they chickened out now, the Western media would mock them ruthlessly.

"Fine," Barlow gritted his teeth. "Let's do this."

"Good!" Jiang Chen smiled.

This time, he chose an even darker, more terrifying ritual.

"This game is called the 'Square Corner Game,'" Jiang Chen explained, his voice low and eerie. "Four people enter a completely dark room, stand in each corner facing the walls, and begin moving in a specific sequence. One person leaves their corner, taps the next person's shoulder, and that person repeats the process. The cycle continues until…"

He paused for effect.

"Until… an extra person appears."

Barlow and the others stared at him in stunned silence.

Jiang Chen's tone grew even more sinister.

"At first, everything seems normal. But after a few rounds, something will change."

He leaned in slightly.

"You'll realize that nobody is left in the center of the room. And yet… nobody is coughing or calling out."

His voice dropped lower, almost a whisper.

"That's when you'll understand—there was a fifth person playing all along."

A cold silence filled the abandoned hospital lobby.

For a long moment, no one spoke.

Then—

"Are… are you making this up?" Laura asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Jiang Chen chuckled. "Why don't we find out?"

A gust of wind blew past, causing the old doors to creak ominously.

Barlow swallowed hard, but he forced a laugh. "Fine! Let's go!"

They entered one of the dark, empty patient rooms, and Jiang Chen closed the door behind them.

The game began.

Step. Tap. Move. Step. Tap. Move.

They went through the sequence once.

Twice.

Three times.

So far, nothing unusual happened.

Until—

A strange sensation crept over them.

The room felt… heavier.

The air, denser.

The silence became oppressive, as if something unseen were pressing down on their chests.

Then—

A faint sound.

A cough.

Everyone froze.

Their breaths hitched.

"Did… did one of us just cough?" William whispered.

"No," Barlow answered, his voice strained. "No one coughed."

Their hands turned clammy.

Cold sweat dripped down their backs.

Then, suddenly—

"Ahhh!!"

A loud, ear-piercing scream erupted from behind them!

Judy collapsed to the floor, her face pale as death.

"I… I saw it! There was someone behind me!" she cried hysterically.

The entire group panicked.

They scrambled for the door, desperate to escape.

But then—

BANG!

The door slammed shut on its own.

The flashlight flickered.

And the whispers began.

Soft. Indistinct.

A breathy murmur, brushing against their ears from all directions.

They were not alone.

Jiang Chen, meanwhile, stood in the corner, watching the chaos unfold with an amused glint in his eyes.

He didn't do anything.

He didn't have to.

The fear had already set in.

And then—

"Ding—"

"Hint: Fear point from Barlow +1.0!"

"Hint: Fear point from William +1.5!"

"Hint: Fear point from Laura +2.0!"

"Hint: Fear point from Judy +3.0!"

Jiang Chen's eyes gleamed.

This was working far better than he expected!

Meanwhile, the live chat in his broadcast was losing its mind.

[WHAT THE HELL JUST HAPPENED?!]

[I CAN'T BREATHE! THIS IS TOO MUCH!]

[SOMEONE HOLD ME, I'M WATCHING THIS ALONE!]

[WHY DID I CLICK THIS STREAM AT MIDNIGHT?!]

[ANCHOR, YOU'RE PURE EVIL!]

Jiang Chen took a deep breath, suppressing a chuckle.

This was just the beginning.

With his new fear-collecting ability, he was going to push these people to their absolute limits.

His gaze shifted back to Barlow, who was now trembling so hard he could barely hold his flashlight steady.

"I… I can't do this anymore!" Barlow whimpered. "We need to leave!"

"Leave?" Jiang Chen arched an eyebrow. "We haven't even started exploring the second floor yet."

Barlow and the others turned ghostly pale.

"You… you still want to go deeper?" William stammered.

Jiang Chen smirked.

"Of course," he said, stepping forward. "You didn't come all this way just to leave now, did you?"

At that moment, Barlow looked at him, eyes filled with sheer terror.

It wasn't just the haunted hospital that scared him anymore.

It was Jiang Chen himself.

Because in Barlow's mind—

Jiang Chen was no longer an ordinary man.

He was a demon.

And he was just getting started.