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The four of them introduced their abilities, and Yu Jing naturally gave a brief explanation of his work at the research institute and the power of "Ivy."

As for Yu Xiaoxiao, Jiang Pengyu took the initiative to explain that she did not need to say anything. They only needed to treat her as an extremely powerful combat force within the team.

"I didn't expect you to have a Cultivated Physique, Yu Jing!" Jiang Pengyu said in surprise.

Yu Jing's ability report, which Special Commissioner Liang had given him, contained the technical term "Cultivated Physique."

Not everyone could accept the fusion and grafting of plant genes with human flesh. Only those whose bodily gene expression could perfectly fuse with plant genes were able to undergo Gene Grafting surgery.

Otherwise, once the graft was rejected, the plant within their body would break free of the host's control and drain away the host's energy, ultimately turning them into a true "Human-Flesh Plant."

"If we're going to work together, we'll need a leader."

Yu Jing shifted the conversation to the matter of leadership. This was extremely important for the operation to come.

"You work at a research institute and have fused with a plant, which means you've essentially undergone advance training from the Dihua Ability Institute. You're the most suitable person to lead us. You'll mainly be responsible for arranging our actions. As long as your decisions are appropriate, everyone will follow them."

Jiang Pengyu did not hesitate and took the initiative to put Yu Jing in charge. He had two reasons for this. First, Jiang Pengyu's team had previously guessed that Yu Jing might know something about this inn. Second, in their eyes, Yu Xiaoxiao would probably only obey Yu Jing's arrangements.

"Mm."

In truth, given Yu Jing's personality, he did not like being placed in the spotlight as the leader. However, if he let Jiang Pengyu take the position, Yu Xiaoxiao would absolutely refuse to obey his orders.

"There are four hours left until tomorrow morning. Every two hours, three people will take turns standing watch so that everyone can remain in high spirits tomorrow."

Under Yu Jing's instructions, the six of them took turns keeping watch and safely passed the first night of physical training. Nothing unusual happened at all.

Through the incident that had occurred at the beginning of the night, Yu Jing had noticed two relatively important pieces of information.

First, the ghosts in the inn had deliberately used the television to warn them and gather all six of them together.

Second, the woman who had appeared inside the television had stepped on soil with her pale soles.

Yu Jing temporarily kept these two pieces of information in mind.

At exactly seven the next morning, the weather should have been sunny in September, but the gloom in the sky refused to disperse. The torrential rain that had begun yesterday showed no sign of weakening. Still, compared with the absolute darkness of night, the overcast weather was much better.

However, because of the humidity, an odor combining sandalwood and decay had grown even stronger.

Through the room's window, they could clearly see the mountain forest outside being battered by heavy rain. There were no wild animals or other newcomers anywhere nearby.

Now that the second morning had arrived, the six of them returned together to the empty lobby on the inn's first floor.

They noticed one detail: the tea left inside the counter last night had not been touched at all. A spider had already spun a thick web across the surface of the teacup.

"Let's confirm whether Old Woman in Charge is here, shall we?"

Jiang Pengyu, the only relatively cheerful person in the group, raised his voice and shouted from the center of the first floor, "Is anyone there?"

His voice was so loud that it even echoed through the inn and out into the mountain forest.

Five minutes passed without any sound or movement in response. They could essentially confirm that the Old Woman in Charge from last night had disappeared.

"I should've hypnotized the old woman yesterday and questioned her..." Zhang Xingyue muttered softly from within the group.

Yu Jing did not think much of the woman. Since they were strangers to one another and had formed this team without any foundation, there could be no absolute trust between them.

"Search the rooms on the first floor. Try to find the room where the old woman lived, or uncover some unusual objects. Also, if you find anything resembling a bell, do not shake it under any circumstances."

In the end, Yu Jing chose not to conceal this information.

They first searched the front counter and obtained the keys to every room on the first floor, along with a ledger. The only noteworthy things inside the ledger were the dates and some strange marks.

The dates in the ledger indicated the inn's original timeline. It had already been forty years ago.

Next came the guest registration records. Some guests' names had been marked with circles. After tallying them, it was easy to discover that the marked names mostly belonged to men. Their identification numbers confirmed that all of them were males between fifteen and twenty-five years old. The reason was still unknown.

Yu Jing also did not find the bell from his memories at the front desk. Carrying the keys to the various rooms on the first floor, he began a thorough search of the entire floor and set out to determine which room the old woman had occupied.

Starting from the nearest room, every guest room was identical to those upstairs, with nothing particularly noteworthy.

All six of them used their own methods to inspect every part of the rooms carefully, but they found nothing. However, compared with the second and third floors, the first-floor rooms were extremely damp. Unpleasant-looking fungi had even grown in the corners of the walls.

When Yu Jing tried to insert plants from his body into the wall on the first floor, he immediately felt a powerful rejection.

"This door won't open."

When they reached room 110 at the very back of the first floor, Jiang Pengyu inserted the corresponding key, but he could not unlock the door.

Yu Xiaoxiao had already drawn the dagger in her hand and was preparing to force the door open.

"I'll do it."

Yu Jing gestured for them not to use force, then walked to the door. He pressed his palm against the lock and sent a plant tendril inside.

But what Yu Jing found inside the keyhole stirred a trace of fear in his heart. The problem was not the key—the lock had been jammed by something.

As he pulled the tendril outward, a mass of black, foul-smelling strands of hair was dragged from the tiny keyhole. Everyone in the group was startled, but Zhang Xingyue and Men Qian, whose medical skills were superb, reacted the most intensely.

"Creak!"

The wooden door opened smoothly, and the scene inside made everyone stop in their tracks.

The Old Woman in Charge from last night was lying on the bed. The walls of the room were covered with countless scraps cut from newspapers. Because they were too far away, the tiny words could not yet be read clearly.

Not a trace of vitality emanated from the old woman lying on the bed. Her eyes were even rolled back, and some of the foul odor in the room was drifting from her body.

"Quiet. Don't make a sound! First collect some of the objects in the room, and only then examine the old woman."