Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Upgraded Terrifying White Phantom

He was suddenly confronted by a strange and ugly face, staring directly at him. Most terrifying of all was the empty socket, a deep scar running through where an eyeball should have been.

The registration form slipped from his fingers. After three seconds of stunned silence, Pan Feng shrieked in terror, scrambling and stumbling as he fled the room.

He burst into the courtyard, ran a few staggered steps, gasping desperately for air. Only after glancing back and confirming the one-eyed man hadn't chased after him did his wildly pounding heart begin to settle.

Looking ahead, he saw Qi Lu already dashing into the main building’s lounge, and hurried after her.

Qi Lu, upon reaching the courtyard, felt dazed and confused. She couldn't understand how her boyfriend had suddenly become the one-eyed monster from the ceramic jar.

She remembered that Qin Wei had gone into the main building’s lounge just now, and so, without a second thought, she ran toward it.

Inside the lounge, she looked around and caught sight of a boy in the bathroom to the right. She rushed over.

The scene in the bathroom stunned her. She saw Pan Feng standing there, his hands pressed against the mirror, his face so close it nearly touched the glass, standing motionless.

Her mind felt muddled. “Feng, is that you?”

She approached Pan Feng slowly, peering at his face—yes, it truly was him.

“Feng, what are you doing?”

She gently tugged at the hem of his shirt, and when he didn’t react, tugged a bit harder.

The repeated tugs made Pan Feng’s face pull away from the mirror. He turned to look at Qi Lu, his expression fierce. “Get away from me!”

Before Qi Lu could react, someone rushed into the bathroom from outside.

“Lu Lu!”

Qi Lu turned and saw—another Pan Feng had just come in!

She looked from the Pan Feng at the door to the one pressed against the mirror, and her legs gave out, her vision blurring as she collapsed to the floor.

...

Qin Wei had entered the lounge alone, still simmering with anger. He felt he was acting for everyone’s good, but Pan Feng and Chai Shan, just for a bit of money, had embarrassed him in front of the girls.

He thought things would end in disaster at this rate. The monk had warned him—this haunted house was no ordinary place.

They’d agreed on a strategy before entering, but as soon as they came inside, the owner enticed them with money and everyone began scheming on their own.

Clearly, the owner was prepared for them, and would not be easy to deal with.

He glanced back to see the other four had all gone into the side buildings.

The shadowy, empty courtyard and the lounge, deserted save for himself, made him uneasy.

“No matter what, I have to set an example for everyone. I can’t let them think I’m weak.”

He tried to steel himself, then began to examine each room off the lounge.

“This place looks just like a rich man’s private villa.”

He moved closer to the bathroom, sensing as if someone inside the mirror was beckoning to him.

He recognized the figure—it looked like Pan Feng.

“But wait, isn’t Pan Feng with Qi Lu in one of the side buildings? How did he get here?”

Confused, he strode into the bathroom, only to see Qi Lu on the other side of the mirror.

“Qi Lu, why are you here? Where’s Pan Feng?”

Qi Lu didn’t answer, just pointed at the mirror with her lips.

Qin Wei, puzzled, turned to look at the mirror—and what he saw made his jaw drop.

The person in the mirror was Pan Feng!

He stepped closer and realized that the movements of Pan Feng in the mirror were perfectly synchronized with his own.

“I’ve turned into Pan Feng?” Qin Wei was shocked by the bizarre scene.

He twisted left and right, pulled faces—the Pan Feng in the mirror matched him exactly, as if he truly were Pan Feng.

“This can’t be—it must be a trick by the haunted house owner!”

He refused to believe he’d actually become Pan Feng, but couldn’t imagine what method the owner had used to make the mirror’s Pan Feng move in perfect sync with him.

He pressed his face to the glass, studying the reflection, searching for any hint of a mechanism.

Then he realized something odd—the mirror always showed Pan Feng, but why couldn’t he see Qi Lu standing beside him?

He tried to turn his head to glance at her, but found he couldn’t move his neck at all!

It felt as if a powerful force from within the mirror was pulling him in.

He watched Pan Feng’s face in the reflection, feeling his own face drawn uncontrollably toward the glass. Growing desperate, he pressed his hands against the mirror, trying to push himself away.

But once his hands touched the glass, his entire body was sucked in.

With his face pressed to the mirror, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t pull away.

His consciousness slowly faded.

...

Pan Feng followed Qi Lu into the lounge, and saw her standing in the bathroom, pressed close to the mirror, motionless. Something was odd, and he hurried over to take her hand.

Qi Lu turned to him with a gentle smile. “Let’s get out of here, Feng.”

Pan Feng found her hand surprisingly rough. “What were you doing here?”

“Nothing, just looking in the mirror, waiting for you.”

His mind was still muddled from the earlier shock with the one-eyed man, unable to think clearly.

“Alright, let’s go find the exit.”

He took Qi Lu’s hand and found the stairs leading downward from the lounge, and they descended.

The fright had pushed Pan Feng past his limits; he’d forgotten they were supposed to wait for Qin Wei on the first floor, and he had little courage left to continue the haunted house challenge.

He made a show of looking around the first basement level, found nothing special, and led Qi Lu down another flight.

...

Reaching the second basement, he noticed some papers scattered on the corridor floor. Thinking they might be registration forms, he moved closer to check. As he reached the corridor’s center, he suddenly heard soft footsteps behind him.

He turned and saw a man in a black demon mask, wielding a massive, menacing hammer.

The shock of seeing such a terrifying figure, brandishing such a grotesque weapon, made Pan Feng shudder. Instinctively, he tried to drag Qi Lu and run.

But in the split second he turned, something felt wrong about his companion. Looking closer, he realized he was gripping Qin Wei’s hand, not Qi Lu’s—and Qin Wei was giving him an utterly eerie smile.

The world spun. Darkness closed in. Pan Feng collapsed to the floor.

...

Shang Yi had been watching this group of police academy students from the monitoring room, at first enjoying himself, everything seemingly under control.

But when he saw Qin Wei enter the lounge bathroom, he sensed something was off.

He vaguely witnessed a white shadow rush at Qin Wei and cling to his back, sending a chill down his spine.

Three possibilities flashed through his mind.

One: the white shadow could find exits in every bathroom scene throughout the haunted house, and regardless of day or night, would seize any suitable host it saw by force.

Two: there wasn’t just one white shadow monster. The one encountered in the prison was White Shadow A; the one in the Luen Apartment was White Shadow B, and their abilities might even be completely different.

Three: the white shadow could evolve. It had previously possessed the Duke, and though almost fully merged, was forcibly interrupted, retreating to its mysterious domain. Emerging again, it had grown even stronger, capable of self-evolution.

Shang Yi scrutinized Qin Wei’s behavior after possession, comparing it to the Duke’s earlier ordeal. He judged that this white shadow now had even greater control—not only did it possess Qin Wei, it created hallucinations that fooled both Qi Lu and Pan Feng.

The key point: this time, it could fully control its host while simultaneously confusing others nearby—something not seen in the prison scenario.

Shang Yi realized the situation was dire. The white shadow, in broad daylight and under the surveillance of many cameras, dared to brazenly seize living visitors in the haunted house, revealing its desperation for a new host.

He still couldn’t determine which type of white shadow he was dealing with in the Luen Apartment lounge bathroom, but its threat had clearly reached a level that, if not addressed, would make it impossible to operate the haunted house normally.

He watched Pan Feng lead Qin Wei from the bathroom, realizing Pan Feng was now fully trapped in the white shadow’s illusion.

No normal man, however close the friendship, would walk hand in hand with another guy—especially with his own girlfriend present.

Grabbing another boy’s hand so brazenly would certainly raise suspicions about his orientation.

From this, Shang Yi judged that the white shadow’s illusion was overwhelmingly powerful, able to control both the host and those nearby.

Seeing Pan Feng lead Qin Wei out, Shang Yi knew he had to act immediately.

He had no idea where the white shadow intended to take its two victims. Worst of all, if they left the Luen Apartment and went outside, he would have no way to confine the white shadow to the bathroom or predict its next move.

If it escaped, it might come back to threaten or even harm him, and he would be powerless to defend himself.

Since he didn’t know whether the white shadow could change hosts, the thought was chilling: today it might be Qin Wei, tomorrow Pan Feng, the next day Qi Lu.

Most frightening of all, if it ever possessed someone truly important and difficult to investigate—Captain Yuan, Officer Feng, Uncle Li, or Director Ni—he would be utterly defenseless, unable to fight back.

At this thought, Shang Yi truly realized: this white shadow was far too dangerous!