The smooth and polished walls of the elevator reflected Qing Li’s figure from different angles as she raised her hand and pressed the button for the 4th floor.
The elevator emitted a heavy, muffled sound of descent before beginning to slowly rise.
“Creak——”
From the top of the elevator came the sound of steel cables grinding and swaying, though the space above was clearly empty.
“Creak——”
The sound was so vivid, as if something invisible were swinging back and forth, suspended above the elevator.
The viewers in the livestream, thinking of the flayed Ma Yue, felt an overwhelming chill beyond the screen.
[Could that sound be Ma Yue’s body swinging back and forth above?]
[But there’s nothing in the elevator. If it were Ma Yue’s corpse, Little Village Girl would have noticed it immediately.]
[I don’t know why, but even though there’s no terrifying imagery, this inexplicable chill makes me shiver uncontrollably.]
[Look at you, so spineless. Unlike me—I’ve already printed Little Village Girl’s photos and plastered them all over my walls. With her protection, ghosts are nothing to fear.]
[Are you sure you’re not just a pervert?]
Qing Li raised her head. From her perspective, there was indeed nothing in the elevator, not even a trace of yin energy.
But she knew that Ma Yue’s corpse was still hanging directly above her.
She could even feel the corpse passing through her body, its icy yin energy attempting to corrode her internal organs, only to be completely dissipated by the spiritual energy within her.
“Tsk, how interesting.”
Qing Li narrowed her eyes. She had already uncovered the secrets of this hotel.
“Ding——”
The elevator ascended from the first floor to the fourth, and the doors slowly opened to either side.
Qing Li stepped out, greeted by an overwhelming wave of yin energy mixed with a strong, foul stench.
However, to the viewers in the livestream, the hallway in front of her appeared no different from before—until they noticed a striking, blood-red drag mark on the floor that stretched from the staircase to the far end of the corridor…
Qing Li first approached Room 404. Standing at the doorway, her gaze fell upon the wooden door, and her expression darkened.
The door was covered with scratch marks from fingernails and dried bloodstains. She even spotted a fully intact fingernail embedded in the wooden surface.
[Holy crap, what’s with this door?]
[It’s not just the door. Hasn’t anyone noticed that the entire hotel seems… different now?]
[What’s going on?]
Some had already pieced together the truth, though others remained completely baffled.
[Ever heard of alternate dimensions? If I’m not mistaken, this hotel is in two overlapping spaces. Little Village Girl was in the real-world space before, but after stepping out of the elevator, she entered another dimension.]
As soon as this comment was sent, Wen Yi and the others appeared in Qing Li’s livestream feed.
They walked over from the stairwell, a group of people seemingly oblivious to the bloodstains on the floor, heading toward Room 403.
Qing Li stood at the doorway of Room 404, arms crossed, not moving out of the way.
A bizarre scene unfolded.
Wen Yi, Zhou Ya, and the others walked straight through Qing Li’s body.
The same location, but different spaces.
The veil of mystery surrounding the hotel was lifted…
“The door to Room 404 is closed. Do you think that Qing Li is back?” Wang Tingting asked casually.
Chen Dalei muttered under his breath, his voice barely audible, “Hopefully, she died in the elevator.”
At this moment, he had no idea Qing Li was standing right beside him.
Hearing someone curse her death to her face, Qing Li raised an eyebrow. She traced a spiritual incantation in the palm of her hand and swung her hand straight at Chen Dalei’s face, giving him a solid slap.
“Smack——”
The slap was heavy, sending the burly Chen Dalei flying. His body crashed into the hallway wall.
“G-ghost… there’s a ghost hitting me…”
Chen Dalei clutched the swollen side of his face, his widened pupils filled with terror.
But… why did this slap feel strangely familiar?
The scene happened so quickly that the other players didn’t even have time to react.
Wen Yi’s expression darkened. Just as he was about to speak and tell everyone to leave immediately, a sharp pain between his legs caused his face to turn pale.
“Wen Yi, what’s wrong?” Zhou Ya noticed something was off about him.
The man bent over, his thighs pressed together in an unnatural position as cold sweat dripped from his forehead.
“I… I’m fine.”
Wen Yi gritted his teeth, enduring the excruciating pain, and said, “This place isn’t safe. We need to leave now.”
The group hastily fled in panic…
In the livestream, the audience was thoroughly entertained.
[Hahaha, Little Village Girl’s kick was absolutely legendary.]
[Serves him right. He wanted to take advantage of Little Village Girl before. Just one kick is letting him off easy—it should’ve been cut off completely.]
[I turned the volume all the way up and I swear I heard the sound of something breaking.]
[Listen~ to the sound of cracking eggs~ Who’s sighing about broken eggs~ yet doesn’t know who’s to blame~]
[Female ghost: In the end, I’m the one who bears all the infamy.]
Qing Li withdrew her foot, looking at her shoe with a disappointed expression. “Sigh, my shoe got dirty.”
Even though there were two layers of fabric in between, it still got dirty.
“System, does the store have shoes?” Qing Li asked.
The system, which had been playing deaf and mute, immediately responded upon hearing the prospect of a transaction: “Of course! Leather shoes, winter boots, high heels—I’ve got every style you could want.”
Qing Li: “Then give me a pair of the free ones.”
System: “Nope. Get lost.”
The emotionless system, after dealing with Qing Li for a few days, had actually developed a temper because of her.
This player was stingy to an outrageous degree.
Seeing that she had annoyed the system to the point of cursing, Qing Li reluctantly compromised. “Fine, then give me the cheapest pair.”
System: “The cheapest shoes cost 150 Popularity Points. No bargaining, no returns.”
Hearing how expensive they were, Qing Li clicked her tongue and muttered, “You greedy dog, you’re nothing but a shameless profiteer.”
System: “You’re in no position to say that to me.”
Qing Li: “Not buying. Get lost.”
With the deal off the table, any pretense of civility was gone.
But Qing Li quickly figured out where to get a pair of free shoes. Humming in a cheerful mood, she walked from the stairwell down to the first-floor lobby.
The lifeless receptionist still stood there motionless, like a soulless puppet. Her blank, expressionless face was fixed on the entrance outside, waiting for new guests to arrive.
But what she didn’t know was that a giant hammer was now hovering over her head, ready to strike at any moment.
“Boom——”
With a loud crash, the receptionist was smashed to the ground. The human skin mask on her face instantly shattered into pieces, revealing her true form.
It was a wooden puppet’s face, but her eyes, ears, nose, and tongue were all replaced with human facial features.
The destruction of her human skin mask enraged the receptionist. She lay on the ground, roaring furiously at an empty space: “Kill you—kill you—”
Her bloodshot eyes turned a blazing crimson.
Qing Li quickly and deftly slipped off the receptionist’s shoes and bolted away.
Her movements were so smooth and practiced that it seemed as though she had done this countless times before.
The receptionist stared in disbelief as her floating shoes escaped into the distance, her eyes nearly popping out of their sockets.
Damn it! Which shameless bastard would stoop so low as to even steal from a ghost…