Ji Li's earlier plan had been painstakingly devised. On the surface, it truly seemed to be Cao Yuan's best choice under the current circumstances.
Yu Guo and Fang Shenyan had also approved of Ji Li's plan, but they had originally assumed that Ji Li merely intended to use Cao Yuan to probe for the way out.
However, upon hearing Ji Li's icy words just now, their hearts tightened instead.
Yu Guo frowned and glanced at Ji Li. "You have another move?"
With his back to the window and his hands behind him, Ji Li narrowed his eyes and spoke softly:
"Everything I said was true.
"The Raincoat Man is indeed unusual, and I also suspect that going to his side is the way to avoid the ghost's attacks.
"But Cao Yuan's actions will give us two answers and one opportunity!"
Fang Shenyan habitually pushed up his glasses. At this moment, he was having trouble keeping up with Ji Li's train of thought.
"What answers? And what opportunity?"
"First, he will test whether leaving Room 701, the mission location stated in the email, will cause immediate death.
"If he is not immediately burned to death by nameless fire, then we can leave Room 701 and search the corridor for the heavily injured Raincoat Man.
"Second, if the first point is true, Cao Yuan will come extremely close to the way out!
"But if you were the ghost, and you saw an injured, slow-moving living person only a step away from the way out, what would you do?"
Ji Li's voice was soft, drifting through the wind and into Fang Shenyan's ears.
The corners of his brows rose in surprise as he muttered in disbelief:
"The ghost would stop at nothing to track him down and kill him in the shortest possible time!"
Ji Li's face remained expressionless, but he had already begun walking forward.
"That's right!
"Cao Yuan has no chance of reaching the way out at all!
"Other than verifying the ambiguity of the mission location, his main purpose is actually this:
"Because he is close to the way out, he will bear the ghost's fiercest assault for us!
"At the final moment, whoever is closest to the way out will suffer the ghost's strongest attack!"
Even Fang Shenyan could not help but shudder upon hearing Ji Li's plan—cruel to the core, sinister to the core, yet flawless and calculated down to every last detail.
"And we...
"Will gain the opportunity created by Cao Yuan's life to escape the ghost's attack and rendezvous with the Raincoat Man!"
Ji Li took the lead. He was only a few steps away from Cao Yuan, who stood at the doorway, as though ready to sprint at any moment.
Looking at Ji Li's slightly thin figure, Fang Shenyan shook his head and sighed. "Ji Li... Manager, you're far more ruthless than I am..."
Hearing that, Ji Li turned around meaningfully and met his gaze.
"We are the same kind of people."
Yu Guo clenched and unclenched his fists. In truth, from the moment Fang Shenyan had acted against Cao Yuan, he had already sensed the young man's fate.
Yet he had not stopped it then. Perhaps, deep down, his mindset had gradually changed as well.
To survive in hell, some things had to be abandoned.
It was wrong, but he had no choice!
At the doorway, Cao Yuan faced the pitch-black door, his legs beginning to go weak.
Although he had summoned his courage earlier and understood that this operation was the key to his survival, requiring both courage and the resolve to risk everything.
When the moment truly came, Cao Yuan was still just an ordinary man with poor mental fortitude.
His calves were cramping, and his head was spinning. One hand reached toward the door, only to fall back at once.
At the moment he pushed the door open, he could not be sure whether that hideous Female Ghost would be standing right before him!
"Stop hesitating! Are you waiting for it to come find you on its own?"
Ji Li's icy words sounded beside Cao Yuan's ear, tightening his nerves even further.
Yet when his hand touched the cold door panel, his heart still clenched involuntarily. His face grew paler, and his trembling became more obvious.
Ji Li narrowed his eyes. He feared that further delay would cause the ghost to strike ahead of time!
If Cao Yuan died inside Room 701, their previous plan would collapse entirely!
With that thought, he rushed to Cao Yuan's side, snapped open the lock, seized Cao Yuan's body, and violently shoved him toward the door!
Bang!
Before Cao Yuan could react at all, Ji Li's sudden "attack" had smashed him straight into the door!
With his body out of control, when he opened his eyes again, he had already smashed the door open and fallen into the seventh-floor corridor.
Cao Yuan let out a sharp scream. Ignoring the pain in his chest, he scrambled up from the ground.
Standing in the corridor, moonlight filtering through the small window shone over him as he frantically felt himself over from head to toe.
"I'm not dead! I'm not dead!"
Cao Yuan burst into shrill laughter. He had completely left Room 701's territory, yet he had not died from rule punishment!
He turned to look at Ji Li, Fang Shenyan, and Yu Guo, who were still standing inside the room, his face filled with astonishment.
"Just as expected, Brother Ji! Your guess was right!
"I didn't die! I wasn't burned to death for leaving the mission location without permission!"
Cao Yuan's face was full of excitement. In the span of a few moments, his emotions had risen and fallen wildly.
"The way out... the way out!"
After standing there for two seconds, he finally realized that his most important task now was to find the Raincoat Man hidden inside the building!
Cao Yuan's every reaction was etched into the minds of the three people inside the doorway.
Ji Li said nothing. He merely watched Cao Yuan silently, but his gaze gradually shifted behind him...
The smile was still on Cao Yuan's face, but then he suddenly caught the stench of blood and rot.
He abruptly felt an itch at the back of his neck. Suspiciously, he raised a hand and felt behind himself.
And what he touched was a thick mass of hair...
Cao Yuan's body instantly stiffened, as though something had nailed him in place. He stood frozen where he was.
His head slowly turned backward, inch by inch, his eyes widening round...
"Ah!!!"
At last, he saw what was behind him!
It was a terrifying face, grotesquely swollen like a bloated corpse. Thick black hair, like a filthy clump of cotton, wrapped around the back of his head!
At such close range, Cao Yuan's features twisted completely from terror!
Other than screaming, he had no room to do anything else!
Thud!
The bones in his legs were instantly broken and crushed, but that was only the beginning. Then he felt the bones throughout his entire body rapidly pulverizing.
It sounded like a slow process, but in truth, it happened within half a second!
At that very moment, Ji Li, who had been waiting inside the room for a long time, suddenly burst with a dazzling light in his eyes!
With one hand gripping the door panel, he used the momentum to shoot out at high speed. There was a trail of blood outside Room 702, extending all the way downstairs.
The Raincoat Man's location would be easy to find. Yu Guo had injured his eye, so by following the blood trail, they could find him in a very short time!
Ji Li rushed past Cao Yuan and the ghost, not even sparing the dying man a glance.
Fang Shenyan followed immediately after him, with Yu Guo bringing up the rear.
Yu Guo gave Cao Yuan, who had not yet completely died, one final pitying look. With a silent sigh, he ran downstairs.
Blood sprayed from Cao Yuan's mouth, staining his face red.
Those pitch-black pupils watched as the three figures passed by him one after another, yet not a single one came to save him.
"Ji Li... Ji Li..."
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