The Strange Arrival 11

Even Ye Zhao, with all her experience, was startled by the ghost that suddenly plastered itself against the window. Fortunately, she had learned to control her expression, so she lowered her head and continued scrolling through her phone as if she had seen nothing, her face blank.

The next moment, the Passerby Ghost began pounding frantically on the window, excited and thrilled. "You saw me! You saw me!"

The glass window could not withstand a ghost's attack at all. With a crack, it shattered, and the Passerby Ghost rushed inside!

At the same time, the knocking outside the door turned into smashing. The sturdy door cracked apart, and the Customer Service Ghost twisted its body as it squeezed in through the gap!

Fine, fragmented, chilling voices seeped into her ears. "You saw me, you saw me..."

Behind the Customer Service Ghost, countless hands fought to squeeze inside. "Saw her, saw her..."

Ye Zhao had not expected that single glance to bring so much trouble. She flipped to her feet and slapped an Exorcism Talisman toward the window, sending the ghost that had just rushed in flying back out. Then, in the blink of an eye, she appeared at the door. The bronze mirror shone forth, and the Customer Service Ghost shrieked and retreated. The ghosts crowded behind it scattered as well.

She let out a small breath, thinking the matter had been temporarily resolved. But it had not. Dozens more ghosts gathered outside the window, while the ghosts in the hallway had not left either. They frantically pressed against the doors, windows, and walls. Though they could not approach because of the Exorcism Bronze Mirror, they were unwilling to give up the meal right before their eyes.

Ye Zhao was surrounded on both sides, trapped with nowhere to advance or retreat!

And even more ghosts, drawn by the commotion, were surging in from every direction.

With a thought, Ye Zhao used a Lightning Strike Card. A hundred bolts of heavenly lightning fell from the sky, and the ghosts outside the window vanished amid shrieks.

She then unleashed dozens more bolts of heavenly lightning at the doorway. At last, the hall outside fell silent after another chorus of screams. Ye Zhao knew she could not stay here any longer. She grabbed her backpack and cautiously left the room.

Fortunately, the ghosts outside were gone for the moment. Ye Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and clutched the Exorcism Bronze Mirror as she sprinted downstairs. She did not dare take the elevator, afraid of being trapped like a turtle in a jar, so she could only use the stairs. Who would have thought that on the sixth floor, she would run into Nie Yun, who was also rushing down, along with a skinny man following behind him?

Ye Zhao and Nie Yun exchanged a glance. Nie Yun's sharp eyes spotted the Exorcism Bronze Mirror in her arms, and his eyes lit up. "You're a Player too? Where are you going? You can't go outside. Come with me!"

Of course Ye Zhao knew she could not go outside. This was no longer a matter of being hunted by just one ghost—it was a chain reaction. After all, if you could see one ghost, how could you possibly fail to see a second?

The moment she ran outside, she would become food for a whole pack of ghosts to fight over.

She hesitated for two seconds, then followed him.

Nie Yun raced onward, bringing Ye Zhao and the skinny man to a standard room on the fourth floor.

The skinny man said, "Brother Nie, you're amazing! You actually had money to rent a room!"

Of course Nie Yun had no money. "I secretly hid this room key. I've checked—no one is staying in this room for now. We can hide here for a while."

"What do we do? There are more and more ghosts outside. It's so scary!"

"It's okay. There are only five days left. We can definitely hold out!"

The two clasped each other's hands, encouraging one another.

It took Nie Yun quite a while to remember that Ye Zhao was still there. He looked toward the girl in black at the side. This time, she was not wearing sunglasses. Her high ponytail revealed a clean, fair face. Her eyes were lowered slightly, and cold sweat from the intense run still covered her forehead.

"Hello, little sister. My name is Nie Yun." He held out his hand in a friendly gesture.

Ye Zhao shook his hand. "Ye Zhao."

The skinny man said, "Just call me Old Wang. If Brother Nie hadn't saved me, I would've died already!"

Nie Yun lovingly kissed the Exorcism Bronze Mirror. "We also have to thank the game daddy for bugging out and spawning an Exorcism Bronze Mirror in my pocket. If it weren't for this mirror, I might've been eaten."

Ye Zhao: ...Thanks for making me a dad without any pain.

She walked over to the only chair and sat down. Taking a milk candy from her pocket, she unwrapped it to soothe her bitter heart. At the same time, she sent Brother Qiao a message, asking him to book two more rooms for her.

After quite a while, Brother Qiao finally replied: [Miss Ye, where are you?]

Ye Zhao: [Go check on my room first.]

Brother Qiao: [Your room is a complete mess. The window and door are both broken. Miss Ye, where are you now?]

Ye Zhao: [Help me book rooms first. I'll give you the money later.]

She only had cash on her and could not transfer money through X-Messenger.

Brother Qiao: [All right, Miss Ye.]

By the time Ye Zhao finished typing, Nie Yun and Old Wang were already discussing what to do over the next five days. They did not plan to go outside and take risks. Even if they did, they might not find a better place than this. It would be better to wage guerrilla warfare in the hotel. Nie Yun happened to be a hotel employee, so he had chances to get room keys and food.

Seeing the two men looking so worried, Ye Zhao gave them a handful of milk candies. Neither of them liked sweets, but having something to eat was already good enough right now. Besides, they were short on food. They thanked her repeatedly.

Ye Zhao unwrapped another milk candy and put it into her mouth. "You don't need to include me in your plans. I've already asked someone to arrange a room for me."

"Little sister, do you have other Player friends at the hotel?"

"No. They're hotel Natives."

Nie Yun immediately said, "Then it's way too dangerous for you to stay out there alone. Little sister, stay with us. We may be two men, but we're both upright men!"

He patted his chest. "This is my second time participating in the game. I've already turned myself over to the country, so don't worry. I'm a good comrade."

Ye Zhao glanced at him. "Thanks, but no."

Nie Yun looked at Ye Zhao again. Seeing how pale she was yet how strong she seemed, he asked, "...Really no?"

"Mm." Ye Zhao took a large pack of compressed biscuits from her backpack and tossed it to Nie Yun. "Consider it thanks for earlier."

There were nine biscuits in the pack. One biscuit a day was enough for a person to survive, so it was enough for the two of them to last through the next five days.

Nie Yun's eyes brimmed with tears. He had bought and stored food too, but he had fled in such a hurry that he had not had time to grab it. "Thank you, Comrade Ye Zhao. You're such a, such a, such a good person!"

Ye Zhao: ...

Nie Yun said, "Oh, right. Why were the ghosts chasing you?"

Ye Zhao: "When I used the binoculars to look downstairs, one of the anomalies below spotted me. While she was chasing me, she drew the other anomalies over too."

Nie Yun: "Us too! It was terrifying. Once one anomaly starts chasing you, all the anomalies start chasing you!"

More than ten minutes later, Ye Zhao received a message from Brother Qiao saying he had already opened a room for her. This time, it was on the tenth floor. [Miss Ye, where are you? Do you need me to come get you?]

Ye Zhao: [Wait for me by the elevator on the tenth floor.]

She exchanged contact information with Nie Yun and Old Wang, then said goodbye and left.

Nie Yun repeatedly reminded her, "Be careful, little sister. Are you sure you don't need us to come with you?"

Ye Zhao was no longer the Ye Zhao she had been before. She was now a mature Ye Zhao who would not scream when facing anomalies. "No need. I can handle it alone."

It would just cost her a few more Exorcism Props. If they went with her, it would not be a matter of just a few.

Nie Yun looked at Ye Zhao with admiration. Little sister was so scared, yet so strong. He had to learn from her. Clenching his fist, he said, "Sister Zhao, keep it up!"

Ye Zhao: Very good. She had gone from Dad, to little sister, to Sister Zhao.

Ye Zhao still chose not to take the elevator upstairs, instead taking the stairs. She wore sunglasses, a baseball cap, and a mask, wrapping herself up tightly.

If she could, she even wanted to pretend to be blind.

The stairwell was quiet, with only her in it. She could hear her own steady breathing. Several anomalies had already followed behind her, clinging to her like spirits at her back and refusing to leave.

Ye Zhao was committed to seeing nothing and hearing nothing, but it was simply too quiet. Logically speaking, she had thrown over a hundred bolts of heavenly lightning, and the room had been wrecked like that. The hotel should not have been this quiet...

She also seemed not to have heard any firefighters or police? It could not possibly be because the soundproofing was that good, could it?

Something had happened in her room, yet no one had come to take her statement or anything?

The more Ye Zhao thought about it, the more her scalp tingled, and a chill crept up her back...