Chapter 34: The "Pretentious King Alliance"! The grander the act, the more brutal the beating! [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Happy Valley.

Wu Qian and Chen Chichi were the first to encounter each other. Both were carrying suitcases marked with the "R" logo, and their eyes lit up the moment they saw one another.

"Brother Chi, did you find any clues?"

"No, it was empty inside," Chen Chichi replied truthfully.

Wu Qian: "Mine was, too."

"It's a haunted house," Chen Chichi said, gazing at the building beside them. "Knowing the production team’s twisted sense of humor, they’ve definitely hidden the clues in the most dangerous spot. Shall we go in and have a look?"

"Just the two of us?" Wu Qian hesitated.

Chen Chichi: "Are you scared?"

"Of course not! It’s all fake, what’s there to be afraid of? I’m never afraid of this stuff. I’m worried about you—after all, when I dressed up as a zombie before, you were..."

"Don't say it!" Chen Chichi hurriedly clamped his hand over his teammate's mouth. The humiliating memory of him wetting himself when Wu Qian cosplayed as a zombie in the middle of the night was the bane of his existence. He panicked the moment the subject was broached.

Just then, Teacher Huang, wearing a red team uniform, walked over from the distance. Spotting them, he tentatively asked, "Alliance?"

"Definitely!" Wu Qian agreed immediately. "We find the clues first, then tear the tags off the losers!"

"That’s the way to do it." Teacher Huang lowered his guard, though he kept a respectful distance from the visibly disgruntled Chen Chichi. After the "Mushroom Stew Incident," he wasn't about to bet that Chen Chichi wouldn't seize the chance to take him out.

After a brief discussion, the three decided to enter the haunted house.

The PD received word from the director that there were fixed cameras inside, so they wouldn't follow them in. The three men didn't think much of it. Each grabbed a flashlight from the staff and walked straight inside.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

In the hollow environment, shrill, ghostly wails echoed one after another.

Teacher Huang shuddered, and his flashlight dropped to the ground. He snatched it up, then silently retreated behind the other two. Seeing them both standing frozen, staring at the dark corridor ahead, he said with displeasure, "Move! You guys aren't scared, are you?"

"Not at all. Coming here is just like being home. If there were a bathhouse inside, I wouldn't mind taking a hot shower," Chen Chichi said, acting nonchalant.

Wu Qian looked disdainful: "It's just electronic sound effects. I could fall asleep listening to this stuff."

"Then move forward!" Teacher Huang urged.

The two: "..."

Chen Chichi swallowed hard. "It's just that it’s so dark, and we only have these tiny flashlights. It’s actually quite inefficient to look for clues in there."

"I actually don't think the clues are that important," Wu Qian said firmly. "Based on what I know about that loser, he's a coward; there’s no way he’d come in here! So even if we turn this place upside down, it’s not worth much, right?"

"We *could* go in, but there’s no need. Let’s look outside!" Chen Chichi agreed.

Teacher Huang: "..."

He finally saw through them. These two were acting tough like tanks, but in reality, they were made of glass—fragile enough to shatter at a single touch!

Thinking of the countless viewers watching, Teacher Huang, who had also been retreating, realized this was a perfect opportunity to show off. He stepped to the front of the group and sighed earnestly, "Young people these days, all bark and no bite. Don't even have the most basic masculine spirit. What a disgrace."

Chen Chichi: "..."

Wu Qian: "..."

"Teacher Huang, you were shaking like a leaf the moment you walked in and dropped your flashlight. You really have the nerve to lecture us?"

Teacher Huang looked displeased. "That was for the show’s effect, to trigger your protective instincts! I didn't expect you to be so useless when I gave you the chance!"

"Fine, follow me closely. I’ll lead the way!"

"It’s just a little haunted house, look at how scared you are!"

*Protective instincts, my foot.*

If Baby or Reba were here, they might have forced themselves to be calm, but with an old man acting frail, who would want to protect him?

The two were ready to leave, but seeing Teacher Huang walk forward with his hands behind his back, looking calm and composed after criticizing them, their competitive spirits were ignited. They followed him in.

Teacher Huang had barely turned the corner with his flashlight when a giant figure wielding a chainsaw suddenly appeared.

"ROAR!!!"

Teacher Huang: "AAAHHH!"

His eyes widened, he stood rigid, his muscles locked up, and in the next second, he fell straight backward like a board!

He was literally scared stiff!

Behind him, Chen Chichi and Wu Qian shuddered violently and instinctively dropped Teacher Huang to scramble away like headless chickens!

Teacher Huang, initially in a daze, felt the sharp pain of hitting the ground and sobered up in a second. Seeing the giant figure charging at him with a chainsaw, his eyes went wide. Using both hands and feet, he scurried two or three meters back.

Crawling and rolling, unable to even stand, he scrambled to his feet and ran for his life, chasing after his two allies who had abandoned him.

"Help! Help!"

"Wait for me!"

Because they were panicking, Teacher Huang slammed headfirst into a concrete wall, seeing stars. Wu Qian and Chen Chichi were also slamming into walls, their minds completely gone, dazed and disoriented from their frantic flight!

Under the watchful eyes of countless netizens, the three scurried like ants on a hot pan, finally managing to escape the perimeter through sheer survival instinct.

"..." The NPC stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

He didn't even dare to chase them, fearing he might accidentally scare them to death. Seeing them flee, the NPC sighed under his costume: "Same show, why is the difference so huge?"

He thought of the "loser" who remained unmoved no matter how he tried to scare him.

The guy was relieved to have regained his faith in being a ghost, but he couldn't help but sweat for the trio. If he remembered correctly, the path they were fleeing toward led straight to the "Coffin Forest" where Lu Ming was lying in ambush.

[666!]

[I'm dying of laughter!]

[These three are so fragile. Does an NPC really deserve to be scared like this?]

[Am I the only one who noticed the NPC was so scared by their exaggerated reactions that he didn't even dare to move, just watching them run away?]

[NPC: Who understands, guys? I almost caught a murder charge just by showing up for work!]

[They were bragging so hard earlier, I actually thought they were tough. I was ready to watch them gang up on the loser for revenge, but they all got scared into a stupor. This twist really caught me off guard!]

[Hahaha, I can't take it anymore. These three have provided me with a month's worth of laughter!]

[I'm going to die laughing in this livestream!]

[These three are the 'Braggart Combo.' They act the biggest before entering, and get the worst treatment after. They say three people make a tiger, but watching these three team up, I feel like they're three mice!]

[Don't you dare insult the mice!]

[Isn't Teacher Huang digging his own grave? Full of pride when posturing, but running for his life when he sees a ghost. You're definitely the comedic highlight of this episode!]

[I've seen plenty of people get slapped in the face after acting tough, but this is the first time I've seen someone slap themselves!]

The barrage of comments scrolled by rapidly, and the netizens were having a field day.

Before long, search terms related to the "Haunted House Trio" hit the trending list.

#HauntedHouseTrio!#
#AllianceOfTheCowards!#
#TeacherHuangActsTough!#
#TeacherHuangScaredStupid!#
#AfterAllTheseYears,TeacherHuangFinallyFoundHisTrueCalling:Comedy!#
...

"Huff, huff, huff!"

The three ran blindly until they reached a dimly lit, spacious room. Teacher Huang immediately locked the iron door behind them. Seeing there was no movement outside, they finally felt safe and collapsed to the ground, panting.

"You bastards! You're two young men in your prime, how can you be this cowardly?" Teacher Huang asked, exasperated. "Aren't you ashamed?"

Chen Chichi felt wronged: "Teacher Huang, you were the one who said you'd show your masculine spirit and lead the charge, but you were the first one to freeze up when we turned the corner! How can you lecture us?"

Teacher Huang: "?!"

"Fine! If you want to talk about that, you said coming here was like being home. What, do you often bang your forehead against concrete walls at home?" Teacher Huang pointed at the large, swollen bump on Chen Chichi's forehead covered in concrete dust.

Chen Chichi: "..."

"And you! Didn't you say you could fall asleep to the sound of ghostly screams? If I heard correctly, you were the one screaming the loudest just now!" Teacher Huang pointed at Wu Qian, who was pale and still shaken. "I must have had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to form an alliance with you two!"

Wu Qian: "..."

"Forget it, Teacher Huang. We're all the same, let's stop pointing fingers. Let's find the exit. This place is too scary—my heart is still pounding!" Chen Chichi clutched his chest.

The exit?

Teacher Huang looked back at the way they came. Because they were so panicked, they had lost the flashlights the staff gave them. Now, aside from the dim red light in this room, it was pitch black outside. After that desperate escape, they had no desire to relive that terrifying feeling.

It was only then that they had the heart to observe their surroundings. When they saw the room was filled with neatly arranged coffins, all three panicked.

Wu Qian said with a dry throat: "Are there... are there real zombies in here?!"

"Even if there are, they’re just people in costumes. You've played a zombie before, haven't you? What’s there to be scared of?" Teacher Huang tried to stay rational.

Every player challenging a haunted house knows the ghosts are NPCs, but in such a terrifying environment, the instinct to fear the unknown far outweighs reason.

Wu Qian didn't speak, just kept swallowing hard.

Chen Chichi suddenly spotted a suitcase with a yellow "R" logo sitting on a coffin lid in the distance, and his eyes lit up: "A suitcase!"

Wu Qian looked around and joined in with excitement: "There's one over there, too!"

"The production team really hid the good stuff in the most dangerous places. The clue boxes in this room are all piled up here! We’ll definitely find some useful clues!"

Because they found several boxes, all three were distracted, and their fear subsided slightly. However, to get the boxes, they had to pass through the dense forest of coffins. Wu Qian and Teacher Huang were a bit fearful and dared not move forward.

Chen Chichi gingerly stepped forward and saw a zombie lying flat inside a coffin. He mustered the courage to touch it and found it was soft foam material. He let out a long sigh of relief: "Don't be afraid, they’re all fake models!"

Confirming it was safe, he used his wit and boldly lifted each model to search underneath them. Before long, he actually found a brand-new safe.

Seeing this, the other two lowered their guard. After grabbing the safes left in plain sight, they all began rummaging around. Although they were currently in an alliance, they were essentially competitors, and naturally, they wanted the best items for themselves.

Meanwhile, Chen Chichi had already opened the box he found earlier. The card inside was finally not "empty."

[Prison Code: 884848!]
[A vicious boss is being held in the prison! Do not let this code be known by the mole, or it will lead to big trouble. If you are the mole, then please head to the prison immediately to rescue the important helper for this mission, then work together to eliminate everyone else and claim victory!]

"Roar!" Chen Chichi’s eyes widened in disbelief. He then excitedly looked around, ensuring no one saw him in the darkness, and quickly hid the clue card.

This was huge! This was massive!

When he was taken to the interrogation room by the director during the break, he felt his chances of winning were slim—how could two moles eliminate seven other members? Now, this "gold mining" in the haunted house had given him an unexpected joy. He was so excited he almost burst into song!

"I really am a genius! Once I rescue the big boss, the rest of them are done for!"

[Chichi is actually the mole!]
[I knew it! The difficulty for two moles to eliminate everyone else is incredibly high. I felt it wasn't that simple, but I didn't expect a hidden helper!]
[Who is the mole boss?]
[They’ve been tagged as a 'BOSS,' their combat power must be top-notch. Looking forward to it.]
[Except for the Blue Team, no one else knows about the mole. Does this mean Teacher Huang and Qian-bao are in danger?]
[Danger? I think all three of them are in danger!]
[Oh no, we forgot about the loser.]
[He is truly patient. Even now, he won't jump out to scare Qian-bao and the others?]

Just then, Teacher Huang lifted a dummy. He noticed it felt very light, which he found strange, but when he saw a box with an "R" logo pressed beneath the zombie, he was immediately drawn to it. He lay on the edge, leaned down, and stretched his neck to reach inside.

Not far away, Chen Chichi, who no longer felt like looking for clues with them, was debating whether to ambush and take out Wu Qian and Teacher Huang. But the moment he glanced to the side, he saw a hideous, terrifying zombie sit upright on a coffin!

Chen Chichi: "?!?!"

The zombie turned its head toward Teacher Huang with a *click-clack* sound. The rotation of its head was an unbelievable 180 degrees. While Teacher Huang remained completely unaware, the two arms stretched straight out and slowly rose...

The body seemed as if it hadn't moved in years, every limb movement appearing abnormally stiff. Even from a distance, he could clearly hear the *creak, creak* sound coming from the figure, like bones rubbing together as limbs were stretched.

In this terrifying environment, the figure displayed such strange, lifelike movements that Chen Chichi’s mind went blank!

There might actually be a real corpse mixed into this haunted house!

Fear spread rapidly through his heart. Chen Chichi's features twisted, his lips pulled tight, and his entire face contorted into a square shape. He pointed shakily into the distance: "Teacher... Huang!"

"Zom... Zombie!!"

Wu Qian: ?!

He looked toward Teacher Huang, only to see the zombie that had sat up was now tilting its head back, grinding its teeth with a *crunch, crunch* sound. The sharp teeth were shocking and terrifying!

Everything happening before their eyes mirrored scenes from zombie movies, and in this horrific atmosphere, the hair-raising terror was amplified to the extreme.

Wu Qian trembled and shrieked: "Ah—"

Teacher Huang turned around, bewildered, only to see a hideous face baring its teeth at him. The sharp, icy fangs were already inches from his face; he could clearly feel the cold breath of the creature!

Teacher Huang’s brain felt like it was flooding with blood; he screamed in terror: "AAAAAAAAH!"

In the next second, the zombie opened its blood-red maw and bit down on his neck. Teacher Huang went silent instantly, falling straight into the coffin with a *thud*.

Chen Chichi: "!!"

Wu Qian screamed: "Teacher Huang!!"