Translator: Cinder Translations
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"His chin is missing too," Luo Yi said.
His expression was strange, as if he was puzzled by something.
After a moment, he continued, "Just like that woman who died earlier."
It was the woman in the qipao.
At that time, her missing chin was not found at the scene either.
Zhou Taifu seemed to have thought of something terrible. He shivered violently and, trembling, said, "It's a ghost... a ghost took their chins!"
It was obvious.
But saying it out loud only made the eerie atmosphere even more oppressive.
Jiang Cheng stood next to the corpse, frowning, deep in thought.
After investigating the scene, Yu Wen walked over and noticed him. She asked, "What are you thinking?"
Jiang Cheng's shoulders twitched, as if he had just snapped out of a trance.
He stared at the corpse for a moment before saying, "Look at his eyes."
Long Tao's eyes were bulging out of their sockets.
His pupils were dilated, the corners of his eyes twitching, and tiny blood vessels filled his eyes, overflowing with fear.
His gaze was fixed upwards.
His death was undoubtedly terrifying, but this time, someone noticed something else.
Almost instantly, both Yu Wen and Zhen Jianren seemed to realize something. They suddenly tilted their heads up, looking toward the ceiling.
"Whoosh—"
The ceiling was empty.
Where the light should have been, there was only a tangled mess of disordered wires.
And mysterious pale yellow stains.
Yu Wen's pupils slowly contracted. She adjusted her breathing and gradually lowered her gaze.
This scene wasn't unfamiliar.
Yes, it was just like the first woman who died!
In their last moments, they had all looked upwards.
It was as if there was something above their heads—an incomprehensible, unstoppable, eerie presence.
Less than 24 hours into this world, and out of 9 people, only 7 remained.
Two had already died, in ways the group could not understand.
The most terrifying part was that even now, they had no leads.
Those peculiar hoofprints resembling a goat's were hardly considered evidence.
The walk back was oppressively tense.
The Fatty wanted to speak several times, but Jiang Cheng stopped him each time with a look.
Once they returned to the room, the first thing the Fatty did after closing the door was rush over to Jiang Cheng, still shaken. "A ghost can kill people in broad daylight; that's terrifying!"
Jiang Cheng sat on the bed and nodded. "It seems that the ghost in this mission is different from the one in the last. Its rules are different too."
The Fatty licked his lips, instinctively glanced at the ceiling, and after seeing nothing abnormal, continued, "Do you think the ghost comes from the ceiling?"
Jiang Cheng stared at the door, as if he could see through it. "I don't know, but at least the two who died have sounded the alarm for us."
"The danger is likely coming from above."
A few seconds later, the Fatty wrapped his coat tighter around himself, suppressing his fear as he asked, "So what do we do now?"
"We wait."
The Fatty was stunned. "Wait for what?"
Jiang Cheng turned to look at him, his eyes holding something the Fatty couldn't understand.
After a while, he moved his lips and said, "Wait for the next person to die."
"What?!"
Jiang Cheng ignored him, lay down on the bedding, and pulled the blanket up to his chin before closing his eyes. "I'm tired. Don't disturb me before 5 o'clock."
Room 406.
Long Tao was dead, and his place was taken by Zhang Yinyin.
The girl was determined not to go back to Room 407.
She didn't ask to sleep in a bed, only that she had a place to rest.
She curled up on a chair in the corner, trembling, whether from fear or cold.
The legs of the chair made a soft "thud-thud-thud" sound as they tapped the floor.
Zhou Taifu hogged an entire bed, nervously glancing around the room.
He kept looking especially at the door and the ceiling.
"Sis," Zhang Yinyin's voice carried a strange tremble, and she carefully watched Yu Wen. "Aren't you scared?"
Yu Wen, holding a camera, was reviewing the day's footage.
Hearing this, she lifted her head and calmly replied, "Yes, I am."
"I thought you weren't scared since you're so calm," Zhang Yinyin said, seeming to gain some composure from Yu Wen. Her shaking slowly subsided.
There was a spark of hope in her eyes, like she had been reborn.
Yu Wen looked at Zhang Yinyin's eyes and suddenly smiled. "Little girl, ghosts aren't as scary as you think. Though they embody pure malice, they follow patterns. Unlike…"
Zhang Yinyin looked up in confusion. "Unlike what?"
"Unlike some people, who are masters of deception, killing without a trace."
At that moment, Yu Wen's gaze shifted. It was as though the warmth of spring had plunged into the dead of winter.
She stared at Zhang Yinyin's face for a long time before continuing, "So, I fear people more than I fear ghosts."
Room 405.
The man who called himself Luo Yi threw his baseball cap onto the bed and paced around the room, visibly anxious.
"Stop pacing," Zhen Jianren said from the chair, rubbing his temples. "You're making my head spin."
This comment seemed to hit a sore spot with Luo Yi. He stopped in his tracks, his expression agitated. "Haven't you noticed? This mission is becoming increasingly abnormal. It's only the second day, and the ghost can already appear and kill in broad daylight?"
"True," Zhen Jianren nodded. "It's a grim and unavoidable reality."
"I don't want to hear that from you!"
Zhen Jianren sighed, "Fine, I know what you want. Once this mission is over, I'll make sure what I promised you gets done."
"You can," he smiled, "return to living under the sun."
Hearing this, Luo Yi's expression softened a bit. He stopped pacing and sat across from Zhen Jianren, taking a deep breath. "Alright, you're smart. What have you figured out?"
Zhen Jianren stretched his neck with two fingers, eyes half-closed.
Compared to Luo Yi, he seemed to be on vacation.
"The thing is with Yu Wen."
"Yu Wen, huh..." Luo Yi wasn't surprised by the conclusion.
After thinking for a moment, he asked, "But how are you so sure it's not those two in Room 404? They seem suspicious too."
Zhen Jianren sipped his water and shook his head. "It's not them. That guy, Hao Shuai, is too flashy. The one who has the item wouldn't be so foolish."
(End of the Chapter)
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