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墨書 Inktalez
"I share the same surname, Liu. In a way, we are family," I said.
Boss laughed heartily and replied, "Alright, family it is. If you have some time, let's go to the tea restaurant across the street for a bite and chat about this matter." With that, he tossed aside the prop he was holding. I nodded and said, "Sure, let's go. I'm a bit hungry anyway; this escape room was quite brain-draining, haha." For some reason, I felt a sense of familiarity with Liu Boss, as if he had many stories to tell.
After exiting the escape room and reaching the reception area, I called Marlon over and said, "You know what I do. You have a handprint on you from being grabbed by a ghost. Don't tell anyone about it, including those two. I'll help you deal with it later. Just let them know I won't be joining you for fun tonight." Marlon nodded in agreement and said, "No problem. You go ahead."
Liu Boss whispered a few words to his wife before coming over and saying, "Let's go, family. It's on me." He then headed downstairs. I didn't decline; there was no point in doing so. First, it would seem pretentious, and second, I planned to help Liu Boss without accepting any reward. Since I wouldn't be taking any reward, having a meal with him wouldn't count as meddling.
Upon arriving at the tea restaurant, it wasn't crowded at all; it was relatively quiet. We found a spot further inside and sat down after ordering our meals. Liu Boss and I began to chat animatedly.
It turned out that we had quite a connection—not only were we both from Hunan Longhui, but we also graduated from the same university. He was just one year older than me, and even more surprisingly, we lived in the same neighborhood. No wonder everything felt so familiar.
He indeed had many stories worth admiring. His experiences were not typical among modern university students. After graduating, he met his current wife online within a year. At that time, he was working in the north; after confirming their relationship, he resolutely moved to Guangzhou. After a year of being together, they got married. He had a job related to his major but felt an immense pressure after marriage; although his job was decent, he realized it wasn't what he truly wanted.
In 2013, he went to an escape room with friends and thought it could be something he could do himself. After discussing it with his family, he began preparations. As a recent graduate without savings, he relied on bank loans to gradually open his own escape room while still working at his job. He couldn't afford to give up his well-paying job since it was his main source of income; quitting would mean losing all security as he had both business loans and a hefty mortgage to pay.
However, once the escape room opened, business wasn't as good as expected; instead, it continuously lost money. The rent and utilities alone cost over ten thousand each month, plus hiring a manager added to the expenses. His stress mounted as he worked during the day and then spent over an hour commuting by subway to switch shifts with the manager until 11 PM before heading home. He mentioned that there wasn't much business at night but feared disappointing players if they came in while no one was there.
Due to lack of funds for promotion, his business suffered daily losses while the rent continued unabated; the landlord refused to let him out of the lease. He had no choice but to rely on his income to keep going. It was evident that he put great effort into this venture; however, starting a business required more than just hard work. Every night he stayed alone in the shop until closing time at eleven o'clock; feeling bitter inside with no one to confide in led him to develop a habit of talking to a skeleton dressed in a Zombie Outfit whenever things were quiet in the shop. As an atheist, he didn't find this particularly frightening—he shared everything with that Zombie.
At first, nothing happened during these conversations; however, strange occurrences began when sighs and whispers filled his ears whenever he vented to the Zombie. Sometimes there were even sounds of laughter. He thought it might be hallucinations from exhaustion until one day while reviewing surveillance recordings, he noticed a shadowy figure beside him.
At this point in our conversation, he pulled out a screenshot from the recording for me to see.
I took it from him; the image was black and white since his camera had night vision capabilities in dark conditions. It clearly showed him sitting next to the Zombie with his head resting against its skull. The Zombie was on his left side while on his right sat another indistinct figure—human-shaped but unclear. As I scrolled through several frames, I noticed that this shadow mirrored his movements: when he stood up, so did it; when he sat down again, it followed suit; even when solving puzzles together—only when he left did the shadow return slowly into the skeleton's form—the skeleton being an embodiment of that Spirit God.
I handed back the screenshot and said, "This clearly indicates there's something supernatural going on here; aren't you afraid?"
"I'm scared," he admitted, "but I'm even more afraid of losing everything I've poured my heart into this shop—it's all my effort invested here. When I first discovered it, I was terrified—I didn't even dare enter that room at first. But eventually, when players came in wanting to play puzzles, I had no choice but to face my fears and go back inside. Once I realized there was a ghost in that room, my mind raced with thoughts—maybe it was just my imagination—but sometimes the atmosphere inside became so oppressive that I could hardly breathe; yet I couldn't run away because if I did... I'd lose everything."
Throughout our conversation, despite wearing a smile on his face, I could sense deep-seated helplessness behind it.
I remained silent as he continued speaking: "Once you encounter something like this for the first time, there's bound to be a second time—I gradually stopped being so afraid of it. I've even tried talking to that ghost before but received no response from it at all. After discovering its presence, I spent several nights there until I confirmed nothing harmful would happen before reopening this theme for players."
I nodded thoughtfully and asked him: "Do you realize that if you posted these photos online? It might not only make your shop famous in Guangzhou but also attract plenty of business?"
He paused for a moment as if taken aback by my suggestion before replying: "I've thought about it but quickly dismissed that idea—firstly because I'm an atheist and feel it's shameless to exploit this situation for publicity; secondly if many people learned about it... I fear what might happen to that ghost afterward. Besides... it's been my companion for so long now; I've shared so many personal thoughts with it—even if it never spoke back—I consider it a friend now. So why would I want to harm something that hasn't harmed me?"
I completely agree with his statement. We are not from the same world, and encountering each other is merely fate; there’s no need to make it a contentious affair. However, I must say that Liu, the Boss, is the most composed among all the victims I have encountered. Not only did he not try to deal with that spirit in any way, but he even treated it like a friend.
I said, "Well, you’re right, but ultimately this isn’t a good solution. Have you ever considered that its presence might be the reason your shop is filled with Yin Qi, affecting the feng shui and leading to poor business?"
He chuckled and replied, "I hadn’t thought of that. But now that you mention it, it’s possible. However, it doesn’t matter; my lease is up in two months. It’s time to end this unsuccessful venture." After saying this, he shook his head. I could guess that his entrepreneurial attempt had not brought him relief but rather made his life more difficult.
How many people can think this way? If it were someone else, they would probably exploit this situation for publicity. As we talked, I realized my understanding of him was still far from complete. He may not have succeeded, but he learned a lot. Many things remain unknown unless one tries; he had the courage to attempt and put in effort. He was tired, but that exhaustion was valuable. At least I am sure he enjoyed the process; such experiences are precious in life. Yet many of us have the opportunity to experience but choose to evade it. Over time, we become complacent and stagnant— is this the kind of life we want?
"Yes, indeed. It’s time to end this unsuccessful attempt and bid farewell to your friend. It hasn’t disturbed anyone because it hasn’t encountered anyone who can see it. This time I saw it; it feels destined. So I believe it’s best for me to handle this matter; I trust it’s what it wants as well," I said earnestly to Liu.
He nodded, but his ever-smiling face suddenly dimmed a bit. A hint of reluctance seemed to flicker in his eyes. I chuckled lightly and continued, "All gatherings must come to an end; there’s no need to dwell on these things. When I say sending it away is for its own good."
He regained his smile and said, "Haha, it's not that I'm reluctant to part with it; it's just that it witnessed my failures. If it cannot witness my success, that’s a small regret— that’s how I see it. Of course, if I can send it where it belongs, I would be very willing and supportive."
He didn’t ask how I would send it away or what help I needed from him; he seemed quite friendly and open. In just a couple of hours of interaction, he treated me like a good friend. Such straightforwardness makes befriending him effortless. In fact, later on, I checked out his entrepreneurial posts on Tieba— they were inspiring yet filled with hardship.
We spent over an hour having dinner; finding someone you can talk to easily isn’t easy at all. After finishing our meal, we agreed that he would head back to the shop first while I went home to grab my cloth bag. I would return around nine in the evening.
Around nine o'clock that night, I arrived at the shop again on time. Liu's wife had already gone home, leaving him alone in the quiet store with no customers around. He sat silently in the reception room as if lost in thought.
"Hey, Brother Liu! I'm here," I said as I placed my bag on the table without hesitation and poured myself a glass of water.
Brother Liu looked up at me with that same smile; however, compared to earlier in the day, it seemed even more sincere now. A genuine smile always makes it easy for people to drop their guard and feel at ease. "Brother Liu, let’s get started," I said.
He nodded and asked, "Can I see it?"
I replied that he could, but whether they could converse depended on its willingness— chuckling lightly.
He said, "Let everything happen naturally then. I don’t know how you plan to send it off, but I trust you will handle it well."
"Thank you for your trust, Brother Liu! By the way, where did you get those talismans in your secret room?" This question had been on my mind for a while; I just hadn’t remembered to ask until now.
"The talismans were given to me by a player before. He said that since there are zombies, it wouldn't hurt to put up a few more of these talismans to enhance the atmosphere. He pointed out the spots where I should place them. I didn't believe in this stuff before, but since he suggested it, I just went along with it. What's wrong? Are those talismans causing problems?" Brother Liu said matter-of-factly.
"Come on, think back carefully. Wasn't everything fine before you put up the talismans? It was only after you placed them that you started feeling the presence of that ghost. The positions of those talismans seem quite deliberate," I couldn't help but curse under my breath. Could someone really be doing this on purpose? If that's the case, then things here are far from simple.
Brother Liu thought for a moment and replied, "I can't remember clearly. I only started sensing the ghost's presence in the last month, and the talismans were put up the month before that. I didn't feel anything before. Could it really be related to these talismans?"
"Is there any surveillance recording we can check?" I asked.
Brother Liu shook his head and said there was none; the recordings only kept the last month's footage.
"If someone is indeed doing this maliciously, we need to find that person. They must have a reason for trapping a ghost here; it can't be without cause. If that ghost's obsession is linked to this person, getting rid of it won't be easy. If they placed some kind of curse on the ghost, it would complicate matters even further. Brother Liu, see if you can still contact the person who gave you those talismans," I explained. Since this involved another layer of complexity, we couldn't afford to handle it carelessly.
Brother Liu nodded and walked over to the front desk computer, starting to look through the player registration records. As he operated the computer, he said, "Maybe I can still find something. I can't remember the exact date, but I'll check for player photos first. Once I identify that person, I'll look for the registration sheet from that day and give them a call to ask about it. I can't guarantee I'll find them for sure, but it's worth a try."
PS: Thanks to In the Rain Lotus for their support with 1314 Iron Coins, and thanks to ozi927 for the fine wine. Good night, everyone.
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