Zero returned to the park as dusk began to settle, with still an hour or two before true darkness fell. Everyone, save for the occasional sip of Coke or bite of a snack, had been nervously scanning their surroundings. As twilight deepened, the tension among them grew increasingly palpable.

Anyone who has seen the Ju-On films knows that the ghosts in those horror movies fear no sunlight; they can strike day or night. Yet, the group desperately wished to remain in the light. It was a strange psychological defense mechanism; even knowing the spirits were indifferent to the sun, simply standing in its glow instilled a significant amount of courage.

Seeing Zero’s return, Zhang Jie was the first to rush over, slapping Zero heartily on the shoulder with a laugh. “Damn it, I thought you little weasel had run off with the gold! Hahahaha, well? How much did you manage to move?” Zero offered a faint smile and said nothing, merely pulling ten cards from his inner pocket. He handed one gold card to Zheng Zha. “Pure gold, sold off, and I prepared a card for everyone. The password for all of them is 12345. This card contains…” Zheng Zha accepted the card and chuckled. “Why bother detailing it? Do you think I don't trust you to handle things? Enough money for our seven days will suffice. You can’t take it with you when you die, after all; we aren't hauling this cash back to the ‘Main God’ space, are we? Hahaha…” After the brief exchange, the ten of them finally departed the increasingly eerie park. They hailed three taxis and headed straight for the town’s most luxurious five-star hotel. While Japan was certainly expensive, two gold bars, as thick as three fingers and of impeccable purity, provided more than enough funds for the group's material comforts over the next seven days.

During the taxi ride, the three girls shared one cab, the three university students another, while Zheng Zha, Zhang Jie, Zero, and Qi Tengyi squeezed into the last one.

Once settled in the taxi, Zero pulled out several maps and passed them to Zheng Zha. “City map, hotel and travel guide map, transit map, tourist attraction map…” Zheng Zha took them without ceremony and began poring over them with Qi Tengyi and Zhang Jie. Zero, sitting in the front, stated calmly, “I chose the Sunshine Hotel. It’s surrounded by ring roads, making access and escape incredibly convenient from any direction. Of course, if you think it’s unsuitable…” Zheng Zha studied a map while responding, “No, this type of location is perfect for our current state. What we fear most are complex surroundings; if we are ambushed, we might have zero chance to flee… The surrounding loop roads are also ideal for catching a getaway cab. Oh, right, purchasing handguns won’t be an issue, will it?” Zero replied, “No issue, but we have to pick them up tomorrow morning… Zheng Zha, are those Spirit Bullets truly capable of harming ‘those things’? Have you managed to injure them before?” Zheng Zha managed a wry smile. “I don’t know. Back then, I just felt danger—extreme, crushing danger—which is why I lost control. I felt an absolute premonition of death, as if I could be killed at any second. Heh, the truth is, I was terrified of dying. The more a person fears death, the more likely they are to fly into a rage when it seems imminent.”

“Is that so? Even you can die…” The four people in the cab fell silent, the only sound being the faint rustle as Zheng Zha turned the maps. Before they realized it, the three taxis had arrived outside the grand entrance of the Sunshine Hotel.

It had to be admitted, Zero was exceptionally reliable. In addition to successfully liquidating the gold, he had used underworld connections to forge a fake ID card. Otherwise, the group likely wouldn't have been able to check into the hotel even with money.

The time in this horror world seemed to be rapidly approaching the summer tourist season. Most hotel rooms were already occupied, and the remaining vacancies were scattered across different floors. Only one Presidential Suite was large enough to accommodate everyone together.

Zhao Yingkong immediately declared, “I will not share a room with others. Book me a single room downstairs, one that has a computer.”

Everyone stared at her in surprise. Zheng Zha quickly said, “Wouldn’t it be better if we all stayed in one place? That way, we can look out for each other.”

Zhao Yingkong lowered her book and said coldly, “I don’t want to stay with dead weight. I think what that person said earlier was correct; I’ve seen all three Ju-On films. Numbers won’t stop this kind of curse. Rather than being dragged down when you all get killed by the curse, it’s better for me to be alone and have a clearer path to escape.”

Zheng Zha sighed, saying no more. After a brief discussion with the others, the final arrangement was that most people preferred to split into smaller groups rather than cram into one large suite. This provided mutual support without spreading the potential fallout too widely if the curse struck.

The three girls naturally formed one group. Since Zhao Yingkong adamantly demanded to be alone, Zhan Lan had to share with the beautiful Ming Yanwei. The remaining seven drew lots to form two groups: Zheng Zha, Qi Tengyi, and Lu Renjia formed one unit, and Zhang Jie, Zero, Xiao Bingyi, and Qun Zhongting formed the other.

As a result, Zero ended up booking four suites, with each suite located on a separate floor. Zhao Yingkong took the eleventh floor, Zheng Zha, Qi Tengyi, and Lu Renjia took the twelfth, Zhang Jie, Zero, Xiao Bingyi, and Qun Zhongting took the fourteenth, and Zhan Lan and Ming Yanwei shared a place on the sixteenth floor.

The night passed quietly without incident. By noon the next day, everyone gathered groggily in Zheng Zha’s suite. In fact, apart from Zero and Zhao Yingkong, everyone else had only managed to fall asleep in the early hours of the morning. In the pitch black of midnight, who among them, besides hardened assassins, dared to sleep soundly?

“Good. It seems we are all safe. Today is the second day. If we can just last until the end of the seventh day, we will all return alive to the Main God space.”

Zheng Zha rubbed his swollen, dark eyes while sipping on a chilled canned coffee.

“All safe? I doubt it.”

Zhao Yingkong put down her book and sneered. “This morning, I hacked into the city’s police network. Two homicide cases have appeared. Around the time of dawn today, police discovered two bodies in a park not far from us. One victim was completely disemboweled, their face horribly distorted, and the other had an electrical cable impaled through their abdomen, piercing straight into a utility pole. Yet, strangely, all the wires on the pole remained perfectly intact. The town police have mobilized fully, but they can’t find any identification records for these two individuals. Rumor has it that nearby residents claimed to have seen seven other people with them earlier. After hearing all this, are you feeling pleasantly surprised?” At this, the faces of the group changed drastically, several trembling violently. Death itself wasn't the true horror; it was the impending, unknown manner of death that proved unbearable to them all.

Zheng Zha took a deep breath and asked Zero, “Did you get the guns?” Zero silently retrieved six pistols from the case behind him. Zheng Zha, in turn, pulled six hundred rounds of Spirit Bullets from his Storage Ring. He spoke seriously, “Do not harm civilians wantonly. I don’t want to be hunted by ordinary people while trying to evade ghosts. Although killing a teammate will cost a thousand reward points… I won’t mind tying you all up and hanging you upside down in the dark. Perhaps the ghosts would particularly enjoy defenseless prey like that.”

The three university students, who had become excited at the sight of the guns, immediately quieted down, fidgeting nervously with the weapons in their hands. Instead, Qi Tengyi picked up a Spirit Bullet and examined it closely. After a long moment, he suddenly remarked, “Are these just ordinary silver bullets? But the runes inscribed on them look like a fusion of Oracle Bone Script and Cuneiform. Uh… maybe. They look very similar. Oh, yes, I remember seeing similar markings on coffins in some tombs.”

Zheng Zha quickly grabbed his wrist. “You saw similar runes on coffins? What does that mean? What is their purpose? These are Spirit Bullets redeemed from the ‘Main God,’ after all! Even though they are the cheapest class, they are supposed to be capable of attacking souls and spirits!” Qi Tengyi scratched his head. “I’m not entirely sure what those runes do. After all, I’m an appraiser, not a tomb raider expert. But I overheard some professionals mention casually that these markings seem to possess functions for repelling evil and preventing the owner’s corpse from becoming a hopping corpse. Of course, I always dismissed it as ancient superstition until now.”

Zheng Zha felt a pang of disappointment, but the phrase repelling evil sparked an idea. He swiftly pulled out a stack of talisman papers from his Storage Ring, exclaiming with surprise, “I nearly forgot about these things! Here, one for everyone. These protective talismans will burn automatically when a ghost approaches. During the burning process, the ghost cannot attack you, giving you enough time to flee or call for backup. Here, one for each person.”

Zhang Jie and Zhan Lan exchanged a glance; both joyfully pulled out several talisman papers from their respective military backpacks. These were protective charms they had redeemed after the first horror film. However, due to the sheer number of subsequent events in the second film, they had largely forgotten about their existence. Although they had kept them packed away in their gear, they likely would have overlooked them completely had Zheng Zha not brought them up. Undeniably, these warning talismans were the most useful item they possessed in a situation where the spirits could strike at any unpredictable moment.

Zheng Zha patted Qi Tengyi’s shoulder with a smile. “Thanks for the reminder. If there are runes capable of restraining ghosts in the real world, why wouldn't they exist in this horror world? Those temples aren't just for decoration, are they? Hahahaha, maybe we can even learn some Daoist spells or incantations. Doesn't the ‘Main God’ offer exchanges for such cultivation methods?” “Great! This afternoon we head to those temples… to search for the hope of defeating Ju-On!”