To Save or Not to Save

"Time really flies so fast..."

In the first-floor lobby, Yu Guo sat dejectedly on the stone steps, propping his chin with one hand, silently watching the last ten staff members commit suicide!

No one knew what Ji Li was experiencing. Tong Guan and Chang Nian had disappeared on the unknown floors above. On the first floor, only Yu Guo and Fang Shenyan remained, who had been guarding the area the entire time.

During this last hour, Yu Guo had wished countless times that these ten people would die sooner, giving them more time and space to maneuver.

But nothing went according to his expectations. He prayed harder for time to slow down, for the six-hour mark to arrive more slowly...

Yet, in the end, things had escalated to the most extreme.

As the hands on his watch pointed to four in the morning, the staff members who had been possessed but had not died for a long time finally broke their own necks at the same time!

Fang Shenyan's expression turned ashen, and the coldness in his eyes intensified.

He slowly stood up, glanced at his watch, and surveyed the blood-soaked lobby:

"Ji Li lost contact half an hour ago. Tong Guan has been completely unreachable since our last call. Now it's just the two of us left."

Yu Guo nodded with a bitter smile. He turned to the man beside him and chuckled sheepishly, "Six hours have passed, and we're still on the mission. This already proves that our previous task was completely fabricated."

This confirmed the fabricated nature of the mission. Yu Guo continued, "Teacher Fang, the key issue is why Ji Li and Tong Guan lost contact. The staff members communicate using hotel phones, and hotel phones never have this kind of problem. Perhaps Ji Li, Tong Guan, Chang Nian, and even Li Xing, the four of them, have already died on the upper floors. We need to act..."

Up until now, Fang and Yu had been confined to the first floor. Due to the destruction of communication facilities, they knew very little. But if Yu Guo's analysis was correct, and Ji Li and Tong Guan's operations had both failed and they were dead, it might reveal the existence of a way out.

Fang Shenyan understood. He took out his cigarette case, pulled out two cigarettes, and handed one to Yu Guo.

The two of them lit their cigarettes and headed upstairs.

"Whether they're dead or not, finding their bodies might give us hope for a way out."

"Mr. Tong, Miss Chang? Why aren't you coming over?"

The fourth floor was a straight corridor. Three people were positioned at either end of the corridor. One group was in the light, while the other was hidden in a dark corner, only their figures visible.

Whispered calls echoed through the silent corridor, but the two people under the light remained unmoved.

Tong Guan had been cornered by that person for over ten minutes, hesitating to move forward due to some unspoken concern.

Chang Nian's delicate face was filled with suspicion. She tilted her head slightly, trying to get a clear look at where the person was hiding, but it was unclear.

"Li Xing, why are you in this location?"

The person at the end of the corridor was, of course, Li Xing. His voice and his vague figure were very similar. But familiarity didn't mean Tong Guan could trust him. Especially not after the first thing he said when he appeared:

"I found a way out!"

Tong Guan didn't believe a single word of those five words. Firstly, he didn't believe Li Xing's capabilities would allow him to find a way out at a time with so many uncertainties. Secondly, even with Ji Li's help, so much time had passed, and Ji Li still hadn't shown up. Given Ji Li's personality, he would never let Li Xing come down to relay information. Lastly, and most importantly, the cold and unfamiliar tone in Li Xing's voice when he said this sent a shiver down his spine. Logically, if he had found a way out, his reaction wouldn't be so indifferent; he should have been overjoyed and wept tears of happiness.

"Where is Ji Li?"

After a long stalemate, Tong Guan asked loudly across the corridor.

"I don't know where he is..."

Li Xing's voice sounded ethereal, but he paused halfway through. Tong Guan heard the disappearance of the voice from the other side, and then he suddenly heard a crisp call.

"Uncle... can you take me to find Daddy?"

"There's a little girl?"

Chang Nian's ears perked up, and she took two steps forward, looking towards Li Xing's direction. Tong Guan's brow furrowed. He never knew there was a little girl in this building. From the sound of it, she seemed to have just come down from upstairs and had gone to Li Xing's side. Tong Guan found himself in a difficult position. He had never seen any girls when searching the building, but her sudden appearance now made him ponder.

"Uncle..." the girl's voice sounded very fearful of Li Xing.

The water on the fourth floor was getting murkier and murkier.

At this moment, two figures emerged from the stairwell near Li Xing and the girl, hiding themselves.

It was Fang Shenyan and Yu Guo, who had just come upstairs. They had been there for a while, arriving almost at the same time as the girl.

They also witnessed the current standoff.

The situation was that Tong Guan and Chang Nian were guarding the stairwell on the west side of the corridor. Li Xing and the little girl were in the back of the east side, while Fang Shenyan and Yu Guo were completely hidden in the east side stairwell.

Tong Guan was too far away to see the situation clearly, but Fang and Yu could see everything from their position.

As soon as Yu Guo arrived and saw the scene, he immediately took out his livestreaming phone and quickly took pictures.

The current sight was truly bizarre: a young girl holding a pink teddy bear stood timidly before a man, her behavior strange.

The man's posture was even more terrifying. Li Xing's entire head was rotated ninety degrees.

His head faced Tong Guan's direction, but the front of his body was turned towards the little girl. It was as if his body and head were separated, allowing him to observe both sides simultaneously!

"Li Xing is possessed by a ghost..."

Fang Shenyan, huddled in the corner, silently observed everything, not daring to make a move.

Yu Guo took two stealthy photos, mainly focusing on the girl. He then put down his phone and said softly, "How can there be a little girl here that we've never seen before?"

"I suspect she's not human either. We never saw her at this time, and she suddenly appeared. Something's not right."

Fang Shenyan was confused as to why the situation had become so complicated. It seemed the staff members were falling into different patterns.

Just then, the girl's soft words drew his attention.

"The long-haired strange uncle from upstairs told me to find you... But you..."

"Long-haired... could it be Ji Li!"

The girl's words were inaudible to others, but Fang Shenyan and Yu Guo, who were so close, heard them clearly.

"Li Xing is half-human, half-ghost. This girl is likely connected to Ji Li, who has been missing for a long time. Do we save her, or not?"

Yu Guo's expression was anxious. He nudged Fang Shenyan, who had been silent all along, and urged him to make a decision.

Fang Shenyan had deep reservations. Li Xing was bound to be abandoned, and his luring of Tong Guan and the other person had a clear purpose.

However, the little girl seemed to have been sent by Ji Li and might hold clues!

Fang Shenyan habitually pushed up his glasses, and it was this unintentional gesture that caused the lenses to reflect the overhead light.

A beam of white light suddenly appeared in his hiding spot, instantly exposing their position.

Li Xing's body remained still, but his head abruptly turned from Tong Guan's side towards the stairwell.

Fang Shenyan closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them wide, sighing. He knew he no longer had a choice whether to save her or not...

Thus, he stepped out from the shadows!