Chapter 1467: Chapter 900: _2
In the next second, he suddenly furrowed his brows and took a deep breath with his nose, smelling the burnt odor left behind by something being scorched.
If that wasn’t enough, right in front of his eyes, black and grey ashes started to drift through the air.
He suddenly looked up, only to see countless black ashes falling, like snow.
At this moment, Zhou Mingxiao could no longer suppress the fear in his heart and was about to stand up and dash towards the window. Stop lying to yourself; he had already been found. That ghost... is probably already inside!
As for why the door wasn’t opened, how the ghost came in wasn’t important at this moment.
His judgment was wrong; the ghost was not attracted by the DV machine thrown downstairs and eventually found him.
However, Zhou Mingxiao did not stand up in the end. He maintained the posture of his legs about to rise, eyes wide open, his face completely bloodless, hardly daring to move.
"Crack... crack..."
"Crack... crack..."
A subtle but clear sound of bones breaking came from behind and a bizarre, eerie image suddenly flashed in Zhou Mingxiao’s mind: a skeletal spider hugging itself slowly stretched out eight legs.
But why, why did this ghost suddenly appear behind him when the door was clearly not opened!
In the next second, a chilling wind swept past his brain, and Zhou Mingxiao, an experienced high-level Apostle with close to Upper Ghost Level strength, reacted extremely quickly. Without looking back, he rapidly raised his arms to shield in front of him.
Following immediately, he was embraced tightly from behind by a "person," who wrapped arms and legs around him, enclosing him securely.
It was a pair of dirty, stinky arms and legs, clothed in garments so tattered one couldn’t discern their original color. The nails hadn’t been managed for who knows how long, long and filthy, packed full of black mud. A pair of legs entwined his lower half in a position that living humans absolutely cannot achieve, wearing old-style, military-green liberation shoes, their laces scattered.
The strength of the opponent far exceeded Zhou Mingxiao’s expectations. Unable to use spiritual power or magic artifacts, he was merely a relatively robust old man, unable to withstand this terrifying force.
"Crack... snap..."
"Ah!!"
The arms broke first, both arms forcefully snapped by that overwhelming force, then continued to bend backward; next, both legs and shoulders were twisted.
The immense pain prompted Zhou Mingxiao to let out an eerie scream, but as the ribs broke and pierced into the alveoli, no sound came out, replaced by blood bubbles continuously gushing from the mouth corner.
It was only at this moment that Zhou Mingxiao truly felt the pain and despair Chen Moting experienced shortly before her death.
"Crack... snap!"
This torture didn’t last long. As the neck and spine midsection simultaneously snapped, the fiercely struggling body of Zhou Mingxiao suddenly weakened, legs kicked, no longer moving.
In those wide-open eyes, vitality quickly drained away, leaving only dead silence at the bottom.
...
4:30 PM, Rongjin Building.
Yang Xiao and others gathered around a table, cleared of clutter, with clothing laid atop it—a jacket.
On the clothes were set an old-style DV machine and a cellphone.
"These were found at the scene," Chen Nang spoke in a somber tone, "The cellphone was in Zhou Mingxiao’s pocket; the DV machine was thrown downstairs, but it had the cushioning of the clothes and satchel, it should be fine."
"You said the satchel was found at a secluded spot behind the mall, how did you find it?" Munan looked at Chen Nang with some doubt; after all, he picked up the item.
"You’ll understand by listening to this." Chen Nang picked up the cellphone and opened a recording.
The next second, everyone held their breath as Zhou Mingxiao’s hoarse voice emerged from within, the voice low and slightly trembling as if facing immense fear.
"Chu Xi, this is Zhou Mingxiao, I am being chased by a ghost, listen carefully to what I am about to say."
"This DV machine can see ghosts, not directly capturing them but showing their movement routes. It’s always biting at me, and though I want to escape, I can’t. It’s faster than me and keeps getting faster."
"There’s also a countdown; it’s 13 minutes. It’s like a death game."
"I have already discarded the DV machine because I suspect it’s guiding both ways, indicating the ghost’s position while also exposing mine."
"I threw the machine downstairs on the eastern side to the right; if I meet with an accident, remember to look there. Additionally, it proves that my judgment was wrong; without this DV machine, the ghost would still find us."
"Hope my luck is better this time..."
Following the final words, the recording concluded, but clearly, Zhou Mingxiao’s luck wasn’t too good this time.
The atmosphere at the scene was exceedingly oppressive. A teammate was lost, and though most had little bond with Zhou Mingxiao, they couldn’t help but feel the sorrow of a rabbit’s death.
Even those as formidable as Zhou Mingxiao and Chen Moting could die so suddenly; when it’s their turn, could it be any different?
This short recording brought immense shock, and Zhou Mingxiao was indeed an experienced veteran; even when caught by surprise, he left a ray of hope for those following.
This is more than just the difference between old and new players; it’s an issue of conduct. Zhou Mingxiao belonged to the old-school world of martial arts seniors. Receive a favor and surely return it.
All present understood; the recording left was less for everyone and more directly for Yang Xiao alone, repaying the aid extended by Yang Xiao last night.
From the recording, they gathered several crucial clues. Firstly, this DV machine would activate during the day and take one among them, the survivor from the previous night, who would face ghost pursuit, with the time set at 13 minutes, akin to a battle royale game.
Secondly, the DV machine would guide the ghost’s location, and the ghost had means to lock onto the selected person’s location.
Observing the final outcome indicated Zhou Mingxiao’s tactic to lure the ghost by abandoning the DV machine failed. The ghost didn’t rely on the DV machine to lock onto players’ positions.
As for the method used, the ghost’s killing conditions remain unknown.
Moreover, information left by Zhou Mingxiao suggested that escape from ghost pursuit seemed impossible; given that the ghost’s speed grew faster while human stamina was ultimately limited.
Combining the information the group currently possessed, the situation was grim. Zhou Mingxiao and Chen Moting were outstanding players, and both died so unclear and perplexing.
"What’s the scene like?" Yang Xiao steadied his mind and looked at Chen Nang.
"Death state identical to Chen Moting, all bones broken forcibly, body nearly twisted into a spherical shape, neck and spine snapped."
"Zhou Mingxiao’s body was stuffed in a corner, between two shelves. I crouched at that spot; that should be the hiding place Zhou Mingxiao chose."
"The spot was well-chosen, directly visible to the door and close to the window. I checked; the room’s window left a gap about a palm wide, indicating Zhou Mingxiao had long planned an escape route in case the ghost blocked him inside, jumping out the window for survival."
"Outside the window isn’t the fifth floor; it’s a concrete platform. Jumping down wouldn’t mean death."
"And one very odd point; when we arrived, the room’s door was closed as though the ghost didn’t enter by opening it," Chen Nang added.
Chen Nang observed in meticulous detail, nearly deducing every motive and intention behind Zhou Mingxiao’s actions from his perspective. He was also first to discover the cellphone recording.
Only by finding the recording could they locate the DV machine thrown downstairs, otherwise lost.
And everyone realized how crucial the DV machine was to them all at present.
From this viewpoint, saying everyone owed Chen Nang a favor wasn’t exaggerated.
If the DV machine wasn’t found, others couldn’t rush out and back before nightfall, causing the night watchman to lack DV machine use.
Not mentioning the dead’s danger, a whole night’s time would be wasted uselessly.
"There’s one question I’ve continually struggled with," Yang Xiao raised his head, casting an odd glance towards Chen Nang, making the latter instinctively frown.
Chen Nang met eyes with Yang Xiao, gazing honestly back, nodding slightly. "Go ahead."
"I’m very curious, given Mr. Zhou hid in the mall, in an obscure high-floor warehouse among remote rooms, and the door remained closed, how did you two find him?"
Chen Nang met eyes with Yang Xiao, gazing honestly back, nodding slightly. "Go ahead."
