The Mysterious Letter

　　"No, what's wrong with you guys?"

　　"Did we say something taboo?"

　　Liu felt very strange about the change in their attitude, as if he had said something he shouldn't have.

　　Tian's face was clouded with uncertainty, and after a long time, he exhaled a sigh of relief.

　　"You guys… you're really unlucky!"

　　The two looked at each other, and Ning frowned, "What do you mean?"

　　Tian introduced them to the mechanism of the terrifying world behind the blood door:

　　"The ghosts inside the blood door are divided into two types… one is born in the place, these ghosts are bound spirits, no matter how powerful they are, no matter how deep their resentment is, when we complete the mission and leave the blood door, the grudge with these ghosts will come to an end."

　　"But the other type… is special."

　　"Although they are also restricted by the rules of the blood door, they are not limited to one area. When they have slaughtered all the NPCs in a certain area, they will go to other places to wreak havoc."

　　"These ghosts… have an absurd amount of resentment!"

　　"Usually, after you encounter one in the previous blood door, the next blood door will have something to do with its story!"

　　"And the blood door stories involving these ghosts are all more terrifying and have a higher death rate than ordinary blood doors!"

　　After a pause, Tian's tone carried a hint of sympathy.

　　"I don't know what bad karma you guys have… you encountered a ghost like that in your first blood door, no wonder only two of you survived."

　　"But I think you'll only live until this point, I'm not cursing you… go write your last will and testament, make arrangements for your affairs."

　　"Say goodbye properly to your family and friends."

　　Tian sighed longingly and helped them to collect their dishes, carrying them to the kitchen.

　　At that moment, the two of them finally understood why their attitude had changed so drastically.

　　Because in their eyes, the two of them were already dead!

　　"Seriously, do they really look down on us like that?"

　　"If we can survive the first time from that ghost thing, we can survive the second and third time!"

　　"They think we can't survive the next blood door, well, we'll survive to show them!"

　　Liu grumbled and pretended to be nonchalant, but Ning could hear a barely perceptible tremble in his voice.

　　After washing the dishes, Tian still took the two of them to their room in the Villa.

　　Surprisingly, they didn't live in that villa.

　　Instead, they lived in a flat behind the garden.

　　The environment was beautiful, even though it was desolate, it was definitely much better than that dark villa.

　　Tian handed them the keys, instructed them about a few things, and then went back to the villa to watch TV.

　　Although they had a TV in their room, the one in the villa was much larger.

　　Because Ning and Liu both had things on their minds, they didn't take the bus back to their original world, wanting to wait for Liang, the headman of the Villa, to come back and ask him about the next blood door.

　　But even until nightfall, no one came back from the villa.

　　The two of them had no choice but to decide to wait another day.

　　In the middle of the night, Ning felt restless, so he went out for a walk in the yard, but he heard whispering coming from the villa.

　　He raised an eyebrow and went to the back door to eavesdrop.

　　He heard the voices of a woman and a calm man.

　　He recognized the man's voice, it was Jun.

　　As for the woman... he had never heard her voice before.

　　It must be Bai's.

　　"Bai… are you sure you're not wrong?"

　　"What, you don't believe me?"

　　"You know about Liang and Mang's relationship, right? If he knew that Mang's death was intentional, Liang wouldn't let him get away with it!"

　　Just as Bai was about to say something, she suddenly turned her head, looking towards Ning 's position, and said coldly,

　　"Who's there?"

　　"Come out!"

　　Ning emerged from the darkness.

　　Seeing that this guy was a newcomer to their Villa, the coldness on Bai's delicate face eased slightly.

　　She was wearing red lipstick.

　　Very red.

　　Like a phoenix in flames, it was a stark contrast to her name.

　　"It's so late, why aren't you asleep?"

　　Ning didn't mind being rejected, he simply said,

　　"You guys aren't asleep either?"

　　He sat down on the sofa without hesitation and looked at the fire pit in the center.

　　With his arrival, the two suddenly stopped their conversation.

　　"What's your name?"

　　Finally, Bai spoke first.

　　"Ning ."

　　"Hm, how did you feel about your first blood door?"

　　Ning opened an unopened bottle of ice beer on the table and took a sip.

　　"Honestly, it wasn't good."

　　"I almost died."

　　Bai absentmindedly "hm"ed and gave him a very perfunctory comfort,

　　"The world behind the blood door is like that, if you're not careful you'll lose your life. But after going through one, the next ones will be easier…"

　　Before she could finish, Jun, who was beside her, said coldly,

　　"There aren't any more doors."

　　Bai snapped out of her daze and said with some surprise,

　　"Jun, what do you mean?"

　　Jun stood up.

　　"Just ask him yourself, I'm going to sleep."

　　He left without looking back.

　　Bai looked at Ning , who then described the story of his next blood door in detail.

　　Of course, Ning omitted some facts.

　　About the mysterious anonymous letter.

　　He only mentioned the death rules that they had discovered by chance.

　　After listening to Ning 's description, Bai's eyes shifted back and forth.

　　It was a very complex look.

　　There was admiration, sympathy… even a hint of regret.

　　"Jun and Tian are right. The woman in red from your first blood door is definitely not an ordinary bound spirit, she's a very difficult, terrifying ghost… fortunately, this was your first dungeon, her abilities and killing rules were severely limited by the blood door, and thanks to your boldness and meticulousness, you found a way out in time, otherwise you would never have survived!"

　　"Moreover, the story behind your next blood door should be related to this ghost."

　　"If you can deal with it cleanly, you might be able to bring back a ghost artifact from behind that blood door."

　　Ning was stunned.

　　"A ghost artifact?"

　　Bai turned her palm, and a bloody wooden comb instantly appeared in her fair, delicate palm.

　　"Like this."

　　"Usually, things from the blood door can't be brought out, but in some high-difficulty blood doors, there will be powerful items, these items are very valuable, and they have different functions."

　　"For example, this comb of mine, if you comb your hair with it, ghosts will be unable to target the person who used it for a minute."

　　"These ghost artifacts can greatly increase our survival rate in the world behind the blood door!"

　　Ning remembered the blood jade he brought out from behind the first blood door and thought thoughtfully.

　　Things from the blood door cannot be brought out, except for ghost artifacts.

　　It seems… that blood jade is also a ghost artifact.

　　Seeing Ning 's expression, Bai thought he was scared by the next blood door. 

　　She hesitated for a moment and said,

　　"Never mind, there aren't many people left in our Villa. Several batches of newcomers have come recently, but they were all wiped out in the first three doors…"

　　"Next week, when you go into your second blood door, I'll take you through it for free."

　　"And... you guys actually have potential worth cultivating."

　　As soon as Bai finished speaking, Ning suddenly remembered that Tian had told them that Bai brought new people through the blood door in the outside world.

　　"This thing… can it be brought in?"

　　Ning was a bit surprised.

　　Bai nodded.

　　"Newcomers can have other people accompany them through their first six blood doors."

　　"There are even specialized 'studios' that do this."

　　"But this kind of escorting, usually requires a hefty fee, after all, we're all human. Even if you're experienced, there's still a risk of failure when entering a low-difficulty blood door…"

　　Ning nodded, understanding.

　　After all, it was a matter of life and death, it's normal to charge more.

　　After all, money is nothing compared to life.

　　After figuring this out, Ning rested at the Villa for a night, then took the bus and returned to the world outside the fog.

　　A friend named 'Mole' had sent him a message.

　　The message was short—

　　[Can't find it. There's no record of that anonymous letter at the post office.]

　　[The people at the post office told me that the anonymous letter I was looking for was… a nonexistent letter.]

　　[But don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for you]

　　Ning narrowed his eyes.

　　Mole was his friend.

　　A person who was… very good at finding things.

　　"Even you can't find it…"

　　Ning murmured to himself.

　　Ding-dong—

　　As he was lost in thought, the doorbell suddenly rang.

　　The sound startled Ning , he got up and went to the door, opening it.

　　It was his neighbor, a chubby aunt in her fifties named Cui.

　　She was wearing a floral dress, as if she had just been out shopping, with some sweat on her forehead.

　　She smiled and handed Ning a letter.

　　"Ning, your letter."

　　Ning took the letter, his eyes suddenly changing.

　　"Auntie Cui, this letter… where did you get it?"

　　Cui took out her key to open the door, casually replying,

　　"From the mailbox downstairs..."

　　"You're such a careless child, every time you come home, you should remember to check the mailbox…"

　　She opened the door and went inside.

　　Holding the letter, Ning closed the door as well.

　　He went to the sofa in the living room and sat down, looking at the letter on the coffee table, his breathing quickened.

　　The second letter.

　　He opened it.

　　Sure enough, it was anonymous again.

　　But this time, there were no hints, only a photo.

　　And this photo made Ning freeze in place!

　　It was… a photo of Bai!

　　It was also old and yellowed, as if it had been around for a while.

　　But the Bai in the photo was clearly the same age as the Bai he had seen!

　　Her smile was vivid, her red lips were not eroded by the marks of time, so beautiful.

　　"Damn…"

　　This time, even the normally calm Ning couldn't help but curse.

　　This… was too strange!

　　He slowly flipped the photo over.

　　His fingers trembled slightly.

　　On the back of the photo, there was also a sentence—

　　[She cannot die in your second door]

　　"Sure enough…"

　　Ning 's back was ice cold.

　　The person who sent the letter… was watching him from somewhere!

　　Just…

　　Why did he have these photos, and why was he giving him hints?

　　What exactly… was he trying to do?