Two Doors

"301." This was Ji Li's room.

The second floor was where the ghosts resided, while the third floor belonged to the staff. As the Acting Manager, Ji Li's room was at the very front.

At this moment, the black shoulder bag filled with useful supplies sat quietly on a chair, while Ji Li's perpetually pale face was turned toward the windowsill.

Ji Li was actually rather handsome. His sharp brows and bright eyes carried a unique air of melancholy, but his face was completely shrouded in gloom. Its extreme pallor made him seem somewhat sinister.

"Time's almost up. With several newcomers helping this time, we presumably won't repeat the same mistakes." The Third Personality's distinctively cool voice echoed in his mind.

It was immediately drowned out by the Second Personality's irritable temperament.

"Damn Heavenly Sea, they won't let me rest for even a second. I just got a good night's sleep, and now there's another mission. What a fucking death-bringer!"

Ji Li said nothing. He merely glanced at his watch, decisively turned around, grabbed the black bag, and left the room.

Knock, knock, knock!

Ji Li stood in the silent, deserted corridor, took out the phone issued by the hotel, and began tapping it against the wall. It became the only sound in that place at that moment.

At his summons, the neighboring door opened first, as though its occupant had been waiting for a long time.

Fang Shenyan, dressed in his signature Zhongshan suit, stepped out. He did not speak, merely stared at Ji Li from afar through the empty space between them.

"Brothers! Yu Dadan is back! Every one of my previous Spirit Exploration Live broadcasts failed, but this time is different!

Get those rockets and cruise ships ready! You're all going to bleed heavily!"

Ji Li heard Yu Guo before he saw him. This newcomer was unlike everyone else; he seemed excessively thick-nerved.

Even in their current situation, he was still livestreaming. Ji Li could not tell whether this man joining them was a good thing or a bad one.

The last to emerge from their rooms, trembling, were Ding Miaoxin and Cao Yuan. Their reactions were what normal people should have had.

Their faces were ashen. The entire afternoon had felt like the end of the world. Since receiving Heavenly Sea's email, they had repeatedly sought out Ji Li, only to return disappointed each time.

Perhaps, in their eyes, they had already embarked upon a road of no return.

Ding Miaoxin's eyes were red, and Cao Yuan supported her. The two most vulnerable newcomers huddled together.

Ji Li withdrew his gaze after a glance. Without saying anything more, he turned and headed straight for the hotel lobby.

The second floor remained silent. This made Ji Li frown. He lingered for a moment, then shook his head and ignored it.

Usually, when employees went on missions, the ghosts would not escape. This was also one of the Unspoken Rules summarized by generations of hotel managers.

There were five of them. It looked like an impressive group, but in reality, they were completely disorganized.

After considering it on the street, Ji Li ultimately chose not to take separate cars. Instead, he hired a van, and they all traveled together.

The autumn night breeze drifted softly. It was fine weather today, and the streets were filled with people. Blurred figures hurried past before Ji Li's eyes.

"My child is only four years old. His father is away all year, too. If I don't survive this, I won't even get to see them one last time." Ding Miaoxin began crying again as she spoke.

Cao Yuan comforted her quietly from the side, but his own throat began to tighten with sobs.

"Brother Ji, can the five of us survive?

Miaoxin and I are just ordinary people. We've never done anything wrong in our lives. Do we really have to suffer all this for nothing...?"

As Ji Li listened to them, his eyes remained fixed on the view outside the window.

Earlier that afternoon, he had compared the contents of the emails with the newcomers.

He discovered that, because he was the Acting Manager, he knew about the Replenishment Person.

However, the Mission Information given to the others did not mention that there was a sixth person waiting at the mission site.

Therefore, Cao Yuan and the others believed that this mission involved only the five of them.

Ji Li sighed inwardly. He did not understand the feelings shared within families.

He had lost all his memories. Although he retained the instincts needed for ordinary life, he could never stir up any emotion when it came to family and affection.

It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere. The feelings ordinary people found impossible to let go of were things he simply did not possess, nor could he understand them.

He could not answer Cao Yuan's question. He merely said coldly, "Compose yourselves. We're almost there."

Fang Shenyan sat upright in his seat like an old pine tree. Only after hearing Ji Li's words did he turn his head and stiffly ask,

"How confident are you that we'll survive?"

"I don't know. This is the first mission since becoming a One-Star Hotel. The difficulty is already incomparable to before. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been dragged into this."

Fang Shenyan nodded and fell silent.

Inside the oppressive van, aside from the driver wiping away cold sweat, only Yu Guo continued spouting pointless nonsense to his "brothers" in the livestream.

"Brothers! I'm here!"

Before Ji Li could speak, Yu Guo jumped out of the van first. Holding up his phone, he showed no concern whatsoever for the supernatural events they were about to face.

"Everyone, look. This is Sanhe Residential Complex in the eastern suburbs. It's so rundown it barely looks habitable. These old buildings were probably built over a decade ago.

We're heading to Room 701, Unit Four, Building Two. But from the outside, Building Two has the fewest residents. It's only eight o'clock, yet not a single home has its lights on.

I heard Room 701 is a Haunted House. Once you enter, there's no way you'll come out alive.

This time, Yu Dadan refuses to believe that crap. I'm risking my life for you all, brothers, so show some support and clear out your inventory."

"Shout our slogan: If a man wants to make it big, he has to boldly charge ahead!

I'm going in!"

Ding Miaoxin glared at Yu Guo as she listened to his ridiculous words, while Cao Yuan awkwardly scratched his head.

Ji Li had wanted to stop Yu Guo's farce, but upon second thought, he decided it was not entirely a bad thing. Yu Guo's few words had indeed changed the oppressive atmosphere.

The Second Personality merely cursed roughly, "Damn bastard."

"Time's almost up. Let's go to Room 701 first."

Walking through the dusty old stairwell, Ji Li brushed past faded advertisements and lingered for a moment on every floor.

The two rooms on each floor both appeared to be occupied. There was even household trash placed outside their doors.

But why, from outside, did it seem that not a single household here had its lights on?

The five people's rustling footsteps and increasingly hurried breathing echoed through the cramped space.

Ji Li was not worried about entering Room 701. It was just that, even now, he had not seen the "Replenishment Person" mentioned in the hotel email.

"Could he or she be waiting for me inside the room?"

A few steps later, the five employees arrived at Room 701.

From the outside alone, it looked like an extremely ordinary room. Couplets and New Year pictures were still pasted on the door, and it did not appear old.

There was a doormat at the entrance, indicating that someone lived there.

Ji Li turned around and looked at the Room 702 opposite them. Its door was tightly shut, and a Pink Plush Bear hung from it.

It looked as though a woman with a girlish heart lived across from them.

This left him somewhat puzzled. The mission location was Room 701, but this place did not look haunted at all.

Not only did people live here, but the surrounding neighbors still seemed to be present as well. If supernatural incidents had truly occurred, the entire Building Two would have long since been emptied.

"We're at the mission site, but... how do we get in?" Cao Yuan timidly shrank behind the crowd and poked his head out to ask.

Ji Li frowned, uncertain what to do.

But Fang Shenyan, standing beside him, suddenly bent down, lifted the mat on the floor, and pulled out a bronze-colored key from beneath it. He held it out before Ji Li in surprise.

Ji Li stared at the taciturn man in astonishment, full of confusion.

"Don't look at me. Most households keep a spare key under the doormat. I was just trying my luck."

Ji Li lacked everyday experience and did not dwell on the matter. Taking the key, he inserted it into the lock and gave it a slight twist. With a click, the lock opened.

Creak...

The mission site finally revealed a crack, waiting only for the living to enter.

Ji Li took a deep breath, said nothing more, and stepped inside first.

The others followed. Some struggled, some hesitated, but all of them squeezed into the room before the mission's deadline.

Ji Li stood tall and slender in the doorway, watching the door sway shut.

Bang!

The moment Room 701 shut completely, every living person had arrived at the mission site.

But the Third Personality chose that very moment to say something baffling.

"The door closed,

but I heard two overlapping sounds of doors closing..."