Lonelytree

  Millman97

  The camera stopped on the mirror before the main character’s face—it felt the main character was carefully examining herself in the mirror as well. The ending score began, and the camera the signified that the main character’s point of view stopped in front of the mirror.

  The woman in the mirror slowly reached out her hand and caressed the face in the mirror as her body gradually leaned toward the mirror. The entire screen was dominated by the woman in the mirror, and thus, the audience was given a better view. As the main character’s hair parted, the woman in the mirror exposed her left eye.

  When her left eye slowly increased in size, the camera suddenly pulled back!

  The camera seemed to have abandoned the main character’s perspective. The camera continued to retreat. It captured the main character’s back as well as the woman inside the mirror.

  As the camera retreated, the main character who stood in front the mirror turned her body around and looked toward the camera. Her face was as pale as white paper and strangely different from her reflection in the mirror.

  At that moment, the scariest thing happened.

  After the main character turned around, the woman in the mirror maintained the same posture. She did not move!

  She and the main character both looked toward the camera and exposed an expression that could not have been stranger.

  The music was suddenly cut off, and the screen went black. Perhaps because this private showing theater had not been used for so long, even after the movie was over, the lights in theater did not come on automatically, and the surroundings were still shrouded in darkness.

  The darkness caused a certain degree of anxiety. Chen Ge remained in his seat and did not move around; he kept his eyes glued to the movie screen. He had a rough idea about the movie that he had just watched. The director used a flashback with the middle of the plot showing the main character’s memory.

  The ‘Left Oculus’ grew in a girl by the name of Wenyu, but the thing that was controlling the body of the girl was no longer Wenyu herself. The director merely chose to highlight on a singular part. At the start of the movie, the female ghost kept referring to the main character as Qiumei, which meant that since then, the soul inside the main character’s body had already turned into Qiumei.

  The parents and doctor that appeared later were all ghosts, or perhaps they only existed in this world that was mainly visible through the left eye. That could explain why Wenyu treated her parents with such aloofness. In reality, they were not her family, but they were the lingering spirit of Wenyu’s family.

  The middle of the movie could be viewed as Qiumei’s memory; it described how Qiumei got transformed into Wenyu. After the memory ended, the movie moved back to reality. Qiumei made a date with her good friend. After the movie that night, she would invite her ‘friend’ to visit her ‘home’, and the cycle would begin again.

  The nightmare was not broken, and the next girl who had the unfortunate destiny of inheriting the left eye should be Qiumei’s friend.

  The scariest and most horrifying ghost of the movie was none other than the main character; this was also the first movie that Chen Ge had seen that was taken from the perspective of the ghost.

  Other than that, there was a part inside the movie that piqued Chen Ge’s interest. Right as the movie was about to end, the method of shooting had a sudden changed. It changed from a first-person view to a third-person view. At the time, there had been no other person in the room. Could it have been that the last camera was taken from the perspective of the audience?

  Both the main character and the ghost inside the mirror turned to look at the audience beyond the screen. Chen Ge remembered very clearly that their left eyes were open.

  Even for Chen Ge, his heart was beating a bit fast after finishing the movie. It would be an exaggeration to say that he was afraid—he merely felt somewhat creeped out. Opening the backpack, Chen Ge allowed the white cat to escape. Scratching the cat’s head, he slowly calmed down.

  The screen had been dark for almost three minutes already, but the black phone did not ring with the message that the mission had been completed. Honestly, Chen Ge had no idea where things had gone wrong.

  He stood up and stared at the darkened screen. Then a different possibility surfaced in his mind.

  The movie was only twenty minutes long, but if the ghost had escaped from the movie then the movie had not really ended. A light scent of mildew permeated the private showing theater. Looking around, the rows of seats had the appearance of squat tombstones. The more he studied them, the scarier they became.

  Chen Ge was there to complete the mission given by the black phone, and should the movie never end, then his mission would never be completed.

  Chen Ge was a very calm and collected person. He was familiar with his strength, and he understood his weakness. Zhang Ya was still hibernating, and it was unknown when she would be able to awaken. Xu Yin was left at the Haunted House, being treated by the red high heels. Currently, the strongest employee that Chen Ge had with him was Bai Qiulin.

  With Xu Yin’s aid, Ol’ Bai had consumed Xiong Qing’s heart and evolved into a Half Red Specter. However, he was essentially a Specter who had been forced to become a Half Red Specter. In a real battle, he definitely would not be able to defeat a real Half Red Specter that was covered in resentment.

  Chen Ge had always been careful. If it was not truly necessary, he would not have taken any risk in his life.

  The blind man lifted his head to ask Chen Ge, “Brother, it has been quiet for so long already, I believe the movie is over now, right? Can I go now?”


  “Since you’ve called me brother, then I will not spin yards around you and tell you the truth. The female ghost in the movie that we just saw has escaped into the real world.”


  “The ghost has escaped from the movie‽” The blind man’s reaction was more than a bit agitated.

  “Don’t panic. I have good news and bad news to share with you.” Chen Ge reached his hand into the backpack and flipped open the comic.

  “How can you still be in the mood for jokes?” The blind man was curled in his seat—it was clear that he was really afraid. “Tell me the bad news first then.”


  “The bad news is that the female ghost appears to be very dangerous, and she seems to be looking for a scapegoat. We are just unlucky enough to have run into her.” Chen Ge provided his analysis calmly.

  “This bad luck is forced upon me, okay? Brother, let’s not stay here anymore. Let’s hurry up and leave, please?” If he had not known that he would not win in a fight, the blind man would have used his cane to fight it out with Chen Ge.

  “It is a bit too late to run now. The eye has already seen us both, so she is not going to let us go so easily.”


  “Fine.” The blind man collapsed back into his seat weakly. “Then what is your so-called good news?”


  “The good news is I have called many of my friends to join us, and we have a clear advantage of numbers.” The sound of pages being turned entered the blind man’s ears, and Chen Ge called out the names one by one.

  A faded smell of decay filled up theater. In fact, it was strong enough to have overpowered the previous mildew scent.

  “Did you smell something? Something is coming!” The blind man gasped in shock.

  “Sit where you are and do not panic. Try not to bump into anyone else.” Chen Ge already flipped the comic to its last page.

  “Those are your friends? When did they arrive? Are they in the room now? How come I didn’t hear the door open at all?” No one was there to answer the blind man’s questions. If he opened his eyes then, he probably would have fainted on the spot. The originally quiet and empty private showing theater was now bustling with activity.

  The boy with the stink was pushed by the hanging man to the corner of the room, and he rubbed his belly with a sad expression on his face. The students from the sealed classroom at Mu Yang High School raced all over the place joyfully. Ol’ Zhou ‘tricked’ Duan Yue to share a seat with him at the back of theater with a serious expression. They sat apart from the rest.

  Elder Wei and the doctors were standing behind the blind man. They softly discussed among themselves the possibility of conducting an operation to help the man see again, and occasionally, professional terms tumbled out of their lips.

  The water ghost sat on the front row. She was the sacrifice for bury seed, and this was the first time in her ‘life’ to have entered a movie theater, so she had an unbridled curiosity about everything. If she could have crawled into the screen, she would have already done so.

  Yan Danian was the last who came out from the comic. With unwillingness, he took up the seat at the corner. The Pen Spirit hugged Xiaoxiao, and they sat down next to him. Chen Yalin appeared to have some questions for him about comics.

  “Today is my birthday, so I’ll treat everyone to a movie. I suppose this can be viewed as one of the employee privileges. This theater is rather small, but I hope you don’t mind. When we have enough money, I’ll rent an entire IMAX cinema hall for everyone to enjoy.” Chen Ge stood up and walked toward the broadcasting room. Bai Qiulin and Elder Wei moved to follow closely behind him.

  The blind man sat obediently in his seat. He knew that there were many things around him, but there was an indescribably strange feeling in his heart. Opening his lips, he extended his hands to feel the seat where Chen Ge should be. After realizing that there was no one there, he obediently closed his lips. He did not dare to move or even ask any questions.

  “Are there any movies that you would like to watch?” Chen Ge opened the movie list. He was there to complete a mission, but it was different for the employees at the Haunted House, especially the students from Mu Yang High School, who were only allowed to leave their item of possession for a short period of time, so they definitely would not let this chance go to waste.

  Going to the movie was a very common experience for a normal person, but for these students, if not for Chen Ge, they would not have experienced this again. There were only several ghost movies in the list, but there was a surprisingly heated argument among the workers. In the end, the majority voted to watch the movie called ‘Name’. It seemed to be a movie related to someone’s name. Chen Ge glanced at the cover. The director was still Chang Gu, and the main character’s face looked about eighty percent similar to Wenyu.

  “Alright, get back to your seat now. Do not wander about after the movie has started. Also, pay attention to your surroundings. Someone extra might appear because this theater is apparently haunted.”


  Looking at theater filled with ghosts, Chen Ge felt like it was rather preposterous saying something like that.

  The employees heeded Chen Ge’s advice. They quickly shuffled back to their seats, and they were kind enough to leave two empty seats in the middle.

  “Why are you guys leaving two empty seats here?”


  Chen Ge pressed the play button, and the background music came out from every corner of theater. The music circulated in their ears, and it created the feeling that they were there in person. Even though this movie theater was rather old, the equipment was the top of the line. After all, it had once been used to serve the visitors at a high-end holiday villa.

  The music accompanied the appearance of the images on screen. Those workers who had not experienced much in the way of the world and those who had perished way before their prime were feeling excited already. Some shrieks and howls echoed through the audience—the sounds that they made were even scarier than the sound effects of the movie itself.

  Chen Ge could not worry about that much anyway—he just wanted to complete the mission given by the black phone as soon as possible.

  Moving to the seat that the employees had reserved for him, Chen Ge had Bai Qiulin sit next to him while the blind man took up the seat on the other side of him. He had gained entry due to the blind man’s help, but the least he could do was guarantee the man’s safety.

  “Brother…… have you returned?” With Chen Ge’s support, the blind man was led to the middle of the theater. His legs were shaking, and it felt like he was walking on cotton candy instead of firm ground.

  “Hmm, it’s okay now. You are very safe. There is no need to worry.” Chen Ge hugged the white cat. “You can stay and watch this movie without worry. After this movie is over, I will personally escort you back.”


  “Are you sure it is safe now? My heart is racing, and I suddenly feel so cold like I have been shoved inside a fridge.” The blind man hugged the cane, and his eyelids kept twitching. It was as if he was losing control of his ocular muscle, and they could flip open at any moment.

  “You’re just imagining things.” Chen Ge gave the blind man a few words in consolation. With his hand scratching the white cat’s chin, his back leaning against the cushion, he enjoyed the movie with maximum comfort.

  “That’s impossible! I’m not imagining stuff! Are you sure your friends are all here? How come I feel this place is scarier and creepier than before?” A cold breath escaped from the blind man’s lips. “Brother, are you even listening to me? Don’t you feel even a bit unsettled at all?”


  “I could not have felt more comfortable. In fact, if possible, I wish to order some snacks like coke and popcorn.” That idea really did cross Chen Ge’s mind earlier. Since they were there to party, food and drinks were required, but taking the mental elasticity of the takeout courier into consideration, Chen Ge abolished that thought from his mind. “It is your mind playing tricks on you. Just relax and it’ll be fine.”


  The movie officially started, but the atmosphere was completely different from before. The lighting and sound effects did not change—the only thing that changed was the audience.

  Chen Ge was deeply drawn into the movie; he combined all the information that he had managed to find on Left Oculus online, and the movies that he had seen that night and somewhat of a clue showed itself.

  The movie, Left Oculus, had been destroyed already, but the private showing theater preserved all the other works by the director, Chang Gu, and the works were all somehow related to Left Oculus.

  A part of the plot from Deskmate crossed Chen Ge’s mind. Wenyu’s father once called her by her full name, and the girl’s name was Chang Wenyu—she shared the same surname with Chang Gu.

  In Deskmate, at Wenyu’s home, one would occasionally see the parents or the doctor, but there was definitely not a character who could be Chang Gu.

  If Chang Gu really was Chang Wenyu’s family member, then it could have indirectly explained that, during shooting, Chang Gu was still alive, but due to some reason, she did not show up on screen.

  Chen Ge was suddenly reminded of the last scene of Deskmate.