Zhang Wei sang as he patrolled the fourth floor.
At the end of the corridor, he saw the self-portrait of a noble gentleman.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost saw the host and felt a burst of excitement. Here it comes! Another unlucky one has arrived."
"Host gains System Points +30."
Seeing Zhang Wei, the Portrait Ghost was very happy. It could scare someone again. However, before it could be happy for long.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost made light footsteps. Oh, I forgot, he's singing, so he definitely won't hear me. I'll make it louder."
"Host gains System Points +30."
Zhang Wei's singing was too loud.
The ghost's footsteps were completely inaudible to him.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost made heavy footsteps. This time, you'll definitely hear..."
"Host gains System Points +40."
A cold system prompt sounded.
Zhang Wei switched to singing "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau," belting out:
"Thaaat is the Qing—hai—Tibet—Plaaaateau—!!!"
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost's mouth twitched. It stomped its feet in the painting, making heavy footsteps. Stop singing, listen to my footsteps first..."
"Host gains System Points +50."
The system prompt sounded.
Zhang Wei changed his tune, taking "Qinghai-Tibet Plateau" to its high notes and switching to falsetto.
"Ah-oh~~~~~"
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost wanted to curse. What the f***, you m*****f*****..."
"Host gains System Points +60."
Zhang Wei's soaring falsetto echoed in its ears. The Portrait Ghost's mouth twitched violently. It knew that unless Zhang Wei was someone who played shooting games like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, he wouldn't hear footsteps at all. Even if it stomped its feet until they broke, it would be useless.
For a moment.
The Portrait Ghost froze within the painting, deciding to skip the footsteps and move directly to the part where its eyes move.
It was at this moment.
Zhang Wei finished his patrol of the fourth floor.
As he walked out of the last private room at the end of the corridor.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost rubbed its hands together. Here it comes, here it comes! Look at my eyes... look at my eyes, damn it, look at my eyes!"
"Host gains System Points +70."
To the Portrait Ghost's surprise, Zhang Wei didn't look at the noble gentleman's self-portrait at all. He walked out of the private room, turned his head, and without looking back, headed down the fourth floor to the third floor.
Portrait Ghost: "..."
At this moment.
Watching Zhang Wei walk downstairs, the Portrait Ghost inexplicably felt a sensation similar to a girlfriend showing off a new little trick she learned to her boyfriend, only for the boyfriend to not react as expected.
Seeing Zhang Wei about to leave the third floor, passing the last self-portrait.
The Portrait Ghost panicked.
It no longer cared about tricking Zhang Wei and directly emerged from the painting.
If Li Gao and the others were present, they would have been terrified to discover that not far behind Zhang Wei, a self-portrait hanging on the wall showed the figure within moving. The painting seemed like a calm, mirror-like lake, disturbed by a single drop of water.
Then.
A pale, withered hand like a tree branch reached out. Slowly, half of its body emerged from the painting, followed by a face. The face had skin as pale as cold corpse meat. Upon closer inspection, the face was identical to the person in the portrait.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost was a little angry, very annoyed. Damn it, I've encountered a thick-skinned security guard who I can't scare. I have to resort to physical action. Sigh..."
"Host gains System Points +40."
As the system prompt sounded, the Portrait Ghost had already emerged halfway from the painting.
Then, just as it poked its head out and extended a foot to land on the floor...
The Portrait Ghost stopped, its expression slightly stunned.
It stared blankly ahead.
In front of it, Zhang Wei was standing there, having appeared at some unknown time.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost was dazed. Uh..."
"Host gains System Points +40."
On one side, the Portrait Ghost, half-emerged from the painting. On the other, Zhang Wei, standing quietly and looking at the Portrait Ghost.
The two pairs of eyes met, gazing at each other silently.
Just then, Zhang Wei suddenly said:
"It's okay, you continue. Just treat me as air. I'll just watch quietly."
Portrait Ghost: "..."
At this moment, the air fell into silence.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost felt confused and awkward. Why aren't you scared of me? Where's the fear? Where's the shock? Give me some reaction, okay? Also... I'm in the process of coming out right now, should I continue or not?"
"Host gains System Points +50."
The Portrait Ghost's mouth twitched. This was no longer a situation where a girlfriend showed her boyfriend a new trick and he didn't react. Instead, the boyfriend was pointing out what the girlfriend was doing wrong. The awkward girlfriend was practically digging a hole in the ground with her toes.
Finally, the Portrait Ghost crawled out silently. If it didn't crawl out, it couldn't kill Zhang Wei. Retreating? Was it a joke? Did ghosts have no pride?
And as it crawled out, the Portrait Ghost was stunned again.
As the Portrait Ghost crawled out and its foot was about to land, Zhang Wei reached out and took its hand to help it.
"Be careful, the floor is slippery."
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost was extremely embarrassed. Its foot was digging into the ground. Can you stop being so considerate? I'm very awkward, okay?"
"Host gains System Points +60."
At this moment.
A blush appeared on the Portrait Ghost's pale face. It was blushing...
It now felt like it was being treated as a disabled person, needing help from community volunteers to move around. And this community volunteer was the security guard in front of it.
At this moment, Zhang Wei was still holding the Portrait Ghost's hand, his face showing concern.
Seeing this.
The Portrait Ghost was dazed.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost felt insulted. Can you stop looking at me with that kind of concerned gaze, like I'm mentally challenged? I'm a ghost, not an idiot."
"Host gains System Points +40."
Then.
As the Portrait Ghost emerged, the air fell silent again.
The Portrait Ghost stared blankly at Zhang Wei, and Zhang Wei also looked at the Portrait Ghost.
"What should I do now?" Zhang Wei suddenly asked.
The Portrait Ghost was stunned by the question and couldn't speak for a moment.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost's mouth twitched violently. What should you do? How would I know? You should run, you idiot! I'm a ghost! You see a ghost, you run! Run!"
"Host gains System Points +50."
As if sensing the look in the Portrait Ghost's eyes, Zhang Wei suddenly realized, clapped his hands, and said:
"Oh! Right, I should run now, shouldn't I? Sorry, sorry."
Saying that.
Zhang Wei put on a very scared expression and shouted:
"Ahhhhhh, a ghost! Ahhhhhh, I'm so scared!"
Looking at Zhang Wei's exaggerated acting and his screams that sounded like moans of pleasure, the Portrait Ghost's cheeks twitched.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost had a deadpan expression."
"Host gains System Points +50."
Accompanying the system prompt in his mind, the Portrait Ghost stood there dumbfounded, feeling as if it had eaten feces. This feeling was not only because of Zhang Wei's exaggerated acting but also because of Zhang Wei's next action...
Zhang Wei, while screaming "ah ah ah," ran while looking back repeatedly.
Every three steps, Zhang Wei would turn back to look at the Portrait Ghost, his eyes fixed on it.
The Portrait Ghost understood the meaning behind that look, as if to say, "I'm running, do you see? I'm running because of you, and I'm scared. Do you see? Hurry up and chase me."
In response.
The Portrait Ghost's entire ghastly face twitched violently due to Zhang Wei's actions.
Zhang Wei's one-step-three-look-back was more like a stroll than a run, making the Portrait Ghost's balls ache.
Are you even running?
At the same time.
Looking at Zhang Wei's actions, the Portrait Ghost inexplicably had a thought: wouldn't this security guard suddenly say, "I'm going to buy some oranges, you just stay here, don't move," with this one-step-three-look-back?
This feeling was very strong.
Because Zhang Wei's actions gave the Portrait Ghost the feeling of a father going to buy oranges, not forgetting to look back at his child.
"Ding! The Portrait Ghost felt like dying. Should I chase? Or not chase?"
"Host gains System Points +50."
...
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