You made all the streamers on the internet kneel before you when you were asked to make a game.

"Five distinguished guests?"

Berserker Dragon's heart skipped a beat.

A very ominous thought flashed through his mind in an instant.

He subconsciously began to count the number of people on his side.

A lancet, one.

Professor Chen, one.

An experienced driver, one.

Just myself.

There were four living people in total.

Including his own wife, the ghost bride?

But the ghost bride is a ghost, not a guest.

Moreover, even if we include that, it should still be five "units".

But the paper effigy on the stage clearly referred to "five distinguished guests".

Where did the fifth one come from?

A chill began to emanate from Brother Long's back.

He dared not look up, dared not look around.

He could only stare intently at the ground beneath his feet with the corner of his eye.

The stage lights cast long shadows of the group onto the bluestone slabs.

One, two, three, four...

Brother Long's pupils suddenly contracted.

Five!

On the ground, there were clearly five shadows!

Between Professor Chen and the old driver's shadows, a blurry and slender black figure appeared.

The shadow clung tightly to the two of them.

As their breathing rose and fell slightly with tension, the shadow also rose and fell slightly in sync.

It's always been there!

From the moment they sat down, it silently blended into their midst!

Holy crap!!!

[There's one more person!!!]

The live stream audience realized what was happening and the chat exploded with comments.

All the viewers saw the extra shadow.

At that moment, the extra shadow moved.

It slowly turned its "head".

The outline of the shadow twists and changes on the ground.

Ultimately, a blurry profile picture of Long Ge was formed.

Then a crack appeared on the face of that shadow.

It looks like he's laughing.

A silent, malicious, mocking laugh.

Meanwhile, on the stage, the paper effigy of a young boy had already extended a stiff finger made of bamboo strips and paper pulp and began calling out names.

"The first one..."

Its finger pointed to the far left corner of the audience seats.

There, a zombie dressed in Qing Dynasty official robes slowly stood up and hopped towards the stage.

Brother Long and his men breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out they weren't coming directly for them.

"Second place..."

The finger moved, pointing to the right.

A woman holding a dead baby also stood up numbly and walked towards the stage.

The paper effigy's fingers moved slowly through the air.

Each time a "person" is pointed at, a ghost puppet walks onto that stage of no return.

And its fingers were slowly moving towards where Brother Long and the others were.

Getting closer.

Getting closer.

Brother Long and his men couldn't help but feel nervous.

Especially the "thing" sandwiched between Professor Chen and the old driver, seemed to get excited as well.

Its shadow trembled slightly.

It is waiting.

I'm looking forward to being selected.

Looking forward to pulling the people around me onto the stage together!

"Fifth place..."

The voice of the paper effigy of a young boy rang out again.

Its finger stopped in mid-air, hovering directly above the row of seats where Brother Long and his group were sitting.

If any one of the four living people is chosen, it could lead to their complete annihilation.

Because once someone is chosen to go on stage, their identity as a living person will inevitably be exposed.

At that time, they will face an attack from hundreds of vengeful ghosts below the stage!

At that moment, the game suddenly underwent an emergency update.

[A brand new short horror story, "Overnight in the Mountains: The Extra Person," is now available for a limited time!]

[Game Description: This is a game about cognition and existence. Five hikers went on an adventure in the mountains and stayed in an abandoned forest ranger's cabin. When they woke up in the middle of the night, they found... six people inside.]

Who is the extra one?

If they can't find them, everyone will die.

[Hint to clear the level: It has no shadow, it doesn't breathe, or... it's been mimicking your movements.]

The last line of the announcement, "It has been mimicking your movements," resonated in Brother Long's mind.

He suddenly looked at the shadow that was still among them, rising and falling with their breaths.

imitate!

It's imitation!

This thing is not an independent entity!

It's imitating!

The viewers in the live chat were also confused.

[Holy crap! An emergency update? And at such a critical time?]

[Is the game planner a devil?! Brother Long and the others are about to be called out, and you're updating the game now?!]

[Wait! Look at the last hint! "It keeps mimicking your movements!" Isn't that exactly what Brother Long and his crew are facing right now?!]

[Furthermore, this game will most likely be similar to "Caged Bird" in that it's connected to the main world dungeons!]

……

Fenghun Village, beneath the stage.

Brother Long's intelligence began to prevail.

Imitate... Imitate...

The shadow was mimicking their breathing.

So, if they stop breathing, will the undulation of that shadow also stop?

In this way, it can be distinguished from the four living people who need to breathe!

But no!

This method is too risky!

How long can you hold your breath?

They'll be exposed as soon as they breathe!

Moreover, who can guarantee that the thing won't mimic the state of "stillness" after they stop breathing?

We must find an action that only a living person can do, and that it cannot imitate, or that would be immediately exposed if imitated!

On the stage, the paper effigy's fingers were lowering lower and lower.

Only less than half a meter remained.

There's no time left!

Brother Long was sweating profusely and his heart was pounding.

Just then, a brilliant idea flashed into his mind!

He came up with a move that only a living person could make!

Brother Long gritted his teeth and used all his strength to instantly relax his body, which was tense with fear.

He collapsed limply into the ghost bride's arms.

At the same time, a very faint sound, filled with satisfaction and contentment, escaped his throat...

snore.

"Hoo... snoring..."

Everyone in the live stream was stunned.

【? ? ? 】

What's Brother Long doing? Has he given up on treatment?

Pretending to be asleep? What's the point? Don't ghosts pretend to be asleep too?

But the next second, all the dissenting voices disappeared.

On the ground, Brother Long was seen "asleep".

His own shadow also slumped down softly, its outline becoming blurred and relaxed.

The scalpel, Professor Chen, and the veteran driver remained taut.

And that extra fifth shadow...

It also softened down, just like Brother Long.

However, here's the problem: Brother Long collapsed in the arms of the ghost bride.

His body is supported!

And that shadow was next to Professor Chen and the old driver.

It has no support!

Something without support cannot make the "slump" motion.

Its imitation instantly created a stark and eerie contrast with the several "standing" shadows around it.

It's been exposed!

Professor Chen and Lancet reacted almost simultaneously, never expecting that Brother Long could come up with such a clever way to break the deadlock in such a desperate situation.

On the stage, the paper effigy of the young man had already lowered his finger, pointing at the extra shadow that had "collapsed" on the ground.

"You, come up on stage."

The paper effigy spoke in a sinister tone.

The shadow seemed to be stunned.

It never expected that, despite its perfect imitation, it would still be chosen.

It slowly "stood up" from the ground.

Then it broke free from Professor Chen and the old driver's shadows, transforming into a solitary, twisted black shadow, and drifted towards the stage.

Crisis resolved!

[Awesome!!!]

[Holy crap! Brother Long! Did his brain suddenly grow out?!]

[I declare this to be Brother Long's legendary feat! He fooled the ghosts and the rules with a single snore!]

Brother Long secretly opened one eye from the Ghost Bride's embrace and saw the shadow drift towards the stage. Only then did his heart, which was about to leap out of his chest, finally settle down.

damn it……

It's nice to be alive.

Just as that shadow was about to float onto the stage, it suddenly stopped in mid-air.

Then, with incredible speed, it changed direction and rushed straight towards someone in the audience.

Its target is neither Brother Long, who came up with a solution, nor Professor Chen and Lancet.

But...

It had almost no presence from beginning to end...

Old driver!

The experienced driver hadn't even realized what had happened.

The dark figure had already pounced in front of him and then silently merged into his body.

The experienced driver's body stiffened abruptly, and an extremely painful expression appeared on his face.

Then he slowly raised his head, his eyes already pitch black.

His lips slowly curled upwards, revealing a silent, mocking smile exactly like the one from the shadow just moments before.

"You guys... found out..."

A strange voice, not belonging to an experienced driver, and overlapping with the voices of countless men, women, young and old, came from his mouth.

"But...it's okay..."

"The game has only just begun."

"I am the rule."

Before he could finish speaking...

The "veteran driver" suddenly reached out and grabbed Professor Chen by the neck!