293: Scary Plan

The discovery of water, electricity, and internet made the possibility that "someone has been living here long-term" skyrocket to ninety percent.

Wei Ziqing immediately whispered a question to Wang Yu's Clones scattered throughout the house: "Has anyone found a suspected entrance to a basement? Or any traces of hidden spaces?"

Feedback from the Clones came from all directions almost simultaneously, with a few nearby Clones responding directly in low voices:

"I've checked the floor over here; there are no cracks."

"I've felt the walls too; they're solid."

"I tapped on them but couldn't hear anything. Original Body, you know I'm not good at this..."

"Exactly, and won't knocking randomly be heard by the people below?"

"True." Wei Ziqing nodded, putting a stop to such actions that might expose them. "Search carefully. Look for any unusual gaps, loose floor tiles, or places where the wall thickness or sound is noticeably different."

The Clones followed his instructions and inspected more meticulously, but for the time being, they still found nothing.

"Could it be... in the attic?" A Clone who had just come down from the stairs proposed a new idea. "Does this house have an attic hatch? Go up and check the ceiling or floor structure; maybe the entrance is up there."

Several Clones immediately looked up to find the entrance to the attic, while the original Wang Yu and Wei Ziqing also prepared to expand their search area.

Just then, a burst of deliberately lowered but still clear voices, messy footsteps, and the shadows of flashlight beams sweeping haphazardly across the weeds outside the window came from the direction of the front yard!

"Someone is coming!" Wei Ziqing quickly judged. "It's that group of college students from earlier today. They really came."

"We have to stop them. We can't let them come in and barge around!" The original Wang Yu also realized the trouble.

"How do we stop them?" a nearby Clone asked subconsciously, then immediately felt it was unreliable. "Should we just go out and say, 'Hey, there really are monsters here, we're officials, you guys leave quickly'? Leaving aside whether they'd believe us or not, look at us—" He pointed at Wei Ziqing and then at the original Wang Yu. "One is a minor, and the other doesn't look like an older man either. Claiming to be officials? Not to mention this huge crowd of 'me's. That image is just too much..."

Another Clone chimed in with a bit of a mischievous thought: "How about... we scare them? Tell them there's a bunch of 'Pseudo-Humans' in this house that specifically target and replace those who wander off alone? I guarantee they'll be scared out of their wits!"

"Don't mess around!" The original Wang Yu glared at the Clone who made the suggestion, his tone serious. "Is now the time for such pranks? If we scare them too badly, or if they panic and accidentally stumble upon something, it'll be even more troublesome."

He thought quickly for a moment, his gaze turning to Wei Ziqing:

"Brother Wei, stopping them by force or scaring them aren't good methods. There are many of them, and their curiosity is at its peak. Forcing them away might actually make them want to investigate more. We need to think of a more 'natural' reason for them to leave on their own, or at least delay them from coming in."

While Wei Ziqing, the original Wang Yu, and the other Clones were still whispering about their strategy inside the house, no one noticed that a Clone who had been checking near the stairs quietly slipped away from the group and disappeared into the shadows leading to the foyer.

Outside, four male college students were gathered in front of the old courtyard gate, shining their flashlights on the rusted lock and mottled walls, discussing in low, excited yet nervous tones.

"The door is locked... Enter through the window?"

"That window over there seems to be broken..."

"Shh! Listen... what's that sound?"

A faint, eerie, and intermittent humming sound drifted from deep within the house, or perhaps from the darkness behind them. The tune was indescribable, not sounding human, carrying a sort of twisted cheerfulness that was exceptionally chilling in the silent night.

The four boys' hair immediately stood on end as their flashlight beams swept frantically around.

"Creak... creak..."

It was the sound of old wooden floorboards being slowly stepped on, coming from their side—from the shadows beneath the broken window. The sound was very slow and light, but every step was clearly audible, approaching them.

The beams suddenly focused there.

A figure slowly paced out of the shadows. It was a boy who looked to be sixteen or seventeen. His face appeared somewhat blurred in the dim light, and he wore an extremely eerie, overly wide smile. He walked slowly, with a shuffling gait as if his joints were stiff, still humming that tuneless, strange melody.

Under the gaze of four pairs of terrified eyes, he walked step by step until he was only two or three meters away from them and stopped.

Tilting his head, he spoke in an innocent yet hair-raising tone: "Haha... it's been a long time since anyone came to keep me company." His smile widened even further. "Ever since the last time... after I killed that family of three, no one has come for a long time."

"A-a family of three?!" "W-what?!"

The four boys' scalps instantly tingled, and their blood ran cold! Fear gripped their throats; they wanted to scream but couldn't make a coherent sound.

Then, before their extremely terrified and fixed gazes, the smiling "boy's" body began to... change.

His outline began to blur, and his skin seemed to melt away, losing its texture. His entire body, like a wax statue under high heat, rapidly softened and collapsed, turning into a puddle of constantly writhing, translucent, unknown gelatinous substance. Then, like evaporating steam, the puddle quickly faded and dissipated into the air, eventually leaving nothing behind.

Only the rustling of the night wind through the weeds remained, along with a faint, lingering sweet and bloody scent in the air.

The four boys froze in place, their faces as pale as paper and their pupils dilated. They didn't even notice their flashlights falling to the ground with a "clatter, clatter." The extreme fear left their minds blank, and even their breathing seemed to have stopped.

Outside, after a few seconds of dead silence, the four terrified college students finally caught their breath slightly from the extreme fear.

"A ghost... there really is a ghost! That thing... that thing melted! It's gone! Let's go! Let's get out of here!" one boy cried out, his voice tearful and his legs so weak he could barely stand, grabbing the arm of the person next to him to run back.

"No... I'm not leaving!" another boy said. Although his face was also frighteningly pale, a morbid excitement and stubbornness burst from his eyes. He forced his weak legs to stand firm, his voice trembling but insistent. "This... this is what makes it interesting! It's the real deal! Film it! We have to film it!"

"I-I'll follow you!" The third boy, though scared to death, looked at his bravest companion and then at the dark, terrifying house and the empty space where the "boy" had just vanished. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Since we're already here... but, but we have to be careful!"

As for the boy who first said they should leave, seeing that he couldn't persuade his companions, he took one look at the pitch-black windows and the house's silhouette that seemed ready to devour anyone, and couldn't take it anymore. He let out a short scream, turned around, and bolted back the way they came for his life, leaving his flashlight behind.

Three people remained in the front yard—two pretending to be calm, and one trembling with fear.

Inside the house, the original Wang Yu suddenly frowned and subconsciously looked around. "Hmm? Wait, why does it feel like one is missing..." He had a vague perception of the number of his Clones.

A Clone searching nearby looked up and reported with a subtle tone, "Oh, main body, you mean that one... He seems to have... slipped out on his own to 'deal' with those people outside."

"Huh? What?!" The original Wang Yu was stunned. He and Wei Ziqing quickly and stealthily approached a broken window and looked out. They saw only three boys left in the front yard. One of them (wearing a peaked cap) was emotionally trying to persuade his two companions, who were nearly collapsing, while another fleeing figure was disappearing into the night in the distance.

"Heh... alright then." Wang Yu withdrew his gaze, a helpless yet amused expression appearing on his face. He turned to Wei Ziqing and said:

"Brother Wei, it seems the situation has been 'passively' decided. One ran away, and the remaining three—especially that leader—probably won't be scared off by just that one act. How about... we put in a bit more effort? Let's just 'invite' these remaining three out as well?"

"Yay, yay! I knew scaring people was the best!" another Clone nearby immediately chimed in quietly with excitement, rubbing his hands together, clearly still wanting more after his colleague's impromptu performance.

Wei Ziqing looked at the three young men outside, who were in various states but clearly hadn't left yet—especially the stubborn boy in the peaked cap with shining eyes. Then he looked at Wang Yu and his group of eager Clones, nodded, and said concisely:

"...Well, alright. It seems there's no other way."