His mind raced, and Yu Qing's eyes grew brighter and brighter. As though he had suddenly figured everything out and connected every clue, he asked, almost excitedly, "Xu Han, is this your dream?"
"..." A long silence.
Yu Qing asked again, "Is this your...!"
Whoosh-
Before he could finish, the pressure around his neck suddenly eased. The hand gripping his throat vanished in an instant, and even the faint, dark-purple glow seeping through the wall disappeared completely.
Then the vengeful ghost vanished, and everything grew peaceful.
A second later, click!
The fluorescent tube lit up again. Everything in the room returned to normal, as though... none of it had ever happened.
Drip, drip...
Water dripped from his sleeve onto the floor. Yu Qing gathered himself, more certain than ever of his conclusion-he needed to get out and go over the diaries he had found on the ninth floor again!
But before that...
The boy slowly raised his hand and kissed the black red spider lily pattern on its back. His tongue teased over it as he murmured, "Thank you, Master, for saving my life."
His voice was sultry and devout, yet there wasn't a trace of respect in his eyes. His expression was cold and vicious, as though... he had already decided when to kill the other party.
With the crisis over, the livestream audience, who had been holding their breath, started posting casual comments again.
[Fuck? He actually got through that? He's not dead?]
[...Didn't you hear the streamer? This is Xu Han's dream. He must have been right, which is why he's fine! If you're so good, let's see you get through it!]
[Hiss... I don't know why, but I think this streamer is kind of scary. After watching livestreams for so long, this is the first time I've worried about a boss's safety.]
[Right? Right?! Aaaah, the streamer calls the boss "hubby." Such a gentle blade, but every cut is lethal.]
[Okay, I take it back. This kind of flirty push and pull? I! Love! It!]
There were only five days left before the game ended. Time to find the key was running out, and Yu Qing still had a few things to confirm!
While the comments scrolled, he quietly slipped out the door.
Sure enough, several more animals were missing from beneath the angel statue in the lobby-the ones that had tried to kill him alongside Xu Han just now.
The director had already left. In the darkness, the eerie angel statue shed tears of blood, its plaster cracked and its body covered in wounds.
As though it had detected that he was about to uncover some great secret, the instance grew noticeably colder. It felt as if something had fixed its gaze on him, ready to tear him apart at any moment.
Yu Qing stepped forward, slowing his breathing. Fighting the intense panic in his chest, he examined the entrance he had opened with the access card.
Sure enough, there were two doors. The access card only opened the inner wooden door. He still needed a key to open the iron door outside!
The key... where was it?
Yu Qing turned and checked the arrangement beneath the angel statue again. The Twelve Zodiac Animals had been positioned with care, each in its own designated spot, but... one place directly opposite the entrance had been left empty.
Who was that reserved for?
Xu Han?
Yu Qing continued thinking-if the director had arranged the Twelve Zodiac Animals for some mysterious sacrificial ritual, then the animals made from humans were probably the offerings.
A sacrificial ritual with offerings also had to have...
A priest!
The monkey obeyed Xu Han. The offerings obeyed Xu Han. So the sole male priest in this ritual was... Drip...
Suddenly, another drop of cold, sticky liquid landed on his face. Yu Qing raised a hand and wiped it. Bright red-blood!
He instinctively looked up. The battered angel statue before him had actually split open, leaving a gaping crack. Blood kept seeping out and dripping down. Moments later, crash!
A piece of plaster broke off and fell, clearly exposing bloody, rotting flesh.
Was it that... woman without skin?
She had been sealed inside the angel statue!
And this time... the cold felt so distinct. This was real!
Bzz, bzzzz-
The lights flickered. The malice in his surroundings grew increasingly obvious, as did the sensation of being watched by something dead.
Crack, crack-
The stone statue split further. The instance's danger level had already reached five. Yu Qing didn't dare linger and immediately quickened his pace, running back to his room.
Click. He shut the door firmly.
His stamina was poor, and he struggled to catch his breath. Ever since earlier, he had felt as though something was following behind him. When he sped up, it sped up. When he slowed down, it slowed down.
Even now, that feeling hadn't gone away.
After calming himself, the boy sat back down on the bed. Suddenly, bang!
Bang, bang!
Knocks sounded from outside, each more forceful than the last.
The livestream comments dwindled again. The viewers held their breath, watching the door even more intently than Yu Qing.
To keep patients from peeking out, the Sanatorium's doors only had a small window at the very top. Through it, several heads of thick black hair were faintly visible!
[Is it... a new ghost?]
[Oh my god, this instance reached level five in just two days. I'm scared.]
Bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!
When the door stayed shut after several knocks, a rattling soon followed-
Yu Qing's pupils widened.
He saw the firmly locked door begin to unlock itself, as though someone outside were fumbling with a key.
His heart rose into his throat, and the skin on his right arm rippled. The boy gritted his teeth and was about to summon the Golden Needle when-whoosh!
"Hah, got~ it~ open~! Hic!"
Standing before him was Qian Lai, his hands resting on female ghosts' shoulders.
Young Master Qian looked drunk. He had an arm hooked around a female ghost on either side, with another two following behind, thoughtfully rubbing his back.
His cheeks were flushed and his eyes glazed with drink. His skin was visibly paling until it matched the ghosts'. "Ladies, I really... hic, can't drink any more. I can't win at finger-guessing. Any more... hic, and I'll actually end up in the underworld."
"..."
Yu Qing finally lowered his arm. He had only just breathed a sigh of relief when the young man broke free of the female ghosts and flung himself onto him, grinning. "Qingqing, Qingqing! Hahaha, don't be scared..."
"I met four ladies in the Detention Room. I played with them a little and had some underworld liquor. Hic! Don't... don't worry about how pale I am... I'm fine. It's fine."
Qian Lai smiled. "My family's practiced the mystic arts for generations. We get along... really well with ghosts!"
"This is what happens when you drink underworld liquor. Once... I sober up, I'll be fine. Hehehe... hehe..."
The pungent smell of alcohol assaulted Yu Qing's nose, and he frowned slightly.
A moment later, pat, pat.
Suddenly, Qian Lai felt something tap his shoulder. Irritably pushing it away, he nuzzled against Yu Qing's shoulder. "Stop tapping me. I had... a good time drinking. Just sharing it with you."
Pat, pat.
"Again? Yu Qing, let me tell you, a man's gotta drink..."
Pat, pat.
Finally, Qian Lai turned around impatiently. The moment he saw what was on his shoulder, he screamed, "Aaaaaah!"
With that cry, he tumbled straight off Yu Qing and onto the floor.
A tentacle!
A pitch-black tentacle!!!
The fright sobered him up considerably. The young man stayed on the floor, a little more clearheaded now, gasping for breath.
Only once the tentacle disappeared did he finally collapse back onto the floor, drained of strength. Reflexive tears spilled from the corners of his eyes amid the fumes of alcohol. "Your husband... is really scary..."
Yu Qing looked at him with a smile. "So, the director locked you in the Detention Room, and you got the ghosts to drink with you?"
"Why not?"
As they spoke, Yu Qing had already walked to the doorway. He shut the door again and invited the four female ghosts to sit down, then replied, "The director will probably grind his teeth again when he sees you."
"What?" Qian Lai didn't understand. Still drunk, he crawled over to the bedside table, propped up one leg, and leaned against it casually.
But Yu Qing didn't answer that question.
He simply looked at Qian Lai with utter seriousness and said, "I know where the key to clearing the game is."
Before you continue