Ch. 5 - Footsteps in the Dead of Night

“Everyone, be careful. In the Paranormal Game, nighttime is usually the most dangerous period. Though for the first night, things shouldn’t be too deadly yet,” Liu Tong said, seeing how tense everyone looked. “Like I’ve explained before, paranormal entities generally fall into two types. The first is Pattern-Type — these have their own unique rules for killing. If you encounter one of these, as long as you carefully observe and figure out its rules, you can survive. The second type, though, is far more dangerous — we call them Indiscriminate-Type. These entities are terrifying... they kill indiscriminately.”

Noticing the others grow pale, Liu Tong tried to comfort them. “Don’t worry. While Indiscriminate-Type paranormal entities are dangerous, the game usually provides at least one path to survival. It’s up to us to observe every detail carefully and search for that way out.”

Hearing this, everyone finally relaxed a little.

“You guys think... the way out this time isn’t that statue, right?” Mr. Zhang suddenly pointed toward the statue hanging in the ship’s cabin.

It was a stone Guanyin statue, depicting a figure with its eyes closed. There were even offerings placed at the base of the statue.

“Hard to say. Normally, the safe route wouldn’t be placed somewhere so conspicuous,” Liu Tong said, turning his gaze toward the statue as well.

He had already spent quite a while observing this statue earlier, given how prominently it was displayed. But whether or not it was the dungeon’s safe route... he couldn’t be sure.

Especially after reading that girl’s diary — anything involving gods left him with an instinctive sense of dread. Was it a safe route... or was this very statue the source of the dungeon’s paranormal entity?

Clearly, he wasn’t the only one with that thought.

At that moment, both Chen Weiyu and Lin Xi, who were still eating, avoided even looking at the statue, as though afraid something might happen if they stared too long.

After a while, seeing that everyone had more or less finished eating, Liu Tong spoke. “Alright, once you’re done, head back to your rooms. Like that old woman said, one room per person. Early in the game, it’s best not to violate the rules. Remember to close your doors and windows properly, and most importantly — do not turn on the lights.”

“Huh? Why can’t we turn on the lights?” Lin Xi immediately asked.

Liu Tong explained patiently, “Paranormal entities aren’t afraid of light. Sleeping with the lights on is pure psychological comfort. But in the darkness of this ship…any light source only makes it easier for a paranormal entity to find you. I’ve been through this many times before. There were girls who were scared of the dark and kept the lights on at night... and they always died first.”

Lin Xi’s face went pale. “Thank you for the advice, Brother Liu.”

Judging by her stiff expression, she had clearly been planning to sleep with the lights on tonight. Looks like Liu Tong just saved her life.

“No need to thank me. In a dungeon like this, only by helping each other can we survive. Helping you is helping myself.” Liu Tong stood up, picked up his key, opened the door to his room, and said, “Alright then, goodnight, everyone. See you tomorrow.”

Once Liu Tong entered his room, the rest of the group also left the dining table.

Bai Wan walked toward the second room on the left — Room 102. His neighbor was Chen Weiyu, staying in Room 103. When he opened his door, Chen Weiyu happened to open hers at the same time.

Seeing Bai Wan, Chen Weiyu gave him an awkward, polite smile before quickly heading inside, probably still embarrassed about what had happened earlier.

Bai Wan nodded back, then entered his own room.

Sitting on the bed, he scanned his surroundings. The layout wasn’t much different from a typical hotel room.

A bed, a table, a chair, a mirror. Overall, clean and tidy.

……

Meanwhile, Lin Xi arrived at her own room — Room 104.

She carefully inspected every corner of the room before finally sitting on the bed and letting out a long breath of relief.

Looking at the ceiling light still glowing above her, she gritted her teeth, walked over to the switch, and forced herself to turn it off.

Click.

The moment the light went out, the room was plunged into darkness. Moonlight filtered in faintly through the window.

Lin Xi quickly climbed into bed, wrapping herself tightly in her blanket. Lying in the pitch-black room, she couldn’t stop herself from trembling. Eventually, she began to cry softly.

She was a livestreamer — good-looking, bold, and daring. She had made quite a bit of money this way.

Just a week ago, she had finally managed to snag a major “sponsor”.

Even the hotel room was already booked.

But who would’ve thought — that very day, she found the Paranormal Game’s invitation letter sitting on her desk at home.

For the past week, she’d been crying herself awake almost every night. She had been unwilling to accept this fate. she kept asking herself over and over.

Why? Why did it have to be me?

And now, stranded on a haunted ship, she was more terrified than ever. But she didn’t even dare cry out loud, afraid of attracting the attention of some paranormal entity. All she could do was bury herself deep within her blankets.

She didn’t know how much time had passed, but eventually, exhausted from crying, she drifted off to sleep.

…

“Mmm...”

Lin Xi slowly forced her eyes open, rubbing her aching head. It took her several seconds to remember where she was.

“I fell asleep...?”

Fumbling in the dark, she reached for her phone. The screen showed the time — 1:30 AM.

It was already that late? She couldn’t even remember when she’d fallen asleep.

Suddenly, she felt the urge to use the bathroom. 

But glancing around the pitch-black room, she immediately abandoned any thought of going out.

In the real world, she was already scared to go to the bathroom alone at night. And now? In a world filled with actual ghosts and monsters?

NOPE. Absolutely not.

She forced herself to hold it in and tried to go back to sleep.

But just as she was about to drift off again, her body suddenly froze.

Because outside her door... she heard a faint sound.

Tap.

It was so soft that if she hadn’t been listening intently, she wouldn’t have noticed at all.

Lin Xi instantly held her breath, lying perfectly still in bed, her ears straining for any further sounds.

Was it just her imagination? She waited a long time, but didn’t hear anything else.

Just as she was about to relax, the sound came again.

Tap.

Her entire body trembled uncontrollably. Two distinct sounds — there was no way she had imagined it. There really was a sound outside.

And even worse... the sounds started becoming more frequent.

Tap... tap tap...

The noises drew closer, then faded — like someone strolling casually through the hallway.

Lin Xi’s face went deathly pale. Her mind flashed back to the diary’s account...

Annie... Annie had heard footsteps outside her door at night too. But when she asked the other passengers, none of them had gone out...

Is this... is this the same sound Annie had heard?

Lin Xi’s heart sank into despair. Because in the diary, Annie disappeared not long after hearing those footsteps...

I’m being targeted...

The ghost is targeting me!

Curling up beneath her blanket, Lin Xi prayed it would block out the sound, but it was useless. That sound was like an inescapable demon, whispering endlessly in her ear.

Minutes later, the footsteps gradually faded. It sounded like the thing had gone upstairs.

Only then did Lin Xi dare relax — just a little. But even so, she stayed under her blanket, too afraid to emerge.

……

At the same time, the door to Bai Wan’s room silently creaked open.

Peeking through the crack, Bai Wan cautiously observed the hallway outside.

The heavy rain outside muffled most sounds, and the cabin windows were misted over, making the outside world even darker and harder to see. The tables and chairs in the hall were shrouded in shadow. The distant statue was cloaked in darkness, its outline barely visible.

Hoo…

Bai Wan took a deep breath and tiptoed out of his room.

Blending into the darkness, he felt a chill creep down his spine. Accompanied by the sound of rain, he moved carefully, his gaze focused on the staircase leading to the second floor.

He had heard the strange footsteps earlier too. Whoever — or whatever — had been making those sounds seemed to be upstairs now.

Just as Bai Wan was about to quietly ascend the stairs, he casually glanced back toward the statue in the hall — only for his heart to skip a beat.

There, crouched in front of the statue... was a pitch-black figure.

And it was staring straight at him.

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