"Tap, tap."
In the curtain of rain, a pair of short boots stepped into a puddle, kicking up a faint splash that quickly blended into the dense raindrops without leaving a ripple.
The outline of an abandoned factory stood forlornly in the distance, silent in the night like a huge demon crouched low, waiting for its prey to arrive.
Yu Xing held a black umbrella in one hand and a flashlight in the other. He wiped the thin mist that had drifted onto his face with his sleeve, then stopped at the factory gate.
He could hear voices talking somewhere beyond it.
"Have the others arrived yet?" he murmured. A chill crept up his back. Going alone to an abandoned factory in an industrial area on the outskirts of town near midnight sounded eerie and reckless no matter how he looked at it.
He'd been walking since getting out of the taxi, and he'd been on edge for a long time. His legs felt a little weak, and he kept thinking something was following him.
The wind mingled with the rain, its hollow howl coming and going. It was easy to imagine all sorts of spine-chilling things. Yu Xing felt as if he were on the set of a horror movie. His fingers, wrapped around the umbrella handle, had gone white, matching his ghostly pale face.
He wasn't in good health, and he was a coward, too!
This place made him extremely uneasy, but he had no choice but to come.
At his age, fresh out of university, finding a job that paid over 6,000 a month was a stroke of luck—even if the job came with some odd requirements.
Yu Xing took a deep breath, then suddenly regretted ever attending that company's interview. The more he thought about it, the creepier it seemed...
Three days ago, on a friend's recommendation, he'd gone to a recruitment event for a company called the Deduction Company. The human resources manager had been very pleased with him and offered a series of tempting salary and benefits, on the condition that he go to Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory on the outskirts of town at midnight three days later to take a test.
The company specialized in bizarre entertainment, including horror short films, investments in online horror movies, and livestreams featuring horror stories and experiences. In short, it was all about tempting fate. Employees needed to have strong, steady nerves and a rational mind.
So tonight's test could be considered an assessment of their courage and reflexes. Only those who passed would be allowed to work for the company.
Yu Xing's looks were exceptionally good. Though he wasn't in the best of health, there was nothing wrong with his heart, so the human resources manager had taken a liking to him and wanted to recruit him as a streamer.
"I wonder if this company's legit... The reviews online are pretty good." Yu Xing muttered to himself to work up his courage. It was too late to regret it now. He was already here, so he might as well see what this so-called test was about.
It seemed there were already people inside the factory. That was much more reassuring than being alone.
Yu Xing folded his umbrella and leaned it against the gate. He straightened his black T-shirt and khaki cargo pants, took a deep breath, and pushed open the heavy, rusted iron door.
Creeeak—
The piercing sound was swallowed by the downpour. The factory had been abandoned for over six months, so of course the power was out. Several flashlight beams shone through the gap in the door, pointing in different directions. The few people standing not far inside all noticed Yu Xing's arrival at once. They stopped talking and turned to look at him.
"Hello... everyone." Now that he could finally see people, Yu Xing felt half his worries fade.
He glanced around and saw the human resources manager's assistant, whose surname seemed to be Hao. Besides Assistant Hao and Yu Xing himself, there were five others: three men and two women, all good-looking. It seemed they had applied for the same position as him.
"Hey, hey! Come over here!" A brown-haired guy waved enthusiastically. Yu Xing trotted over, then greeted Assistant Hao as well.
"Good evening, Assistant Hao."
Assistant Hao was a chubby man in his early thirties who looked very approachable. At Yu Xing's greeting, he nodded. "Good evening. Now everyone's here."
The long-haired girl standing beside him caught sight of Yu Xing's face in the flashlight's beam and exclaimed, "Wow, handsome! You're only five minutes away from being late!"
But... he wasn't late yet, was he? Yu Xing silently joked to himself, then said a little awkwardly, "Well, the road here was kind of creepy, and cars couldn't get in, so it took me a while."
"You're a scaredy-cat, but you still applied to this company? You've got guts, man!" The brown-haired guy laughed. He meant no harm; he was just blunt.
Assistant Hao smiled. "Our streamers have all sorts of styles. A calm, composed manner is certainly popular, but we also need people who overreact. They help the audience feel more immersed."
Yu Xing forced a smile. Yeah. If I get scared, I'll definitely overreact. My screams will be more frightening than the ghosts themselves...
He couldn't help it. He was a natural coward.
Since it was almost time and everyone had arrived, Assistant Hao got down to business. "I called you here for a test tonight. Tell me, how much do you know about Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory?"
The bespectacled, delicate-looking man beside Yu Xing answered calmly. "A little over six months ago, there was a death at Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory. The media reported that the factory owner hanged himself at night. Production at the factory came to a halt, and it shut down not long afterward."
The long-haired girl immediately chimed in. "They say strange things started happening after the first person died there, and someone else almost got killed. It only stopped after the factory was abandoned. Later, a demolition crew came to work on the site, but the workers all said they saw ghosts at night and that the ghosts wouldn't let them tear down the factory. They were terrified. They brought in several different crews, and it was the same every time. In the end, the project was shelved, and the factory's been there ever since."
It was a clichéd tale straight out of a bad horror novel, along with the sort of urban legend people made up on the spot. Usually, it was just marketing accounts making things up for clicks, with little credibility.
So although the two had managed to dig up this information, neither seemed to take it seriously. They assumed it was nothing more than a rumor passed from one person to another.
"Anything else?" Assistant Hao seemed quite pleased. He turned to the few who hadn't spoken.
"Well... I know about as much as they do. That's all the media reported." The brown-haired guy scratched his head. Of the remaining people, a short-haired woman and a young man wearing a mask both nodded to say they knew the same things.
"I do know something else." Yu Xing hesitated. Since he'd been the last to arrive, he ought to do something to improve his image in the eyes of his "future boss" and "future coworkers." "Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory was secretly producing counterfeit medicine for huge profits and hurt a lot of people. I heard the factory owner might not have killed himself. He may have been..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but everyone understood what he meant.
"The media never reported that. How did you find out?" The bespectacled man glanced at him, a hint of curiosity in his eyes.
"Yeah, wasn't it classified as a suicide?" The short-haired woman asked in surprise.
"I have a friend who was involved in the investigation," Yu Xing said. "He told me. But since I'm not part of the system, he couldn't say much. What he did tell me was vague, but it's better than nothing."
"If that's true," the long-haired girl said excitedly, "then the rumors make a lot more sense! Why would a suicide turn into a ghost otherwise?"
Yu Xing gave an awkward laugh. He could tell that girl really was brave—at least much braver than he was.
Assistant Hao clapped his hands and praised them. "It's a good habit to gather information before starting a job. No matter what, you should keep it up."
As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice. "But however much truth there is in these rumors, they've scared off plenty of people. There must be something unusual in this factory. Your test tonight is to stay inside for four hours."
"In a moment, I'll give each of you a portable camera. Turn on the recording function, then spend the next four hours moving around the factory with your camera. You can stop recording to use the bathroom, but no other breaks. After four hours, you'll pass as long as you haven't left the factory and your recording hasn't been interrupted for more than five minutes."
"That simple?" The brown-haired guy blinked.
Simple? Yu Xing looked across the spacious first floor, where everything beyond a few meters was nearly impossible to make out in the darkness. Once again, he despised his own lack of courage.
"Of course it isn't that simple." Assistant Hao laughed. The flesh on his face bunched into several shallow creases. He took cameras out of his backpack and handed one to each of the six applicants. "Take one."
Yu Xing reached out to accept his camera, and his fingertips accidentally brushed the back of Assistant Hao's hand.
A wave of cold passed from Assistant Hao's hand to his own, so cold that Yu Xing shuddered involuntarily.
How could it be so cold? Like a lifeless thing with no warmth.
The moment the thought crossed his mind, Yu Xing startled himself. This place made him see everything as frightening. He shook his head, trying to clear out the unnecessary thoughts.
"The batteries in the cameras are nearly dead. You'll have to find the batteries I've hidden around the factory. They've all been used and only have a little charge left. You'll need about eight to keep your camera running for four hours," Assistant Hao announced with a smile.
The applicants all said they understood. Assistant Hao patted down his clothes and prepared to leave. "Remember to keep your cameras on while you're moving around. I'll be back in four hours, and I'll use the recordings to decide whether you passed. All right, good luck!"
"Got it!" Everyone answered in unison. Whether they liked the job or not, they had to show their boss they were enthusiastic about work.
Yu Xing saw that Assistant Hao had reached the door and was about to leave. He stared at the ground for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Assistant Hao, the weather's getting cold. Your jacket looks a little thin. Aren't you cold?"
It was mid-September. The weather had been sweltering, but the constant rain over the past few days had forced the temperature down to the point where everyone had to wear long sleeves.
The short-haired woman's eyes widened. Shouldn't a man be the last person to play the caring subordinate? Was he stealing her role?
Assistant Hao stopped when he heard Yu Xing's question.
A few seconds later, he turned around. A perfect smile spread across his chubby face. "I'm not cold."
After a pause, he stared into Yu Xing's eyes and added, "Not cold at all. This temperature is just right."
His even tone gave everyone an inexplicable shiver.
On instinct, Yu Xing swallowed the words If you're not cold, why are your hands so chilly?
Assistant Hao kept smiling and waved to the five others, then left through the main entrance.
As he left, he even "kindly" closed the door behind him, leaving the six applicants to stare at one another in the flashlight beams.
Yu Xing rubbed the goosebumps on his arms. He didn't want to be the first to speak, so he lowered his head and fiddled with his camera. Before long, he'd figured out how to use it.
After turning it on, he saw that the battery indicator in the top-right corner was down to one-fifth. He adjusted a few settings at random and discovered that the camera had a Night Vision Mode. That would make it much easier to get around in the dark, though it used a lot of power.
The point of the battery-hunting rule was probably to make sure they stayed active in the factory. They couldn't just hide in a corner for four hours and expect to pass.
Still, why was the camera a little sticky?
He didn't know what he'd touched, but something felt strange on his index and middle fingers. The flashlight was still on, so he set the camera aside and held his hand in the beam.
In the pale-yellow light, the bright red on his fingers stood out like a ruby resting on a white porcelain plate.
Yu Xing realized at once: it was blood.
There was blood on the camera Assistant Hao had given him.
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