Elevator Ghost

Biodata

Background / History

According to Liu Yanru, the Elevator Ghost was her brother-in-law in life and spent his days doing nothing worthwhile. His wife, Liu Xueru, eventually left him for another man. Rather than reflect on his behavior, he directed his anger at Yanru and tortured her to death 39.

Wang Lei and Liu Xueru later dragged him to an elevator shaft and sent him falling to his death. After becoming a ghost at Yellow Springs Hospital, he sought revenge against both of them, who had also become hospital ghosts 9 10 39.

Appearance

• Hideous face: His forced smile makes his appearance even more repulsive to Lin Luo 40.
• Foul-smelling mouth: He spits the Blood Rope from his mouth and later opens it to absorb Lin Luo’s curse, releasing an overpowering stench on both occasions 9 40.
• Exposed blood vessels: When unleashing his full ghost power, the skin peels from his face, exposing blood vessels and releasing a strong smell of blood 41.
• Swollen self-destruction form: Before attempting to detonate, his body expands into an enormous ball of blood 41 42.

Personality

The Elevator Ghost disguises exploitation as generosity. He treats Lin Luo warmly, returns his Ghost Coins, and offers him a valuable artifact, while privately regarding him as a “little bug” whose usefulness will soon pay off. His apparent concern for Lin Luo’s safety is subordinate to his desire for revenge 9 11.

He openly justifies his schemes through the belief that the strong prey on the weak. Even after Lin Luo brings his enemies into the elevator, he initially refuses to lift the curse because he intends to keep Lin Luo under his control. His arrogance collapses when Lin Luo threatens to involve the hospital’s senior ghosts 40.

His fixation on revenge overrides caution. He pursues Wang Lei and Liu Xueru out of his advantageous territory and into an ambush. When defeat becomes unavoidable, he tries to redirect his attackers toward Lin Luo, then attempts mutual destruction rather than accept his loss 40 41 42.

Abilities & Skills

Elevator Territory

The elevator strengthens him and serves as his preferred site for confronting his enemies 11 39.

• Shuts the elevator doors with ghost power to cut off Wang Lei and Liu Xueru’s escape 40.
• Causes scarlet blood to seep throughout the elevator during his confrontation with Lin Luo 40.
• Can leave the elevator despite previously misleading Lin Luo about that limitation 40.
• Loses his territorial advantage when lured into the Abandoned Building 39 41.

Artifact Restrictions and Curses

He conceals coercive mechanisms in the Blood Rope he gives Lin Luo 11 37.

• The rope attacks uncontrollably when it encounters Wang Lei and Liu Xueru, drawing its bearer into their feud 11.
• Channeling ghost power into the rope triggers a powerful explosion 37.
• The explosion leaves a bloody handprint curse on Lin Luo’s arm; if it spreads across his entire body, he will die suddenly 37.
• He can remove the curse by sucking it back into his mouth, but doing so noticeably diminishes his ghost power 40.
• A sufficiently powerful ferocious ghost can forcibly break the curse 40.

Ghost Power and Physical Resilience

• Remains stronger than the blood-depleted Wang Lei and Liu Xueru during the pursuit, even after weakening himself to remove Lin Luo’s curse 40 41.
• Uses ghost power to stabilize a wound after Liu Yanru tears flesh from his face 41.
• His spilled ghost blood corrodes the floor beneath him 41.
• Is suppressed by the Director Ghost’s presence and overwhelmingly outmatched by the Security Guard Ghost 33 42.

Self-Detonation

When grievously wounded, he channels ghost power into his body until it swells, intending to explode and take Lin Luo with him 41.

• The threat forces Wang Lei, Liu Xueru, and Liu Yanru to retreat 41.
• The Security Guard Ghost stops the detonation and returns his body to normal before destroying him 42.

Karmic Weakness

Because he tortured Liu Yanru to death, the rules of karmic retribution make him distinctly weaker than her. This vulnerability is central to Lin Luo’s plan to ambush him outside the elevator 39 41.

Equipment / Weapons / Items

• Blood Rope — A powerful ghost artifact expelled from his mouth and given to Lin Luo. It injures a lesser ghost in one strike, helps Lin Luo hold off the Flaying Ghost, and destroys the Faceless Ghost. Its hidden restriction ultimately causes it to explode when Lin Luo channels ghost power into it 9 11 12 20 37.

Relationships

• Lin Luo — Initially a prospective revenge agent, later his enemy. The Elevator Ghost uses the Blood Rope and curse to manipulate him; Lin Luo retaliates by arranging the Abandoned Building ambush 9 11 37 39 40 41.
• Liu Xueru — His wife in life and one of his killers. He seeks to destroy her after both become ghosts 10 39 40.
• Wang Lei — One of his killers and the other principal target of his revenge 10 39 40.
• Liu Yanru — His sister-in-law and murder victim. She joins the ambush against him and benefits from karmic suppression because he caused her death 39 41.
• Director Ghost — A hospital superior whose power terrifies him. Lin Luo’s threat to summon the Director Ghost helps force him to remove the curse 33 40.
• Security Guard Ghost — Lin Luo’s backup during the ambush and the ghost who ultimately destroys him. His last attempt to bribe the guard fails 41 42.

Story Role / Major Arcs

Recruiting Lin Luo

A hidden quest directs Lin Luo to help the Elevator Ghost take revenge. Lin Luo feigns sympathy over romantic betrayal, prompting the ghost to give him the Blood Rope and offer assistance 9.

The artifact instead entangles Lin Luo with Wang Lei and Liu Xueru, who regard him as the Elevator Ghost’s ally. The chef ghosts save him from their attack. The Elevator Ghost then urges Lin Luo to lure the pair into the elevator, showing little concern for the danger involved 10 11.

The Curse and Counter-Trap

The Blood Rope explodes while Lin Luo breaks through a ghost wall in the Abandoned Building, injuring his arm and applying the Elevator Ghost’s curse. This turns Lin Luo’s distrust into a determination to destroy him 37.

After learning Liu Yanru’s history and the Elevator Ghost’s karmic weakness, Lin Luo recruits her, Wang Lei, and Liu Xueru for a counter-trap. He brings the latter two into the elevator, forces the curse’s removal by invoking the hospital’s senior ghosts, and lets them escape while the Elevator Ghost is weakened 39 40.

Defeat and Destruction

The Elevator Ghost follows his enemies into the Abandoned Building, where Liu Yanru joins the attack and Lin Luo blocks the exit. Unable to escape or turn the attackers against Lin Luo, he attempts to detonate himself 41.

The Security Guard Ghost prevents the explosion and engulfs him in corrosive black mist. His flesh dissolves, leaving white bones that crumble into debris. Yellow Springs Hospital subsequently assigns a different ghost to operate the elevator; the replacement already knows that offending Lin Luo led to his predecessor’s destruction 42 43.

Notable Quotes

“The strong prey on the weak. I'm not singling you out. Blame yourself for not being capable enough.” 40

“Brother Security Guard, whatever this filthy bug paid you to help him, I'll pay double.” 42