“The source of everything is because we’ve lost the power of our ghost tattoos. We need to figure out a way to undo that.” The team leader didn’t rush to find Wan Jie. He looked at Gao Ming. “The way you are now has to do with the figurines. I can try my best to help, but I hope that you’ll promise not to harm our security members in this anomaly.”
“Of course.” The kind Gao Ming promised him. “I have been meaning to say that. The conflict between us might be a misunderstanding. You said I killed K, but you didn’t see that in person. It was Jing Tuoshen who told you that. Then, it sounded like I was forced to fight back at Li San Hospital because you went there to kill me!”
“That’s right. It sounds like we’re the victims here!” The normal Gao Ming concurred. The two students were very naive. Plus, they had just saved the security members. The way Gao Mings acted was completely different from the information provided by Jing Tuoshen.
“Has Jing Tuoshen been plotting since we returned to Han Hai?” The leader of Team One was confused. He knew how much Jing Tuoshen wanted Wan Jie’s eyes. “If there’s an accident with Wan Jie, Jing Tuoshen will easily take over the security department. With that much power, no one can stop him anymore.” The more he thought about it, the more worried he became. “Gao Ming, even though we were enemies, I had to admit you’re more impressive than I am. Even though in your current state, I feel like you still have a hidden trump card. I need to borrow your power.”
“How come I don’t know about this trump card?” The kind Gao Ming walked to the door. “Anyway, we need to stop wasting time. We should try to leave this place. This is the third floor. We’ll be able to get out soon.”
“That’s impossible.” The leader of Team One sighed. “When you reach the first floor, you’ll see that there is no exit.”
The faces of the two Gao Mings paled. The man didn’t have the need to lie to them.
“If you don’t believe me, I can bring you there.” The leader had his two men hide in the room. After they discussed the code, the man told his people to remove their uniforms. “You two should put on their clothes, helmets and masks.”
“But I have no pants…” The normal Gao Ming was only given a pair of shirts.
“Our memories have started to blur. It won’t take long for them to forget their teammates. Things will only get worse.” The leader’s hair was turning white. He looked aged. “You have to be more careful of humans than ghosts.”
The trio walked down the stairs to the first floor. After they opened the safety door, they were hit by a palpable scent of blood. It caused the normal Gao Ming to dry heave. All the doors on the first floor had been forced open. Some of the door handles were stained with blood. The corridors were filled with blood and torn clothes. They had been in the apartment for less than two hours, but some had already lost full control.
The windows in the first-floor corridor shattered. Two horror game players reached their hands out through the windows. They wanted to use tools to break the security net. However, something outside the building flashed by. Their arms split open with a burst of blood. They retreated, screaming. Unknown curses invaded their bodies through their arms.
“Do you see that? Even if we can leave, it is not safe outside. There are monsters hiding in the dark.” The leader of Team One gripped his fists. Before he regained the power of his ghost tattoo, he also didn’t dare to leave the building.
“The ghosts inside the building won’t chase people into the room. The ghosts outside the building will not hunt the people as long as they do not leave the building. These ghosts have the power to murder all of us, but they seem to be following some kind of rules.” The kind Gao Ming hid behind the mask. “It looks like the owner of this place doesn’t want to kill us. He needs us alive. Of course, there’s another possibility…”
“What possibility?” The leader of Team One was surprised. He thought this Gao Ming was very sharp.
“Based on what you said, Wan Jie and I are very powerful. The building owner must have paid a heavy price to have taken away our powers and memories.” Gao Ming hesitated before saying confidently, “The culprit is too weakened to kill us directly. Therefore, he came up with this charade to get us to kill each other.”
The two horror game players from earlier were still screaming. The kind Gao Ming walked over and poured the medicine on their wounds. The curses didn’t disappear, but they did alleviate their pain.
The kind Gao Ming moved to the window as the two players thanked him. The wind outside carried the scent of blood to his face. He slowly raised his hand. “The unknown is the scariest. If more than ten of us charge out at the same time, we might distract the monster and figure out its weakness.”
“That’s a beautiful dream.” A muscular woman walked out of a nearby room. Beside her was a middle-aged man. “Everyone here is cunning and has their own agenda. Convincing them to be selfless is like asking them for their lives.”
They chose to reveal themselves because they were moved by Gao Ming’s kind gesture.
“My name is Ou Yang Susu. I’m a lead ball athlete. This is my husband. You can call him Doctor Lee.” Ou Yang Susu wanted to approach the kind Gao Ming when the leader of Team One rushed over to stand between them.
“I think we should keep a distance between us.” The leader of Team One looked at Ou Yang Susu. Then, his eyes moved down the corridor. “You can stop hiding. It’s impossible to leave on your own. Why don’t we work together?”
The leader of Team One wanted to use the power of the players but no one who entered the building was an idiot.
After being exposed, some chose to leave the first floor. The others chose to ignore the leader of Team One.
“Miss Ou Yang, Doctor Lee, what is the situation on the first floor? Is there an exit?” The kind Gao Ming asked politely.
Hearing the kind Gao Ming’s voice again, Doctor Lee and Ou Yang Susu tried to control their expressions. Earlier, they already thought the kind Gao Ming’s voice was similar to someone they knew. At that moment, their suspicion was confirmed. However, the couple didn’t say anything. From Brother Lee’s perspective, Gao Ming had to be working undercover to infiltrate the investigation centre. Why else would he be seen with people from the investigation centre?
With a dry cough, Brother Lee pointed at a room in the middle of the corridor. “That room has appeared at the spot where the exit should be. The room has a strange Room Number.”