Chapter 45 The Truth Emerges

Tanya’s face was especially grim; she dared not move forward any further, nor did she wish to advance in such confusion. Her heart was filled with deep regret—was she truly so unlucky? Why did she always encounter these supernatural troubles?

“Let’s first come up with a plan. If we keep stumbling along like this, we’ll never see an end!” Tanya kicked at the stair beside her in frustration, venting a little of her resentment.

“You’re right, just wandering aimlessly isn’t a solution,” Zhang Long agreed, his tone unhurried and detached, as if what happened had nothing to do with him. He showed no urgency despite their lives being on the line.

Without a doubt, this was someone with an almost terrifying adaptability.

Any ordinary person would have been reduced to panic long ago in such maddening circumstances, hardly able to keep calm as he did. Chu Ning, standing to the side, watched Zhang Long with a cold eye; his composure was too much, not at all fitting for someone supposedly being hunted. Had he stopped pretending after luring them out?

No, Chu Ning quickly dismissed this thought. From the moment he met Zhang Long, the man had always maintained this calm demeanor—even when asking for help, he’d only looked slightly anxious.

Touching the money warming in his pocket, Chu Ning set aside the puzzles around Zhang Long for now. After all, at least the money was real—that couldn’t be faked.

It was only after observing Tanya’s reactions that Chu Ning noticed Zhang Long’s abnormality; everything required a point of comparison. For now, he mentally marked Zhang Long as suspicious—he was certainly not as simple as he appeared.

“Let’s try again! Maybe something will change, you never know. It’s better than sitting and waiting for death,” Chu Ning rallied the group. Morale couldn’t be allowed to break; otherwise, the team would become truly unmanageable!

The other two voiced no objections. From the outset, Chu Ning had been the backbone of the group. Besides, the two of them barely knew each other, having only been introduced through Chu Ning—they could hardly be called familiar.

What an ideal client, Chu Ning thought sincerely. Generous pay, few demands—it was rare to find such a perfect employer. They hadn’t made any strange requests; he counted himself lucky!

After discussing their next steps, Chu Ning and the others continued downward, but the result was the same. Every stairwell bore the sign for the sixth floor.

According to Chu Ning’s reasoning, they tried going against the grain—climbing upward instead. As expected, this yielded nothing of value.

At this point, Chu Ning almost wished the people after Zhang Long would spring out, just for a bit of amusement. Facing the same scene for so long, they were already weary, desperate for something new to break the monotony.

“Why haven’t the bad guys shown up yet?” Tanya complained, pouting. She was on the verge of madness—physically and mentally exhausted, she longed to collapse into her own soft bed and sleep. Never had she imagined walking could be so torturous.

Loneliness, boredom, helplessness…

Even with companions, the tedium was unbearable. She wished she could sprout wings and fly away.

Chu Ning shook his head in silent resignation. He too hoped the villains would appear soon, recite their lines, and let him heroically defeat them. But such things were wishful thinking—life seldom goes according to plan.

This train of thought reminded Chu Ning that Zhang Long’s group had originally numbered seven. Where had the others gone? According to Zhang Long, one had turned into a monster while the rest scattered and vanished during the escape.

But, as the saying goes, “see the person alive or the body dead.” They’d walked so long without encountering even a ghostly shadow. None of this made sense to Chu Ning—it defied logic.

It couldn’t be that everyone else had escaped, leaving only Zhang Long trapped here. That was simply impossible. In fact, Zhang Long’s behavior made Chu Ning believe he was the most likely to survive.

Chu Ning had some inkling of the true nature of that group, gleaned from scattered memories.

“Where are your companions?” Chu Ning asked, watching Zhang Long’s expression closely. The more he pondered, the deeper his suspicions grew.

“Yes, your six—ow! You’re stepping on my foot, get off!” Tanya yelped, withdrawing her right foot and pushing Chu Ning away in annoyance. He must have done it on purpose.

No one could step on another’s foot face-to-face by accident—he was definitely doing it deliberately.

Chu Ning shot Tanya a meaningful look, recalling from his fragmented memories scenes of them secretly observing their visitors. He didn’t know exactly what had happened during that period, but he could infer enough from the images.

In truth, Chu Ning found his picture-like memory somewhat troublesome. The human mind can’t recall everything; it instinctively lets go of certain things to stay agile.

He could clearly sense another self within, whose experiences would surface as images—never complete. The main events would appear, while unimportant details faded away.

The most frustrating part was that the memories were silent—he had no recollection of what was said, forced to guess the meaning from the images alone.

That’s how Chu Ning knew Zhang Long had six companions, and that he and Tanya had been secretly watching them. He had no memory of how they’d entered the room, but he didn’t mind—entering a room was too mundane to remember.

“Ahem, so your companions ran off ahead of you?” Chu Ning broke in, stopping Tanya from pressing further and risking their secret surveillance being exposed. That would make things truly interesting.

Zhang Long replied casually, “We got separated. When disaster strikes, everyone looks out for themselves—who has time to watch others? Besides, splitting up gives the best chance of survival. There was only one monster, but plenty of us.”

“Maybe they were lucky enough to escape, or maybe the monster got them. As long as you keep me safe, that’s all that matters. Save the others if you can, otherwise, let fate decide.”

Thanks to Chu Ning’s hints, Tanya finally remembered how Zhang Long’s group had once failed to notice her and understood Chu Ning’s warning: keep quiet and don’t give anything away.

“Oh, I see.” Since Zhang Long was unwilling to say more, Chu Ning dropped the matter to avoid souring the mood.

Outside the building, Ye Hui kept quiet vigil at the entrance, weakly sitting on the stone steps and wiping the cold sweat from his brow.

“That was close! Almost slipped up, but I managed to muddle through for now. Once the job’s done, I’ll have to find a way to recover.”

He rubbed his aching fingertips in distress. He’d used up three drops of blood essence today—who knew when he’d be able to replenish it?

“Hurry back, Lingling!” Ye Hui prayed for Liu Lingling’s safe return. He knew the labyrinth he’d set up would eventually be unraveled.

Ye Hui gazed into the dark sky, his eyes lost in thought. He wished everything would end soon—no one had anticipated things would come to this.

Drawn on the glass of the entryway were strange patterns, traced in black ink, forming a continuous line with no visible starting point.

If one approached for a closer look, the black was tinged faintly with vermillion. The air carried a metallic scent of blood and the thick stench of decay.

“I hope it can hold them off a bit longer,” Ye Hui muttered, confident in the trap he’d arranged. He’d blended technology with the supernatural, enough to confound even the most stubborn old spirits.

Inside the stairwell, Chu Ning and the others were still trapped on the dubious “sixth floor,” unable to find a way out. Their patience was nearly spent—everyone had their limits.

To be honest, even though Chu Ning didn’t believe in the supernatural, he let Tanya try her bizarre methods in hopes that, by some stroke of luck, they might stumble onto an exit.

They tried walking with their eyes closed to block illusions—no luck. But they didn’t give up. They experimented with walking forward and then back three steps, walking backwards, bumping into walls—all sorts of odd ideas, none of which solved the mystery.

Until—ah!

Tanya’s scream shattered the silence, breaking the oppressive quiet.

After walking these endless halls, it was perhaps inevitable that they’d run into something truly terrifying. They’d lost count of the steps long before, at first counting hopefully but then lapsing into numbness.

“Finally, a change—worth celebrating!” Chu Ning said, though his face was grim.

Beside the sign marking the floor, they had discovered bloody handprints smeared on the wall. Judging by the marks, whoever left them had struggled before being dragged away.

Bloody handprints stained both the wall and the floor; splatters of blood marked a violent scene.

Chu Ning carefully avoided the blood and stepped closer to examine the area for clues. He did, in fact, find something useful: part of the wall’s surface had been scratched away, evidence of a desperate struggle.

Moreover, the spot where the “sixth floor” sign had been posted was also scraped. Behind it, Chu Ning saw another, darker marking—something was amiss.

He tore away the damaged sign completely, revealing the hidden secret behind it.