The safe would lock after three incorrect attempts. I had only one chance left. Which one should I choose?
I hesitated, reading the comments:
[I'm so curious—skip ahead and see! The password is the wedding date.]
Overjoyed, I hurried to the safe, but the next comment stopped me in my tracks:
[I've watched this movie twice. Who said it's the wedding date?]
[It's the date she died.]
[Did the person above deliberately give the wrong answer?]
I froze. What the hell was going on?
[Are you people serious? It's the wedding date!]
[Why are you arguing? Just shut up and keep watching.]
The comments were completely unreliable. I gritted my teeth, went downstairs to the living room, and got out my Tarot deck.
With no other options, I couldn't rely on the comments or on myself. All I could do was trust in fate.
I closed my eyes, clasped my hands, and prayed that the Tarot cards would be accurate.
I shuffled the deck and drew cards to choose between the two options. The first card, representing the present, was the Two of Pentacles upright: a young man dressed as a servant, holding two coins and weighing the pros and cons. It perfectly captured my current predicament—I was so torn I could die.
Next, I drew two cards for the wedding date: Death upright, showing a figure riding a white horse; and the Tower reversed, depicting the world collapsing.
[Death… Girl, you've been set up by the capitalists!]
[Those two cards look terrifying. It definitely isn't the wedding date.]
Terrified, I hurriedly drew two cards for the date she died: the World upright, surrounded by a laurel wreath, and the Ace of Wands upright, a hand gripping a vibrant branch.
Comparing the two options, anyone would choose the date she died. I rushed upstairs, bet everything, and shakily entered 20050613.
I closed my eyes and waited tensely.
A beep sounded, and the safe unlocked. In the end, it all came back to Thẩm Thanh Huệ.
[Why did you people say it was the wedding date? That's so weird. You got fooled even while watching a documentary.]
[I was just kidding, hehe.]
Kidding, my ass! You nearly made me die of anger! If I'd entered it any faster, I'd be dead by now.
From now on, I knew not to trust the comments right away.
Inside the safe was a single slip of paper: Congratulations on passing Round Two. Next, proceed to the Round Three mission site—the D13 villa.
I took my crystal ball and Tarot deck and pushed open the door of the D13 villa. The house looked exactly like the previous one: two stories, covered in trumpet vines. But when I stepped inside, I froze. Everything was identical to the other house.
[D13? Isn't this the house where Thẩm Thanh Huệ died?]
[That's right. This is the real haunted house!]
[Oh my God, I've got goose bumps, everyone!]
The third mission was taking place at the scene of Thẩm Thanh Huệ's death? What was the billionaire planning?
Unlike the previous house, there were two other mediums on the living room sofa: the woman from the first test and a young man in a Daoist robe.
When they saw me, they exchanged glances, their expressions sour.
“What is it?” I asked.
The young Daoist handed me a piece of paper and a black voting device. The paper read: Mission: Predict how many people will pass Round Two and survive to enter this house.
Time limit: Choose an answer on the voting device within five minutes. Warning: If your prediction is wrong, you die.
The voting device had numbers from 0 to 9. The five-minute countdown began, and the ticking sound pounded in my chest.
I took a deep breath and started calculating without wasting time. There had been twenty mediums at the beginning, and at least eight had died before I passed Round One. The comments said half the contestants died in Round Two, so at most six people could have survived.
I had to choose between three and six. But that still left four possibilities—a range that was much too wide. Thankfully, the comments appeared:
[This round isn't fair. The first person in has a much harder time guessing correctly, while the last person has it easier.]
[I think the final answer is three people.]
[There aren't many of us left anyway. What difference does it make if it's fair?]
Three people? My expression changed. Did that mean only the three of us had survived?
Ten seconds remained on the countdown, and no one challenged the comments. I made up my mind and pressed 3 on the device.
Seeing me press it, the young Daoist asked, “How many people did you choose?”
The medium also looked wary.
For some reason, I felt I shouldn't tell the truth, so I asked him, “How many did you choose?”
He paused, raising an eyebrow. “Don't be suspicious of each other. Maybe we're the only ones who survived. You tell me your answer first.”
I looked at him. He and the medium exchanged another glance, then sighed.
He held up three fingers. “I chose 3.”
The medium nodded. “I chose 3 too.”
What a coincidence. I was suspicious. If the answer really was 3, why had they seemed so tense when I arrived, as if I were an enemy?
The young Daoist shrugged. “You don't have to believe me. Now it's your turn to tell us your answer.”
I thought it over, then told the truth. “I chose 3 too.”
“How could that be?” the medium objected.
“You don't have to believe me. I really did choose 3.” I waved a hand and sat down on the sofa.
The three of us looked at one another, each lost in our own thoughts.
“Did both of you have to find the safe's password in the second round too?” I asked.
They nodded.
“Who came in here first?” I asked.
The young Daoist pointed to himself. “I went first. She was second.”
I nodded. “How did you figure out the password?”
He glanced at us, sizing us up. “I calculated it.”
The medium glared at him, as if afraid he might say the wrong thing, and glanced toward the camera in the corner.
The three of us sat awkwardly, not daring to say anything more. The previous round's mission had lasted twelve hours, and we had to wait for the last person to finish before the answer for this round would be revealed. All we could do was wait.
“What are you holding?” The medium looked at my Tarot deck.
“Tarot,” I explained briefly.
Her eyes lit up. “It's boring just sitting here. Why don't you read my cards?”
I was about to refuse when she immediately said, “If you're not a fraud, what are you afraid of? Why not give me a reading?”
She glanced at the camera, and I realized she was setting me up. If the camera caught me being a fraud, I'd definitely be shot dead.
That damn medium wanted me dead!
Maybe she had chosen a number lower than 3. The mission was to predict how many people would survive to enter this house. If I died, the number of survivors would drop, and she'd be right.
I couldn't make a move against her when I wasn't sure there was a fourth person. I gritted my teeth and smiled. “Of course I will. I'll read your cards. What do you want to ask?”
I laid out the cards and looked at the medium. She smirked. “Read my cards and tell me what number I just chose.”
[Oh my God, what is this medium up to?]
[This is terrifying. The OP and that guy have been set up!]
[Hang in there, girl. Watch out for that medium!]
My face stiffened, and I forced a smile. “Are you kidding? Didn't you just say 3?”
She gave me a meaningful look. “I was joking. Read the cards and tell me what number I chose.”
I gave a dry laugh and pretended to draw cards, but inwardly I asked Tarot a different question: Does this medium really have the ability to communicate with spirits?
I guessed she'd chosen a number lower than 3, probably 2, since two people had survived before her. But I was more curious whether her earlier rice-reading had been genuine or an act.
I drew three cards: the Seven of Swords, showing a man stealing swords; the Magician reversed, showing a man in red holding a wand; and the Three of Pentacles reversed, showing three people in a monastery discussing a pillar design, but failing.
They all meant deceit, scheming, and a partnership falling apart. I understood: the medium was a fraud too, surviving by trickery. The number she'd chosen was 2.
“See it clearly now?” the medium asked.
“I see…” I had just opened my mouth when the comments appeared:
[Oh my God, OP, run! That Taoist priest behind you is trying to kill you!]
[Those two are working together, using a diversion to catch her off guard!]
What was going on? Had they both chosen 2?
I didn't have time to think. I leaned aside to dodge, and a sharp knife plunged into the sofa where I'd just been sitting.
“Damn it, you dodged!” the young Taoist priest cursed, pulling out the knife and stabbing again.
“Get lost!” I snatched up the crystal ball and hurled it at his head.
With a bang, he toppled over and passed out. The crystal ball rolled to my feet, completely unscathed.
[Whoa, it only cost 9.9 yuan, but it looks so real!]