Soon, night fell.
All the footsteps belonging to the children in the building disappeared; even if one actively searched, it might not be possible to find them.
Roles had reversed; now, the players had become the “ghosts.”
The first time they had missed the opportunity due to unclear circumstances, but this time they had to seize the chance.
“We should gather first and exchange information,” Xin Meng said, casually peeling back the window to look outside. To her surprise, she saw Jiezi and Dou Dou standing downstairs, seemingly waiting for them.
He and You Yi also went downstairs to meet the two, as their position was quite obvious. Luo Yingying and her husband almost followed them closely.
Six people, not a single one missing, all safe and sound—this was the best outcome.
“Those kids are terrifying!” Luo Yingying patted her chest, still shaken. “We were almost discovered, but then they were distracted by some noise from somewhere else, and we escaped.”
Xin Meng felt a bit embarrassed. “It was our noise that was too loud.”
Luo Yingying smiled, “You really saved us; luckily, you all are fine.”
Then everyone shared their experiences. Luo Yingying and her husband had been hiding in one room, one behind the curtain and the other behind a cabinet. They were about to be discovered by two children but were saved when the children were drawn away. They thought that since they had already entered, perhaps the most dangerous place was actually the safest, so they stayed put, and it turned out they were right; no children came back in, and they made it through safely.
Dou Dou and Jiezi said they were just lucky and had never encountered any children.
Xin Meng felt a bit darkly amused; perhaps only those two had encountered so many enemies… However, they had caused a ruckus twice, which seemed to have indirectly saved others, so it was a good thing.
Xin Meng then recounted the situations they had encountered along the way and took out the pillow and the blood-stained stick.
Luo Yingying instinctively hid behind Li Wenjun, her expression full of rejection. “God, what kind of children are these? How can they be so cruel! Do we really have to use these things?!”
Xin Meng completely understood her feelings but regretfully said, “We have to take them; these things can scare off those children and could save our lives at a critical moment.” He explained the situation to her.
“Then… okay…” Luo Yingying bit her lip and nodded. “Does that mean the child was… the one killed by these items?”
Xin Meng nodded. “That’s what we suspect. Based on the number of children, there might be more clues and props in this building. Now we need to discuss whether we should first split up to gather the props and then regroup to catch people, or just split up and search while catching.”
He added, “Since we’re catching people, the danger should be a bit less, so it’s okay to spread out.”
“Let’s not spread out too much,” Jiezi said with a smile. “We don’t have phones, and if we find new clues or something unusual happens, we won’t be able to contact each other in time, which could be dangerous. I suggest we split into two groups, search while catching, and regroup here after a while to exchange information.”
Dou Dou quickly raised his hand. “I agree, I agree! He’s right!”
Jiezi’s mouth twitched; he thought it was too obvious.
Sure enough, Xin Meng looked at the two suspiciously but didn’t speak immediately.
“I also think this plan is feasible,” Li Wenjun said at this moment. “Every hour, we can regroup here. If any group finds new props, they can inform the others. To be honest, none of us have caught those children before, and who knows if they have any counterattack abilities? It’s always safer with more people.”
This was reasonable, and Xin Meng did not refute it. “Then it’s settled. I’ll take you to find the pillow and the mop stick.”
After saying that, he turned and walked to the front of the building, giving Jiezi a warning glare. Jiezi cheerfully raised his hand, indicating he had no plans to do anything.
But Xin Meng remained vigilant, unable to help but pay attention to his actions. However, Jiezi seemed to know this, so he behaved honestly along the way, not doing anything unnecessary, which eased Xin Meng’s mind a bit.
This unidentified man, whose allegiance was unclear, really made one quite concerned.
On the way, they further specified their plan. The two groups would search in order from top to bottom. Xin Meng and You Yi would be responsible for all the left corridors, while Luo Yingying and her husband would take the right. Dou Dou volunteered to follow Luo Yingying, and Jiezi joined Xin Meng’s group.
Xin Meng was quite satisfied with this arrangement; keeping him under his watch might reveal something.
Everyone was happy, clearly harboring their own thoughts, but no one showed it on their face.
The most innocent were probably only Luo Yingying and Li Wenjun, who were thinking about how to survive while also worrying that Xin Meng and Jiezi wouldn’t start fighting…
They first went to the tool room on the rooftop.
Carefully pushing the door open, everything inside was shrouded in darkness.
They could only rely on the soft moonlight streaming in from the window to vaguely see the outlines of objects inside.
The feeling of the room was completely different between day and night. During the day, in bright light, it just seemed a bit messy, but now, looking at it, it felt particularly cramped and narrow. The protruding tools cast various claw-like shadows on the floor, as if stepping in would mean entering hell.
Xin Meng opened the door but froze.
It wasn’t because of the eerie shadows or the darkness inside, but…
“Those sticks are gone!” he exclaimed softly.
He saw that the corner where several stained mop sticks had been piled was now completely empty, and there was no sign of the sticks anywhere nearby!
“What’s going on?” He couldn’t help but take two steps back, checking the door to confirm he hadn’t entered the wrong room. He looked at the adjacent room; there was really no problem—it was this room.
Could it be that he was hallucinating? But the stick he was holding was undeniably real, not something he had imagined, and You Yi could attest to that.
“Were they taken by someone?” Luo Yingying couldn’t help but ask. “Those kids might have known we discovered the props and hid them first!”
“But aren’t they afraid and can’t get close?” Li Wenjun shook his head.
“That’s easy to solve,” Jiezi chuckled. “Since not all enemies are afraid, let the ones who aren’t afraid take them.”
Xin Meng took a few steps inside, approaching the corner.
He carefully observed the floor, which, like the rest of the room, was covered in thick dust. A layer of dust was very even, showing no signs of anything having been placed there.
“They weren’t taken,” Xin Meng’s heart sank. “I have a bad feeling.”
“What is it?” Luo Yingying asked anxiously.
But Xin Meng didn’t say it directly; he only said, “We need to check the nap room first to confirm.”
So the group headed down the stairs. Because Xin Meng was preoccupied with figuring things out, they didn’t rush to search for people but went straight to the nap room.
The nap room on the third floor was, as expected, empty. Everything was just as it had been when Xin Meng and the others first entered. He didn’t linger and went directly to bed number eighteen, pinching the corner of the blanket, taking a deep breath, and yanking the blanket up.
It was just as empty, empty, empty!
No rotting corpses, no foul stench, and no maggots or flies; everything seemed like a nightmare that had once been, and now that the dream had ended, everything had vanished.
He stubbornly squatted down, lifting the bed sheet that had fallen to the floor, peering inside.
He happened to lock eyes with a pair of bloodshot, pale eyeballs, staring back at him.
“Ah!” He widened his eyes, his heart nearly stopping, and fell back onto the ground!
The thing, seeing it had been discovered, lunged at Xin Meng, crashing into his arm that instinctively raised to protect his face, knocking him flat on his back, then it darted over him and quickly fled toward the door!
Xin Meng felt as if he had been struck hard on the arm with a heavy hammer, nearly breaking his forearm. It swelled immediately, causing tears to well up in his eyes from the pain, and he gasped, clutching his arm, cold sweat instantly soaking his back.
It was a ghost child!
He gritted his teeth and sat up, shouting, “Catch him!”
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The child’s speed was incredibly fast; from being discovered to knocking Xin Meng down and rushing to the door, it took less than two seconds. Almost everyone present didn’t react in time, except for You Yi, who quickly turned and chased after it!
The other side was no longer human; its speed was like a small rocket, almost crashing through the door!
You Yi grappled with the entity, and only then did the others react and follow. Li Wenjun and Jiezi rushed to help, while Luo Yingying supported Xin Meng and followed behind, watching alongside Dou Dou.
“If we catch one, can we eliminate one enemy this time?” Luo Yingying tightened her grip on Xin Meng’s sleeve, her gaze following Li Wenjun’s figure, nervously asking.
Although she was a kindergarten teacher and the other side was a “child,” she shouldn’t be talking about elimination, but just a glance made it clear that the other side was no longer a real child, not even human; they were evil spirits, with black teeth and sharp claws, howling as they lunged at people, looking as fierce as demons.
“When we play ‘ghosts,’ they can’t be killed, while we could die if caught. If we look at it fairly, when they play ‘ghosts,’ they can also be killed, but…”
Xin Meng’s words were left unfinished, but the others understood his meaning.
“They still can’t be killed,” Dou Dou observed as You Yi’s dagger cut deep into the entity, yet the wound healed in an instant. “It really isn’t completely fair; after all, we are the players, facing greater dangers.”
Three agile men were utterly helpless against a small child. In normal times, it would sound like a joke, but now, no one could laugh.
With the combined strength of the three, they could only entangle the ghost child, preventing it from escaping, but if they truly wanted to deal with it, it was impossible, as it seemed like a ghost that would never die…
