Volume One: The Ghost Building Chapter Twenty-Two: Stairwell Experience

Forty minutes ago, along an endless, winding stairwell, the sound of footsteps echoed back and forth. Zhao Linxuan walked in front, with Zhou Cheng trailing behind.

Both Zhao Linxuan and Zhou Cheng moved with palpable tension. Ever since Cheng Fan had mysteriously disappeared, it felt as though their backbone had been ripped away, leaving them both in a state of panic. Zhao Linxuan had been the most severely affected at first, but she was adept at self-regulation. After a moment, she forced herself to regain her composure and immediately proposed continuing up the stairs, reasoning that Cheng Fan had been headed for the 19th floor.

If Cheng Fan had indeed gone to the 19th floor, they might find him there, and perhaps even catch a glimpse of the oil painting rumored to hold the secret to their survival. Driven by the need to find him, they continued their ascent under Zhao Linxuan’s lead, eyes darting in every direction.

Even now, maintaining a state of high alert, Zhao Linxuan remained hyper-focused, her beautiful eyes scanning the edges of each floor.

"Hey, Miss Zhao, what’s going on here? Didn't Cheng Fan say he’d spilled blood on the 19th floor? Why haven't we seen any sign of it yet?"

"Could it be that Cheng Fan was lying?"

Zhou Cheng rubbed his yellow-dyed hair and began to complain. After all, from the moment they started climbing until now, he hadn't seen a single drop of blood.

Faced with Zhou Cheng’s skepticism, Zhao Linxuan did not stop. She kept walking as she replied, "No, Cheng Fan wasn't lying. The bloodstains are real. When Cheng Fan and I first went to the 19th floor, not only did we see the oil painting, but we were also ambushed by a ghost while observing it. The female ghost nearly killed Cheng Fan, but he had discovered beforehand that his blood could suppress her. At the critical moment, he bit his tongue and used his blood to freeze the spirit in place."

"How else do you think we escaped from such a desperate situation?"

"So that’s how it was." Hearing Zhao Linxuan’s explanation, Zhou Cheng suddenly understood. "So, that means the bloodstains must be there?"

After saying this, perhaps struck by another doubt, he asked with a curious look, "Alright, even if the blood is there, why haven't we found the 19th floor yet?"

"Wait! Hold on!"

As a spark of realization flashed through his mind, Zhou Cheng suddenly felt clever. Without waiting for Zhao Linxuan to respond, he slapped his forehead and answered his own question: "I just thought of something—could it be that the ghost knows the 19th-floor painting is important, so she purposely hid the floor?"

"If that's true, then... does that mean we’ll never find the 19th floor?"

After blurting out his theory, Zhou Cheng frightened himself. He hurriedly looked at Zhao Linxuan, expecting her to be panicked as well, but she showed no reaction. She simply said without turning back, "Do you remember the survival tips you received before the instance started?"

"I remember, why?"

Seeing that Zhou Cheng was completely oblivious, Zhao Linxuan felt increasingly in danger. Or rather, ever since Cheng Fan had left, her sense of security had plummeted. After all, is there a difference between being teamed up with a genius and being teamed up with an idiot?

The answer is yes, there is a difference—a massive one.

Zhao Linxuan remembered clearly that when she was teamed with Cheng Fan, he could resolve any crisis they encountered and analyze problems through logic. Often, she didn't even need to do anything; Cheng Fan would have already taken the optimal course of action. Teaming with him had made her feel relatively at ease; while it wasn't exactly safe, at least she hadn't been trembling with fear. But now...

With Cheng Fan gone and only Zhou Cheng by her side, hearing his series of moronic questions made her feel panicked, the fear in her heart intensifying.

At the same time, a voice from the depths of her soul surfaced in her mind, as if asking her:

*Having left the only person who had any hope of finding a way out, how much longer can you survive? Have you thought about your final end?*

*Cheng Fan! Don't let me find you, or I will make you pay!*

The escalating fear transformed into a fiery rage. The resentment toward Cheng Fan for sneaking away washed over her again. Clenching her fists, she gritted her teeth, her beautiful face twisted into a mask of ferocity.

"Hey, hey, hey, Miss Zhao, what's wrong? Say something?"

Seeing Zhao Linxuan, who had just been speaking to him, suddenly fall silent, Zhou Cheng felt uneasy and craned his neck to call out to her.

"Shut up!"

To Zhou Cheng’s surprise, the moment he finished speaking, Zhao Linxuan spun around and snapped at him, her face once again filled with the same vicious, grim expression she’d had when she first realized Cheng Fan was missing.

Zhou Cheng shuddered and fell completely silent. Even though he was a street thug with a bit of a tough streak, he felt an instinctive dread when faced with an angry Zhao Linxuan. It felt as if he were facing a superior force he could never defeat, completely suppressed by her aura.

But then...

"Ah!"

He had only just closed his mouth when, suddenly seeing something, he let out a shriek and collapsed to the ground, his legs turning to jelly.

Hm?

At the same time, seeing Zhou Cheng staring fixedly upward, Zhao Linxuan was startled. She turned back around, and a bloody scene came into view.

The blood belonged to a corpse—a man’s body in a gruesome state.

The body was severed at the waist, its viscera and intestines spilled across the steps. Neither Zhou Cheng nor Zhao Linxuan knew where the body had come from. A moment ago, there had been nothing there, but in the blink of an eye, a broken corpse had suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs.

"T-this guy, I know him!" Zhou Cheng pointed at the mangled corpse, stuttering. "Isn't he the one from the elevator..."

There was no need for Zhou Cheng to identify him. The moment she saw the body, beyond the sudden change in her expression, Zhao Linxuan recognized the victim: he was one of the explorers who had died in the elevator.

Of course, compared to Zhou Cheng’s panic, Zhao Linxuan, having encountered similar situations before, was significantly calmer. Without a second thought, she grabbed Zhou Cheng and dragged him away, running as fast as she could.

"Move!"

Zhou Cheng didn't understand why Zhao Linxuan would choose to flee without hesitation upon seeing a corpse. It was just a body, after all; even if it was scary, there was no need to run, right? His own fear had just been a reaction to the gruesome sight. Why was she...

The only comfort was that this woman, Zhao Linxuan, seemed to care about him; at such a critical moment, she hadn't forgotten to pull him along.

*She’s actually not a bad person.*

Thus, tugging along behind Zhao Linxuan, the two continued to run up the stairs. As they put distance between themselves and the corpse, Zhou Cheng’s tension began to subside. He was feeling better about himself, but as they ran, they encountered another corpse.

This one was even bloodier, even more wretched—a mangled ruin of a body that would make anyone vomit on the spot.