Brian Cooper suddenly froze when he saw that audio file, and instantly recalled the sound of the old man knocking on the door from before.

“Wait, wait, if that old man really kills people through the knocking sound, then this sound shouldn’t just work on people—it should work on ghosts too. Eric Clark said before, only ghosts can deal with ghosts.”

At this thought, his eyes lit up, and a glimmer of hope for survival surged within him.

Without hesitation, since his other arm could still move, Brian Cooper tapped on the audio file.

“Dong, dong dong~!”

The dull knocking sound rang out again, echoing in the darkness.

But something unexpected happened.

The pale hand gripping Brian Cooper’s shoulder recoiled as if scalded, quickly withdrawing and vanishing into the darkness.

The cold, stiff sensation rapidly faded from his body.

Chapter 7: Footsteps Behind

Brian Cooper’s legs went weak and he nearly collapsed to the ground. He gasped for breath, finally feeling the cold sweat on his forehead trickle down his cheek and drip to the floor.

Just now, it was as if he had walked to the gates of hell and back.

“No, I can’t stay here. I have to—I must get out of here as soon as possible...”

Having just narrowly escaped danger from the ghost’s hand, he didn’t even have time to process or reflect on what had just happened.

He hurriedly grabbed his phone, turned on the flashlight, and stood up.

An unknown ghost was wandering in this darkness—the longer he stayed, the sooner he would die.

He groped his way forward in the dark.

Brian Cooper’s whole body was trembling slightly, whether from extreme tension or inexplicable fear, he didn’t know.

He hadn’t gone far when, as the darkness was pushed back a little by the light, he saw Kevin Reed and Ryan Morgan, both with terrified faces, frantically pounding on a mottled, moldy wall.

“Who—who’s there?” Ryan Morgan’s voice trembled as he turned around in fear.

He saw a faint glimmer of light.

Brian Cooper, with a cold expression, held up his phone and said, “It’s me, Brian Cooper.”

“Yang—Brian Cooper? You’re not dead?” Ryan Morgan was shocked on top of his fear.

“You and that Jason Carter both really want me dead, don’t you?” Brian Cooper said.

Kevin Reed, agitated and nervous, rushed over with a look of fear, grabbed Brian Cooper and shouted, “You—you, why did you drag me in here? Why? I never did anything to you, why are you trying to get me killed?”

But Brian Cooper punched him in the face and angrily said, “I never did anything to you either, but didn’t you all want me dead? Now you’re blaming me for what you did? I said before, if I have to die, we’ll die together. I even regret not dragging that Jason Carter in here too—he should have experienced what it’s like to be grabbed by a ghost.”

Kevin Reed was knocked to the ground by the punch, but ignoring the pain, he sobbed, “I—I don’t want to die, I just want to live. It was Jason Carter who told me to do this... If I didn’t, that thing would come out and we’d all die. Better for one to die than for everyone to die, right?”

“So I’m the one who should be sacrificed? Ridiculous. If you’re so noble, why not sacrifice yourself? Why force others to do it?”

Brian Cooper said, “And do you really think you could get out if you sacrificed me? Don’t forget, there’s another ghost outside. And don’t be naive—Jason Carter has wanted to kill me from the start. He must know something, otherwise he wouldn’t have been watching me so closely. I’ll get my revenge for this, if I make it out alive...”

But before he could finish, Kevin Reed suddenly shuddered, his face filled with terror, and he turned his head trembling.

In the thick darkness, nothing could be seen, but he felt an icy hand grip his wrist.

And from that cold hand came an unimaginably strong force.

Kevin Reed’s body was almost out of his own control, being dragged backward.

“Help—help me, Brian Cooper, help me...” Kevin Reed screamed in terror.

Brian Cooper’s heart tightened. He glanced over and saw the pale hand on Kevin Reed’s wrist.

His heart skipped a beat... There was no doubt—the ghost from before had returned.

Almost instinctively, he picked up his phone, ready to play the audio file again, hoping to scare the ghost away as before.

But as soon as he moved, he stopped.

Was Kevin Reed really worth saving?

No.

He wasn’t.

He was in this situation entirely because of Jason Carter, Kevin Reed, and Ryan Morgan.

Now that they were in danger, why should he save them? They hadn’t tried to save him earlier—only thought about escaping themselves. And even if he wanted to save them, how? The phone’s audio file could only scare the ghost away, not hurt it.

He was just bluffing, really.

They wanted to survive—didn’t he want to survive too?

Jason Carter was right. He had been too naive before. He’d heard Jason Carter plotting against him in the classroom, but still let his guard down.

That would never happen again.

He lowered the phone and took a step back, coldly watching as Kevin Reed was dragged backward by the darkness, completely unmoved by his cries and screams for help.