Screams erupted.
Several of them immediately ran downstairs again.
John didn't follow them down. He observed Karami's death: his internal organs were torn out alive, but his brain was perfectly intact.
He thought it might really be the Midnight Man. He had initially believed it was a demon that enjoyed eating brains, but now it seemed he was wrong.
Previously, Mike and a few others had played several paranormal games, but nothing happened; everything was normal.
John's guard naturally relaxed, but he didn't expect this last game to go wrong.
He didn't know much about the Midnight Man.
Mike squatted down, his voice a little excited.
"The Midnight Man is here. Its favorite way to kill is to slowly tear out a person's heart."
Jessie's little heart was already unstable, and being startled like that, she immediately shrieked, "Mike, are you crazy? Karami is dead! What Midnight Man? A murderer must have snuck in!"
"I'm calling the police!"
As Jessie spoke, she picked up her phone to call the police. The moment she dialed, she saw the zero-bar signal, and she really broke down.
"F***, this damn phone has no signal again!"
Jessie made up her mind that she would definitely change this phone once she got back.
John was already used to the phone having no signal. In fact, sometimes you really couldn't blame the phone.
The moment a paranormal event occurred, the phone was likely already affected and useless; it was normal for calls not to go through.
"Jhon, what should we do now?" Jennifer hugged John's arm, her ample chest pressing against him, refusing to let go.
"Let's go down and see first." John called out to Mike as he walked ahead, "Let's go together, Mike. It's not safe for you to stay here alone."
Karami died because he was alone.
Mike held the candle, his expression somewhat frantic: "As long as the candle doesn't go out, I'll be fine. You guys go. I want to see the true face of the Midnight Man."
Good words can't persuade a doomed ghost. John really didn't believe a single candle could stop the Midnight Man.
"If there's danger, remember to shout or make some noise."
Mike: "Buddy, trust me."
John led Jennifer and Jessie downstairs.
Xiao Shuai (Little Handsome) and Da Shan were looking for someone, because the black-haired girl was missing.
The screams had just happened, and the time since everyone ran downstairs was definitely no more than half a minute. For someone to suddenly disappear under such circumstances seemed highly unlikely.
Xiao Mei clamored to leave; she didn't want to look for the black-haired girl anymore.
Xiao Shuai (Little Handsome) had just thrown up all over the upstairs floor and now just wanted to go home, but a cold wind was blowing outside the window, and just as they were about to leave, a torrential rain began.
Even so, some still wanted to leave.
Even if it meant braving the downpour, they didn't want to stay in the same house with a perverted killer.
In Xiao Shuai (Little Handsome)'s opinion, the killer could only be a perverted murderer, not some Midnight Man. Mike had played so many games before without incident, so how could something suddenly go wrong now?
"Jessie, come with me. It's not safe to stay here."
Facing Xiao Shuai (Little Handsome)'s invitation, Jessie shook her head and refused. After what happened last time, she felt that even if there truly was a killer, staying by John's side was the safest option.
Xiao Shuai (Little Handsome) didn't insist. He grabbed the keys, took Xiao Mei and the blonde girl, opened the door, and ran through the rain to the jeep parked in the yard, leaving without a moment's delay.
Da Shan didn't leave. He was a minor bully at school, but after John beat him up last time, he became a follower.
John watched the jeep disappear into the rainy night.
He didn't stop them; you can't stop people who want to leave, and trying to might even lead to animosity.
Outside the window, the continuous torrential rain and cold wind showed no signs of stopping.
John always felt that something was dividing them.
The original ten-person group was now fragmented, seemingly an attempt to pick them off one by one.
If John were just an ordinary person, he definitely wouldn't have let Xiao Shuai (Little Handsome) and the others leave. Generally speaking, the more people, the safer it is; they could huddle together for warmth.
Then they would gather in the living room and go nowhere, even going to the bathroom all ten of them together.
Of course, that's an ordinary person's method.
John was no longer an ordinary person, so he naturally didn't care whether Xiao Shuai (Little Handsome) and the others left or stayed; a few more or a few less made no difference.
Returning to the living room.
Now, only John, Jennifer, Da Shan, Jessie, and Mike upstairs remained—five people.
Karami was dead, and the black-haired girl had vanished.
The old house had been thoroughly searched, but the black-haired girl still couldn't be found. Although no one said it, they all knew in their hearts that she was most likely gone.
He wondered if it was because the house was old and in disrepair.
When they turned on the light just now, the bulb flickered once and then completely broke, so everyone could only gather around the table in the living room, using candles for light.
John had just glanced out the window; the few other houses nearby were all completely dark.
There were no other traces of existence hinted at on the phantom card either.
Gradually, John was starting to lose patience. Was it playing hide-and-seek with him?
John wasn't going to waste any more time; if a demon really wanted to play hide-and-seek with him, it would be very difficult to find.
He stood up and said, "Let's go see if Mike is still there. Once we find him, we'll just leave."
"Whatever you say, boss." Da Shan had no objections and led the way, taking the initiative.
After a brief discussion, the five of them went back upstairs to the second floor.
Fortunately, Mike was fine. Unfortunately, Mike was soaking alone in the bathtub, and when Da Shan pulled him out, he was completely disoriented and a little crazy.
"Mike, what happened to you? Hey buddy, say something!" Da Shan grabbed Mike's collar and shook him vigorously.
Mike looked at Da Shan with hazy eyes and a silly grin.
Da Shan turned to John: "Boss, what should we do now? Mike seems to have gone crazy?"
"Carry Mike first, let's get out of here."
Just a moment ago, Mike was a perfectly fine young man, and now he looked like a patient who had escaped from some mental institution.
This appearance reminded John of someone in Grave Encounters.
Since the boss had spoken, Da Shan could only carry the burden of Mike on his back.
Jessie prepared to open the door, though she distinctly remembered the door being open when they came in. But she didn't think too much about it.
Da Shan walked in front, carrying Mike, John and Jennifer were in the middle, and Jessie walked at the back.
As soon as they stepped out, the bathroom door slammed shut with a tremendous force.
"Bang!"
Jessie shrieked in fright, because she distinctly remembered being the last one out.
Jennifer was better off, merely burying her face in John's embrace like an ostrich. She was truly believing and terrified now.
Da Shan said, his face full of shock.
"Holy crab, did you guys see that? The door closed by itself?"
John frowned and said, "I saw it. Don't worry about it, let's just leave first."
The group went downstairs, opened the door, and got into the car.
Ignoring the continuing torrential rain, Da Shan put Mike in the back, started the car, and sped down the main road.
Even though Da Shan was a big man, he still felt scared facing such an unknown entity.
Fortunately, the thing didn't seem to follow them. They all went home as desired, and everything seemed to return to normal life.
John looked out at the pitch-black window, wondering when "it" had appeared. Even now, he couldn't determine what that thing was.
He took out the phantom card; it was still blank… No, that's not right!
John suddenly jolted awake. He remembered that the phantom card had shown traces of a demon's existence; it couldn't be blank.
He broke out in a cold sweat, almost frantically selecting the Four of Squares in his mind.
"Fusion, Evil Spirit Wendigo!"
As power surged in.
Everything before John's eyes began to collapse. When he opened his eyes again, he was here.
The bathroom!
They had never left from beginning to end, or rather, from the moment they entered the bathroom, they had already gotten lost…