At eight o'clock on the evening of October 26, 2015, Ji Li was jolted awake from his light sleep by an email notification.
He had been waiting for this mission for several hours.
When the phone screen lit up, its dim yet glaring light shone across Ji Li's pale face, revealing the surprise in his pupils.
"Protecting others...?"
Ji Li set down his phone. The mission details had already been etched into his mind. He lit a cigarette and began to ponder.
"Bogou Building probably doesn't have any ghosts."
Third Personality's voice echoed out. It seemed to know something about that building.
Ji Li nodded and listened quietly.
"It's a commercial building, filled with all sorts of people.
As far as I know, there are more than twenty small companies there alone.
The number of employees definitely exceeds three hundred!
Perhaps because there are too many people during the day, entering at night is easier for us. The hotel has already calculated that there are still forty-three people inside."
Second Personality sounded doubtful. "How do you know that?"
"I once treated one of the bosses there."
Ji Li waved a hand, no longer listening to their idle chatter. He grabbed the backpack that had long been prepared on the chair and strode out of the room.
The moment he stepped outside, he saw a figure at the far end of the Third Floor, hidden in the darkness like him and smoking a cigarette.
If not for the flickering ember in the dark, that man seemed to have completely blended into his surroundings.
Ji Li watched quietly until the man hurried toward him.
In truth, Ji Li had never had a good impression of Tong Guan.
It was not Tong Guan's problem. Ji Li simply felt that they might not become companions.
Tong Guan looked him over several times before speaking in a low voice.
"I can see a deathly aura emanating from you, but it doesn't come from within.
"You've killed people. A great many people..."
Ji Li's gaze shifted. Thinking Tong Guan meant during the missions, he casually asked, "Your eyes are sharp."
"You resemble an old acquaintance of mine. Have you ever been to 77 Tulip Street in Huhai City?"
Tong Guan's tone became unreadable. No emotion could be discerned from his resolute profile.
Yet Ji Li vaguely sensed that this so-called old acquaintance was far from simple.
Ji Li finally raised his head to look at him, but instead of answering the question, he merely replied coldly.
"No wonder you've been staring at me ever since you entered the hotel.
"Many things still have no outcome or answer. Staying alive comes first."
After saying that, Ji Li turned and left.
From the moment Tong Guan entered the hotel, he had repeatedly observed Ji Li, including during their conversation just now.
Ji Li could never figure out what this man intended or what purpose he harbored.
That feeling of being beyond his control stuck in his throat like a bone.
Tong Guan tossed his cigarette butt to the ground and crushed it beneath his shoe. His eyes remained fixed on Ji Li's retreating back, and beneath the shifting light, his expression looked somewhat dazed.
"Is it him?"
Chang Nian had somehow arrived beside Tong Guan. Her voice was gentle, unlike the fiery manner she had displayed a few hours earlier.
Pain filled Tong Guan's eyes. The palm clasping Chang Nian's was slick with sweat.
"I don't know.
"When I was seven, my parents were taken away right before my eyes by four Black Robed Figures. I only remember the vague silhouette of the man leading them. I can't recognize him anymore.
"But I still vividly remember that dark long hair and those cold eyes.
"Ji Li's eyes look very, very much like that person's, but...
"Twenty years have passed. To uncover the truth behind my parents' deaths, I came to Shanming City, entered Tianhai Hotel, and became a manager.
"I thought I was very close, especially the moment I saw Ji Li!
"But there are too many doubts!"
Tong Guan's shoulders trembled. His entire life had been ruined by those four Black Robed Figures, yet he had never been able to find the true culprit.
Until he came here and saw Ji Li, his heart had trembled!
Those eyes, that indifferent expression that disregarded everything, were almost identical to the leader's!
That was also why he had openly revealed his hostility.
"But Ji Li's age doesn't match at all, and the clues we found went dead after the cemetery..." Chang Nian's heart ached as she looked at Tong Guan's pained expression.
Tong Guan let out a long breath and relaxed.
"Just as we found that cemetery, we were brought into the hotel.
"This means that Heavenly Sea, my parents, the Black Robed Figures, and Ji Li must be connected in some way.
"First, we survive. Then we get close to Ji Li and learn everything about him!"
"The mission details aren't complicated, but they don't reveal much. We'll need to reach Bogou Building to understand the specific situation."
Inside the van, Ji Li held his phone and looked over the Mission Information as he spoke to everyone in the carriage.
Yu Guo held a phone in each hand, repeatedly looking between them. He could neither let go of the banned livestream nor the upcoming mission, and anxiety had left him sweating profusely.
Fang Shenyan drove while speaking. "I checked online, and there have never been any Supernatural Incidents at Bogou Building. But since the hotel mentioned it, there must be a ghost there.
"Moreover, that ghost must be vicious. It has to kill all forty-three employees within six hours. I'm very curious about exactly how it kills."
Ji Li nodded, then turned to look at Tong Guan, who sat calmly in the back.
"What do you think?"
Li Xing also turned his gaze toward Tong Guan. In his view, the so-called manager Ji Li had no intention of guiding him at all. He might as well follow Tong Guan, who at least appeared somewhat gentle.
Tong Guan thought for a moment before speaking softly.
"A six-hour mission and forty-three employees. Even if we can't protect them, we have enough time to deduce the way to survive.
"This mission isn't difficult."
Yu Guo laughed from the side. It was an angry laugh, and everyone could hear its meaning.
Only Ji Li, Tong Guan, and Chang Nian remained expressionless.
Ji Li also wanted to see what gave Tong Guan the confidence to be so presumptuous and arrogant.
"We're here!"
The van came to a sudden stop. Fang Shenyan spoke coldly, not even glancing at the other staff before getting out ahead of them and standing at the entrance to Bogou Building.
Bogou Building had seventeen floors. From the outside, advertisements covered it from every direction, tightly wrapping the entire structure.
Even though it was already ten at night, most of the windows were still lit.
Ji Li raised his head just as a drop of icy rain landed on his face.
Gloomy clouds covered the sky and plunged the six people before the building into darkness.
Ji Li held out his palm to catch the raindrops and spoke softly.
"It's raining. Time to enter the mission."
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