Jing Minghe dragged Chi Hao out of the banquet hall and only let go when they reached the deck. "Alright, Hao Ge, I'm going to find a place to hide. You should hurry too."
"Mhm," Chi Hao responded softly and turned to leave.
Jing Minghe watched Chi Hao walk away. He found a spot nearby to settle in, estimating that from his hiding place, he should be able to hear the goings-on in the banquet hall.
At 6:30 PM, Jing Minghe heard Jia Dong, still injured, painstakingly make his way onto the deck, step by step.
He counted Jia Dong's steps, ensuring that Jia Dong reached a position where he would be immediately visible if Jing Minghe stood up.
Jing Minghe took a deep breath, a slight smirk playing on his lips. *Here I come, dear instance!*
Jing Minghe suddenly stood up. He saw not only Jia Dong but also the person he least wanted to see at that moment.
Chi Hao!
Jing Minghe clenched his fists. He couldn't understand why Chi Hao would do this. The Chi Hao he knew wasn't someone who took such risks.
Although Chi Hao was intelligent and powerful, he always seemed indifferent and nonchalant towards the instances, never doing anything so reckless!
Yet, the reality was right before his eyes, leaving him no choice but to believe it.
·
Qiu Zhi'an went to the first-floor restaurant. He had noticed when Jing Minghe and the others were cooking today that there were two very large refrigerators in the kitchen.
They had searched here too.
The refrigerators were empty, containing nothing. Therefore, these large refrigerators were just big boxes, capable of hiding a person.
The cruise ship had been searched so many times by everyone that almost no one was unaware of where things might be. As a result, as time went on, it became increasingly difficult to find a suitable hiding place.
After all, if a ghost player found one person, they could be successfully replaced. For the ghost players, it would only become easier.
After much thought, Qiu Zhi'an decided to hide in the large refrigerator in the restaurant kitchen. He would take a gamble; perhaps the ghost players wouldn't think of this place.
Before hiding, Qiu Zhi'an specifically pulled out the refrigerator's power cord to prevent this ghostly refrigerator from charging itself.
Although he could get out quickly if he sensed something was wrong, the possibility of being discovered would be too high. It was better to be fully prepared.
Everything was ready.
Qiu Zhi'an lifted the lid of the large refrigerator. It was reasonably clean inside, at least within his tolerance.
With a leap, Qiu Zhi'an entered the large refrigerator, nodding in satisfaction. "Not bad, this space is quite large."
He turned, found a comfortable position to sit down, and reached out to close the refrigerator door. Qiu Zhi'an prepared to take a short nap, waiting peacefully for the game to end.
After an unknown amount of time, Qiu Zhi'an suddenly felt a chill. He wasn't sure if it was because he had been still for too long or if the large refrigerator had malfunctioned.
Qiu Zhi'an tried to endure, but he felt increasingly cold. He reached out and touched the refrigerator wall; it seemed to be frosting over.
How could this be? Had it really charged itself?
But I explicitly pulled out the power cord, so how did it charge itself?
It's so cold.
Qiu Zhi'an huddled in the refrigerator, shivering from the cold. He wanted to go out and take a look, but he was afraid of running into the player who was currently the ghost.
The previous player who had been the ghost, Huang Rongfei, was already dead. No one knew how he died, and no one knew if the player who was the ghost would definitely die.
What should I do?
Qiu Zhi'an wrestled with himself.
If he went out and happened to encounter the ghost player, he would have to take their place as the ghost. If he stayed inside, he might freeze to death in the refrigerator.
Qiu Zhi'an estimated his chances of encountering the ghost player. He thought they were high, especially since something as strange as a refrigerator with a pulled power cord starting up on its own had happened to him.
But the probability of freezing to death was also high.
Qiu Zhi'an laboriously pulled out his watch from his pocket and checked it. There were still over fifty minutes left. If the temperature continued to drop, he might freeze to death in less than half an hour.
He could feel the temperature continuing to fall.
What should I do? What should I do?
The temperature inside the refrigerator had dropped to a level Qiu Zhi'an found unbearable. If he didn't go out soon, he would truly freeze to death.
No, if death is inevitable either way, I have to take a chance!
Having made up his mind, Qiu Zhi'an reached out to push open the refrigerator door.
However, the result was beyond his expectation.
Whether it was because he was frozen and weak or for some other reason, the refrigerator door, which should have been light for him, couldn't be pushed open at all.
No! Don't! Don't do this! Let me out!
Qiu Zhi'an desperately tried to push open the refrigerator door, but due to the ever-increasing fear in his heart and the continuously dropping temperature of his body, he truly had no strength left this time.
Just as Qiu Zhi'an was on the verge of a breakdown, things that made him even more desperate continued to happen.
Qiu Zhi'an now profoundly understood what it meant to have only deeper despair, never the deepest despair.
A little boy, covered in frost from head to toe with a deathly pale face, suddenly appeared before his eyes.
It was too strange. There was no light in the refrigerator, and it should have been completely dark with the door closed, yet he could see the little boy's face, and even every single frost crystal on the child's body, with perfect clarity.
"You," Qiu Zhi'an's voice was hoarse and trembling as he mustered the courage to ask, "Who... who are you? What do you want?"
The child slowly grinned at Qiu Zhi'an and said in a voice more sinister than the refrigerator's temperature, "Come play with me. Let's play."
"No! Go away! Let me out!"
Qiu Zhi'an tried to push the child away, but this ghost child was much stronger than him.
The ghost child kept approaching Qiu Zhi'an, but Qiu Zhi'an was completely powerless to resist.
Qiu Zhi'an couldn't understand. What had he done wrong? Why did this damned game not even give him room to choose? He clearly had choices.
"Play with me~ Play with me~"
The ghost child's voice echoed in Qiu Zhi'an's ears. He could no longer distinguish whether this was a hallucination caused by the cold or if he was truly hearing such sounds.
Even whether this ghost child he saw actually existed was questionable.
Everything was too clear, and the clearer it became, the more unreal it felt.
I don't want to die.
Qiu Zhi'an screamed inwardly but had no idea how he could survive.
"Play with me!"
The ghost child's voice suddenly amplified infinitely. The pale little face pressed tightly against Qiu Zhi'an's face, his eyes wide open, as if his eyeballs were about to pop out and smash into his face in the next second.
"Ah!!!"
Qiu Zhi'an couldn't help but scream. After this scream, his world fell into complete silence.
Outside the large refrigerator, a red shadow was slowly approaching.