"I won’t dismiss that possibility," Chu Changge began slowly. "As I ntioned, our disappearing when we try to go downstairs might be one of the ghost’s thods. It doesn’t want us to leave this building; if we’re too dispersed, it would be harder for it to observe our identities."
"But it’s now nearly three in the morning. I reckon the ghost has already made its move, so there’s no need for it to keep stopping us from leaving. I believe nothing unexpected will happen if we go downstairs now." Chu Changge glanced at his wristwatch.
It showed 2:45 a.m. Fifteen minutes remained before the first round of voting would officially begin.
"If the ghost has already struck... of the eight of us who ca here, at least five are still alive, not counting Li Wentao." As Pan Yue spoke, she looked towards the opposite building, trying to see Gu Mian in the window there.
But when she turned her head, she was stunned to find the window empty.
Only pitch-black darkness remained...
"What happened?!" A shocked expression crossed Pan Yue’s face.
Li Yibai, who was pressing Keke for news about Lin Qi, also turned to look out the window. His eyes t only the darkness beyond it.
Just then, the four of them suddenly heard a strange sound from behind the stairwell door.
Everyone turned to look. A beam of flashlight cut through the darkness, shining out from the door.
Gu Mian’s face was frad by the light. He appeared before the four of them, startling them.
He was holding a flashlight, the large guitar case still on his back.
Keke hadn’t expected Gu Mian, who was in the opposite building just monts ago, to suddenly appear behind them. She cald herself and asked, "How did you... get over here?"
Pan Yue stared nervously behind Gu Mian. "Did Li Wentao co over too?"
Gu Mian shook his head slightly. "No, it seems to be just . My vision suddenly blurred, and when it cleared, I was already here..."
As he was speaking, Keke and the others saw another flashlight beam shine out from the darkness.
Everyone imdiately looked over nervously.
Gu Mian also turned, eting 007’s sowhat dazed expression.
The dazed 007 instantly saw Gu Mian and the others in front of her, and her expression couldn’t help but beco a little excited. "I’ve finally found you all again!"
Beside them, Li Yibai was even more agitated. He looked nervous and, before anyone else could speak, quickly ran to 007’s side. "Lin Qi, are you alright?"
007 hadn’t t Li Yibai and didn’t know who this person was. Her expression slowly changed from excited to hesitant, as if considering how she should answer.
Keke, however, was very perceptive and said, "Li Yibai, don’t be so agitated."
Only then did 007 realize that the person before her was the one she had a good relationship with. She thought for a mont and said, "I... I’m fine, just a bit frightened."
At this ti, Gu Mian ignored 007 and Li Yibai, frowning. It was nearly ti for the voting, and he and 007 had been directly moved here. Could this be... a pre-vote assembly?
Would all twelve of them be gathered by so mysterious force before the vote?
In that case, Fatty should appear too.
Chu Changge evidently had the sa thought.
But Gu Mian gave up after waiting another ten-odd seconds without anyone new appearing.
Just then, Pan Yue suddenly called out, "Gu Mian!"
"What is it?" Gu Mian turned to look at her.
Pan Yue seed extrely nervous. "When you were with Li Wentao earlier, did you notice anything unusual?"
Gu Mian shrugged. "No. But speaking of which, why do you all seem so afraid of Li Wentao?"
"Because they said they saw Li Wentao near death earlier, pierced by two pipes with blood everywhere. Then, like a lingering spirit, he relentlessly pursued them on the stairs. Finally, he appeared next to you without a scratch, striking up a conversation," Chu Changge summarized.
Gu Mian understood. It was because the Li Wentao they had seen was on the brink of death that they were so terrified when they saw the lively person beside him.
"Are you sure the dying person you saw was Li Wentao?" Gu Mian looked at Pan Yue.
Pan Yue raised her voice. "Keke and I both saw him!"
Keke nodded quickly.
Gu Mian asked, "Do you rember which floor it was?"
Pan Yue nodded. "I don’t rember the exact floor number, but I rember what the surroundings looked like. I’ll recognize it when we get to that floor."
"Alright, let’s go downstairs then," Gu Mian said, taking a step down. "Didn’t you just say it’s safe to go downstairs now?"
Keke’s eyes widened slightly. "You heard all that?"
"I’ve been standing behind you for quite a while."
007 seed a little lost. "Was I suddenly teleported because I went downstairs?"
Keke nodded from the side.
Perhaps still afraid, Pan Yue and the others didn’t imdiately go downstairs. Only after seeing Gu Mian descend quite a way with his flashlight, unhard, did they start to follow.
Chu Changge remained at the rear.
"Pan Yue, you said earlier you saw Li Wentao about to die, with blood all over the floor, right?" Gu Mian asked as they descended.
Pan Yue nodded quickly.
Gu Mian frowned, puzzled. "But when I saw him, he was completely unscathed, no different from a normal person... Though, I don’t know why this gathering didn’t teleport him here." And Fatty isn’t here either.
Pan Yue interjected, "It must be because he’s the ghost! That’s why he was unhard and isn’t with us."
Gu Mian frowned. "Wang Pan isn’t here either. Of those teleported, only those two are missing now."
The one who died tonight is highly likely to be one of them. Gu Mian felt a headache coming on.
At this mont, Keke spoke up in a low voice, "But if Li Wentao is the ghost, shouldn’t he be carefully hiding himself to avoid exposure? Why would he chase us so blatantly...?"
Pan Yue couldn’t refute this but was unwilling to abandon her view. "But he was nearly dead, and then he appeared completely fine, like nothing happened. Can a normal person do that?"
After she spoke, everyone fell silent for a full ten seconds.
Not long after, Keke’s voice suddenly echoed in the dark stairwell, "Speaking of which, if soone died tonight, then those who were with others the whole ti wouldn’t have had the chance to kill, right?"
Exactly. Identities could be deduced based on this.
However, very few people t this criterion.
Pan Yue quickly added, "Then let’s each share what we did tonight!"
No one objected.
007 was the first to describe her situation. She was the first to disappear after Fatty, so she had a large window of unaccounted-for ti.
Gu Mian heard 007’s voice from behind her. "I was going downstairs when I suddenly found myself in another place, on so floor... I couldn’t find any windows, so I don’t know which floor it was."
Chu Changge also spoke up. "In all that ti, you didn’t run into anyone at all?"
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