Real Thrills

The cold wind of the autumn night blew in gusts through the open glass window, piercing the flesh of every living person.

Ji Li's thick, dark hair streamed in the wind as he crouched down and began rummaging through the tool bag.

Rope, a Headlamp, an electric drill—he laid them out on the floor one by one, forming a row!

Ji Li's speculation about a way to survive still echoed in the minds of the other living people, growing ever more intense!

"That's right... that's right! If this ghost's rule for killing is to come after us only once it has killed the woman, then if we interfere with its murder, we might really be able to stall until the next morning!"

Yu Guo's nerves had been stretched to the limit. He could no longer calm down and kept pacing around the room.

Every so often, he would press himself against the hole in the eastern wall and observe the killing next door in Room 702!

"We need to hurry. That woman is still struggling, but she probably won't last much longer. Two minutes! At most, two minutes!" Yu Guo counted down from the side.

Fang Shenyan looked at Ji Li's cold expression, then turned toward the window. "What's your plan?"

Ji Li tied the safety rope around himself and secured the other end by the window. Then, with light steps, he jumped onto the windowsill.

Moonlight shone across his back, making his face seem even colder.

"The corner of the wall only gives us a partial view. I need to see the entire killing process head-on!

A dead end, viewed in reverse, becomes a way to survive!

I don't know what I can do to stop that woman's death.

But I want to try."

Fang Shenyan nodded. "Are you sure you can do this? The mission location is Room 701. If you go to Room 702's window, would that count as defying the Hotel's Will?"

"I measured the distance between the two windows earlier. If I lie on my side and keep my feet braced against Room 701's window, everything above my chest can reach Room 702's window!

By that logic, I won't count as leaving the mission location!"

In truth, Ji Li was not certain about that either, but this method of stalling indefinitely was simply the plan that looked most like a way to survive.

A victim had already appeared, and the second death would arrive soon.

There was only a one-in-four chance now. He could not afford to gamble on it!

Fang Shenyan said nothing more. He merely crouched beside Yu Guo and replied, "We'll watch the situation here and support you as needed."

Knowing time was tight, Ji Li hesitated no longer. He flipped over on the narrow windowsill, his whole body spinning through the air.

He shifted from facing upward to facing downward, both toes pressed firmly against the windowsill as his body swayed.

The autumn night wind slashed viciously across his cheeks like knives, leaving them aching.

If not for the safety rope, Ji Li would never have dared to take such a risk.

His gloved right hand gripped the rope and gradually lowered him as he relaxed his body and stretched out his left arm.

Little by little, he reached for Room 702's narrow windowsill, barely seven centimeters wide!

In just two seconds, sweat had already formed on Ji Li's forehead as he hung in midair. His long hair dangled down his neck, making it itch.

Ji Li focused completely, his eyes fixed unblinkingly on the windowsill ahead.

His current posture could only be called utterly inhuman. His right hand gripped the rope and secretly exerted downward force, every inch requiring precise control.

His left arm stretched forward, trying to seize the windowsill, which was about as thick as his arm. Worst of all, his feet could not leave Room 701's windowsill for even an instant!

This impossibly awkward posture left Ji Li miserable.

Meanwhile, Yu Guo, who had been staring at the peeping hole the entire time, grew increasingly grim.

His mental fortitude was the best among them all. In some respects, it was even stronger than Ji Li's, despite Ji Li having seen several ghosts already.

"Almost... almost... I can see that woman's struggles getting weaker and weaker, and her moans are growing quieter!"

Sweat beaded on Yu Guo's face. He turned to Fang Shenyan, whose outwardly gentle expression actually radiated stiffness, and asked in a deep voice, "Do you have any way to stop it from killing her from here?"

Fang Shenyan pursed his lips and habitually adjusted the glasses on his nose. "Yes! But there's a risk!"

Yu Guo glared at him fiercely. "The chance to survive is right in front of us. What are we afraid of? Just say it!"

Fang Shenyan nodded, then looked at the only man behind them who seemed to have nothing to do.

"Cao Yuan, go to the Living Room and bring back that Peeping Diary."

Cao Yuan had been idle the whole time and was utterly lost. Hearing Fang Shenyan's words, he froze. "What?"

"Go!" Fang Shenyan suddenly bellowed, startling even Yu Guo beside him.

Cao Yuan looked at that rigid, lifeless face and dared not say another word. He dashed into the Living Room and brought the diary back in the shortest possible time.

Watching Fang Shenyan flip through the diary, Yu Guo asked blankly, "What exactly are you trying to do?"

Fang Shenyan ignored him. He merely pushed Yu Guo aside, positioned himself before the hole, and began reading aloud:

"They always gave off a faint fragrance. I lay on the sheets they had slept on, sniffing them wildly, losing myself in the scent..."

"They must never have imagined that every night when they returned home and lay in bed, they were actually sleeping where I had slept, wrapped in my scent.

Whenever I think of that, I want nothing more than to carve myself apart and melt into their blanket as blood-red down, embracing them every night!"

Yu Guo felt like vomiting as he listened, while Cao Yuan was terrified out of his wits!

But Fang Shenyan's scheme soon dawned on them.

Provocation!

The diary's contents had been written by the ghost itself, so they held unimaginable significance for it.

Reading them aloud through the hotel employees' mouths was not only tearing away its last scrap of shame, but also exposing its foul, disgusting obsession!

And the method truly worked!

The Raincoat Man, who had been straddling the woman, suddenly shuddered as Fang Shenyan's words neared their end, his expression turning frenzied!

He flung the woman off the bed and rushed toward the peeping hole in the corner, trailing a cold, bloody stench behind him!

"This ghost is different. It has an incredibly deep obsession; it even has to torment women before killing them!

"If it were another ghost, it might not be possible to provoke it at all!"

Fang Shenyan paid no attention to the approaching ghost. According to their earlier deduction, as long as it had not killed the woman first, it could not harm them.

Though that deduction was merely the living people's subjective conclusion, based on the killing pattern inferred from Ding Miaoxin's death, carrying out this kind of mission had always meant gambling with their lives!

Fang Shenyan seemed cautious by nature, but he was actually very bold!

"Yu Guo, take out the knife!"

"Why?"

"Our deduction about the killing rule needs further verification."

Fang Shenyan suddenly drew the slender dagger from beneath his ribs and shoved it into Yu Guo's palm.

"The moment it arrives, use this knife and stab it in the eye!

"If it still cannot kill us, then the killing rule will be completely confirmed. At the same time, the way to survive Ji Li proposed will become even more likely!

"Since we've decided to provoke it, let's make the provocation even stronger!"

Yu Guo gripped the coldly gleaming dagger in his hand and, for the first time, stared at the man who had entered the hotel with him.

His eyes were filled with excitement. To him, all their previous ghost-hunting operations paled beside this thrill!

He was going to drive a knife into a ghost's eye!

Seeing Yu Guo's shoulders trembling slightly, Fang Shenyan smiled casually. "Don't be afraid. It probably won't attack us..."

Yu Guo was beyond excited, his eyes shining as he muttered over and over, "Awesome! This is amazing! We should've done this long ago!"

Fang Shenyan swallowed the rest of his words, unable to stop himself from cursing inwardly, Pervert!