Taking the head of Sixth Master from Yuan Nianshu, Zhou Qi’an’s silence was “deafening.”
Eyes couldn’t lie. From his complex gaze, the others gradually caught on.
A flicker of guilt crossed the faces of Chen Su and the others. They weren’t short on purely offensive items and had each thrown one, causing such a massive explosion.
The internal structure of the Ghost Market’s buildings naturally wouldn’t be damaged by a man-made explosion.
The newspaper office… or rather, most of the shops in the Ghost Market, seemed to be protected by a barrier that blocked the powerful shockwave. But the storefronts were completely destroyed, a row of ruins stretching before them.
The sky had already darkened, the perfect time for demons and ghosts to become active. The commotion attracted several angry shop owners.
Zhou Qi’an played the victim first: “The newspaper boss said, when an avalanche happens, no snowflake is innocent. He wants you all to reflect on this fire.”
The newspaper office had suffered heavy casualties back then. His words made it sound as if they were seeking revenge for the newspaper office.
Before these ghosts could react, Zhou Qi’an sped up and ran.
Ahead was the end of the street. Passing it meant leaving Fengdu Street.
The sun, which had barely shown itself all day, took the opportunity to hide behind the dark clouds and set. Using the last bit of twilight, Zhou Qi’an ran the final few dozen meters in one breath and rushed out.
The ominous wind subsided slightly, replaced by the gentler natural wind from the outside world.
Confirming he was out of Fengdu Street’s range, he dared to look back.
The sparks from the explosion were still stubbornly flickering in the extreme cold of the street. He was the first one out.
The hound, running at the very back, was still fifteen meters away. The moment the hound rushed out, Zhou Qi’an said helplessly, “How can you be a dog if you run so slow?”
The hound: “…”
The other slower players felt like they were being criticized too.
Zhou Qi’an stopped running. If he still hadn’t escaped the Newspaper Zombie’s attack range after getting out, continuing to flee would be meaningless.
Fortunately, after a moment of catching their breath, besides the even more sinister Fengdu Street behind them, the players’ five senses didn’t deteriorate further, and their body temperatures gradually returned to normal.
Yuan Nianshu, no longer caring about her image, practically sat on the ground. “Finally…”
In one day, they had run from the barbecue shop to the swimming pool, experienced a half-day tour of the newspaper office fire, and finally rushed to the Ghost Temple. After being in a state of high tension for so long, the sudden release of pressure made them feel like they were about to collapse.
However, before they could even catch their breath, Zhou Qi’an stood to the side with his arms crossed and said, “The flow of time is still accelerating. Let’s go back and submit the insurance task first.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Qiao Song and the little girl.
The two nodded, indicating they had already taken care of the sales figures that morning.
The group reluctantly gathered their spirits, hailed a black cab, and headed back. The car stalled several times on the way; the whole world seemed to be deliberately slowing them down. Fortunately, Qiao Song was skilled at car repairs. Rushing against time, they finally made it back to the company before eight-thirty.
·
The large sign of the Hao Hui Sha Group stood tall in the wind. The company’s exterior was impeccably designed, its glass curtain walls still gleaming with a cold light even in the dark.
Having just escaped from the Ghost Market with their lives, the group now looked at the group building and found it quite pleasing to the eye.
The elevator went up to the tenth floor.
“Why are you so late?” The door opened to a furious shout.
There was a new supervisor today. The players didn’t care about his name or appearance; they expected his head to be taken by the newspaper boss soon enough.
The company’s danger mechanism was fixed. Before the supervisor left, like the previous two, he gave Chen Su a malicious look.
Chen Su was so angry she almost laughed. These NPCs were determined to kill their target.
Zhou Qi’an kept checking the time. “To the fourteenth floor.”
In the time it took the supervisor to utter his harsh words, the time had already started to run wild, jumping directly to eight-fifty.
According to the layout in the employee handbook, the fourteenth floor was the group owner’s private space.
Besides the office, there was mainly an archive room, as well as a fitness area with an aerial running track and a reading lounge, all of which were quite large.
Due to the special nature of the instance, everyone had avoided exploring the map for the past few days, so they were now moving forward blindly.
The elevator reached the fourteenth floor. When the door opened, everyone shivered from the cold, as if they were back in the Ghost Market.
Qiao Song glanced at the electronic clock on the wall. “It’s nine o’clock.”
Every time they checked the time, it was like opening Pandora’s box. At this rate, once it hit midnight, they would soon be facing the Newspaper Zombie.
For now, they had to split up.
The statue’s answer only pointed to the fourteenth floor of the company. As for how to destroy the business license, they could only try their luck and trigger a task.
Chen Su used an item to measure the yin energy and shook her head. “The yin energy on this floor is particularly heavy.”
It was almost evenly distributed across all areas, making it nearly impossible to determine where the task was most likely to be triggered based on yin energy concentration. Based on experience, the office and the archive room were the most likely, but someone had to check the other two places as well.
Fortunately, with four locations and the dog, they could form pairs.
Zhou Qi’an said, “I’ll go to the office with him.”
As he spoke, he looked at Shen Zhiyi.
For a place where they might encounter the group owner, he naturally had to go with the most powerful person. He couldn’t command his boss, but Shen Zhiyi was different; he usually listened to him. More importantly, his knowledge of ghosts seemed to be very broad.
Even before Zhou Qi’an spoke, Shen Zhiyi had already stepped forward.
“Let’s go.”
How the others teamed up was their business.
Zhou Qi’an had already memorized the basic architectural layout from the handbook. The group owner’s office was relatively separate from the other three areas, located in the westernmost part… a good place to be sent to the western heavens (a euphemism for dying).
It was dark outside, and as employees sneaking up, they didn’t dare to turn on the lights.
The floor tiles were exceptionally smooth, without any texture or pattern. Both sides were separated by transparent glass, through which they could vaguely see artificial landscapes, including an indoor garden.
Walking in such an environment gave one a strange sense of detachment.
Zhou Qi’an’s fists clenched.
“The employee dorms and office environment are so crude, yet the damn boss gets to enjoy a private sky garden.”
He really wanted to rush up and punch him a few times.
Shen Zhiyi admired his hatred of evil and quietly reminded him that they had arrived at the office.
Three meters ahead was a grand but strangely colored solid wood door.
It resembled the bark of a white birch tree, grayish-white. Zhou Qi’an pushed Shen Zhiyi behind him with one hand, took out his cane, and prepared to open the door.
Shen Zhiyi: “…”
The creaking sound of the door opening echoed easily in the darkness.
“Strange.”
The door was unlocked.
Zhou Qi’an squinted. At the far end was a floor-to-ceiling window just like the one downstairs, offering a panoramic view of the skyscrapers outside. The office was huge, comparable to or even larger than the collective work area below.
He walked cautiously inside, his footsteps swallowed by the wool carpet on the floor.
Unlocked, no one around, and a carpet to muffle sounds. It seemed like a perfect setup for a thief.
Zhou Qi’an became even more cautious.
He wasted no time and started searching the desk, trying to find more in-depth information about the Hao Hui Sha Group. Shen Zhiyi stood by a nearby cabinet, examining the exhibits one by one.
A locked drawer caught Zhou Qi’an’s attention.
He randomly picked one open. Nail clippers, comic books, and even spices… This was clearly a boss who slacked off at work every day.
The moon was big and round tonight, its faint light filtering in, making the search easier.
As Zhou Qi’an was picking the second drawer, he suddenly froze.
A gust of ominous wind blew from an unknown corner. His mind felt as if it had been seized by something, and his eyes instantly lost their light.
Without any warning, the young man raised his arm. His shadow, cast by the moonlight, looked somewhat ferocious. In the silhouette, the [Little Hammer] was held high.
“Shen Zhiyi!”
In just a few seconds, Zhou Qi’an broke out in a cold sweat, using every ounce of self-control he had.
He couldn’t stop himself from wanting to smash his other arm.
A figure flashed by, and a well-defined hand firmly grasped Zhou Qi’an’s arm holding the hammer.
A cold wind blew, and a crisp click sounded from behind. The previously ajar door slammed shut, locking automatically. The sound of the lock echoed on the fourteenth floor.
The urge for self-harm intensified. Zhou Qi’an desperately tried to break free from Shen Zhiyi, even wanting to use his weapon.
His body was acting like a madman, but half of his brain was still functioning normally.
Zhou Qi’an tried to work backward. Why were they locked in this space? Did it mean that as long as they left, the urge for self-harm would disappear?
Just then, Shen Zhiyi suddenly twisted Zhou Qi’an’s wrist, turning the hand with the hammer towards himself.
The same anomaly was affecting him, meaning they had both triggered some kind of rule.
Noticing that something was wrong with Shen Zhiyi’s state, Zhou Qi’an stared at the cabinet Shen Zhiyi had been examining earlier.
He had only done one out-of-line thing, picking the lock. So what had Shen Zhiyi done?
At the same time, Shen Zhiyi was looking at the desk Zhou Qi’an had been searching.
Suddenly, he let go of Zhou Qi’an’s arm and, the moment the hammer fell uncontrollably, used the momentum to grab the slender wrist again and accurately smash the other two drawers.
He had to see what was in the locked drawers.
Shen Zhiyi cornered him, one arm wrapped around the young man, restraining his movements.
He then quickly freed a hand and searched the other two drawers. Besides some scattered objects, there was only a small stack of blank paper. The moment he touched it, Shen Zhiyi raised an eyebrow. “So that’s how it is.”
Trapped, Zhou Qi’an tilted his head back. To suppress the urge for self-harm, he was drenched in cold sweat in just a short while, even biting his lip until it bled.
Thanks to the evolution of his cerebellum, his willpower had increased significantly.
Zhou Qi’an had clearly made a discovery as well.
He licked the sweet blood from the corner of his lips and spoke first: “Take me to where the potted plant is.”
He spoke rationally, but his body thrashed like a fish out of water.
The potted plant was in a corner. Shen Zhiyi had to temporarily take away Zhou Qi’an’s hammer and carry him there.
After reaching the corner, Zhou Qi’an’s urge for self-harm weakened slightly. His voice was a little hoarse as he pointed and said, “Look.”
In their previous position, the shadow cast by the display cabinet didn’t match the object itself. It had six arms and was brandishing its claws, looking very much like the statue in the Ghost Temple.
Earlier, Shen Zhiyi had been drawn to a specially designed, faceless porcelain doll in the middle of the display cabinet and had gone to examine it first.
Although the workmanship was crude, the porcelain doll did resemble the statue. The moonlight shone on it much brighter than on the other artworks.
And the shadows of the other objects seemed to be absorbed by it, creating a shadow in the shape of the statue.
Zhou Qi’an had been enveloped by the statue’s shadow once in the Ghost Temple, and at that time, he had felt an urge to offer himself as a sacrifice.
“That doll is made of bone ash.” Because of Zhou Qi’an’s incident, Shen Zhiyi hadn’t had time to examine it closely, only confirming its material.
He handed over another item he had just taken from the bottom drawer of the desk—a blank piece of paper.
The moment his fingertips touched it, Zhou Qi’an looked surprised.
The texture of the paper was cold and slick, and more importantly, it was incredibly tough and couldn’t be torn.
It was so much like…
“The business license?”
As he spoke, an even colder prompt sounded:
[Congratulations on finding one of the four treasures of the study of the Hao Hui Sha Group owner: Paper]
[Find the other three scattered treasures on this floor to get the paper shredder password]
[Paper shredder password: A string of numbers essential for using the paper shredder. Of course, you can also try to start it directly, hee hee~]
Hee hee your ass.
Since it said so, starting it directly would probably lead to death.
Zhou Qi’an’s heart beat a little faster than usual, and many questions arose.
Why was the material used by the Ghost Market’s administrator to create the business license in the Hao Hui Sha Group? Did they have a private partnership, with the group as the supplier?
His face was still pale. After a few rapid breaths, a bolder guess emerged.
Zhou Qi’an looked steadily at Shen Zhiyi. “Do you think… the group owner could be the Ghost Market’s administrator?”
Besides the administrator, who else would be qualified to create and issue the Ghost Market’s business licenses?
He had tried various methods to destroy the license, but to no avail, yet the paper shredder here could.
The wooden door of the office also seemed to be made of bone ash. Zhou Qi’an quickly scanned his surroundings. Many of the decorations had the same color, including some bone carvings.
The Ghost Market’s administrator’s statue was also built on a pit of bones.
“The Ghost Temple is too dilapidated, far worse than the shops in the Ghost Market.”
As the ruler of so many ghosts, he had to have some class. He didn’t believe an administrator would tolerate his subordinates having a better working environment than him.
Shen Zhiyi was silent for a moment, then nodded. “It’s very likely.”
This instance seemed to have no staff, but from the incense offering rule, it was clear that the Ghost Market’s administrator was controlling everything from behind the scenes.
Perhaps like the King of Drama, it was outside the play, watching the players and various ghosts fight for survival within the rules it set.
While thinking, his hands were not idle.
Zhou Qi’an quickly typed a message to the others: [Found a way to destroy the business license].
After a brief explanation, he sent a message three times for emphasis: [Find the brush, ink, and inkstone].
The prompt said the other three treasures were scattered on this floor, so it was unlikely they were all in the office.
As he hit send, his eyes tightened.
It was eleven-thirty.
Time really did fly.
The white silk couldn’t block the shadow. Zhou Qi’an tried to use an item to roll it up and smash it, but the porcelain doll remained motionless, ignoring any impact.
With two attacks, the shadow cast by the display cabinet began to expand rapidly, squeezing the last bit of living space in the corner.
The moment the shadow covered them, Zhou Qi’an’s uncontrollable urge for self-destruction returned.
He didn’t dare to use his weapon anymore. Not only was it uncertain if destroying the porcelain doll would work, but now, the thought of a weapon made him want to stab himself first.
“There’s not enough time.”
He tried his best to dispel his weakened will, feeling a little helpless.
With the accelerated flow of time, it would probably be midnight in five or six minutes. In such a short time, it was impossible to find all four treasures of the study.
Before that, they would definitely face the Newspaper Zombie.
Shen Zhiyi said, “It’s fine. You rest for a bit.”
The death rule didn’t affect him too deeply.
Shen Zhiyi first tried to open the door, but as expected, he couldn’t force it open. Not just the door, but the floor-to-ceiling window opposite it were also covered by an invisible rule.
Before the shadow completely occupied the space, to prevent any blind spots, the office still had to be searched.
The shadow, which had come out of the “Experience Hall,” was currently recuperating.
Shen Zhiyi’s eyes were completely unaffected by the dim light, and he quickly scanned every corner.
On the other side, Zhou Qi’an took off his backpack and placed it in front of him, as if it could delay the shadow’s approach.
Watching the darkness encroach bit by bit, he lowered his head and hugged his backpack tightly.
There was still one buffer.
Under the statue’s shadow, Zhou Qi’an suddenly said, “The Jumper Ghost.”
According to the past few days’ experience, the Jumper Ghost, formed from a dead player, would appear before the newspaper boss. That thing loved to knock on doors, so they might have a chance to escape the office.
Speak of the devil. A short while later, the time on his phone screen jumped like a musical note, and it was suddenly midnight.
Knock, knock.
The dull knocking sound came eagerly.
The entire space was also completely covered by an invisible shadow at that moment.
Zhou Qi’an didn’t ignore the Jumper Ghost as usual. With nowhere to run, he stiffly walked towards the door. The moment he reached the center of the statue’s shadow, his whole body tensed up.
Before, he only wanted to smash his arm. Now, he wanted to find a rope and hang himself.
“Just a moment, I’m coming,” Zhou Qi’an said in a pleasant tone, contrasting with his twisted and pained expression.
Shen Zhiyi grabbed his wrist. The irresistible force at the door was weakening.
This meant the door could be opened now.
But opening the door for the Jumper Ghost was a certain death rule, not even a sacred item could save him.
Zhou Qi’an whispered, “I just sent a message, asking the boss to come and strangle it.”
If the player inside couldn’t kill it, let the one outside do it.
“…”
The wait always felt exceptionally long. Zhou Qi’an cooed at the Jumper Ghost, afraid it would leave.
“Oh dear, why won’t this doorknob turn?”
“Wait, let me try again with more force.”
The Jumper Ghost outside stopped knocking, probably confused by the strange words.
Zhou Qi’an’s voice grew softer and softer. Even though he was in extreme pain, he was as patient as if he were coaxing a child.
Shen Zhiyi frowned. Why didn’t I get this kind of treatment when my nightmare body was a ghost?
The Jumper Ghost, which he deeply resented, suddenly started scratching the door after two minutes. The sound of its nails scraping down the door echoed endlessly in the corridor.
Did the boss come?
Just as Zhou Qi’an’s eyes lit up, his thoughts broke free from rational control, and he instinctively made his white silk strangle himself.
The white silk: “?”
A foul-smelling liquid seeped in from under the door. Separated by the door, Zhou Qi’an, who was being eroded by the statue’s shadow, was both commanding the white silk and desperately trying to pull it off.
They faced each other, and Shen Zhiyi helped him control the white silk.
Inside the door, Zhou Qi’an struggled in pain, feeling like he was about to be strangled.
Outside the door, the Jumper Ghost scratched at the door with all its might, about to be strangled.
More and more foul-smelling liquid mixed with black blood flowed in from under the door. The Jumper Ghost was in the final countdown of its ghost life.
The next second, Shen Zhiyi estimated that it was about time, pulled Zhou Qi’an into his arms, and opened the office door.
A shadow unique to the boss shot in.
The man with the face of a natural-born capitalist stepped on the Jumper Ghost’s corpse with one shoe and frowned at the scene inside.
Looking at Zhou Qi’an, who was trying to twist his neck into a pretzel with the silk, the boss said grimly, “Erotic asphyxiation is a paraphilia. Employee insurance does not cover suicide.”
The moment he was free from the terrifying shadow, Zhou Qi’an finally regained consciousness. He quickly stumbled towards the door and bent over, gasping for air.
White silk.
Did you want to strangle me?
A master-betraying creature.
The white silk: “…”
While Zhou Qi’an was still suffering from tinnitus due to the brief suffocation, both his boss and Shen Zhiyi looked in the same direction.
The foul-smelling liquid on the floor froze over. The cold made Zhou Qi’an shiver. A jolt went through him… Did the newspaper boss come?
It was too impatient. The other Jumper Ghosts hadn’t even appeared yet.
Zhou Qi’an quickly checked the group chat.
A short while ago, Yuan had sent a message: [Found the ink in the archive room.]
Two of the four treasures of the study were still missing.
Bathed in the cold air, Zhou Qi’an looked up again, the red marks on his neck particularly conspicuous.
Following the direction Shen Zhiyi and his boss were looking, he saw a familiar ghostly figure holding a newspaper approaching in the distance.
Its steps were no longer slow and heavy, but light and swift. The newspaper in its hand, which could take a life, was filled with dense red and black characters.
A cold wind blew automatically, scraping at their flesh like a bone-scraping knife.
This time, even his boss frowned slightly.
Unlike before, he felt a strong threat from this ghost tonight.
Gurgle, gurgle.
A head rolled to their feet before the Newspaper Zombie arrived, leaving a trail of blood on the ground. The moment the head stopped, a pair of wide-open eyes stared straight at Zhou Qi’an.
It was the new, nameless supervisor from today.
The Newspaper Ghost didn’t immediately activate its ability.
As it approached, Zhou Qi’an could feel the eyes hidden behind the newspaper peeking at the backpack he was holding.
Shen Zhiyi took half a step forward, blocking its gaze, and looked at the Newspaper Zombie coldly.
Zhou Qi’an narrowed his eyes slightly and suggestively touched Shen Zhiyi’s arm, signaling him not to worry. He then suddenly stepped out from behind his protection.
He stood at a distance from the Newspaper Ghost, a pocket watch appearing in his hand out of thin air.
“Don’t come any closer!”
Having just been tortured by self-harm, he didn’t need any extra disguise. His pale face naturally gave off the illusion of being fierce on the outside but weak on the inside.
Zhou Qi’an took a deep breath and said with a trembling voice, “If you dare to come any closer, I’ll destroy these two heads. I can turn back time anyway, so I have plenty of time to do it…”
He was putting on a brave face, a fragile and reckless character, a perfect replica of a college student. This paper tiger disguise was the best way to make the monster feel disdain.
Sure enough, the Newspaper Ghost stood motionless, its stillness a clear sign of mockery.
Zhou Qi’an’s eyelashes trembled along with his voice, a perfect image of a collapsing employee. “If I hadn’t come to this damn place, I wouldn’t have gone through all this…”
Shen Zhiyi chose to remain silent, quietly listening to his sobbing.
The Newspaper Zombie was getting impatient, its arm about to be raised.
“I have two heads here,” Zhou Qi’an said with a tear-streaked face, throwing out the first bait. “I can give them both to you.”
Sixth Master’s ability was not weak. A buy-one-get-one-free deal, the Newspaper Zombie had no reason not to be tempted.
He even took out the head to show it. The unique blood of a monster couldn’t be faked, and it was much richer than the blood of the Jumper Ghost on the ground.
A flicker of greed flashed in the Newspaper Zombie’s eyes, and its nails holding the newspaper tightened slightly.
Zhou Qi’an had long seen this ghost’s greed. While suppressing the lingering urge for self-harm, his face was tearful due to his irregular breathing.
But the words that came out of his mouth were incredibly bloody: “Don’t forget our initial killing agreement.”
“…In exchange, for the third exchange kill target, I want you to bring me the head of the Hao Hui Sha Group owner.”
Shen Zhiyi’s gaze suddenly became strange.
The Newspaper Zombie wouldn’t know about the connection between the Ghost Market and the Hao Hui Sha Group, or it wouldn’t be foolish enough to make a deal with an employee here to kill ghosts.
If it really dared to make a move, it would be like a flood washing over the Dragon King’s temple (a Chinese idiom for internal conflict).
“It’s all this damn place’s fault! This damn company! They exploit my labor and want to take my life. Even if I die, I’ll drag the boss to hell with me!”
The last few words were filled with Zhou Qi’an’s endless anger towards the company.
Beside him, his boss narrowed his eyes. It was so heartfelt, could it be his true colors?
Kill the group owner?
For some reason, the Newspaper Zombie was a little resistant.
A mere human dared to make demands of it. It was enraged. The words on the newspaper in its hand began to turn three-dimensional. Soon, all the printed characters detached from the paper and swirled in the air, surrounding the three of them.
The red light from the characters combined into an infinite killing intent.
As long as they remained at the office door, they could never completely escape the urge for self-destruction.
Zhou Qi’an’s voice was tinged with pain, but deep down, he was extremely calm.
Holding the pocket watch, he softly threw out the second bait: “Kill the group owner, and I’ll give you this watch too.”
The Newspaper Zombie, which was about to strip its prey of their five senses, slowed its actions slightly.
“Choose. Exchange the group owner’s head for two other heads and this watch. Otherwise, I can at least destroy one head with the time reversal.”
Zhou Qi’an’s fingers brushed over the watch case. “You should know the value of this watch.”
The Newspaper Zombie certainly knew. The covetous look in its eyes deepened.
Zhou Qi’an had used the [Dream Pen] in the Ghost Temple, and all the descriptions of the pocket watch were deeply imprinted in the Newspaper Zombie’s mind.
This extremely greedy ghost was beginning to waver.
“I just want to drag the culprit to hell with me,” Zhou Qi’an said slowly. “This heaven-defying treasure can only be used once. It’s not worth wasting it on destroying a head.”
“It’s just killing a mere group owner in exchange for three treasures. It’s a great deal for you.”
Zhou Qi’an’s eyes grew redder. He had even moved himself with his own words.
A whale’s tear fell, landing on Shen Zhiyi’s cold hand.
Shen Zhiyi: “…”
The shadow in the office was still slowly expanding outwards.
Lifting his trembling eyelashes, Zhou Qi’an stopped his frantic crying. He was continuously resisting the lingering effects of self-harm, but deep down, his soul was exceptionally calm.
His whole being seemed to have been brutally split in two. Now, having laid out all the bait, he was just waiting for the Newspaper Ghost to fall into the trap of this negotiation.
