Clone Kills

Ji Li was already considered battle-hardened. Through countless reception missions, he had developed an exceptional sensitivity to Ghosts and the aura of death.

Normally, places where Ghosts existed would exude an undeniable chill.

But he hadn't sensed anything beforehand regarding Xiao Liu's death.

It was only the commotion from the crowd that alerted him to the Ghost's presence.

Ji Li's hair fluttered behind him, his brow furrowed.

Either the Ghost's manifestation this time was unusual, or his sensory abilities had been weakened.

"Third, did you observe anything before Xiao Liu died?"

Ji Li could only place his hope on the Third Personality. Based on the previous two missions, the Third's insight and sensitivity were the strongest.

The Third Personality seemed to have anticipated Ji Li's question and quickly responded:

"Less than ten seconds after we spoke with Xiao Liu, he was attacked by a Ghost.

But I absolutely did not detect any supernatural power lingering around you and me.

I suspect this Ghost will be extraordinarily powerful.

It didn't even give us a sliver of a chance to react and sense it!"

Hearing this answer, Ji Li fell silent, sharing the same thought.

The mission's difficulty was bound to escalate. It was already like that last time; this time would likely be even more challenging.

The most critical issue was that the Ghost had to kill all 43 employees within six hours.

This number might not seem large, but it was overwhelming for the six staff members.

If they couldn't even detect the Ghost's movements, they would be powerless to prevent the deaths...

And in Ji Li's mind, a significant portion of people were destined to die.

Without casualties, they would never be able to figure out the killing pattern, let alone find a way out.

Realizing this, Ji Li became even more desperate to secure control of the monitoring room, a key to his ability to foresee the Ghost's targets!

The seventh floor immediately became visible as Ji Li sprinted.

Wearing a headlamp and holding the hotel phone, Ji Li searched from door to door. Finally, at the end of a corridor, he found a door with a sign that read: "Maintenance Department."

He pushed the door open; it wasn't locked.

As the room came into full view, he saw that it was empty.

Ji Li pursed his lips, then thought that perhaps the maintenance staff had already begun restoring power.

Just then, the hotel phone in his hand buzzed, and the screen lit up. It was Fang Shenyan calling.

Generally, staff communicated using the hotel-issued phones, as they always had power and signal.

"This is Ji Li."

"Yu Guo and I have just brought the remaining staff from the tenth floor and above to the lobby. I'm on the B1 level now; there's a deceased person here."

Fang Shenyan's voice was somewhat cold and concise, reporting the actions taken.

Ji Li frowned, feeling a strange sense of unease. Why was there another death?

"What's the situation?"

"I found a few maintenance workers on the B1 level who were trying to fix the power.

But while we were waiting, one of the employees suddenly dropped dead, breaking his own neck with his hands.

This time, the Ghost is killing by possessing and inducing suicide!"

Fang Shenyan's situation wasn't complicated either and resolved Ji Li's question.

The maintenance department on the seventh floor was empty because they had all gone to the B1 level to repair things immediately after the incident.

What made Ji Li frown was that it seemed the Ghost was carrying out killings in different locations simultaneously.

"Do you have a rough idea of when that employee died?"

On Fang Shenyan's end, there was almost no pause before he replied, "Ten thirteen and fifty seconds!"

Ji Li raised his wrist to check his watch, his brow furrowing with deeper confusion.

"I'm at the entrance of the maintenance department on the seventh floor. Just as I was coming upstairs, another person died. Judging by the time, He died almost simultaneously with the employee on your B1 level!"

"Died simultaneously?" Fang Shenyan's tone held a hint of disbelief.

"Including the one who just died, there are only four maintenance workers here. According to them, there should be seven maintenance workers.

But the remaining three are missing."

Ji Li's expression gradually turned grim. He said softly, "I'm on the seventh floor now. I'll look for the remaining three."

He then hung up the phone and proceeded to call another group of people, Tong Guan.

The moment the call connected, Tong Guan and Ji Li spoke nearly identical phrases at the same time.

"A death has occurred on my end."

"Do you have a death there?"

Tong Guan was stunned, then realized something and asked Ji Li, "You have a death there too?"

Ji Li let out a long sigh of relief. He seemed to have confirmed a suspicion, but still asked with lingering doubt, "When did the death occur on your side?"

"Ten thirteen and fifty seconds!"

"Mine as well."

After saying this, Ji Li hung up the phone and stood there with a troubled expression.

It wasn't until the Third Personality softly spoke in his mind, revealing a terrifying reality.

"This ghost has the ability to split..."

Killing people simultaneously in various locations, perhaps there were still undiscovered deaths!

Ji Li vaguely found an answer. The reason he hadn't found the source of the supernatural power might be because the ghosts killing now weren't the main body!

This was far worse than they had initially anticipated.

They had originally thought that with 43 employees in front of them, and a six-hour timeframe, it wouldn't be difficult to find a way to avoid danger by analyzing the number of deaths and the rules.

After all, according to the information they received, they, the staff, should have been the last to be attacked.

But things had changed too quickly. In less than twenty minutes, three people were already dead, not including any undiscovered victims!

If the ghost had clones, then killing everyone in a very short period wouldn't be difficult!

At the thought of this, Ji Li's head began to ache more intensely.

"Knock knock knock! Is anyone there?"

Just then, Ji Li suddenly heard muffled thuds coming from the very end of the corridor.

That was where the elevator was located!

Ji Li's eyelids twitched. He immediately understood what was happening. Someone had been trapped in the elevator when the power went out.

He muttered "Trouble" under his breath, took out a steel knife from his bag, and walked towards the elevator doors.

"Is anyone out there? Hurry up and open the door for us!"

Perhaps hearing Ji Li's earlier attempt to open the door, the people trapped inside the elevator regained hope and started shouting desperately.

Otherwise, Ji Li might have truly missed them.

Ji Li gripped the dagger in one hand, inserted the tip into the gap in the door, and used his arm strength to pry open the sealed elevator doors.

The gap widened little by little, and the light from a headlamp shone into the elevator through the opening.

"Boom!"

When Ji Li finally managed to push the doors open, he was already covered in sweat and about to speak.

But the sight before him was so horrifying that it made his scalp tingle, even as a manager who was already desensitized to fear!

The elevator car was stuck between the sixth and seventh floors. Ji Li could only lean down to see a small portion of the car.

And in that small visible section, he saw three bodies facing him.

However, the heads of all three were turned in the same posture, reversed 180 degrees!

Their bodies were facing forward, but their heads were turned backward!