Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 202: Return

Chapter 202: Chapter 202: Return

Song Que felt a wave of dizziness, and when he returned to reality, he saw Bai Yanliang kneeling on one knee picking something up.

"What is that?"

Song Que stared directly at Bai Yanliang.

Bai Yanliang paused for a moment, then turned his head to look at him, casually tossing it over, saying, "A bell."

Song Que hurriedly caught what Bai Yanliang threw over—it was indeed the dark yellow bell.

But what he didn’t notice was that there was also a silver key lying in Bai Yanliang’s palm at that moment.

"Let’s go, let’s get out of here first."

...

Li Mu and the others looked at the building in front of them, although it was late at night, they were not sleepy at all.

"Someone’s coming out!" At this moment, Li Mu suddenly perked up and said joyfully.

The others immediately focused their attention on the entrance.

Soon after, Song Que and Bai Yanliang walked out one after the other, with Bai Yanliang carrying a woman whose life or death was uncertain on his back; it was Qi Nian.

Bai Yanliang had found her in an office on the second floor; she might have been frightened into unconsciousness, but more likely, she was knocked out.

After all, a fierce ghost wouldn’t just let her off easily if she fainted.

But... who was it?

Who sneaked in during the mission?

Bai Yanliang glanced at everyone in front of him, already having a guess in his heart.

If it were any of these people who entered the building, it would have been noticed by the others, but there was one person who had always remained in the shadows.

And now, her figure had disappeared.

"Qi Nian? Is she okay?"

Bai Yanliang set Qi Nian down, and Gu Pingsheng came forward to examine her, saying, "Shallow coma, get some water."

Yu Sheng handed him a bottle of unopened purified water, and Gu Pingsheng opened it, sprinkling a lot on Qi Nian’s face.

Qi Nian’s eyelids twitched, her lips slightly parted, and when she fully opened her eyes, she found a group of people surrounding her.

Qi Nian hurriedly stood up, not realizing that Bai Yanliang had been supporting her from behind.

Bai Yanliang hadn’t expected her reaction to be so intense, so...

Qi Nian’s head slammed into Bai Yanliang’s chin.

"Ouch..."

Tears instantly welled up in Qi Nian’s eyes, but Bai Yanliang seemed unfazed as he rubbed his chin, looking Qi Nian up and down, noting she seemed quite healthy and should be fine.

"Why did you faint?"

Hearing Bai Yanliang’s voice, Qi Nian finally realized the situation.

She widened her eyes in surprise, looking incredulously at the department store in front of her, "Did we... succeed?"

Li Mu quickly asked, "What about the others? Just the three of you?"

"Dead." Song Que glanced at everyone; his hair and clothes were a bit disheveled, and with the cut on his forehead, he looked particularly disheveled.

But in everyone’s eyes, this Song Que seemed somehow different from before.

"Zhou Li... is he dead too?"

Li Mu muttered.

At this moment, Bai Yanliang seemed to sense something faintly, and he looked up at the tall building behind him.

Bai Yanliang was surprised that someone reacted even faster than him.

"Who?"

Gu Pingsheng quickly turned and looked at the top floor of the building behind them.

Everyone, following the actions of Bai Yanliang and Gu Pingsheng, immediately turned and looked up.

The pitch-black sky rolled with low, dark rain clouds, occasionally echoing with a muffled thunder.

The moon that previously hung in the dark night had vanished at some unknown point.

The night wind sweeping through the buildings howled like a beast, low and frightening.

Atop the rooftop of the building behind them, they could clearly see a shadowy figure standing at the edge of the rooftop!

He (She) seemed to be looking down at them, with long hair continuously blown in one direction by the wind.

"Is that... a person?"

Doubt had just arisen in everyone’s hearts when something terrifying happened.

The figure standing at the edge of the rooftop suddenly leaped!

"Watch out! Get out of the way!"

However...

The eerie figure did not fall, but clung to the building’s exterior like a spider, swiftly moving to the back of the building and disappeared...

This bizarre scene sent chills down everyone’s spine...

That... couldn’t be a human, could it?

When did it appear on the rooftop of the building behind them?

Had it been watching them all along?

What was it?

What did it want to do?

A vague unease planted a seed in everyone’s heart. Li Mu glanced at everyone, quickly saying, "Now that the mission is over, everyone should go back for now. We’ll find another time to discuss strategies to deal with the changes brought by Fog Gathering."

Everyone nodded in agreement, but then Gu Pingsheng suddenly asked, "What about the bodies?"

His sudden question reminded everyone of something else—right, this wasn’t in the past, this was the real world!

If several bodies were discovered in this department store tomorrow morning, it wouldn’t be a small matter.

"Gone."

It was Song Que who answered him.

Song Que glanced at Gu Pingsheng, saying, "The bodies and the ghost are in another space, a space identical to the real world."

Regarding Song Que’s words, Bai Yanliang neither confirmed nor denied, but there was one point he agreed with.

"This building returned to its original state when the game ended. Earlier, I knocked down a shelf on the second floor, but when I came down just now, it was standing again, with all the items neatly arranged." Bai Yanliang turned to look at the building, "All abnormalities have been cleared, and our bodies count as abnormalities, too."

Bai Yanliang’s words carried an inexplicable emotion that suddenly rendered everyone silent.

To die in Fog Gathering’s mission and not even leave a body behind...

"Let’s go."

...

The next day, in the afternoon.

Bai Yanliang slightly opened his eyes, the sunlight slanting from the west told him it was already late.

But for someone who had been intensely active all night, this bit of rest didn’t feel long.

Bai Yanliang rarely had a bad mental state; in fact, he was always good at resting.

The afterglow of the slanting sun left mottled shadows of tree leaves on the curtains and unintentionally reflected on his face.

The slightly messy black hair glistened faintly in this light.

Bai Yanliang stretched and yawned as he got up.

As soon as he opened the door and stepped out, he felt something was wrong.

This soft sensation... what else could it be but cat poop?

"Allen Allan Poe... the cat litter isn’t for me to use..."

Bai Yanliang looked up; usually, at this hour, the little black cat should be napping on the stone table.

However, the situation was somewhat unexpected.

"Ah! Teacher Bai is finally awake!"

The young policewoman Tang Guo eagerly approached and bowed.

Her appearance here likely signaled another case.

But... why were the other three women also sitting by the stone table?

Bai Yanliang stood on the cat poop, staring blankly at Feng Xiuxue, Qi Nian, and Yu Sheng in front of him.

"Why didn’t you warn me there’s cat poop at the door?"