Lily Qian smiled strangely as she walked over, placing the red roulette wheel in front of the three of us.
"Once the game begins, it cannot be stopped. But this time, I will survive again."
"Do you sense anything?" I asked. Rachel Lan shook her head.
"Not bad, your luck. Heh, if I may ask, young lady, which round did you start playing from?"
Lily Qian grinned menacingly.
"The first round."
I looked at Lily Qian in confusion. She hadn't been possessed by a ghost, so where did her tremendous strength come from?
Lily Qian put down the roulette wheel, then took out four red cords, tossing three to us along with white candles. I watched as she wrapped a red cord around herself, holding that grotesque human-faced pendant, and laughed.
"Choose your position. You get to pick first."
"Don't sit on the west side—that's the Ghost Road, the Gate of Misfortune," said Hugh Thompson, taking the north seat.
I hesitated for a moment, then sat down on the west side.
"Ethan!" Rachel Lan cried out. Lily Qian's entire face twisted, her grin growing even more menacing.
Rachel Lan glanced at the remaining east and north seats, then chose the north side.
"Hahaha..." Lily Qian laughed, sitting on the east side. The three of us wrapped the cords around our waists, sat cross-legged, and, following Lily Qian, placed the white candles behind us.
"There are a few rules to remember for this game: No matter what happens, do not look back. Do not speak to anyone you see. Whoever's candle goes out first wins—hold out your finger."
I saw Lily Qian take a small needle and prick her finger. Only then did I notice the dense pinholes on her fingertips.
The three of us pricked our own fingers, letting blood drip onto the roulette wheel.
"I'm so looking forward to what options tonight will bring, hehe..." Lily Qian laughed, her eyes never leaving the roulette.
"Be careful, all of you. If anything goes wrong, shout. I've already arranged for someone to be on guard."
Time ticked by. At 11:53, a sudden series of bangs erupted as all the lights used for illumination exploded at once.
"It seems the Red God is displeased tonight!"
Suddenly, as Lily Qian finished speaking, the candles behind us lit themselves, and the roulette's spindle began to spin.
Lily Qian pointed at the spindle and spoke.
"I'm truly looking forward to what will appear tonight."
Suddenly, a gale blew in, the temperature dropped bit by bit. At midnight, the spindle spun faster, and the roulette turned pitch black in an instant.
Just then, a crimson stain seeped onto the circular roulette, gradually forming words, then weaving into six red frames.
Wound, Recovery, Fire, Water, Joy, and Sorrow—six red characters.
The three of us stared in shock, realizing these options were opposites of each other.
With a snap, the red ropes tied to us and the Grotesque Face Pendant bit onto the four corners of the roulette.
"Heh, looks like tonight, it's all about luck."
"Start from east to south, counterclockwise."
Lily Qian said this as she spun the spindle. She didn't use much force; it spun just over three times and stopped at 'Joy.'
A sizzling sound filled the air.
"I'm really lucky," Lily Qian said. I saw her candle burn down by half in an instant.
It was Hugh Thompson's turn. He smiled, glancing at the spindle pointing to 'Joy.' He nudged it slightly—still 'Joy.' Adjusting his glasses, he smiled again.
"You're clever," Lily Qian said with a strange smile. "But this is only the first night."
My turn came. Suddenly, we seemed to understand how to survive tonight. I stretched out my finger and gently nudged the spindle. 'Joy' was just past halfway, still plenty of space left.
Rachel Lan did the same. The pointer on 'Joy' was now almost at the edge.
It was Lily Qian's turn again.
"I'm pretty lucky tonight!" she said, spinning the spindle hard. This time, it spun many times before stopping right at the edge of 'Joy.' Just a slight push would land it on 'Wound.'
Hugh Thompson fell into deep thought.
"We all landed on 'Joy.'" He stared intently, noting that between 'Joy' and 'Sorrow' lay 'Wound' and 'Fire'—two spaces. We instantly understood his plan.
"You..." Lily Qian glared at Hugh Thompson with resentment. He tapped his head.
"Kid, use your brain more. Read books. Don’t play with these strange things." Then Hugh Thompson gently nudged the pointer—sure enough, it just passed the edge of 'Sorrow,' plenty of space left.
Lily Qian’s candle now had only a third left.
Hugh Thompson’s candle was the same. After one round, our backs and 'Joy' canceled each other out, and our candles were nearly burned through.
Hugh Thompson smiled.
"Just use your brain a little and you can finish quickly. Young lady, do you really think your luck will always hold?"
Lily Qian grew upset and spun the spindle hard. After a long spin, it slowed and was about to land on 'Joy,' but at the last moment, it skipped to 'Wound.'
Instantly, Lily Qian screamed in terror. Her candle burned out completely.
With a snap, Lily Qian won the round first, but her face was filled with fear.
"No, no, give me another chance! Just one more! My luck is good, really good!"
As Lily Qian spoke, she tried to touch the roulette, but an invisible force flung her away. Screaming, she ran off.
She ran downstairs, and someone watched her go.
Detective Stone at the door immediately shouted, and members of the Ghost Burial Squad gave chase.
The game continued. Hugh Thompson wiped sweat from his forehead and began to watch closely.
"Now it gets tricky. Not so easy to control."
I looked at the spindle—it was in the middle of 'Wound.' Hugh Thompson aimed for 'Recovery,' two spaces away.
"Joy and Recovery—if you land on either, nothing will happen the next day."
"But if it lands on 'Wound,' things could get ugly."
Hugh Thompson extended his middle finger, seemingly calculating how much force to use.
"It spun twice just now. The spindle gets heavier each time," Hugh Thompson said. I looked at him in surprise, while Rachel Lan just smiled.
"Shouldn't be too hard for you."
Hugh Thompson paused for quite a while, then spun the spindle gently. It moved two spaces, landing near the right side of 'Recovery,' just a short distance from 'Water.'
"Ethan..."
Rachel Lan glanced at me and said, "Just a tiny nudge and it'll land on 'Water.'"
I smiled.
"It's fine. Go ahead and spin."
"This kid's tough. Spin it—even if it lands on 'Water,' next is just one space to 'Joy.'"
Rachel Lan nudged the spindle lightly. Suddenly, the pointer skipped past 'Water' and landed in the middle of 'Joy.' The red ropes on both of them came loose. I was the last one left.
"The spindle feels lighter now."
I stared at the spindle, unable to tell if it was heavy or light, struggling to gauge its resistance. Suddenly, Rachel Lan grew anxious, and Hugh Thompson tried to help.
My finger hovered over the spindle.
"It's fine. I'm tough enough." I steeled myself and spun it.
The spindle wasn't too light or too heavy. It stopped at 'Water.' Then, the candle behind me went out—the game was over.
Flashlights clicked on one by one.
"What will happen now?"
Then the Red Roulette and ropes disappeared. I had planned to take the roulette to the old man and his group for advice on how to break the curse.
Afterwards, I slept in a Ghost Burial Squad vehicle. In a half-awake state, nothing happened. Only at dawn did I fall into a deep sleep.
Early the next morning, Lily Qian returned to the game site, grabbed a rat from a cage, and began eating it.
Breakfast was ready, the sun was up, and it was just past nine. After eating, we sat in the makeshift tent and began our discussion.
Hugh Thompson, holding a small notebook, spoke up.
"Now we know that each night the game offers different options. Last night, there were two safe choices."
I looked at Hugh Thompson, who seemed especially cheerful, as if something good had happened. Rachel Lan looked even better—her complexion was rosy, and though she hadn't fully recovered yesterday, this morning she seemed like a new person.
"This morning, my wife actually called to check on me," Hugh Thompson said suddenly. I was surprised—I'd met his wife before, and she always seemed to dislike him.
"Me too. I woke up feeling especially energetic today."
Then both of them looked at me with concern.
"Ethan, you'd better avoid places with water," Rachel Lan said, and Hugh Thompson nodded.
"For now, that's all we can do. I fear today might bring events related to the words on last night's roulette. Be careful."
I nodded.
After our discussion, Hugh Thompson spoke again.
"Tonight, we need to confirm the safe options right away. Pay attention to the spindle's weight—if people keep landing on good options, it will get heavier or lighter. So last night's method of controlling the force may not work. It's just like gambling, sigh."
With a thunderous crash, the abandoned building suddenly collapsed by half. We jumped up and ran over.
It was the same floor where we played the game last night. Two members of the Ghost Burial Squad were watching Lily Qian. Miraculously, the two squad members were unharmed.
In the rubble, we found Lily Qian. He looked pained, struggling, one foot trapped beneath the debris, his body covered in wounds.