Chapter 49: Setting Forty-Nine

Setting Forty-Nine: Supernatural Research Club (Part 2)

“Hey—”

A call pulled Shan Ziwei back to his senses. The girls stood at the front door, looking back at him in confusion.

His legs nearly gave out—he almost collapsed onto the grass. His body felt filled with liquid ammonia, freezing his teeth together, rendering him speechless.

—Just one look had cost him 24% of his Diamond SP (Fear)!

Though he said nothing, his expression said it all. The girls’ faces changed. Milk Tea and Tapioca dared not even lift their heads, nervously glancing at Crimson Rose. Crimson Rose bit her lip, hesitated, then forcefully raised her head to look at the mansion’s second floor.

The windows were half-hidden by tattered curtains—darkness through the gaps. The “thing” Shan Ziwei had seen was gone.

Crimson Rose let out an imperceptible sigh of relief and began soothing the others: “Don’t be scared—there’s nothing.”

She paused, then added: “Still, we should mentally prepare ourselves.”

Everyone knew what that meant. Night Lily timidly tugged at Paper Iris’s sleeve. Paper Iris stiffened and snapped at Shan Ziwei: “We haven’t even entered the haunted house yet! Why are you so scared?! Are you even a man?!”

He had no way to explain—he really wasn’t that much of a coward, but playing a horror game through a screen was nothing like being there in person. Give him some time to adjust! Besides, that thing seemed to radiate a fear aura, making his Diamond SP plummet and his instincts scream to get away.

“Move.”

Host’s low voice cut in. Shan Ziwei instinctively stepped aside—only to realize Host’s words weren’t directed at him. The black-haired youth stood to his left-front, facing the door the girls were blocking. His tone wasn’t quite rude, but with those words, it sounded like a cold command.

“You—”

Crimson Rose stopped Paper Iris from speaking and smiled at Host: “You’re right—let the guys take the lead.”

The girls parted, and Host wasted no time striding forward. As the only other male, Shan Ziwei followed, feeling the tension between the genders solidify.

They reached Manda Mansion’s front door. The lock was completely rusted, barely hanging on, long past functional. With a light push, the door swung open—giving them no time to mentally prepare.

“Creak—”

The old wood groaned, grating on the ears. A chill, decaying draft seeped out. Though it was summer, goosebumps prickled all over.

The rustle of fabric came from behind as the girls huddled together. Standing at the threshold, Shan Ziwei felt like he was at the entrance of hell. Ahead lay darkness; light from behind barely reached a few feet in, revealing nothing inside.

A powerful urge to leave surged—instinctive reaction to the unknown and dangerous. He glanced at Host, but the black-haired youth had already stepped into the dark, his back disappearing.

Shan Ziwei: …=口=!!!

Dude—do you even have fear receptors?!

He could almost feel the game system’s frustration—all its carefully crafted horror wasted on Host. Thanks to his unflappable demeanor, Shan Ziwei’s discomfort faded. Steeling himself, he stepped into Manda Mansion without hesitation.

Inside, everything darkened a shade. Outside was gloomy; inside was dimly lit and hard to see. The gray pallor wasn’t just from poor lighting—it was from ubiquitous dust and grime, giving the aged house a pervasive smell of decay.

“Eww… it’s so dark!”

The girls followed. Tapioca looked around wide-eyed; Milk Tea, somewhat germophobic, covered her mouth and nose: “So dirty… and we have to ‘play games’ here… if only it were cleaner…”

Clunk.

Though soft, the door’s closing sounded like thunder. At a time like this, any noise was devastating. Everyone turned in unison to see the door shut on its own.

Hyacinth tried the door—her voice unsteady: “It won’t open…”

She stopped—not from fear of being locked in, but from shock at their suddenly pristine surroundings. The filthy entrance hall had been transformed: moldy shoes no longer cluttered the floor; the shoe cabinet bore no unsettling scratches. As if the door closing was a signal, the world had shifted. Now, an ornate European-style shoe cabinet stood perfectly intact, shoes neatly arranged. The living room across from them was also renewed—as if touched by magic—leather sofas gleaming, reflecting their images.

Compared to the earlier squalor, the house now exuded cozy warmth—which only made them more uneasy. The warmth was wrong, out of place. The closed door seemed to have severed something—their connection to the normal world—as if it had locked them into a bizarre parallel dimension.

As if that weren’t enough, a rapid pounding came from overhead.

Thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—thump-thump-thump-thump-thump-thump—

Like a child running upstairs, the sound didn’t so much enter the ears as stomp on their hearts. Shan Ziwei’s heartbeat quickened against his will. Panic set in, numbing his limbs. Host ahead looked up—his eyes, revealed beneath his disheveled bangs, sharp enough to pierce the floorboards.

—If you heard footsteps in an empty haunted house, what would you do?

Shan Ziwei watched Host shoot forward like an arrow. He chased after him, only realizing what he was doing after a few steps—mixed feelings flooded in. Whatever his conscious feelings about Host, his subconscious trusted him, believing everything he did was right.

He followed Host through the living room, down a hallway, and up a staircase. He understood Host’s logic now—they were members of the “No Risk, No Fun” club (er, Supernatural Research Club). Any paranormal activity had to be investigated, no matter what!

One after another, they reached the second floor. They stood at the top of the stairs; before them, a shadowy corridor. A pale silhouette stood in the deepest darkness—Shan Ziwei’s mind went blank: That—that’s—!

The girls’ footsteps approached from behind. High-level players wouldn’t be foolish—they quickly figured out what to do. Tapioca and Milk Tea had just reached the top when they saw the white figure—the two screamed and clung to each other.

“AAAAHHHH—!!!”

The white figure seemed startled by the scream and began to turn. Shan Ziwei’s breath grew heavy; he knew it was bad for his heart, but he couldn’t look away.

First came a stiff face—his heart was in his throat before he realized it was a pale Noh mask, with faint brows and blood-red lips. Just staring at it felt like being cursed.

He heard someone sob behind him. The white figure bent at a 90-degree angle—truly “bent,” not “curved”—so rigidly they could almost hear its spine snap.

Clunk.

What actually fell was a hard object. The white figure vanished, leaving only the sinister mask. Shan Ziwei gasped for air, blood rushing to his head, pounding painfully. In his dizzy state, a strange thought surfaced:

—It was probably… bowing to them?

As if welcoming them. He felt a pang of despair—this was just the beginning, and already a third of his Diamond SP (Fear) was gone. How would he survive the main event?

[Setting 3: You have explored the mansion and found suitable locations and items for the games. (01:00:00)]

A new system setting appeared, drawing everyone’s attention. Crimson Rose rallied: “We’ve been from the first to second floor—through the living room, dining room, and hallway. The living and dining rooms connect. There are five doors in the hallway, leading to five rooms. Since we’re an even number, pairing up is most efficient.”

Under her organized direction, the others calmed down.

“Two doors are slightly open—one’s the kitchen, the other’s a bedroom.” Night Lily added, being observant. “The bedroom’s to the left of the stairs, the kitchen’s next to the dining room.”

Crimson Rose nodded approvingly. “Then only one question remains…” She pulled out the flyer and read: “Mirror Ghost, Hide and Seek, Wall Touching, Ouija Board… Has anyone heard of these games? Or know what items they need?”

The girls exchanged glances and shrugged in confusion.

“No idea—never even heard of these spiritual games.”

“I know ‘Ghost Eater’ and ‘Light Hiding.'”

“Oh, you’ve played Light Hiding too? What did you see in the light…”

Shan Ziwei was surprised—he’d heard of these games. Wouldn’t girls interested in the paranormal know them?

As the conversation drifted toward spiritual games, Crimson Rose turned to Hyacinth, their resident encyclopedist: “Hyacinth, you don’t know either?”

“Mm.” Hyacinth pushed up her glasses uncomfortably. “These seem to be spiritual games popular about two hundred years ago.”

Ah. Now he understood why the girls were stumped—the Chessboard’s time setting was 2016. Unless they’d specifically studied it, people from Earth Year 83 wouldn’t know about those games.

Who knew being old was an advantage? 233-year-old Shan Ziwei cleared his throat: “I know.”

The girls looked at him in surprise. He spoke quickly, a little nervous: “Mirror Ghost needs a room with a large mirror. Hide and Seek needs a black cat. Wall Touching needs a closed empty room. Ouija Board needs paper and a pen.”

“Wow, you’re amazing!” Tapioca exclaimed, leaning in. “Do you like spiritual games?”

This particular sufferer subtly kept his distance, mumbling: “Mm, yeah…”

“Milk Tea loves them too—why don’t you pair up with her? You can share interests~” Tapioca glanced at Host’s handsome profile, her cheeks pink—a transparently cute ulterior motive. “And I’ll pair up with you!”

The proposal was exactly what he wanted—it meant he wouldn’t have to deal with Host. He was about to agree when Host looked at him expressionlessly. There was nothing different about his gaze, yet something made Shan Ziwei’s heart jolt. He didn’t even have time to speak before instinctively going on guard.

Then Crimson Rose spoke.

“For exploring the house, it’s best to stick with people you know—especially on an L5 difficulty board. We might use Relationship Setting Cards on each other, and familiarity helps with coordination.”

Tapioca let out a disappointed “Oh” and was pulled back by a blushing Milk Tea. Crimson Rose continued her interrupted arrangement: “Large mirror, black cat, paper and pen, empty room—these are what we need. We should also look for keys, switches, etc. In my experience, unopened doors are usually locked and need keys or triggers to open.”

“As we said before, one group per area. Since the living and dining rooms connect, one group can check those. Another checks the kitchen, another the bedroom.”

One group for the living/dining room, one for the kitchen, one for the bedroom… But there were eight of them—that should be four groups of two, exploring four areas.

So they were being excluded after all… During the discussion, Mystic Garden had created an atmosphere that excluded men. Though Crimson Rose seemed to address everyone, her gaze had only moved among the girls. Just as he was thinking this, Crimson Rose faced him and Host directly for the first time, her smile impeccable.

“As for the second floor—we’ll leave that to you gentlemen.”