Chapter 8: True Colors Revealed

　　I nodded at him to indicate that I was fine.

　　But when we looked back, we saw that a group of eight or nine paper figures had gathered behind us, floating towards us. They had various forms - some were young boys, some were young girls, some were women in red clothes, and some were maids in ancient attire. These paper figures swayed in the darkness without making any sound.

　　"Run!" he was the first to react, grabbing my hand and pulling me along. Without my burden, he ran fast, and I struggled to keep up. Essentially, I was being dragged along!

　　The paper people were slightly faster than us, and they were getting closer!

　　Fortunately, we had reached a point less than ten meters away from the haunted house's entrance. Suddenly, Guo Qiang stopped, and I collided with him!

　　"What's wrong?" I asked anxiously, as the paper people were about to catch up from behind.

　　He turned his head, and his expression was surprisingly difficult to decipher. Was it guilt?

　　His forehead was covered in sweat, and he suddenly grabbed my shoulders, his gaze wavering, and said, "I'm sorry, I have feelings for you, but I value my own life more."

　　As soon as I heard this, it hit me like a thunderbolt. He wanted to use me as a shield against the paper people!!!

　　Just as I realized his intentions, he forcefully pushed me away. I fell backward, landing on my back. But as I fell, I kicked him in the groin. All my resentment was concentrated on that one kick, although my unstable balance prevented me from exerting too much force.

　　I let out a stifled groan as I hit the ground. Thankfully, I didn't injure my wrists or knees again. Meanwhile, he clutched his lower region, mouth wide open in pain. After a few moments of hesitation, he ran towards the entrance and disappeared inside.

　　I didn't have time to scold him. I saw several paper figures reaching out towards me from above my head!!!

　　I quickly rolled and used the flashlight in my hand to smack their hands away!

　　I got up and ran with all my remaining strength, paying no attention to anything else. I opened the haunted house door and slammed it shut behind me, running inside. When I reached a clearing filled with tombstones, I stopped!

　　In the silent graveyard, there were now more than a dozen blurry white figures of paper people floating around. Guo Qiang was surrounded by them, not far from the entrance!

　　As I regained my senses, I mustered up the courage to look back. In the darkness near the entrance, I could vaguely make out a few white figures floating in. I nervously followed the edge, tiptoeing towards the wooden door, afraid of alerting them.

　　"Ah... help... me!" There was a spluttering sound as one of the paper people plunged its hand into Guo Qiang's stomach. Blood trickled from his mouth as he turned to look at me!

　　In that instant, his eyes carried a hint of surprise, but it quickly faded away. "You said... it would be safe once we entered...!" His voice was strained, and even in the dim light, I could see his trembling face!

　　He collapsed, and the paper people began devouring his body, tearing out his organs and greedily feasting on them!!!

　　I couldn't bear to look anymore, so I covered my mouth, afraid of making any sound.

　　As I pushed open the wooden door, I glanced back and saw two paper people reaching out towards me, their hands grabbing at the air. Their stiff faces showed no expression, and their legs floated in the air!

　　With a loud thud, I forcefully closed the wooden door!

　　Trembling, I leaned against the door, expecting an impact that never came. There was no sound from outside. After a moment, I collapsed to the ground, placing the flashlight beside me, and gasped heavily against the door. Sweat streamed down my cheeks.

　　Urgh... the image of what I had just witnessed made me turn my head to the side and vomit!

　　I threw up everything I had eaten from the lunchbox!

　　Then, I sat silently against the door, without any movement. I had no strength left in my body, and I wanted to rest!

　　But the thought of the paper people outside, roaming and devouring people, filled me with despair!

　　"Where am I?" I buried my hands in my hair, gripping my long locks. My voice was incredibly hoarse.

　　"Mom..." "Teacher..."

　　Who will come and help me...?!

　　I collapsed on the ground, sobbing uncontrollably...

　　Bang! A loud noise came from the iron gate!

　　Startled, I trembled and looked up. Yumeng's body was using that rusty kitchen knife to hack at the iron gate!!

　　The gate was already covered in wounds; I couldn't tell how many times she had struck it.

　　Bang! Another strike.

　　"Stop it!!!" I screamed in despair, and my tears flowed into my mouth like rain...

　　I don't know if it was my shouting that had an effect, but she actually stopped!

　　"Xia Ning..."

　　She called out my name.

　　"Xia Ning... don't go outside...!"

　　I was taken aback. "Yumeng, are you trying to give me a warning?" It was only now that I realized Yumeng was trying to help me.

　　But why did her body want to kill us?

　　"Xia Ning... when daylight comes..."

　　I listened intently, but her words were interrupted by the sound of the knife striking again!

　　Her body dropped the knife.

　　I quickly crawled over and pressed against the dilapidated table, peering through the gap to look inside. But what I saw chilled me to the bone. After Yumeng dropped the knife, she lifted her head to her chest. With her other hand, she slowly reached into her mouth, gripping her jaw tightly, and forcefully tore it apart. Crack! The sound of bones breaking, along with the gruesome sound of flesh being torn apart, nearly made me faint!

　　I found myself standing in front of the wooden door, staring at the iron gate, terrified to the core. The sound of rain had completely stopped, and she was missing her chin!

　　She tore open her own mouth, and just as she was about to tell me something, even if I was slow-witted, I realized the possibility. There was another monster inside her!

　　Bam! Bam! Bam!

　　She picked up a kitchen knife and relentlessly struck the iron gate, leaving it battered and unrecognizable. As I watched the gate being slowly destroyed, I covered my ears and cried out in despair.

　　Bam! Bam! Bam!

　　Several more strikes fell, and the iron gate now had a dent, a small gap! The monster seemed oblivious to fatigue as it swung the kitchen knife down again.

　　Bam! Bam! Bam!

　　Perhaps due to the age of the iron gate, when it landed its final blow, the gate unexpectedly split open, leaving a foot-long gash! I was thoroughly frightened, reaching a state of extreme panic. Trembling, I grabbed a flashlight and switched it on, hoping to find something to defend myself with.

　　I saw an old, discarded cabinet and hurried over to it. With a loud thud, I exerted all my strength to push it over, raising a cloud of dust. I set down the flashlight and began to move the cabinet.

　　A piece of paper fell out from the cabinet, revealing some faint writing on it. I didn't pay attention to the paper and instead used all my energy to push the cabinet. Accompanied by a grating sound, the cabinet moved!

　　Bam! Bam! Bam! ...

　　The sound of the kitchen knife hacking at the iron gate continued, constantly urging me on. I got up, moved the broken table aside, and returned to forcefully push the cabinet again.

　　As I looked up, I noticed that the gap in the iron gate had grown longer. Its hand squeezed through the narrow slit created by the kitchen knife, its once fair skin now marked with several bloody gashes!

　　Seeing this, I was horrified. I quickly turned around, pressed my back against the cabinet, and pushed hard with my feet against the ground. With a creaking sound, I finally managed to push the cabinet next to the iron gate!

　　I adjusted the cabinet's position and cast a glance at the iron gate.

　　Bam! Bam! ...

　　The hand had retreated, perhaps because the gap wasn't wide enough for it to come out. It picked up the kitchen knife again, slashing at the gate. The iron gate was easily destroyed with a few strikes, widening the gap even further!