"Tomorrow we’ll continue investigating this Fang Qingyun. I already have so leads on her," Lian Jinsun promised everyone.
Yang Xiao neatly arranged the docunts on the table and nodded, "There’s no need for everyone to go. I’ll go check out the vocational school where Fei Yong and Sha ihui studied."
"Alright, then we’ll split into two teams. I’ll continue to investigate Fang Qingyun with so of the team, and Chu, you take another group to the vocational school."
"What about us?" Zhang Man asked.
"You two will stay here on guard. We’ll contact you if needed," it was clear that Lian Jinsun did not regard Zhang Man and Wen Chongxian as equals on the team, nor did he expect them to be of much help.
After the discussion, everyone left, leaving only Zhang Man and Wen Chongxian in the room. Zhang Man had absolutely no respect for Wen Chongxian; although he was a man, he wasn’t manly at all. He was slow and timid, and she couldn’t rely on him for anything.
"Now it’s just the two of us. Tonight, is it you upstairs or ?" Zhang Man asked with a cold sneer as she stared at him.
"You... you stay, I’ll wait until tomorrow," Wen Chongxian imdiately responded.
"Alright, those are your words," Zhang Man pocketed the keys and left room 8018, deciding to stay in suite 9018 tonight.
After leaving the room, Zhang Man muttered ’idiot’ under her breath. In her view, room 9018 should be relatively safe tonight, since soone had died there the night before; she had no basis, just drawing on her previous mission experiences.
Over at the hotel, Zhang Man entered the haunted house, while at the villa, a result erged. Yang Xiao suggested drawing lots, and unfortunately, Monk Wukong drew the short one and would stay in the villa where soone had died.
Taking advantage of the daylight, Yang Xiao took two others for a tour around the villa, sharing his experiences with Monk Wukong.
After dinner, as the evening gradually darkened, Yang Xiao and Ju Juan returned early to Jin City District which wasn’t far from the villa estate, just across the street. Yang Xiao, holding the keys, moved into the room that Monk Wukong had stayed in the night before.
It was in a six-story residential building without an elevator. Yang Xiao climbed the stairs to the fifth floor and stood in front of room 502, facing an old-fashioned iron door.
Inserting the key, the door squeaked open. The room wasn’t large and the décor was poor, a standard two-bedroom and one living room setup, seemingly about 80 square ters. Yang Xiao checked the entire apartnt and surprisingly found a roast chicken with only bones left and a few empty beer cans on the small desk in the bedroom.
There was also a book turned upside down beside the pillow. It was quite old, probably left by the previous tenant, a romance novel.
Yang Xiao imagined the scene where Monk Wukong sat alone here last night, gnawing on roast chicken, drinking beer, and even reading a bit of a romance novel before sleeping to help him sleep.
"He’s really fearless..."
Unable to figure out Monk Wukong’s background, Yang Xiao also decided not to antagonize him for now, just taking things one step at a ti, still unsure about Monk’s intentions.
...
Night deepened, and A Qiang sat alone in the corridor, smoking one cigarette after another. Several empty cigarette packs were laid beside him, and the ground was littered with cigarette butts.
He was very nervous, for tonight it was his turn to stay overnight in the haunted house. He hadn’t been lucky in the draw against Che Xiangxue, pulling the short straw; he couldn’t back out, especially with Lian Jinsun watching, a man not to be trifled with.
But he wasn’t stupid; everyone knew staying in a haunted house was highly risky. Yu Dagui had died at the hotel last night, and tonight it would likely be his rental room or the villa that would suffer. Moreover, he had researched that the first three victims killed by the ghost were all done in within their rooms; Fei Yong scratching at the door was trying to escape.
So, A Qiang decided he wouldn’t go back to his rental apartnt at all that night, choosing instead to hide out in the corridor outside.
Of course, he wouldn’t tell anyone about this, as it was essentially cheating and unfair to his teammates.
He would phone Fei Rou at 10 PM and 11 PM, pretending he was still in the apartnt. He had already gone there at dawn, turned on all the lights and drawn the curtains, so anyone outside would think he was in the room.
He wasn’t worried about being discovered since he was confident no one would dare to check on him at night, and by morning, he would just pretend he was coming out of the apartnt, seamless as if nothing had happened.
As night deepened, it began to rain unexpectedly. A Qiang smoked one cigarette after another, dispelling the cold in his body and heart.
Glancing at his cellphone, it was nearly midnight. He had already called Fei Rou twice, who urged him to stay safe. During their conversations, he adjusted his voice to avoid letting her notice the echo in the corridor, and it seed she hadn’t suspected a thing.
His plan had been half successful, yet for so reason, he just couldn’t shake off a feeling of unease. Furthermore... he huddled into his clothes again because of a chilling cold, unexplainable, as he generally had a good constitution and shouldn’t be affected by the rain.
He looked around. Nothing out of the ordinary was nearby. The corridor where he was had shown signs of aging but was still decently maintained. Not far behind him was a security door, and the stairs went up and down, offering escape routes should trouble arise.
He had made preparations, buying a sturdy chain lock from a roadside repair shop, securing the external zipper door of the apartnt. He planned to unlock it early the next day, certain no one would find out.
He had done everything he could think of.
As minutes ticked by, the hand holding the cigarette butt couldn’t bear the cold anymore. He dropped the cigarette on the ground—his body wasn’t just cold; it was a dreadful chill that made him feel very uncomfortable. He stood up, trying to warm his freezing limbs, and decided to move sowhere else.
Just as he was thinking about where to go, suddenly, he frowned, hearing a noise from upstairs.
"Tap."
"Tap."
"Tap."
After listening carefully, A Qiang’s face instantly turned from pale to ashen—he recognized the sound... the sound of high heels walking!
Soone upstairs... soone wearing high heels was walking down towards him!
Dropping all illusions, A Qiang didn’t think it was a coincidence or a lonely lady venturing out in the middle of the night. This was a ghost!
A ghost... coming for him!
But why? Because he hadn’t followed the rules? A Qiang was thrown into chaos, not having ti to think about these questions—all that filled his mind was one word: run!
He started running downstairs, and the figure upstairs hastened their steps, chasing after him. A Qiang sped up, almost leaping five or six steps at a ti, but he soon realized sothing was wrong. He should have reached the first floor and exited the building by his speed since he started from the fourth floor.
But he hadn’t. Leaning over the stair railing to look down, in the next second, he felt as if struck by lightning. Through the gaps in the stairwell, he saw an endless spiral of stairs.
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