Translator: CinderTL
"What... what should we do?" Du Feng looked at Huai Yi beside him, his voice trembling. Both of them held their breath, hiding in a corner of the stairwell's landing.
Huai Yi clutched his phone tightly. The battery was still sufficient, but there was no signal.
Unlike the stairwell Jiang Cheng and the others had seen, the lights above them in this stairwell had long since gone out.
Only the corridor lights were still on.
With that faint light, it wasn't pitch black, but the entire stairwell seemed to be shrouded in a gray, hazy filter.
As a sound echoed, Huai Yi's expression twitched.
It was back... the sound of footsteps.
The footsteps had appeared about ten minutes ago, shortly after Huai Yi had made that call, coming from below them.
At first, they thought it was their teammates coming to find them.
But as they cautiously descended, getting closer to the source of the footsteps, Huai Yi suddenly stopped.
A strange look flashed in his eyes.
At this distance, the person downstairs should have already heard their footsteps.
If it really was their teammates downstairs, how would they react upon suddenly hearing footsteps approaching from above? Putting himself in their shoes, Huai Yi would never rashly make contact without knowing whether the person coming down was human or a ghost.
He would immediately stop and hide.
First, he would confirm the other party's identity.
But the footsteps downstairs showed no sign of stopping; in fact, they were moving even faster.
Were they in a hurry to die? Du Feng also sensed something was wrong. He leaned out, trying to peer through the gaps in the stairs, but Huai Yi yanked him back.
The two exchanged a glance and began to quietly ascend the stairs. But then the footsteps downstairs paused, and moments later, they resumed at several times their previous speed, chasing after them.
Sure enough!
Huai Yi and Du Feng no longer tried to hide their steps, fleeing upward like madmen.
But soon, something even more despairing happened.
The footsteps from below disappeared.
But footsteps began to echo from above.
"Thud, thud, thud."
It sounded like someone barefoot was charging toward them.
They turned and ran downward.
After being toyed with several times, Huai Yi and Du Feng took advantage of a momentary lull in the footsteps to hide together.
Du Feng was trembling all over, the fear in his eyes almost tangible.
This ghost... was toying with them.
Like a cat playing with a mouse, often not for sustenance but for amusement, the ghost wanted them to die in extreme fear and despair.
"Are they... are they not coming?" Du Feng tried to keep his voice low, but it shook uncontrollably.
Huai Yi glanced toward the corridor outside. The light there was gentle, as if stepping into it would free them from this nightmare of a stairwell.
More importantly, so far, the ghost had never appeared from the corridor.
Nor had the footsteps.
His gaze slowly shifted, then subtly landed on Du Feng, who was turned sideways, his back to Huai Yi, still nervously scanning their surroundings.
As if at any moment, the ghost might emerge from some inconspicuous corner.
A conflicted emotion welled up in Huai Yi's eyes, but after a few seconds, as the footsteps above resumed, that conflict gradually hardened into resolve.
"They won't come," Huai Yi said. "We can only rely on ourselves."
"I don't want to die," Du Feng seemed to be on the verge of hysteria. He had naturally heard the footsteps above them.
It was the trumpet of death.
The Ghost had come for them again.
He had a gut feeling that they wouldn't make it out alive, that they would all die here.
The air was thick with despair. Du Feng suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with hatred.
Damn Nan Huaili! It's all his fault! Thinking of Nan Huaili's face, Du Feng's expression turned ferocious, tearing that face to shreds in his mind.
All of this was his doing!
If it weren't for him, how could I have been brought to this cursed place?
And Madam Nan... that bitch actually made me investigate the video. This whole family is a bunch of troublemakers.
They... they all deserve to die! A hand rested on his shoulder, and Du Feng shuddered slightly. "Don't be afraid," Huai Yi's voice sounded very reassuring. "We will definitely survive!"
Huai Yi's hand was warm, and even through the fabric of his clothes, it brought Du Feng a sense of comfort.
"Brother Huai, you must save me!" Du Feng seemed to recall Huai Yi's past actions. He had been in such a place before.
He had survived then, so he must be able to survive this time too!
Looking into Du Feng's eyes, Huai Yi nodded. The footsteps were getting closer, and there was no time to waste. They had to make a decision.
"Staying together won't work," Huai Yi glanced upward and spoke quickly. "There's probably only one Ghost. If we separate, we might have a chance."
"Have you noticed? The Ghost hasn't appeared in the hallway. If one of us stays behind to distract it, the other can run down the hallway."
"Once you're free, find the others immediately and bring them back to rescue the one who stayed behind. As long as we're fast enough, there's still hope—"
"I'll go get help!" Du Feng looked at Huai Yi, nodding earnestly. "Brother Huai, I'm fast. Once I get out, I'll bring people back to save you!"
Staring into Du Feng's eyes, the last bit of hesitation in Huai Yi's gaze vanished. "Then I'll leave it to you," Huai Yi said. "Du Feng."
Being stared at like that by Huai Yi made Du Feng feel slightly uneasy, but under the immense fear, it all seemed natural.
"Brother Huai," Du Feng swallowed hard and spoke quickly, "When should we—"
The footsteps above them had disappeared at some point, but in this situation, the absence of footsteps was even more terrifying than their sudden appearance.
After all, no one knew when the footsteps would return, or if they would appear right in front of them.
"Right now," Huai Yi said.
Without delay, Du Feng immediately stood up and sprinted down the hallway.
At first, he had been worried.
But the moment he dashed into the hallway, all his doubts vanished.
The chill that had been lingering in his heart was gone, and even the light falling on him felt warm.
If he had turned back to look, he would have seen Huai Yi watching him leave, his eyes filled with an indescribable complexity.
A moment later, Huai Yi slowly retreated into the darkness behind him.
As Du Feng ran, he observed his surroundings. Several nearby Gates were locked, and they looked somewhat familiar to him.
Soon, he realized where he was.
This was the 6th floor! He had been here before.
Just as he was about to reach the other end of the corridor, the lights in the stairwell opposite him flickered and then went out.
Immediately after, hurried footsteps echoed, and several patients in hospital gowns surged out of the darkness, scrambling towards him on all fours.
These people... had no faces.
(End of the Chapter)
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