Chapter 11 The Eerie Domain

"Xiao Zhao!" Wu Dahai shouted, but the darkness swallowed his voice, yielding no reply.

"Manager Wu... should we call the police?" someone hesitantly suggested.

Wu Dahai's expression turned grim. He instinctively switched on his flashlight and approached Wang Zitong for guidance.

"Young Master Wang, what do you think?"

At that moment, Wang Zitong's expression was eerily strange. The fury he had displayed earlier had vanished without a trace, replaced by an unprecedented mixture of fear, unease, restlessness—and, inexplicably, a flicker of frenzied anticipation.

He seemed to be dreading something, yet at the same time, eagerly awaiting it.

Fang Xiu took note of Wang Zitong's odd demeanor and felt a wave of unease.

He knows something.

"Young Master Wang?" Wu Dahai called again.

Wang Zitong snapped out of his trance. "What did you just say?"

"Young Master, should we call the police? That scream was clearly unnatural—I'm afraid something has gone terribly wrong."

"Oh… right, right! Call them at once!" Wang Zitong suddenly seemed to recall something and hurriedly dialed his phone.

But after a few rings, all he got was a busy tone.

Soon, the rest of the employees began to exclaim one after another:

"My call isn't going through!"

"Neither is mine!"

"This… this is impossible! Emergency lines should work even without signal—how can they be down too?"

"My phone isn't picking up a single bar of signal!"

Panic spread like wildfire among them.

One employee, who frequently browsed supernatural forums, trembled as he muttered, "C-Could we have entered a cursed domain?"

A cacophony of voices erupted, spiraling the situation into utter chaos.

Wang Zitong's expression grew darker, as if the loss of signal confirmed his worst fears. Suddenly, he bellowed, "Enough! Silence!"

His status alone carried weight, and with that single command, the clamor ceased instantly.

All eyes turned to him.

The dim glow of his phone illuminated his face, casting deep shadows that accentuated his peculiar expression—it was unsettling, almost sinister.

He swallowed hard, struggling to compose himself. "Listen to me. Everyone, stay quiet. What I'm about to say is crucial—it's a matter of survival."

Survival.

The word struck like a hammer to the chest, sending an ominous chill through the crowd.

Beside Wang Zitong, Li Feifei instinctively recoiled. "Young Master Wang, what are you talking about? What do you mean, 'survival'—don't scare us like that—"

"Shut up!" Wang Zitong roared, his voice like a whip cracking through the air. Li Feifei turned deathly pale.

He took a deep, quivering breath. "If my guess is correct… we have entered a cursed domain."

"W-W-What do you mean, a cursed domain?"

"Do not interrupt me!" Wang Zitong's voice boomed, sharp and edged with desperation. "We don't have time for explanations. Just listen, and do as I say! Understood?!"

His sudden outburst once again silenced the crowd.

"As someone of my status, I've been exposed to knowledge far beyond what ordinary people can comprehend. There are hidden truths about this world—truths you cannot even begin to fathom.

To put it simply, curses are real. And a cursed domain is the very embodiment of their presence. You can think of it as… an alternate dimension, one ruled by the malevolent forces of the supernatural.

Right now, our only objective is to escape this godforsaken place. If we fail—every single one of us will die."

His words sent shivers down spines.

Curses?!

Some wanted to dismiss it as nonsense, but the sheer terror on Wang Zitong's face made them hesitate.

"Y-Young Master Wang, you're joking… right? Curses aren't real…"

"You absolute imbecile!" Wang Zitong snapped. "Did I not just tell you to shut up?! Do you think I'd waste my breath on lies if our lives weren't on the line?!"

His frustration boiled over. "You idiots! If I were an Exorcist, I wouldn't have to rely on you pathetic fools to survive! Do you think I wanted to reveal any of this to you?!"

His breath came in short, ragged gasps, his entire body tense as though he could feel a blade at his throat.

"Believe me or not, I don't care! But listen carefully—we are in a cursed domain. The fact that our phones have no signal and that the light is being suppressed is proof enough. The only ones capable of resisting the supernatural… are Exorcists.

My cousin is one. He's the one who told me all of this.

For ordinary people like us, the only way to survive is to figure out the entity's pattern of killing—and avoid triggering it at all costs.

From now on, everyone follows my orders. No one is to wander off alone—not even to the bathroom. If you have to go, do it here!"

His declaration left the group in stunned disbelief.

The idea was absurd, blasphemous even. Their entire worldview teetered on the edge of collapse. How could they accept such an unimaginable truth without proof?

Yet amidst their skepticism, there was one person who believed him completely.

Fang Xiu.

Because his wife was one of them.

Still, something about Wang Zitong didn't add up. He clearly knew about the supernatural, but judging by his reaction, he wasn't like Fang Xiu. He couldn't see them.

If he could see them, he wouldn't be panicking like this.

No, despite his knowledge, he was still merely human—his nerves fraying under the weight of the unknown. A true survivor would remain composed even as mountains crumbled around them. Wang Zitong was far from that.

But none of that mattered.

What mattered was the Exorcists.

The moment Fang Xiu heard that only Exorcists could fight the supernatural, a storm of resentment ignited within him.

Perhaps… Exorcists could see the world as he did.

Perhaps… they alone wielded the power to defy the horrors that plagued his existence.

"Y-Young Master Wang, w-what should we do now? Shouldn't we start running?" Wu Dahai stammered.

"No one moves!" Wang Zitong snapped, his voice laced with sheer alarm. "Stay exactly where you are!

Running blindly in a cursed domain is no different from signing your own death warrant.

My cousin told me this—never run, never look, never touch. Avoid breaking the rules at all costs."

"Then… what do we do?"

"We observe. Look around. See if anything seems out of place. So far, we haven't been attacked—that means we haven't triggered the entity's pattern yet."

Following his command, the group cautiously surveyed their surroundings.

Minutes passed.

Nothing changed.

No attacks. No movement.

Gradually, uncertainty seeped into the crowd. Suspicion grew.

Some whispered among themselves.

Maybe it was just an electrical malfunction. Maybe some kind of magnetic interference. Maybe their missing colleagues had simply been electrocuted.

"Should we just… go outside? I really need to pee."

"Yeah, this is ridiculous. There's no such thing as curses."

Their murmurs reached Wang Zitong, deepening his frustration.

He wanted to curse them outright.

But he had to keep them together.

Because he knew—the only way to discover the entity's rules… was through trial and error.

And the only way to do that… was with sacrifices.

"Everyone, I'm warning you—**do not move. If you have to pee, do it—"

Before he could finish, a calm voice interrupted him.

"It's here."

Something about the voice—its eerie stillness, its chilling certainty—froze the entire room in place.

Silence fell.

And the horror began.