"Ning Ping?" Si Lian's voice suddenly rang out, "Ning Ping is gone. He was just sitting next to me, but now..."
Hearing Si Lian's voice, the others turned to look. When they tried to get up, they realized they couldn't move, as if they were glued to their chairs.
"How could this happen?" An Ruo asked anxiously.
"Don't move."
Jing Minghe's voice warned them. Others also realized that the more they struggled to stand, the deeper they sank into the chairs. They immediately stopped struggling.
"What should we do?" You Mi whispered.
Jing Minghe looked up at the stage. The two puppets were still performing. He told everyone, "Continue watching the show until it's over."
"Damn it," Fang Chao couldn't help but curse. Su Dan Novel Network.
Who had the mood to watch a show now? But even if they didn't, they had to keep watching.
You Mi propped herself up, afraid to move, feeling completely stiff. Her peripheral vision inadvertently swept over Si Lian and saw that she was already sinking halfway. She called out to encourage her, "Si Lian, don't move, hold on."
The performance on stage ended an hour and a half later. However, this short hour and a half was the most agonizing torment for Jing Minghe and the others. Because afterward, it wasn't just struggling; even a slight movement would cause them to sink a little further into the chair.
It wasn't until Quan Zhe announced the end of today's performance and that everyone could leave that the crowd finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Those who could stand up immediately did so. Si Lian and An Ruo both fell to the ground. You Mi and Qiao Qiao quickly ran over to help them up.
Gong Liang and Ning Ping had vanished into thin air. Without a word, they adjusted themselves and immediately left the performance hall to search elsewhere.
Outside the performance hall, Xia Rong couldn't suppress his confusion. "Ning Ping is missing, and Gong Liang is also gone. They clearly entered the performance hall with us. How could they suddenly disappear?"
"Let's go look for them first," Jing Minghe said and then walked upstairs with Chi Hao.
The others also tacitly paired up to search for them.
Only Fang Chao, pretending to search for them, actually ran back to his room. He had no intention of caring about others' lives. At this moment, the only person he worried about was Luo Xi, who was alone in his room.
Ensuring no one was around, Fang Chao carefully opened the door, quickly entered the room, and then quickly locked it.
The room was dark, the curtains drawn, and it was pitch black, making it impossible to see anything.
"Luo Xi?" Fang Chao called out softly, puzzled. Was he still sleeping? Had he been too rough last night?
Thinking this, Fang Chao couldn't help but worry. He didn't dare turn on the lights and tiptoed to the bedside. Seeing that Luo Xi was indeed still asleep, he whispered, "Luo Xi, are you hungry? I brought you some bread. Get up and eat something."
After speaking, Fang Chao suddenly felt something was wrong. He was very close to Luo Xi, yet he couldn't hear the slightest breath.
Just as he became suspicious and prepared to move away, the "person" on the bed suddenly jumped up. Fang Chao was so startled that he fell directly onto the ground.
Due to the darkness in the room, Fang Chao couldn't see the "person's" appearance. He could only see that it was about half the height of a person, with its limbs twisted in strange positions.
This appearance...
It was very similar to the strange puppet that had chased him last night. But how did this thing get in? He had locked the door very well, and when he returned, he was sure the door was locked.
Could it be that Luo Xi had already been killed by this strange puppet?
Fang Chao was full of doubt. There was no smell of blood in the room, and Luo Xi was nowhere to be seen. At this moment, Fang Chao could only hope that Luo Xi had left the room on his own at some point unknown to him.
Seeing the strange puppet getting closer and closer, Fang Chao quickly got up and ran towards the door.
However, the strange puppet was much faster than him. Before Fang Chao could reach the door, he was grabbed by the strange puppet, whose arms tightly wrapped around Fang Chao's neck.
Fang Chao struggled to break free, but he found himself almost completely powerless.
In the previous dungeon, he hadn't slept for days and nights. He should have had a good rest last night, but Luo Xi's arrival had made him completely lose control.
The price of a night of madness was his inability to break free from the strange puppet's grasp at this moment.
"No," Fang Chao struggled desperately, "I can't die here."
If I die, what will Luo Xi do? I still haven't avenged Gong Liang's betrayal!
"Ah!" With a loud shout, Fang Chao used his last bit of strength and finally broke free from the strange puppet's grasp.
Just as Fang Chao was about to celebrate his victory with a smile, he found that everything below his neck was empty. Then, the distance between his head and the ground grew shorter and shorter.
After rolling twice, Fang Chao finally saw that his body was still in the strange puppet's hands.
Moreover, after the puppet discarded his body, its size suddenly increased, becoming that of a normal person.
Fang Chao didn't understand why, with his head severed from his body, he should have died, but his mind became clearer, and his vision was better than usual.
Even in the dark environment, he could see very clearly. The strange puppet had transformed into a person, someone he knew very well.
This person was now staring at him with an evil smile.
Fang Chao wanted to curse this person fiercely. However, although his mind and vision were sharp, he couldn't make a sound. Perhaps it was due to the absence of vocal cords.
The person who had just been standing in front of him suddenly walked over and squatted down.
As this detestable face slowly approached, Fang Chao's vision finally went completely black, and his consciousness gradually faded.
·
Except for places they couldn't enter, Jing Minghe and the others searched the entire hotel but couldn't find Gong Liang and Ning Ping. Everyone gathered at the fourth-floor staircase.
"What should we do?" Si Lian asked anxiously. "These two people vanished into thin air, what does it mean? Are they dead? But it's only the first day. Could it be that they accidentally triggered a death trap?"
"Who knows," Xia Rong sighed, "If they accidentally triggered the conditions for death, then it's also bad news for us. Who knows if we've done the same thing during our exploration."
"Yeah," An Ruo quietly agreed.
You Mi looked left and right, asking, "Where's Fang Chao? Why isn't he here? Who was searching with him earlier?"
The others all shook their heads. An Ruo said, "When we were searching, we were in pairs. He seemed to be the one left out."
Qiao Qiao then asked, "So, did anyone see Fang Chao during the search?"
No one answered affirmatively, which meant no.
"How about," Xia Rong suggested, "we go check his room? Maybe he's already back in his room."
Thinking that Fang Chao was the only one who could hear outside sounds, Jing Minghe nodded in agreement, "Let's go and see."
Just as everyone turned to go to Fang Chao's room, Fang Chao's door creaked open, and a head rolled out from inside.
Upon seeing it clearly, An Ruo couldn't help but let out a scream. In an instant, the silence in the corridor was broken.