The Affected Floors

Principal Tu and the people brought by Wang Quan began to evacuate the students outside the dormitory building, while some people were sent to check other parts of the school.

Yang Jian, along with Wang Quan and two other entourage members, entered the dormitory building.

"There should still be students stranded in the building. We can handle the rescue. Mr. Yang, you just need to focus on keeping an eye on that thing. If we encounter a really dangerous situation, Mr. Yang, you don't need to worry about our safety. Just do what needs to be done and don't hold back."

As soon as he entered the building, Wang Quan spoke earnestly.

"I didn't expect the people sent from Headquarters to be so aware of this. That's more like it. Once you enter this building, no one can guarantee they'll leave alive. Impulsiveness, hot-bloodedness, and good intentions won't solve anything; they'll only add another corpse. It's a pity not everyone can understand that."

Yang Jian looked at him, slightly surprised.

He had only seen this almost ruthless way of thinking in Wang Xiaoming; few others possessed it.

Wang Quan said with a wry smile, "Compared to a few lives, solving the paranormal incident is the most urgent task. If the matter isn't resolved, there's no point in saving people. That thing kills faster than it can save. We simply can't compete with ghosts in terms of efficiency. The Ghost Painting Incident happened overseas, and the number of people who disappeared was staggering."

"This situation must never be allowed to repeat itself. Mr. Yang successfully resolved the Starvation Ghost Incident in Dachang City, and he should understand the reasons better than anyone else. Of course, there are some things Mr. Yang can do, but we cannot. After all, there are some things that are beyond our control, and we can only do what we can."

Yang Jian remained calm and silent, as his attention had shifted to his surroundings and was no longer focused on their conversation.

"The first floor is fine, let's go check the second floor."

After a quick inspection, he confirmed that there were no signs of ghost paintings intruding on the first floor, since Ghost Tamer are quite sensitive to paranormal events.

Wang Quan immediately picked up his walkie-talkie and ordered, "Two people, go to the first floor and check if any students are still there. Be careful."

Upon arriving on the second floor, Yang Jian merely strolled around casually, not even checking the doors of many of the dorm rooms, yet he already knew that the second floor was fine.

He glanced at Wang Quan, Wang Quan immediately understood and said into the walkie-talkie, "Second floor is normal, come to the second floor to investigate."

Yang Jian continued his actions, appearing relaxed and casual, even somewhat perfunctory, but his vigilance was extremely high.

Every move around him was under his watchful eye. After all, he had more than one pair of eyes and could see much more than the average person. He didn't need to pretend to be looking around; he could know everything about the surrounding area just by passing by.

"The third floor is fine too," Yang Jian continued.

This information is undoubtedly very important. It allows the staff downstairs to confidently check the third floor, preventing them from unknowingly walking next to a ghost and dying without even realizing it.

However, very soon...

Yang Jian stopped at the corner of the stairs leading from the third to the fourth floor.

As you ascend the steps, the environment darkens. Even with searchlights shining outside, the light seems to be blocked and dims here, while the floor below is brightly lit. This contrast between darkness and light creates a striking dividing line in the stairwell, making one wonder what's going on on this floor.

Yang Jian frowned slightly. He felt that the Ghost Eye in his body had completely shut down again and stopped responding.

An invisible pressure has already formed between the ghosts.

This is a form of restraint.

Just like how the ghost rope used to suspend the headless ghost.

The headless ghost had no head at all, so the ghost rope couldn't hold it up and it couldn't cause any impact whatsoever.

That's the current situation.

The one being restrained wasn't the ghost, but Yang Jian himself.

"The suppression is even stronger than when I faced that newspaper. If I continue to get closer, I think my Ghost Eye will be completely useless." Yang Jian hesitated.

Without the Ghost Domain, he cannot escape using the five layers of the Ghost Domain, or even send the ghosts away, which puts him at a natural disadvantage.

If he messes things up, he could very well end up dead in this ordinary-looking dormitory building.

"There's a problem on the fourth floor. No one is allowed to come up." Wang Quan reacted quickly and immediately issued a notice: "Remember, no one is allowed to come to the fourth floor under any circumstances. If anyone tries to force their way in, stop them with force."

Although it is unlikely that anyone would disobey orders under alert conditions.

However, anything can happen in paranormal events; someone might be influenced by a ghost and rush into the building without thinking.

This has happened before.

"This is different from what happened when we dealt with the ghost painting before." Yang Jian's voice was low. "Back then, the ghost painting was just killing people one-on-one and didn't have any impact on the surrounding environment at all. But now, the fifth and fourth floors have been affected. This is not a good sign."

"The ghost paintings are reviving?" Wang Quan's expression changed drastically.

"I don't know. There's too little information about the Ghost Drawing. Although it's appeared before, we haven't obtained any key information. We have to figure everything out ourselves, which is like facing an unknown level of ghost all over again."

He was weighing his options, wondering whether he should go and retrieve the painting from Miao Xiaoshan's dormitory on the fifth floor.

Yang Jian had never been so apprehensive when dealing with other supernatural events; he even had the courage to barge into the Caesar Hotel.

But he felt that this Ghost Painting Incident was anything but simple.

This thing is like the tip of an iceberg. On the surface, it seems ordinary, having only killed a few people. However, once you get to know it, you may discover the horror hidden beneath that surface that could make you despair.

"Even if the Ghost Eye is useless, I still have two other ghosts. Besides, the Ghost Eye's dormancy is only beneficial to me. It gives me an extra opening to suppress a ghost indiscriminately." Yang Jian's eyes flickered slightly.

He was originally capable of suppressing the three ghosts indiscriminately to maintain his own balance.

If the ghost painting helps suppress the Ghost Eye, it's equivalent to freeing up a ghost's spot.

This is more effective than holding ten ghost candles in your hand.

Ghostly drawings can restrain oneself, and one also has the potential to restrain ghostly drawings.

Moreover, he has a music box, so he can't die no matter what. If he doesn't even dare to touch the fake ghost paintings now, and if he inevitably gets involved in the real Ghost Painting Incident in the future, his fate will only be worse.

During the period of contemplation, Wang Quan remained silent and did not utter a single word.

Whether or not someone can go up to the fourth floor is up to Yang Jian to decide. He is not Ghost Tamer and cannot give unsolicited advice; doing so would be dangerous.

If Yang Jian insists on not going up to the fourth floor, Wang Quan will also turn around and leave without hesitation, even if there are some students still staying on the fourth or fifth floor.

After all, even those Ghost Tamer aren't confident they can return safely alive from this place; for ordinary people, going there would be suicide.

"Go to the fourth floor. Be prepared to come into contact with the ghost painting at any time. Also, speak less, look less, and wander less." Yang Jian made his choice calmly after thinking for a while.

Wang Quan nodded, merely gesturing, and immediately the two people accompanying him behind him took out gloves, put them on, and prepared flashlights.

Everything is specially made; it's plated with gold so it won't be affected by ghosts.

Yang Jian gave no further instructions, but instead walked up the steps and headed towards the fourth floor.

Previously, Sun Yujia was so frightened on the fourth floor that she climbed out of the window and fell, which shows that there must be something on the fourth floor, or even that Sun Yujia had seen it with her own eyes, otherwise she would not have avoided such a large stairwell.

Upon arriving on the fourth floor, Yang Jian felt as if he had entered a completely different environment.

The lights were dim and flickering, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. A lingering chill permeated the air, with only the sound of their footsteps echoing around them.

But Yang Jian stopped after taking only two steps, as if he had noticed something, and immediately turned around to look.

A bizarre scene unfolded.

The stairwell around the corner disappeared, leaving only a bottomless staircase. This staircase seemed endless, leading straight into a dark depths. No one knew where going down this staircase would lead—perhaps the depths of hell, or perhaps to the side of vengeful ghosts.

"The stairs are gone?" Wang Quan's eyes narrowed slightly.

Yang Jian didn't say anything, but casually took out a bullet and threw it down.

The bullets are made of gold and are unaffected by the demon's power.

Soon, the bullet landed with a sound, stopping below the eighth step, and did not continue rolling down, as if it had been stopped by something.

The stairs are still there.

Yang Jian said, "We've only been affected. It's a kind of Ghost Domain. The surrounding environment has been affected, but it hasn't completely impacted reality yet. But if you keep going down, it'll be different. You can really go all the way to the end. As for where you'll end up, even I don't know."

Gold can stop and remain unaffected by the Ghost Domain, but humans cannot. Therefore, the same path can produce different results, something he, who possesses the Ghost Domain, understands all too well.

"Fortunately, the ghost painting isn't in its previous state, otherwise the Ghost Domain wouldn't just affect two floors." Yang Jian wasn't afraid.

He had seen this kind of strange situation many times before, including when the Door-Knocking Ghost. He couldn't get out of No. 7 Middle School no matter what he did.

"Let's go. Now that we're here, let's not even think about retreating." Yang Jian ignored the endless staircase behind him.

He knew that going down there would definitely lead to nothing good, but what fool would follow the ghost's lead like that?

Just as Yang Jian was leading Wang Quan and the others to conduct a search on the fourth floor.

On one of the steps leading into the darkness, a humanoid silhouette was faintly visible in the shadows. The silhouette was indistinct, but a pair of bloodless white hands stood out, suggesting that it had been waiting there for some time.

Near this outline, several scattered cell phones on the ground still emitted a faint glow.

Judging from the appearance, it was probably left behind by students in the dormitory building.

Some people seem to have gone down this staircase too far and gotten too deeply involved.