The World Below Surface

The pungent taste of burnt ashes mingled with the cooled rice was utterly repugnant. Its nauseating effect was not lost on the trio, whose minds were already wandering, contemplating the deeper meaning behind the game. But the putrid taste made it impossible for them to digest the reality of what they were doing.

"Will we really...see ghosts?" Shi Yan forced herself to sound casual, struggling to mask her unease. She avoided eye contact with anything out of the ordinary, hoping not to attract any attention.

In many horror stories, those who could see ghosts would inevitably draw the spirits' attention, becoming attractive to certain paranormal entities. Shi Yan found herself in this situation now, but the last thing she wanted was to be noticed; however, except for Lu Yan, the other two already sensed something was amiss.

The frigid sensation on their skin grew more intense with each passing moment, making them shiver uncontrollably, despite being bundled in thick clothing. The ghosts were coming, and they were close.

From every direction, indistinct shadows emerged at the intersection, their bodies hazy and translucent to the trio's eyes, with some appearing incomplete.

The crossroad was infamous for its high incidence of car accidents. It was regarded as one of the most haunted places due to its high Yin energy levels. There were rumours of methods to summon ghosts by repeatedly knocking on bowls at night at crossroads. It was said that this could attract lost souls and wandering spirits, not to mention eating "dead man's rice" at the intersection of the Yin—Ming Road. Now, it seemed that the power of the ritual was more significant than they had anticipated.

The "dead man's rice" was a delicacy for hungry ghosts, but it was difficult for the living to swallow. They gulped it, trying to complete the task as quickly as possible. And when the hungry ghosts caught a whiff of the scent, the bowl was already empty.

Suddenly, the ravenous ghosts turned their attention from the rice to the three living people.

One of the ghastly apparitions, a semi-transparent, bloodied figure, had already latched onto Shi Yan. She seemed to be a woman in her previous life, her pallid face twisted in agony, her limbs crushed into a pulp of meat. Despite her grotesque appearance, she moved quickly, her bloodshot eyes fixed on Shi Yan; her arm that looked like disintegrated a pile of flesh, extended slowly towards her.

"Hurry up! Aren't you done yet?" Shi Yan screamed, trying to dodge the ghostly hands, which felt as light and insubstantial as air.

When the ghostly apparition first appeared at the intersection, Nie Yun Zhen had already scooped two spoonfuls of rice from the thermos into a bowl. He lit three sticks of incense, which he inserted into the rice, and the fragrant smoke rose in curls. Now, the three incense sticks still burned slowly, and their ash had mixed with the rice, turning it a ghostly white-grey.

"Not yet, hold on a little longer," Nie Yun Zhen pleaded, his voice filled with desperation. The red tip of the incense sticks still glowed, indicating that there was still a small amount left to burn. He held the lighter to the incense, hoping to accelerate the process.

The frigid air had condensed the incense sticks, causing them to burn at a much slower pace. As they waited, a cold, raspy voice interrupted the silence.

"I'm so hungry..." it moaned in Shi Yan's ear, sending shivers down everyone's spines.

The sighs came in waves like a switch had been flipped, and soon the intersection was enveloped in a blur of ghostly apparitions. A mist settled around them, obscuring their view of the outside world. The ghosts grew restless, and the sense of danger was palpable.

"The ghosts are becoming impatient," Lu Yan whispered.

"Damn it, when did so many of them come?" Nie Yun Zhen darted left and right, trying to evade the ghosts that moved sluggishly but inexorably.

The trio were in disarray but could not stop moving, for they feared getting injured. If they were to bleed, they knew they themselves would be hungry ghosts feast.

"I'm hungry," the voice echoed once more.

"I...am so hungry," another voice chimed in.

Their lamentations grew louder and more frequent, forming a sound circle around the three players. The sobs became a symphony of despair, and the ghosts closed tighter.

"Ah--" Suddenly, Nie Yun Zhen screamed in agony, his hand bitten by one of the child-like ghosts. The pain was excruciating, and he dropped the bowl that, luckily, was caught by Lu Yan. Blood splattered onto the bowl, mixing with the grey powder that remained. The three incense sticks had burned down to nothing, marking the end.

"Run!" bellowed Chu Xiu as he snatched the bowl from the other person's hand, threw it to the ground, and ignored the ghosts that rushed towards them. The four of them ran out of the encirclement.

They dared to turn their heads only after they had fled the circle. A horde of ghosts was rending and fighting with each other, their translucent bodies almost fusing together and continually emitting ear-splitting howls and shrieks.

With no time to spare, the quartet swiftly scrambled into the car. Nie Yun Zhen's hand had been gnawed off a chunk of flesh, making it impossible for him to drive. Chu Xiu commandeered the driver's seat and pressed the accelerator to the floor. In the inky black night, they careened out recklessly.

Nobody knew how long the rice would last, but unfortunately, so many ghosts had arrived. The consequences would be unimaginable if they finished devouring the food and came back looking for them.

Nie Yun Zhen slumped in the back seat, and Shi Yan wrapped his wound with multiple rounds of gauze. He gritted his teeth against the agony and said jokingly, "Fortunately, we brought plenty of supplies earlier; otherwise, we wouldn't have made it out."

He didn't expect that the one who would respond was Lu Yan, who had been mute in the co-drivers seat. "It's a double-edged sword. The more rice fore dead we make, the more ghosts we attract." His gaze skimmed through the glass window, and he appeared to glimpse something. The look in his eyes made Nie Yun Zhen uneasy. He sensed that the other person preferred to gaze at the monotonous nocturnal scene outside the window rather than glance at him.

Chu Xiu sighed, "Don't forget our game for tomorrow."

Tomorrow's mission location was still on Yin—Ming Road. Who knew if these spectres would depart in a single day?

After Chu Xiu finished speaking, there was silence in the back seat. Nie Yun Zhen must have recognized the gravity of the problem. Peering in the rearview mirror, his complexion was wan and eerie, and Shi Yan, who had assisted him in bandaging, was equally sallow.

Seemingly aware of Chu Xiu's scrutiny through the mirror, Shi Yan stared directly at it. Suddenly, she sported a ghostly smile.

Chu Xiu stomped on the brakes, swivelled his head abruptly, and instantly felt a chill cascade down his spine.

Where were the man and woman figures in the back seat? In just a few seconds, the two had vanished without a trace.

They were ghosts!

As Chu Xiu turned around, he realized that Lu Yan, sitting in the passenger seat, had disappeared, leaving him alone in the car. However, looking in the rearview mirror, he could still see the other three passengers and hear Lu Yan's inquiry, "What happened? Why did we suddenly stop?"

Chu Xiu gritted his teeth and drove forward, preparing to abandon the car and flee as soon as they reached the city's edge. The desolate location and potential danger made him cautious. He knew that recklessly leaving the vehicle could cost him his life.

Although the vehicle was at its maximum speed, it began to behave erratically, with waves appearing on the previously straight road. "What are you doing?!" Lu Yan yelled as he almost fell out of his seat. After returning to his seat, he realized something was amiss. Chu Xiu's eyes were open, but he seemed unconscious.

Lu Yan took control of the steering wheel as the car almost collided with a nearby tree. Shi Yan, who had not yet understood what was happening, asked in a panic, "What's wrong? What happened to Brother Chu?" But she soon realized the dire situation.

Chu Xiu's head was tilted to one side, and he appeared to be in a trance. If he wasn't wearing his seat belt, the sudden jolt of the car would have tossed him out of his seat. When Lu Yan hit the brake, the vehicle's speed increased instead of decreasing. Nie Yun Zhen grabbed the armrest, frightened by the sharp turn. "Brother Chu is in trouble; please help us!"

As they struggled to regain control, the car's speed continued to rise, and the scenery outside the window changed abruptly. The passengers' vision blurred, and the vehicle suddenly returned to the crossroads a few hundred meters behind them. They were speeding towards the intersection again, only to find three identical cars racing towards them from the other three roads. It was nearly impossible to distinguish the genuine car from the replicas as if four identical vehicles were present.

"What's going on?!"

Shi Yan and Nie Yun Zhen were in disbelief at the shocking scene. The oncoming car's bright headlights made it hard to see, and the vehicle they were in was driving at an alarming speed.

"Brake quickly! Please!" they yelled desperately.

Lu Yan was also taken aback by the situation. He used excessive force to kick Chu Xiu's foot off the accelerator, nearly breaking his opponent's leg. Despite this, the brake pedal failed to work, and the speed continued to increase.

"The brakes have failed," Lu Yan informed them calmly.

Nie Yun Zhen felt anxiety wash over him as he tried to lean forward and assist, but the unconscious Chu Xiu blocked his way. Suddenly, a jolt threw him back in his seat.

Within seconds, the distance between the four cars rapidly decreased, and they were on the verge of a fatal collision. Even if they were to survive, the impact at this speed would cause serious injury.

Unbeknownst to them, a pale figure was clinging to the car's underside, the culprit responsible for sabotaging the brakes.

In the face of impending doom, Lu Yan remained composed. He surveyed the surroundings carefully in the light and made a decisive decision. He turned the steering wheel to the right in the final second before reaching the intersection.

The car turned sharply at high speed. If it had been someone less skilled, it would have flipped over. The passengers inside were thrown about by the force of the turn. Before they could even complain, they narrowly avoided a collision with an off-road vehicle emerging from the right intersection. The two cars' copies collided and shattered, leaving numerous marks on their bodies.

As they passed the other vehicle, they caught a glimpse of its occupants. To their horror, four perfectly arranged white human bones were seated inside.

Luckily, despite the severe damage inflicted on their car, they emerged unscathed, spared from the gruesome fate that befell the three vehicles behind them, which collided with a deafening cacophony of destruction. One car from the left vanished in the violent burst of the impact.

At last, Lu Yan exhaled a sigh of relief, having narrowly avoided the same gruesome fate.

His intuition had proven correct.

Beside him, Nie Yun Zhen struggled to catch his breath, his head having taken several hard knocks during the ordeal. He had expected to either meet his end or be flayed alive, yet the car that rammed them had disappeared into thin air.

"How did you manage that?" He asked, still in disbelief.