True Identity

Listening to the footsteps approaching from outside the restroom.

Yang Jian covered Jiang Yan's mouth, switched off the flashlight, and softly shushed her, telling her not to make a sound.

Jiang Yan was much smarter than those students at the school. She immediately understood. Afraid that Yang Jian was not covering her mouth tightly enough, she covered it herself. Not only did she make no sound at all, she even held her breath.

Once the flashlight was off, the entire restroom sank into darkness. The silence around them was somewhat terrifying.

Yet in that darkness, the approaching footsteps were exceptionally clear.

Without a doubt, someone was slowly walking into the restroom.

That person did not turn on a flashlight, did not use a phone for illumination, and did not speak. Just like an ordinary person using the restroom, everything seemed perfectly natural.

Yang Jian could sense that person's presence outside.

Jiang Yan sensed it too. Her eyes widened in terror.

"The footsteps stopped?"

Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly. The footsteps outside had vanished. It seemed that whoever had entered had stopped.

Judging by the distance of the footsteps, he could roughly tell that person was standing beside the first stall.

What does he want? Is he really here to use the restroom? Should I go out and take a look? Yang Jian weighed his options.

But after thinking it over carefully, he decided against it.

Because once he encountered the ghost, he would have no choice but to use the ghost's power to protect himself. That would mean wasting an opportunity for nothing.

It was not worth it.

But at that moment—

Bang!

A tremendous crash suddenly echoed through the restroom.

It sounded as though a door panel had snapped.

The door to the first stall seemed to have been violently kicked open.

"Mmmpf!"

Jiang Yan shuddered all over. If she had not desperately covered her own mouth, she would have screamed in fright.

Once that loud crash subsided, the person began moving again. Footsteps echoed through the restroom once more.

After taking only a few steps, that person seemed to stop before the second stall.

Bang!

Another deafening crack came from the door. The second stall had been violently forced open by whatever was outside. Faintly, they could hear a water tank shatter and pipes spraying water.

The sounds fell quiet again.

But then the footsteps resumed.

The person outside had reached the third stall.

"Mm... mmmpf."

Jiang Yan was trembling from head to toe. Her eyes were squeezed shut, her heart utterly engulfed by fear.

She could feel it. Whatever was outside definitely was not human. It had to be that ghost.

There were only five stalls in the restroom. That ghost would find them soon enough.

When that happened, she would undoubtedly die.

Has that thing targeted me?

Yang Jian could also feel the person outside gradually drawing closer, opening each stall one after another in search of anyone who might be hiding.

Bang!

Another thunderous impact. The fourth stall door had been opened.

"There is no other way. Since that thing is ignoring everyone else and coming straight for me, I'll have to fight it."

Yang Jian drew a deep breath and stopped covering Jiang Yan's mouth. He turned around and stared at the stall door.

The moment the door opened and he saw the ghost, he would use Ghost Domain without hesitation.

When Jiang Yan saw Yang Jian stand up, she somehow found the courage to rise as well. She tightly hugged him from behind and refused to let go.

"Y-you have to take me with you when you run. I don't want to die. Please, I'll agree to any condition. As long as we get out of here, I can be your girlfriend, I can sleep with you—"

Her voice was tearful and pleading. She was terrified that Yang Jian would flee and leave her behind alone.

"Quiet."

Yang Jian hissed in a low voice.

"Mhm!"

Jiang Yan obediently bit down hard on her lip and made no sound at all, though her body continued trembling uncontrollably with fear.

Yang Jian had to admire this woman. Her instincts were sharp. She seemed to know he had the ability to protect her, so she clung to him like he was her final lifeline. She was willing to say anything and agree to any condition.

But he had no mind to deal with her right now.

His face was grim as he listened closely for every faint sound outside.

"It's here."

Suddenly, he sensed it.

That ghost had drawn close.

It was just outside the stall. Only a wooden door stood between them, and the distance was probably less than two meters.

It was practically within arm's reach.

A faint stench of decay drifted in. It was exactly like the smell he had noticed when he first arrived at the mall the day before yesterday.

It was not very strong, but it came and went.

Bang!

Suddenly.

A deafening impact rang out. The thin wooden stall door seemed to have been slammed violently by an immense force and was nearly shattered on the spot.

The recoil sent Yang Jian and Jiang Yan stumbling backward together. They only stopped when they hit the wall.

Creak...

The wooden door slowly opened a crack.

Through that gap, the outside remained pitch-black. Nothing could be seen.

Yang Jian could feel that the ghost was outside.

He simply could not see it without any light.

"It didn't come in immediately? It seems to have stopped."

Yang Jian almost instinctively used his Ghost Eye, but then held himself back.

Because the ghost had not entered to kill them, which meant neither he nor Jiang Yan was its first-choice target.

That was extremely important.

Yang Jian stared fixedly into the darkness ahead without making any rash move.

As long as the ghost outside did nothing further, he would not use Ghost Eye.

And so, separated by a slightly open wooden door, human and ghost seemed to be locked in a standoff.

Yang Jian made no movement or sound, and the ghost outside did not move either.

Everything seemed to have reached a deadlock.

Still, out of caution, he slowly reached out and closed the slightly open door.

There was still no movement outside. In other words, that ghost was not looking for him, nor was it looking for Jiang Yan.

Just when Yang Jian thought things would settle down like this—

Jiang Yan, pressed rather uncomfortably against Yang Jian, lightly turned halfway around.

But the next moment—

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The door was violently struck again, nearly forced open.

"Damn it, it's back." Yang Jian abruptly braced the door shut.

Jiang Yan was not stupid either. Though terrified, she threw herself against the thin wooden door, holding it shut in panic.

But the impacts against the door grew increasingly violent. Each blow was stronger than the last. Several times, the door was almost forced open, only for Yang Jian to slam it shut again.

At that moment, he nearly used Ghost Domain.

No, that was not right.

Why had this ghost done nothing earlier, only to suddenly move again after Jiang Yan turned around?

"Don't brace the door with your back. Turn around," Yang Jian shouted, grabbing Jiang Yan and making her turn around.

The instant Jiang Yan turned around, the commotion outside immediately weakened, then quickly stopped.

Everything returned to silence.

"So that's how it is." A hint of delight appeared in Yang Jian's eyes.

He had figured out this ghost's condition for killing people.

The silence lasted for quite some time.

The ghost outside made no movements at all, making Yang Jian increasingly certain of his deduction.

"Since Jiang Yan and I haven't fulfilled this ghost's killing condition, and it hasn't begun killing indiscriminately, that means its threat level is only C—restricted level."

As he pondered this—

The ghost outside began moving again.

This time, it was not walking toward Yang Jian. Instead, it gradually headed toward the restroom exit.

The footsteps faded farther and farther away.

The ghost outside the stall had given up on Yang Jian and Jiang Yan and begun selecting another target.

"Is it leaving? But I need to find out what this ghost really looks like."

Yang Jian's gaze shifted. He hurriedly took out his phone, opened the camera, extended it outside the stall, and took a picture in the direction where the footsteps were fading.

Click.

The flash went off.

"W-what are you doing? What if you draw that thing back here?"

Jiang Yan jumped in fright. She pinched Yang Jian and spoke in an extremely low voice.

"Taking a photo, of course. I need to confirm that ghost's identity. You said Wei Xiaohong was a ghost, but I saw her yesterday. She was alive and well; she didn't look like a ghost. If she really is a ghost, then I should be able to capture her in the photo. Even the slightest glimpse of her features would be enough."

Yang Jian spoke with complete calm. "This is my business. You don't need to worry about it. Since that ghost didn't break through the door, it means neither of us is its target. If anything really goes wrong, I'll take responsibility. I won't deliberately get you killed."

But when he looked at the photo he had just taken, he froze in shock.

"Impossible... how could it be him?"

The photo did not capture the ghost's full appearance, only less than half of its body. The rest was blocked by the wall around the restroom corner.

And that partial figure was wearing the exact same security uniform as Yang Jian.