Chapter 27: Hide-and-Seek on the 8th Floor

Chapter 27: Hide-and-Seek on the 8th Floor

The younger sister covered her ears with both hands. The voice emanating from the water tank was like a piercing noise, stabbing at her eardrums and threatening to split her skull.

The older sister also pressed a hand to her temple, though she seemed to endure it with less agony.

"Though my sister and I share the same Talent, the voices she hears are much more intense than mine," the older sister explained.

Ji Yan studied the moss-covered water tank and asked, "What exactly is the Supernatural Entity saying?"

The younger sister clutched her head and replied, "It's saying it's so cold inside, so stuffy... it can't breathe... It's... begging for help."

Begging for help?

So the Supernatural Entity was trapped inside.

Who had thrown it in there?

Ji Yan pondered for a moment before speaking. "Stay here. I'll push open the concrete lid of the water tank and see if it comes out."

With that, he stood and approached the tank.

Perhaps due to the Grandmother Supernatural Entity's black meat stew—which had boosted his "100 specter power"—the massive concrete slab, weighing several hundred kilograms, felt as light as a wooden board under Ji Yan's hands. With a slight push, it shifted aside.

The slab opened just enough to reveal a gap half an arm's length wide.

In the next instant, a foul stench and a surge of black mist erupted from within the water tank.

Ji Yan peered into the pitch-black interior.

Faintly, a pair of ghostly pale eyes stared back at him, unblinking.

Then, a bloated, bluish-black hand, swollen and bubbling, reached out and gripped the edge of the tank.

"Don't panic. I'm here to help you out," Ji Yan said, attempting to communicate since the entity hadn't attacked him immediately.

If he could get this Supernatural Entity out, the water contamination issue should be resolved.

Yet the moment he spoke, those pale eyes widened in terror. "Who are you? Who told you to open this?!"

The next second, the blackened hand shot toward Ji Yan's throat.

Already prepared, Ji Yan swung his hammer before the hand could reach him. With a forceful yank, a chunk of rotting flesh tore away.

The Supernatural Entity inside immediately retracted its hand.

"What the hell? Begging for help but refusing to be saved?" Ji Yan muttered, frowning at the torn flesh.

From behind, the older sister, Zhong Yi, spoke up. "It seems this Supernatural Entity will only allow its father to rescue it. No one else."

The younger sister, Zhong Ting, added, "It says this is a game of Hide-and-Seek. As long as its father hasn't found it, the game isn't over—it hasn't lost yet."

"Hide-and-Seek?" Ji Yan echoed. "Which room's resident is it?"

The twins shook their heads.

"Hearing this much is already a stretch. It's been wailing nonstop!"

Ji Yan's eyes flickered as a thought struck him. He picked up the chunk of rotting flesh.

Instantly, a line of Hidden Information appeared before his eyes:

[That day, Dad played Hide-and-Seek with me. He said the game couldn't end until he found me. So I listened and ran out of Room 804, hiding inside the rooftop water tank. It's so cold... so stuffy... Why hasn't Dad found me yet?]

Ji Yan's brow twitched.

"Room 804... an 8th-floor resident..."

A headache crept in.

The 8th-floor residents were all ruthless figures—he really didn’t want to deal with them.

But if their child had hidden in the rooftop water tank and still hadn’t been found...

Was it carelessness? Or had they deliberately chosen not to look?

Without delving deeper into thought, at least there was now a clear target for the clues.

"You know where its father is?" Zhong Yi, the older sister, with sharp ears, caught Ji Yan's muttering.

"Room 804."

Ji Yan jumped down from the water tank and tossed away the rotten piece of meat: "You two coming along?"

"How did you get this information?" the younger sister asked, glancing at the disgusting piece of meat.

"Everyone’s got a Talent, right?"

"What’s your Talent? It seems pretty impressive."

"It’s pretty useless, nothing to brag about." Ji Yan waved his hand, naturally keeping it to himself.

The younger sister’s face flushed red with anger: "That’s not fair! I told you mine!"

The older sister pulled her sibling behind her and spoke up: "You’re going to the 8th floor?"

"The residents there are..."

"I know. Want to go instead while I stay here as lookout?" Ji Yan countered.

The older sister smiled faintly: "You go ahead. My sister and I will stay here. If we find anything else, we’ll let you know when you return."

"Don’t worry, I’ve got connections on the 8th floor."

Ji Yan dusted off his clothes.

The older sister looked slightly surprised: "You’ve already made contact with the 8th-floor residents? How close are you?"

"Life-and-death bond, what do you think?"

With that, he waved and left the rooftop.

As soon as Ji Yan was gone, the younger sister tugged at her sibling’s hand: "Sis, he’s dealt with the Supernatural Entities on the 8th floor. Should we try to get on his good side?"

The older sister shook her head: "You believe everything he says?"

"Did you see how forced his smile was? Just putting on a front."

"His profile shows he’s survived less than 7 days. How likely is that?"

......

8th Floor.

The moment his foot stepped into the corridor, his vision was severely obstructed.

Silence reigned. Even the wandering Nighttime Supernatural Entities seemed to avoid this floor entirely.

Ji Yan retrieved the flashlight given by the Mother Supernatural Entity from his Toolbar.

The orange cold light pierced through the ink-like darkness. The 8th floor was unusually tidy—no trash, no bloodstains, the floor even covered with a red carpet.

Following the door numbers, Ji Yan soon found Room 804.

At the doorway, a little boy in a bellyband crouched, playing with a dead bird in his hands.

Spotting Ji Yan approaching with the flashlight, he raised the dead bird and grinned: "Big brother, this one’s dead. Got anything fun in your hands?"

Ji Yan glanced at the half-open door behind the Ghostly Child and asked: "Are your parents home?"

The boy giggled: "Hehehe, give me something fun, and I’ll tell you."

Ji Yan hesitated. The only things he had on him were three coffin nails and an eyeball gouged from the Wraith Specter on the 7th floor.

As he pondered, the half-open door swung wider.

A white-haired woman in pajamas stepped out and picked up the child.

She glanced at Ji Yan, her gaze as if looking at a filthy rat scavenging in the gutter: "Good boy, did you forget Mommy’s words again? Don’t talk to these lower-floor beings. They’re all dirty."

"You’re Mommy’s precious. Stay clean—don’t let them taint you."

Ji Yan: "..."

The Ghostly Child, however, wasn’t happy: "Mommy, I don’t have any toys left! This big brother has lots of fun things on him—I can see them!"

The Mother Supernatural Entity halted her steps, somewhat exasperated.

Ji Yan seized the opportunity to speak: "Sister, I was looking for you—"

The Mother Supernatural Entity interrupted, slightly bending her proud figure, the V-neck of her dress revealing a vast expanse of deathly pale skin. "Calling me 'sister'? Your tongue is quite sweet."

"Where do you live?"

Ji Yan had no choice but to answer first: "4th floor."

"Oh, an outsider tenant from the 4th floor."

The Mother Supernatural Entity followed up: "First time on the 8th floor?"

Ji Yan hesitated briefly before nodding slightly.

The Mother Supernatural Entity let out a drawn-out "Oh" again: "So, no connections on the 8th floor. That makes things simple!"

The moment her words fell, the amusement in the Mother Supernatural Entity's eyes from just a second ago turned into cold arrogance. A hand shot straight toward Ji Yan.

In an instant, a terrifying aura filled the corridor. Ji Yan felt as though Death's scythe had hooked his throat—paralyzed, unable to move...