Chapter 180 - 179: Rian Sinclair: Hmm?????

Chapter 180: Chapter 179: Rian Sinclair: Hmm?????

In the current setting, however, the voice carried a rather eerie vibe.

Rian Sinclair stepped forward to open the door, revealing a girl sprawled on the ground. She didn’t reach out to help her up—she was quite the grudge-holder, after all. Instead, she simply opened the door and spoke directly into the walkie-talkie. "We’ve returned all the ID tags. What’s the next step?"

The three boys who were with the girl pulled her up from the floor. In the control room, the game master stared at the monitors, completely speechless. The moment that group had entered the room, they had started screaming so hysterically that the game master didn’t even dare send an NPC out to scare them.

Usually, the simplest setup involved a security guard lying on the ground, occasionally tossing and turning with a groan, while a female ghost stared menacingly at the players. It didn’t add any real difficulty. The game master was genuinely afraid of giving these easily frightened players a heart attack. The other players had all dealt with jump scares from the ghost, and the game master had originally wanted to ramp up the difficulty for this room. Who knew they would end up having to tone it down instead?

After listening to the game master’s instructions, Rian looked at the four people opposite her. "Which one of you is Fynn Lane?"

One of the boys raised his hand. "I am."

Seeing this, Rian relayed the game master’s requirements. "We have to play the Four Corners game next. We need to choose four people, but the player playing Fynn Lane has to participate." She then looked at the rest of the group. "There are three spots left. Who wants to go?"

Melody and her two companions waited to see what the other group wanted to do. If the other team wanted to play, they were willing to let them have the floor. However, after waiting for a good while, no one made a sound.

Melody rolled her eyes hard. "Girl, I’ll go!"

Sarah Forrest quickly followed suit. "I’ll go too!"

Rian glanced at Finn Collins.

"I’m fine with whatever," the man said.

Rian originally wanted to suggest that Finn accompany Melody, considering they were a couple. But when she turned her head, she was met with Melody’s big, sparkling eyes pleading with her, while her best friend Sarah shook her arm vigorously.

"I’ll go," Rian said. The moment the words left her mouth, two different feminine voices squealed in excitement.

The four of them moved to the designated area, each taking up one corner of the room. Rian was told she would be the first to go. She had to walk along the wall toward the next corner. When she encountered a player, she was to pat their shoulder and take their place in the corner. If there was no one there, she had to clap her hands once before continuing forward.

Although the lighting inside the escape room was incredibly dim, Rian’s night vision was excellent. She quickly reached her best friend’s corner and patted her shoulder. "Stick to the wall. Don’t be afraid."

Sarah nodded heavily and set off toward the next corner. Rian leaned against the wall, looking around. Soon, Sarah arrived safely at her destination, followed closely by Melody. The only one left was Fynn Lane.

Rian looked toward the corner she had originally started in. A pale-faced female ghost in a white dress was standing right there. Rian silently lit a candle in her heart for the poor guy. After all, the rule of the Four Corners game was that the first person walked to the next, and the cycle continued. The final corner was supposed to be completely empty. So, if someone appeared in front of him, it could only mean one thing.

A moment later, Rian heard a bloodcurdling scream. "AHHH!"

She watched as the boy, feeling his way along the wall, accidentally touched the ghost’s back. The ghost immediately spun around for an in-your-face jump scare, sending the terrified boy crashing to the floor.

A mournful, ghostly voice echoed through the room. "I’m going to carve up your face..."

Rian instantly remembered the rules they had been given earlier. Seeing the boy scrambling backward on the floor in sheer terror, she shouted, "Cover your face!" They had been playing for a long time, and she didn’t want the game to end prematurely just because he took three slashes to the face. The progress bar had to be over seventy percent by now.

The boy obediently slapped his hands over his face. The ghost teased him for a little while longer before coolly drifting away. Hearing the game master’s instructions over the intercom, the group hurried back to the dorm room.

Next up was a game of hide-and-seek with Cassie Lane. Everyone had to hide in a different room, and only one person was allowed per room. As the female ghost began to count down, Rian grabbed her best friend, found an empty room, and shoved her inside. Meanwhile, Finn pushed Melody into a different empty room.

After hiding the girls, Rian and Finn met in the hallway. They exchanged a glance before splitting up to find their own hiding spots.

Rian wasn’t sure if she was just naturally a magnet for ghosts. Groping through the darkness, she hit a dead end and turned around—only to find the female ghost floating straight toward her. Instead of backing away, Rian walked right toward the ghost, covering her face as she did. The ghost let out a piercing shriek, causing Rian to lean back instinctively. The sound was incredibly ear-splitting!

The ghost had assumed she was someone else. When she realized who it was, she rolled her eyes, turned to leave, and pulled out her walkie-talkie to completely chew out the game master.

The game master had thought a sudden appearance and a loud scream might finally scare this girl with nerves of steel. He hadn’t expected to miscalculate again. Nerves of steel were truly something else!

By this point, Rian couldn’t even be bothered to look for a room. She felt like a walking cheat code in this game. The NPCs, however, felt completely different. A wave of frustration washed over them. They felt like their professional pride was being mercilessly mocked.

Before taking the job, every NPC had to play through the escape rooms themselves. During training, they had been scared out of their wits—sobbing and going weak in the knees. So, when faced with someone who was afraid of absolutely nothing, the NPCs were on the verge of losing their composure. Thankfully, her teammates were much easier to scare.

Soon after, a chorus of screams echoed through the building. Rian figured that several ghost NPCs must have been dispatched all at once.

A school bell suddenly rang out. According to the game master’s prompts, everyone had to head to the classroom, find a seat, and sit quietly. Rian retraced her steps and fished her best friend out of her hiding spot. Now that she had her protector back, Sarah slumped weakly into Rian’s arms.

"WAAAH! I was scared to death! There was a jump scare and everything. I almost lost it and dropped straight to my knees."

Rian laughed and patted her shoulder. Beside them, Finn wrapped his arm around Melody, and the group headed for the classroom. Once inside, everyone was required to take a seat.

Rian let go of Sarah and carefully navigated past the desks in the dark. She was just about to sit down in the seat in front of her when her hand suddenly brushed against something ice-cold. Then, she felt herself being shoved aside.

Rian thought, "Huh?"

She didn’t dwell on it. There were plenty of empty desks in the classroom, so she simply moved to another seat and sat down.

Once everyone was settled, they heard a teacher calling roll. When the name "Cassie Lane" was called, a spotlight flicked on above one of the desks.

Well, mystery solved. The ice-cold hand she had touched earlier belonged to the ghost. It wasn’t the same ghost from the beginning, either. Did ghosts have shift changes?

After that, everyone listened as Cassie Lane spoke. Her voice trembled, carrying a chilling undertone that instantly drew everyone into the terrifying story.

...

The story finally ended with Cassie Lane saying, "In my next life, I never want to be classmates with any of you again." Beside her, Rian could hear her best friend quietly sobbing.