Fear Spreads

Yu Jing and Yu Xiaoxiao didn't linger in the lobby for too long. They ascended the somewhat old wooden stairs to the third floor of the inn.

"Creak, creak!" With every step, the floorboards groaned uncomfortably under their weight.

The candlelight couldn't fully dispel the darkness here, and the mixed scent of sandalwood and decay permeating the air kept Yu Jing on edge.

On the empty corridor of the third floor, slivers of candlelight escaped from beneath each closed guest room door. The deeper they went into the silent hallway, the more Yu Jing felt something watching him from behind.

Yu Jing and Yu Xiaoxiao reached the end of the corridor without looking back. To their left was a room with the doorplate labeled '310'.

"Creak!"

Opening the old wooden door, a double room about thirty square meters in size appeared before them.

It was much better than they had expected. The interior had a private bathroom and two relatively clean beds. Two lit candles stood on the bedside tables, and the surrounding walls were covered with patterned wallpaper. The overall appearance was quite tidy, and the smell of decay in the room was greatly reduced.

"There was something dangerous in the corridor just now. Although I couldn't feel its physical form, it was quite dangerous," Yu Xiaoxiao said, sitting on the bed with a frown.

"En," Yu Jing did his best to calm his mind.

Yu Jing placed his right palm against the room's wall. A large amount of green plants flowed from his palm, spreading through the gaps in the wooden walls and enveloping the room they were staying in.

If any external object invaded, Yu Jing would know immediately through the plants' senses in his arm.

Yu Jing had become quite proficient in using the green plants in his arm during his two-month summer vacation, practicing for extremely long hours, even ten hours a day for several consecutive days.

The supervisor of District 19's Research Institute, the renowned Special Commissioner Liang, was the person Yu Jing felt he needed to be most wary of. Therefore, Yu Jing had to get ahead of things.

For example, his current proficient use of his plant abilities was vastly different from what he had explained to Special Commissioner Liang on the plane. Yu Jing disliked the feeling of being controlled by others, even if Special Commissioner Liang possessed an extremely powerful background and strength.

Over the past two months, Yu Jing had spent at least six hours each day adapting to the plant body in his right arm. The area where Yu Jing practiced was also a secret location known only to himself.

"Your right hand's ability is really interesting. It doesn't seem like ordinary plants!? Hee hee, I won't tell anyone," Yu Xiaoxiao said, a very cute smile on her face as she watched Yu Jing's actions.

"En."

With Yu Jing's preparations complete, the room now had at least one layer of guaranteed protection, and a portion of his inner fear was dispelled.

Due to the heavy rain, the two had been in the forest for nearly half an hour, their clothes completely soaked.

It was still summer in September. Yu Xiaoxiao wore a short-sleeved sports outfit. Under the candlelight, her transparent clothes revealed the tight bandages wrapped around her chest.

As Yu Jing finished arranging the green plant restrictions around the room and turned around, his gaze naturally fell upon Yu Xiaoxiao's body. Yu Jing's face immediately turned red, and he pulled down the brim of his hat, averting his eyes from her.

"If you hadn't brought cash with you, we might have been in trouble down there... The old man at the counter earlier, although he was flesh and blood, exuded an aura that no living person should possess. Yu Jing, did you consider this beforehand and bring cash?"

"Something like that."

Yu Jing had indeed considered bringing cash beforehand, but not to this extent. Of course, he had also prepared extra clothes considering the weather outside, but it was impossible due to the strict checks at the teleportation point.

"The power's on!" At this moment, a voice came from downstairs.

Yu Jing touched the switch on the wall, and the bright light completely dispelled the darkness in the room.

However, this stable phenomenon of the lights coming on caused Yu Jing's brows to furrow. He quickly opened the room door and poked his head out. The corridor on the third floor of the Deep Mountain Inn was also illuminated by yellow corridor lights. The dispelling of darkness greatly reduced the sense of fear.

"That shouldn't be... Could it be..." Yu Jing closed the door behind him, considering a more terrible outcome.

"Do you have any thoughts?"

Yu Jing habitually turned his head to answer Yu Xiaoxiao's question.

"...Cough, judging by the current situation, whatever is lurking in the inn doesn't intend to kill us directly. It seems to want to play with us slowly. This situation is definitely not something a low-intelligence creature would do. The other party possesses the same way of thinking as us, not an unintelligent dangerous object."

"I suspect they probably want to torment our minds slowly before killing us."

Yu Jing knew very well that the entity in the inn was nothing compared to the slow-witted Butcher from the Research Institute.

"A ghost with the same personality as my mother? I'm really looking forward to killing the ghost lurking here myself."

A cold killing intent flashed in Yu Xiaoxiao's eyes, disappearing as quickly as it appeared. However, Yu Jing saw it and understood why almost no one among the hundreds of newcomers was willing to interact with Yu Xiaoxiao.

"Since the power is on, you should take a hot bath. I'll find a way to dry your clothes."

"En."

Yu Xiaoxiao went into the bathroom and quickly handed out her clothes. While Yu Jing used the plants in his right arm to absorb the moisture from Yu Xiaoxiao's fragrant clothes, he analyzed the entire event, starting from when they first took the taxi.

"Taxi, heavy rain, deep mountains, inn, old man, smell... everything is connected."

"Pop, pop, pop!"

Suddenly, a strange sound reached Yu Jing's ears, abruptly cutting off his current thoughts.

Following the eerie sound, Yu Jing shifted his gaze towards the room's window. A terrifying sight met his eyes.

The window, which had been completely dark, now had a pale woman's face and four unnaturally long, non-human hands pressed tightly against the glass.

The woman's pupils were completely dilated, appearing pitch black. Her mouth was stretched open in an exaggerated 'O' shape, and from within this hollow, seemingly bottomless mouth came the strange, empty sound.

A primal fear was evoked. Yu Jing stumbled back a step in fear, sweat pouring from his temples. The feeling of dread began to spread throughout his body.