"At some point, my father had an affair. I understand him, men sometimes cannot control themselves, maybe that woman used their child as a way to cling to him."

"But if it were just a regular affair, it wouldn't be a big deal. But who knew that woman was cursed. Ever since she got involved with my father, our entire family has been cursed."

"At first, I thought it was just my own hypersensitivity, that it would get better with time. But one day, when I woke up at the age of 16 or 17, I found myself lying on the ground in the middle of nowhere, with no tall buildings in sight. I had actually fallen asleep and woke up in a different world. My parents and that other woman were lying beside me."

"At the time, I didn't know that I had crossed over. I thought we had been kidnapped and I was scared. It was then that I saw the woman who tempted my father, and I instantly understood him. If it were me, I might have been tempted too. That figure, that beautiful face... sigh, the bane of a man's existence."

"Get to the point, what exactly happened to you and how did you return to the real world?" Xu Fang interrupted Luo Bing's reminisce.

"To be honest, if I were to recall all the details, it would be too terrifying. Thinking about it too much would give me nightmares. Let me give you a summary."

"We were in a desolate village, with about a hundred villagers. The villagers said they had never seen outsiders like us before, but they took us in. We stayed there and explored the surroundings, but there was no road leading to the city. The villagers said they had been living there for generations and never thought of leaving. They treated us kindly and warned us not to go out at night."

"At that time, something felt off about the village. It was too strange, as if it was hiding something. The second night, my father and I secretly sneaked out of where we were staying, wanting to find out the secrets of the village. And then…"

At this point, Luo Bing took a deep breath, the horror still vivid in his mind. It was a deep scar that would not fade, no matter if it were ten or twenty years later.

"Except for the four of us, all the villagers in that village were monsters, ghosts! They appeared human during the day but turned into ghosts at night, their appearance... I can't put it into words, it was horrifying to look at for too long."

"They also had various strange abilities. For example, they could stretch a pig into thin 'noodles' until it was about to be cooked, and the 'noodles' would still be alive and wriggling... They could also turn vegetables into living animals, feeding them meat. When it came time to slaughter them, the plants would scream... The villagers used these disgusting things to cook."

"In short, those ghosts seemed to consider us as livestock and would kill us when their numbers grew."

"From that day on, we lived in the village in fear while secretly trying to find a way to escape. Finally, we found a way back to the real world - we just had to jump into the well in the middle of the village at midnight. As for that other woman, she was unlucky and got killed."

"After returning to the real world, my parents searched the internet but found no information about that village. It was finally confirmed that it was a ghost village that didn't belong to the real world. Although the other woman died, the curse didn't disappear, and our house was still haunted. Later, my father hired a Buddhist monk to drive away the evil spirit from the illegitimate child... oh, his name is Luo Xiaoming. After the exorcism, Luo Xiaoming lost consciousness and woke up in the hospital a week later, but he had lost his memory."

"The Buddhist monk told us that although the curse was eliminated, the vengeful spirit was not fully destroyed. He only managed to drive the ghost out of Luo Xiaoming's body, but it could come back anytime. Ghosts can be restrained, but they cannot be killed. The only way to survive is by luck. As for why Luo Xiaoming lost his memory, he couldn't give any explanation."

"My father then bought a bunch of talismans from the Buddhist monk, spending who knows how much money. After that, we returned to a normal life, and the haunting stopped. I also tried to do good deeds, dedicating myself to charity... After three years, when I graduated from high school, I suddenly heard the news that the Buddhist monk who helped us exorcise the ghost had committed suicide by hanging himself in the temple."

"Other people may think that the Buddhist monk couldn't handle it anymore, but I know that it was definitely not suicide. Fortunately, it seems that the curse didn't continue to haunt us, but it's been over ten years now, how did it come back... the grudge from that ghost is just too heavy. I haven't done anything to provoke it, how did it start haunting me..."The story of Luo Bing is neither too long nor too short. When it comes down to it, all that's left is a pile of complaints. It seems that Luo Bing hasn't done anything wrong, but he's been haunted by ghosts just because he's unlucky.

Xu Fang felt that there were many contradictions in his story. "What's the name of that third party? What's her background? How did your father know her?" Xu Fang asked.

"I'm not very clear about that... Every time she's mentioned, my mother's expression becomes unpleasant, and my father keeps silent. I didn't ask further," Luo Bing said. He didn't seem to be lying; he really didn't know.

"According to Luo Xiaoming's age, your father probably knew that woman about twenty years ago, right? But you were only a few years old back then. Why did the curse appear only when you were in high school?"

"There were probably intermittent periods. Maybe the curse only broke out every few years."

"Why didn't Luo Xiaoming enter the ghost village with you guys? Even his mother went in."

"That's also something I find strange." Luo Bing showed a disgusted expression. "Maybe Luo Xiaoming is the source of all evil, and the curse comes from him. Even if that's not the case, he has the curse bloodline from that third party, and misfortune will keep haunting our family."

"Oh? So, if Luo Xiaoming dies, the curse will be completely lifted?"

"Maybe."

Xu Fang narrowed her eyes, and a hint of danger emanated from her. "In that case, after we leave here, I'll go and kill Luo Xiaoming to see if we can eliminate the ghosts this way. What do you think?"

"Um, do we really have to do that?"

Although Luo Bing didn't have any good feelings towards the illegitimate child who carried the curse, he was still a relative, and there was no conflict of interest between them. Luo Xiaoming wouldn't inherit any property, so Luo Bing hadn't thought of killing him. At most, he would just abandon him.

"Let's decide after we leave here. We'll discuss everything then."

Luo Bing was completely unaware of Xu Fang's thoughts. He simply nodded and said, "If possible, try to eliminate the ghosts without killing anyone. I'll do my best to help you in terms of money, connections, and everything else."

Unknowingly, more than twenty minutes had passed. Xu Fang glanced at her phone and saw that it was 9:30.

Luo Bing's phone showed the same time.

"Miss Gu Xi, when I just entered, there was a group of plaster figures staring at me, and then I passed out. I want to ask, where did they go? Have you already eliminated them?"

Calling a child "Miss" made Luo Bing feel uncomfortable, but he had no choice. Although he still had some suspicion that the other party was a ghost in disguise, in this situation, he could only rely on her.

Whether Gu Xi was a human or a ghost, he needed to build enough goodwill first. Luo Bing was skilled at dealing with all kinds of people, especially women. He knew he should speak as a person to humans and as a ghost to ghosts. As long as he established a friendly relationship with the other party, he would benefit. And now, it was especially important.

Luo Bing was cautious and didn't reveal everything. If Xu Fang asked him questions like "Where is Luo Xiaoming?" he would evade them. If she wanted to kill ghosts, she must ensure his safety.

As for the reasons why Gu Xi wanted to kill ghosts and the "magical girl" thing, Luo Bing didn't ask and didn't want to know. The more he knew, the faster he would die. Clearly, this little girl was also a dangerous character. If she knew too many of her secrets, she might develop a killing intent towards him at any time, which would be disastrous.

Luo Bing thought carefully, but he didn't realize that Xu Fang's fondness for him had diminished a lot. She just didn't show it.

"Just call me by my real name," Xu Fang pointed at the door of the meeting room. "If those plaster figures can't teleport, they should still be in the meeting room. I haven't found a way to eliminate them yet."

"This is the meeting room?" Luo Bing suddenly felt that the door of this meeting room was dangerous. According to the conventions of horror movies, the door might open at any time.

"Should we block the door of the meeting room so that those things can't come out... Hey, what are you doing?" Luo Bing panicked when he saw Xu Fang walking towards the door and grabbing the handle.

"I'll meet them alone. Find a corner and stay there without moving. I'm going to open the door."During the meeting just now, Xu Fang couldn't fully demonstrate his skills because of Luobing, the drag. Now that Luobing is safe, he naturally wants to return to the conference room. Perhaps he can find some clues from those plaster figures - strange events often give participants various hints, which are the way to find a way out.

Luobing knew he couldn't stop Xu Fang, so without hesitation, he immediately hid in a blind spot outside the main door and expressed concern, "Be sure to stay safe and come back immediately if you find anything wrong!"

Seeing Luobing safely hiding, Xu Fang started to pull open the door to the conference room. However... the door didn't budge.

Xu Fang tilted his head, activated his energy shield, and pulled the door with the strength of five adults. But the door still wouldn't open.

Finally, he tried to punch the door. Energy rippled, quickly dissipating into nothingness. And his hand felt as if it hit an immovable solid object.

The door remained still, not even leaving a single mark. If it were an ordinary door, it would have been shattered under such destructive force.

Xu Fang couldn't help but think of the window in the demon world that couldn't be broken no matter what.

If the door couldn't be opened, perhaps the conference room no longer belonged to the "game" area, so a barrier was set on the door that couldn't be destroyed by any attack. No one could cross the area beyond the rules, not even Gussy with superpowers.

The game area can still automatically change?

Xu Fang turned his head towards the direction of the elevator and stairs. "Since the door won't open, we can only go that way."

"That's fine."

Luobing breathed a sigh of relief. He was actually a little worried that Xu Fang would abandon him. Although he said this place was safe enough, who knew if something unexpected would happen?

Approaching the window, Xu Fang stood on a resting chair and tiptoed to look outside.

The scenery outside the window hadn't changed. Looking down from the window, there was only a gloomy shadow, and the sky was covered in dark clouds. He pounded on the window a few times, and unsurprisingly, the window couldn't be destroyed either.

He jumped off the chair and walked to the staircase on the right side.

The corridor had no lights, and the right staircase seemed to connect with the left staircase. After extending a distance downward, it turned left. The color of the stairs was an unknown gray. In the darkness at the corner of the stairs, Xu Fang noticed a small red dot.

The color was somewhat like blood, and that area was blood red.

Did it represent danger?

Xu Fang went to observe the left staircase and found it was the same as the right one.

"How should we go? Shall we just stay here since this isn't a safe zone?" Luobing thought Xu Fang didn't know which way to go and proposed his own idea, "Let's stay here and wait, respond to changes with an unchanged attitude."

Xu Fang shook his head. "To find a way out, we need to actively search instead of finding a place to hide. We should explore everywhere and take control of the situation... Besides, haven't you noticed the color of the floor has changed?"

Reminded by Xu Fang, Luobing noticed that the color of the tiles had indeed changed. He remembered that when he woke up, they were still pure white, but now they seemed to have a layer of dull gray.

Can this place also become a dangerous area? Is there no place completely safe?

He felt a little scared and looked at Xu Fang. "Which way should we go now? Should we take the stairs?"

"Take the elevator." Xu Fang finished speaking and pressed the elevator button.

"The elevator?" Luobing was taken aback.

In horror films, elevators are often extremely dangerous places because they are small and dimly lit, and there might even be mirrors, making them perfect ambush spots for ghosts and monsters.

Luobing had doubts in his heart, but he didn't say anything and followed behind Xu Fang.

This "magical girl" might be able to confront ghosts and monsters head-on, but he didn't know how strong she was and if she could match a high monk. Ah, if he had known, he should have carried some talismans.

...

Inside the elevator, there were no floor buttons, only one button that goes down, nothing different from a regular elevator. (The elevator is also symmetrical, with the button on the back wall.) After Xu Fang pressed the descent button, the elevator doors closed and slowly descended.After about a few tens of seconds, the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened.

Outside the door was a corridor, with dim wall lights spaced at intervals. The corridor had no windows, only symmetric brown wooden doors arranged in a regular pattern, extending into the darkness.

Symmetric wall lights, symmetric wooden doors, it was a design that satisfied one's OCD.

The floor of the corridor was white.

"We must have come straight to the underground, how many meters did this elevator descend?" Luobing surveyed the surroundings after stepping out of the elevator.

"About 125 meters," Xu Fang calmly replied.

"125 meters?" Luobing was astonished at where Xu Fang obtained this data. "Then we should have arrived underground, but the company does not have any underground space... No, this place is completely different from the company's building..."

"Hush~"

Interrupting halfway, Xu Fang suddenly stopped him. Luobing reacted quickly and promptly closed his mouth.

Xu Fang crouched down, pressing his ear against the floor.

In fact, Gussy's auditory organs were distributed all over his body, but after being modified by the Horror Novel Web, their positions had become normal.

Xu Fang could hear faint sounds.

He stood up and looked at a wooden door at 2 o'clock.

Luobing followed Xu Fang's line of sight, also nervously looking in that direction. He wanted to ask what they had discovered, but was afraid of attracting danger, so he didn't ask, just watched Xu Fang's reaction.

Xu Fang walked slowly towards the door, leaning against it and listening.

There was breathing, slightly hurried breathing.

It seemed to be a small room inside, and there was something inside that could make breathing sounds. However, he couldn't see any light spots inside through the wooden door - this door could isolate energy.

The door had no lock, you just had to push it to go in, but was the thing inside really a human?

After thinking for a moment, Xu Fang still pushed the door open.

What greeted him was a woman's scream, "Who...who is it?"

Luobing, who was following Xu Fang, looked at the woman, and then widened his eyes, making an incredulous sound, "Mom? Is it really you..."

- You're not dead, are you?

He thought he had hallucinated due to missing his mother too much, and his heart was filled with mixed emotions. He hoped it was true, but he feared the disappointment after discovering the truth.

Hearing Luobing's voice, the woman also looked up in confusion. Her expression went from fear to astonishment, then finally to surprise.

"Luobing, what are you doing here?" the woman said, glancing at Xu Fang beside Luobing. Her thoughts raced, and she vaguely understood the current situation.

"Don't come any closer, are you really my mom?" Luobing remained cautious, suspecting that the person in front of him was a ghost in disguise.