Chapter 88: Bloody Service Area (3)

  "Uncle... have you seen my little bear?"

  Suddenly, just as Lin Tao and the group were about to enter the tunnel, a childlike voice, impossibly young and innocent, echoed clearly in everyone's ears. Everyone, including Lin Tao, froze for a moment and turned their heads toward Gao Chujiang, who was walking third from the end. Gao Chujiang, clearly hearing the voice as well, turned his head in confusion, silently asking his daughter on his back with his eyes.

  "No... it's not me speaking!" Gao Yuanyuan, lying on her father's back, shook her head frantically, her face full of panic. But as soon as her voice came out, everyone immediately realized something was wrong—the voice was far too childish to belong to Gao Yuanyuan.

  "Uncle... have you seen my little bear?"

  The innocent voice rang out again, but this time, it sent chills down everyone's spines. They could now clearly see, at the entrance of the tunnel illuminated by Lin Tao's fshlight, a cute little girl about five or six years old, dressed in a gray princess dress, emerging eerily from the darkness.

  The little girl looked nothing like a typical horror figure. Instead, she was as delicate as a porcein doll, with long bck hair cascading down to her waist. Her bangs neatly covered her thick eyebrows, and her rge, glossy bck eyes blinked innocently. She took small, delicate steps out of the tunnel, tilting her head as she looked at Zhang Xu and Lin Tao. Then, in the same childlike voice, she repeated, "Uncle... have you seen my little bear?"

  "I..."

  Zhang Xu instinctively opened his mouth to respond, but Lin Tao, with lightning reflexes, grabbed him by the mouth and shook his head violently. Zhang Xu jolted in shock, instantly recalling Lin Tao's warning from the previous night about the "vengeful spirit." Cold sweat drenched his back as he took a sharp inhale, swallowing the rest of the words that had almost slipped out.

  When he looked at the little girl again, Zhang Xu felt his body hair stand on end. Although her appearance was adorable, her complexion was terrifyingly pale—white like flour. Even her innocent eyes cked pupils, revealing only a void of pitch-bckness. The fact that such a small girl could appear alone in this hellish pce made her as eerie as the ultimate ghost in a horror movie.

  Zhang Xu's heartbeat quickened, faster and faster. A bead of sweat as rge as a soybean clung to his thick shes, but he didn't dare wipe it away. He suspected that this sudden appearance of the little girl might be the very thing he had been praying not to encounter—the "big one."

  Seeing Lin Tao equally on edge, no one dared to speak. They all held their breath, too terrified to even exhale. The pressure this ghostly little girl exuded was no less than that of a horde of zombies, perhaps even heavier. After all, while zombies might bite or devour you, this kind of bizarre entity could bring unimaginable horrors.

  "Is it a vengeful spirit?" Lin Tao asked Michael cautiously, stepping back with the group.

  "I don't know. There's no trace of a vengeful spirit's aura on her, and there's even a shadow on the ground. I can't figure out what the hell she is," Michael replied emotionlessly, shaking his head. As he crouched low, he let out a series of threatening growls, feeling the immense threat as well.

  "Lin Ge, what should we do? That little ghost is blocking the tunnel. She clearly doesn't want us to pass. We can't stay stuck here forever, can we? Maybe... maybe I should shoot her a couple of times?" Zhang Xu's suggestion was immediately followed by regret. The idea of shooting a ghost with a rifle was absurd, and he forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "I've heard from some elders that the smaller the ghost, the stronger it is. This one is so small—it might be really tough to deal with!"

  "Nonsense. Did you even need to say that?" Michael gred at Zhang Xu irritably, then cautiously observed the little girl, who still hadn't moved. He lowered his voice and said, "Whether she's a ghost or not is still up for debate, but if she really is one, then today, aside from my master, the rest of us will probably end up dead."

  "So brutal?" Zhang Xu's eyes bulged, and the short hair on his head seemed to stand on end. His throat dry, he swallowed nervously and leaned slightly against Lin Tao's arm, whispering, "Lin Ge, I think it might be better for the two of us to break through from the stairs. Fighting zombies is one thing, but this kind of ghost... the others can follow if they can keep up."

  "No. There's a pregnant woman here!" Lin Tao firmly rejected the idea, shaking his head. But faced with the eerie little girl blocking the tunnel, Lin Tao was equally stumped. After all, he had no confidence in dealing with such a creature.

  "Auntie... have you seen my little bear?"

  The little girl spoke again, but this time, her question seemed directed at the women.

  "Little sister, what does your little bear look like? If you let us pass, we'll help you find it, okay?" Liu Fei, who had been hiding in the middle, suddenly stepped forward without warning. She moved to Zhang Xu's side, crouched down, and smiled warmly at the little girl.

  But as soon as she finished speaking, her face turned pale, and she covered her mouth in disbelief, looking at Zhang Xu with an expression of utter horror. She waved her hands frantically and stammered, "N-no, no! It wasn't me! I wasn't trying to talk to her!"

  "Auntie..."

  The little girl's face lit up with a happy smile as she tilted her head and asked innocently, "Will you really help me find it?"

  "If you let us pass, we'll all help you look for it!" This time, it was Zhang Xu who spoke. He slowly pulled the terrified Liu Fei behind him and stared warily at the strange little girl.

  "But... what if you can't find it?"

  The little girl blinked her pitch-bck eyes, tilting her head as if considering the question. Then, in an instant, her demeanor shifted. The innocent voice was gone, repced by a chilling tone. She pointed at everyone in the group and, with a sinister aura, shouted, "You pick four people to come find it for me. If you can't find it, the rest of you will stay here forever to keep me company!"

  As she spoke, a blood-red glow fshed in her bck eyes. With a flick of her paper-white hand, the heavy brown iron door behind Zhang Xu, which he had securely bolted, suddenly opened on its own. It smmed into the wall with a deafening "boom," sending dust and debris cascading down.

  The moment the door opened, everyone was stunned. Outside, an indeterminate number of zombies had been pressing against the door, their bckened forms blocking out the light. As soon as the door opened, they let out a unified, ear-piercing roar and began squeezing in. But just as half a dozen zombies stumbled through, the little girl waved her hand again, and the iron door smmed shut as if controlled remotely. The force of the door closing sent the zombies flying and shattered the cement frame, leaving a thick yer of debris.

  "Auntie, uncle... please find my little bear!" The little girl's voice returned to its innocent tone as she stepped aside, her expression once again pure and adorable. Yet, the occasional blood-red fsh in her eyes was enough to make anyone's hair stand on end.

  "I... I'll go look for it. We haven't been much help anyway. It's time we did something for everyone," said Zhang Liping, the wiry man who looked like a monkey. He grabbed Wang Fang and stepped forward, his words sounding noble but his actions questionable.

  "Ha! This is rich. Only think of helping when it's time to save your own skin? Hmph! You're not going. I was the first to talk to her!" Liu Fei crossed her arms in disdain, stepping back and leaning against Zhang Xu. She whispered, "Brother, let's go with Lin Ge. As for the st spot, let them fight over it."

  There were only four spots, and while the tunnel ahead was undoubtedly dangerous, it was still better than staying here. Anyone would seize the chance to take a shot at survival. Seeing Liu Fei's words, Zhang Xu gnced at the group silently and nodded. As long as he and Lin Tao could leave, that was all that mattered. At a time like this, no one cared about anyone else.

  "Run! Whoever gets through first survives!"

  Zhang Liping, surprisingly perceptive, realized from Zhang Xu's expression that things were about to go south. Without hesitation, he shouted and sprinted into the tunnel, ignoring the woman beside him and using every ounce of his speed to escape.

  "Damn it!" Gao Chujiang, having also reacted, was weighed down by his daughter but still managed to run quickly due to his tall stature. Meanwhile, Gao Hai and his wife, who had been gging behind, were jolted into action. Gao Hai cursed under his breath but refused to abandon Wang Peng, whom he was carrying. Though he knew they wouldn't catch up, he grabbed his wife's hand and sprinted toward the tunnel with the others.

  The tunnel, once a potential refuge, now felt like a race against death. Everyone pushed themselves to their limits, knowing that survival depended on who could move fastest.