Chapter 1937: Chapter 1098: Umbrella
Realizing that she might have encountered the Water Ghost, Ogawa Haruka felt a chill run through her heart.
She knew well that she lacked the skills of Chu Xi and Kato Shinjiro; if she truly came across the Water Ghost, the consequences would be dire.
But it wasn’t something she could choose. It’s often said that what you fear most will happen, and soon, a Ghost Shadow vaguely appeared in the mist not far behind her.
Accompanied by the sound of splashing water, the Ghost Shadow got closer and closer. The sense of threat made Ogawa Haruka unable to force herself to stay calm any longer. She used all her strength to chase in the direction from which the three Chang Ghosts had left.
At the same time, the splashing sounds continued behind her, as if the Water Ghost were clinging to her relentlessly.
"Splish"
"Splash"
"Splosh"
The footsteps weren’t loud or particularly fast. By sound, it was akin to the rhythm of a person walking normally, yet the speed was surprisingly quick. Even using all her strength, Ogawa Haruka couldn’t shake off the pursuer.
Now, Ogawa Haruka faced two choices: either change direction and hide in a nearby building, similar to when she previously evaded a Ghost passenger’s pursuit, or steadfastly chase in the same direction toward an unknown destination.
The choice was difficult because the stakes were her life, and a battle waged within Ogawa Haruka’s mind.
At a glance, the first choice seemed the most straightforward, but Ogawa Haruka knew that the Water Ghost was not easy to deal with.
Chu Xi and Kato Shinjiro were examples; hidden in locked rooms, they were nearly killed by the Water Ghost. In this situation, she was almost certainly doomed.
She ruthlessly abandoned the plan to hide in a room and, steeling her nerves, pursued into the depths of the mist.
She decided to take a gamble and find a way out before the Water Ghost caught up to her.
But unfortunately, her luck seemed to have run out. After running a bit further, there was still nothing ahead, only the blurred, eerie mist.
At that moment, the footsteps of the Water Ghost were very close, and as Ogawa Haruka slowed down, so did the Water Ghost, but it remained faster than her.
She couldn’t keep running aimlessly any longer. She had no time left, her pressing need was to escape this pursuit.
She began to regret not hiding in a nearby building earlier, but now, surrounded by mist, finding a hiding spot was as hard as climbing to the heavens.
Suddenly, as she was running, Ogawa Haruka’s eyes lit up. To her right, a square, blurry shadow appeared.
This seemed to be a building, though smaller in scale and incomparable to the rest area she hid in before, but its appearance here was like a helping hand in a dire situation.
Ogawa Haruka had no choice; she dashed over and, upon arriving, saw clearly that it was an old-style signal room.
It was a standalone structure, with the endless mist still surrounding the visible range.
The iron door of the signal room was severely rusted, currently open by only about one-third. There was no light inside, and through the gap, many blurred shadows stood in the darkness.
The situation was unclear, and Ogawa Haruka dared not enter. The sudden appearance of this signal room seemed highly suspicious.
Even stepping back, if there was no issue inside, the space was too small. Once trapped, she would have no chance.
There was no time to hesitate. She directly moved to the back of the signal room, held her breath, leaned against the wall, and hid.
Though she knew she was deceiving herself, there was indeed no better way at the moment, and it wasn’t like she could clench her fists and fight the Water Ghost head-on.
Just as she settled in hiding, the Water Ghost arrived, and the splashing sounds stopped in front of the signal room.
At this moment, Ogawa Haruka’s heart was in her throat. In mere seconds, she had prayed to every deity she could think of.
Perhaps a god heard her plea; the Water Ghost did not come directly to kill her but instead pushed the door open and entered the signal room.
The splashing footsteps, separated only by a wall, made Ogawa Haruka too scared to breathe deeply.
After finding nothing inside the signal room, the Water Ghost exited and began circling the signal room, searching for someone.
As the Water Ghost moved, so did Ogawa Haruka; one person, one Ghost, circled the signal room. Fortunately, the Water Ghost was slow, and the splashing sounds gave constant cues to its position; after two rounds, Ogawa Haruka remained undiscovered.
Just as she planned to keep circling, an accident occurred. The initially clockwise splashing suddenly reversed direction, speeding around the opposite way.
This caught Ogawa Haruka off guard. By the time she thought of changing direction, it was already too late.
After all, this was just a signal room, with a small building area and short walls, offering no redundancy.
In the blink of an eye, a dripping Wet Ghost Shadow emerged from the corner directly in front of Ogawa Haruka, colliding with her.
As expected, Ogawa Haruka’s brain shut down again. With her back pressed against the wall, she stood frozen in place, like a statue.
At this moment, she finally saw the true face of the Water Ghost.
It was a girl, seemingly about her age, dressed in light sportswear, but completely soaked. Her wet long hair hung down in strands, obscuring half of her pale, terrifying face.
Behind the girl seemed to be a knife, or perhaps a sword. Something resembling a handle extended a short length from behind her back.
On that pale face, a pair of slightly yellowing milky white eyes were filled with extreme coldness and gloom.
