Volume One: The Haunted Tower Chapter Twenty-Eight: Evacuating Early

(Page 1 of 3)

(Following these words, you immediately step outside, only to see Zhao Linxuan staring in terror, pointing at a spot on the corridor wall.)

(Your gaze follows her finger, and you see an eye appearing on the wall.)

(It is an eye that looks uncannily human, currently locked onto you and Zhao Linxuan. The scene is both bizarre and horrifying.)

(Seeing an eye emerge inexplicably from the wall, you are just as shaken as Zhao Linxuan.)

(You want to ask her what is happening, but before you can speak, a sudden transformation occurs.)

(The previously calm corridor is suddenly swept by a bone-chilling, ghostly wind. You and Zhao Linxuan both catch the scent of impending danger.)

(Too preoccupied to care about the eye, you run without a second thought. Zhao Linxuan moves in unison, and together you bolt toward the central staircase.)

(Unlike when you hid in the restroom previously, your luck is worse this time. Before you can get far, the female ghost appears ahead of schedule.)

(Accompanied by a piercing, eerie laugh, the ghost emerges through the wall of the corridor and begins to pursue you and Zhao Linxuan while hovering in mid-air.)

(Seeing the ghost, you realize the situation is dire. Instinctively, you try to put distance between yourself and Zhao Linxuan, attempting to split up, but alas...)

(Your intention is detected by Zhao Linxuan beforehand. Just as you abandon the central staircase and prepare to dash toward the right-hand one, you are grabbed by Zhao Linxuan. A look of fierce cruelty appears in her eyes.)

(Controlled by Zhao Linxuan, you lose your freedom and are forced to run with her toward the central staircase.)

(Although you both make it into the stairwell, you are destined to be unable to outrun the ghost.)

(A moment later, enveloped in gusts of spectral wind, the ghost easily catches up to you. As expected, the ghost ignores Zhao Linxuan and locks onto you first.)

(Terrified out of your wits, you have no choice but to resort to self-mutilation as you did before; you slash your arm with a knife and spray your blood at the ghost.)

(The ghost, touched by the blood, freezes instantly. You and Zhao Linxuan seize the chance to head downstairs, but...)

(Three seconds later, the spectral wind and the laughter—which had just vanished—return. Looking back, you see the ghost pursuing you again, much like a starving beast hunting its prey.)

(In your panic, you realize the effectiveness of your blood against the ghost has diminished. You know that it will be difficult to shake off the pursuit with blood alone.)

(You have reached a true moment of life and death.)

(You do not want to die, so you repeat your previous tactic, continuing to spray blood from your arm to delay the ghost while forcing yourself to stay calm.)

(Miraculously, you regain your composure, your brain whirring like a high-speed motor.)

(Page 2 of 3)

(As you think, you realize this is no solution. If this continues, you face only two outcomes: either be caught and killed on the spot by the ghost, or bleed to death. Either way, the result is death.)

(What infuriates you most is that the reason the ghost keeps locking onto you is precisely because of Zhao Linxuan.)

(Under the pressure of death, you rack your brain for a strategy. Finally, you come up with a plan.)

(Seeing the recovered ghost closing in, you hurriedly spray blood to paralyze it. Furthermore, to extend the duration of the ghost's immobilization, you spray your blood three times in succession, losing so much that it drenches the ghost entirely.)

(Then, catching Zhao Linxuan off guard, you kick her hard. Seeing her tumble down the stairs, you dash frantically toward the nearest floor.)

(Thanks to your superior intellect, the strategy succeeds. As the ghost freezes again, you and Zhao Linxuan are completely separated.)

(Undoubtedly, as long as Zhao Linxuan is not by your side, the mark on you will become ineffective, or at the very least, you will no longer be the ghost's primary target.)

(You crawl and scramble down the corridor, quickly darting into the right-hand staircase.)

(You continue to run through the stairwell, heading downward.)

(You have no idea how long you have been running; you are just dashing down the stairs like a madman.)

(Until your brain spins with dizziness and you stumble to the ground.)

(The aftereffects of excessive blood loss set in. Lying prone on the stairs, your vision begins to blur, and a wave of dizziness engulfs your mind.)

(Too preoccupied to care if the ghost can find you, and confirming your state is dire, you immediately tear at your clothes, intending to bandage your wounds.)

(However, just as you are frantically bandaging yourself, danger emerges.)

(But this time, the danger is no longer the ghost—it is Zhao Linxuan.)

(While running blindly, Zhao Linxuan has coincidentally found you.)

(The moment she sees you, her face turns vicious. Enraged by your actions earlier, she has been driven mad with fury.)

(You instinctively try to run, but due to your blood loss, escape is impossible.)

(Having lost your wits, you are knocked down by a punch from Zhao Linxuan. She climbs on top of you and grips your throat tightly.)

(You instantly find yourself unable to breathe. Furthermore, as her hands tighten, you are plunged into suffocation, accompanied by sharp pain in your neck.)

(As the feeling of asphyxiation grows, your consciousness fades rapidly.)

(Page 3 of 3)

(You are dead.)

(Simulation ended.)

In the restroom, Cheng Fan snaps his eyes open!

The second he opens them, his angry gaze lifts immediately, staring directly at Zhao Linxuan.

Cheng Fan’s unusual behavior is naturally noticed by Zhao Linxuan, who is standing right there. Seeing Cheng Fan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly open them and glare at her with such fury, she is stunned. Startled, she asks, "What is wrong with you?"

"Huh?" Hearing the question, Cheng Fan snaps back to reality, realizing the simulation has ended and he is back in the real world.

"Ah, no, it's nothing..."

As expected, even though he had witnessed Zhao Linxuan’s ruthlessness in the simulation, in reality, Cheng Fan does not dare to turn against her. He shakes his head repeatedly to indicate nothing is wrong. Although he is quick to mask his anger, Zhao Linxuan remains bewildered, her gaze toward him growing increasingly suspicious.

As for Cheng Fan?

As mentioned, ever since the simulation ended, he has been cursing Zhao Linxuan in his heart. He never dreamed that in his final simulation, the one to kill him would not be the ghost, but this femme fatale before him!

I never thought you would actually kill me in the end!

Damn you, you crazy woman!

Of course, now is not the time to dwell on that. Even if he wanted to, that would be a matter for later. In fact, just as he finishes cursing her in his mind, his expression shifts.

Because he suddenly remembers something.

According to the simulation, the female ghost will appear in the corridor in one minute and reach the floor he is currently on.

Damn it!

"Hurry, we can't stay here!"

Thinking of this, Cheng Fan leaps up immediately, and while issuing the warning, he is the first to rush out into the corridor.

Zhao Linxuan does not understand why Cheng Fan would jump up and bolt without warning, but relying on her trust in the young man’s intelligence, she asks no questions and follows closely behind him.