"The fifth floor is an extremely important place.
At the time of the incident, Xiao Qi and Old Xue should have been close to each other, though the man who sent the texts was unaware.
Do you remember the sound of the door being rammed?
There was only the impact, but no footsteps. We thought it was the ghost, but now it seems more likely it was Xiao Qi."
Ji Li hurried down the other staircase toward the fifth floor.
The third persona's voice spoke quickly in his mind, bringing everything back to the strange events on the fifth floor.
After sending Li Xing away, Ji Li still didn't understand why he agreed so readily, but at least it removed a threat and allowed him more freedom to search for clues.
As he listened, Ji Li took Old Xue's phone from his coat. Without the password, he couldn't unlock it, only stare at the missed call displayed on the screen.
"Did Xiao Qi really not know Old Xue was already dead…"
He couldn't figure it out. According to the third persona, Xiao Qi should have been the one who rammed the door. But why? And why were there no footsteps?
If Xiao Qi was on the fifth floor, there was no way they could have missed Old Xue's body.
Why still call his phone? That defied normal logic.
"Perhaps we'll only know once we find Xiao Qi."
Ji Li kept his movements concealed, though he still felt uneasy about Li Xing's odd behavior.
He sensed that man's aura had shifted at some point—an intuition, vague yet undeniable.
Pushing Li Xing toward Tongguan had been a test. If Ji Li failed here, at least Tongguan could observe Li Xing further.
For now, Ji Li still had no idea what the true task was. Li Xing was suspicious, but until the very end, he might still be useful.
"The fifth floor is quiet. The strange singing has stopped. Clearly, someone is there."
Ji Li stepped onto the fifth floor, warned by the third persona.
Hearing his own footsteps, he saw his shadow stretched long against the light. On the floor, faintly, there were three shadows.
It was then he realized—the second persona hadn't spoken in a long time.
Even during the task's announcement, his voice had sounded weak.
Ji Li frowned. He didn't understand his body's condition, nor whether the second persona's silence was a good or bad sign.
"Second, why have you been so quiet?"
He asked, but no answer came. This had never happened before, and a creeping unease stirred in him.
Especially as he raised his eyes to the dark corridor ahead—something malevolent seemed to be waiting in the shadows.
That uncanny familiarity with the ghost resurfaced, halting his steps.
*Second?*
The third persona also sensed something was wrong, calling out in Ji Li's mind.
"Gone? Or asleep?"
Ji Li didn't know what was happening, but something within him had changed.
His left pinky twitched uncontrollably, just like when the task first began in the hotel lobby.
Suddenly, a shrill, agonized scream tore through his mind—a sound he had never heard, yet one that felt eerily familiar.
"There's… something else inside my body!"
Ji Li was used to pain, but this was beyond endurance. It felt as if his skull was being split open by an axe, while something forced its way into his brain.
At the same time, another hidden presence deep inside him resisted fiercely.
Two forces clashed within his body and soul, fighting for control.
He collapsed to his knees with a thud, clutching his head with bloodless hands, his face pale.
*Ji Li! Ji Li! I saw a figure—*
"Who?!"
*He looked like you… but not quite…*
*Is he… us?*
Tormented by the tearing of his soul, Ji Li barely heard the third persona's words. He raised his head slightly.
The corridor ahead was empty, shrouded in endless darkness.
Yet in his blurred vision, he heard footsteps—
The sharp click of high heels approaching.
Unaware, Ji Li tilted his head back, his pupils clouded with deathly haze. Slowly, under the third persona's voice, their color began to change.
From pure black, threads of gray seeped in.
The color of solitude and indifference awakened in his eyes.
But—
The next moment, a hand clapped down on Ji Li's shoulder!
*Boom!*
Ji Li's world fell silent. The struggle inside his skull vanished the moment that hand touched him—whether it had fled or ended, he could not tell.
The third persona was mute, no longer speaking.
But the second persona, weary yet still carrying his usual harsh tone, broke the silence:
"Damn it, I fell asleep again? Main persona, Third, what's going on? Huh? Who's this little girl?"
Ji Li stirred back from the brink, though his body felt drained, his blood and strength seemingly collapsed in what felt like an illusion.
He lifted his head blankly, long hair falling across his face. Standing before him, with one hand on his shoulder, was a figure.
A delicate little girl, no taller than one meter thirty or forty, holding a gray stuffed bear. She looked no more than seven or eight years old.
Her small hand rested gently on Ji Li's shoulder. The scene looked as though she were the steady adult, comforting a lost child kneeling before her.
"Uncle, have you seen my father?"
Her voice was clear as a spring, echoing down the corridor like a budding flower. Her innocent face reflected in Ji Li's eyes.
But as soon as she spoke, she recoiled in fear, stepping back when she saw his eyes—
A flash of red light!
"Was everything just now an illusion?
I felt it—inside me, besides the two of you, there's another soul hidden! Just now, it was fighting against something else!"
Ji Li narrowed his eyes at the retreating girl. Instead of answering, he spoke softly to the third persona.
*I don't know. When it comes to the body, perhaps we're only secondary personas—we don't sense everything as deeply.*
*But I saw a man in a black robe. He looked almost exactly like you… except his eyes were gray.*
"Uncle, have you seen my father?"
The little girl, looking barely ten, hugged her stuffed bear tighter. Fear filled her eyes, yet she still asked timidly—as if Ji Li was the only one she could turn to.
Ji Li studied her carefully. Realization stirred within him, though doubt still lingered.
"What's your name?"
"My name is Xue Qi… but Uncle, you can call me Xiao Qi…"
You can read Eerie Overseer ahead by 60+ chapters ad-free and for free at htt ps://ravenarchives. com/book/eerie-overseer]. Bulk uploads are a bit tricky, so updates here might be irregular, but they'll keep coming.