Volume One: Phantom Tower Chapter Thirteen: The Sudden Turn of Events

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When certain events happen for the first time, you might call them coincidences. The second time, you could still chalk them up to coincidence. But what if the same situation occurs repeatedly?

Then it can no longer be considered mere coincidence; it becomes an inevitability born of something eerie.

Cheng Fan encountered exactly this kind of unsettling inevitability.

After confirming that Zhao Linxuan was problematic, Cheng Fan made a wise decision. He neither questioned nor spoke much but chose without hesitation to run. After finding an excuse, he slipped away quietly on his own.

Undoubtedly, ever since he parted ways with Zhao Linxuan and Zhou Cheng, Cheng Fan decided to seek a way out alone. Although this seemed somewhat unfair to Zhou Cheng—after all, the blond-haired youth was harmless—Cheng Fan had no choice. Being an ordinary mortal, he had limited abilities and had to prioritize his own safety.

At this moment, Cheng Fan was running, sprinting down the corridor and quickly disappearing around a stairwell corner.

“Phew!”

Pausing briefly in the stairwell, he scanned his surroundings, took a deep breath, and headed upstairs.

Based on his earlier mental simulation, he was certain the 19th floor was above; as long as he kept going up, he would eventually return there.

Time slipped by quietly as Cheng Fan moved.

Unconsciously, twenty minutes passed.

It was worth noting that unlike the left corridor he had been in earlier, perhaps because he chose the right corridor this time, Cheng Fan encountered no corpses—neither the bodies cut in half nor the shattered remains appeared—deviating from the future he had simulated.

But this deviation was precisely what Cheng Fan hoped for; changing the future meant altering fate, and only by changing the future could he truly seize control of his own destiny.

That was Cheng Fan’s thought—yet…

“Hey, Cheng Fan!”

As he continued climbing, a shout came from behind. Someone seemed to have spotted him and called his name with a voice that sounded strangely familiar.

Accompanying the call were rapid footsteps.

Hmm?

Hearing the voice, Cheng Fan immediately stopped and instinctively turned around to see someone running up the stairs.

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Under the lights, the figure looked ordinary, dressed fashionably, and sporting an eye-catching mop of bright yellow hair.

If it wasn’t Zhou Cheng, then who else could it be?

Seeing the blond youth approaching, Cheng Fan’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected Zhou Cheng to appear suddenly—after all, he had left the group early and sneaked away alone, mentally prepared to venture solo. Yet now, despite having walked the corridor alone for some time, Zhou Cheng had unexpectedly shown up!

Where had he come from? How had he found me?

And what about Zhao Linxuan?

“Phew, phew… It really is you, Brother Cheng! I finally found you!”

Out of breath, Zhou Cheng greeted him with evident excitement. Cheng Fan, however, looked puzzled. Without wasting time on pleasantries, he grasped the key point and asked with a frown, “Wait, Zhou Cheng, where did you come from? I thought you and Zhao Linxuan were together. Why are you here all of a sudden?”

“Ah, don’t mention it!” Seeing Cheng Fan’s stunned expression, Zhou Cheng wiped sweat from his forehead and spoke frankly. “That woman Zhao Linxuan is dead. She died terribly.”

What!

Hearing Zhao Linxuan’s death, Cheng Fan’s eyes widened again.

He never could have dreamed that the woman so seemingly blessed by fortune would die. Others might not have known, but Cheng Fan was fully aware of Zhao Linxuan’s uniqueness—as if favored by the goddess of luck herself. Whenever they encountered a female ghost, the ghost would inexplicably ignore Zhao Linxuan, choosing to attack others present first. Relying on this mysterious luck, Cheng Fan had believed Zhao Linxuan would survive indefinitely, even outliving everyone else. Yet now she was dead?

“What? Zhao Linxuan is dead?”

Grabbing Zhou Cheng’s collar fiercely, Cheng Fan’s expression grew grave. “Quick, tell me what happened!”

“Hey, hey, hey, Brother Cheng, don’t get so worked up! I’m telling you, I’m telling you, okay?” Freeing himself from the grip, Zhou Cheng hurriedly recounted the story. “Well, here’s what happened: you went upstairs to deal with the big guy, right? So Zhao Linxuan and I waited for you there, but you never came back, so I went upstairs to look for you…”

Straightening his collar, Zhou Cheng continued, “But when I got upstairs, I didn’t see you anywhere. Even in the bathroom, you were nowhere to be found. So I went back—and when I returned, I found Zhao Linxuan dead in the corridor.”

Recalling the terrifying scene, Zhou Cheng’s voice trembled with fear. “Man, not only was she dead, but her body was shattered into countless pieces. The scene was so bloody, it nearly scared me to death right then.”

“And then?” Cheng Fan pressed immediately.

“Of course, I ran away right away. I didn’t dare stay by the left staircase anymore, so I went to the right one instead. I ran upstairs for a while, and then I ran into you.”

After Zhou Cheng’s account, Cheng Fan fell silent.

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He neither spoke nor moved, lowering his head with no reaction, only his eyes occasionally shifting.

No one knew what Cheng Fan was thinking at that moment, nor the meaning behind his silence—until a tentative voice came from beside him.

“Hey, Brother Cheng, what’s wrong?”

Seeing Cheng Fan’s sudden stillness, Zhou Cheng’s expression turned curious.

“Nothing, just thinking about some things,” Cheng Fan replied vaguely.

If it had been anyone else, they might have pressed further, but Zhou Cheng, easygoing by nature, didn’t ask. Instead, as if struck by an idea, he slapped his forehead and changed the subject. “Ah, right! Didn’t you say there’s an oil painting on the 19th floor related to a way out? So what are we waiting for? Let’s hurry up and find it!”

Mentioned by Zhou Cheng like that, Cheng Fan snapped back to reality and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Time is tight; we can’t waste it. Let’s keep going upstairs!”

With that, Cheng Fan no longer hesitated and led the way upward. Zhou Cheng followed closely without hesitation, but then—

Whoosh!

For no reason, as they both stepped forward to climb the stairs, Cheng Fan suddenly spun around. In his hand, unnoticed until now, was an object.

A fully torn plastic blood bag.

Gripping it tightly, Cheng Fan acted instantly, hurling the blood bag violently toward Zhou Cheng behind him!

Splash!

Crimson blood splattered wildly, showering Zhou Cheng who was only steps away.

Then, a bizarre scene unfolded:

As the blood droplets soaked his body, for some inexplicable reason, Zhou Cheng froze instantly. The motion of lifting his foot to take a step abruptly ceased—he was frozen in place right then and there.