Chapter 69: Before Entering

After learning some of the secrets of the terrifying haunted house from Little Dragon Girl, Liang Xiaoyu felt a chill run down her spine.

It turned out there really were ghosts.

And not just any ghost, but the legendary Sadako.

Liang Xiaoyu hesitated, unsure what to do, when suddenly Little Dragon Girl smiled at her from across the room, radiant: “There’s a reward if you make it through the haunted house.”

“What kind of reward?” Liang Xiaoyu’s eyes lit up.

“See for yourself,” Little Dragon Girl blinked mischievously. “It’s something good, anyway.”

Liang Xiaoyu stretched out her arms, grinning as she closed in on Little Dragon Girl.

They’d grown quite close over the past few days.

Liang Xiaoyu often found excuses to linger, staying overnight at Little Dragon Girl’s place.

Sometimes, their conversations veered into intimate territory, and when she saw Little Dragon Girl’s flushed cheeks and her trying to maintain a stoic expression, Liang Xiaoyu couldn’t resist tickling her.

Every time she watched Little Dragon Girl, hair disheveled, blushing furiously and begging for mercy, Liang Xiaoyu’s heart skipped a beat.

She even wondered if she might be developing feelings beyond friendship.

At this moment—

Seeing Liang Xiaoyu approaching with playful menace, Little Dragon Girl startled.

With a flicker of movement, she darted over ten meters away.

“What are you doing?” Little Dragon Girl eyed Liang Xiaoyu warily, her guard up. “Don’t come any closer.”

“Let’s go together,” Liang Xiaoyu laughed.

“No way,” Little Dragon Girl shook her head.

She was engrossed in a movie called “My Robot Girlfriend,” right at the earthquake scene, and had no interest in anything else.

“There really are good things in there,” she urged. “Some amazing abilities.”

“Amazing abilities…” Liang Xiaoyu looked skeptical. “You mean superpowers?”

“Yes, exactly, superpowers. You should go,” Little Dragon Girl said, clutching her phone. She glanced around, picked a direction, and with light steps, vanished from Liang Xiaoyu’s sight in an instant.

If she didn’t leave now, she feared this shameless pest would pester her endlessly.

Liang Xiaoyu hesitated for a moment, then decided to investigate.

“If there really are superpower rewards for surviving the haunted house, that’s not bad at all,” she mused.

“But what kind of superpowers…”

“Could it be spirit channeling?”

“Are there really ghosts on Earth?”

Lost in thought, she walked to the edge of the mist.

A white-haired man with a few leaves stuck on his head was bent over in front of a stone tablet, examining it closely.

“Old Mischief!” Liang Xiaoyu called out.

“Oh!” Zhou Botong turned around, saw Liang Xiaoyu, and patted his chest, grinning. “You want to go in too?”

“Yes. Why aren’t you going in?” Liang Xiaoyu asked.

Zhou Botong gave her a mysterious look. “Let me tell you, there are ghosts inside!”

Once again, Liang Xiaoyu felt chills all over, as if a pair of blood-red eyes were staring at her from within the white mist.

She took a deep breath, steeling herself. “So you’re afraid of ghosts!”

“Afraid? Me? Never!” Zhou Botong looked affronted, as if she’d insulted him.

Liang Xiaoyu scoffed, “Then why aren’t you going in?”

“Why should I? I want to play with dinosaurs!” Zhou Botong said, then seemed to remember something, chuckling. “I won’t say more, I’m off to find the dinosaurs.”

Watching him scamper away, Liang Xiaoyu pursed her lips. “Coward!”

She never liked this old man who would shirk responsibility, always playing around despite his age.

Yet, no matter how she mocked him when they first met, Zhou Botong acted as if he didn’t care at all.

After learning she was streaming, the old fellow often barged in, mugging for the camera, making faces, and enthusiastically teaching her martial arts—teaching both her and Little Dragon Girl the art of ambidextrous fighting—making her both annoyed and amused.

He too was shameless.

She couldn’t stay angry with him for long.

Within days, her collection of gifts bought from outside included one for the Old Mischief as well.

Liang Xiaoyu shook her head and looked at the stone tablet.

At a height of one meter thirty, there was a QR code.

She took out her phone and scanned it, prompting her to purchase a ticket.

Before confirming payment, a “Visitor Notice” appeared.

Liang Xiaoyu read it carefully, then summarized the key points for her livestream audience.

“This is the haunted house, and currently there’s only one ghost inside—Sadako from ‘Ring’…” Liang Xiaoyu paused, considering, “Looks like in the future they might add other ghosts. Who knows, maybe someday we’ll see Sadako battle Kayako.”

“I see a special warning: Don’t mess with the staff, or face the consequences yourself,” she mused. “The staff must mean Sadako, right? Does anyone dare tease Sadako?”

She glanced at the chat.

[If you’re brave enough, Sadako goes on maternity leave!]

[Haha, I once read a comic: An otaku meets Sadako, she crawls out of the computer screen, but her chest is so big she gets stuck, so she complains to the protagonist. They become friends, and later he wants her to come out, but she can’t because of her chest. Then, weirdly, Sadako starts promoting large-screen computers.]

[So, is Sadako really busty?]

[Definitely bigger than the streamer!]

[Even I’m bigger than the streamer, and I’m a guy!]

[Xiaoyu’s chest is barely at kindergarten level.]

…

Liang Xiaoyu’s expression twisted.

“You bunch!” she snapped, “I really underestimated how low you all can go!”

With a huff, she continued reading, stifling her frustration.

Professionalism must prevail.

“If you die of fright in the haunted house, you’ll immediately revive outside. You’ll receive psychological comfort, so there won’t be lasting trauma, though you may have nightmares for a few days,” she nodded. “That’s actually pretty considerate.”

“The mark of failure is dying of fright, but as long as you finish the house without dying, you’re considered to have passed, and you’ll get the final reward.” She focused on the details.

Her face slowly brightened, her lips curling into an uncontrollable smile. “I’m definitely going to conquer this haunted house!”

[What’s the reward?]

[Everything in Fantasy Park is extraordinary. Will the reward be Sadako warming your bed?]

[Ghosts are cold, aren’t you afraid of freezing to death, bro?]

[Nonsense, the female ghosts in ‘Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio’ can have children!]

[Stop the nonsense, let’s hear what Xiaoyu has to say about the reward.]

[Don’t call her Xiaoyu the Thief, it’s time to call her Goddess Xiaoyu!]

[Goddess Xiaoyu, what’s the reward?]

[Sister Xiaoyu.]

[Baby Xiaoyu.]

[Baby?]

Liang Xiaoyu crossed her arms, pride shining in her eyes. “The reward isn’t anything particularly special.”

Seeing everyone persistently asking—many familiar IDs among them, including some from official departments—Liang Xiaoyu stopped teasing.

“After passing, you gain the right to purchase several types of superpowers,” she said with a smile.

The chat exploded, messages flooding the screen so densely she could barely see.

She felt a quiet satisfaction, certain she’d be the first to gain these abilities.

Taking a sip of soda, she calmly explained the three types of superpowers in detail.

After finishing, she watched the audience’s reactions.