Does ‘identifying’ mean speaking it aloud or understanding it in your heart? Does someone telling you count as ‘identifying’? What if the thing directly manifests as a ghost in front of you, does that count as ‘identifying’?"

　　Indeed, ‘identify’ is a very ambiguous concept, as Ziye pointed out.

　　And if you misunderstand that concept and leave the designated location, the consequences… would be unimaginable!

　　"Here lies the problem. Because we don't understand this concept, what can we do? At the very least, we need to be certain that we have truly identified the ghost. That will inevitably create a commotion, so everyone else will try to learn from the identifier how they managed to do it. If the identifier refuses to speak and just runs for their life, then the others probably won't let them go without a fight.”

　　Ziye’s words hit the nail on the head, and Li immediately understood.

　　"Will there be… infighting?"

　　"Who knows? Human nature is the most unpredictable thing. I think humans are much scarier than ghosts."

　　Li agreed with Ziye's words.

　　While the residents of the apartment were currently united, in order to survive, their selfish nature would inevitably surface…

　　That was truly terrifying!

　　"Listen up..." Yuan took a deep breath, "The designated time starts the day after tomorrow. I think we should go ahead and scout the villa tomorrow. The blood word instruction seems a bit unclear. Plus, we'll be confined to the villa once we enter, unable to leave. I can ask the people around the villa if they've heard of anyone dying there, maybe that will provide some clues… We'll use our phones to stay in touch."

　　The next day, Yuan set out for the suburbs.

　　The only information he had was the villa on Zhuo Feng Road and the three maple trees in its courtyard.

　　Yuan felt a strong sense of unease at the moment…

　　Ziye’s special circumstances and the unusual conditions of this blood word felt like a giant trap.

　　This blood word instruction was too strange…

　　Normally, he wouldn't be so reckless as to come scouting ahead of time, but this unease was too overwhelming, making him restless.

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　　Yuan drove slowly along the tree-lined path.

　　The sun was shining brightly, and there were flowers blooming everywhere, creating a peaceful scene.

　　But Yuan felt like there was a giant, devouring black hole ahead, terrifying him.

　　Finally reaching Zhuo Feng Road, Yuan slowed his car and carefully examined both sides.

　　There were many buildings, but they were all quite far from any “villa.”

　　Inside the apartment, Ziye was already packing her belongings.

　　The refrigerator was full of food, enough to sustain them for five days if they were careful with their rations.

　　After packing everything, she grabbed a map and prepared to leave.

　　Just then, there was a knock at the door.

　　"It's me, Miss."

　　It was Li.

　　She opened the door and asked, “Is something wrong, Mr. Li?"

　　"Miss…" Li seemed to hesitate for a long time before handing her a notebook, “This is something I wrote… a summary of the patterns I've observed from my experiences over the past year. You can take a look and use it as a reference.”

　　Ziye was slightly taken aback, she took the notebook and flipped through it briefly, her expression changing slightly.

　　Then she asked, "Why are you helping me? Is there any benefit for you?"

　　Li felt a little awkward, but meeting Ziye's gaze, he still answered, "It's just… I want to help you… that's all. Of course, the content of the notebook is just a reference, things might not follow the patterns written in it completely.”

　　"No, I think it's quite valuable." Ziye closed the notebook, "Thank you for the notes."

　　"If it can be of any help… then I'm glad.”

　　At the same time, Yuan, who was in the suburbs, was drawn to a dilapidated mansion.

　　It was definitely a villa, two stories tall, with a large footprint, silver exterior walls, a pointed Western-style roof, surrounded by a fence, and three maple trees in the courtyard.

　　This was it!

　　Yuan immediately stopped his car, his heart pounding.

　　After all… he was too close to the haunted house.

　　And he didn't know if it was just his imagination, but the sunshine, which had been so bright just moments ago, suddenly felt gloomy and dim, and the flowers around him seemed withered.

　　His car was about a hundred meters from the villa.

　　He couldn't bring himself to approach any closer, he even reversed his car a little.

　　He grabbed a black briefcase from the floor and took out a pair of binoculars, using them to observe the villa.

　　They had to move in before midnight tonight…

　　Looking through the window, he could see a bedroom, as he could faintly see a bed inside.

　　Yuan then moved his binoculars to the second-floor window.

　　What he saw was… a person standing in front of the window, wearing black clothes, with long, flowing hair, a decaying, rotten face, a completely broken jaw, held together only by a few tendons beneath his mouth…

　　On that face, a pair of blood-red eyes stared straight ahead, as if they were looking directly at Yuan!

　　Yuan's binoculars fell to the ground with a thud.

　　Even from a distance of more than a hundred meters, he was terrified beyond words.

　　He picked up the binoculars again and looked… and there was no one in front of the second-floor window.

　　He had to stay in that haunted house? He had to find the ghost?

　　Even Yuan felt like he’d be better off committing suicide than doing that.

　　A minute in that place would be torture!

　　And the apartment wanted them to stay for five whole days?

　　He began to regret coming here early.

　　Without hesitation, Yuan started reversing his car, determined to find some clues, to discover the ghost's true form!