Chapter 177: Ghost Tree
Wang Tao tightly pursed his lips, even his breathing had stopped, afraid of making the slightest sound.
He tiptoed on the stone paved road, his eyes fixed dead on the top of his feet, not daring to be the least bit careless.
The unknown is forever one of the greatest sources of fear.
The live broadcast room screen on the sub-machine had long been blacked out, leaving only a black screen with occasional white text drifting by.
For caution’s sake, to protect Wang Tao’s safety, this was undoubtedly the safest measure.
But this measure brought Wang Tao a huge psychological burden.
Knowing full well there was danger outside, yet unable to obtain any intelligence from the outside, he could only wildly guess in his mind, feeling like he could die on the spot at any moment.
But fortunately, the previous caution seemed to have worked; this strange bush covered in eyes showed no intention of launching an attack.
Those bloodshot eyes merely turned bit by bit with Wang Tao’s actions, dozens of lines of sight all focusing squarely on Wang Tao’s body.
Perhaps that wasn’t quite accurate, because quite a few eyes were also staring at the iPhone hanging on Wang Tao’s chest, as if sensing the existence of others behind the screen.
“Professor Wang…”
Li Jun, standing behind Wang Xiaoming, didn’t dare slack off and stepped forward to pull Wang Xiaoming away.
“No need to be so tense.” Wang Xiaoming said calmly, “There’s not only the screen’s barrier between us and the fierce ghost, but we’re also in two different spacetimes, so there’s no possibility of being attacked.”
Hearing this, Li Jun was still not entirely reassured, staring uneasily at the computer screen while quietly signaling the ghost controllers around him to prepare.
Fortunately, Wang Xiaoming’s guess was correct.
Until the ghost eye bush disappeared from in front of the camera, no one in the laboratory suffered a supernatural attack.
It seemed like he had survived…
With the eerie sense of peeping from behind gone, Wang Tao let out a sigh of relief while involuntarily feeling the urge to shrink back.
Just like with that strange rope earlier, under that gaze he felt his very soul exposed, like prey discovered by its natural enemy, not even a thought of resistance stirring in him.
If anything, being able to endure the fear without escaping or shrinking back already surpassed most people.
Wang Xiaoming noticed Wang Tao’s poor state, observed the surrounding environment through the camera, and typed to reassure him: 【Temporarily safe, you can rest in the corner ahead for a moment.】
“Where am I now? How much longer do I have to walk?” Wang Tao huddled in the corner, lowering his voice to ask.
This short distance was more exhausting than extreme sports like rock climbing; the psychological burden was even more draining than the physical fatigue.
But a single house shouldn’t be that big; after walking this long, it shouldn’t be much longer to reach the end, right?
Wang Xiaoming didn’t answer his question, merely instructing:
【You’ve started making contact with the building. From now on, we’ll use bullet comments for communication. Try not to speak out loud.】
The more actions you take, the higher the probability of being targeted by a fierce ghost.
That bush earlier seemed to follow a pattern related to vision; in a place surrounded by fierce ghosts, who knows if even making a sound would draw their attention.
Better to be careful.
“It’s a bit inconvenient; I type pretty slowly.” Wang Tao typed in response.
【Then speak less and just do as I say.】
【Time’s about up; keep moving forward.】
So urgent?
Wang Tao muttered to himself inwardly but still cooperatively stood up.
After all, his body didn’t feel that tired; the brief rest was mostly just to adjust his mindset.
Actually, he was wrong; it wasn’t that Wang Xiaoming was too urgent, but that Wang Tao didn’t have much time left.
From the look of that wound earlier, Wang Tao seemed deeply corroded by supernatural erosion, not like a fresh injury.
If a way to alleviate it couldn’t be found soon, with every minute that passed, the probability of Wang Tao dropping dead would increase.
If this were outside, simply lighting a ghost candle would easily solve the problem.
But finding a ghost candle inside the old house was obviously unrealistic, so another method had to be used…
Wang Xiaoming pushed up his glasses; in the end, supernatural influence could only be countered by the supernatural, leaving Wang Tao with probably just two paths: either become a ghost controller to survive, or die in the old house.
Becoming a ghost controller would also help with the upcoming exploration.
【Slow down now, rotate the camera around the surrounding environment a few times, and first address the problem on your body.】
“What’s wrong with my body?” Wang Tao was momentarily stunned, then realized.
He still had the wound left by the ghost rope, but it had no pain, and with the fierce ghost pressing him so hard earlier, he’d actually forgotten about it without realizing.
He reached up to touch it, scaring Wang Tao so much his hand trembled nonstop, even feeling like his head was wobbling.
That wound seemed to have caved in, his entire neck unknowingly strangled out of shape, just like an hourglass.
“Brother, do I still have a chance?” Wang Tao typed shakily.
He didn’t even dare make any big movements, afraid that one slip and his head would come off his neck.
【No chance, but if you do exactly as I say, there’s still a bit of hope.】
“Tell me quick; as long as I can live, I’ll do anything.” Wang Tao typed back urgently.
This wasn’t a joke; even if Wang Xiaoming told him to eat shit the next second, Wang Tao wouldn’t hesitate.
【Find a fierce ghost, then make contact with it.】
This was worse than eating shit…
For the authenticity of his adventures before, he hadn’t shied away from experiencing the taste of shit.
Honestly, the taste wasn’t bad; bears have poor digestion, so their excrement was mostly fruit—even Bear Grylls said it was good.
Wang Tao even suspected the other guy wanted him dead; that thing had nearly killed him with just a touch, and now to proactively seek out a fierce ghost—was his life too long?
【The probability of surviving contact with a fierce ghost is slim, but not zero. If you just keep dragging it out, that’s truly a death sentence.】
“Slim? What’s the probability? One in ten?” Wang Tao asked skeptically.
【No one can be certain; everyone gets different results from contacting a fierce ghost. Others’ experience means nothing to you—don’t overthink it.】
Looks like even less than one in ten; what’s the difference from suicide?
Silence.
Even the bullet comments in the live broadcast room had vanished.
Wang Tao felt like the people on the other side of the screen weren’t rushing him; they were waiting, or rather forcing him to respond.
“Are you sure contacting a fierce ghost will let me live? What’s the reasoning behind it?”
Faced with a life-or-death crisis, he finally wavered.
