Chapter 18 Horror Night (2)

Looking at the terrifying drag marks on the floor, Hayama's scalp tingled with fear. 

Despite his fear, his frustration grew even more. *Is Hirano in on this with Katori-chan to scare me? Did he fall for her beauty trap? He's getting fired for sure after this!*

He also felt something was off. The script had completely gone off track by now.

*Is this turning into a prank show? Are Katori-chan and the production team hiding somewhere, secretly filming my reactions?*

If that was the case, Hayama thought he needed to show fearless heroism, using this opportunity to gain more followers.

"There's still a chance! As long as I follow these drag marks, I can save Hirano!" Hayama declared with righteous determination.

As he tracked the marks, he spoke gravely to the livestream audience, "Hirano weighs over 200 pounds—no ordinary animal could drag him away like this. And yet, there are no footprints of any creature. Could there really be something… unnatural lurking here?"

He had no idea how Katori-chan's team had pulled it off, but that didn't stop him from improvising theatrically.

Hayama moved slowly, checking the area around the marks carefully. After following the trail halfway down the hallway, the drag marks suddenly disappeared.

In the dust-covered corridor, it was impossible to hide any movement—footprints and trails would be clearly visible. But here, the drag marks vanished abruptly, with no door nearby, only windows without glass, where the cold night wind blew in, carrying an eerie chill.

"Huh? Hirano's trail just… disappeared. There's nowhere to hide around here, so how could he just vanish? This is terrifying, absolutely terrifying!"

Hayama gasped dramatically.

He felt his acting had reached its peak. If his singing career didn't work out, he could always switch to theater.

At this point, he was thoroughly impressed with Katori-chan's prop team. If they could pull off something this realistic, he didn't feel bad for being scared out of his mind earlier.

Just then, a crow landed on the window ledge, tilting its head as it stared at him.

"Don't tell me a crow carried him away—ha, ha, ha! Just kidding. There's no way Hirano could've squeezed through that tiny window."

Thinking himself witty, Hayama cracked a joke. But his phone, tucked into his pocket, started buzzing wildly. When he checked the livestream chat, it was flooded with the same warning:

"High alert ahead—!"

"High alert ahead—!"

"Don't look up—!"

"Don't look up—!"

Confused, Hayama instinctively raised his head, shining his flashlight toward the ceiling.

Drip. Drip. Thick, warm liquid dripped onto his face. The sensation was eerily familiar.

The ceiling was covered in rows and rows of bloody handprints, and from it, a man's corpse hung upside down. Blood dripped from the tips of the body's outstretched fingers.

...

Elsewhere on the second floor of the abandoned mall, Katori-chan, wearing her shrine maiden outfit, wandered down a dark, empty corridor.

"I'm so scared! I don't know what Hayama saw earlier, but he screamed so suddenly, and then we all got separated and ran up to the second floor. Now it's just me, Katori-chan, alone... I'm so scared... sob, sob…"

Despite her words, Katori-chan wasn't really afraid. As a streamer specializing in paranormal exploration, she didn't believe in ghosts or the supernatural. If she did, she wouldn't have gotten into this business.

"'Cutest Katori-chan,' 'My wife of the day is Miko Katori'... Good evening, everyone."

"Thanks for the gift, 'ChocolateStrawberry099.'"

She greeted her newly arrived fans while mentally reviewing the plan for the first floor.

According to the script, Takagi, who had been planted in the toy store, was supposed to make some noise when she and Hayama arrived. That would give them an excuse to split up and explore the second floor separately.

But Takagi had stayed silent, which left Katori-chan wondering what to do next. Then, fortunately, Hayama had screamed, bolting ahead, which allowed her to continue the performance.

*Who would've thought that spineless, womanizing pretty boy would have the smarts to improvise like that? Maybe I underestimated him.*

Not wanting to be outdone, Katori-chan wiped away her fake tears and smiled sweetly at the camera.

"But with all of you here with me, I'm not scared anymore! As long as I have your support, I know I can overcome any challenge, just like we did during the Daijin Elementary incident."

She angled the camera toward the inside of the abandoned mall. She had now reached the clothing section on the second floor.

No clothes were for sale anymore, of course, but many mannequins lay scattered around, some missing limbs. The arms and legs were strewn haphazardly across the floor.

Her flashlight cast eerie shadows, making the mannequins look like lurking ghosts in the dark. Anyone with a weaker heart wouldn't dare to come closer.

"It's said that the fire back then started in the clothing area. Even though I'm all alone, I'm going to gather the courage to investigate this place and uncover the truth behind this abandoned mall. I hope you all cheer me on!"

As she encouraged the chat to send supportive messages and donations, Katori-chan cautiously stepped into the clothing section.

She pointed her camera at a male mannequin near the entrance, one of the few with all its limbs intact. It had facial features, but its eyes were missing. In the dim room, illuminated only by her flashlight, the hollow eye sockets made the figure look haunting and creepy.

"Many people feel uneasy around dolls and mannequins, and that's perfectly normal. It's a fear of things that are almost human but not quite, which is why in ancient times, people would place dolls in rivers or the sea and let them drift away, believing that their diseases and misfortunes would float away with them. That's the origin of the Hinamatsuri, or Doll Festival."

She explained to the viewers, one of the key points she had memorized from the script.

"The history of dolls in Japan goes way back. In ancient records, it's said that Queen Himiko, using mud dolls, performed rituals that awed and terrified her people. They believed the dolls held a mysterious and powerful spirit within."

"Since people have always believed that dolls can hold spirits, what if the souls of those who died in the fire never moved on? Could they have found refuge in these mannequins…"

Her voice took on a mysterious tone as the camera panned across the other mannequins.

Outside of the camera's view, Katori-chan's lips curled up into a sly smile.