Chapter 1971: Chapter 1115: The Ghost Is Behind You (Part 2)
After the Water Ghost left, the two continued on their way, guided by the map, until they reached the entrance of the dark and deep underground tunnel.
Here, Kato Shinjiro first checked the rack at the tunnel entrance and found explosives and an old-fashioned hand-cranked flashlight.
These items were originally packed in crates, wooden crates, and it’s obvious that Yamamoto Chunai had opened them last night.
So far, the information provided by Chu Xi has all matched, which made Kato Shinjiro feel a little relieved.
He knew Chu Xi was wary of him, and he was also wary of Chu Xi, but he dared to venture alone tonight not out of recklessness, but because he had some confidence.
This confidence came from his family’s influence; in the prophecy, someone saw his future, which was enough to prove that he wouldn’t die on this mission.
This prophecy, combined with the various clues he possessed, gave Kato Shinjiro at least a 90% certainty of ending the nightmare.
Another reason for entering tonight was because of the mysterious people from those special departments.
This group is no small threat; they are not at all less dangerous than ghosts. Who knows when they might suddenly decide to attack, it’s a ticking time bomb.
"Mr. Katou, behind us... there seems to be a sound." Turning to look at the fog behind them, Sakai Misaki’s face was pale, and her hand gripping his arm trembled.
Kato Shinjiro heard it too; it was the sound of water splashing, getting closer and closer; the Water Ghost was chasing them, truly a haunting presence.
"Let’s go!" Kato Shinjiro no longer hesitated, leading Sakai Misaki into the dark and cold tunnel.
The tunnel was pitch-black, almost impossible to see anything; they could only rely on their senses and move downward step by step.
At this moment, Sakai Misaki seemed like an accessory, desperately wanting to cling to Kato Shinjiro, greatly limiting his ability to move.
It was as if they’d hit a ghost; even if they ran, they might not escape.
"Let go," Kato Shinjiro growled, "Don’t grab my pants, give me your hand, I’ll pull you."
"It’s too dark, I feel so cold, should we... should we turn on the phone to look at the road?" Sakai Misaki’s voice was trembling, invisibly increasing the pressure on both of them.
In such an environment, it’s incredibly difficult to maintain absolute calm; Kato Shinjiro could do it alone, but with Sakai Misaki around, it was clearly not possible.
"Shut up, do you want to die?" Kato Shinjiro nervously listened to the nearby sounds, and his patience was wearing thin.
He dared not fully trust Chu Xi and his group, so many pieces of intelligence needed to be verified by himself.
The prophecy doesn’t guarantee safety; it’s better to rely on oneself; family elders’ prophecies have failed before, though not often.
"I... I smell it, that... that scent..." Sakai Misaki was about to cry, her accumulated courage was nearly depleted, and she already regretted coming.
At this moment, Kato Shinjiro also smelled it; it was a scent of oil paint, initially faint, but now it was quite noticeable.
He had sensed the smell earlier than Sakai Misaki but worried about frightening her and causing unpredictable consequences, so he didn’t mention it.
As the scent grew stronger, Kato Shinjiro’s confidence waned; this ghost clearly perceived their presence and was approaching bit by bit.
According to Chu Xi, as long as they didn’t turn on the light and groped in darkness, they should be able to avoid this ghost.
Besides... they’ve been walking for quite a while; logically, they should have already exited this section of the tunnel.
Before coming, he calculated that this stairway wasn’t very long; even if they walked slowly in the dark, three or four minutes should be enough, but now it feels endless.
Though unwilling to believe it, reality was right in front of him; they were trapped in the Ghost Hitting the Wall, and the Paint Ghost had locked onto them, steadily closing in.
In this pitch-black environment, encountering a ghost meant surviving was nearly impossible, and he couldn’t determine whether the ghost would attack him or Sakai Misaki first.
"Mr. Katou, that scent... that scent..."
Sakai Misaki’s body trembled violently, her speech incoherent; Kato Shinjiro understood what she meant, the oil paint scent was getting stronger and pungent.
The ghost was already there, just within 10 meters of them.
Initially, he could deceive Sakai Misaki into turning on her phone, emitting light to attract the ghost, but not now; he sensed that Sakai Misaki no longer trusted him like before.
No way, she was just easy to deceive, with little experience, not truly foolish; she was present when Chu Xi explained the precautions beforehand.
As the scent thickened, Kato Shinjiro knew he had to take action; he took a deep breath and suddenly shouted, "The ghost is behind you!"
Sure enough, the sudden scream startled Sakai Misaki, instinctively reacting, she broke free from Kato Shinjiro’s hand, running madly downward, accompanied by screams.
And, unsurprisingly, in this dark environment, Sakai Misaki didn’t run far before falling, tumbling down the stairs in a panic.
From the sound of her fall, Kato Shinjiro detected something unusual, the fall wasn’t directly downward but at an odd angle or path.
Kato Shinjiro closed his eyes, followed the direction of her sounds, and within half a minute he escaped the Ghost Hitting the Wall, arriving in the underground world.
Upon hearing Sakai Misaki’s groans of pain, he opened his eyes and approached to check her injuries.
This time, he noticeably sensed Sakai Misaki resisting him, clearly she was suspicious.
It’s inevitable, since he shouted there was a ghost, scared her away, and yet appeared calmly with closed eyes; something was clearly off.
If she didn’t start suspecting, he would question Sakai Misaki’s identity.
Either she’s pretending, or... she was swapped by something in the darkness.
Now Sakai Misaki’s response matched his expectations, indicating she was still human, very safe.
"Miss Zuo Bo, are you alright?" Kato Shinjiro feigned concern, worried she might have broken her leg, which would mean walking the rest alone.
"I’m okay, thank you for your concern, Mr. Katou." Sakai Misaki appeared cold and resistant.
After checking, her bones were fine, just bruises and scrapes; she rolled down stairs, it was inevitable.
Once confirming no major issues, Kato Shinjiro exhaled in relief, turned towards the tunnel they descended from, but now the passage seemed shielded by a force, just blurred darkness.
Regarding their survival, he formed a judgment; in his view, rolling off wasn’t the sole way out, escaping the Ghost Hitting the Wall meant abandoning all references, ideally walking downward with closed eyes.
The reason they initially couldn’t escape was because together they were mutual references, leading to the trap.
In the Ghost Hitting the Wall, referencing nearby objects only deepens the trap; forsaking vision completely is the way out.
Frightened and tumbling down stairs, Sakai Misaki exemplified this, as did Yamamoto Chunai the previous night.
Finally, closing his eyes, following Sakai Misaki’s sounds, he also exited the Ghost Hitting the Wall.
It was a shortcut.
Even without Sakai Misaki’s guidance, closing eyes he’d escape, just taking more time since the path wasn’t straight.
"The real danger has just started..." Gazing at the deathly silent Underground City, unease filled Kato Shinjiro’s heart.
