"Uncle... have you seen my teddy bear?"
Suddenly, just as Jack and the others were about to enter the tunnel, a very childish voice clearly rang in everyone's ears. Everyone, including Jack, was taken aback and turned to look at Gao Chujing, who was walking third from the back. Gao Chujing had clearly heard the voice as well and turned around in confusion, looking at his daughter on his back with a questioning gaze.
"No... it wasn't me!" Gao Yuanyuan, lying on her father's back, shook her head in fear. As soon as her voice came out, everyone immediately noticed that the previous voice was completely different from Gao Yuanyuan's; it should have been much more childish.
"Uncle... have you seen my teddy bear?"
The childish voice rang out again, but this time it sent chills down everyone's spines because they could clearly see, right in front of them, at the entrance of the tunnel illuminated by Jack's flashlight, a cute little girl about five or six years old, dressed in a gray princess dress, was eerily walking out from the door.
The little girl looked nothing scary; instead, she was exquisitely beautiful, with long black hair cascading down to her waist, straight bangs covering her thick eyebrows, and a pair of big, bright eyes blinking innocently. She gently walked out of the tunnel, tilting her head to look at Thomas Xu and Jack in front of her, and childishly repeated, "Uncle... have you seen my teddy bear?"
"I…"
Thomas Xu instinctively wanted to respond, but was quickly silenced by Jack, who pressed a hand over his mouth and shook his head with a fierce expression. Thomas Xu was startled and immediately recalled Jack's warning about the "vengeful spirit" from the night before. His entire back was drenched in cold sweat as he took a deep breath, swallowing the second half of the words that almost slipped out.
When he looked at the little girl again, all the hair on Thomas Xu's body nearly stood on end. He realized that although the girl looked cute, her face was terrifyingly pale, as white as flour, and even her innocent eyes had no pupils, just a pitch-black void. Moreover, a little girl appearing alone in such a haunted place was as eerie as the ultimate ghost in a horror movie.
Thomas Xu's heart raced faster and faster, and a bead of sweat the size of a pea instantly hung on his thick black eyelashes. However, he didn't dare to wipe it away, as he suspected that this suddenly appearing little girl might be the very entity he had been praying would not show up!
Seeing that Jack was just as wary of Thomas, no one dared to speak. They all held their breath in fear, not even daring to exhale. The ghostly little girl brought a pressure that was no less than that of a horde of living corpses, perhaps even heavier, because facing living corpses meant at worst being bitten or eaten, but with this eerie entity, no one knew what terrifying fate awaited them!
"Is it a vengeful spirit?" Jack cautiously led everyone to step back a few paces and quietly asked Michael.
"I don't know. She doesn't have any of the characteristics of a vengeful spirit, and there are even shadows on the ground. I can't figure out what the hell that thing is!" Michael shook his head expressionlessly, lowering his body while letting out a series of threatening hisses. He too felt a tremendous threat.
"Brother Lin, what should we do? That little ghost is blocking the tunnel, clearly not wanting us to pass. We can't just stay trapped here, can we? How about... I try shooting her with a gun?" As soon as Thomas Xu said this, he regretted it, realizing how ridiculous the idea was to shoot a ghost. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and said with frustration, "I've heard some old folks say that the smaller the ghost, the more powerful it is. This one is so tiny; it must be hard to deal with!"
"That's obvious, isn't it?" Michael shot Thomas Xu an annoyed glare, then cautiously looked at the little girl across from them, who had not moved at all. He whispered, "Whether that thing is a ghost is still up for debate, but if she really is a ghost, then aside from my master, who might survive here, the rest of us have a high chance of not making it!"
"So ruthless?" Thomas Xu's eyes widened, and the hair on his half-long head almost stood on end. He swallowed hard, feeling a dryness in his throat, and leaned slightly against Jack's arm, whispering, "Brother Lin, I think we should break out through the stairs ourselves! Fighting living corpses is definitely better than dealing with this kind of ghost. As for the others, they can follow if they can!"
"No way, there are pregnant women here!" Jack firmly shook his head in refusal. However, facing the eerily strange little girl in front of the tunnel, Jack also found himself in a dilemma, as he had no confidence in dealing with such a thing either.
"Auntie... have you seen my teddy bear?"
At this moment, the little girl spoke again, but this time, her inquiry seemed directed at a woman.
"Little sister, what does your teddy bear look like? If you let us come over, we can help you look for it, okay?" The one responding was Liu Fei, who was bare-legged. She unexpectedly took two or three steps forward from her hiding spot in the middle, bent down beside Thomas Xu, and looked at the little girl across from her with a warm and friendly expression.
However, after she finished speaking, her face suddenly turned pale, and she almost couldn't believe it as she covered her mouth, looking at Thomas Xu with an expression of extreme horror, frantically waving her hands and saying, "No, no, no... it's not me, I didn't mean to talk to her!"
"Auntie..." The little girl's face broke into a happy smile as she tilted her head and innocently asked, "Will you really help me look for it?"
"If you let us come over, we'll help you look for it together!" This time, it was Thomas Xu who spoke. He slowly pulled the terrified Liu Fei behind him while keeping a vigilant eye on the strange little girl.
"But... what if you can't find it?"
The little girl blinked her pitch-black eyes, which had no pupils, and tilted her head as if considering. But suddenly, her demeanor changed drastically; the innocent voice was no longer there. She pointed sharply at everyone in the room, her tone filled with a chilling malice as she shouted, "You pick four people to come over and help me find it. If you can't find it, the rest of you will stay here forever to keep me company!"
As she spoke, a blood-red light suddenly flashed in her dark eyes. With her paper-white little hand, she waved fiercely, and the iron door that Thomas Xu had tightly wedged open suddenly swung open without warning, crashing against the wall and causing dust to fall in clouds.
As the iron door opened, everyone was almost stunned. Outside the door, there was an unknown number of living corpses pressing against each other, dark and oppressive, almost completely blocking all the light from outside. As soon as they saw the iron door open, they let out a simultaneous roar of excitement, crowding in as if to rush inside. However, just as a few living corpses stumbled in halfway, the little girl in front of the tunnel waved her hand again, and the large brown iron door, as if controlled remotely, slammed shut with a bang, not only knocking back those living corpses but also shaking down a thick layer of crumbling cement from the doorframe.
"Uncle, Aunt... please help me find my teddy bear!" The little girl returned to her innocent voice, walking away from the front of the tunnel with her small steps, gently stepping aside. When she turned back, her expression was still pure and adorable, but her occasionally flashing eerie eyes made one's hair stand on end!
"I... let's go find it together. We haven't been of much help, and this time we should contribute a bit for everyone!" The first to step forward was surprisingly the skinny Thomas Li Ping, who appeared quite righteous as he pulled William Fang to stand beside him, speaking in a very grandiloquent manner.
"Ha~ That's really hilarious. Only when it's time to escape do you know how to put in some effort? Hmph! If anyone is going, it won't be you. Just so you know, I was the first one to ask her a question!" Liu Fei said disdainfully, crossing her arms and taking a small step back to lean against Thomas Xu, whispering, "Bro, let's hurry and leave with Brother Lin. As for the remaining spot, let them fight for it themselves!"
There were only four spots available that the little girl had opened up. Although the situation in that dark tunnel didn't seem any better, it was still much better than being stuck here. At this moment, anyone would want to take a chance. When Thomas Xu heard Liu Fei's words, he discreetly glanced at everyone and immediately nodded. As long as he could leave with Jack, it didn't matter about the others; who would care about anyone else at a time like this!
"Run fast! Whoever gets there first can survive…"
Thomas Li's ability to read the room was surprisingly strong. When he saw Thomas Xu's expression, he immediately knew something was wrong. He let out a loud shout, ignoring the woman beside him, and focused solely on sprinting into the tunnel at what was almost the fastest speed of his life.
"Damn it!" Gao Chujiang also reacted quickly. Although he was still carrying his daughter, his tall stature allowed him to run quite fast. The couple, Gao Hai and his wife, were startled and Gao Hai cursed loudly, but he did not abandon his son, William Peng, on his back. Even though he knew they couldn't catch up, he still pulled his wife up and desperately followed the crowd rushing towards the tunnel.