Chapter 992: Chapter 697: The Haunted House_2
Taking it, Yang Xiao was surprised to find that this wasn’t just a single haunted house, but several—there was a residence, a villa, an apartment, a low-rent property, and more. Altogether, five places scattered around different locations in the city.
"You took them to all these places?" Yang Xiao was once again shocked by the man’s audacity. This person must be insane.
Boss Sun gulped nervously, nodded carefully, and murmured in a low voice, "I was worried the pregnancy process would be too slow, so I took them to a few more places. Based on my years of experience, most haunted houses are fake, and the things that supposedly happen there are often just fabricated stories."
"You’re really not afraid of karma, are you?" Yang Xiao sneered sarcastically at Boss Sun before immediately lowering his head to review the haunted house files that Boss Sun had brought.
The first location was a residential building in an old neighborhood on the fifth floor. A solitary elderly man had died in a gas explosion, leaving the interior burned beyond recognition.
The second was a villa. Its owner was a strong-willed businesswoman—efficient, decisive, often away handling business. Her kept man secretly brought another woman back to the villa, but when the businesswoman found out, she poisoned them both. Their corpses were tied together, wrapped in plastic wrap, and sealed inside the walls.
The third was a cheap rental unit. A drug addict had overdosed and died in the bathroom. By the time he was discovered, his body had fused with the toilet, requiring a shovel to scrape off his face.
The fourth was an apartment where someone had hanged themselves. The reasons were unclear.
The fifth was another villa, but this one was in a remote area on the outskirts of the city. The male owner, for reasons unknown, suddenly went mad, killed his wife with a knife, and then took his own life.
"So you took them to all five of these haunted houses? No omissions?" Yang Xiao wasn’t entirely convinced by Boss Sun’s words.
"That’s all of them, just these five places. I swear!" Boss Sun nodded emphatically, looking earnest.
Yang Xiao recalled the Ghost Script he had received. Inside the script box, there was a photograph of a two-story building. The image was blurry and only captured a vague outline, but it seemed to be a villa.
Yang Xiao sifted through the information and selected the details of the two haunted villas, pointing them out to Boss Sun. "The problem is likely with one of these two villas. Do you have a car? Take us there now."
"Now?"
Boss Sun was startled and turned to glance outside the window. It was already past 3:30 in the afternoon. The two villas weren’t close to each other, and visiting both might take so long that night would fall. With his level of courage, he only dared to visit during the day.
"Why don’t we wait until tomorrow morning?" Boss Sun suggested, feigning concern for Yang Xiao and the others. "It’s too late in the day now."
However, time was running out, and Yang Xiao wasn’t in the mood to argue with Boss Sun. Yang Xiao couldn’t care less about Boss Sun’s fate, but they were working against the clock. Even if they didn’t seek the ghost out, the ghost wouldn’t spare them.
"By the way, there are six of us. Get a larger car, and make it quick." Yang Xiao gave Boss Sun no chance to refuse.
Soon, Boss Sun brought over a van. Serving as the driver himself, he sped off with Yang Xiao’s group of six toward the villa Yang Xiao had chosen.
The first destination was the second haunted villa, the one where the businesswoman had poisoned her kept man and his mistress and sealed their bodies inside the wall. Just hearing the story of this location was chilling enough.
The villa was in a prime location, right in the city center. It only took half an hour to reach by car. The security guards in the villa district were diligent and refused to let them in no matter what. In the end, it took several phone calls from Boss Sun to pull the right strings and settle the matter.
The villa was situated in the golden area of the district, but from the outside, this lavish villa had already fallen into disrepair. The yard was overgrown with weeds and littered with a layer of yellowed leaves, a clear sign that no one had set foot there in a long time.
"Last time, we sneaked in through the back. There’s a small door at the rear, but it’s been sealed off now, probably by the security guards," Boss Sun explained in a low voice. The villa looked different from when he had last been here.
It wasn’t just this villa; the neighboring villas were also locked up tight and abandoned. Clearly, people knew about the murder that had happened here, and no one dared to live nearby.
Walking around the villa, Yang Xiao tried to find similarities between the photo and the building, but he quickly realized that the photo from the script box wasn’t taken at this location. This villa was far too luxurious.
"Let’s go to the next one."
Yang Xiao turned to leave without hesitation. Seeing this, Boss Sun, who had been on the phone arranging access to the villa, hurriedly hung up and followed.
The next location was much farther away, situated on the outskirts of the city. The further they drove, the more remote the area became. After an hour of travel, they finally reached their destination—a broken-down, two-story building loomed before them.
"This is it." Boss Sun parked the car and gazed at the dilapidated structure with lingering fear. He couldn’t help but take a sharp breath of cold air.
At this moment, the distant horizon held only the faintest glow of the setting sun. In at most 20 minutes, night would fall completely.
Recalling the photo from the Ghost Script, Yang Xiao stepped on the fallen leaves and circled the villa. He finally stopped behind a broken wall.
Crouching down slowly, he tilted his head upward to view the structure from below. Following his lead, Qu Hong, who had been sticking close to Yang Xiao, mimicked his actions and looked in the same direction. A few seconds later, Qu Hong’s eyes lit up with sudden realization. "This is it! This is the place!"
"How can you tell?" Boss Sun, who had stayed at a safe distance, craned his neck fearfully and asked with trepidation. His nervous eyes shifted towards the villa’s grimy windows. "Did you... did you see something?"
"How did you get in last time?" Yang Xiao stood up and ignored Boss Sun’s question. He needed to act fast; darkness was closing in.
Boss Sun fumbled in his bag and pulled out a key. "Last time, we climbed through a window, but we found a key behind the door. I thought I might need to bring others here again, so... so I kept the key."
"Did you try it before?" Yang Xiao took the brass key, which looked old and worn.
"Yes, it works on the front door."
Hearing Boss Sun confirm this, Yang Xiao motioned for everyone to head inside. However, Boss Sun panicked as soon as he heard this, instinctively stepping back and waving his hands frantically. "No, no, no! I’m not going in. I’ll wait outside for you."
Qu Hong, who had been annoyed by Boss Sun for some time, wasn’t about to let him get away. She grabbed his wrist with one hand and dragged him toward the villa, smirking coldly. "Oh, you’re coming all right. You’re the only one who knows this place. You’re leading the way."
With nightfall imminent, venturing into a haunted house was undoubtedly perilous. After weighing the risks, Yang Xiao decided to spare Boss Sun this time, letting him wait outside. After all, they were strangers in a foreign world, and Boss Sun was a crucial link to the outside world and a key figure in their investigation. If he died, it could severely impact their future plans. Yang Xiao had a gut feeling that Captain Zhou and the others were likely nearby. Perhaps Boss Sun’s connections could help them locate their teammates.
Receiving Yang Xiao’s approval, Boss Sun was overjoyed and immediately promised to raise their fee by another 10 percent. However, Yang Xiao and the others didn’t care. This was, after all, a mission world—no amount of money could be taken back with them.
Standing in front of the villa’s door...
