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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 190: Night Exploration Ghost Tower
Guo Yongjia said he did not set up the Seven Gates Ghost Sealing Formation and the Three Directions Emperor Formation. I don't know if this is true; after all, there are reasons for setting up formations, and it makes sense not to set them up as well. However, he did not mention the Husband-Watching Formation at all.
"That's not important!" I thought for a moment and said with a smile, "What matters is that tonight, I may need to trouble Mr. Guo to accompany me to the International Trade Building."
"It would be my honor to go with Master Cao," Guo Yongjia replied before getting into his Passat.
I am poor and have no car! I squeezed onto a bus with Murong Duoduo, and as usual, we went to the Good Restaurant for a hearty meal.
After dinner, we returned to the Paper Shop to prepare separately.
The Yin-Yang Master that Murong Duoduo belongs to focuses on communication and trade. Their principle is that there is gain with loss and loss with gain. For example, if they receive a commission from a Yin Ghost to help pacify an Evil Spirit, they first resolve the Evil Spirit's inner turmoil before sending it on its way.
This is different from my approach. If I encountered such a situation, I would take my Copper Coin Sword without hesitation and give it a good beating. If I'm in a good mood, I might spare its ghostly life; if I'm in a bad mood, I would beat it until its soul disperses.
In this regard, the people of the Yin-Yang Master are more 'humane' than someone like me, a Paper Effigy Maker. They value life, even that of an Evil Spirit.
I had quite a bit of gear on me: hanging from my waist was the Copper Coin Sword, on my back was a Peach Wood Sword, and over my shoulder was a Cloth Bag filled with various Talisman Paper. Additionally, I had a Frying Pan strapped to my back. Since I was going to collaborate with Guo Yongjia, I didn't plan on using the Frying Pan, but kept it on me as a warning to him that I also had my own trump card.
According to our agreement, we were supposed to gather at the police station first. The Director wanted Captain Wang to join us, but I refused. However, the Director was not at ease, so I had no choice but to let Captain Wang wait for us downstairs with his team.
After meeting up, when we arrived at the bottom of the International Trade Building, it was already past ten o'clock at night.
If it were summer, at this time of night, the transition between Yin and Yang would not yet be complete; the ground would still be enveloped in heat, preventing ghosts from appearing. However, autumn is different; during the transition from late autumn to early winter, nights are long and darken early. Therefore, by ten o'clock or so, some wandering souls and ghosts could already be out causing trouble.
After arriving downstairs, I looked up at the International Trade Building, specifically the Twenty-Sixth Floor. At a glance, the night was deep and shrouded, making it impossible to see the top.
The reason why people who previously worked in the International Trade Building suddenly fell ill with strange diseases is that the building has been occupied by Chen Xiong. The presence of Yin Qi is heavy; living people infected with too much Yin Qi are prone to illness. As long as they avoid entering the International Trade Building for a short period, they can recover. Fortunately, Chen Xiong's intention is to occupy rather than kill. His current mindset likely still revolves around recruiting wandering souls, so he must be dealt with at this stage. Once he becomes dissatisfied with merely recruiting wandering souls and resorts to eliminating living people for new recruits, it will spell disaster for the living.
"Master Cao, this is for you." After Captain Wang escorted us to the bottom of the International Trade Building, he arranged for police forces to set up a perimeter around it and then handed me a flashlight.
The building had some lights on inside; carrying the flashlight was a precautionary measure.
An elderly man was guarding the entrance. After he opened the main entrance of the International Trade Building, he turned on the main power switch, illuminating the entire building. Only then did we walk into the lobby.
The International Trade Building is not occupied by a single company; almost every floor houses a different company, and each of these companies is part of a multinational group, indicating its vast scale.
As Guo Yongjia, Murong Duoduo, and I entered the elevator, I naturally pressed the '26' button while standing near the elevator buttons. It’s known that both people and ghosts prefer higher ground; while there’s a saying about how humans feel cold at great heights, ghosts do not have such concerns. Chen Xiong must be on the Twenty-Sixth Floor; there’s no doubt about it. An ambitious person would never reside on a lower floor.
With a 'ding,' the elevator doors closed, and it began to ascend slowly.
Our positions in the elevator were quite interesting: I stood near the elevator buttons, Guo Yongjia carried a backpack and stood on my other side, while Murong Duoduo stood behind me. I watched as the buttons lit up in the elevator while Guo Yongjia played on his phone and Murong Duoduo observed him.
I knew that Murong Duoduo was likely worried about Guo Yongjia pulling any tricks. Unlike Murong Duoduo, I wasn’t concerned about Guo Yongjia at all; he might have ulterior motives but wouldn’t dare act so openly.
The elevator continued its ascent while we remained quiet inside.
When we reached between the Twenty-Third Floor and Twenty-Fourth Floor, the elevator suddenly stopped. At that moment, the elevator doors opened with another 'ding.'
Guo Yongjia, Murong Duoduo, and I almost simultaneously looked up because we all knew that what was meant to come had arrived!
The elevator had stopped between the Twenty-Fourth Floor and Twenty-Third Floor—neither going up nor down. The lights outside were still on through the open elevator doors, but none of us moved.
At this moment, whether it was the Twenty-Fourth Floor or the Twenty-Third Floor, there was always a possibility that something could suddenly pop up and dive into the Elevator. It was even very likely that the entire building would suddenly lose power, causing the Elevator to become unstable and plummet heavily to the first floor.
Staying in the Elevator clearly wasn’t an option; that would only mean waiting for death. But if we went out, how would we do it?
Climbing up to the Twenty-Fourth Floor? What if the Elevator suddenly dropped or rose? Our bodies would definitely be split in half—one half inside the Elevator and the other half outside. The same danger applied to diving into the Twenty-Third Floor; death could strike at any moment.
“Master Cao, what should we do?” Guo Yongjia asked with a smile.
I smiled back and said, “I’d like to hear Mr. Guo’s insights.”
“Then let’s go out!” Guo Yongjia continued, “Master Cao, please!”
“No, no, no, Mr. Guo should go first,” I pointed to the open Elevator door and said.
Murong Duoduo twitched her mouth; clearly, she wasn’t used to our way of conversing.
We remained in a stalemate, neither of us willing to go out first. Chen Xiong had taken over the International Trade Building. The reason he let those two security guards go before was that at that time he wanted to occupy this place. Now that he had taken control, our reckless arrival meant he had left us stuck between the Twenty-Third Floor and the Twenty-Fourth Floor, which indicated one thing: either descend to Hell or ascend to Heaven—either way, it meant death!
“Are you planning to wait until dawn like this?” Murong Duoduo finally couldn’t hold back and asked.
Clearly, waiting it out wasn’t an option; it was just that I hadn’t thought of a better plan yet. Or rather, if there really was a way out, it would be to climb the cable.
At the top of every Elevator, there is a vent, either equipped with a fan or an Air Conditioner! This design not only keeps the air fresh inside the Elevator but also provides those trapped inside an escape option.
The reason I hadn’t mentioned it was because I wasn’t sure that climbing up would guarantee safety.
Just as I hesitated, the Elevator presented me with an opportunity to make a decision!
The originally motionless Elevator suddenly jolted, and at the same time, both the outside lights and the lights inside the Elevator began to flicker, gradually transitioning from a slow dimming and brightening to a prolonged darkness and brightness.
I gritted my teeth, leaped up from the Elevator, and forcefully pushed open the cover above the ventilation duct.
At that moment, the already loosened Elevator emitted a sharp sound, and simultaneously, the lights inside the Elevator and outside went out.
"Get up here!" I shouted loudly, hurriedly jumping onto the ventilation duct, grabbing the top of the Elevator with one hand. Then I performed a pull-up and flipped directly onto the Elevator shaft cover, extending my right hand downwards.
"Ah!" A piercing scream suddenly echoed from the pitch-black below!
"Murmur Duo Duo!" I yelled, quickly pulling out my Flashlight to shine it down. At that moment, there were still two people inside the Elevator.
One was Murong Duoduo, and the other was a Paper Figurine.
"Bastard!" I cursed angrily before urgently calling out to Murong Duoduo, "Grab my hand!"
Just then, the Elevator suddenly began to descend rapidly at an astonishing speed.
Murong Duoduo hesitated for a moment before jumping up to grab my hand. Meanwhile, I quickly grabbed onto the cable with one hand.
The speed of the Elevator's descent was incredibly fast. After I grabbed onto the cable, one of my hands slipped off, causing me to drop a considerable distance. The intense friction left a deep gash on my hand, which was extremely painful.
But I couldn't worry about that anymore; the Paper Figurine inside the Elevator was clearly left by Guo Yongjia. I had no idea how he managed to place a Paper Figurine in such a short amount of time or when exactly he did it. It was very possible that the person who entered with us at first was actually just a Paper Figurine.
The sudden descent of the Elevator allowed me to successfully pull Murong Duoduo out from inside.
However, my right hand really hurt, and I had the Flashlight clenched in my mouth, drooling continuously. Through the light's beam, I could see the Elevator rapidly disappearing into the dark Elevator shaft.
"Are you okay?" Murong Duoduo asked, hurriedly grabbing the cable with her other hand as I held onto her with one hand.
I forced a smile and said, "Not so good!"
"What should we do now?" Murong Duoduo asked.
I looked up into the darkness above, estimating it to be about two or three levels high. There was still a ventilation shaft where a faint glimmer of night light seeped through.
"Let's climb up first." After I said that, I continued, "Can you climb?"
Murong Duoduo hesitated for a moment but then gritted her teeth and nodded.
Hanging like this wasn't a solution; we had to climb up. However, my right hand was still in pain and somewhat numb, and I couldn't hold on for much longer. So I had to let go of Murong Duoduo. Once she steadied herself, I reminded her, "I'm going to let go of your hand now. Make sure to hold on tight and try your best to climb up, okay?"
After Murong Duoduo nodded heavily, I carefully released her hand.
However, misfortune struck again. At that moment, a mechanical sound suddenly echoed from below, and the cable began to move again.
There were two cables for the elevator. When I came out, I grabbed the ascending cable to stabilize myself. Now, the cable in my hand suddenly started to descend while the other cable began to rise.
"Not good!" The elevator was about to come up!
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