Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 182: Time Stop

Chapter 182: Chapter 182: Time Stop

Outside the department store building.

A group of people looked up at the building, appearing even more eerie and terrifying under the moonlight, without saying a word.

In fact, the reason for coming to the task site was not out of care.

Because this is the first time Fog Gathering has released a task in reality, and it’s about the future.

Everyone wanted to see what would be different.

"What time is it?" Li Mu sat on the ground carelessly and asked.

He was really too exhausted, having been sleep-deprived for a long period had drained his energy to the limit.

It’s only because Li Mu exercises diligently; if it was someone else, their body would have collapsed by now.

"Three more minutes to one in the morning."

The one who answered Li Mu was Gu Pingsheng.

This thirty-year-old surgeon exuded the unique charm of a mature man.

"It’s too quiet..." Li Mu said softly.

The others didn’t speak. They had agreed beforehand that if help was needed from people outside the building, they would actively call, but until now, not a single call was made.

Hope... is a good thing, right?

...

In the ventilation duct.

Qi Nian had been crawling forward diligently after choosing the rightmost duct.

However, her speed was getting slower and slower.

It was not because the passageway was still narrowing. In fact, she seemed to have chosen the right path. Since entering this rightmost branch, she hadn’t heard that terrifying bell sound from behind again.

Her plan seemed to have succeeded; the ghost was led into another passage.

Although this was something worth being happy about, Qi Nian couldn’t feel any joy at the moment.

Her physical exhaustion was immense.

Crawling in the ventilation duct in such a posture was far more difficult than imagined.

And what was more fatal was that her hands and feet were already numb.

Because the duct was too narrow, she couldn’t straighten her back or comfortably extend her limbs.

Moreover, she had lost her phone for lighting. Now the duct was dark, low, and oppressive.

Ordinary people could develop claustrophobia by staying in such an environment for too long.

The body’s weakness was no longer a problem that could be solved by willpower. Although there was no noise from behind, things had developed to an extremely bad point.

Once that fierce ghost realized it had been tricked and crawled back to find her, she’d be truly doomed.

Because now... she couldn’t move.

The only thing she could do now was quickly rest and regain her strength, at least enough to get her hands and feet moving again.

"Phew..."

Qi Nian breathed a sigh; in this deserted duct, her eyes finally showed signs of confusion and fear.

The ordinary days seemed as distant as a past life. What mistake did she make to be chosen by Fog Gathering...

Qi Nian was puzzled before, but now, she no longer wanted to think about this question.

I must survive!

This time coming to Ye City, it wasn’t just to execute this task but also... Ghost Head Mountain.

Only Lu Guo knew she had a piece of white hook jade, and in Lu Guo’s hand, there was a piece of black hook jade.

She and Lu Guo both dreamed of Ghost Head Mountain, maybe not only could they get rid of these two pieces of hook jade harboring fierce ghosts there, but they could also unravel the curse of Fog Gathering!

Qi Nian’s eyes grew increasingly resolute. She must survive...

After ceasing her wild thoughts, the speed of her recovery seemed faster. Qi Nian just showed a hint of joy but suddenly froze.

She listened carefully and immediately felt a chill run through her body.

"Ring-ring-ring-ring-ring—scratch-scratch-scratch-scratch—"

The urgent ringing of a bell kept coming from behind, scaring Qi Nian pale.

It knew something was wrong, it came to find her!

This time, besides the ringing, Qi Nian also heard the extremely intense sound of something scraping against the duct wall.

How is it moving so fast?

Qi Nian forced herself to suppress the fear and immediately crawled forward!

She couldn’t care if her intense movements would hurt her anymore. Now that the bell sound was so close, the fierce ghost was about to crawl over. With her life at stake, how could she be concerned about injuries?

Qi Nian was already giving her all. The frantic secretion of adrenaline made it so she couldn’t feel the pain anymore, but after all, she was just a human being, and compared to the fierce ghost that suddenly increased its speed, her desperate crawl was merely a drop in the bucket.

Qi Nian clenched her teeth; she didn’t want to die, not in this dark and filthy ventilation duct. However, reality dealt her a heavy blow.

A strong beam of light suddenly shone from behind her.

It was a phone.

It had caught up...

Qi Nian unwillingly turned her head to look behind her.

What she saw was a rotting ghost face, with her phone in its mouth, its blood-red eyes staring intently at her.

A terrifying wave of resentment and malice surged up, like a tide engulfing Qi Nian.

It’s over...

At death’s doorstep, aside from fear and unwillingness, a bizarre thought emerged in her mind.

The person who sent that message... Who could it be?

Unfortunately, she might never know the answer.

Qi Nian stared at it; this terrifying fierce ghost had already extended its completely rotted arm, reaching for her ankle.

A meter.

Half a meter.

Thirty centimeters.

Looking on, its hand was about to grab Qi Nian.

Suddenly!

Qi Nian felt a strong dizziness erupt in her mind!

The surrounding space also rippled with an eerie, wave-like undulation!

A bizarre sense of distortion swept over her, just like... when she first entered this building!

What is happening?

In the final moment due to despair, Qi Nian, who had closed her eyes, opened them again.

However... what she saw was.

"Why... Why are you all here?!"

She looked incredulously at the group in front of her: Song Que, Bai Yanliang, Yang Mowan, and... Zhou Li!

But at this moment, no one answered her question, everyone vigilantly watched their surroundings.

After a moment, Bai Yanliang said, "Turns out, after one hour, we’ll directly return to the entrance."

The others also understood what had just happened.

Qi Nian was dumbfounded.

So in the last second, when the fierce ghost was about to catch her, time actually ran out?

And when the time was up, all of them directly returned to the starting point!

This dramatic event happening to her made Qi Nian find it hard to believe. Her dazed expression was noticed by Bai Yanliang, so he asked, "It still caught up to you?"

Qi Nian froze, then looked at Bai Yanliang.

"Was it you?"

Bai Yanliang neither answered nor denied. Seeing Qi Nian coming back to her senses, he turned his attention to Zhou Li.

After everyone was sent back to the entrance, aside from the initial vigilant confusion, only two people were in noticeably unusual states.

One was Qi Nian.

And the other was Zhou Li.

Like Qi Nian, Zhou Li also stood there, looking soulless and vacant.

"Zhou Li?"

Bai Yanliang called.

Zhou Li showed no response.

"Zhou Li?"

Bai Yanliang called again.

But Zhou Li still didn’t respond.

At this point, everyone noticed his odd behavior.

Song Que watched Zhou Li curiously, his eyes still able to see the transparent outline surrounding Zhou Li.

At least this proves, Zhou Li wasn’t dead.

So, Song Que approached Zhou Li and slapped him on the back:

"Hey! Wake up!"