C8 Injured

We had been walking for quite a while before we finally hailed a taxi. The driver gave me an odd look as we got in. The little girl shared some of her past with me, as well as the history of this building, but there wasn't much to it. The notorious building in Dongcheng dated back several decades and was originally a large family estate. It changed hands multiple times, and each new resident seemed to encounter inexplicable, bizarre incidents. The most peculiar case involved a well-known scholar who had penned many beautiful articles. After moving into the house, he inexplicably took his own life, causing quite a stir. Eventually, the government decided to suppress these occurrences by completely rebuilding the foundation and erected a fifteen-story building in its place. They hoped this would resolve the issues, but the outcome was uncertain.

Back at the office, the little girl informed me she couldn't join me inside. I asked if I really had to stay in this building until next year's Ghost Festival. She solemnly nodded in affirmation.

After parting ways, I headed straight to the surveillance room. Wu Yi wasn't there today, so I sat alone next to the monitor screens. Knowing the building's hidden secrets had left me feeling uneasy, like a caged bird unaware of when danger might strike.

Around ten o'clock, I noticed two young men and a woman appear at the entrance. They looked to be in their twenties. The woman, dressed in a miniskirt, trailed behind the men who were peering into the door. Sensing something amiss, I grabbed the security baton and headed out. Before I reached the door, I saw the men tampering with it, seemingly trying to pry it open. I shouted at them and approached quickly, demanding to know their intentions.

One of the men, sporting yellow-dyed hair and an unconventional outfit, and the other, a slim figure with a cigarette dangling from his lips, looked at me dismissively.

"Brother, open the door so we can talk inside," the yellow-haired man said with a smirk.

Already in a foul mood from the recent string of events, I was eager to dismiss them. I told them we were closed and to come back during business hours tomorrow.

The young man with the cigarette smacked his lips and said, "I've heard this place is haunted. Never seen a ghost in my life, and I'm curious to check it out!"

I couldn't help but feel irritated at his cocky demeanor. Impatiently, I snapped, "For the love of God, just scram. Keep it up, and you'll have me to answer to!"

The guy with the yellow hair tutted, "You've got nerve."

The girl standing behind them shot me a dirty look. She was muttering something under her breath, and though I couldn't make it out, it was clearly not complimentary. I double-checked the door was secure before I finally entered after they had left.

Around eleven, I was startled by a series of thumping noises from upstairs. It sounded like footsteps, or maybe something had fallen. Chills ran down my spine. It wasn't even midnight, and there was already activity upstairs. Initially, I feared it might be something supernatural, but then I faintly heard voices. That's when it hit me—those jerks must have found a way to climb up there!

The window on the second floor was only a little over two meters off the ground, a challenging climb for a woman without assistance, but with a human ladder or some other means, who knows? Not wanting to waste a second, I turned on my phone's flashlight and gripped my stick tightly as I hurried upstairs.

I figured it was two guys and a girl. If it came down to a fight, I might not be at a disadvantage given their scrawny builds. Halfway up the stairs, a sinking feeling stopped me in my tracks. Something was off. The talking had ceased, and the silence was so profound I could have heard a pin drop. I wondered if they were planning to ambush me. The hallway was dim, and without any light on the second floor, it was pitch black. A surprise hit from behind, and I'd be done for. I debated whether to retreat and call the police when a cat's screech from upstairs made my skin crawl.

A bloodcurdling scream followed.

I realized something was terribly wrong. The saying 'curiosity killed the cat' couldn't be more accurate. Those three fools had no business being here, and it looked like they were paying the price! I charged up the stairs with my stick, fumbling in the dark for the light switch. After several attempts, I found it was broken.

Suddenly, a cry pierced the air. I quickly responded, "Where are you now? I'm on my way!"

The crying softened, replaced by the sound of sobs. When I found the girl, she was bound to a chair, her mouth wrapped in a bandage. A chill ran down my spine. After ripping off the bandage, I asked her where the two men were. She barely got the word "behind" out before I felt a blow to my head, sending me sprawling to the ground in pain. The girl's cries turned to desperate shouts, but after a few yells, the blond man gagged her again, leaving her to only shed tears and look at me helplessly, unable to scream. The blond man approached me, hurling insults.

"Thought you were tough, huh? Damn, this is what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong," he sneered, as the second man bound me and prepared to toss me out. The blond man lit a cigarette nonchalantly.

Blood was dripping from my head, my hands stained crimson. I bit down hard, trying to muster the strength to fight back, but I was powerless. I could only watch as the two men secured my hands with a belt.

The skinny man yanked my hair, dragging me toward the stairs to the second floor. The blond man interjected, "Forget it, just throw him in the elevator. Let's make it quick and avoid a fatality."

The skinny man, grinning, pressed the elevator button. As the elevator arrived, he threw me in. Perhaps it was the blood loss, but my head felt foggy. Still, the thought of being thrown into the elevator sent a shiver through me. The blond man was crafty; he stepped into the elevator and pressed every button from floors 1 to 15, then turned to me with a smirk, "Moron, you're getting off easy today!"

The skinny man moved toward the girl, intent on undressing her, but the blond man slapped him away, declaring, "I go first."

Behind me, the faint sound of sobbing continued. Then, a dreadful realization hit me. When I first came upstairs, I heard the girl's screams. The men knew I would take the bait, so they silenced her. Then came a cat's cry, followed by the unmistakable sound of sobbing. Wait a minute, that didn't make sense. If her mouth was sealed, how could she speak? Unless...

As the elevator doors sealed shut, it began its ascent, creeping upwards at a snail's pace. My heart lodged itself in my throat.

Desperately, I struggled to reach for the elevator button, but my body felt utterly drained of strength. Each time the doors parted or sealed, I was consumed by a sense of impending peril.

I had no idea what sight would greet me upon the next opening, nor what might enter upon the next closing.

As the doors closed once more, the next stop was the 14th floor. I dared not even breathe too loudly, holding my breath in anticipation. The 14th floor at night was an enigma to me, and the unknown was all the more petrifying. A little girl had warned me that those who dared to venture there after dark never returned.

A faint click, and the elevator ground to a halt—I had arrived at the 14th floor.

I was seething with rage at those two jerks. As the elevator doors inched open, I couldn't bring myself to look, not until I heard something roll to my feet. Only then did I muster the courage to look up, having braced myself for the worst. Could it be a severed head?

A bloodied head, eyes still staring at me?

Or perhaps Wu Yi's severed arm?

In moments of sheer desperation, fear becomes an unknown concept. When my eyes finally made sense of the scene, I was frozen in shock, fixated on the flashlight that had rolled toward me. It took a moment to realize it was the very one I had given away. With great difficulty, I shifted my gaze beyond the elevator, where the sight of a woman in white sent a chill through my entire being.

In an instant, the apparition zipped right before me. By the time I came to my senses, her powerful hands were clamped around my neck, and no amount of struggling could pry them loose. Her beautiful face, now pale, was etched with a ferocious intent to kill.

"You won't let me leave, so I won't let you go back. You're going to die!"

I tried to speak, but my face reddened and my neck swelled from the effort to breathe. Suddenly, the elevator lights began to flicker wildly, as if short-circuited. The woman's face in front of me twisted into a grotesque and tormented expression. In my mind, I screamed, "I've done you no wrong, why on earth are you trying to kill me?"

Ghosts don't play by the rules!

As this thought crossed my mind, I was on the brink of death...

I sensed, almost subconsciously, the elevator beginning to descend slowly, eventually coming to a halt on the first floor. A familiar figure pulled me out and warned me that I had just five minutes left. If the elevator doors didn't close on time, the cycle of reincarnation would start!

Perhaps propelled by some unseen force, the terror of dying spurred me into action almost instinctively. I scrambled to the elevator's power control and, with great difficulty, managed to shut it down. Once everything was done, I collapsed on the ground, deflated like a balloon, a sense of liberation washing over me, and the pain from the wound on my head seemed to fade. I didn't know if, after falling asleep like this, I would become the fourth office worker to die...

It's likely that tomorrow's newspaper won't carry the story. Ms. Liu will probably pay to make it all go away, and I'll just silently slip away from this world...

Despite my reluctance, my eyelids grew heavier, and my body felt lighter, as if I were about to take flight, until a voice stopped me in my tracks: "Brother."