Echo took a step back. “R-Really? Don’t scare me.”

Su Lingyan moved one step closer to the pool and bent down slightly, staring at her reflection.

The surface of the water rippled gently, shimmering under the light. The woman in the water stared back at Su Lingyan, her movements and expression exactly the same. Nothing seemed out of place.

Could she really have seen it wrong? Su Lingyan wondered.

I like you.

A soft yet somewhat eerie voice whispered in Su Lingyan’s ear.

Su Lingyan abruptly turned around. Aside from Echo and Bai Luoyin, there was no one else.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Luoyin asked.

“Did you hear that? Someone just spoke.”

“No.” Bai Luoyin and Echo shook their heads. They took a step forward, about to ask her what she had heard.

Su Lingyan stared at the surface of the water. “The voice said…”

“I like you.”

A gust of wind carried the words to them.

Bai Luoyin and Echo both stiffened slightly. This time, they had both heard it.

“Who is it?” Echo asked, looking around somewhat anxiously.

The walls reflected the fragmented shimmer of the water. There was no one else here besides the three of them.

After a few seconds of silence, Bai Luoyin opened the game’s quest panel. “The main quest has been updated.”

Main Quest: Investigate the Source of the Anomaly.

“Does ‘anomaly’ refer to that voice just now?” Echo asked, looking around nervously again.

“Probably.” Bai Luoyin nodded.

“Let’s leave first.” Su Lingyan said. They still didn’t have their exclusive weapons. If they encountered danger, they would have no way to deal with it.

They walked through the corridor and encountered Cyril.

“You came back up pretty quickly. I suppose you’re not in the mood for a swim after all?” he said.

“It’s getting a little late. Maybe tomorrow.” Bai Luoyin replied.

Cyril nodded, then his gaze fell on Su Lingyan. “It seems you have something you want to ask.”

“Yes. I wanted to ask if there are any… rumors about this place being haunted or anything like that?” Su Lingyan rubbed her arm, making herself appear somewhat uneasy.

“Did something happen? Why are you suddenly asking about that?” Cyril seemed surprised. He had thought this lady wasn’t the type to scare easily.

“…No. I was just asking.” Su Lingyan hesitated for a moment before shaking her head.

Cyril glanced around before moving a little closer to them. “This manor… has indeed been the subject of some rumors about being haunted.”

Su Lingyan had only wanted to see if she could get any information out of this NPC. She hadn’t expected there to actually be something.

“The previous owner of the manor had a daughter. She was his only child, and he loved her dearly. Later, while she was attending university, she fell in love with a junior from the same school. After being together for three years, they decided to get married.” Cyril paused at this point.

“And the owner of the manor objected?” Bai Luoyin asked.

“No. The owner didn’t object. He investigated the man’s background and character, and eventually approved of him. But on the day of the wedding, the owner of the manor and his daughter were murdered.”

“Who killed them?” Echo asked.

“An enemy of the manor owner in the business world. He sent an assassin to infiltrate the wedding guests and kill the father and daughter. The man was devastated. After killing the culprit, he committed suicide in this manor. According to the rumors, his spirit still wanders here, mistaking anyone who moves into the manor for his lover.”

“Everyone who moves into the manor?” Su Lingyan asked.

“No. Apparently, it isn’t everyone. I don’t know what kind of people he targets either.” Cyril shook his head.

So that “I like you” had been spoken by that man’s ghost?

“Then… has this ghost ever killed anyone, according to the rumors?” Su Lingyan asked.

“No. Since our master bought the manor, no one has died here under mysterious circumstances, so I suppose not.” Cyril said. “If there really were any danger, he wouldn’t have tried to turn this place into a tourist attraction.”

“Thank you.” Su Lingyan nodded, looking less nervous now.

“You’re welcome.” Cyril left.

“So, it looks like the voice we heard in the basement was that man’s ghost?” Bai Luoyin said.

“Then our main objective is… to exorcise the ghost?” Echo said hesitantly.

“We can’t confirm that yet. Let’s see if Kairo and SunnyBoy have found any clues.” Su Lingyan shook her head.

Through the system, they could send messages to their teammates, so Su Lingyan sent Kairo a message asking where they were.

Kairo replied soon after. They were in one of the guest rooms on the second floor.

“That should be where we’re supposed to stay.” Su Lingyan said.

Su Lingyan, Bai Luoyin, and Echo then went up to the second floor. The corridor formed an upside-down Y shape. From the front section, they could see the lobby on the first floor through the railing. The back section consisted of the corridor and the rooms.

This would make a decent sniping position… No, at this distance, a handgun would be enough.

Her sniper rifle seemed to rarely come in handy.

Kairo and SunnyBoy were in one of the rooms toward the back. When Su Lingyan and the others entered, they saw the two of them sitting on the bed. The nightstand appeared to have been moved from its original position.

When they saw the others arrive, SunnyBoy raised his head and waved at them.

“We made a huge discovery!”

“This is a guest room?” Bai Luoyin asked.

“Yeah. This is one of the five guest rooms we’re supposed to stay in. I asked Mr. Reiner about it, and he gave me all the keys.” Kairo said, taking out a piece of paper. “After we moved the nightstand from its original position, we found this note stuck behind it. It was probably left by a previous guest.”

Su Lingyan, Bai Luoyin, and Echo leaned closer to see what was written on it.

The handwriting on the note was somewhat messy. There was only one line:

RUN! HE WANTS TO KEEP US HERE FOREVER!