Jin's knees gave out, and he stumbled backward and fell on the ground.
His breath hitched in his throat as he stared at the floating figure, still half-convinced his brain had cracked from exhaustion and fear.
But deep down…
He already knew it wasn't.
"You… You really are…" he whispered.
"Dead-Dead? Hehe~ Ding ding ding! Half ghost form unlocked~!Hooo~ It feels so good to run—er—float around again~ Hehe!~" Xiao Hei spun in midair, arms out, floating like a kid on their first trampoline.
He did a little somersault mid-air, his purple shades somehow staying perfectly in place.
"You must be wondering why it took me so long to appear in front of you like this, in all this glorious ghostly form, right?~" He floated closer, hovering just inches from Jin's face. "Since I've just been creeping from behind your cursed phone or your laptop screen~ Hehe~"
"Yeah, it did cross my mind…" Jin muttered weakly as he got back up on his feet.
Xiao Hei spun upside down, now floating in lazy loops around him.
"Well~ That's cause I didn't have enough strength to manifest after dragging your sorry butt back from that tunnel~Hehe~" he said, voice playful but with a glint of something deeper.
"But now..." He gestured grandly to the eerie playground.
"We're in a Ghost Hub! A place naturally soaked in leftover spiritual energy~ I can finally recharge!~ Yehey~!" He threw spectral confetti of flickering light into the air, which faded before hitting the ground. "Hehehe~"Now I can float, talk, and be a good little cheerleader at ghost capacity~"
Jin, still very much pale, just stood there processing everything.
And before he could respond, Xiao Hei leaned in, dropping the playfulness for a brief, more serious tone.
"Okay, Qiang-ge. Focus time!" He snapped his fingers. "We're not here to gawk at my ghostly good looks… You've got a mission to survive~!"
Jin blinked, coming to his senses, and instinctively stepped back. "Right. The… doll?"
Xiao Hei pulled out a floating, pixelated scroll that unrolled in front of Jin's face.
[🎥 Haunting Event: Playground of the Forgotten]
Haunt Index: 🟡 Yellow
Mission: "Playful Woe" - Find the Forgotten Doll and set it free, or survive until the time limit ends.
Conditions: No leaving the area once inside. Instant death if you do. Failing the mission results in death, too.
Time Limit: 01:50:26
Warning: Presence Detected. Proceed with Caution.
"Yup! Mission: 'Playful Woe'!" Xiao Hei chirped, back to his usual chaotic energy. "Find the Forgotten Doll and set it free. Or, you know, survive for two hours. You've got options~"
Jin squinted at the scroll, then asked, "…What's this 'Haunt Index'?"
"Ohoho~ Excellent question, newbie ghost host!" Xiao Hei clapped.
He summoned a mini chart next to the scroll, labeled like a streamer tier list.
"Haunt Index tells you how screwed you are. Basically, it ranks the danger level of the ghost hub you're in."
🧭 GH.ST Haunt Index
Color: 🟢 Green - Tier Name: Cold Draft - Haunt Index: 0–20 - Description: Low threat. Harmless spirits, visual anomalies, and ambient whispers. Great for noob farming and chill vibes.
Color: 🟡 Yellow - Tier Name: Spooky - Haunt Index: 21–40 - Description: Active hauntings. Some aggressive spirits. Risks of physical harm or jump scares.
Color: 🟠 Orange - Tier Name: Threat Zone - Haunt Index: 41–65 - Description: Deadly ghosts. Twisted logic puzzles, spiritual traps, and minor possession attempts.
Color: 🔴 Red - Tier Name: Blood Moon - Haunt Index: 66–89 - Description: Serious survival mode. Dangerous territory. Violent manifestations, high risk of full possession.
Color: ⚫Black - Tier Name: Deathmatch - Haunt Index: 90–100 - Description: Spirit Boss Battle. Survivability < 5%. Extreme exposure = permanent possession.
Jin exhaled slowly, processing. "So, this playground is… medium-deadly?"
"Bingo~ Medium-deadly with a side of emotional trauma~!" Xiao Hei chirped.
"…Comforting," Jin muttered.
"Oh, although… you should be careful cause the haunt index can change haha~" Xiao Hei said, stretching like he was basking in sunlight.
"Oka – WHAT!!??! Wait!! What do you mean it changes?!" Jin asked in a panic.
"Hehe~ I mean it literally… It changes according to the ghosts in the haunt zone… Just don't make them angry and you'll be fine~" Xiao Hei said as he floated backward, stretching dramatically mid-air like he was sunbathing.
"Alsooo~ Reminder! You haven't earned any Soul Coins yet~ Nada. Zilch. Zero. You have to interact with the stream if you wanna make it outta here with your brains unscrambled."
And Xiao Hei pointed toward the cursed phone in his hand. "Talk to them, Qiang-ge. The audience is watching. They're our ghostly sponsors now. Entertain them, and maybe they won't vote for your entrails to be used as skipping ropes~ Hehehe~"
Jin's grip tightened on the flashlight in his right hand. "I still can't believe this is real…"
"Believe it…" Xiao Hei said, floating back just slightly, the smile softening for the first time for a moment, but then returned to his usual wide grin, "And remember… fail the mission? You die. Back out? You still die. The system's not subtle, Qiang-ge~ It's play or perish~ Tehee~"
Jin glanced down at his cursed phone that was still in his left hand, clenched so hard his knuckles were white.
He wanted to check the soul coins count, but when he looked at the live stream overlay, he noticed something else.
✦ Sanity: 70% - Functionally Frightened
Jin stared at it…
"Seventy percent???"
Uhuh~ You burned a solid chunk of it from when you woke up till now ~ hahaha and here I thought you were mentally strong but I guess it was a bit of denial that saved you hehe~ The viewers do love it!~ But do make sure to preferably keep it above fifty, if you don't want hallucinations and panic attacks…" Xiao Hei said cheerfully. "And remember! Fear, trauma, ghost contact, can make it drop. So, stay calm, smart, and for the love of my ghostly self, don't die yet~"
He wanted to run. His body screamed to jump back on that e-scooter and floor it until he was out of this cursed town. But even that felt stupid now. Because he knew that there was nowhere to run to now.
He looked down at his trembling hands, the chill settling into his bones.
(Failing the mission and backing out equals death...)
"I hate this…" he muttered. "I really hate this…."
Jin Qiang then closed his eyes, took a shaky breath, and muttered under his breath, "Right… Survive. That's the only option."
"That's the spirit!" Xiao Hei pumped a fist, then saluted dramatically. "Okay then~ You'll be needing this." Xiao Hei waved his left hand like a conductor, and Jin's black backpack's zipped pocket unzipped and out came the 4k body camera that was from the GH.ST package.
"Here, you forgot to bring this~ hehe" Xiao Hei said as the 4k cam attached itself to Jin's black jacket.
"This…."
"You'll be needing it hehe~ it can help you detect nearby ghosts. Look at the livestream footage now."
Jin glanced at the stream, and there was a new counter located at the right edge of the screen.
Ghosts nearby: 1
"See it let's you know when there's a ghost near you~ That 1 is me by the way~ Hehe~ Alrighty~ I'll be cheering from the sidelines! And if you need anything, just scream my name like a horror movie protagonist~ I'll come and I'll pop in…. with something helpful. No promises tho~ Hehe~! But for now, I'll just be chatting through live chat." Xiao Hei finished saying, then grinned and gave Jin two enthusiastic thumbs-up.
Ding!
[XiaoHei (Mod): Just remember the next livestream will be broadcast from your grave if you fail! Tehee~]
Jin once again felt his pulse thundering in his ears, and the cold air felt like it was freezing the inside of his lungs now.
"Okay," he said aloud. "Let's just… do this and get out of here fast."
[XiaoHei (Mod): Let the nightmare begin~!]
Jin Qiang opened his backpack, grabbed the squirt gun, and placed it inside his jacket's pocket. He was also wishing he had brought the dented baseball bat he had left at home. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring it, as it didn't fit into his bag, and it was just ridiculous for him to carry it to the train station.
Jin tightened his grip on the phone. "Forgotten doll. Set it free. How hard can it be, right?"
Jin forced a crooked smile as he raised the cursed phone to eye level. His hands trembled slightly, but he steadied them with a deep inhale.
He then cleared his throat and started.
"H-Hey everyone… It's m– me, your boy GhostQiang. " Jin said, voice cracking at first before he forced more strength into it. "And uh… tonight's stream is something a little different."
The cursed phone's lens subtly shimmered as if adjusting itself, focusing on his sweat-slick face and the haunted playground behind him. The swings creaked softly in the wind.
"I – I know what you're all thinking… 'Is this another gimmick? Is this a prank? Ha.ha~'" He gave a shaky chuckle. "But I promise you… This… is as real as it gets."
[Alive – Live Chat]
[📓EmptyNotes: He's shaking like a dog in a thunderstorm lol]
[🎧LateShift: Bro, this is getting me hyped up for some reason haha!]
[🎲LuckyMiss: Eh~ Where'd Xiao Hei go?]
[🖤StaticInMe: Did anyone see a shadow behind him move?!]
[Dead – Live Chat]
[🔪VelvetCuts: Woooo~ Look at him try to act cool!]
[🧴SoulSip_:Bro is NOT ready for the giggles...]
[🪐GraveOrbit: He about to get PLAYED lmfaoooo]
[🛹KickflipCreep: If you hear laughing, RUN!!! HAHAHAHA~]
"I'm currently inside a haunted location called the Playground of the Forgotten. Yeah… sounds cute, right?" he added, dry sarcasm creeping into his tone. "My mission is to find something called the Forgotten Doll and free it, or survive for two hours in a place where the air feels like death is watching you breathe…" Jin said as he adjusted his grip on the flashlight, keeping it pointed toward the dark pathways between the rusted structures.
"If you're watching this… congrats. You're officially part of the most cursed livestream on the internet. Ha.ha~" He spoke more steadily now and started walking.
"I'm going to find that doll… and I'm going to survive this. So don't blink. Don't look away. And maybe…. just maybe….. you'll get a show worth your money…" He said, flashing a smile.
As soon as Jin finished saying his intro speech.
From deep inside the playground, somewhere unseen, came the faint, chilling sound of children giggling.
Jin stood still for a moment and looked around to check.
But there was no one there….
(Must be my imagination...Yeah.. I didn't hear anything.)
Only broken swings swaying in a breathless wind, and the creeping certainty that he was no longer alone.
Jin's sneakers crunched over the gravel as he moved carefully inside, with two flashlights barely illuminating the whole playground….
Inside, the playground was a skeletal graveyard of childhood memories, everything twisted and abandoned. Rusted swing sets, a sandbox full of cracked, dry earth, a seesaw broken clean in half, a jungle gym that loomed like a giant, rotting spider, cracked slides and a merry-go-round that looked like it was hiding something behind it.
"Okay... no problem. Just a playground. Just a cursed, nightmare playground where children vanished." Jin whispered under his breath, trying to maintain his camera smile.
"Right. Let's start with something close…"
His camera panned toward a small structure….
A half-collapsed playhouse, its windows shattered, and faint childlike scribbles covered its peeling wooden walls.
"Oh f*ck me…." His smile turned wry.