Chapter 30: Loss Of Control
The dim environment and the mad words made everyone’s hearts crawl.
“Hey, stop talking nonsense!”
“No, no.” That person shook their head, eyes watching the footsteps continuously retreating from the door.
“It’s coming in. It’s coming in!”
Her tone grew higher and higher, nearly shrill.
“Shut up!” someone scolded.
She had not forgotten what A Luo said: no killing, no loud talking, no going out, no turning on lights.
But the woman seemed not to hear her words at all, continuously retreating as if pulling away from some invisible existence.
Her eyes stared fixedly at the door, as if there, really was a terrifying existence that everyone else could not see.
Until a certain moment, the tipping point was broken.
“It’s come in!”
The woman’s shrill voice pierced the eardrums, but the doorway was clearly empty!
“We’ll die! It’ll kill everyone here!”
She shouted neurotically, and then, as if crushed by fear, screamed and ran straight out of the Ancestral Hall, rushing into the darkness.
A deathly silence spread inside the Ancestral Hall, invisible fear surrounding everyone; the woman’s mad behavior and words made the already uneasy passengers even more restless.
“.Is she crazy?”
Someone questioned, while others approached the door, planning to flee immediately if something seemed off.
Wei Ling’s complexion also mixed with shock and uncertainty; she looked at Lu Jinzhao, only to see Lu Jinzhao still sitting in place, expression firm. Somehow, her heart felt slightly more settled.
But
“What exactly happened?”
“Is it.really safe here?”
“Hey, say something!” Xu Ruolin looked at Lu Jinzhao and demanded.
Lu Jinzhao raised her eyes to her: “Just an illusion.”
“Illusion?”
“You mean, the shadow she saw was an illusion?”
Some were skeptical, but others felt slightly reassured by this explanation. After all, Lu Jinzhao herself was still sitting here; if she wanted to deceive them, she wouldn’t risk herself, right?
“How do you know it’s an illusion?” But Xu Ruolin was clearly not satisfied with this answer.
Lu Jinzhao was too lazy to explain further, only saying: “If you want to survive, best not to leave here.”
The others’ complexions turned grave upon hearing this, unsure whether to believe Lu Jinzhao’s words.
After all, to them, Lu Jinzhao was just an unfamiliar companion; they knew nothing of her ability or strength.
But the appearance of that passenger who had been scared nearly insane had really happened.
Is it really safe here?
No one spoke again; there was still a long time until the mission ended, but now, they were plunged into confusion.
What to do next?
Most had no idea.
In the silence, a rapid breathing sound rang out inside the Ancestral Hall.
This sound wouldn’t have been strange half an hour ago—everyone had just arrived, all exhausted and panting—but now, the five remaining people in the room had long since steadied their breathing.
At this time, whose breathing would be so rapid?
Everyone’s gazes turned toward the direction of the sound, only to see Xu Ruolin frantically scratching at her neck with both hands, her face flushed red, legs kicking wildly on the ground involuntarily, as if a pair of invisible hands was strangling her neck, making her breathing difficult and on the verge of suffocation.
“What’s going on?!”
The remaining few looked vigilantly toward Xu Ruolin, even Lu Jinzhao’s expression turning shocked and uncertain.
According to her speculation, inside the Ancestral Hall should be safe, so why.?
Seeing Xu Ruolin’s complexion growing worse, her struggling movements slowing, she seemed to realize she was doomed.
Thus, she stopped her futile struggles; her pale face bore a pair of eyes bulging as if about to burst from suffocation. With her last bit of strength, she fixed those terrifying eyes on everyone and hoarsely shouted: “.Run!”
“Run fast! There’s a ghost here!”
—Bang!
A somewhat muffled sound rang out; Xu Ruolin’s entire neck was crushed directly by invisible hands. Her head spun half a circle in the air before falling to the ground. Blood surged from the empty neck stump, splattering every corner of the Ancestral Hall. The ancestral tablets were dyed red with blood, blood water pouring like a torrential rain onto the remaining four, even the Eternal Lamp swaying slightly as if about to go out.
This terrifying scene completely shattered the others’ mental defenses; in the already high-pressure environment, they completely lost the ability to judge the situation.
Someone retreated in terror a few steps and ran headlong out the Ancestral Hall door without looking back; someone glared at Lu Jinzhao and roared: “Liar!”
“You’re a liar, you want to kill us all!”
With that, she too followed the previous person’s steps and rushed out of the Ancestral Hall.
Whatever about staying to survive—if they didn’t leave now, the next to die would be themselves!
Wei Ling now hesitated as she stood up. Before this, though half-believing half-doubting, she had planned to trust Lu Jinzhao’s judgment for the time being, but now it seemed.
This person’s judgment was probably wrong.
But just as she meant to head out of the Ancestral Hall, Lu Jinzhao—who had ignored the others rushing out—suddenly grabbed her wrist.
The blood-water-stained hand was cold and sticky, making Wei Ling’s scalp tingle. She lowered her head and saw Lu Jinzhao’s face, blood-stained yet still firm in expression.
“Don’t go, you’ll die,” she said.
Wei Ling gritted her teeth: “But staying here, we’ll die too!”
Lu Jinzhao pursed her lips upon hearing this, released her wrist, and looked at her seriously: “I’ll ask you one question.”
“.What?” Wei Ling had a premonition that this question was extremely important.
“From entering the village until now, have you heard any sound belonging to the village.”
“What do you mean?” Wei Ling was puzzled, her heart filled with anxiety; she felt Lu Jinzhao was wasting time—she just wanted to leave now.
“Besides the sounds we make, the sounds villagers make, have you heard any other sounds? Weren’t there completely none?”
Lu Jinzhao’s words hit Wei Ling’s mind like a heavy hammer; she instantly understood the meaning. When she recalled whether she had ever heard any other sounds in the village, she couldn’t help but feel a chill crawl over her scalp.
None.
Neither crowing chickens or barking dogs, nor chirping insects or singing birds, not even the sound of wind rustling leaves.
This village was far too quiet, but she hadn’t noticed it before!
Probably, all her attention had been on the sacrifice.
Only now did she realize that there wasn’t a single living thing in this village!
“.Those villagers?”
“Never living people,” Lu Jinzhao affirmed.
This village had no living things from the very start!
“.Why is it like this?” Wei Ling only felt coldness spreading endlessly from her heart. The village was strange, the altar untouchable, and someone had just died in the Ancestral Hall—clearly half an hour ago, this instance wasn’t so full of crisis!
“Illusion.”
“Li Haoyang at the start, Ye Jingyun after—I guess they both saw some kind of illusion and went mad running away.”
“Even now, I can’t fully distinguish which situations are illusions and which really happened,” Lu Jinzhao said, her tone somewhat helpless.
“I only know, if there’s anywhere safe in this village right now, it can only be here.”
“But.” Wei Ling was still hesitant, but not as desperate to leave: “Where did the problem arise?”
She didn’t understand why things had developed to this point.
Had they done something wrong in this platform?
Lu Jinzhao sighed and gave the answer: “Time.”
Time was the problem.
When they first arrived, the long-untended appearance inside the Ancestral Hall was one clue; next was the most crucial point that made Lu Jinzhao realize the issue.
“The sacrifice’s zodiac sign, do you remember?” she asked.
Wei Ling nodded: “Yes, rat.”
“But this year is the year of the ox.”
Rat should have been last year’s sacrifice.
She asked again: “What is this platform called?”
Wei Ling realized something and incredulously said two words: “.Loss of Control.”
“Yeah.” Lu Jinzhao’s voice was deep, her dark eyes flickering in the torchlight: “Loss of Control—sacrifice failed, that’s when it goes out of control. Why is the platform named this?”
“Because Qu Xiang lost control long ago.”
The failed sacrifice happened last year; Qu Xiang had long been deserted due to loss of control.
“We arrived a full year late!”
So, Qu Xiang’s taboo was no longer what A Luo had said, but
—Those who step into Qu Xiang, die!
