It's late at night.

Chapter 18: A Nighttime Lake Tour

The moment the door opened, Xia Yao felt a chill run down her spine, and the cold seeped into her bloodstream through her skin.

The ghost broke through the safe zone and came in? Why are we looking for him?

He didn't have an orange mark, so logically Chen Qi should be the first one to be targeted, right?

Xia Yao was devastated, but there was no use thinking about it now.

He leaped up from the ground, grabbed the floor-standing clothes rack beside the bed, and prepared to fight the ghost to the death.

Even if I'm going to die, shouldn't I at least make the ghost suffer a bit?

However, to his surprise, what appeared in the room was not the source ghost, but the female manager herself.

The female manager was still wearing a smoky gray suit, with somewhat mismatched makeup on her face, and her high heels made a crisp "clack-clack-clack" sound.

"Hello, tourists. Please get ready. We will depart in five minutes to experience the scenic area's unique tourist attractions."

After the woman finished speaking politely, she ignored Xia Yao, who was holding a clothes hanger and in a defensive posture, and walked straight out of the room.

Xia Yao remained vigilant until the woman left.

He only breathed a sigh of relief after discovering that his room door was open and the woman did the same thing to call others.

He thought the staff member was an imposter, but it turned out to be a real one who used a master key to forcefully open the door and "invite" him in.

It seems the danger stems from these "tourist experience programs" again, just like the rose maze where we couldn't find the exit last night.

Calming down, Xia Yao quickly made preparations.

He put the compass that had shown him the way to survival into his pocket, and also took his camera with him.

When he finished getting ready and came to the corridor, his other teammates were already standing there with grim expressions.

Once everyone was present, the woman put on her standard smile.

"Hello everyone, tonight we invite you to experience our scenic area's unique activities. Please follow me this way."

With that, he led the group away.

When going downstairs, Zhou Zean stuck to his principles: "I have claustrophobia and don't want to take the elevator."

The woman simply smiled in response, said okay, and led them up the stairs.

Upon exiting the hotel, a sightseeing vehicle was parked at the entrance.

"Please get on the bus, everyone." The woman took the driver's seat first.

"Sister Liu, I'm scared."

Chen Qi seemed to have foreseen her fate on this trip, her eyes filled with fear.

She didn't dare to go up, clinging tightly to Liu Lili's arm, her body trembling uncontrollably.

The others had already boarded the car in silence and chose to sit in places far away from the woman.

"You're hurting me." Liu Lili struggled for a moment.

Chen Qi was surprisingly strong, and after a struggle, he finally managed to shake her off.

Liu Lili's mood was somewhat affected; her face turned cold, and she got into the car directly.

"Don't waste time, hurry up."

Helpless, Chen Qi got into the car, sobbing uncontrollably.

"Don't be too scared, I'm fine, aren't I?"

Xia Yao tried to comfort her, but Chen Qi seemed to remember Lan Yuanshan's miserable state, and started whimpering even louder.

"The bus is about to depart. Please keep quiet."

"It has to be a villainous NPC," the woman said with a cold look, silencing Chen Qi's sobs.

She was like a sheep thrown into a pack of wolves, trembling in a corner.

The sightseeing bus started and drove along the winding slope.

As the car drove along, the woman introduced the scenic spots, acting like a dedicated tour guide.

In such an inappropriate environment, everything seemed so strange and eerie.

"Dear tourists, Yaoshan Scenic Area is located in the foothills of Yaoshan Mountain. It is a comprehensive tourist resort that integrates lakes and mountains, forests and flowers, and research, study and health care."

"The flower sea secret realm and the rose maze have already been experienced by all the visitors. The fragrance of the flowers is intoxicating and the flowers are as beautiful as a painting. I believe they have left a deep impression on everyone."

As the woman's emotionally charged explanation rang out, Xia Yao thought to himself, "It's more than just a deep impression; this sea of ​​flowers—he almost died in it—is something I'll never forget!"

"Tonight's activity is boating on the lake to find the flower lanterns, which we hope will leave everyone with wonderful memories."

The woman finished speaking with a smile, her voice carrying a hint of anticipation.

What wonderful memories! They just wanted to survive!

However, some information can be gleaned from the woman's words: the experience location tonight is a lake, so the ghost encountered is very likely the drowned reporter.

Perhaps when their boat reached the center of the lake, the water ghosts pierced through it from below and dragged them down one by one to serve as scapegoats.

Just thinking about this scene is terrifying.

In the blink of an eye, the sightseeing bus arrived at the lakeside and stopped.

The people on the bus got off one after another, carefully looking around at their surroundings.

The lake was shrouded in a thin mist, and from a distance, it seemed as if the end of the lake could not be seen.

At night, the lake water was as black as ink, and several small wooden boats with oars were moored on the shore, creating ripples as they rocked.

"Tonight is the fifteenth of the lunar month, and the scenic area has placed many lanterns in the lake. Please board the boats. The rules for tonight's experience are: each person will row a small boat to the center of the lake to retrieve a lantern that matches the boat's number. Once you have retrieved the lantern, you can return."

The woman smiled as she finished explaining the rules, then took out several spotlights from the car and distributed them to the group.

Holding the heavy searchlight in her hand, Xia Yao felt a heavy weight in her heart.

"What would happen if we didn't bring back the lanterns?" Chen Qi asked hesitantly.

The woman smiled in response, "Those who don't bring back lanterns can't get on the bus or return to the hotel. And the lanterns they bring back must be lit."

What kind of pit is this that's lit up?

Do they really have to distinguish between good and bad lanterns?

Retrieving the lanterns wouldn't be so easy; it's highly likely that ghosts would be attracted by them and then attack them.

If you take a lantern, you'll be chased by ghosts.

If you don't take the lantern, you'll be punished by this ghost-like NPC, unable to enter the safe zone, and then targeted by the ghost.

They were caught in a dilemma; either way, they would die.

Fearing she would miss the opportunity, Liu Lili jumped first onto a small boat that she thought was nice, and then placed a searchlight on the bow.

The others stopped arguing with the NPCs, quickly chose small boats, and set off with their oars.

"Please be careful, tourists, and have a pleasant trip."

The woman smiled and said this as she saw them off.

Xia Yaoxuan's chosen boat is number 7, so he needs to find a lantern with the number 7 on it.

He rowed the boat slowly toward the center of the lake.

The lake was quite humid, with a faint earthy smell.

The small boats maintained a distance that was neither too close nor too far, allowing them to see and talk to each other while preventing one from jumping over.

Whether out of fear of clumsiness or on purpose, Chen Qi's boat lagged behind, while Liu Lili's boat was at the very front.

The small boat gradually drifted further and further away from the shore.

The lake was pitch black, and the light could only penetrate a distance of a dozen meters.

When the shore became invisible, Xia Yao realized that, just like in the rose maze, they had lost their way once again.