But at this moment… who would dare approach that door?
Ethan, Victor, and the others had no idea what had just happened.
All they knew was that Daniel had died at the doorway, which meant there had to be something outside the door that killed him.
Perhaps…
That thing was still hiding somewhere outside the entrance, silently waiting for someone else to get close.
Ryan's expression grew increasingly frantic.
It was as if he had suddenly realized something. His entire face turned red, and at this point he no longer cared whether making noise would create even greater danger.
"Quick! We have to shut the door immediately!"
He shouted in a low voice, his eyes bloodshot with urgency.
"A ghost can only kill one person within a short period of time… we still have time!"
But when his words fell, no one moved.
Everyone knew he might be right.
But if he was wrong…
They would instantly lose their lives.
Ryan's eyes widened.
His expression shifted rapidly as he realized there was no time left to explain.
"I can't close the door by myself! You have to come with me and throw the body outside!"
With that, he seemed to steel himself and suddenly stepped forward toward the doorway.
Step by step.
But his legs were trembling slightly.
Ethan could feel that Victor beside him was still hesitating, clearly not planning to help immediately.
The situation was extremely awkward.
Aside from Ryan himself, no one knew what had actually happened just now. As another experienced survivor, Victor clearly didn't fully trust Ryan's judgment.
Ryan had already taken several steps forward.
When he saw that no one was moving, anger appeared on his face.
"I'll close the door. You move the body."
Ethan suddenly stepped forward and spoke quietly as he came up behind Ryan.
Ryan looked at him deeply for a moment, then immediately quickened his pace.
Neither of them dared waste time.
In just a few seconds, they reached the kitchen doorway.
The wooden door was still swinging wildly in the freezing wind.
Ethan felt snow and wind constantly striking his body, the damp cold seeping almost directly into his bones.
The kitchen still had some light.
But it was as if the threshold formed a boundary.
Beyond the doorway, nothing could be seen.
Only a suffocating darkness.
Ryan grabbed Daniel's ankle.
He bent his knees and used the strength of his waist to push the body outward.
But something strange happened.
Daniel's crooked head seemed to be stuck against the doorframe.
The wound in his neck almost looked as if it had fused with the old wooden threshold.
It wouldn't move at all.
Ryan's face soon turned bright red from the strain.
He let go of Daniel's ankle and stepped forward, grabbing the cotton coat around his waist instead.
Ethan's gaze dropped.
His heart turned cold instantly.
As Ryan pulled, the head shook violently like a wooden puppet.
Snow blew fiercely across Daniel's face.
His eyes were wide open.
And with each movement, they seemed to tremble within Ethan's vision, as if they were still staring at him.
Then—
Tap.
A faint sound suddenly came from the darkness in the courtyard.
And then—
Tap. Tap. Tap!
The sound suddenly accelerated.
It was rapidly approaching them.
Something…
was coming.
"It's too late! Pull him inside!"
Ethan shouted in a low voice.
He crouched down and grabbed the corpse's legs, pulling it toward the interior of the house.
Ryan reacted instantly.
The two of them worked together.
Strangely enough, what had been extremely difficult before suddenly became effortlessly easy once they changed direction.
Daniel's head twisted sideways and fell completely inside the threshold.
Ethan was about to stand up and shut the door when—
He suddenly saw something.
Ryan's entire body had twisted sideways.
His face was distorted in terror.
And one of his arms had stretched beyond the doorway, pulled straight outside.
"Ghost…"
Ethan's heart froze.
He immediately understood.
The thing outside the door had grabbed him.
Ryan was about to be dragged outside.
Without even thinking, Ethan grabbed Ryan's other arm.
But the moment he did—
He felt an unbelievably powerful force pulling from outside the door.
For a split second, he had the terrifying feeling that he himself would be dragged outside as well.
But after only a moment's hesitation, Ethan grabbed Ryan's coat and tore it open violently.
Ryan immediately understood what Ethan meant.
His body began shaking violently.
Right now that coat felt like a prison trapping him.
He lowered his center of gravity and twisted desperately, trying to slip free like a struggling eel.
Then—
BANG!!
The instant the old cotton coat was dragged outside—
A slender figure suddenly rushed forward and slammed the wooden door shut.
Ryan lost his balance immediately and collapsed onto the floor.
Another figure stepped over him and ran toward the door.
Sophia grabbed the iron ring on the door tightly, not daring to loosen her grip.
When Lily rushed over, Sophia quickly moved aside.
Lily shoved a wooden stick through the ring, temporarily locking the door in place.
"That's still not enough… we need something to block it."
Ryan climbed to his feet, his face drenched in sweat.
The only movable object in the kitchen was the wooden cabinet.
There was no time to hesitate.
The group worked together, pushing the heavy cabinet in front of the door.
Only then did they finally fall into silence, as if they had just escaped death itself.
Everyone was breathing heavily.
But their eyes remained fixed on the door blocked by the cabinet.
The silence lasted for a long time.
Outside the house, only the raging wind and snow could be heard.
Nothing else.
Finally, Sophia frowned and asked in a low voice:
"What exactly happened just now?"
Ryan was still standing where he was, catching his breath.
He looked up at her.
"I thought the door was locked… but it suddenly opened."
Sophia froze for a moment and glanced toward the door.
"You said… what?"
"That kid wanted to look for food. But he only walked past the door… and it opened."
Ryan swallowed hard.
He glanced at Daniel's corpse lying on the ground.
His voice turned dry.
"A hand reached in from outside… grabbed his head… and pulled it out."
"And just like that… he died."
As he spoke, Ryan slowly raised one trembling arm.
A large drop of cold sweat slid down his face.
At that moment, everyone could see clearly—
His arm could still move.
But his hand and wrist had turned completely purple, stiff and unnatural.
It looked as though the flesh had already died.