A Difficult Choice

Yu Guo's original drowsiness was completely shattered by the bizarre and cruel reality before him. After a moment of stunned silence, he began to sprint towards the first floor!

Tong Guan, Fang Shenyan, and the others immediately understood that the situation had suffered a massive collapse, their expressions changing drastically.

Fang Shenyan followed Yu Guo's footsteps, quickly moving towards the first floor in an attempt to rescue the staff whose necks had not yet been broken.

They hoped to preserve the last spark of hope before the six-hour mark arrived, thereby delaying the final deadline.

Only Tong Guan and Chang Nian remained motionless, standing silently at the stairwell entrance.

It was as if everything happening before them had nothing to do with them, their minds occupied with something else entirely.

"What do you feel?"

Tong Guan took out the hotel's mobile phone and opened the memo app. It contained a list of names in black characters.

This was a record of all the staff's basic information.

Chang Nian frowned, reluctant to speak, but after a long pause, she said, "It's nonsensical."

"Everything that's happened since entering the mission has been utterly baffling."

Tong Guan nodded in agreement, feeling similarly. "There have been no casualties on the first floor from the beginning. It's as if the Ghost has been causing trouble for Ji Li all along. Even when I personally lured the Ghost, there was no change. But now, with a full hour left until the mission ends, the Ghost has attacked simultaneously, instantly killing over twenty staff members?"

Chang Nian turned her head, her bright eyes reflecting Tong Guan's tall figure. She softly said:

"At this point, the Ghost's killing pattern seems to have been revealed. First, it kills all the staff, then all the clerks. But this pattern is unsolvable!"

Tong Guan took a deep breath. Listening to the grating sound of bones snapping around him, he slowly closed his eyes:

"Perhaps there are still some points we haven't figured out. For example, why were the staff on the first floor unharmed until the fifth hour of the mission, when they were attacked simultaneously? If there's no pattern, then why were the people who died earlier all around us? This might be closely related to the true mission content."

Chang Nian was moved by this lengthy explanation and followed Tong Guan's line of thought.

"We need to find the real mission content, and to achieve that, we return to the very first question..."

Tong Guan slowly turned his head, looking at the camera closest to him. He knew that on the other side of it, a gaze was constantly fixed on him. His lips moved silently, forming three words:

"Ghost, where are you?"

"Ghost, where are you?"

Ji Li's face was extremely pale, illuminated by the screen. He slowly shifted his gaze from the monitor to his side. Everything was progressing in the direction he had initially predicted. Although this was what he least wanted to see, it was always unavoidable.

Ji Li knew that Li Xing was a special character in this mission. This specialty stemmed from the hotel making an exception for him. Why else would a newcomer be three minutes late for check-in? And what had happened in those three minutes...

On the other side, Li Xing sat in a corner of the surveillance room, leaning against the walls on both sides. It was a blind spot, but it offered him a sense of security. Li Xing had also heard the speculations between Ji Li and Tong Guan earlier, but his attention was not solely focused on that. Most importantly, ever since he heard the speculation about the truth of the mission's content, he felt as if he had forgotten something in his mind. But where he had forgotten it, and why, he couldn't think at all.

Until...

Ji Li turned around completely. Just as Li Xing was about to speak, he saw a face that was extremely cold and grim.

"Man... Manager..."

Seeing Li Xing's reaction, Ji Li honestly didn't want to believe that such a cowardly man could be the Ghost. Therefore, he leaned more towards another theory: Li Xing was not the Ghost itself, but the Ghost's vessel!

"Take off all your clothes."

The tragic scene in the first-floor lobby was still unfolding, but not all the staff were dead yet. Ji Li knew very well that even though the situation had broken down, he still had a few minutes. At the very least, he was safe as long as the staff weren't all dead! Ji Li still believed that Li Xing harbored some kind of secret, perhaps a secret he himself didn't know.

Li Xing was taken aback by this inexplicable command, feeling a bit confused.

"Manager, why?"

Ji Li asked coldly, "Have you noticed anything unusual about yourself?"

Li Xing scratched his head and thought carefully, "I... don't feel anything uncomfortable. Manager, what's wrong?"

"Not even a hint of strangeness?

Have you never considered why an ordinary person like you would be singled out by the hotel?

You were three minutes late. What were you doing during those three minutes?"

Ji Li's questions came like a barrage, making Li Xing feel breathless.

"I... I just really needed to use the restroom, but all the stalls in the building were occupied. I was looking for a restroom on various floors.

Then I was brought into the hotel. As far as I knew, the teleportation time was just a blink of an eye.

It's just that I feel like I've forgotten something..."

Li Xing recounted his experience entering the hotel from beginning to end, only then expressing the strangeness he had been feeling.

Ji Li raised an eyebrow, "Why?"

Li Xing couldn't explain, his face turning red. After a long pause, he said:

"It wasn't like this before. Ever since you and Tong Guan discussed the authenticity of the mission's content, it's like scenes have been flashing in my mind.

But whenever I try to examine them, I can't grasp them.

I'm sure they're in my head, but..."

Ji Li's eyes darted around. Memories contained within the mind – what had Li Xing seen in those three minutes...

That was the crux of the matter!

"Stimulating!"

Ji Li was certain that Li Xing must have seen something before entering the hotel, possibly even the ghost's true form.

And by bringing him into the hotel, the ghost had been brought in as well!

Perhaps this ghost was very powerful, or perhaps this was a special arrangement by the hotel.

Using the ghost's unique nature, a very special mission had been arranged.

All of this must have happened within the hotel. Therefore, even if the ghost had erased Li Xing's memories, its powers were weakened within the hotel, causing Li Xing's current sensitivity to the mission's content and triggering his lost instincts!

Li Xing had inadvertently become the breakthrough, which made Ji Li extremely pleased.

He looked at Li Xing's increasingly bewildered expression. Li Xing now seemed to be firmly locked away by a key, with his crucial memories sealed.

All it needed was a key, and it didn't even need to be inserted into the lock; its appearance would be enough to shatter Li Xing's prison of memory!

Ji Li found himself in a dilemma. He turned his head to look at the large screen.

Fang and Yu's rescue operation was not only ineffective, but when they touched the staff, their rate of death actually accelerated!

Within two minutes, besides the staff and Xiao Qi, whose whereabouts were unknown, there would be no one alive left in this building.

Then, there was a high probability that the ghost would target the staff next.

The stimulating key was the ghost!

As long as the ghost appeared, it could shatter Li Xing's memory prison in the most direct and brutal way, revealing the truth of the mission!

However, it was also possible that the ghost wouldn't immediately target the staff. It could also target Xiao Qi, the sole survivor hidden in the building.

If Xiao Qi died first, Ji Li would lose a backup plan. If Li Xing's situation proved ineffective, it would be very difficult for him to turn the tables!

Ji Li clenched his fists, the sound echoing. Yet, he firmly believed that Li Xing was the key to the mission!

He was already incredibly close to the truth, and thus, close to a way out.

So, would the ghost choose to kill Xiao Qi first, using the fake mission requirement?

Or would it follow the hotel's usual pattern and go after Ji Li, who was closer to the path to survival