Chapter 72: Wang Family Funeral Home
Lu Jinzhao didn’t ponder the parchment’s purpose for too long; she didn’t want to waste time on it.
Though Xiao Ping was afraid, he decided to go with her to check the situation at the Service Hall entrance. He lacked experience, but he wasn’t really that brainless.
Knowing the Service Hall truly had danger, Lu Jinzhao’s already tense mood instantly became heavy.
She actually hadn’t planned to enter the Service Hall at all. Before knowing the exact message, she had been harboring unease and worry about the unknown, but now that she knew there was really a ghost ahead, that worry turned into concrete fear.
Nothing was more terrifying than knowing there was a ghost ahead and still having to approach it.
Lu Jinzhao took a deep breath and simply quickened her steps toward the Service Hall.
Xiao Ping, who had been beside her, was stunned: “Hey? You be careful!”
He didn’t understand why Lu Jinzhao had suddenly sped up, so he hurriedly caught up, while repeatedly looking left and right in worry that something might suddenly rush out from the roadside.
It wasn’t until they neared the Service Hall entrance that Lu Jinzhao slowed her steps.
Xiao Ping, following behind her, also breathed a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Lu Jinzhao would charge straight into the Service Hall without a word, in which case he truly wouldn’t dare to follow.
With Lu Jinzhao’s steps slowing, he could also walk more slowly, finally having the mind to observe other things.
“Something’s wrong.” As he cautiously moved forward, Xiao Ping suddenly said.
He shook the flashlight: “Why has the light gotten dimmer?”
Inside the platform, anything abnormal, even unusual, was basically connected to ghosts.
Realizing this, he felt his scalp go numb. Looking at the surrounding darkness again, he felt like a ghost could suddenly pop out from anywhere.
What terrified him even more, naturally, was the Service Hall right in front of them.
In an instant, Xiao Ping felt as if his feet had taken root. He clearly knew he still had to go forward, at least to the entrance, but he just couldn’t take a step!
“There might be something in the Service Hall.” Lu Jinzhao didn’t hide it from him. She had no intention of tricking Xiao Ping into going in to die, so telling him some truth was fine.
“We’ll just stand at the entrance and look once, then leave immediately.” Lu Jinzhao emphasized: “No matter what we see then, remember, don’t panic.”
Xiao Ping, who had been struggling and hesitating in his heart, immediately felt a bit stronger upon hearing Lu Jinzhao’s words.
“Yeah, I’ll just look once and leave right away. Didn’t Meng Ning encounter this situation too and nothing happened after she left?”
Having convinced himself, Xiao Ping finally found the strength in his feet to continue forward.
The two slowly approached the Service Hall entrance. By the time they reached it, the flashlight beam, which had been very bright on the road, had now become exceptionally dim.
Looking inside from the outside window without shining the flashlight, they could only see a piece of unsettling darkness. Lu Jinzhao had a premonition that even shining the flashlight in, it probably wouldn’t illuminate the Service Hall at this moment.
Under the premise of clearly knowing there was a ghost inside, standing at the entrance, opening the door, and looking inside required exceptional courage.
Fortunately, Lu Jinzhao had completed several platform missions, even encountering more terrifying situations than now, so even though she felt some resistance, she still took several deep breaths and prepared to reach out and push open the door.
She didn’t plan to have Xiao Ping help. She didn’t want to develop such a habit—not out of pity for her teammate’s life, but because she didn’t want to get used to relying on others to handle dangerous things. She wouldn’t always have teammates around to help.
Xiao Ping didn’t know Lu Jinzhao’s thoughts. Seeing her plan to open the door herself, he could only keep feeling fortunate in his heart that the teammate he was paired with this time was someone like Lu Jinzhao.
The sound of the door being pushed came from the darkness. The instant the door opened, a nerve in Lu Jinzhao’s mind seemed to twitch suddenly. Her body seemed to sense the approaching danger first, with all her body hair standing on end—so fast that she herself hadn’t even reacted yet.
That wasn’t any pleasant feeling; even the skin on the back of her head felt taut. Moving a finger, she could clearly feel the sensation of her skin being pulled tight.
This was her body telling her: this place is not suitable for staying long.
Even so, Lu Jinzhao had no choice but to ignore her body’s warning, shine the flashlight’s light into the service hall, and look over with her eyes.
The lobby inside was exceptionally dark, without the slightest bit of light. Seeing Lu Jinzhao’s action, Xiao Ping also hurriedly poked his head out to look into the lobby together.
He had already guessed from Meng Ning’s description that Chen Hai’s death was most likely directly related to his reaction not being fast enough. He didn’t want to make the same mistake himself.
“Just one look,” he had originally thought.
He had even mentally prepared himself to remain calm no matter what he saw.
But when he unexpectedly saw a dead person’s face almost face-to-face, he still lost his thinking ability in that instant.
The ghost was right at the door, waiting for them to open it and look.
A chilling breath hit him in the face. Xiao Ping could no longer breathe, nor control his body to make any move. Even his brain stopped working.
Terror filled his entire body. He could only stare blankly at this terrifying face so close at hand.
Until the next instant, accompanied by a bang, the door was quickly shut.
Someone beside him quickly turned and left, even having the spare capacity to toss him a word: “Run.”
When that terrifying face disappeared from in front of him and Lu Jinzhao’s reminder sounded in his ear, Xiao Ping suddenly snapped back to his senses. He had even forgotten to breathe, and his weakened body nearly caused him to stumble when he turned around, but his strong survival instinct steadied him.
Only when pain came from his lungs, only when he was already some distance from the service hall, did he seem to suddenly regain his breathing ability, gasping for air heavily, then collapsing to his knees with a thud.
His body had completely gone soft from the extreme fright.
Even though he had experienced several haunted platforms, this was still the first time he had come face-to-face with a ghost so unexpectedly!
Up to now, his brain hadn’t recovered. Everything felt very chaotic, and even the road right in front of him looked so unfamiliar.
He looked up. Lu Jinzhao was standing farther away watching him. Her expression showed she was still shaken, but she could still maintain reason. At this moment, looking at him, it was like she was asking if he could still stand up.
Xiao Ping shook his head helplessly, his tone full of panic: “Can’t… can’t continue the patrol anymore!”
“We’ll die!”
In the darkness, his shrill voice was particularly obvious.
After he spoke, the girl ahead didn’t hesitate at all and directly said: “Then let’s part ways here.”
“No!” Xiao Ping immediately regretted it.
“No no, I beg you, please don’t leave me here alone!”
Even after he said that, the girl standing ahead watching him just said: “I can give you ten seconds to stand up. If not, I’ll leave.”
Ten seconds?!
That’s too short!
He couldn’t even feel where his legs were right now!
But he couldn’t stay here alone.
He would really die!
