Ian Smith took the lead, pushing open the door to the Death Shack.

  "Creak."

  With a grating, teeth-jarring sound and a cloud of dust, the interior world was revealed.

  Ian held his breath, not rushing in, but like a goose, craned his neck, cautiously surveying everything inside.

  Seeing that, aside from the bizarre grimace graffiti on the walls, the rest of the layout seemed normal, he relaxed and let out a breath.

  "Heh," Liam sneered, "A veteran haunted house player indeed, so cautious. Anyone would think you were here to steal something!"

  "You!" Ian's face turned green, unable to find a good retort!

  Honestly, in a normal haunted house, he wouldn't care, just barging straight in. But the Death Shack was too strange, and he had a feeling something was wrong, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

  All in all, it was better to be careful.

  "According to the owner, we just have to stay in this room for an hour to succeed!" Mike said.

  "Then what are we waiting for!" Ethan, after confirming there was nothing obviously amiss, walked straight in.

  The other three watched Ethan enter without triggering any traps or anything, and followed.

  Once inside, the four didn't waste any time, rummaging through everything.

  The Death Shack was simply furnished, without any hidden doors or mechanisms.

  In no time, they had turned the place upside down and inside out, but found nothing.

  Liam: "Seriously? That's it? I could stay in a place like this for a year, let alone an hour!"

  Ethan nodded. "Liam's words might be a bit harsh, but he has a point."

  Ian and Mike, standing nearby, both frowned, deep in thought.

  "It shouldn't be this easy," Ian said, looking puzzled.

  His extensive haunted house experience told him this room was definitely not as simple as it seemed.

  Mike, though lacking Ian's experience, was always quick-witted and knew that if something seemed too good to be true, it probably was.

  Without a word, the two began another round of investigation.

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  The result was the same – nothing.

  "What are you two doing?" Liam laughed. "If there was anything wrong, we would have found it already!"

  Ian looked awkward. "Am I really overthinking this?"

  Mike looked at Ian. "Maybe we overestimated this place!"

  Ethan, already sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, casually said, "Mike, we all know you're smart, but you know what they say, too much wit is half a fit!"

  Mike nodded. "Looks like I might have fallen for the owner's bluff!"

  Ian and Mike relaxed and sat down too.

  "Heh heh..."

  Just then, a sinister laugh echoed through the room.

  It was as if an invisible person had walked up to each of them, breathing cold air and chuckling softly.

  "Who's there?"

  "Who's laughing?"

  The four occupants of the Death Shack felt a chill run down their spines, the hairs on the back of their necks standing on end!

  They all turned around at the same time, but saw nothing, just empty space.

  "Did you guys hear that?" Ian asked, unsettled.

  Liam forced a pale smile. "You guys are easily scared. It's just a computer sound effect from a speaker, don't be such chickens!"

  Ethan retorted, "If you weren't scared, why the cold sweat on your forehead? Got some kidney problems?"

  "No... no, that's not it!" Mike shook his head.

  Ian looked serious. "You noticed it too?"

  Liam asked, "What's not right? There's nobody here but us. What other explanation is there besides a computer sound effect played through a speaker?"

  Mike tapped the table lightly. "Can you hear this sound?"

  "Am I deaf?" Liam rolled his eyes.

  "Can you tell where the sound is coming from?" Mike asked again.

  "Yeah," Liam said, confused.

  Ethan clapped his thigh. "I get what Mike's saying!"

  "What the hell are you guys talking about?" Liam was getting frustrated.

  Ian cleared his throat, his voice trembling. "When that laugh happened, I could feel it coming from right behind me, very, very close, like something invisible was whispering in my ear!"

  Mike and Ethan nodded in agreement. That was how they felt too.

  Liam felt a chill shoot straight up his spine.

  Now he understood.

  If the sound was coming from a hidden speaker, the direction and location of the sound would be fixed.

  It wouldn't be so close to each of them, and it wouldn't feel like it was coming from behind each person, since they were sitting around a table, facing different directions.

  "Maybe it's hidden inside the chairs!" Ethan said.

  Mike immediately turned around and began inspecting the chairs, trying to find a hidden speaker!

  But as he was checking the chairs, the corner of his eye caught a glimpse of the grimace graffiti on the wall!

  His pupils shrank suddenly, and he held his breath.

  The grimace on the wall looked like it was crying, its mouth turned down, its empty eye sockets seeming to express loneliness and sorrow.

  Everything seemed fine!

  But!

  Mike clearly remembered that when he first entered the haunted house, the grimace was smiling!

  "Look at the grimace!" Mike shouted.

  Three pairs of eyes turned to look.

  Ian frowned. "The expression on the grimace seems to have changed, like it's angry."

  Liam glanced at Ian. "Maybe donate your eyes to someone who needs them. The grimace clearly doesn't have any expression at all, how could it be angry!"

  Ethan was stunned, and blurted out, "That's not right, I thought the grimace was laughing!"

  "You got eye problems too?" Liam was taken aback.

  Mike took a deep breath. "I see it as crying. It seems like none of us has eye problems. We're all seeing different expressions on the grimace!"

  "Let's switch places and see if the position is causing each of us to see different expressions on the grimace!"

  For the next while, the four repeatedly switched positions, but no matter how they changed positions, everyone saw a different expression on the grimace, and it never changed!

  The Death Shack fell silent, the air seeming to freeze.