chapter_020 : Nightmare in Neil's House

Orion was immediately filled with terror. Could that female ghost be in this room? Did she close the entrance door just now? He immediately rushed behind Jane and asked her, "You... you said we could at least escape, right? But how?"

Jane was momentarily at a loss for words. When she said they could escape, it was based on the premise that they could leave Apartment 401. She assumed that since the female ghost didn't want to take their lives, there was no reason to block their way to survival. However, the current situation was beyond their expectations. Did the female ghost want to lock them in here?

To Orion's astonishment, Jane took out a plastic bag like she was holding a precious treasure. Then, she took out a pair of tweezers and picked up a strand of hair, placing it gently into the plastic bag. She looked exactly like a police officer collecting evidence at a crime scene.

"If we can get out, this hair will be excellent material for research," she said.

This was madness... To dare to keep a female ghost's hair in her pocket! Her courage was even greater than most men's. And she actually said she'd take it back for research...

Perhaps her level of terror was no less than that of the female ghost.

"Don't look at me like that. This is a perfect opportunity to directly understand ghosts, isn't it? Collecting data is extremely important," Jane explained.

Orion thought it was not that simple. Orion looked at this terrifyingly rational woman and continued to look around the room. Where would the female ghost appear? Behind the door? On the wall? On the ceiling? Or outside the window? There was no furniture in the room, so there was no place to hide. Or could it be...

"Jane, take pictures of the surroundings. Maybe we can see her!" Orion suggested.

Jane was incredibly efficient. Almost at the same time Orion finished speaking, she took out her camera and started taking pictures around. However, all the photos she took looked normal, exactly the same as the real - life scenes. Then, they went to a few other rooms to take pictures too, but they found nothing.

"It seems she might not be here," Jane said, but she wasn't really sure. Just because the photos didn't show anything didn't mean "she" wasn't there.

Just then, Orion suddenly noticed something behind the door of the 'study'. He pulled the door open and was shocked to find...

Neil's paintbrushes and palette!

Orion had visited Neil's house once before and had seen him painting. Naturally, he remembered Neil's paintbrushes and palette clearly. He was certain that these were the very items Neil had used. What was even more terrifying was that the paint on the palette hadn't dried!

Out of fear, he threw the paintbrushes and palette away forcefully. As a result, the palette fell to the floor, and all the paint inside spilled out. Then, something happened that made Orion and Jane almost pop their eyes out. The paint that should have dried long ago started flowing along the cracks in the floor. Then, naturally, the different colors of paint combined and began to form a picture!

The sight was so shocking that Orion and Jane stood still, not even daring to blink. In less than a minute, the paint seemed to be controlled by someone and started to form the face of a terrifying female ghost. And this face was exactly the same as the one Neil had painted!

Then, the ghostly face finally took shape. Its realism was astonishing. Orion finally snapped back to reality and stepped on the ghostly face on the floor with his foot. But before his foot even touched the floor, the ghostly face... started to become three - dimensional! It rose up from the floor!

The two of them didn't dare to stay any longer. They quickly ran out of the room, closed the door behind them, and blocked it tightly.

Immediately after, blood started to flow out from under the door, and strange laughter came from inside the room. Then, they felt a pair of hands trying to push the door open.

Orion used all his strength to hold the door shut. Normally, the two of them should have been able to hold the door. However, the force pushing the door felt no less than that of a strong man. Orion almost exhausted all his energy just to keep the door closed.

After about a minute, the force suddenly disappeared. Orion was feeling puzzled when he suddenly remembered something extremely important. He... he had forgotten about it! There was a window in this room that led to the next room!

He rushed to block the door of the next room, but it was too late. The door opened...

When Violet asked for three days' leave from the newspaper office, Jack and the others were stunned.

"No way, Violet? You're asking for leave? I remember once when you were sick, you still came to work at the newspaper office. Usually, even if you could leave early, you'd still rush to work overtime. You're our well - known 'workaholic'. How could this happen..."

"My brother has something to do," she said shyly to her colleagues. "I have to go to the outskirts. I've asked for three days' leave this time..."

Hearing this, everyone's eyes widened even more. What on earth could have happened to make her ask for so many days off?

"Didn't your brother just publish a new book? What could he be busy with now? Is he going out for material and needs your help?"

"Um... you could say that," Violet replied vaguely with an awkward smile on her face. Everyone could easily see that she was hiding something.

Although several colleagues were very concerned about Violet, since she didn't want to say, they couldn't force her.

After leaving the newspaper office, Violet hailed a taxi. Looking at the address she'd written down, her heart was filled with anxiety. To be honest, she was quite afraid of ghosts and the supernatural.

Brother... you have to be okay... Thinking of the strange purple - eyed man from yesterday, she remembered the last thing he said: "We'll meet again." Did he know her? And those purple pupils... Could he also have an innate supernatural constitution?

Who was he?

Just then, a sudden chill swept over her, and a premonition rose in her mind.

"Is it going to happen... in three days? And this feeling is so intense... I've had this kind of feeling before..."

If she'd had such a premonition before, it meant something.

In three days, more than one person would die.

When Violet arrived at the outskirts, she waited for her brother at Neil's house as Orion had instructed earlier. Since the nearby farmhouses were very scattered, it was hard to find. But when she got there, she didn't see her brother.

What was going on? She called her brother's cell phone, but no one answered. Then she called Jane's, with the same result. Violet immediately became anxious. Had something happened to them?

At the same time, Ryan also called Orion and Jane, but like Violet, he couldn't reach them. He too became nervous. Could it be that the two of them were taken by that female ghost...

Even if he was given ten times the courage, he didn't dare to go to Apartment 401 in the opposite building. Even if he called the police, they wouldn't believe him. What should he do now? Without them, was he doomed to die? When he got home at night, he used his binoculars to look at the window of the opposite building again. Everything was the same as it had been in the morning.

"Why... is she still there... Yes, that female ghost... She's there!"

Should he run away? But where could he go? Maybe he could go to Zachary's house for a few days?

But then he quickly dismissed the idea. Zachary's situation was no better than his. Even if he went to Zachary's house, it might not be safer. Maybe it was better to stay here. If the female ghost was behind the curtain, at least he could keep an eye on her with the binoculars. If she made a move, he could run away immediately.

Orion opened his eyes, and it was completely dark around him.

To his horror, he was looking right at the floor!

He felt his body tightly bound, and he couldn't even open his mouth. Looking more closely, he was shocked to find that he and Jane were both wrapped tightly in thick strands of hair, hanging upside - down from the ceiling with their hands, feet, and mouths tied. It was as if the lush black hair had grown directly from the ceiling, completely covering them.

Suddenly, he understood. If they were tied up like this, then when the female ghost attacked the other three people who were still alive, he and Jane wouldn't be able to do anything... Those hairs probably wouldn't loosen until all three of them were dead. The hair was tied so tightly that he couldn't even move a little bit. With his mouth sealed, he couldn't call for help. He only remembered that after the door opened, he'd fainted, and when he woke up, he was in this terrible situation.

How long had he been unconscious? In this situation, he had no way to check the time.

Orion was extremely anxious and immediately tried to use his supernatural ability. But almost instantly, the hair tightened around his neck, almost choking him, and his ability stopped working...

Then, the hair wrapped around his body even more tightly and covered his eyes. He and Jane were firmly fixed to the ceiling, with no way to escape.

At this moment, an image of Ryan appeared in his mind...

Unfortunately, Orion hadn't told Violet the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the three people. The only clue, Gary, was already dead, and his body hadn't been found yet, so there was no way to trace them through him. Violet had no choice but to go from one farmhouse to another in the vicinity, asking if the three of them had stayed there.

Just then, her cell phone rang. The caller ID showed it was her brother's phone! She let out a sigh of relief and answered the call immediately. "Brother? Where are you now?"

"Violet? We've changed our plan. You go back to the city first. I'll contact you later."

"You're being so unfair... I've waited for you guys for so long! And now you want me to go back to the city? Stop joking!" "Be a good girl, Violet. There really was a change of plan. Go back first, and I'll call you."

"Fine... Oh, right. In three days, more than one person will die. Brother, you have to be careful!"

"Okay, I understand," he replied.

Then, the call ended.

Violet looked at the dark night sky, feeling very frustrated. Sigh... If she went back now, would she catch the last bus? And why did her brother seem so strange?

Three days passed in a flash.

"Are they dead? What should we do now?"

In Ryan's house, the three of them gathered to discuss what to do next. If they continued to wait, Gary's body might be discovered. And without Orion and Jane, they had no way of knowing their death dates.

Today was the death date for two of them.

"I propose... Since we're going to die anyway," Zachary said, looking at the window of the opposite building. "Why don't we take a chance and go to that house? With three of us, we might find a way out."

"No way!" Lily was the first to object. "Mr. Orion and Miss Jane were so experienced, and they never came back. If we go, we're definitely dead!"

"Listen... Maybe our death dates haven't come yet. In that case, she won't kill us, and that gives us a huge advantage! And since we're all still alive, at least two of us have this advantage today. What do you say? The odds are better if we go together." "Stop joking!" Ryan almost shouted. "I've been praying every day that she won't come after me, and now you want us to go looking for her? It's all your fault, Zachary. If it weren't for you, would we have gone to that place? Would we be living in constant fear?"

"I remember you were really enthusiastic about collecting information at that time," Zachary retorted.

"But you were the one who suggested that place! Okay, if you're so brave, go there alone and kill that ghost like a hero! If today isn't your death date, you should be able to do it. Go!"

Lily quickly stepped in to try to calm them down. "Guys, why are you fighting? Aren't you good friends? Please stop arguing. This isn't the time..."

"Get out! Both of you get out!" Ryan roared. "Listen, I'm not going! If that female ghost dares to come, I'll fight her!"

Zachary shook his head. "Forget it, Lily. He's not thinking straight. It's no use talking to him. Let's just leave."

"But..."

"Didn't you hear me? Get out! I don't want to see you!"

Lily's eyes filled with tears. She covered her eyes and left with Zachary. After they left, Ryan locked the door tightly. Then, like Gary before him, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife. He yelled at the empty room, "You listen up! I'm not afraid of you! If you have the guts, come out! I'll kill you with this knife! Come out! Come out!"

As he shouted, he waved the knife around at the emptiness. A few times, the knife even hit the wall and the sofa. "Get out! If I'm afraid of you, I'm your dog! Come out!"

After about ten minutes of this, he was exhausted and collapsed on the floor, gasping for breath.

When he went back to the study and picked up his binoculars again to look at the window of the opposite building, he was horrified to find -

Although the curtain still bulged, its position had clearly changed!

Was "she" about to make a move?