1TWITF[C Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Lu Yanli checked into that hotel.

He always felt that something was off, but he didn’t know why.

As he browsed the news he had searched for, a few familiar faces appeared on the computer screen.

Why… did they look so familiar?

Not the kind of familiarity from having seen them before, but a sense of déjà vu, as if he had sat in the hotel browsing the same news before.

The vigilance he had developed from living in the weird world for so long made him subconsciously aware that something was wrong.

What was wrong?

He glanced at the time displayed on the computer desktop and subconsciously began to recall.

Lu Yanli didn’t have the habit of keeping a diary; he relied entirely on his brain for memories, because in this world, it was too easy for ghosts to tamper with audio-visual materials or paper documents. Blindly believing what he recorded would be like being blinded by a leaf. As for memory… although ghosts also had the ability to tamper with memories, if one day he couldn’t even remember the past, then he might as well just get lost like this.

What did he do today?

He left the hotel, returned a lost kitten, arrived at the hotel, the front desk clerk’s strange reflection on the glass door…

No, that wasn’t right, that didn’t seem like him.

If it were before the world changed, he might have done such a thing. But now, why would he return a kitten home for no reason?

What about yesterday? What happened yesterday?

Yesterday, he… he returned a cat home, went back to the hotel, and was forced by four people to play a paranormal game, in which the woman summoned a ghost…

Lu Yanli took a few deep breaths.

After all, this wasn’t like the world he usually lived in. When this group of outsiders entered, even if he didn’t do anything, he might be dragged into the most terrifying and bizarre events.

So, was it only him, or everyone who participated in the game?

What secret did that black cat hold?

Lu Yanli glanced at the clock.

In a few hours, it would be midnight.

*

“Tomorrow night’s game is also very weird; it’s in the elevator,” Ye Shengke said.

They were on their way back to the city, driving fast. Nie Yunzhen was anxious, eager to go back and find the statue as soon as possible. The others didn’t say anything, just looked out the window at the night scene while chatting.

“Actually, every day’s game is terrifying, but tomorrow night’s…” Shi Yan frowned, not saying the rest of her words.

Thanks to various horror movies, plus the summary of usual experiences, they usually knew to avoid mirrors, toilets, elevators and other things that easily produce paranormal events as much as possible when doing tasks, especially elevators.

As a confined space, if any paranormal phenomenon occurred in the elevator, the people inside would not be able to escape no matter what.

At the moment when the elevator fell, she saw… a red-clothed woman with a twisted body lying on the top.

It was that female ghost in red who cut the elevator rope.

Since then, Shi Yan had a great psychological shadow on the elevator. She would take the stairs if she could, although there was a risk of encountering ghost walls when taking the stairs, it was better than being trapped in the elevator.

“Senior sister, are you scared?” Ye Shengke asked.

Shi Yan took a few deep breaths: “What’s the use of being afraid? I still have to do it.”

Only Shi Yan herself knew that as soon as she saw the elevator, she would recall the partner whose lower body had fallen down in blood, and the female ghost who might appear on the top of the car.

“It’s okay, we’re all together.” Ye Shengke comforted her.

At least, the risk of everyone being together was lower, right?

Ye Shengke thought uncertainly.

Hearing this question, Ye Shengke also had some doubts.

He spoke with confidence, of course, what he was thinking in his heart was another matter.

Nie Yunzhen had always been bold, so it was not surprising that he had such an idea, and Shi Yan had to turn her begging eyes to Chu Xiu again.

Chu Xiu only said coldly: “Go.”

After saying that, he closed his eyes and ignored them.

His eyes lingered on Shi Yan for a while. Shi Yan knew that this sentence was for her. She nodded and agreed, but the expression on her face looked a little reluctant no matter how you looked at it.

After entering the door, the four came to the elevator door. It was clearly an ordinary elevator, but Shi Yan put on an expression as if she was facing a formidable enemy, as if there were some deep abyss beasts in front of her.

“Let’s go.” The elevator descended to the first floor and stopped steadily in front of them. Chu Xiu walked in the front, stood firm after choosing the position closest to the door, and the call button and elevator button were at his side.

The other three entered in turn.

Shi Yan tightened her nerves.

What was both unexpected and fortunate for her was that nothing happened all the way up to the thirteenth floor. This made her vigilance along the way seem redundant.

Ye Shengke was the last to exit the elevator. After leaving the door, he turned his neck and did a simple stretch.

Strange, why did his neck feel a little sore?

Ye Shengke didn’t think much about it and quickly returned to the room with the others.

In the monitoring room, the security guard Xiao Li was drowsy, and the computer screen in front of him was divided into more than a dozen monitoring videos.

In one of the images, four people were taking the elevator upstairs. What was shocking was that there was a woman in white sitting on one of the man’s shoulders!

However, Xiao Li didn’t notice it. His head nodded bit by bit, and finally he fell asleep on the table.

In fact, he couldn’t wait to run to the monitoring room downstairs now to check the whereabouts of that statue again. Before, he suspected that the other three had stolen it, but later found that it was unlikely.

So, where could the statue be?

The four discussed for a while, including where they should go to find a scapegoat later.

This game didn’t require a specific number of people, nor did it stipulate that they could only play one by one. Therefore, they had no burden in their hearts and planned to find one or two NPCs as shields.

“Why don’t we just use that man from yesterday? If the person we call is an idiot, it’s likely to hold us back.” One of them suggested.

Judging from the other party’s performance yesterday, the man who lived next door to them was obviously a good teammate.

“But he has already seen our faces. It’s difficult for us to trick him into opening the door again.”

“It’s okay, just find someone to open the door.” Chu Xiu’s tone didn’t fluctuate in the slightest, and the others understood what he meant as soon as they heard his words.

Nie Yunzhen volunteered, “Why don’t I go open the door?” Of course, he just wanted to sneak into the monitoring room now. Even if he was discovered at that time, he could find an excuse to say that he planned to destroy the surveillance.

Chu Xiu nodded, then drew a gun from his waist and handed it to the other party.

This was unexpected to Nie Yunzhen. He picked up the gun, which really added a bit of courage, and stuffed it into his waist. He gave an OK gesture with the other hand, “I’m going!”

After saying that, he went out excitedly.

Just after turning a corner, suddenly someone covered his mouth and nose with a towel from behind. Nie Yunzhen immediately reacted incorrectly, immediately stopped breathing, struggled desperately, trying to shout out, while constantly trying to turn his head to see clearly who it was. But the person behind him was too strong, and Nie Yunzhen couldn’t resist. Even though he had held his breath to the maximum extent, he still inhaled a breath of gas from the cotton cloth, and then, he fell into a daze and passed out.

…

After about twenty minutes, Nie Yunzhen returned to the room with a unconscious man, but this man was not Lu Yanli, but another older man, well-dressed, with a faint trace of blood seeping from the back of his head.

“Who is this?” Shi Yan was surprised.

“Then he…”

Nie Yunzhen waved his hand: “What else can I do? Knocked him unconscious. Don’t worry, I have a sense of propriety. He won’t die.”

The middle-aged man who was knocked unconscious and brought into the room was none other than Wen Qing’s father, Wen Zhengxin, who had lost the statue!

Nie Yunzhen hoped to force the other party to tell the whereabouts of the statue in this way.

Now, he also understood that it was very difficult to hide the whereabouts of the statue and play games with the three of them at the same time. It was better to let them find it together.

It was just that he couldn’t be the one who took the initiative to reveal it, otherwise, they would understand that he had previously had the intention of swallowing it privately.

Of course, before that, he had gone downstairs to delete the corresponding surveillance footage. Even if they wanted to suspect him, there was no evidence.

Not long after, the middle-aged man woke up slowly, blinked his eyelids twice, and then suddenly widened his eyes.

“Shh–better not talk, otherwise I can’t guarantee that my hand won’t shake.” The leading man raised his gun and pointed it at his forehead.

The middle-aged man swallowed and nodded under the muzzle of the gun, indicating that he understood.

Aside, Nie Yunzhen asked: “How should I address you?”

“Ah? Wha, what game?” Wen Zhengxin’s throat was dry, and he stammered.

“This…”

Thinking that it was five people acting together at night anyway, Shi Yan was too lazy to explain so much to him. She put on a stern face and said coldly: “You don’t need to worry so much, take the elevator with us at night, and keep your mouth shut.”

The game on the fourth night was called Another World.

Take the elevator from the first floor to the top floor. When the elevator reaches the top floor, don’t go out in the elevator, and then press the second floor button. After reaching the second floor, stay in the elevator and continue to press the second highest floor button. When the elevator rises to the second highest floor, don’t go out, and then press the third floor button…

And so on, when you reach the middle floor, the elevator door opens again, and that is another world. You can choose to go out or not. If you want to return to your world, you need to reverse the steps you just did.

Shi Yan silently recited the rules again in her heart, and couldn’t help but tremble with her own imagination.

Is there really… another world?

Thinking of this question, Shi Yan couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Isn’t this world another world for them?

Speaking of which, this game is also very strange. It doesn’t limit the number of people, but allows them to act together.

What will be the consequences of five people being confined to the small space of the elevator?

Wen Zhengxin saw that Shi Yan’s face was not good, and he was a sensible person. He immediately shut his mouth and nodded: “Let’s make it clear first, let me go back as soon as the game is over.”

Nie Yunzhen stared at his face carefully.

There was fear on the other party’s face, but he didn’t take it too seriously, perhaps because he didn’t realize the danger of this game. The reason why Shi Yan didn’t want to explain the game was very simple, but Nie Yunzhen couldn’t. He was still counting on this man to be afraid and then take the initiative to confess the statue.

As he explained, Wen Zhengxin’s eyes widened bit by bit.

Next door, Lu Yanli put on headphones, and their conversation came from the headphones.

That was the listening device he had put on Wen Zhengxin in advance.

When he returned the kitten, he accidentally saw the family photo on the table at Wen’s house. And now he happened to meet Wen Qing’s father in this hotel, and the four taskers also checked in. He didn’t think it was a coincidence, so he made arrangements on Wen Zhengxin early on.

Then, when Nie Yunzhen went out, he successfully stunned and hypnotized the other party, and asked about the game that needed to be done in this mission, as well as their original plan. If it was another game, Lu Yanli would be a little confident that he could try it, but this game… he was not sure.

Therefore, he asked Nie Yunzhen to find Wen Zhengxin and let Wen Zhengxin play.

He wanted to know, as Wen Qing’s father, would this person also have some unknown secrets?

“What are you talking about? Where are there any ghosts these days?” Nie Yunzhen lied without changing his face or skipping a beat, “As long as you cooperate obediently, we guarantee you can go back safely.”

As soon as he said this, the curious eyes of the other three people turned to him.

“I…” Wen Zhengxin’s legs were weak with fright, and he accidentally rolled to the ground from his seated position, “Nothing, nothing at all! Yes, nothing…”

As long as he didn’t say it, it would be fine.

As long as he could go back safely, he could…

“Five.”

“No… you can’t do this.”

“Four.”

“Three.”

“I’ll talk! I’ll talk!” Wen Zhengxin screamed, his chest heaving violently, and his forehead was already wet with sweat.

Chu Xiu put away the gun.

“The matter has to start a few years ago. At that time, my daughter had just adopted a black cat, and she liked that cat very much…”

Also surnamed Wen, she suddenly thought of a possibility.

Wen Zhengxin was stunned: “Wen, Wen Qing.”

As soon as this name was uttered, the four looked at each other, and they all saw something incredible in each other’s eyes.

Could it be a coincidence?

They concealed their skills well, and Wen Zhengxin didn’t find anything special about it, and continued to say.

Lu Yanli glanced outside the window, recalling what he had just eavesdropped on, and pondered.

Black cat… statue… Yinming Road…

Perhaps, he should go to Yinming Road to take a look.

There was no sound in the next room, and everything that needed to be asked had been asked. Lu Yanli took off his headphones and walked outside.

Yinming Road, at the end of the crossroads, in the abandoned building.

A person was still stubbornly going around in circles.

As he walked, when he came to the door filled with metallic breath after not knowing how many circles he had gone, he suddenly said: “The game is over.”, and then, he suddenly opened the door and rushed out!

This person was Chu Xiu.

He didn’t look back at all, and ran very fast on the avenue in the middle of the dense forest.

Unsurprisingly, it was already dawn, and he had been walking for half the night.

Of course, the worse result was that all three of them were dead and the car was also moved away, but Chu Xiu felt that this option was still a bit far-fetched.

So, now it can be confirmed that there is a ghost next to the three of them.

But now there are three ghosts around him alone.

Chu Xiu didn’t hesitate at all. His speed was very fast, but unlike when he came yesterday, he ran in the other direction.

At the same time, the map he had found and the route he had taken yesterday appeared in his mind.

It took a long, long time to take the main road, and it would take him a whole morning to run alone. It was better to take a gamble and break through from the other direction.

There was a tree by the road in front, but that was not the point. The point was that the tree was the only tree in the surrounding bare branches that still had green leaves, and a black cat that had been dead for a long time was hanging from the branches extended by the tree with thin ropes.

No, not just one… but many, many!

The entire tree was almost covered with bloody black cat corpses, swaying gently in the wind. Some had just died, and some had already rotted, revealing white bones.

Even though Chu Xiu was experienced in missions, he rarely saw such a strange scene.

He subconsciously wanted to turn around and run, but he gritted his teeth and still rushed over.

What reassured him was that nothing happened. He just brushed past the tree filled with the strong fragrance of cats after death.

As he ran, he vaguely heard car horns in the distance ahead. Chu Xiu didn’t care so much. The car horn gave his originally tired limbs motivation again. He rushed up again in one breath and waved to the car.

The car really stopped, stopping about a hundred meters away from him. Chu Xiu ran over panting, getting closer and closer, and then, his expression froze slightly.

It was actually Lu Yanli? Why was he here?

What he didn’t know was that Lu Yanli was also shocked in his heart.

There was a Chu Xiu here, so who’s voice did he eavesdrop on in the hotel just now?

Chu Xiu took a brief look. Seeing that he had a shadow in the sun and didn’t seem like a ghost, he quickly ran forward, opened the back door and got in.

If you ignore the muzzle of the gun he was holding against the back of Lu Yanli’s head.

Lu Yanli was silent for a while, then started the car, but he didn’t turn around as Chu Xiu said, but stepped on the gas pedal and rushed forward.

“You…”

Lu Yanli sneered: “If you have the ability, shoot.”

He was now stepping on the accelerator to the end, and the speed of the car immediately soared. If something happened to the driver at this time, there would definitely be a car accident.