novelhk Chapter 3 Three Long and Two Short, Dead Man's Meal
Chapter 3 Three Long and Two Short, Dead Man's Meal
The motion-activated light at the end of the corridor was completely broken, and only Chen Feng's tactical flashlight cut through the darkness.
Where the beam of light reached, the three red chopsticks stuck in the cement ground looked particularly glaring.
They are arranged in a pattern of two short ones and one long one, deeply embedded in the hard cement cracks, as if they were forcibly chiseled in by someone with tremendous gripping force.
People fear three bad things happening to them, and ghosts eat three red chopsticks.
In the trade, this is called "overturned food," and it's used to feed the vengeful ghosts who died violently and whose resentment is hard to dispel, unable to find their way back to the afterlife.
"Playing tricks!"
Chen Feng snorted coldly, strode forward, and kicked three chopsticks away.
The red lacquered chopsticks hit the wall and broke into several pieces.
The intermittent chewing sounds abruptly stopped.
The entire fourth floor fell into a deathly silence, as if even the sound of rain outside the window was blocked out by the thick darkness.
Lu Dan huddled at the back of the line, clutching a black plastic bag tightly in his hand.
His palms were covered in cold sweat.
Because of Chen Feng's provocation as a "tank," the monster's aggro level has definitely been maxed out.
Lu Dan swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. "Officer... Officer, look, they've kicked the chopsticks, but there's still no movement. Can we hurry up and find the person who placed the order?"
As he spoke, he stomped his feet, as if to ward off the chill, but actually to hide his weak legs.
Master Zhang turned around, his cloudy old eyes staring at Lu Dan with a sinister look, as if he were a dead man: "Young man, you're about to die, and you're still thinking about delivering takeout?"
"What else can I do? You'll support me, won't you?" Lu Dan retorted, sticking his neck out.
Ignoring the commotion behind him, Chen Feng, holding his gun in one hand and a flashlight in the other, slipped into the wide-open door of room 404.
"Is anyone home? Police are doing a room check!"
No response.
Lu Dan followed closely behind Lin Xiaoxiao, moving into the haunted house like a tail.
Upon entering, the sweet, pungent smell of blood was more than ten times stronger, almost enough to marinate you.
The furnishings inside the house were extremely strange.
It should have been a standard old-style two-bedroom apartment, but a huge black and white portrait of a deceased person was placed in the center of the living room.
The portrait was covered by a red cloth, revealing only the offering table underneath.
The altar was filled with all kinds of shoes.
Red high heels, black leather shoes, embroidered shoes, and even children's tiger-head shoes...
These hundreds of shoes were piled up densely, with the toes all pointing towards the door.
It was as if hundreds of unseen people were standing on the offering table, staring intently at the uninvited guest who had entered.
"ah--!"
Lin Xiaoxiao covered her mouth and let out a short, sharp scream.
The compass needle in Master Zhang's hand stopped moving completely. His face turned ashen, and he pulled out a handful of glutinous rice from his sleeve, clutching it tightly in his hand.
"Is the homeowner... a foot fetishist?" Chen Feng frowned, scanning the shoes with his flashlight.
"Click..."
The chilling chewing sounds rang out again.
This time the sound was very clear, coming from the direction of the bedroom in the inner room.
"Over there." Chen Feng's eyes sharpened, and he quickly turned his gun around.
The four of them slowly moved toward the bedroom.
Lu Dan walked at the back, his eyes quickly scanning the surrounding environment.
If he doesn't return the red high heel, the item bag will come after him, according to the mission prompt.
But if he were to take out the shoes right now in front of them, without any ghosts or tricks, he would immediately be treated as a suspect and detained.
Chaos must be created, or chaos must be exploited.
Chen Feng, who was walking at the front, kicked open the slightly ajar bedroom door.
The flashlight pierced the darkness like a sharp sword.
There was no bed in the bedroom. The floor was covered in muddy, wet stains, and someone had been crawling on the floor, soaking wet, for a long time.
In the corner of the room, a woman in a red dress was crouching.
Her long hair was draped over her back, damp with some kind of viscous liquid, and tangled into strands.
"My...shoes..."
Its voice was sharp and hoarse.
"My...foot...hurts so much..."
The female ghost in the red dress suddenly dropped to all fours, like a giant red spider, and pounced on Chen Feng at an astonishing speed!
"Bang! Bang!"
A shot rang out.
The bullet struck the female ghost's shoulder, exploding into two clouds of black mist, but it did nothing to stop its momentum.
"You beast!" Master Zhang shouted, scattering a handful of glutinous rice.
The glutinous rice hit the female ghost, making a crackling sound like firecrackers and sending up plumes of black smoke.
The female ghost let out a mournful shriek and her movements slowed slightly.
It's now!
The scene was extremely chaotic, with everyone's attention focused on the female ghost.
Lu Dan knew he only had one chance.
The shoes had to be delivered in a way that fit the persona, and the delivery had to be seamless.
"Oh my god! Murder! A ghost!"
Lu Dan let out a scream.
He scrambled backward, his clothes "accidentally" getting caught on the handle of a dresser, causing him to lose his balance and fall to the ground.
As he fell, he used the momentum to swing his arm violently.
"I'm not delivering anymore! I'll never deliver food again! I don't want the money back!"
While screaming hysterically, he aimed carefully and threw the black plastic bag in his hand towards the direction of the female ghost.
The black plastic bag traced a parabola through the air.
Just as the female ghost was about to pounce on Chen Feng, who was changing magazines, the plastic bag, by sheer bad luck, hit her directly in the face.
The broken red high heel fell with a "thud" in front of the female ghost.
The female ghost stared intently at the shoes on the ground, ignoring the living flesh and blood so close at hand, and reached her pale hand towards the high heels.
Lu Dan slumped to the ground, panting heavily, tears and snot streaming down his face, looking utterly pathetic.
But beneath that mask of extreme fear, his eyes were peering through his fingers, observing the situation.
[Task complete: Item returned to its rightful owner]
[Passerby A's evaluation: S (Your performance was enough to fool both ghosts and humans; perfect extra skills!)]
[Reward: Spare key to Room 404 (already found under the doormat)]
A system notification sounded in my mind.
A huge weight was lifted off his shoulders, but Lu Dan was even more terrified.
In these kinds of scripts, when a vengeful ghost obtains a keepsake from his previous life, it often means that he has completed his life.
really.
The female ghost grabbed the high heel.
Where its left ankle was originally empty, flesh began to writhe wildly, black mist condensed, and a rotting foot "grew" out.
She slowly put on her high heels.
"Giggle..."
A chilling laugh squeezed out of its throat.
"Thank you... thank you for bringing it..."
Its neck cracked, and its lifeless white eyes slowly turned toward Lu Dan.
Lu Dan's heart skipped a beat.
Now that the ghost has put on shoes, it can probably leave this room and go hunt down anyone it wants to kill.
The good news is that the mission is complete; the bad news is that the settlement cannot be made yet.
"Run! This thing has become stronger!" Master Zhang's expression changed drastically, and the compass in his hand shattered, the fragments cutting his palm.
Without needing any prompting, Chen Feng grabbed Lin Xiaoxiao, who was slumped on the ground, and dragged her outside.
"Walk!"
As Chen Feng passed by Lu Dan, he didn't forget him. He grabbed Lu Dan's collar and lifted him up like a chick.
This surprised Lu Dan somewhat; it seemed this NPC was quite loyal.
The four of them rushed out of the bedroom in a disheveled state and headed for the front door.
Behind me came the sound of high heels clicking on the floor.
Crisp, elegant, unhurried, yet each step felt like a gentle touch on everyone's heart.
No matter how fast you run, the sound behind you always stays at a distance that's neither too close nor too far.
As he rushed to the door, Lu Dan deliberately stumbled and lifted the dirty carpet.
A rusty bronze key lay there quietly.
In the instant he fell, he grabbed the keys and slipped them into his pocket.
"Close the door! Close the door now!" Lin Xiaoxiao screamed.
Master Zhang rushed out last and slammed the door shut with a backhand.
"Bang!"
The door was closed tightly.
The sound of high heels stopped behind the door.
Then came a woman's sigh and the sound of fingernails scratching at the door.
The four people leaned against the wall, breathing heavily.
Lu Dan lowered his head, his fingers tightly gripping the key.
"We can't get out of this building."
Master Zhang suddenly spoke, his voice filled with despair.
Everyone followed his gaze.
What should have been the stairwell entrance has now been replaced by a white wall.
The walls were covered with black and white portraits of the deceased.
The person in every portrait has the same face—Lu Dan.