“Brother, the boss isn’t neutral! She is either helping the ghost or… she is the ghost!” Xie Chi’s heart sank.
The boss had asked for Fatty’s location on the live broadcast. The moment Fatty had said it, the ghost immediately changed direction. Xie Chi had previously heard the sound of Fatty hitting his head against a wall and knew the approximate location. Right now, the ghost was clearly going in Fatty’s direction.
Xie Chi had wondered if it was a coincidence but the female ghost’s footsteps exposed her mentality. The female ghost’s previous footsteps were soft and hesitant. She tried to conceal her existence so she wouldn’t scare away the prey. Her hesitation was because she wasn’t sure where they were and was repeatedly observing and identifying.
Now the female ghost’s footsteps were eager and without any pauses. She seemed to be certain Fatty was there. Moreover, the instructions given by Fatty were too clear. The female ghost might not be able to walk through walls but she must be familiar with the maze map. Fatty went left every time he encountered a fork. It was too easy and it was only a matter of time before he was found.
Thinking back, the boss had Fatty open a split screen just to know where they were through the live broadcast room. Seeing that this trick didn’t work, she tricked Fatty into revealing it on the barrage.
Xie Chi remained calm. It didn’t matter that the boss was the female ghost playing hide and seek with them. The important thing was that there was a problem in the live broadcast room and the camera would reveal where they were.
However, the rules of the game meant they had to broadcast the entire process of hide and seek.
Xie Chi’s thoughts flashed.
The requirement to keep the live broadcast on was actually very ambiguous. In order to not reveal information, he could directly kick the boss out of the live broadcast room. However, he didn’t want to do that.
The clue for the short movie was ‘a clever person might become the victim of their own ingenuity’ but he had to distinguish what being ‘clever’ was. Now he thought about whether every decision was correct or if it was ‘becoming the victim of his own ingenuity’. Still, he could only continue to explore. If he paid too much attention to the clue then he would be afraid and stop moving.
Clues were always secondary. Active exploration was the only way to survive.
Xie Chi was silent for a few seconds before gritting his teeth. “Brother, remove the clothes and watch Fatty’s side.”
Assuming that the boss was the female ghost, the female ghost might know where they were from the live broadcast screen. Of course, it was also possible for them to know what happened on Fatty’s side through the split screen. This would allow them to obtain key information.
The maze wasn’t pitch black. There was a faint dark green light. Although the clarity of the mobile phone camera wasn’t high, it wasn’t a problem to show the outline of the human body and blurred facial features. Since the female ghost could send a barrage to mislead Fatty, naturally they could send a barrage to mislead the female ghost.
The pros and cons were two-way. There was no absolute good and bad. The key was how to use them.
Xie Xinglan counted the steps without being distracted. Covering the phone screen was an instinctive response. Now that he understood what it meant, he immediately tore off the clothes that had been covering the phone.
On Fatty’s split screen, Fatty was still sitting in a corner and looking down at the phone.
Xie Xinglan sent him a private message: The ghost is going to your side.
Fatty replied quickly: What?
The next second, there was the sound of a phone smashing into the ground in the silent maze, followed by a horrified scream. Fatty must’ve seen the female ghost! Fatty seemed to have picked up the phone and started running wildly. The split screen was shaking violently. He was fat and moving and Xie Xinglan could feel the foggy glass floor shaking under his feet.
Xie Chi stared at the phone screen, not wanting to miss anything.
At this time, Xie Xinglan had finally finished walking the last section of the maze. “Xiao Chi, the map of the maze is clear for me. The length of every road is measured by the number of steps. I can control the error of each step within 5 millimetres so I can now open my eyes and run. There are no problems and I won’t get lost. I won’t be affected by the mirrors anymore but I might slow down due to errors at the corners. This should be taken into account. Assuming that the ghost doesn’t have the ability to teleport, I can guarantee that after being discovered by her, I can run faster than her. The conservative estimate is more than two times faster than her.”
Xie Chi made a decisive decision. “Go, let’s follow the ghost!”
They knew very little. Rather than waiting to die, they should try more.
Horror movies had a regular pattern. In a given period of time, it would become more dangerous in the future. The beginning of the horror movie was to create fear while the middle and the end were to let them die without a burial place.
“Okay.” Xie Xinglan recognized the direction of the movement and ran there while counting his steps. He sped through countless mirror images without blinking. There seemed to be a mirror in front of him but he walked through it without hesitation. There looked to be a path in front of him but he took a turn to avoid it. One light and shadow were broken while another light and shadow were born. It was endless. The dark green light changed and shook while he seemed to move through time and space.
[Did he figure out where to go…???]
[Fuck!!!]
In the distance, Fatty’s footsteps were heavy while the footsteps behind him were light and anxious. 30 seconds later, a clear clapping sound was heard in the maze. Fatty couldn’t hold on anymore and clapped his hands for the first time.
“Brother, stop first!” Xie Chi called out immediately.
Xie Xinglan understood. He waited for the clap rule to be fulfilled but after two seconds, his face sank sharply.
Fatty clapped his hands. According to the rules, the female ghost should stay still for 10 seconds to let Fatty escape. However, the female ghost didn’t stop at all! The footsteps of the fat man in front became disordered. He was probably completely panicked. However, the female ghost’s footsteps became swifter.
The female ghost was still chasing Fatty!
[The rules are fake?!]
[A cheat!]
On the other side, Fatty realized this wasn’t a trick. There was really a ghost chasing him. He wheezed like a cow while running. Fatty turned his head and looked at the long-haired female ghost chasing him with a confused face.
Why? He had obviously clapped his hands but the female ghost was still chasing him! In addition, because he clapped his hands, the female ghost was attracted by his movements and chased more quickly!
The distance gradually shortened. Fatty didn’t dare make a sound and his anxious eyes became bloodshot. He would die if he was caught! He believed this now! No, he didn’t want to die! Fatty tried another clap without any faith and the female ghost was still chasing him.
He reached a turning point he remembered. Fatty stepped forward and ran around the small part of the maze he had explored. Fatty stopped and covered his mouth desperately to prevent himself from making any noise.
The female ghost seemed like she didn’t know which way he went or which one was a mirror image. She walked around for a while before drifting away. The crisis seemed to have dissipated.
Fatty was almost suffocated. He was just about to sigh with relief when there was a chill behind him. He turned his head and saw the female ghost standing behind him! The female ghost was facing him. Her face was hidden behind her dark hair as she gradually approached him.
On the other mirrors, all the female ghosts were sideways. Only this one was facing him. According to the law of reflection, this was definitely not a reflection of the female ghost…
So this was the real female ghost? She caught up again! Why? Why was she behind him? When did she appear?
The man almost suffered from a heart attack as he ran forward. He suddenly remembered something. He had explored this place before and there was clearly glass behind him, not a road. How could the female ghost appear there?
Fatty didn’t realize that the female ghost chasing behind him had… no footsteps.
Death was approaching. Fatty clapped his hands for the last time without any hope but the female ghost behind him magically… stopped moving. Fatty was overjoyed and felt despair. Why did the female ghost abide by the rules while other times breaking the rules?
Fatty then remembered that he had run out of opportunities. He ran forward with a pale face when he heard light and urgent footsteps not far away in front of him. He had to be familiar with these footsteps. The female ghost had chased after him for so long! The footsteps were in front of him!
The hide and seek ghost who couldn’t find anyone and was drifting away was attracted by his clapping…
Then behind him? Fatty abruptly turned around. 10 seconds passed and the female ghost behind him suddenly grew bigger. A pale hand reached out to Fatty and pulled him back. Fatty’s scream rang through the maze. The fat man… disappeared into the glass. Only the mirror image of the female ghost and Xie Chi remained on the glass.
At the same time, the female ghost in front of Fatty actually knelt down on the ground, covered her face and started… silently crying.
[Wtf?? The ghost is crying? Why don’t I understand this???]
[What is going on? Shouldn’t the ghost abide by the clapping rule? The rules aren’t right. What happened to the female ghost standing behind the fat man previously? It was obviously a mirror there.]
[Why is the fatty missing?]
[I’m dizzy.]
Xie Chi’s side.
Xie Xinglan heard Fatty’s screams and spoke with a calm face. “Xiao Chi, the female ghost’s footsteps were just a bit to the left while Fatty’s screams were a bit to the right. There was at least 30 or 40 metres between them. Fatty couldn’t have been killed by the female ghost without teleportation.”
Fatty’s phone had dropped in the middle and it was unknown what happened afterward. However, the various subtle sounds in the maze could give some clues. This included the actions of the female ghost in the mirror.
Xie Xinglan watched the mirror image of the female ghost kneeling on the ground and frowned. “We might’ve been deceived again. If the boss can lie about her identity, she can also mislead us on the rules. The clapping rule is false.”
Xie Chi was silent for a moment before he spoke with an ugly expression. “Brother, is it possible that there is more than one ghost in the maze? There are two ghosts. One is now kneeling on the ground and is the one who made the footsteps. The other is the one who killed Fatty.”
“Didn’t the app say there was only one ghost brought by the doll—”
Xie Xinglan hadn’t finished speaking when his expression sank. “There is only one ghost brought by the doll but there is another ghost in the glass maze, right?”
Xie Chi was stunned for a moment before something flashed in his mind. “We are playing hide and seek with two ghosts! The rules we got are true but part of it is for the female ghost brought by the doll and part of it is aimed at the female ghost in the maze. The correct rules are mixed together!”
Xie Chi calmed down and spoke quickly. “There is the weak ghost brought by the doll and the strong ghost in the maze. The weak ghost isn’t limited by the clapping rule but will quickly catch up to the prey due to the sound made by the clapping. The clapping rule is for the strong ghost! As long as we clap, it will be restricted and pause for 10 seconds! This is the only way it makes sense!”
“So Fatty first encountered the weak ghost who only made footsteps. He clapped but the weak ghost wasn’t restricted by this rule. She kept chasing. Fatty was chased by her and wasted two clapping opportunities. In fact, it wasn’t the weak ghost bound by this rule. He was actually using the opportunity to limit the strong ghost!”
“The footsteps of the weak ghost declared she was far away but Fatty suddenly clapped his hands again. He must’ve encountered the strong ghost. This ghost probably came with the glass maze. The last time he clapped his hands, there was a gap of 20 seconds before Fatty screamed. During this period, the strong ghost must’ve been restricted. The sound of Fatty clapping attracted the weak ghost and she blocked his way, delaying his time. Once this time passed, he was killed by the strong ghost!”
“The strong ghost waited for him to waste his three opportunities to limit it before showing up to kill him.”
“The question now is where is the strong ghost? If it wasn’t for Fatty’s death, we might not have realized its existence.”
Xie Xinglan listened to Xie Chi’s analysis and looked gloomy. Now he suddenly opened his mouth. “I might know where it is.”
“Where?”
“In the mirror.” Xie Xinglan reached out to touch the mirror in front of him. “In the real world where we are now, the rule is to clap our hands to attract the weak ghost to catch us. The other half of the rule is: clap our hands to stop the strong ghost. This rule is just the opposite of the real world.”
Xie Xinglan smiled sarcastically. “The mirror world happens to be behind the real world and is completely opposite of the real world. Thus, it is appropriate to have completely opposite rules.”
“This is the truth behind the clapping rules. Fatty is the pathfinder that the app gave to us.”
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter