Chapter 1778: Chapter 1019: Flaw (2)
At this moment, Sato Shouta was clearly terrified, his face turned white, lips trembling, as he gently pushed himself with his hand.
"What’s..."
Before Yang Xiao could finish his sentence, Sato Shouta frantically gestured for him to shut up, then pointed outside, towards the corridor. His eyes were brimming with tears, almost ready to cry.
"Tap...tap...tap..."
The next second, Yang Xiao sat up abruptly. He heard clearly; outside the door...just now, there was a series of rapid footsteps.
Turning over and getting out of bed in one fluid motion, Yang Xiao moved deftly, almost silently. He kneeled on one knee on the ground, looking outside through the crack in the frosted glass, luckily, the room was temporarily safe.
"What’s going on?" Yang Xiao whispered, glancing at Sato Shouta trembling beside him, "How long have the footsteps been there?"
"Just...just came, less than...less than a minute ago. I initially thought I was hearing things, but the footsteps got closer, and the last time they were right outside the door." Only with Yang Xiao by his side did Sato Shouta not collapse; newbies have much poorer mental fortitude.
As soon as he spoke, the footsteps sounded again, stopping right outside the door this time, and Sato Shouta’s face was terrified, not even daring to breathe.
Yang Xiao could hear it clearly too, the footsteps were light, probably a child.
He hadn’t expected this guy would come for him tonight.
According to the previous descriptions from others, the guy should be coming in next.
To run or not to run, this was a major dilemma for Yang Xiao.
"Swoosh—"
Suddenly, Sato Shouta shuddered, turning his head abruptly towards the direction of the bathroom. There was a very small bathroom in their service room.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom, sounding like someone had turned on the faucet.
But soon, the water stopped, and a few seconds later, started again, repeating like this, tormenting the nerves of both.
"What to do? What to do?" Facing the ghost, Sato Shouta almost lost his judgment, completely relying on Yang Xiao.
"Shut up!" Yang Xiao growled softly, his eyes fixed on the bathroom. He decided to wait and see, after all, no matter what, they were unlikely to be killed immediately; time was running out, he had to take some risks.
He chose to trust Jiushan Cangxuan, who had promised them that even if they died in the Nightmare World, they would wake up in the real world. In some sense, for them, this game was just a true nightmare, just a dream.
Soon, the water sound from the bathroom disappeared, but before Sato Shouta could breathe a sigh of relief, the iron cabinet behind them suddenly shook for no reason, emitting a "bang bang bang" sound.
This direct scare made Sato Shouta jump up. Before Yang Xiao could grab him, he dashed out, smashing through the glass door, fleeing while screaming "ah ah ah" in a panic.
Yang Xiao had no choice but to follow him outside, worried that Sato Shouta’s loss of control would disrupt some delicate balance.
But Yang Xiao remained composed, noticing that soon after rushing into the corridor, the banging and scraping sounds in the room disappeared. Or perhaps they got quieter; he wasn’t entirely sure, but by then, Sato Shouta was already running downstairs.
"Don’t run! Stop!" Yang Xiao was speechless at this guy.
Sato Shouta looked plump but unexpectedly ran quite fast, sprinting from the 7th floor to the 1st floor, with his screams echoing throughout the entire hotel, waking everyone up.
Soon, Tong Han was the first to rush up, followed by Shibuki Naoko, Qingshui Cangjie, and others. Lastly, Jiu Shan Sha Yue and Nishimura Yuna escorted Sato Shouta back.
Everyone came, and Tong Han led the inspection of Yang Xiao’s room, unsurprisingly finding stab and scratch marks on the inside of the iron cabinet, identical to those left at previous scenes.
After exiting the room, seeing the terrified Sato Shouta, Heize Lin’s face darkened as he scolded, "What’s the panic? It’s the first half of the night; no one dies yet!"
Honestly, hearing Sato Shouta’s heartbreaking screams, especially moving quickly, they thought for a moment that a ghost had chased him, hunting him throughout the building, making no one dare open their doors initially.
At the scene, Shibuki Naoko’s eyes were gloomy, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over Yang Xiao and Tong Han, keenly sensing the unusual relationship between them.
Not long ago, when hearing screams from upstairs, Tong Han hesitated not, opening the door and rushing out, which was very unusual.
She could see that Tong Han, though young, was experienced, a formidable and rational guy. He should have waited, assessed the situation before making a decision, but he chose instantly.
Correlation muddles judgment, she can only conclude, although they had little interaction during the mission, Shibuki Naoko found a flaw from this single point.
She did not intend to reveal her secret, knowing that Yang Xiao and Tong Han were skillful and decent people, she hoped they could cooperate.
She, Shibuki Naoko, was also an experienced veteran player, believing Tong Han and Yang Xiao had more cooperation value compared to the unscrupulous group led by Qingshui Cangjie and Heize Lin.
After inspecting the room, Yang Xiao recounted the ghost encounter process to everyone, not hiding anything. Once he regained his composure, Sato Shouta supplemented the details.
"Seems our direction is wrong; staying together is useless." Shibuki Naoko said bluntly.
Hearing this, Heize Lin raised an eyebrow, retorting in annoyance, "You’re speaking too soon! Staying together can’t evade the first ghost strike, but it might avoid the second, the deadly one."
"But I think there’s a certain connection between the first and second." Beiyu Ye analyzed.
"Alright, everyone, let’s stop arguing. Tonight, no one shall disperse. Pair up according to our initial plan." Qingshui Cangjie said, glancing around sincerely, "Please believe me; if...if tonight someone is sought after, then remember, you must report your situation in the nightmare in detail, leave as many clues as possible."
"We’ll synchronize actions on our side, trying to save lives. Honestly, I have some hypotheses, if proven, there’s definitely a chance to awaken someone from the Ghost Dream World, please!" Qingshui Cangjie faced everyone, slightly bowing.
This might scare newbies, but Yang Xiao and the others knew, this was talk; tonight, whoever gets dragged into the Ghost Dream is undoubtedly doomed. Qingshui Cangjie’s words were merely to extract every bit of value from the dying.
However, this wasn’t wrong; conversely, these clues were crucial to surviving members, paving a path for others.
Without much talk, they dispersed, returning to their respective rooms, and now began the long waiting period for Lady Luck or the advent of the Ghost Dream.
Returning to the room, Tong Han remained restless. Tonight, Yang Xiao’s group encountered ghosts; no one knew if the ghost would eventually target them; past experience indicated it’s very likely.
On the first night, Sakurai Miyuki encountered a ghost, and Kato Atsushi from the same floor died.
On the second night, Yamada Kengohei encountered a ghost, and Yamada Kengohei himself died.
On the third night, Mitsuo Takeda encountered a ghost, and he, the seasoned police chief, died in the Ghost Dream World.
Though the Jiu Mountain Family promised no one would die, it’s merely a nightmare, Tong Han didn’t trust them much; her martial arts experience taught her to doubt more, to increase her odds.
"Are you worried about Mr. Yang Xiao?" a voice suddenly interrupted her thoughts from behind, it was Shibuki Naoko.
