Who's Knocking?

Qipao Woman could no longer sit still. She got up and headed for the door.

"Qipao Sister," Sleepwear Woman said, looking terrified. There was no way she dared stay in the room alone. "Where are you going?"

She immediately jumped out of bed without even putting on her shoes, standing barefoot on the cold cement floor. She looked at Qipao Woman with pleading eyes.

"I'm going to ask the others if they've noticed anything unusual." She pretended to comfort Sleepwear Woman. "Don't worry. I'll ask around and be right back."

Sleepwear Woman seemed afraid of the quiet, dim hallway, too. After thinking it over, she said, "Then come back quickly, Qipao Sister. I'm scared being here alone."

"All right. I promise."

Qipao Woman took a deep breath, then slowly opened the door—but only a tiny crack.

The hallway was silent. If she hadn't known people were staying in the nearby rooms, she would have thought only she and Sleepwear Woman were here.

After seeing nothing unusual, she stepped outside, then quickly turned around and pulled the door almost shut.

That was right. She had no intention of coming back.

Not only that, she left the door to Room 407 slightly ajar.

First, if she ran into danger, she could retreat immediately.

Second, even if another room took her in and she was safe, Room 407—with its door not even fully closed—would undoubtedly be the perfect target for a ghost.

She had already thought it through. Her destination was Room 404.

The people in Room 405 had already heard the strange scraping sound. No matter what it meant, she wasn't willing to take that risk.

Especially since the two people in there didn't look like good people.

Qipao Woman had seen a lot and was long past judging people by their appearance, so Suit Man's insincere act wouldn't work on her.

There were good people in nightmares, too. They just died a little faster and a little more horribly.

As for why she was passing over Room 406, it was because there were too many newcomers inside.

Too many newcomers meant too many unknowns, and one slipup could bring disaster down on her when she was so close by.

She didn't like newcomers, just like most veterans.

She had a better impression of Jiang Cheng and the Fatty, especially Jiang Cheng.

He looked dazed, a little slow.

To be honest, she couldn't quite figure him out.

She'd met idiots and fools in nightmares, but it was rare to see someone doing as well as Jiang Cheng, especially when he wasn't a beginner.

Several nightmare missions had taught her one thing: this place was full of hidden talents, and plenty of people pretended to be weak so they could catch others off guard.

The two rooms weren't far apart, but she took every step carefully, as if afraid that making too much noise would wake something sleeping in the darkness.

She stayed alert the whole way, never letting her peripheral vision relax.

Closer.

Closer still.

He stared silently at the door ahead, wondering what excuse he could use to get them to open it and let him stay for the night.

The people inside weren't stupid. He couldn't tell them that the person in his room had heard a scraping sound. If he did, who would open the door for him?

She stopped, thinking tensely.

Huh? She suddenly froze. It was already the middle of the night, and the hallway lights had gone out long ago. How could she see anything?

She turned to look around and soon found the source of the light.

It came from a door not far ahead, left slightly ajar. A faint line of light shone through the gap.

Her pupils trembled. Then her gaze slowly shifted upward until she could make out the number on the door.

407.

407!!

She shuddered violently, as if an icy bomb had exploded in her heart.

How could it be Room 407?

Her own room?

She had only just left Room 407. She looked back quickly, but everything behind her was shrouded in darkness, as if covered by an impassable fog.

The Room 407 she had just left was gone.

Just as she'd thought!

The ghost was targeting those who hadn't heard the scraping sound!

It was coming for her.

Her overwhelming fear seemed to unleash a survival instinct many times stronger than before. She knew this wasn't the end yet. She still had a slim chance.

If she handled this right, she could survive.

The most urgent thing was to determine whether that was really Room 407—or, more precisely, whether Dinosaur Pajamas Girl or a ghost was waiting inside.

The ghost's abilities couldn't be explained by science, or even by basic logic.

So the Room 407 in front of her might really be the original Room 407.

It was also her only way out.

She decided to take a chance.

Perhaps the ghost wanted her to think this wasn't the real Room 407, so she would miss her chance to survive.

Once she'd figured that out, she immediately ran toward Room 407. As she moved, the places behind her that had been illuminated were swallowed by darkness one after another.

As though they had never existed.

"Knock, knock, knock!"

She knocked on the door to Room 407 but didn't push it open right away.

"Who is it?" a frightened female voice called from inside. "Who's knocking?"

It was Dinosaur Pajamas Girl's voice. It sounded very real.

Full of fear and unease, as if she were about to die of terror at any moment.

"It's me!" Qipao Woman answered as fast as she could. "Open the door!"

After saying that, she quickly glanced back. The darkness behind her was drawing closer. At this rate, it wouldn't be long before it reached her.

Then she gritted her teeth. There was nothing more to it.

If she was lucky, the others would find a mostly intact corpse the next day.

Hers.

"Hurry up!" she shouted, banging on the door. "Open it!"

Dinosaur Pajamas Girl seemed frightened by her tone and actually started crying. She mumbled incoherently, asking who Qipao Woman was, why she couldn't come in when the door wasn't locked, and whether she was a ghost. She begged her not to kill her.

She sounded as pitiful as could be.

Qipao Woman could even hear the bed creaking as Sleepwear Woman's sobs shook her body.

Qipao Woman called through the door, "It really is me. I'm the sister who just left. Please believe me." She paused. "I'm coming in now."

"Waaah..."

The crying continued inside, stifled as if she were trying her hardest to hold it back. Qipao Woman could picture Sleepwear Woman's helpless expression.

It was too real. So real that it didn't seem fake.

So Qipao Woman kept talking as she slowly backed away. Then she turned and ran.

Strangely, the moment she ran off, the crying inside the room abruptly stopped.

The sliver of light shining through the ajar door vanished, too.

In its place came a series of thumping sounds, as if something were crawling out of the door disguised as Room 407 on all fours.

It certainly wasn't Dinosaur Pajamas Girl.

The act had been convincing, but Qipao Woman had still spotted the flaw. While crying, the Sleepwear Woman disguised by the ghost had said, "The door isn't locked, so why can't you come in? Are you a ghost?"

Qipao Woman herself had pulled the door almost shut. How could Sleepwear Woman have known?