Chapter 290: Maze or Haunted House

Chapter 290 Maze or Haunted House

The three of them quickly reached the entrance of the haunted house at the end of the corridor. The door was tightly shut, with a prominent notice board standing at the entrance.

Isabella stepped forward, and after reading the content on the board, she frowned.

It not only displayed a "Closed at Night" warning but also showed a simple map,

marking a "Maze Adventure Zone."

So this wasn't just an ordinary haunted house—it was actually a maze.

Sophie, being tall, stood on her tiptoes and looked past the notice board toward the building further down the corridor. Frowning, she said,

"From what I can see, there are only about thirty or forty rooms here, and the layout doesn't look that complicated. How can this be a maze? As long as you have a general sense of direction and orientation, you should be able to find your way out, right?"

She really couldn't figure out how such a small space could be turned into a maze.

Melinda touched her chin, looking thoughtful as she said,

"Is it possible that the interior has a split-level design?

You know, the kind that looks like it's all on one floor but actually has different levels going up and down, making it easy to lose your sense of direction?

I read about a similar design in an adventure magazine once—it really tests your spatial awareness."

Her eyes were full of curiosity as she spoke.

Isabella nodded, her expression becoming serious. She looked up at the tightly closed door of the haunted house and said in a grave tone,

"The dark energy here is more concentrated than at the hotel or by the lake. This is clearly the source of the resentment.

The shadow that attacked us by the lake earlier, and those vengeful spirits in the white hotel—they probably all came from here."

Isabella could clearly sense a heavy, ominous presence lingering behind the door, making her uneasy.

"But aren't the ghosts in haunted houses all played by staff members? Are you saying the ones in here are real ghosts?"

Melinda asked in surprise, her tone carrying a hint of disbelief.

She had been to quite a few haunted houses before, and the "ghosts" inside were always staff members in costume. She had never encountered real vengeful spirits.

Isabella shook her head, her gaze firm as she said,

"We'll know once we go inside."

With those words, she didn't hesitate any longer and reached out to push open the haunted house door.

The door made a sound—

a piercing screech, as if it had been sealed shut for ages, especially frightening in the quiet dusk.

At that moment, on the screen of Sophie's streaming device,

the viewer count had skyrocketed to 800,000.

People were already particularly interested in haunted house exploration, and with the earlier terrifying scene by the lake and the strange sights on the hotel's 6th floor, these netizens were even more curious.

Now, seeing Isabella and the two other girls daring to visit the haunted house alone at night,

it instantly ignited everyone's enthusiasm, as if activating their curiosity genes.

Comments in the livestream flooded in like a tidal wave,

and gift effects kept appearing one after another.

[Shit! They're really going in? Isabella's got some serious guts!]

[Three girls going into a haunted maze at night—that's really something!]

[I'm waiting for Isabella to catch some ghosts!]

[I bet five bucks there's definitely something secret inside, they might actually catch a real ghost!]

The livestream's popularity instantly shot to the top of the platform's rankings and even made it onto the real-time trending list.

Isabella paid no attention to the excitement in the livestream. Following the map on the entrance sign, she roughly planned out a route.

She intended to go straight from the entrance to the exit.

She wanted to see what unknown secrets this seemingly ordinary haunted maze

was hiding that could breed such heavy resentment.

Inside the haunted house, the lighting was dim, with creepy wallpaper on the walls, and cold drafts occasionally blowing through, carrying a damp smell.

Various horror props were placed in the corners—skulls, severed hands, fake corpses—combined with faint, eerie sound effects that created a fully immersive atmosphere.

Melinda was so scared she clung tightly to Sophie's arm, yet her eyes couldn't help wandering around, both frightened and curious.

After walking through about a dozen rooms, Isabella suddenly stopped.

Isabella wrinkled her nose slightly, carefully sniffing the air, then looked at the two beside her and asked,

"Do you smell anything strange?"

Hearing this, Sophie took a deep breath and sniffed carefully, her brow furrowing too.

"There's a bit of a moldy smell, like this place hasn't been ventilated in a long time and got damp.

There are some other smells too, kind of stuffy. I can't quite say what it is, but it doesn't smell good."

Melinda, as a wealthy socialite, lived a pampered life and was particularly sensitive to smells.

She waved her hand in front of her nose, her face instantly turning pale, and instinctively covered her nose, saying,

"Why does it feel like there's a dead rat smell?

Stinky, with a fishy odor—it's really unpleasant."

As she spoke, she couldn't help but gag.

Isabella nodded, her tone completely calm without a ripple of emotion,

"Yes, the smell of decomposing humans and decomposing rats are indeed somewhat similar. This smell should be coming from up ahead."

"Dead person?"

Melinda was startled, her grip on Sophie's arm instantly tightening until her knuckles turned white. Her eyes widened and her voice trembled slightly,

"I've helped you catch ghosts so many times, but I've rarely seen an actual dead person! Could it be, could it be that someone really died in this maze?"

Isabella narrowed her eyes, her sharp gaze sweeping over the dim surroundings, her tone certain as she said,

"We'll know when we look."

With that, she pulled a crystal-clear crystal ball from her backpack and gently placed it on the ground.

The crystal ball was completely transparent, and in the dim environment, it faintly glowed with a pale white light.

The next second, something amazing happened!

The image inside the crystal ball, like a projector,

was directly cast onto the wall ahead, clearly displayed before Isabella and the others,

and simultaneously synced to the livestream screen.

The footage was continuous and had subtle colors, like watching a small movie.

This scene instantly excited the netizens in the livestream,

and comments flooded in more densely than before:

[Shit! What kind of high-tech is this? How is it like a little TV?]

[Isn't it said that only witches can see the images inside a witch's crystal ball? Why can we see it too?]

[Could I have the potential to be a witch? Am I about to awaken superpowers?]

[Wake up! Stop dreaming!]

[I can see it too! Could I be a hidden male witch?]

[Don't be silly, we can all see it, okay? This is obviously just a gimmick!]

[This isn't a crystal ball at all—it's definitely an imaging device disguised as a crystal ball. Isabella has so many tricks to fool people!]

Skeptical voices quickly emerged, and they grew more and more numerous.