The instant a rustling sound came from outside, Gu Mian saw the expression of the person opposite him darken. Immediately, the person seemed to hesitate for a moment, then quickly reached out and threw something towards them.
Fatty ducked his head slightly. "A hidden weapon?"
The object was small; it would probably hurt quite a bit if it hit someone in the face.
Fortunately, Gu Mian reacted quickly and dodged aside. The object thrown from across pierced through the window, hit the wall behind Gu Mian, and then fell to the ground with a CLINK, making a considerable noise.
Immediately after, Gu Mian saw Guigu across from him adopt an expression that wished them luck, as if they were on their own now, before reaching out and closing his window, leaving only a small crack.
This was the dangerous five-minute period; only someone whose brain had short-circuited would leave their window wide open to enjoy the scenery.
By now, Chu Changge had picked up the object. Gu Mian leaned over, curious to see what it was.
It turned out to be a special item.
[Key No. 3 from the Mysterious World]
[Introduction: A key imbued with mysterious power, apparently from another world. It bears the number '3'. Naturally, it won't transform into a Magic Wand.]
[How to Use: Twist it in the air as if opening a door.]
[Function: Using this Key will randomly generate an Anywhere Door. The Anywhere Door will remain for ten seconds. Passing through it will teleport the user to a nearby location. The destination is random, and the range of 'nearby' is indeterminate.]
[Additional Note: This item has a seven-day cooldown and can only be used once every seven days.]
Fatty was taken aback. "Is this for us to escape?"
"Exactly," Chu Changge said, holding the key. "This is a special item that allows for teleportation, and it's not a one-time use item. It must be very valuable."
If they encountered a ghost in an instance, using this key would greatly increase their chances of escape and survival. The same applied to this event.
Fatty was stunned. "This is for us?"
Gu Mian shrugged. "He probably thinks we're goners if we stay hiding here and wants us to use this thing to escape. He seems to have been hiding here for a long time."
While speaking, Gu Mian looked towards the window of the building next door. Guigu had just closed his window, leaving only a small crack. Gu Mian wasn't sure if Guigu was still observing them through it.
Fatty also looked over there. "That guy's surprisingly decent. Isn't he afraid we'll take his precious key and run off?"
Gu Mian replied, "Probably because I don't look like a bad guy."
Fatty was speechless.
At this moment, Chu Changge suddenly spoke. "Listening to him, it seems those ghosts emerging from the lanterns are checking rooms very thoroughly."
Fatty blinked. Thanks to Mr. Green and the female ghost, they hadn't yet encountered any ghosts meticulously searching rooms.
But those two were lagging far behind, doing who-knows-what, and wouldn't be able to reach them anytime soon.
Thinking about those two being absent, Fatty's mind buzzed. He suddenly asked, "Doctor... you don't think a ghost will come in to do a 'thorough sweep' during these five minutes, do you?"
Gu Mian looked up. "I'd say there's an eighty percent chance."
Meanwhile, on the second floor of the building next door, Guigu was observing Gu Mian's side through the crack in his window. However, Gu Mian's window had also been closed earlier, so Guigu could barely see anything.
A young man was sitting next to him. If Fatty were there, he would have recognized the young man as 'Night of Roses,' whom he had carried all the way.
Night of Roses' bleeding had long since stopped, but he was still very weak.
"Brother Guiguzi…" the pale-faced boy asked, "The Doctor who saved me is next door?"
Guigu nodded, his heart heavy. "They went straight to the building next door. There's no door bolt on their side. I'm afraid ghosts might get in directly."
"But I threw them the key I just got. If they use it, I don't know where they'll be teleported. Anyway, they'll have to hope for the best," Guigu sighed. "If only the Lieutenant were here."
While sighing, he glanced towards the main door, which was now secured by [A Sturdy Door Bolt].
As long as this bolt was on the door, the door absolutely couldn't be breached. However, it had a usage limit; it could only be used for a total of thirty minutes. This was Han Shan's special item, but Han Shan wasn't in the room at the moment.
"We're not too safe here either…" Guigu took a deep breath and whispered, "This door bolt has four and a half minutes left, but the ghosts outside will roam for five minutes… I hope nothing unexpected happens in that final half-minute."
Night of Roses hesitated before speaking. "If someone in a TV show or novel says something like that, something unexpected usually does happen in the final half-minute."
"We're not filming a TV show," Guigu lowered his voice. "Alright, let's just wait quietly. Hopefully, they won't run into any trouble either."
As he spoke, he turned his head to peer out through the window crack. He immediately saw the street not far below and the terrifying creatures on it.
Among them, a white object was most conspicuous—a lantern discarded in the middle of the road.
From Guigu's vantage point, he could see the lantern's position perfectly.
"Strange," he murmured, puzzled. "Did that lantern fall?"
Guigu hadn't seen Fatty throw the lantern, so he found it incredible that a lantern was just lying on the ground.
And then, he noticed the white lantern in the middle of the road change. It seemed to distort slightly, and then a deathly pale hand suddenly shot out from the round opening at the top of the lantern.
Guigu's heart leaped.
He instinctively jerked his head to the side, as if afraid of being seen by whatever was emerging from the lantern. After a few seconds, he cautiously peeked back towards the lantern.
Now, he saw a distorted humanoid figure there. It was crawling flat on the ground like a malfunctioning spider; when it moved, its joints hitched in a very discordant way.
Then, he saw this thing twist its limbs and rapidly scuttle in one direction.
The distorted humanoid figure moved rapidly across the ground, a truly terrifying sight that made Guigu's blood run cold.
And very quickly, he realized the direction it was scuttling was none other than the house where the Doctor and his two companions were!
It's all over, it's all over! Guigu cried out inwardly.
He stared anxiously at the building opposite, as if trying to telepathically warn the people inside, but to no avail.
Guigu could only watch helplessly as the distorted humanoid figure reached the two-story building next door, climbed in through a window, and then all sound ceased.
It's over. It got in.
Guigu gripped the windowsill tightly, his mind racing.
I gave them the key; they should be able to escape…
He was anxious but didn't dare make a sound, terrified of attracting other ghosts to his location.
It's been inside for a while now. Is it already going up the stairs? Did they hear the commotion? Why is there no sound at all? Don't tell me they've been killed?
Just as his anxious thoughts ran wild, a robust "FUCK!" suddenly erupted from the building opposite.
The voice was somewhat gruff; Guigu recognized it instantly. It was Fatty.
Upon hearing the sound, Guigu stared intently at the opposite building. They've encountered it?
Then, he heard a sound from the building opposite, resembling a motorcycle engine, after which there was complete silence.
There were no sounds of fighting, no footsteps, and even the ghost didn't re-emerge. Only boundless silence remained.
What happened? Guigu's heart pounded. They couldn't really be dead, could they? He's the only healer in the entire game; it would be a huge loss if he died!
He stared so hard his eyes ached, almost wishing his arm could stretch ten-odd meters to push open the window opposite and see if they were dead or alive.
But this wish to extend his arm ten-odd meters was mercilessly cut short before it could even begin to materialize. Guigu heard a rustling, scraping sound from outside his own room's door.
It sounded as if something was pressed against the door, listening to the movements inside.