Everyone is striving to survive, and he cannot remain aloof. From the beginning until now, he has owed everyone too much.
At this mont, Zhou Hai’s heart was exceptionally calm. He could even accept his own death, but he absolutely couldn’t accept the whole team being wiped out because of his inaction.
If such a thing were to happen, it would be better to kill him; he really couldn’t face Mr. Zhou and Brother Zhang.
He had been cowardly all his life, but this ti, no matter what, he had to take responsibility for himself and for everyone who fought with all their might.
Calming down, Zhou Hai began to think. If Chu Xi and Chen Nang were here, or if Jiang Qingluan were still awake, what would they do?
He knew that today they were not the protagonists. It was Chu Xi; his and Jiang Qingluan’s task was to stay here and hold those two people back.
Zhou Hai knew what he had to do. He first settled Jiang Qingluan in, then dragged the unconscious Sun Xin into Liu Jian’s room, found the rope Shu Shuang had left, and tied Sun Xin firmly to a chair.
Next up was Liu Jian. But while tying Liu Jian, an accident occurred. Liu Jian suddenly woke up, and Zhou Hai was caught off guard and knocked to the ground. Liu Jian pushed the door open and ran out without looking back.
Zhou Hai got up and gave chase but was still a step too slow. Liu Jian used all his strength to smash open the glass door of the office and escaped.
Liu Jian rushed into the safety passage, jumping several steps at a ti downwards. Zhou Hai chased after him desperately. Seeing he couldn’t shake him off, Liu Jian simply dashed out on the 15th floor, pushed open the safety door, and fled outside, making noise along the way, hoping to attract soone to save him.
Most rooms on the 15th floor were empty, with just a few rented out as warehouses. Zhou Hai was more familiar with the layout of the building and took a shortcut to cut him off.
The two engaged in a brawl. Although Liu Jian was mute, he had good stamina. For a while, his fists rained down on Zhou Hai like a storm, and Zhou Hai’s nose was broken. For a mont, his nose and mouth were filled with a bloody taste, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
But he bore down with his last breath, seized a chance, and delivered a fierce kick to Liu Jian’s lower body. In pain, Liu Jian fell off Zhou Hai, got up, stumbled, and tried to run. This ti Zhou Hai wouldn’t give him another chance. He rushed from behind, tackled him to the ground, and locked Liu Jian’s neck with his arm, tightening it with all his might.
Unfortunately, the move wasn’t executed properly. Liu Jian struggled violently, constantly elbowing Zhou Hai’s chest and abdon, breaking several ribs, but Zhou Hai, seeing red, would not let go no matter how serious the injuries, using all his strength to tighten the grip on Liu Jian’s neck.
Monts later, Liu Jian’s struggles weakened and finally ceased.
But Zhou Hai seed unaware or maybe he hadn’t yet reacted, until finally he glimpsed Liu Jian’s wide and glaring eyes.
Those eyes were terrifyingly bulging, like fish eyes, devoid of life.
...
East Mountain Machinery Factory.
Yang Xiao had returned and found that scrap collection station. When the old man saw the ten yuan bill Yang Xiao took out, the wrinkles on his face broke into a smile.
"Do you know there used to be a scavenger here nad Old Guai?" Yang Xiao ca straight to the point.
"I know, of course, I know. Old Guai, we were close. I pitied him back in the day. I took care of him. He brought things he picked up here to sell; I never shorted him on the money." The old man patted his chest, appearing very righteous.
"You wouldn’t believe it, but those other families around here bullied him because he wasn’t right in the head. For ten kilos of goods, they’d give him money for seven kilos. Those heartless bastards, God will take them one of these days!" The old man stomped his foot in anger.
"Where was Old Guai from, and what was his real na?" Yang Xiao pursued.
"That... I really don’t know. But from his accent, he seed to be from the south. As for his real na, no one in the village knew."
"Oh, that Old Guai was quite pitiful. He had issues here," he pointed to his head, "his right eye had severe cataracts, and he was missing a leg. He usually scavenged in nearby villages to sell scraps. The children in the village often bullied him," the old man said with a tone full of empathy.
"Where is he now?"
"I don’t know, haven’t seen him for a long ti. Maybe... maybe he’s gone," the old man said uncertainly.
"When did you last see him?"
"Let think, it must have been two or three years ago. Yes, three years. The last ti he ca to sell scraps was in October three years ago. I’m sure of it, I rember very clearly!" the old man said.
"Why are you so sure?" Yang Xiao beca suspicious, after all, Old Guai was just a vagrant, and the old man had no reason to rember so clearly.
The mission was now at its most critical point. Every small mistake could lead to complete failure; it wasn’t easy for everyone to reach this point. The price they paid was too high; he had to be responsible for everyone, including those who had contributed to the team but already died unfortunately.
The old man sighed, "That month my daughter got married, Old Guai heard it from sowhere and ca over. I initially thought he ca to sell so scraps, but instead... he took out 5 yuan from his pocket."
"That bill was very clean. It must have been exchanged for small change at a store. Imagine, for soone like Old Guai, picking up scraps—how much did he have to gather to get that 5 yuan? My wife and I were so moved we couldn’t sleep all night."
"My wife even instructed to return the money to him next ti he ca and give him a little extra for the wedding. But then, for so reason, he never ca back." The old man spoke with so regret.
"Was there anything special about Old Guai?" Yang Xiao asked.
"Dull-minded, not very smart, people in the village called him Foolish Old Guai, had a limp, right eyeball..." The old man repeated his earlier words.
"Besides that, was there anything else, like unusual habits or sothing?" Yang Xiao wanted to confirm more specific information about the Source Ghost.
Given the current situation, the Source Ghost’s way of killing was very similar to the Japanese ghost Yinren, but not entirely the sa. After all, Munan had also dealt with it using thods intended for Yinren, but in the end, Munan also died. Sothing must have gone wrong sowhere.
Yang Xiao boldly speculated that the Source Ghost, aka Old Guai, was ntally challenged and perhaps didn’t even know he was dead, still killing according to the logic and habits of his role as portrayed in ghost movies.
He was impersonating Yinren, but at the sa ti, perhaps his habits and experiences during his lifeti were also influencing him, which is why Munan died.
Now Yang Xiao understood the real reason for the instability of the DV footage and why the left side of the screen was clear while the right side was blurry.
That was because Old Guai had a limb disability, causing him to wobble when he walked, and his vision wasn’t good either, with a severe cataract in his right eye, making the world appear hazy and blurred.
Munan’s judgnt was correct. The DV cara lens was indeed the Source Ghost’s eyes.
"There is sothing quite strange. Old Guai had a quirk... he... he really didn’t like people staring at him,"
"It’s not that he didn’t like it; he was afraid. If soone stared at him for too long, he would retreat, slowly... slowly step back until he ran away, and wouldn’t co back even if you called," the old man added.
"That’s it!" Yang Xiao’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. He instantly rembered Munan ntioned this in her final ssage.
At the ti, Munan had roughly predicted the ghost’s position through the screen footage. Looking at it, she felt an uncomfortable sensation and worried it was a death on. So she moved her gaze away and closed her eyes at the last mont.
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