This B4 floor felt more stuffy. Maybe because there was almost no air circulation. Floors B1, B2, and B3 were actually stuffy too. However, because there was still little air exchange with the room above, the condition was not as stuffy as this B4 room. Every time he took a breath, Chioujen had to take a deep breath in order to be able to inhale a large amount of oxygen. Chioujen was not afraid of stuffy air or a lack of oxygen. He was just worried that certain mushrooms would grow in damp and stuffy places that secrete a toxin that could make people hallucinate.
The layout of the B4 floor was almost the same as the B3 floor. Maybe the only difference was the space used for a backup power generator on the B3 floor. The other rooms were more or less the same. Chioujen tried to open the rooms on the B4 floor one by one.
Not unlike the rooms on the B3 floor, these rooms on the B4 floor were partially locked, and some of the other rooms could easily be opened by Chioujen because they were not locked. Chioujen tried to turn on the lights in the rooms. But none of the lights he managed to turn on.
Floors B1, B2, and B3 received electricity from the electrical substation outside the building, although the electricity had been currently turned off. This B4 floor clearly did not receive electricity from the substation. Chioujen didn't know where this B4 floor got its electricity from. Probably entirely from the backup power generator on the B3 floor. Or maybe the B4 floor had its own power generator located in one room on the B4 floor.
About twenty minutes later, Chioujen arrived at the door of a room. He opened the door straight away. Just like the previous rooms, this room was also dark. The flashlight made him realize that this room was much bigger than some rooms on the same floor that he had previously entered. What surprised Chioujen even more, was that he saw that there were stairs there. Chioujen approached the stairs. The stairs connect the room with another room on the B3 floor. Chioujen remembered that he had tried to enter a locked room on the B3 floor earlier. He failed to enter the room because there was no key to the chamber among the ring of keys he carried. According to Chioujen's estimation, the room was right above this room.
Apart from that, there was still one other thing that made Chioujen's eyebrows rise. The stairs in front of him were not just stairs going up. But also stairs to go down to the floor below. The stairs connected the room to another room below the B4 floor.
<
Chioujen laughed alone as he imagined the look on Songfei's face. The young man's fondness for things involving puzzles and mysteries was a bit beyond normal. However, Chioujen himself didn't really know what a person's reasonable limit should be when they pursue a hobby. Chioujen never had a special hobby that made him willing to sacrifice all his energy, mind, and money to do that hobby. He really enjoyed reading and watching movies. But not to the point of being infatuated with books or movies. Even when Chioujen was the same age as Songfei, not once had he ever overdid what he liked.
<
Chioujen decided to go down to the room right below that room. He could feel the blood in his veins flowing much faster. The frequency of his heartbeat increased sharply. Chioujen stepped lightly but full of vitality. A moment later, he had set foot on the floor of the room that was on the floor that wasn't even in the plan he had studied earlier.
Just as Chioujen had just made his first steps into the room, another surprise was waiting for him. There was a powerful arm gripping him. Chioujen tried hard to free himself, but the man's grip only grew stronger. Chioujen used his right foot to kick back. The man let go of the clutch but immediately caught Chioujen's left hand. The flashlight slipped from Chioujen's hand. He tried to reach the Tonfa tucked in his right waist. Chioujen managed to pull out the Tonfa, but before he could slash the Tonfa back, the mysterious person grabbed the Tonfa.
Chioujen turned around. Just at that moment, the Tonfa hit his left shoulder. Chioujen groaned. His right hand automatically moved up to hold the shoulder that had just been hit by the Tonfa. In the darkness, there was a faint shadow of a hand ready to hit Chioujen's head. Chioujen's left hand rose to parry the man's attack. The man attacked again. With the Tonfa in his right hand, he hit Chioujen's stomach, which was utterly defenseless.
Chioujen was pushed back. He turned around. Close combat in the dark like this didn't benefit him at all. That person was much taller than Chioujen. Chioujen tried to run. That person didn't let Chioujen walk away. Chioujen could clearly hear the footsteps chasing him. Grippingly, the atmosphere was very dark. He tripped over something and fell to the ground. That person promptly sat on Chioujen's back. He used the Tonfa to press Chioujen's neck.
"I give up! I give up!" Chioujen shouted while enduring the pain.
That person still didn't relax his pressure.
"Let's have a friendly talk! Please, don't use violence!"
That person loosened the pressure a bit. By remaining seated on Chioujen's back, the person tied both of Chioujen's hands.
"Who are you?" asked Chioujen.
The person didn't make a sound at all. Chioujen was worried that the person did not understand the words he said. The person might have been from another area whose language was completely different from the one Chioujen was currently speaking.
"My name is Maachaang Shentay!" Suddenly the figure who was still sitting on Chioujen's back spoke. His voice was thunderous.
"Nice to meet you. My name is Jongharng Chioujen!"
The person who called himself Maachaang Shentay stood up. He then sat right in front of Chioujen, who was still lying face down.
"Mr. Jongharng Chioujen! Sorry, I had to be very careful."
That person was holding Chioujen's flashlight. He quickly shone the flashlight right at Chioujen's face.
Chioujen closed his eyes. The flashlight was so blinding.
"Who are you?" Chioujen repeated his question. He wanted to know who this person really was. Not just his full name or face.
"Before I answer your question, I must first ask you about it!"
"Okay! I'll answer. But please turn off the flashlight."
The person then turned off the flashlight right away. Chioujen opened his eyes. The man was silent. It seemed that he was waiting for Chioujen to continue.
"I am a resident of one unit in this building," Chioujen said.
"This building is empty. Nobody lives here!"
"Certainly not the actual residents living here. I am a tenant of one unit on the tenth floor."
<
"Once again, sorry, Sir! I was just doing my job," said the man.
<
"May I sit down?" asked Chioujen.
"Please!"
That person then helped Chioujen to change his position. Now Chioujen sat opposite that person.
"What exactly is your job?" Chioujen asked while blinking his eyes. His hands were still tied behind his back. That person still didn't want to untie the knot. It had crossed Chioujen's mind to scream for help. But he undid it at once. The floor was isolated from other floors. No matter how loud he shouted, it was almost impossible to hear from the other floors. Moreover, the place where Chioujen was located was about twenty meters below the ground floor. Obviously, there was no way Hannrong would have heard if Chioujen had screamed for help from that place.
"I'm in charge of keeping my coworkers safe!"
<
The man turned on the flashlight again. He then pointed his flashlight at a corner of the room. There, there was a bed. There seemed to be someone lying on the bed. Chioujen couldn't see clearly. The figure didn't move an inch. Chioujen didn't know the person was sleeping, fainted, sick, or even injured.