Chapter 29: Loss of Control (8)

“But if we don’t go now, we won’t have another chance!”

Less than two hours remained before the ritual. Once it was completed, none of them would dare go to the altar.

Lu Jinzhao knew that, but she was even more certain that going to the altar now would be far from safe.

“We have to find some way to ensure the ritual goes smoothly, don’t we?”

The person beside Zhang Junjie was still muttering on. The anxiety on his face was genuine; after all, two people had probably already lost their lives.

The accident had occurred without the slightest warning, despite their vigilance.

That kind of unforeseen danger was what frightened the passengers most.

In his mind, he probably believed that if something went wrong with the ritual, his chances of survival would become even slimmer.

Lu Jinzhao shook her head inwardly. As far as she was concerned, the idea that they had to ensure the ritual proceeded smoothly had long since become doubtful.

The various proposals everyone had made earlier had all been based on the assumption that something terrible would happen if the ritual did not go smoothly.

But now, before the ritual had even begun, two people had already been lost. Anyone with a sufficiently keen instinct should have realized that, whether the ritual went smoothly or not, the days ahead would be miserable.

Someone bolder might even conclude that whether the ritual succeeded no longer mattered at all.

If the ghost had already begun killing before the ritual started, then even if the ritual succeeded, would the ghost really calm down immediately?

Almost certainly not.

Unless ensuring the ritual’s success required an enormous sacrifice—more lives, for instance.

Therefore, what mattered most to Lu Jinzhao now was figuring out the ghost’s killing pattern.

What action had triggered the danger?

There was no doubt that the altar was dangerous. But was the real danger truly the possibility of the ritual failing?

Lu Jinzhao herself could not enter the altar directly. Just as during Ghost Summoning, she had merely stood outside the door and observed rather than entering the room where Lin Shuyue was.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Jinzhao said, “Finding a way to ensure the ritual proceeds smoothly is indeed something to consider. But right now, shouldn’t you two be the ones most responsible for making sure of that?”

“What... exactly do you mean?”

Her words were tantamount to placing the two men over a fire. Even Zhang Junjie instinctively felt anger—and a panicked sense that the situation was beginning to slip out of control.

“Didn’t you think of that before you went in?” Lu Jinzhao asked, her tone calm, though touched with faint puzzlement.

“Think of... what?”

“Could the ghost’s targets be chosen first from among those who have entered the altar? And since the two of you have gone in twice, might you be its first choices?”

“You saw hallucinations too, didn’t you? Are you sure the ghost hasn’t already set its sights on you?”

Zhang Junjie’s heart sank at her words.

Had he truly never considered that possibility before entering?

Not exactly.

He had entertained the thought. But at the time, he had been more eager to find additional clues. Besides, he had clung to the hopeful belief that the situation was not yet too serious—after all, the ritual had not even begun.

“Even if entering the altar might have been a mistake, the ritual hasn’t started yet. It should be fine, right?”

“If I go in now, I can obtain more clues and get ahead of everyone else.”

“There’s bound to be some risk, but surely the risk of going in now is much smaller than going after the ritual succeeds?”

Those thoughts had caused him to overlook the initial sense of danger.

Now that Lu Jinzhao had exposed it, he could no longer pretend otherwise.

His original plan had been to work with everyone else to prevent anything from going wrong with the ritual. But the meaning behind the young woman’s words was obvious: she had no intention of shouldering the risk and was pushing the entire responsibility onto the two of them.

The corner of Zhang Junjie’s mouth twitched. “The two of us alone probably can’t guarantee that the ritual will proceed smoothly.”

Lu Jinzhao had no intention of wasting words on him. She merely said, “Then you’d better hurry up and find people willing to do this with you.”

The implication was clear: she was not one of them.

Zhang Junjie’s expression grew extremely ugly. He had never expected that this previously unremarkable girl, who had done little more than trail behind everyone else, would step forward at a moment like this and humiliate him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, staring darkly at Lu Jinzhao, his voice full of menace.

Lu Jinzhao did not answer.

At last, Zhang Junjie said, “Aren’t you afraid that we’ll do nothing and drag you down with us?”

“If we’re going to die, then everyone can die together!”

His words were vicious, but Lu Jinzhao did not believe him. She merely reminded him, “You’ll be the ones to die first.”

“...Fine, fine, fine. I underestimated you. Just wait and see!”

Zhang Junjie gave Lu Jinzhao one last look, as though he intended to engrave her face permanently in his memory. Then he turned and led his companion toward the altar.

After the two had gone some distance, Wei Ling cautiously poked her head out and glanced around several times before turning to Lu Jinzhao with undisguised curiosity.

“You’re incredibly bold. Aren’t you afraid of offending him and having him make trouble for you later?”

“And what if you run into each other again inside a station someday? Wouldn’t that make things very troublesome?”

Lu Jinzhao lowered her eyes to the muddy road and sighed. “You said it yourself—that would be later.”

Wei Ling’s brow twitched. “From the way you put that... do you think there won’t be a later for them?”

Lu Jinzhao did not answer immediately. She slowly raised her head and looked in the direction the two had gone. Then she turned back to face Wei Ling, a trace of sorrow in her eyes.

“If I told you I believed they would certainly die if they entered the altar again, would you believe me?”

Wei Ling froze for a moment.

“I would. But why?”

Lu Jinzhao shook her head. “I’m not a hundred percent certain either. But we’ll know soon enough.”

“...”

It took Wei Ling a moment to process that. Then her eyes widened.

“You’re using their lives to test whether your theory is correct?”

What a ruthless heart. What decisive judgment.

And yet Wei Ling did not dislike it. After all, had she not kept Ye Jingyun by her side with the intention of using her to scout ahead at a critical moment?

This time, Lu Jinzhao did not shake her head. She simply stated calmly, “I didn’t deceive them, and I didn’t lie. I only told them what was most likely to happen.”

Whether to go or not was entirely up to the two men.

And, as things stood, they had chosen to enter the altar and ensure that the ritual proceeded smoothly.

Lu Jinzhao had not set a trap for them. She had merely gone along with the current and nudged them in that direction.

Wei Ling said nothing more. Nor was Lu Jinzhao’s heart as calm as her expression suggested.

Only a month ago, she had been an ordinary first-year university student. Yet today, she could watch people walk to their deaths without changing expression.

In the previous instance, the existence of a ghost had left her trembling with fear. After only one instance of experience, she could already sense that even if she truly faced a ghost, she would no longer panic so badly that her mind went blank.

She had adapted so quickly that even she was astonished.