What she saw, thinking it was just a reflection in the glass...
Had actually been standing outside the window the entire time.
Waving at her.
Zhang Yue almost couldn't stop herself from screaming out loud.
Desperately suppressing the itch in her throat, she stumbled and mashed the elevator button.
【Floor 1】
【Floor 3】
【Floor 9】
【Floor 12】
...
Why? Why is it so slow?!
The elevator was rising rapidly, but Zhang Yue felt as if her entire body was being soaked in ice water, her joints feeling as if they had rusted over.
She turned her neck, trying to use her peripheral vision to track the shadow's location.
Zhang Yue prayed silently that it was just her eyes playing tricks on her after working for so long.
A grey ghost? Someone outside the window?
It was all just a hallucination brought on by exhaustion.
But unfortunately, her hopes were dashed.
The grey shadow drifted slowly into the office as if passing through water, walking toward her.
Click—
The lights at her workstation began to flicker, and the temperature in the office plummeted to freezing.
It felt as if a single breath would form a cloud of white mist.
By the flickering light, Zhang Yue finally saw the man's appearance clearly.
His face was a sickly grey-green, and his skull was shattered and flattened like a watermelon that had been dropped on the ground. Brain matter mixed with blood stained his entire grey suit.
His right arm was severed halfway, with only a strip of skin keeping the meat attached. His thigh was twisted at an unnatural angle, and at the knee, half a white bone protruded, showing the jagged edges of the break.
One of the man's eyeballs had been squeezed out of its socket, dangling precariously from his face. From the pitch-black socket, two streaks of bloody tears flowed down.
He—no, it.
The thing opened its mouth, emitting the kind of eerie sounds found only in horror movies:
"Heh... heh... heh..."
"Heh... heh..."
It sounded like the low wheezing of someone whose windpipe had been sliced open.
It also sounded like the grating, tooth-aching sound of someone grinding their teeth with great force.
It slowly raised its hand and waved at Zhang Yue, two more streaks of bloody tears falling from its eyes:
"Heh heh... heh heh heh..."
"Screw this company! There really is a ghost!"
Zhang Yue's frayed nerves finally snapped, and large tears burst from her eyes.
"Help! Help me!!"
She frantically mashed the elevator's down button, screaming at the top of her lungs:
"Aaaah! Hurry up! Hurry! Hurry!! Why aren't you moving faster?!!!"
Her hysterical screams echoed through the seventeenth floor, the sound bouncing off the walls in a series of overlapping cries.
The grey figure became increasingly solid, and the temperature continued to drop.
Zhang Yue was on the verge of a total breakdown.
Finally, a second before the figure reached her, the elevator doors slowly slid open—
Revealing two figures inside.
I'm not meant to die today!
I'm saved!
A look of sheer ecstasy appeared on Zhang Yue's face.
Ding—
The elevator bell chimed crisply. Amidst soft music, a beautiful woman dressed in ancient clothing stood there, while a delivery man in uniform sat on the floor.
Zhang Yue didn't have time to think. She squeezed into the elevator and shouted at the people inside with all her might:
"There's a ghost! Please, close the door! Hurry! There's a ghost! Outside, there's—"
Before she could finish, the expression on her face plummeted from heaven to hell.
The strangely dressed woman's gaze drifted over. Zhang Yue saw that she was holding a knife the length of a forearm.
The tip was snow-bright, but the blade itself was pitch black—on closer inspection, it was the result of long-settled blood stains.
Inside the elevator, the delivery man's eyes were tightly shut, his fate unknown. Beneath him was a pool of red liquid that had stained nearly half the elevator car.
The beautiful, alluring woman slowly turned her head with a stiffness that didn't seem human:
"Are you okay?"
She exhaled a breath of white mist.
Layer upon layer of white frost began to condense on the elevator doors.
Large patterns of frost bloomed on the cold iron doors, and a bone-deep chill seeped into Zhang Yue's body with the cold wind.
She felt as if the blood in her body was slowly freezing solid.
"Ch-ch-ch-ch..."
What was that sound?
It was the sound of her own teeth chattering.
In the cramped space, a pungent smell forced its way into her nostrils.
Zhang Yue saw the woman's face clearly.
Under the elevator lights, the woman's complexion was pale and greyish, and the angle at which she turned her head held a horrifying, non-human quality.
On her face—which was so perfect it looked artificial—there wasn't a single blemish.
It was like...
It was like a perfect wax figure meticulously crafted by a master, and despite its flawlessness, it evoked a primal fear in the depths of the heart.
"Don't come over! Don't come near me!!"
Zhang Yue slumped to the floor, reaching behind her only to feel a handful of something slimy.
She pulled her hand back and saw it was covered in bright red.
Is... is this blood?
Zhang Yue fell into a daze for a moment, looking at the young man beside her whose clothes were soaked in red.
Is he still alive?
With this much blood, how could he be alive?
And those chunks of meat scattered on the floor...
Is that human flesh?
Zhang Yue touched her face, feeling tears and snot dripping onto her chest, nearly soaking through her shirt.
She spoke with a trembling voice, so quiet she could barely hear herself:
"You... don't come over."
The woman paused, then tilted her head to study her for a moment as if confirming something before drifting out of the elevator.
As her skirt fluttered, Zhang Yue saw a pair of tiny, dainty feet that seemed to be hovering just off the ground.
Damn it, there really are ghosts in this building.
And there's more than one.
Trash company.
Trash building.
She closed her eyes in despair, feeling the world spin before she collapsed onto the elevator floor with a thud.
...
"Why do they keep fainting the moment they see a ghost?
I always thought people fainting from a shock was just something made up for TV."
Nan Zhi looked back at the young man and woman lying together in the elevator and couldn't help but brush off her skirt.
"What was she screaming about? Was she that upset about seeing the delivery food spilled?
Surely not, it's just an order of yellow braised chicken.
Speaking of which, which shop is this yellow braised chicken from? It smells quite good. They even included fresh tomato juice; I should try ordering from them tomorrow."
Just now, Nan Zhi, wearing the Paper Skin Garment, had scared the delivery man who had tried to harass her.
She hadn't expected that while he was bold enough to be a creep, he was actually a coward. With a loud thud, he had fainted right onto the floor.
The sound of his head hitting the ground had been quite solid.
As a result, the yellow braised chicken and tomato juice in the delivery bag had exploded all over the elevator.
In Nan Zhi's vision, the familiar game panel appeared once more.
【Cultivator: Nan Zhi】
【Bone age: 18】
【Level: 15】
【Cultivation: Qi Refinement stage 4】
...
【Currently Equipped: "Butcher’s Daughter", "Nan Village Slaughtering Knife", "Paper Skin Garment" (Combat power +50, Constitution +20, Reputation -30)】
【Paper Skin Garment (Blue Quality): This is the favorite skin of a Painted Skin Ghost. When worn, it can mask human aura and temporarily disguise the wearer as a ghost.】
【Special Bonus: Fortune Bonus for Today (Luck +9)】
Qi-Supplementing Pill, brought it.
To replenish energy at any time.
Blood Supplementing Pill, brought it.
To ensure health can be restored during a fight.
Hemostatic grass, brought it.
In case of heavy bleeding, she could take a couple of bites immediately.
Nan Village Slaughtering Knife, brought it.
She had even sharpened it before leaving to ensure that one strike could cleave through bone.
She had even gone to the City God Temple to draw a fortune and managed to roll a luck bonus!
Nan Zhi glanced at the ghost of Chen Ping, who was lingering nearby and refusing to approach. She tried her best to muster the most amiable smile she could manage:
"Excuse me, do you have a wish?"
Rate on N.U.
