Mark

The corridor was too long, too quiet.

It seemed deep enough to have no end.

When they'd come in, a woman had led the way, so they hadn't thought much of it. Now, though, it looked like the perfect opening to a horror movie.

At last, after rounding the final bend, they reached the end of the corridor.

The women's bathroom was on the left, and on the right—

Jiang Cheng turned to look at the battered iron door on the right, which stood only halfway open. A strange emotion flickered across his face.

"Here." Yu Wen lifted her chin and nodded toward the men's bathroom door on the right. "Let's go in and take a look."

No one questioned her decision. Almost everyone could smell the blood.

And the closer they got to the men's bathroom, the stronger the stench became.

In the end, it was Luo Yi who reached out and pushed open the door.

The moment it opened, he quickly stepped back. It was very dark inside, and no one went in right away. They waited for their eyes to adjust.

Gradually, the scene inside came into focus.

Zhou Taifu, who had been squeezed in at the front, went weak in the knees and dropped straight to the floor.

Zhang Yinyin was so terrified that her face lost all color, and her lips turned pale.

Her teeth chattered nonstop, and she couldn't get a word out.

Long Tao was standing right in front of them. His head was tilted slightly upward, and his body had gone stiff. He looked as if he'd just been pulled from a pool of blood.

Like the Qipao Woman, his lower jaw was missing.

His exposed gums were grotesque and ugly. Broken teeth were embedded in the mangled flesh, like maggots writhing in rotting meat.

The Fatty had eaten a hearty breakfast, just like Jiang Cheng, and now his stomach kept churning.

Blood had sprayed everywhere.

On the mirror, in front of the sinks, even across the moldy ceiling. The murder had clearly happened in an instant. It had probably taken only a few hundredths of a second for some tremendous force to tear off Long Tao's jaw.

The flesh was twisted, and the marks of the tearing were clear.

Pale sections of his windpipe and other shattered tissue were even visible.

Yu Wen was the first to step forward, and Jiang Cheng followed close behind.

The two of them moved carefully, choosing where to step.

The sound of their shoes squelching in the pool of blood, and the slick sensation beneath them, made them feel deeply uncomfortable.

The corpse's arms hung straight down at his sides. Jiang Cheng touched one and found that the muscles in the dead man's forearm were extremely tense.

There were no signs of a struggle, and the scene had been left almost completely undisturbed.

The Fatty said fearfully, "L-look at his eyes."

The corpse's eyes were wide open, and his brows were arched dramatically. He must have seen something terrifying just before he died.

Even in death, his face was frozen in indescribable fear.

There was even blood staining the corners of his eyes.

"His tongue is missing too," Yu Wen said, withdrawing her hand.

Some of them couldn't help wondering whether she often dealt with corpses. Otherwise, she wouldn't have been so calm.

Especially with the corpse right in front of them.

People died in nightmares all the time. Their job was to figure out what had killed them.

By then, Zhou Taifu's complexion had improved a little. He hurriedly said, "Long Tao. Why did Long Tao go into the men's bathroom? According to what we agreed earlier, he should've gone into the women's bathroom."

"That's right," Zhang Yinyin murmured. "I remember that woman telling him to go into the women's bathroom."

Luo Yi stroked his chin. After a moment, he said, "Could Long Tao have gone into the women's bathroom first, realized it was dangerous, and then switched to the men's bathroom?"

"No," Jiang Cheng said, looking around. "Long Tao never went into the women's bathroom. He chose this one right away."

"What proof do you have?"

Jiang Cheng merely glanced at the other man, then said, "If he really noticed something strange in the women's bathroom, do you think he'd have had time to escape and then enter the men's bathroom?"

"Maybe the ghost deliberately chased him into the men's bathroom," Zhen Jianren sneered. "That's possible too."

Jiang Cheng's attitude irritated him immensely.

Jiang Cheng spread his hands, looking completely innocent. "If you insist on seeing it that way, I won't argue with you."

"Mm, I think Mr. Hao makes a good point too." Yu Wen thought for a moment, then continued, "Our next step is to identify the ghost and uncover the story behind it."

After hearing Yu Wen's words, Zhou Taifu grew agitated. "Y-you still want to look for the ghost? Why don't we just hide? The mission will be over in seven days anyway!"

Luo Yi licked his lips and suddenly laughed. "There's never a shortage of naive people in nightmares. It's a headache, because you can't use 'naive' to describe stupidity."

Zhou Taifu's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Zhou Taifu, the jeweler." Luo Yi tipped the brim of his baseball cap to the right, revealing the scar on his forehead. His whole demeanor changed. "Are you sure you'll really make it out of here alive in seven days?"

Zhou Taifu stared at the young man who had dropped his disguise. No, no, he wasn't that young. He looked at least thirty-five.

Just then—

"Hmm?" Jiang Cheng crouched down and examined a corner of the bathroom.

The others came over when they heard him.

Following Jiang Cheng's gaze, they saw several irregular marks on the messy floor.

They were hard to spot if you didn't look closely.

"What are those?" the Fatty asked in confusion.

At the same time, Yu Wen and the others noticed the unusual marks on the floor.

Most of them were clustered near Long Tao's body, as if some kind of animal had left them behind.

Yu Wen reached out and touched them. The marks were still fresh, and easy to distinguish from the old grime on the floor. "They look like hoofprints."

Yu Wen seemed to have plenty of experience. She needed only a few seconds to reach a conclusion. Looking up, she said, "Something like a goat or a gazelle."

The Fatty stared at Yu Wen, eyes wide. He stammered, "Y-you're not saying a goat ripped his jaw off, are you?"

It was absurd. This wasn't a Greek myth.

Yu Wen ignored him and lowered her head again, following the trail of marks. She found that whatever had left them had wandered all over the bathroom.

After pushing open each stall door in turn, they found a pile of excrement in the fourth stall.

It was still fresh.

It must have been left by Long Tao.

"He was killed by the ghost just as he was about to leave the bathroom after using the toilet," the Fatty said, taking a deep breath. The answer was obvious.

They had been prepared for this, but after the second person died, the mood throughout the group grew heavy.

Partly because the Qipao Woman and Long Tao had both died in such bizarre ways.

But even more because of that mysterious goat.

Tomorrow is the 30th! The Gentle Sleep Counselor and the Handsome Young Master from the South are here to wish everyone a happy new year!!

May the new year bring you plenty of good fortune and smooth sailing in everything!

I also hope my new book does well!

I couldn't have made it this far without your support. Thank you all for being here, and thank you for your kindness.

It's so good to have you all.