Chapter 62 — IAVD (QT) Chapter 62

Lu Zhizhen wrinkled her nose as she bathed, sensing something was wrong.

“Wenli, do you smell something strange?”

Huang Wenli’s voice came from the other side of the bathroom, tinged with surprise. “What? I don’t smell anything.”

Lu Zhizhen frowned. Could it be that she was the only one noticing it?

She scanned the small bathroom cautiously.

The room was filled with thick steam, obscuring the surroundings. Even Huang Wenli’s figure was blurred, barely distinguishable through the mist.

Lu Zhizhen’s heart pounded violently, unease gnawing at her. She hurriedly dried off, called to Huang Wenli, and started dressing to leave.

Huang Wenli, terrified, quickly put on her clothes and followed. “Lu Jiejie, what’s wrong? Don’t scare me.”

“Let’s go first, we’ll talk outside,” Lu Zhizhen said.

She couldn’t describe the feeling—like being watched by some malevolent gaze, sending chills down her spine. She just wanted to leave the bathroom immediately.

But as she stepped forward, her foot landed on something slick, soft, and damp—decayed. And with it came that strange, putrid smell she had noticed earlier.

The smell was growing stronger, approaching… closer and closer…

Lu Zhizhen’s eyes widened in horror as a strand of black hair coiled up from the floor, leveraging itself upward. At half her height, the hair shimmered with a sharp, unnatural glint, twisting into a hook-like shape aimed straight for her heart.

“!!!”

Her nerves snapped. She stumbled backward frantically, colliding with Huang Wenli, and the two of them fell into a heap. Huang Wenli screamed, the bathroom descending into chaos.

By sheer luck, Lu Zhizhen narrowly avoided the deadly hair.

“Lu Jiejie, what’s happening?!” Huang Wenli cried, terrified, sprawled on the floor.

The hair surged toward them again. Lu Zhizhen shouted in panic, rolling and dodging helplessly, unable to reassure her friend.

Huang Wenli gritted her teeth, pushing herself up, grabbed Lu Zhizhen’s hand, and bolted for the door with her eyes shut.

“Bang!”

The wet floor betrayed them. Huang Wenli slipped, and both girls fell again, once more narrowly avoiding the hair’s lethal strike.

Lu Zhizhen froze, stunned.

Huang Wenli scrambled up desperately. “Lu Jiejie, let’s go! Just leave here!”

Lu Zhizhen felt conflicted. She hadn’t expected this small girl, by sheer accident, to save them both twice, narrowly evading death. She had guts, and at the crucial moment, she hadn’t abandoned her.

She couldn’t betray Huang Wenli’s trust.

Gritting her teeth, Lu Zhizhen forced herself to calm down. Eyes wide, she scanned the eerie mist of the bathroom, wary of any hair striking from the shadows. Supporting Huang Wenli, she got to her feet and groped toward the door.

She twisted the doorknob. Nothing.

“Wenli, let’s break the door!” she shouted.

Their struggle in the bathroom had been loud, yet no one came. They had to rely on themselves.

A surge of unspoken coordination made them crash into the bathroom door together.

“Bang—”

The door was solid, rattling violently, but it didn’t budge.

They felt despair creeping in but refused to give up. They prepared to crash it again—when suddenly, footsteps approached.

Then Ji Xiu’s voice came through the door: “What’s going on in the bathroom?”

The boss?!

Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli’s eyes went wide with relief, hearts racing like they’d escaped death itself. They shouted frantically: “Boss, help us!”

Ji Xiu’s voice tensed, serious now. “What’s wrong? Did you fall? Is it serious? Hold on, I’ll get Qiuyue to help you.”

“No! Boss, open the door and save us, please!”

“Weren’t you two bathing? Isn’t that inconvenient…” His voice was hesitant, slightly annoyed.

Lu Zhizhen was frantic, nearly in tears. Life or death, and the boss was dragging his feet. She pounded the door desperately. “We’re dressed! Please, Boss, open the door and save us!”

“Creak—” The door slowly swung open under her pounding.

Lu Zhizhen: “…”

Huang Wenli, less attentive, thought it was Ji Xiu who opened it. She cried out in relief, a tear streaming down her face, dragging Lu Zhizhen along.

But Lu Zhizhen knew better. She had opened the door herself.

Rushing out, she looked back—the bathroom was empty. The mist had vanished, the space spotless, as if everything had been a dream.

She touched her cheek. The black hair had scraped her face during the fall; the wound was still there, throbbing slightly.

Staring at the blood on her fingertips, she felt dazed.

Was everything she experienced real, or just a nightmare?

“Are you two alright?”

Ji Xiu’s voice broke her reverie. “If you’re fine, why the commotion? I thought something had happened and came to help.”

Neither Lu Zhizhen nor Huang Wenli knew what to say. The bathroom had returned to normal. How could they explain? Say there was a ghost? Would the boss believe them?

Ji Xiu sighed at their silence. “Forget it. I won’t pursue it. Just don’t pull stunts like this again, or no one will come if something really happens.”

He waved them off. “Go rest, and keep it down.”

The girls nodded, shaken, and left, still wary, hoping to reunite with the others and recount what happened.

Ji Xiu stayed behind, eyes on the bathroom.

Once the players had left, he glanced at the empty room, brow furrowed, confused.

Last life, the first victim had been a middle-aged man. Why did it happen to Lu Zhizhen and the others this time?

…

Ji Xiu, aware of the world’s storylines, knew things others didn’t.

A mysterious and powerful force governed Ji’s Village, regulating and limiting it. It sent outsiders periodically, gradually removing restrictions on the ghosts and forcing confrontation.

If the ghosts killed everyone, they would forget after seven days, and new outsiders would arrive. Survivors received rewards and left the village.

Ghosts were like NPCs in a game, trapped in cycles, while players repeatedly arrived—some succeeded, some failed and became fodder.

Until the true protagonists appeared. Unlike ordinary survivors, they had a hero aura. They could find not just survival but also the origins of this world.

When the protagonists uncovered clues, the ghosts regained memory, realizing their fate. Refusing to remain tools, some even died in despair. The resulting energy twisted space-time, binding the protagonists to the calamity.

Ji Xiu had arrived just as the abnormal aura appeared. He infiltrated the players’ group and returned to Ji’s Village, gaining the ability to alter the story.

Lu Zhizhen, Huang Wenli, and the other players were the first batch, seven people, to spend seven days in Ji’s Village. The ghosts could only kill one per day, then the village entered a safety period.

Last life, the middle-aged man had kicked Da Huang the dog, triggering the killing sequence and dying first. Ji Xiu had intended to prevent unnecessary deaths, but the man had insisted on his reckless actions.

Tonight, instead of the middle-aged man, it was Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli who screamed.

Was this because the presence of outsiders altered the flow of life and death?

Ji Xiu glanced once at the empty bathroom, a dark gleam in his eyes, then turned toward the bedrooms on the first floor.

“Qiuyue?”

He called before entering.

Wang Qiuyue was combing her hair in front of the mirror. Looking up, she was slightly uneasy. “What do you want?”

Ji Xiu approached, taking the comb to help. “Where did you go? I looked everywhere.”

Wang Qiuyue stiffened slightly, avoiding his gaze in the mirror. “The water went out. I went to the river to fetch some.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?” Ji Xiu stopped, regretful. “I wasn’t home before, couldn’t help. Now I am. This hard work should be mine. Don’t do it again.”

Wang Qiuyue smiled softly, a touch of satisfaction. “Alright, you do it from now on.”

The tender moment reminded her of past hardships. Tears rose in her eyes. “Ji Xiu… will you leave again?”

In the mirror, her eyes gleamed red, almost like blood.

Ji Xiu noticed nothing, focused on combing her hair. “I won’t leave. We’ll stay together, the three of us forever.”

“Forever…” she murmured with a stiff smile, “Don’t abandon us.”

Ji Xiu’s tone was gentle yet firm: “Never. That day will never come.”

She relaxed, satisfied, yet the mirror reflected a subtle unease.

Ji Xiu sighed internally, seeing the carelessness of the ghosts—even adults like them.

What about the younger ones? No wonder last life, a female player had died of fright.

…

Lost in thought about reforming them, he heard hurried footsteps and players’ voices outside.

Ji Xiu had a premonition: they had arrived.

He donned his coat, letting Wang Qiuyue rest, and went out to see.

Outside, he bumped into Wu Letong’s group descending the stairs.

Feigning ignorance, he asked, “So late, where are you going?”

Wu Letong pressed on, ignoring him. Lu Zhizhen and Huang Wenli, feeling some attachment after his earlier rescue, explained hurriedly: “Something happened. We heard commotion outside. Boss, you rest, we’ll explain later.”

Ji Xiu shook his head. “I’ll go check too.”

Lu Zhizhen blinked, powerless to stop him, hoping the boss’s family would be unharmed.

She noticed Ji Xiu walking faster than herself. Remembering his kick earlier that day, she understood silently and followed.

They soon reached the scene—a villager’s house not far from Ji Xiu’s home.

Presumably, the middle-aged man, kicked out by Ji Xiu, had sought shelter here, leading to the incident.