Ji Xiu passed through the living room and walked toward the door.
The three people keeping watch looked up and were startled. “Wait, where are you going?”
“I’m going out for a walk.”
The three of them: “……”
What? They did not hear wrong, right??? The three of them incredulously dug at their ears.
But Ji Xiu did not say anything more to them. After answering that one sentence, he pushed the door open and walked out.
Watching that door open and then close again, the three-person night watch group exchanged a tacit glance at each other, feeling like they were about to go crazy.
He was actually going out for a stroll in the middle of the night?
The skinny old man narrowed his eyes and said slowly, word by word, “If he isn’t recklessly brave, then he is extremely powerful and has something to rely on. If he comes back safely, our attitude toward him needs to be even more humble.”
The man in the suit and the timid man answered in unison, clearly taking the skinny old man as their lead.
With no one else around, they no longer bothered to hide the fact that they were a team.
Strictly speaking, in this game world, only the fat man was a solo player.
It was just that Ji Xiu and the others had made it public directly, while the three-person night watch group was more scheming. In front of outsiders, they did not reveal the connection between them, planning to keep it as a trump card just in case.
Let us take a moment to feel sorry for the fat man.
After discussing their attitude toward Ji Xiu, the three-person night watch group sat on the sofa, keeping watch with vigilance while waiting for Ji Xiu to return.
At this time, Ji Xiu had already summoned Wang Qiuyue and Ji Chunsheng in the corridor. He walked to the elevator, planning to take the mother and son downstairs.
The elevator doors slowly opened. Wang Qiuyue’s steps paused slightly. She stared at the elevator, hesitating as if she wanted to speak, but after thinking about it, she still said nothing.
Ji Chunsheng, however, was very straightforward. After entering the elevator, he frowned and said, “Dad, this place makes me feel really uncomfortable.”
Ji Xiu was somewhat surprised. He lowered his head and asked Wang Qiuyue at his side, “Do you feel uncomfortable too?”
Wang Qiuyue chose to answer truthfully. “A bit uncomfortable, but it’s still okay.”
Ji Xiu frowned slightly and patted her hand, sizing up the elevator from top to bottom.
When Wang Qiuyue died, she wore red clothes, with extremely heavy resentment. After death, she became a fierce ghost, and was nurtured in Ji Family Village through countless cycles, devouring the villagers’ yin energy. Her strength was extraordinary.
Even she said she felt uncomfortable, which showed that there was indeed something strange about this elevator.
Could it be that there was an even more powerful fierce ghost inside?
Ji Xiu was not afraid, because he had not sensed any threat. That meant the current situation was within his capabilities. Even if he encountered it head-on, he could still retreat safely with his family.
After thinking about it, he shook his head and said, “Forget it. If there really is a stronger existence here, it will have to wait until the third day. These two days should be fine. It won’t hurt to take you out for a stroll first.”
“Wait.” Wang Qiuyue grabbed his hand. “This discomfort doesn’t seem to come from malice…”
She closed her eyes and sensed it carefully, then told Ji Xiu what she felt. “After Chunsheng and I became ghosts, we never left Ji Family Village, so we don’t understand the outside world. But the feeling the elevator gives me isn’t bad, it even feels like a benevolent existence.”
That was interesting.
Ji Xiu noted it down in his mind, feeling that this was a clue, and began thinking about the possible reasons behind it.
Half a minute later, the elevator reached the first floor. He came back to his senses, shifted his attention to the outside, and said casually, “We’re here. Let’s go. We’ll talk about this later.”
Wang Qiuyue did not object.
They were here to lie back and win points, not to solve cases. Crushing all evil with sheer strength meant there was no need to worry about these things.
The mother and son walked out together with Ji Xiu.
It was already very late, around two in the morning. Other than the lights in the green belt still flickering, the residential complex was empty.
Occasionally, one or two figures returned home after working overtime late at night. When they saw the Ji family of three near Building 13, they were so frightened that they kept their distance and did not dare approach, which was perfect for the family to go out.
The family of three chatted as they walked, the atmosphere quiet and beautiful.
However, in Room 1309 at this moment, the atmosphere was not good at all.
The three-person night watch group waited for a long time without Ji Xiu returning. After an unknown amount of time, they gradually became drowsy and accidentally nodded off.
At that moment, they heard the doorbell ring.
“Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong!”
The man in the suit opened his eyes, wiped the drool from his cheek, stood up, and went to open the door. “Coming, coming, wait a moment.”
“No, don’t go…”
The timid man suddenly spoke.
He was curled up on the sofa, his whole body trembling, as if he were in an icy polar wasteland. Stammering sounds squeezed out from between his teeth as he voiced his own thoughts for the first time.
The man in the suit had always disliked this weak and timid teammate. Hearing this, he rolled his eyes. “What are you shaking for? It’s just opening the door. Ji Xiu went out without bringing his keys. Are we supposed to lock him outside all night if we don’t open the door?”
The timid man’s face was deathly pale. He took a big breath and pointed at the clock on the living room wall.
“What the hell?” The man in the suit looked over impatiently. His expression changed slightly, and he suddenly fell silent. “Two fifty?”
As everyone knew, from midnight to three in the morning was when yin energy ran rampant and ghosts loved to stir trouble. Usually speaking, it was also the easiest time for things to go wrong.
The footsteps that had been wandering constantly earlier had started ringing precisely at twelve o’clock.
And now, before three in the morning arrived, the sudden appearance of the doorbell made it very hard not to associate the two.
“Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong!”
Outside the door was the soul-summoning, endlessly ringing, piercing sound.
The man in the suit froze in place. His eyes flickered, his face turning green then white, unable to decide whether to open the door.
While he hesitated, the skinny old man on the sofa heard the commotion and woke up.
The old man was extremely sharp. He glanced at the timid man’s hand pointing at the wall clock, listened to the doorbell, and decisively said, “Don’t open the door. It won’t be too late to open it after three.”
With someone making the decision, the man in the suit finally found a way out and hurriedly agreed, returning to sit by the sofa and wait.
“Ding dong, ding dong, ding dong!”
The doorbell repeated endlessly.
At two fifty-five, when there were only five minutes left until three, the doorbell finally disappeared.
The man in the suit let out a sigh of relief, about to relax. Before he could do anything, a terrifying and violent knocking sounded.
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang!
The man in the suit was halfway through a breath when he suddenly could not get air, choking until his eyes rolled back. He hurriedly patted his chest to calm himself, moved closer to the old man, and stared fixedly at the direction of the door.
Under the gaze of the three night watchers, the knocking grew more and more violent.
The thing outside did not leave for a long time. The force gradually increased, until in the end it was almost like smashing the door.
Boom boom boom!
Boom boom boom!
Again and again, dust fell from the doorframe. It seemed as if the entire house was shaking, making people unable to stop worrying that this solid wooden door might be smashed through.
Now, not only the man in the suit and the timid man, but even the skinny old man who had always remained calm could not help but tense up under this terrifying atmosphere.
After all, this was a B-rank world. It was possible that the other party really would break through the door and charge in before three o’clock.
No one could say for sure.
“Old Ye, what do we do?” The man in the suit looked panicked.
The skinny old man ignored him and turned his gaze to the timid man on the other side. “Xiao Chen, tell me. Will the thing outside break in?”
The timid man, Xiao Chen, hearing this, clenched his teeth and closed his eyes.
Five seconds later, he spat out a mouthful of blood, opened his eyes, and said weakly, “Devil… the devil is coming in…”
The skinny old man’s face instantly turned paler than paper.
It was over.
Xiao Chen’s mentality and ability were not impressive. The reason he had been recruited into the team was that in a certain world, he had obtained a skill similar to spirit communication, allowing him to predict ghosts’ movements and attack intentions.
This allowed him to be invincible in ghost-type game worlds, avoiding fatal killing opportunities several times.
The team had been delighted and recruited him, placing him beside the skinny old man, hoping he could learn a thing or two and grow stronger.
The two of them had been bound through several worlds already, and each time Xiao Chen’s predictions had been accurate, without a single mistake.
The ghost was about to come in.
The skinny old man’s first reaction was to take Xiao Chen and run upstairs, leaving the man in the suit downstairs.
After all, he was just a hired muscle. Losing one meant they could recruit another. A player with a special ability like Xiao Chen was much rarer. However, just as this thought flashed through his mind, he caught sight of the man in the suit staring straight at him out of the corner of his eye.
The skinny old man’s thoughts shifted, and he quickly hid his intentions.
He was the strategist, Xiao Chen was the prophet. Neither of them could beat the man in the suit. Without a foolproof plan, they did not dare to betray him openly.
But other than sacrificing a teammate, what other way was there to escape this calamity?
They clearly had not triggered any killing condition…
The skinny old man felt utterly despairing, and a sense of resentment also surged up from the depths of his heart.
At that moment, a faint cracking sound rang out.
The three of them all looked toward the door and discovered a crack at the joint between the doorframe and the lock.
The door was broken open.
…
Ji Xiu took his family for a stroll around the residential complex, then headed outside the complex.
To be honest, although this place was haunted, the greenery and construction were really well done. As a player, Ji Xiu could not go more than five hundred meters outside the complex, but just around the complex, there were already many shops and entertainment facilities.
Twenty-four-hour convenience stores and internet cafes, barbecue stalls whose fragrance drifted for ten li, a snack street with complete specialties…
It was the time when nightlife was beginning, lively and noisy.
Ji Chunsheng did not know where to look. He looked left and right, wanting to try everything.
Ji Xiu indulged him and let him choose freely.
To fit his identity setting, the game had put more than a hundred thousand in his salary card. Over three days, as long as he did not spend extravagantly, it was impossible to use it all with normal spending.
By the time it was almost three in the morning, the whole family had finished a full round of sightseeing and lazily headed back.
Taking the elevator up to the thirteenth floor, just as they stepped out, Ji Xiu sensed that something was wrong.
Because Room 1309 was right next to the elevator, less than ten meters away, it was easy to hear the commotion coming from inside.
His hand subconsciously tightened, then he came back to his senses and realized he had not brought the firewood chopper. He was briefly distracted, but quickly recovered and steeled himself.
Since he did not have a handy weapon, he would use reason to convince them.
Ji Xiu walked around the corner toward 1309.
At the door, he discovered that the lock had been smashed. His brows immediately furrowed.
This ghost really had no manners. Even ten-year-old Chunsheng would not do such an impolite thing.
If you want to come in, then come in. If you want to harm people, then harm people. What did the door do wrong to deserve being treated like this?
Ji Xiu’s impression of this sudden ghost thing worsened. He sank his face and pushed the door open.
The living room was a complete mess.
At a glance, the ghost filled with yin energy was not the most eye-catching thing. What truly grabbed attention was the internal conflict among the three night watchers.
The man in the suit did not know how he had been injured. While resisting the ghost, he retreated backward with difficulty.
The wounds on his body were clearly man-made. Probably knowing he was doomed, and unwilling to let the person who hurt him go, he clung tightly to the skinny old man’s leg, trapping him at the stairs on the first floor.
The timid man who had been under the skinny old man’s protection saw this. His expression changed drastically. He glanced at the skinny old man and fled upstairs in panic.
The skinny old man angrily shouted his name, “Xiao Chen,” but Xiao Chen never looked back even once. He quickly fled in a sorry state and disappeared.
The skinny old man’s face was filled with despair. His eyes flashed with ferocity as he glared at the man in the suit on the ground. A dagger flicked out into his hand.
The man in the suit was already dodging the ghost, with only a quarter of his attention on this side. By the time he noticed, it was already too late. The dagger flashing with cold light was right in front of his eyes.
“What are you doing?”
Ji Xiu’s voice rang out. His long arm extended, grabbing the old man’s wrist. His tone carried a trace of confusion and a sense of disappointment at their failure, as he said bluntly, “The enemy is right in front of you, and you still have the mind to fight among yourselves!”
The skinny old man looked up at Ji Xiu. After a moment of blankness, he thought of how Ji Xiu had seen him trying to kill to cover up, and his expression became ugly and dark.
Meanwhile, the man in the suit, saved at the brink of life, felt the tension in his mind loosen by three parts. He gasped for breath, looked up at Ji Xiu’s back, and felt as if he were seeing a deity descending from the heavens.
If Ji Xiu had not acted in time, he would definitely have had his throat cut by this old bastard.
The skinny old man did not know how to explain his actions, because it was indeed him who had stabbed the man in the suit from behind while he was fighting the ghost, planning to knock him down and sacrifice him to preserve his own life. Later, he had even planned to silence him personally.
Now that Ji Xiu had seen it, there was nothing he could argue.
However, while everyone was immersed in this strange atmosphere, in a place no one noticed, the ghost who had failed to land a hit twisted his face viciously. Seeing that someone dared to ignore him, his resentment flared. He decisively abandoned the man in the suit and charged straight at Ji Xiu.
Ji Xiu had his back to him, his expression calm, seemingly unaware.
The man in the suit looked up, his pupils shaking violently, and shouted hoarsely, “Watch out!”
In the ghost’s eyes, a ferocious, icy malice surfaced. His black, rotten claws slashed toward Ji Xiu’s back in slow motion.
The next second, Ji Xiu turned around and grabbed his arm.
The ghost: “……”
Ji Xiu held the ghost. His attitude was flat, his expression casual. It looked even easier than drinking water or eating a meal. With a casual grab, he subdued the vicious and brutal evil ghost who had smashed the door and charged in on a killing spree.
Not only was the ghost stunned, the other two people present were also dumbfounded.
There was even such an operation?
Of course, the ghost was not going to admit defeat so easily. He quickly changed expression and tried to break free, but for some reason, no matter what he did, he could not escape Ji Xiu’s control.
Driven mad by the stimulation, terrifying killing intent and red light flashed in his eyes. The grievous wounds from before his death appeared on his face. He let out a shrill ghostly scream and launched another attack at Ji Xiu.
Ji Xiu kicked his leg and pressed the ghost down onto the floor.
“Can you talk properly?”
He truly wanted to use reason to convince him. Why would they not give him this chance?
Ji Xiu sighed. “Forget it. I know you didn’t have it easy either. You all became ghosts because you had grievances in life. I won’t make things hard for you. Go out now, take a taxi to the nearest Buddhist temple, find someone to help you achieve salvation, and I’ll let you go.”
The ghost: “……”
Silence. Eternal silence.
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