Monitoring Room

In a nondescript storage room in the mall.

Several phone lights illuminated the interior. Everyone inside held their breath, faces pale and filled with terror.

They were Boss Tang, Master Luo, Manager Li, Sister Li, and others.

Besides them, there was a very special person, Yan Li.

Yan Li's expression was exceptionally grim at the moment. He stared at the door in front of him, which he had smeared with bright red blood. The blood had congealed and refused to dissipate, as if seeping out from within the door itself, dripping, dripping with blood.

The blood had pooled on the floor, forming a puddle.

"The noise has stopped. It seems that ghost can't get in for now."

Yan Li breathed a sigh of relief. He looked at his blood-covered hands, his complexion not good.

"M-Master, we're safe now, right?" Boss Tang asked, still shaken.

They had been on their way to the fifth floor smoothly, planning to leave through the emergency exit. However, upon reaching the fifth floor, they discovered that all the doors had been locked by someone.

They thought about smashing the locks to get out.

But as they were smashing the locks, something bizarre happened around them.

Someone behind them suddenly collapsed to the ground. Their head was gone.

They were so terrified that they abandoned smashing the locks and scattered in all directions. Fortunately, they ran into Yan Li, who brought them into this storage room and shut the door, thus saving their lives.

But the situation didn't end there.

Just now, loud banging sounds had come from outside the main door, one after another.

It was as if something was trying to break down the storage room door and rush in. Even the lock had been smashed.

That strength. It was definitely not human.

The others saw Yan Li's hands bleeding. He smeared the blood on the door, and only then did the commotion subside.

"This situation won't last long. And the ghost outside has already targeted us, knowing we're here. It will continue to attack us. Moreover, I can feel that the ghost is waiting for us outside," Yan Li said.

His current situation was exactly the same as what Yang Jian had encountered before.

It was just that he hadn't realized what kind of existence this ghost was.

"Th-then what do we do now? Am I going to die?" Manager Li asked fearfully from the side.

Yan Li snorted softly. "If you die, you won't be the only one. What are you afraid of? I told you long ago that those charlatans can't be trusted. Why look for a feng shui master to read fortunes or perform rituals? When you really encounter a ghost, they're the first to run."

He then glanced at a corner.

Master Luo, who had been so calm and confident earlier, was now cowering there, completely devoid of his previously arrogant, swindling demeanor.

"Master Yan, then quickly think of a way! We can't just hide here forever. As long as we can leave here, the price is negotiable," Boss Tang said anxiously.

He felt that the longer they stayed, the more dangerous it became.

Only by leaving here, leaving this mall, would they be safe.

"Be quiet, is this about money now?" Yan Li snapped, also feeling extremely agitated.

Because he didn't have any good solutions either.

The difficulty of dealing with the ghost in this mall exceeded his estimations, and his limits as a ghost wielder were rapidly approaching.

While they were all at a loss, Yang Jian was unhurriedly taking the elevator, using his flashlight to head upstairs.

"Aren't you scared?"

Jiang Yan held his sleeve, her neck retracted, her eyes darting around nervously, afraid that a ghost would emerge from some dark corner.

"Of course, I'm scared. But what's the use of being scared?" Yang Jian said nonchalantly. "Will being scared stop me from dying? The more you fear a ghost, the more likely you are to die. The only reason you could hide in the toilet for four days without being attacked by that ghost was pure luck."

"But to survive, luck isn't enough. You also need action."

"Sitting around and waiting will only lead to death."

As they spoke, they reached the fifth floor.

The journey was calm, with no disturbances.

Yang Jian swept his flashlight around, finding no one in the vicinity.

However, at the entrance of the emergency exit, he saw a head.

Its face was deathly pale, its eyes closed. The neck looked as if it had been broken, yet not a drop of blood had flowed out. If it weren't for the absence of a body, the head would have looked like it was asleep, with a serene expression.

"This is one of Master Luo's group," Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly. "But he was killed by a ghost."

Jiang Yan looked at the head and, terrified, covered her mouth to stifle a scream.

Yang Jian had warned her earlier not to make a sound, no matter what she saw.

"Where's the monitoring room?" Yang Jian asked.

"Over there," Jiang Yan pointed ahead.

Yang Jian followed her direction and quickly arrived at the monitoring room.

The door to the monitoring room opened, a set of keys still in the lock. The lights inside flickered on, as if someone had just entered.

"Didn't the power go out? Why are the lights still on inside?" Jiang Yan asked, her voice filled with surprise.

Yang Jian's gaze sharpened. "It's not a blackout. Someone deliberately turned off the mall lights. Normally, a mall wouldn't experience a power outage. If it really had, I wouldn't have come to the monitoring room."

However, as he walked inside, he froze.

Seated in front of the monitoring console was a person, unnaturally stiff and unmoving.

This person was wearing a security guard uniform.

Beside the seat, there were some water stains. It looked like the person's pant legs were wet, as if they had just come from the restroom.

"It's a colleague."

Jiang Yan, not having seen the photo in Yang Jian's hand, instinctively called out.

The person heard the sound and immediately turned around, glancing at them before replying.

"Yang Jian, why are you here?"

"Liu Qiang." Yang Jian's expression immediately darkened.

His phone's photo album still contained the picture of the security guard uniform taken in the restroom.

And within the entire mall, besides Liu Qiang and himself, there wasn't a third person wearing a security guard uniform.

"That's great, you know each other." Jiang Yan was a little relieved. Finding another living person finally gave her a sense of security.

"I'm Jiang Yan, the company's accountant. Nice to meet you."

She started to step forward to greet him, but Yang Jian stopped her.

Yang Jian showed her the photo. "Look at this first. This was taken in the restroom earlier."

Jiang Yan looked at the photo.

In the dimly lit restroom, a person in a security guard uniform seemed to be walking out, with only half their body captured in the frame.

Jiang Yan looked at the photo, then at Liu Qiang. Her beautiful eyes widened, and a wave of fear washed over her. The hand she had extended slightly recoiled as if shocked, and she quickly covered her mouth, hiding behind Yang Jian.

"Stand against the wall and don't move." Yang Jian pulled her, leaning her against the wall.

Jiang Yan pressed herself tightly against the wall, not daring to move.

This woman was indeed smart, knowing what to do and when.

"What's wrong with you two?" Liu Qiang walked over, looking puzzled.

Yang Jian looked at him. "Nothing. The mall is haunted, and some people got separated. So we came to check the monitoring room. By the way, why are you here?"

He spoke to Liu Qiang as if it were any other day.

But in his heart, he had already identified Liu Qiang as a ghost.

Liu Qiang replied, "Haunted? Where is it haunted? I haven't seen anything. I saw the mall lost power earlier, so I went to check the circuits. I saw the lights in the monitoring room were still on, so I came in. You guys arrived shortly after I sat down."

"Is that so?" Yang Jian looked at him warily. "Besides us, have you seen anyone else?"

"No, I couldn't find them." Liu Qiang shook his head.

"Really? Then can you help me pull up the old surveillance footage?" Yang Jian asked.

Liu Qiang said, "No problem, I'm good at this."

He then sat down and began operating the controls to access the old footage.

Yang Jian walked over and glanced down at Liu Qiang's wet pant legs. "Did you go to the restroom earlier?"

"No? Why do you ask?" Liu Qiang replied.

"It's nothing, just asking." Yang Jian said.