“Where is it?”
Everyone looked at Gu Jiu with delight. This was the best news they had heard so far.
Gu Jiu replied, “On the hidden third floor.”
The group froze for a moment, and a chill ran down their spines.
Whether it was the ghostly female servant blocking the elevator or the group of fierce ghosts on the hidden third floor, both were daunting adversaries. Facing either would be a tremendous challenge for the players.
Zhan Shaohong timidly suggested again, “How about I use a tool to clear the level?”
“Get lost!” Chai Yingying roared once more, treating anyone who hindered her from earning points as an enemy.
Zhan Shaohong was momentarily stunned before his eyes widened in anger. “Did you just tell me to get lost? Don’t you admire me? Is this how you treat the man you supposedly admire? Chai Yingying, you—”
Everyone else: “….” Who let this idiot in?
A hand reached out, shoving him firmly against the back wall of the elevator.
“Shut up.” Lu Ji said coldly.
Seeing who had pushed him, Zhan Shaohong shrank back silently, no longer daring to make a sound.
Although the other players were tempted to let Zhan Shaohong use his tool to pass the level, it was clear that Chai Yingying and Gu Jiu were intent on confronting the “Lingyuan” head-on. Meanwhile, Zhan Shaohong had retreated into silence, leaving no room for further discussion.
Chai Yingying turned directly to Gu Jiu and asked, “What’s your plan?”
“First, we return to the third floor.”
“And how do we do that?”
Chai Yingying glanced at the elevator doors, which had been stuck for ages due to years of disrepair, and knew they couldn’t rely on it.
She then looked at the female attendant standing just beyond the elevator. The blood-red mist emanating from her had already enveloped the entire first-floor lobby, obscuring visibility. There was no need to test it to know that this bloody fog was dangerous and couldn’t be easily traversed. Passing through it to reach the emergency stairwell to the third floor was impossible.
The only option was a direct confrontation with the female servant.
Although the Red Thread of Fate was currently keeping the waitress under control, the tool wouldn’t work forever, and its effects would eventually wear off.
Gu Jiu understood Chai Yingying’s concerns. Facing the servant head-on at this moment was definitely unwise.
She turned to the people in the elevator and asked a very serious question: “Does anyone here know how to fix an elevator?”
Everyone stared at her blankly, utterly dumbfounded.
“Fix… an elevator?” Wan Xingzhou stammered. “Miss, do you really think this elevator can be fixed? And even if it can, would it work?”
This wasn’t the real world where broken elevators could simply be repaired. Who knew if the logic of the game world even allowed for such things?
“Why not?” Gu Jiu countered, “Just tell me directly, can you fix it or not?”
The players exchanged glances and collectively shook their heads.
Their real-world professions had nothing to do with fixing elevators.
Not wanting to disappoint his goddess, Zhan Shaohong raised his hand and said, “I can’t fix it, but I can blow it up—how about we climb up the elevator shaft?”
Everyone: “….”
Gu Jiu said, “That’s also an option.”
Were they seriously going to climb up the elevator shaft?
A chill ran down everyone’s spines. However, seeing Gu Jiu confidently step out of the elevator, coming within a meter of the ghostly waitress and the surrounding blood mist, their anxiety only increased.
Wan Xingzhou and Lu Ji trusted Gu Jiu’s judgment and followed her without hesitation, stepping out of the elevator together.
Chai Yingying, bold and adventurous by nature, hesitated only briefly before gritting her teeth and deciding to stick with Gu Jiu. Given the current situation, she couldn’t think of a better solution and had no choice but to place her trust in her.
One by one, the group stepped out of the elevator, stopping just a meter away from the ghostly servant.
The distance was far from safe, but there was no other option.
Zhan Shaohong glanced at Gu Jiu and noticed that his goddess was looking at him encouragingly. Elated, he pulled out a talisman and flung it back into the elevator.
With a loud boom, the elevator car was blasted to smithereens.
Now, only the empty elevator shaft remained. The dark void below seemed bottomless, like the gaping maw of a ghost ready to devour anyone who fell in.
The players swallowed hard and looked up.
From the first floor to the third, given the height of Ai Hui Hotel’s floors, it was roughly ten meters—not too outrageous.
“Hurry up,” Gu Jiu urged. “The ghost’s strength will increase, and the Red Thread of Fate won’t hold much longer. We have to get to the third floor as quickly as possible.”
Her words sparked a sense of urgency in everyone.
Lu Ji summoned dozens of origami cranes and said to them, “Just climb up. Don’t worry, the cranes will help you get to the top.”
Wait, was that really possible?
The players were both surprised and thrilled, looking at Lu Ji with gratitude and amazement. Even Zhan Shaohong, who was normally terrified of her, was stunned.
He silently mused silently, Is this flat-chested violent chick actually this kind-hearted? Could it be that appearances are deceiving and she’s actually a good person?
But Lu Ji wasn’t doing this out of the goodness of his heart. What did the others’ lives matter to him? He knew the situation on the third floor—if Gu Jiu was going up, these people had to go up too, to handle the dirty work.
“What are you daydreaming about? Move it!”
Chai Yingying, seeing Zhan Shaohong spacing out at such a critical moment, felt a surge of irritation. She grabbed him roughly, ensuring he wouldn’t cause any trouble. If anything happened to this pampered second-generation rich kid, her points and tools would go up in smoke.
Having protected Zhan Shaohong this far, Chai Yingying, being the ultimate miser, could not accept a mission failure. Like a fussy nanny, she kept him close at all times—not only to ensure his safety but also to prevent him from using his rare and powerful tools to brute-force their way through the game.
Gu Jiu was the first to leap into the elevator shaft.
As her hands gripped the rough walls of the shaft to steady herself, something appeared beneath her feet to support her weight, keeping her from hanging in mid-air.
Under the beam of her flashlight, she saw origami cranes fluttering through the shaft. The cranes flew to each player’s feet, forming stepping stones to bear their weight.
With the help of the cranes, the players found climbing surprisingly easy.
Each player felt a sense of awe—these paper creations were unexpectedly useful. They wondered whether Lu Ji had bought them from the game’s store or if she possessed some special ability.
Before long, they reached the third floor.
Gu Jiu’s eyes flickered as she noticed the tightly shut elevator doors. Her rounded nails suddenly lengthened, turning blood-red. With her Demoness Claws, she pierced into the seams of the doors and forcibly tore the tightly-sealed elevator doors apart.
The harsh screech of metal rang out. Before the others could fully process what was happening, Gu Jiu had already ripped the elevator doors open with her bare hands.
She pushed herself up, gracefully leaping onto the third-floor hallway.
The moment she arrived, a blood-soaked ghost appeared, baring its mouth in a gruesome grin. Its claw-like hand swiped at her, leaving a deep gouge in the wall.
Gu Jiu frowned slightly. Dodging the attack, she lashed out with her Demoness Claws, targeting the ghost’s neck with precision and ferocity. With a single motion, she snapped its neck cleanly.
Lu Ji and Wan Xingzhou followed her onto the third floor.
Witnessing Gu Jiu decisively break the ghost’s neck, Wan Xingzhou sucked in a sharp breath, instinctively touching his own neck.
Having previously fought these ghosts, he knew that despite their horrifying appearance, they were difficult to harm. Even the Red Sword could only graze them. Yet Gu Jiu had effortlessly killed one with a single move. The impact of this realization was immense. It reminded him of when she uncovered the truth behind the Death Movie with just a few words, casually dispatching the Helan couple.
No matter how insurmountable the challenge, Gu Jiu always made it look easy, inspiring hope and invigorating those around her.
The other players soon climbed up, only to see the decapitated ghost lying on the floor. They gulped nervously.
“W-Who killed it?” Zhan Shaohong stammered, both frightened and awed. He couldn’t decide if he was more scared of the ghost’s grisly appearance or the person who had killed it—either way, both seemed terrifying.
“I did,” Gu Jiu replied calmly.
She smiled at Zhan Shaohong, her expression gentle, her demeanor delicate and refined.
Zhan Shaohong shrank back behind Chai Yingying for a moment, but quickly straightened himself, puffing out his chest. Even if the goddess killed it, she’s still the goddess! She’s not scary at all!
Seeing his reaction, the others shook their heads in silent exasperation. This guy was a hopeless sycophant.
Just then, the players noticed that every door on the third floor was open.
The fierce ghosts that had been hiding behind the doors emerged. Even the one Gu Jiu had decapitated was now crawling upright, holding its severed head in its hands.
In an instant, the players were surrounded by ten fierce ghosts.
Players: “!!!!!!!!!” We’re doomed! How are we supposed to face ten fierce ghosts at once?!
“Wait, something’s off. Why are there only ten fierce ghosts? Weren’t there supposed to be eleven?” Wan Xingzhou asked, puzzled.
Apart from the manager’s office, the other eleven rooms each housed a fierce ghost. That he could notice such a detail in the heat of the moment was both laughable and exasperating. Someone snapped impatiently, “Isn’t it better to have one less? Facing ten at once is already deadly!”
“What’s the difference between ten and eleven?” Wan Xingzhou said indifferently. “We still have to deal with them all.”
The players: “…” No arguing with that logic.
The fierce ghosts charged toward them, leaving trails of blood wherever they passed. The blood corroded the floor, stripping away its glossy finish and leaving behind dark, jagged scars that pitted the surface.
Seeing the ghosts close in, the players panicked and instinctively tried to dodge. Before they could act, Gu Jiu reached out, grabbed one ghost, and twisted its neck with ease.
The players: “!!!!!” So brutal?!
And she wasn’t done. While snapping the ghost’s neck, Gu Jiu casually asked, “Do you know any ways to kill a fierce ghost?”
That was indeed a good question.
Watching the ghost remain alive despite having its neck broken, they realized how terrifyingly resilient these creatures were—far stronger than ordinary ghosts.
Zhan Shaohong eagerly volunteered, “Let me try!”
He pulled out a blood-red talisman from his pack and flung it at the decapitated ghost. The ghost let out a piercing shriek, its already ghastly appearance becoming even more horrifying before it finally weakened to the brink of death.
But it still wasn’t dead.
Zhan Shaohong’s expression stiffened. His usually reliable tools couldn’t finish off a ghost?
He threw several more anti-ghost items at the advancing group. The attacks weakened the ghosts further but failed to destroy them completely. Nevertheless, six of the ghosts collapsed to the ground.
The remaining four fierce ghosts, however, seemed to grow excited, their faces twisting into grins as they let out triumphant howls. The players’ inability to finish them off seemed to embolden them, making their attacks even more ferocious.
A surge of frustration rose among the players.
When facing so many fierce ghosts alone, the players naturally felt terrified. But now, with everyone together, they found courage in numbers. What’s there to fear?
One player pointed out, “Hey, look at that one with a hole in its stomach—doesn’t it look like that fat middle-aged customer who bullied the female servant?”
Everyone turned to look and immediately recognized the ghost with the hollowed-out belly as the beer-bellied man who was the first to assault a female player.
And he wasn’t alone—the hotel’s manager was there too.
Seeing these two scumbags—well, everyone who died here was either scum or an accomplice—the players felt a surge of righteous anger. Fury boiled over, and they stopped caring about how terrifying the fierce ghosts were. Their first instinct was to beat them down.
The players pulled out ghost-slaying tools, attacking without hesitation. Even if they couldn’t kill the ghosts outright, they could make them suffer.
Gu Jiu was the most ruthless of them all, snapping necks as her first move.
When it came to these vile ghosts, Gu Jiu had long been itching to act. Now that the opportunity presented itself, she didn’t hold back—she was as cold and merciless as one could be.
The players, watching her in action, swallowed nervously. They realized that appearances could be deceiving. Despite her gentle and refined demeanor, Gu Jiu was ferocious and violent beneath the surface, not much different from Chai Yingying.
It confirmed their suspicion—any female player brave enough to face fierce ghosts head-on was far from normal.
Gu Jiu’s actions also spurred the other players into action. Ever since they entered the game world, they had been passively taking hits, unable even to figure out where their enemies were. If they couldn’t defeat the ghostly waitress, surely they could handle these fierce ghosts?
After a round of relentless attacks by the players, the fierce ghosts were left battered and broken, their bodies in disarray. Their once-menacing aura had weakened considerably.
Panting heavily, the players looked at the miserable state of the fierce ghosts and felt a surge of satisfaction—it was a long-awaited release of their pent-up frustration.
When they had been trapped on the third floor, they had been hunted down like dogs by these very ghosts, and three of their group had died. It was impossible not to feel some sorrow over that. But now, with everyone united, plenty of tools at their disposal, and Zhan Shaohong—the wealthy second-generation—throwing resources around, what did they have to fear?
After dealing with all ten fierce ghosts, Wan Xingzhou wiped the sweat off his face and randomly ran over to kick open one of the tightly shut doors.
Bang! The door swung open, revealing a fierce ghost hiding inside.
The moment Wan Xingzhou got a clear look at the ghost’s appearance, he froze.