My organs are too abstract.

"ah!!"

A piercing scream suddenly erupted from behind, mingling with the maniacal laughter of the knife-wielding patient. The ear-piercing sound stabbed into Zhao Ze's ears, causing his heart to tighten abruptly.

He didn't look back, always leading the way, rushing to the front of the group, his eyes scanning the surroundings.

"This way!" He led the group into a side road, followed closely by several roommates, as well as Ye Xuan and the masked uncle who had joined the group.

The chaotic footsteps pounded heavily in the empty corridor, mingling with the distant cries and the sounds of metal being chopped, making it hard to breathe.

"Those...those lunatics don't seem to have caught up..." Li Da's voice was shaky as he ran while constantly looking back.

Ye Xuan said irritably, "Who cares if he chases us or not? Let's get somewhere far away first!"

The group fled for their lives, and after an unknown amount of time, the screams and sounds of hacking behind them gradually faded into the distance.

Zhao Ze glanced back and saw that his companions were all drenched in sweat. He knew they couldn't keep rushing around like headless flies. His gaze quickly swept across both sides of the corridor, locked onto a room, and he raised his hand to signal everyone to stop.

Everyone stopped as instructed. Zhao Ze gently pushed open the door and stepped in first. He did not immediately call for everyone to follow, but stood at the door and cautiously looked around to confirm that it was just an unused prop room and there was no danger before waving for everyone to enter.

"Huff... huff..."

Li Da, bent over with his hands on his knees, gasped for breath. After a long while, he finally spoke, still shaken, "What happened to those NPCs? Why did they suddenly go berserk, biting and attacking people?"

"Who knows? It's like a dream, so inexplicable. I'm still completely bewildered."

Ye Xuan's eyes still held a trace of shock, as if he hadn't yet recovered from the emotions he'd just felt: "Speaking of which, we came in with a dozen or so people together, did the others all die?"

"I don't think so." Zhao Ze shook his head slightly. "I glanced over at the time, and it seemed like a few other people took the opportunity to run away as well."

Just then, Liu Cheng suddenly frowned and lowered his voice, saying, "Don't you find it strange? They don't seem to be killing indiscriminately."

Li Da was stunned for a moment: "Really?"

"You were so focused on running that you probably didn't notice, but there were several of those NPCs who were obviously extremely strong. If they had really been chasing us with all their might, we wouldn't have been able to run away so easily."

"It's physical contact." Wenxiu seemed much calmer than the others, analyzing calmly, "Before they kill someone, they always have physical contact with the tourists for a period of time before launching an attack."

"That's right." Zhao Ze echoed in a deep voice, his mind flashing back to the scene just now. "The patient with the knife was originally heading in another direction, but halfway there he suddenly turned towards the couple—probably because they touched the severed head."

"Other patients would touch the object first, and then wait a while before taking action."

Ye Xuan recalled for a moment and realized that it seemed to be true. Thinking back to how he had even considered looking at the head, he was filled with lingering fear: "Damn, thank goodness I didn't touch it, otherwise I would have been the one dead!"

"So we're okay for now because we haven't had contact with those patients?" Li Da suddenly realized, then looked confused. "But aren't they crazy? Why would they follow rules when killing someone?"

"Perhaps in the minds of these lunatics, this is their code of conduct." Wenxiu shook her head gently. "No need to delve into the reasons, just remember not to let them touch you."

"I just remembered something," Vivi said, looking puzzled. "When we were at the entrance, the staff told me not to get caught, and I thought it was some kind of Easter egg. But now that I think about it, maybe he already knew something, and this was his way of reminding us."

"So, he must have had good intentions towards us?" Li Da scratched his head, completely puzzled. "But if that's the case, why didn't he just stop the tourists from coming in?"

Ye Xuan thought for a moment and added, "Speaking of which, the sign at the entrance is actually reminding us, so could the other things written on it also be true?"

Li Da shook his head blankly: "I don't know. Those words were incoherent, like he was mentally deranged."

"None of that matters. What matters is, this haunted house is so crazy, how has it managed to stay open all this time?" Liang Xiaolong asked incredulously.

Zhao Ze frowned slightly, also puzzled: "Perhaps this haunted house wasn't problematic from the beginning; we were just unlucky and it happened today."

"We're so unlucky. The haunted house was closed yesterday, and today it opened and we're caught in a murder. We should have left yesterday. Now we'd better watch out." Li Da sighed dejectedly. "I always do good deeds, why is God treating me like this?"

The masked man seemed to be in a good mood, even joking, "Maybe yesterday's closure was a reminder from God, but you just didn't take advantage of it."

"That makes sense," Li Da pondered for a moment, still a little annoyed, "but after doing so many good deeds, all I get in return is a reminder? Isn't that a huge loss?"

The middle-aged man casually remarked, "Maybe I haven't done enough. I'll just keep doing it in the future."

Li Da sighed pessimistically, "Sigh, I'm afraid there won't be a future."

"By the way, several groups of tourists have already gone into this haunted house before us. Do you think they might all... be dead?" Ye Xuan suddenly asked.

"It's not impossible, but we have about half an hour between each group entering. If they were all killed, what would happen to their bodies? Would they be disposed of so quickly?"

Zhao Ze sighed, interrupting everyone's wild thoughts: "Stop thinking about these useless things. This place is strange from the inside out. The most important thing right now is to find a way to escape!"

Everyone immediately recalled their situation and their expressions became tense.

Weiwei asked, somewhat at a loss, "What should we do now?"

Zhao Ze clearly already had a plan, and calmly said, "Let's rest for a while, but we can't stay long. We must leave as soon as possible. Who knows what else is in this haunted house? The longer we stay, the greater the risk."

"We've been here for about twenty minutes. Judging by the time, the next group of tourists will be here soon." He glanced at his watch, his tone calm. "If we can meet up with them, it will be a great help. If not, creating chaos will buy us time to escape."

His gaze swept across the entire room as he continued, "But we can't rely entirely on others. This is a prop room; everyone should find something useful for self-defense. We can't just sit here and wait to die."

Zhao Ze's calm and composed demeanor acted like a reassuring pill, gradually calming the initially panicked crowd, who nodded in agreement, saying, "Understood."

After everyone calmed down a bit, they scattered to find handy self-defense tools. The room was not small, with various odds and ends piled up together, dividing it into several small spaces.

Li Da glanced at a corner, his eyes lighting up. He casually picked up a chainsaw and turned to Zhao Ze: "Brother Ze, what do you think of this? It looks really intimidating!"

Zhao Ze glanced at it and casually said, "This is fake, it's useless. Even if it were real, it would be too bulky and inconvenient to carry. Just find some sticks or sharp weapons or something."

"Okay."

In another space, Weiwei was bending down to rummage through miscellaneous items. As she lifted a pile of tattered fabric, she suddenly saw two figures. Her heart tightened, and she instinctively screamed.

But upon closer inspection, they turned out to be just two sculpted mannequins, exactly the same as the ones displayed in the corridor.

"What's wrong?" Upon hearing the sound, everyone immediately gathered around anxiously.

Weiwei was a little embarrassed and said, "It's nothing, I misread it."

"It's good that you're alright."

Li Da glanced at the sculpture and asked in confusion, "Strange, why is this the only thing in this haunted house?"

"have no idea."

The group dispersed again, each busy with their own things. Weiwei patted her chest, still shaken, and said, "Phew, that scared me to death."

She was about to continue searching when she saw the eerie smiles on the faces of the two sculptures. She felt as if those carved wooden eyes were staring intently at her, making her feel uneasy.

After thinking for a moment, she simply covered the mannequin with the clutter again, turned around to rummage through the shelf behind her, and muttered to herself, "This is much more comfortable."

"Squeak—"

A barely audible sound rang in her ears, like a secret door being quietly pushed open. Weiwei's heart tightened, and she whirled around—

A dark shadow suddenly pounced on her, instantly enveloping her.

……

A few minutes later, Zhao Ze glanced at the time and said in a deep voice, "It's almost time. Get ready, we're leaving immediately."

"no problem."

Li Da responded, then suddenly looked around: "Where's Weiwei?"

"I'm here!"

Weiwei emerged from behind a pile of clutter on the other side, looking flustered. Apart from being pale, she appeared no different from usual.

Li Da asked with concern, "Why do you look so pale?"

Weiwei shook her head: "It's nothing, I'm just a little nervous."

Upon hearing this, the masked man glanced at her, smiled, and said nothing.

"Let's go once everyone's here."

Zhao Ze led everyone to the door and instructed them, "Don't panic if you encounter any problems. Remember not to have any physical contact with those NPCs. Self-preservation is the most important thing. If you get separated, run if you can. If you can't run, find a place to hide and try to reunite when it's safe."

"Understood."

Zhao Ze nodded, then added, "Remember, if you really can't escape and need to take action, don't hold back, and don't feel guilty. If anything goes wrong, I'll handle all the consequences. Understand?"

"clear!"

Zhao Ze took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "Alright, let's go!"

After he finished speaking, he slowly pushed open the door, and the group of people walked out one by one. Weiwei walked at the back and gently closed the door behind her.

Behind the door, the pile of debris covering the mannequin was moved away, revealing the stiff figure of a wooden sculpture.

The door slowly closed, and Weiwei suddenly paused.

With her back to the crowd, she gently curved the corners of her mouth towards the wooden sculpture.

The sculpture's face bears an expression that is both crying and laughing, with empty, lifeless eye sockets, as if it is watching the crowd leave, or as if it is trying to hold onto something.

"Click—"

The door was completely closed.

Darkness instantly engulfed everything, including those motionless eyes that seemed to be constantly "watching".