True Restraint

The heavy rain outside had already stopped, and though the water hadn't dried, the glass doors were covered in water stains.

Inside the increasingly cold building, extremely cruel scenes were unfolding.

"Stop trying to save them!"

Fang Shenyan pinched his slightly swollen knuckles, stopping Yu Guo, who was still trying to busy himself.

The two stood side-by-side, looking at the remaining ten people in front of them.

Fang Shenyan's eyes grew more confused. At the beginning, ten out of the 28 staff members had died directly.

No matter how they tried to rescue them, it was beyond saving. They gradually accepted Ji Li's theory that possession was incurable.

Then they discovered that the closer they got to the staff, the faster the living would die!

This was a new discovery, but it was very strange.

This change made Fang Shenyan think of the guess Ji Li had mentioned earlier.

The closer the staff were to the employees, the faster they died. This seemed to form a pattern of killing.

However, what Fang Shenyan couldn't figure out, no matter how hard he thought, was how these staff members were all possessed by the ghost simultaneously?

Before he could figure this out, everything that happened next made him even more astonished.

As Fang Shenyan and Yu Guo withdrew to observe, the remaining ten still-living employees exhibited strange behavior.

All ten of them had their hands clasped over their heads, but they remained still!

It was as if they were frozen in the same pose, but even after everyone around them had died, they still didn't move.

Yu Guo fumbled on himself somewhat impatiently, pulled out a cigarette case from his pocket, offered one to Fang Shenyan, and said softly:

"Teacher Fang, what's going on?"

Fang Shenyan stared deeply at the ten surviving living people, took a puff of his cigarette, and shook his head slightly:

"I don't know."

As he said this, he glanced at his watch. It was 3:20 AM.

Twenty minutes had passed since the initial disturbance on the first floor, and these last ten people had been motionless for a full ten minutes!

They remained in that stalemate posture of death, but hadn't actually acted.

"I have a feeling the ghost is deliberately stalling for time, perhaps it's constrained by the true mission objective.

Only when a certain point is reached can it slaughter us without restraint!"

Fang Shenyan raised his eyes and pondered for a moment before calling Ji Li.

But the call wouldn't go through.

On the other side, Tong Guan and Chang Nian had reached the vicinity of the third floor, attempting to find Ji Li and rendezvous with him.

"I've been thinking about the killing pattern all the way here.

The mission objective might be flawed, but the ghost's killing pattern won't change.

From this, we can infer the true mission information in reverse."

Tong Guan lowered his head, constantly scanning their surroundings. He was still unaware that the situation on the first floor had inexplicably paused.

Chang Nian looked up at the somewhat yellow light source and said thoughtfully:

"But what do these dead people have in common..."

Tong Guan took out a hotel phone from his pocket, casually opened the memo app, and handed it to Chang Nian, saying in a deep voice:

"The phone!

Perhaps Ji Li's guess wasn't entirely wrong. The staff were indeed killed one after another because they came into contact with us employees.

But we are not the source of the curse. Perhaps the hotel phone is!"

Chang Nian couldn't quite understand. She looked at the list of 28 staff members recorded in Tong Guan's phone and hesitated, saying:

"What does this mean...

Could it be that the mission objective isn't wrong?"

Tong Guan shook his head and then deleted all the names in the memo.

"I only just realized that the hotel phone is on each of us employees.

The people who died before were indeed near us when they died. Only this last batch of first-floor personnel were all affected after we had already left.

At the time, I hadn't reacted, until I picked up my phone just now to re-read the mission objective and it dawned on me.

My phone has recorded all surviving personnel.

Perhaps the ghost's killing pattern is to kill staff members around the hotel phone, including any living person who comes into contact with the phone in various ways!

This is its judgment method!"

Chang Nian stopped walking, a chill running through her body, "Then, is the mission objective still wrong?"

Tong Guan nodded.

"Yes, firstly, the tone of the mission information is too subjective, which doesn't fit the hotel's usual mission style.

Secondly, the mission content is vague, more like it was edited on the spur of the moment.

Furthermore, the hotel phone being the source of the curse also fits the idea of a ghost obscuring the real mission.

Finally, and most importantly.

It can be proven that the current mission is fake!"

Listening to Tong Guan's analysis, word by word, his tone almost certain, Chang Nian's eyes still showed a hint of a smile in the most difficult moments.

"What?"

"Because there were still three hours left until the mission ended.

On the first floor, my experiment with Guan Ping started and ended without a hitch, it just fizzled out!

At that time, I thought that if I were to die, it would mean the mission had a flaw, and the fake mission created by the ghost would officially surface.

Now we know the phone might be the source of the curse, so the ghost could have been lurking around us all along.

That plan would have exposed the ghost's deployment two hours ago, giving it ample time to reveal itself.

So it had to terminate our plan from the very beginning.

The strangest thing is, just before executing the plan, I tested it and found that the staff could have their heads stiffly broken, but when I actually executed the plan, I lost that sensation!

This is the ghost trying too hard to cover up its tracks."

Chang Nian listened intently to Tong Guan's long speech, nodding along and continuing his theory.

"And when Ji Li's plan took shape, the ghost didn't stop us again out of caution, but instead used delaying tactics.

It dragged things out until the very last moment of the mission before erupting, because by then it no longer cared if we discovered the truth of the mission!"

Tong Guan nodded, about to speak, when suddenly the hotel phone buzzed, displaying "Fang Shenyan."

"Hello? Teacher Fang?"

"Tong Guan, there's a situation.

Starting from 3:10, there were only ten surviving staff members left on the first floor, but by now, everyone else is dead, yet they're still not breaking their necks.

I suspect the ghost is stalling for time, and this must be related to the real mission objectives.

But when I called Ji Li, no one answered.

I suspect something unexpected happened with him and Li Xing."

Tong Guan's brow furrowed. He had just said the ghost was stalling for time, but Fang Shenyan's call indicated that even now.

The ghost was still waiting for something and hadn't made its final move!

"Are we just going to wait like this?"

On the other end of the phone, Yu Guo yelled, stretching his neck. He was completely lost now, the rhythm always in the ghost's hands, and this feeling was driving him crazy.

Tong Guan's expression darkened. He also realized that the ghost must have a long-planned scheme.

He even felt now that the so-called mission to protect the employees was also a way to stall for time!

As for the purpose, Tong Guan figured it out instantly. It was nothing more than the ghost being constrained by the real mission's content.

Perhaps the moment the remaining ten staff members met their demise, the ghost's clutches would extend to all the staff!

"I know, I'll go find Ji Li!"

As soon as Tong Guan finished speaking, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly echoed from the other end of the corridor.

A blurry figure stood in the light, its back to the light, appearing somewhat ethereal.

At first glance, it sounded familiar, but upon closer thought, it was a strange and cold voice that echoed through the long corridor.

"Tong Guan?

Come over here quickly, I've found a way out!"