Chapter 1450: Chapter 896: Watching and Waiting
Yang Xiao walked cautiously all the way, and fortunately, after leaving the vicinity of the 18th floor, the thick smoke and heat wave diminished significantly.
The core of the paranormal activity was at Chen’s Strange Film Industry, and the closer it was, the more dangerous it became. Yang Xiao couldn’t help but worry about Zhou Mingxiao’s situation, so he kept quickening his pace. Now, only he could save him.
Finally, after a tense but safe journey, Yang Xiao returned to the 17th floor, standing in front of the glass door of the office.
He didn’t knock rashly but first tried to push the door gently with his hand.
Good, the door was locked, which also allowed his anxious heart to relax a little.
"Knock, knock, knock!" Yang Xiao raised his hand to knock on the door.
Worried about scaring Wu Zhuo inside, Yang Xiao didn’t use much force, but enough for those inside to hear, while squatting slightly and vigilantly scanning his surroundings.
Soon, rustling sounds came from behind the door, like a timid and nervous person approaching slowly.
Not long after, a figure was cast on the glass door, huddled with a cowardly appearance, "Who, who’s outside?" Wu Zhuo’s trembling voice came from behind the door.
"It’s me." Yang Xiao replied, "Chu Xi."
"Why are you alone? Where is Zhou Mingxiao? Where is he?" Wu Zhuo asked from behind the door.
As soon as these words came out, Yang Xiao’s heart turned cold. Through the door, especially with the light source being inside, theoretically, he wouldn’t have a shadow cast on the door, so how did Wu Zhuo inside know that only he was outside?
Yang Xiao reacted quickly, instantly putting on an act, and cursed in a low voice, "Damn it, don’t mention that old man to me, he’s a coward, ran away!"
"Where did he run to?" Wu Zhuo asked anxiously from inside.
"Sneaked away, ran downstairs, I guess he’s almost home by now," Yang Xiao said angrily, while continuing to knock on the door, feigning an urgent need to get in.
"Stop wasting time, have you forgotten what I said to you before I left? Open the damn door!" Yang Xiao intentionally pressed his palm on the frosted glass door to remind Wu Zhuo inside, giving him one last chance.
But Wu Zhuo inside showed no understanding, immediately moving to open the door, "Coming, coming, don’t break the door, if those ghosts are drawn here, we’re both doomed!"
The next second, light from inside cast on Yang Xiao’s face, and the door finally opened.
Disheveled as if grabbed, Wu Zhuo stood warily behind the door, glancing outside in terror. After confirming there was no issue, he stepped aside to let Yang Xiao in, "Quick, come in! I’ll watch the outside for you!"
"Hurry up! What’s taking you so long?!" Seeing Yang Xiao remain still, Wu Zhuo urged repeatedly.
In fact, the moment the door opened, Yang Xiao knew the real Wu Zhuo was already dead, and the one standing in front of him now was a ghost.
Before leaving, he had a secret signal with Wu Zhuo: the door wouldn’t open unless a cross was drawn through it, but this "Wu Zhuo" clearly didn’t know.
Not long ago, to avoid misjudgment, Yang Xiao specifically pressed his palm on the door as a hint, but it was of no use.
Before returning, Yang Xiao had already prepared to break through the door because he doubted Wu Zhuo’s character. He suspected that no matter if the signal was correct or not, out of self-preservation, the real Wu Zhuo wouldn’t open the door for him, or even talk to him from behind it.
"Why aren’t you coming in? Do you want to die?" The "Wu Zhuo" behind the door completely descended into madness, yelling at Yang Xiao outside the door, while his face distorted, as if another face lurked beneath his skin.
At this moment, they were merely less than a meter apart, yet despite being so close, the mutated "Wu Zhuo" didn’t attack, only seething in impotent rage.
About ten seconds later, "Wu Zhuo" started retreating, not step by step, but in a shuffling backward motion, as if he was constrained by some force, forcing him to retreat, to leave.
It was evident that "Wu Zhuo" was very unwilling. As he retreated, his bulging eyes were fixed on Yang Xiao outside the door, their emptiness and lifelessness exuding an unspeakable malice.
Like a reversed slide show, frame by frame jerking back, the ghost finally retreated into the office corridor until it was completely engulfed by darkness, its form vanishing altogether.
Even so, Yang Xiao did not let his guard down. He stood outside the door for another half minute, confirming that the chill feeling had completely dissipated before stepping inside, returning to the office where his journey began, and closing the door.
After he completely entered the office, the scene before him changed. The once immaculate and bright office, seen from outside, was now in disarray, with overturned tables and chairs along the wall, and various items like notebooks and pen holders scattered on the ground.
There was no sign of Wu Zhuo, but after confirming the ghost’s identity, Yang Xiao had already guessed his fate.
This wasn’t a smart man, and had a semblance of false cleverness, a death sentence for such people sooner or later, if not this time, then the next.
Yang Xiao felt nothing about his demise; he had given him advice before leaving, but to no avail. Such an outcome was entirely his own doing.
Reaching the corridor, Yang Xiao looked in; it was a blur of darkness inside, all the corridor lights were out, unlike when he left.
Yang Xiao found the switch on the wall, pressed it, and the next second, the corridor’s overhead lights flickered a few times before finally lighting up slowly.
The light dispelled the darkness, calming Yang Xiao considerably, though he didn’t see the previous ghost, the end of the corridor remained shrouded in a vague darkness.
