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"What's that sound over there?"
"Must be someone running around in the dark and smashing into the door, breaking its glass. Seriously, in this darkness, they should be more careful."
"Does anyone's phone still have battery? Mine's completely dead."
"So is mine."
"Mine too... Does anyone have a charger?"
"It's a blackout, what good is a charger? Anyone got a power bank?"
The scene was noisy, but everyone basically just thought the hotel had suddenly lost power, and there wasn't much panic.
"Something's not right," Pei Tiancheng said as he pressed the power button of his phone for a long time, but it remained unresponsive.
He frowned, "How can it be that the hotel loses power and so many people's phones die at the same time?"
In the darkness, Ye Chenglin spoke up, "Let's not talk about that now. Who knows how long the blackout will last. Let's just leave the hotel first. The elevator won't work, so we have to take the stairs... Does anyone have a lighter for lighting the way?"
Pei Youguang quickly said, "I have one."
He reached into his pocket and fished out a branded oil lighter.
"Snap--"
He flicked his finger and lit the lighter.
In the pitch-black lobby, a source of light appeared.
Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief. Humans have an innate fear of the dark etched into their genes, and the sight of light again brought a feeling of happiness.
"Everyone, please come over here,"
Ye Chenglin clapped his hands and called out loudly.
"Follow the light. Come this way. Let's walk out slowly, no rushing, and watch your step."
The young people in the lobby were mostly either friends of Ye Chenglin or brought by his friends. Combined with the sense of security from the lighter's flame, they all obediently gathered together.
"Ah, such a good party, but why did the power have to go out? What's Rui Zhu Hotel up to?"
"It might not be the hotel's fault. Maybe there's an issue with the power plant? Perhaps this whole area is without electricity."
"I think this is kind of fun. It feels thrilling. If this were a suspenseful horror film, we would probably be in grave danger by now, haha."
People chatted and laughed, and though they were in a dark environment, the presence of so many others and the source of light chased away most of the unease, creating an odd feeling of 'exciting yet reassuring.'
As a result, most people were in a good mood and didn't feel too unhappy about the abrupt end to the party.
"Why don't we go check out that suite where someone died? Wouldn't that be more thrilling?"
Someone suddenly suggested in Ye Chenglin's group.
"Let's not, it's too scary without any lights. I'm a bit afraid..."
A girl said in a soft voice.
"What are you afraid of? There are so many of us here, even if a ghost came, it wouldn't know who to grab. Besides, isn't Pei here? His martial arts are so strong, he could protect us if anything happens."
The person said carelessly.
Pei Tiancheng smiled, about to speak, when suddenly he heard a rustling noise. He quickly turned his head and in the corner of his eye, it seemed as if he saw a dark shadow darting by.
"What is that!" he shouted sharply.
The others jumped at his outburst.
"What's wrong, Pei? What happened?"
"Don't scare me, my heart can't take it. There aren't really ghosts, are there?"
Pei Tiancheng stared intently in one direction. In the faint light of the fire, everything in the hall was barely visible, indistinct.
"I might have seen it wrong,"
he said uncertainly.
But just as he finished speaking--
"Pff--"
Before everyone's eyes, it seemed as if the person in Ye Chenglin's group who had proposed exploring the dead person's suite had vanished on the spot!
"Ying Yang!?"
"Where did he go? What happened!?"
"Hey, don't scare me!!"
The next moment, a piercing and extreme scream came from the banquet hall.
"No, what is this thing, aaaahhhhh!!"
That scream was so visceral that it made one's hair stand on end, as if the person was undergoing unimaginable agony.
"It's Ying Yang's voice!"
"What exactly happened!?"
The crowd immediately burst into a frenzy.
Several Dojo Disciples, including Li Zhaoquan and Zhang Daqing, immediately stepped in front of everyone. Zhang Daqing said with a serious look:
"Everyone, stay together, don't run around!"
While they were organizing everyone, they quickly discussed among themselves:
"Did you see clearly?"
"No good, there's only one lighter, it's still too dark. I just saw a shadow; I don't know what it was."
"Does anyone else have a lighter? Light them all up now!!"
One of the Dojo Disciples shouted loudly.
Though the young people present were in a panic, thankfully they were obedient. Several more sources of light gradually appeared in the crowd, brightening the hall a bit more.
"What... what the hell is that!"
Suddenly, someone pointed, trembling, towards a corner of the hall.
Everyone looked in that direction and immediately began screaming.
"Aaaahhhhh!!"
In the corner lay a body, riddled with holes and bites all over, its face gnawed beyond recognition. But by the clothes, it was clear that it was the person who had disappeared while screaming only moments earlier.
And on the body was perched a creature.
The creature was pitch-black, appeared to be nearly two meters tall, and had human-like legs, but at the place of arms, it had six scythe-like appendages with sharp barbs. Its head resembled a human's, yet it had two enormous compound eyes, two antennae atop its head, and its mouth was a bug-like mandible that was ceaselessly moving as it chewed on a mass of flesh.