It's late at night.

Chapter 10: Ghostly Shadows in the Labyrinth

They've come to marked intersections more than once or twice; now, almost every intersection has arrows.

This also means that they have traveled all the roads!

"Is it possible that there's only an entrance, but no exit?"

Xia Yao pursed her lips, her voice hoarse, "How about we try walking in the opposite direction of the arrow? See if we can find an entrance to get out?"

"Turn around!"

This time, Liu Lili went to the front, while Zhou Zean and Xia Yao fell to the back.

At this point, they were still relatively calm and willing to try possible paths.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, half an hour...

They were still wandering around in the maze, going in the opposite direction but not finding the entrance they remembered.

The arrows that were originally meant to indicate direction now seem like a curse, taking root at every intersection.

The thorny flower wall resembled a cage, its rich, sweet fragrance threatening to overwhelm them.

"Oh no, this must be a maze!"

Lu Qi frantically scratched his sparse hair.

"Are we going to have to spend the night here?"

Chen Qi looked like a startled fawn, her eyes darting around nervously.

"If we can't get out, it's not as simple as just spending the night here." Liu Lili's voice was cold, and she was already getting impatient.

"Then, what do we do now?" Chen Qi's voice trembled, slightly choked with sobs.

"If I knew what to do, I wouldn't be standing there."

Lan Yuanshan took out his phone to check the time. "It's getting late."

"If you're stuck in a maze, how about trying a child's urine?"

Having exhausted all other options, Lu Qi made a startling remark, "Among you lot, which one is still... you know?"

However, no one responded, clearly thinking his method was unreliable.

Xia Yao remained silent, scanning his surroundings, trying to find a way to break through.

But he didn't see any clues; instead, he saw a small puddle of dark water at the intersection not far away.

Is the water pipe leaking?

Xia Yao frowned and pointed to the grayish-white ground.

The puddle of water was right under the streetlight, shimmering faintly in the dim light, which is how he spotted it.

But what sent chills down his spine was that a second small oval water stain appeared, covering the arrow he had drawn.

That's right, it just appeared out of nowhere.

In that instant, he realized what it was.

footprint!

Footprints in the water!

An unseen ghost is walking towards them!

"run!"

Upon seeing the water stains, Zhou Zean sensed something was wrong and immediately turned and ran.

The sound exploded in everyone's minds, and they fled in panic like startled birds.

"W-what's wrong?"

Chen Qi didn't even realize what was happening; she just kept running after them.

But no one paid any attention to her; everyone knew what this unusual situation meant.

"Why is it water? Is this the second ghost?" Liu Lili was still thinking even as she ran.

"On a rainy night, of course you'll be wading through water, right?" Lu Qi blurted out.

Xia Yao then recalled the old man's words, "A reporter, a reporter who fell into the river!"

This is what we can deduce from the current clues, but no matter which one it is, encountering it will not end well.

Running wildly, there was no time to figure out which way was the way out; getting rid of the water was the priority.

But the water stains, like a ghost, followed me everywhere, always appearing at the intersection behind me.

This means that if they make a single wrong turn and end up on a dead end, they will die.

The horrific scene at 703 was still vivid in my mind; their mangled, bloody heads seemed to foreshadow their fate.

Liu Lili glanced back at the water stains that were neither too close nor too far, and made the first decision.

"Spread out! It'll only chase one at a time!"

Before she finished speaking, she darted off to another fork in the road.

The message is clear: only one person will suffer, and who it will be depends on luck.

"Sister Liu, take me with you!"

Chen Qi, who was closer, panicked even more and chased after Liu Lili's retreating figure, panting heavily.

Lu Qifa was also shrewd. He deduced that the ghost's target was either Xia Yao or Zhou Ze'an, so they parted ways at the next intersection without even saying goodbye.

Lan Yuanshan glanced at Xia Yao, but in the end, he ran away without saying anything.

This is human nature. Xia Yao knew his situation was difficult, but others weren't necessarily in a better position.

In this game of luck, he might not necessarily lose.

Xia Yao and Zhou Ze'an's biggest advantage is that they are at the forefront of the escape, which means that the ghost may prioritize following the last person, namely Liu Lili, who is leading the way after turning around.

The two ran and parted ways at yet another intersection.

"Good luck."

It's clearly a blessing, but it feels incredibly heavy.

As he ran, Xia Yao would occasionally look back, but the fresh water stains made him feel a little hopeless.

Xia Yao noticed that the water stains always maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far, somewhat like a bug.

Was it the ghost's doing? To force them to keep running until they were exhausted?

He tried to slow down, but the water trail didn't speed up its pursuit.

However, Xia Yao did not dare to relax. He continued to run cautiously, afraid that if he was distracted and slowed down, the water ghost would suddenly attack him.

After the water stains appeared, the already dim lighting, which was hidden by the flower wall, seemed to become even dimmer.

Is the light also a signal? When the light goes completely dark, this cat-and-mouse game will end, and those who cannot escape their pursuers will be trapped in the maze forever.

But no matter which direction he ran, he couldn't find the exit.

The arrows he drew on the ground at the fork in the road were covered by water.

After running around for a while, a path with watermarks appeared.

The water marks meant that a ghost had walked there.

Xia Yao's pupils trembled. After glancing back at the water stains, he rushed over without hesitation.

But as more and more water appeared, despair overwhelmed him like the fragrance of roses.

Unlike his initial simple state of being lost, he is now in crisis.

He could originally determine the ghost's location by looking at the watermarks, thus deciding the direction it would escape in.

But now, with water everywhere, he doesn't even know if the ghost is still chasing him.

Or perhaps the ghost is lingering at some intersection, just waiting for them to bump into it while they keep going in circles.

This sense of powerlessness from the unknown is the most terrifying and suffocating.

The maze has many branching paths, and logically, they should meet again if they can't find the exit.

After parting ways with her teammates, Xia Yao didn't see anyone else.

The surroundings were eerily quiet; there wasn't even a sound of running, as if he were the only person in the entire maze.

He was now almost certain that he was the unlucky guy being targeted by a ghost.

However, Zhou Zean said that there is no certain death situation in the eerie game. Even if you are targeted by a ghost, there is a glimmer of hope. But the question is, where is his chance of survival now?

From the shadows, a faint, sweet and sour scent seemed to waft over—the smell of citrus.

In her frantic state, Xia Yao instinctively reached for her phone.

He wanted to turn on the flashlight to make sure he wouldn't be plunged into absolute darkness.

But the hand that went into its pocket touched something else, round and icy.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be the compass that 703 had brought with him.

The red pointer, gleaming with an eerie glow, spun erratically before finally pointing steadily to an intersection.