Chapter 316: Chapter 316: First Ghost Portal

Her voice softened.

“I couldn’t just watch it happen. If he avoids cars for today, the trajectory will shift. He won’t encounter what he was destined to.”

Axel studied her profile for a moment but said nothing further.

Soon, the horror game began.

The first room was dimly lit, with chains hanging from the ceiling and blood-red paint smeared across the walls.

A distorted doll lay on the floor, its glass eyes reflecting the faint blue light from the corners.

Even Axel found some of the puzzles unexpectedly challenging.

Hidden switches, coded locks, shifting walls, everything required precision and observation.

What stunned him, however, was Lana.

She moved through the room like someone who had already memorized its layout.

Her eyes darted across surfaces, absorbing details at an astonishing speed.

At one point, they were faced with a puzzle involving nothing but a series of tiles scattered across a wooden table.

There were five blue tiles, five pink ones, one yellow, and seven green tiles. No instructions were given.

Axel frowned slightly, trying to detect a pattern.

Lana crouched down and scanned the room once more. Within seconds, she began arranging the tiles in a specific sequence. She adjusted them repeatedly, her fingers moving swiftly yet precisely.

Four minutes later, the lock clicked open.

Axel stared at her in disbelief.

“You solved that ridiculously fast,” he said, half laughing.

Lana merely smiled, a spark of excitement dancing in her eyes.

Inside, however, her heart felt lighter than it had in a long time.

’This is the first time someone brought me here,’ she thought quietly.

During her childhood, she had often seen advertisements for escape rooms and horror houses.

She had wanted to try them desperately.

Yet her schedule had always been packed with training, filming, or study. There had never been time for such simple joys.

Now, she was finally here.

And she was not alone.

Her uncle, who clearly did not seem fond of horror themes, was accompanying her patiently. That thought alone warmed her heart.

Room after room, they advanced swiftly. Lana pointed out clues hidden behind paintings, beneath loose floorboards, and even within the sound patterns of prerecorded audio.

When they finally escaped, the timer stopped at twenty-five minutes.

The staff stared at the screen in shock.

“That’s a new record,” one of them muttered.

They even checked whether Lana was secretly part of their own staff, unable to comprehend how someone could solve every puzzle with such precision and accuracy.

According to the rules, anyone who broke the record would receive a full refund.

When the staff returned the money, Lana’s smile widened brightly. She felt absurdly proud of herself.

As they stepped out of the building, sunlight hit her face, and she inhaled deeply, feeling exhilarated.

While leaving, she noticed the receptionist standing near the counter, staring blankly at his phone as if contemplating something serious.

Lana paused.

She took the refunded money in her hand and walked back toward him.

The receptionist looked at her in confusion.

Lana placed the money on the counter.

“This is for you,” she said gently. “Consider it a tip.”

A small, knowing smile appeared on her face.

The receptionist looked at Lana, then at the money placed before him.

For a moment, he simply stared, as if unable to comprehend what was happening. Slowly, his vision blurred, and tears welled up in his eyes.

With his head lowered, his voice trembling, he said, “I… I can’t accept this gift.”

Lana, however, spoke in a calm and steady tone.

“It’s not a gift,” she said. “It’s a tip.”

Without giving him the chance to refuse again, she gently slid the amount closer to him.

The receptionist hesitated, his fingers trembling, before finally taking it.

Tears silently rolled down his cheeks as he clutched the money.

At that same moment, Lana saw the red mist surrounding him begin to recede at a visible rate, like smoke being carried away by the wind.

The oppressive aura that had once clung to him weakened, fading little by little.

She quietly let out a breath of relief. ’Good… the trajectory has changed.’

Just moments ago, she had seen fragments of what would have happened.

He would have taken a car, intending to end his life after months of unpaid salary and despair.

On the way, he would have encountered a bus stalled in the middle of the road.

Inside were several motionless passengers.

Assuming there had been an accident, he would have entered to check for survivors.

Instead, he would have begun rummaging through their belongings.

In one of the bags, he would have found what appeared to be gold bars.

Desperation would have turned into greed.

After placing the bag inside his car, he would have abandoned the thought of suicide.

But before he could even drive away, the bag would begin to tremble, expanding unnaturally, swelling until it filled the entire vehicle.

Then it would explode.

The bus was never real. It was a ghost bus, filled with resentful spirits.

The so-called gold was nothing but cursed objects, manifestations of lingering hatred.

His suicidal intent would have drawn that phenomenon to him like a beacon.

Now, with money in his hands and hope restored, the thought of ending his life would loosen its grip.

If he simply waited one more day, his employer, who truly intended to pay him, would have fulfilled his promise.

Lana had given him a reason to hold on.

’The rest depends on him,’ she thought quietly.

…………………………………

After spending an exciting morning at the escape room, Axel brought Lana to another destination.

This time, they arrived at a grand museum.

Inside, the air was cool and carried the faint scent of varnish and aged paper.

They walked through the galleries together as Axel spoke about various historical events and artifacts.

One painting immediately caught Lana’s attention.

It depicted a strange, luminous blue portal, swirling like liquid light. It looked serene rather than terrifying, almost inviting.

Lana’s eyes widened in fascination.

“Wow… how can something look this beautiful?” she murmured. “This painting is amazing.”

Axel chuckled softly.

“If only its origin were as innocent as it looks,” he said. “That is the first recorded ghost portal.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep