dmims Chapter 21: What's in the Honey Jar
Chapter 21: What's in the Honey Jar
To successfully pass through the haunted house, they had to find the cellar in the forest. After staying in the warehouse for a while, Lin Xiaomei and the others chose to enter the forest trail.
The sun is not visible in the sky.
The scene before Lin Xiaomei's eyes was as if a red filter had been applied, or as if someone had darkened the entire world, making it feel oppressive and suffocating.
Zhao Haiyang, Hu Xin, Dong Xing, and the others were carrying chainsaws, which slowed their pace considerably.
After walking for half a day, Lin Xiaomei's fear grew uncontrollably and rapidly.
She discovered...
This place was bigger than she had imagined.
"This is not normal. We didn't turn any corners or take any other detours. We walked straight for at least several hundred meters, maybe a kilometer. Where would we find such a large area?"
"That's right. Even with VR, at most it can alter the light information received by the eyes; it can't change the actual terrain. So where are we?!"
Lin Xiaomei panicked completely.
As she imagined, once she entered the forest, she would reach the boundary of the venue in just a few minutes.
Once she touches the boundary, it means everything is fake, giving her a sense of security that goes beyond the game's plot itself. Like the invisible walls set up in those horror games, it's a kind of deus ex machina existence.
But she didn't touch the invisible wall or the boundary at all.
Along the way, I heard the wind from time to time, the cawing of crows, the sound of my feet on the leaves and scarlet soil, and the stench of decay coming through my gas mask.
It all feels so real.
For a moment, Lin Xiaomei even had a hallucination, as if this was not a virtual space, but a real supernatural place.
Suddenly.
Zhao Haiyang, with his sharp eyes, spotted what appeared to be a middle-aged man standing under a beautiful pine tree in the distance.
"Hello?"
"Hello, is this your first time here?" The middle-aged man noticed the group, straightened his suit, and said, "You're lucky. The forest is safe right now; the crows haven't gathered together yet."
"My surname is Zhou, you can just call me Lao Zhou. I've been trapped here for a long time, we can work together to find a way out."
It looks like an NPC.
Lin Xiaomei breathed a sigh of relief. Finding a guiding NPC in such a place made her feel a little more at ease.
"I am Lin Xiaomei, that fatso is Zhao Haiyang, this is Hu Xin, and this is my assistant Dongxing."
After Lin Xiaomei finished her introduction, she got straight to the point and asked, "We're looking for the cellar. Do you know where it is?"
"The cellar? Of course, the cellar was found by the first survivors who entered the forest, but they are all long gone now." Old Zhou sighed. "The cellar is hidden deep in the forest where crows are the most numerous. You will definitely die if you go in."
"What's there to be afraid of in a crow? Can't a chainsaw kill it?" Zhao Haiyang couldn't help but ask.
"Idiot, have you forgotten the rules? Don't go near crows, crows are definitely dangerous." Hu Xin rolled his eyes at Zhao Haiyang.
Old Zhou nodded. "That's right. Crows are the most dangerous animals in the forest. Generally speaking, crows occupy the cellar, so you can't leave through it."
"unless……"
Old Zhou paused for a moment, then continued, "Once you find the little bear, it will help you deal with the crows. If you're lucky, you might be able to escape from the cellar in the chaos."
"The bears live in a tree hollow, and they are all very friendly."
Lin Xiaomei thought about it for a moment.
The bear is friendly.
This is in accordance with the rules of the cabin.
It seems that Lao Zhou is indeed the guiding NPC.
"Thank you. Could you please show me the way?"
Old Zhou gave a bitter smile. "I'm afraid I won't be able to get out of here. The only thing I can do is offer you some insignificant help. You must make it out alive."
Lin Xiaomei was helpless.
Sure enough, these NPCs can only help them advance the plot; if you lead the team yourself, there will be fewer scary moments.
It doesn't fit the scary concept of a haunted house.
After saying goodbye to Lao Zhou, Lin Xiaomei and the others continued walking deeper into the woods, but this time they walked a little faster.
"Don't you guys think that NPC named Old Zhou looks familiar? Have we seen him somewhere before?"
"You're overthinking it. That's just a staff member at the haunted house. At most, they used VR technology to alter his appearance a bit. How could we possibly have seen him before?" Lin Xiaomei said. "Don't let your imagination run wild, we need to get going."
Lin Xiaomei has already said that.
Zhao Haiyang had no choice but to shut up.
They have gone at least two kilometers into the forest, a distance that would be absolutely impossible for any haunted house or escape room on the market.
Venue and rent are always the biggest costs for this type of project.
Using such a large space to build a haunted house, and selling tickets so cheaply at 50 yuan per person, they definitely can't even recoup their rent.
But they did witness it.
"Why haven't we arrived yet?"
"I've been counting my steps. We've walked over three thousand steps so far. Is there really an end to this place?"
"I can't take it anymore, Sister Lin, I don't want to play anymore, I'm taking the equipment off."
Hu Xin couldn't hold back any longer and tried to take off his gas mask, but Dong Xing, who was next to him, reacted faster and quickly stopped him.
"Don't give up."
"We've only been here for less than half an hour, and we haven't even seen the exit yet. The owner of the haunted house might be laughing at us from backstage."
"And don't forget, that boss surnamed Chen is right across the street. If he sees us acting like clowns, wouldn't we lose all face?"
Upon hearing Dongxing's words, Hu Xin had no choice but to abandon the idea and did not remove his gas mask.
They were very lucky this time.
After walking for a few minutes, the road ahead suddenly widened. Looking up, they saw a giant banyan tree in front of them, which looked to be at least a hundred meters tall. The roots at the base of the banyan tree were intertwined, and there was a tree hole entrance right in front of them.
Tree hole...
"Little bear, lives inside a tree hole..."
"Damn, isn't this a scene from an anime?"
"Wait, did they even buy the rights to this haunted house? How come they can turn an animated film into a set?"
Lin Xiaomei suddenly realized that she had watched this cartoon when she was a child and enjoyed it very much. How come she hadn't realized it before?
Perhaps the stark contrast between the animated film and the haunted house caused her to subconsciously overlook the connection between the scenes.
Enter the tree hole.
There was no teddy bear, and no one else. It was so quiet that she could hear her own footsteps. Several honey jars piled up on the ground caught Lin Xiaomei's attention.
"Sister Lin, you'd better not touch that thing. I have a feeling it might not contain anything good," Zhao Haiyang said somewhat timidly as he saw Lin Xiaomei walk towards the honey jar.
He was genuinely a little scared.
Even a chainsaw couldn't give him a sense of security.
"Chekhov said that the gun that appears in the first act must be fired in the third act. A bunch of honey jars wouldn't appear here for no reason. Maybe they hold clues to the cellar," Lin Xiaomei said. "Besides, we've reported on murder cases where bodies were hidden in water jars before. What could possibly be in these honey jars, which aren't even as big as sauerkraut jars?"