At this moment.
Inside the long-abandoned Caesar Hotel.
Yang Jian casually sat on a chair, holding a pencil and drawing paper, sketching a face from memory at an unbelievable speed.
The memory wasnât his own, but from the woman named Huang Ying, who had witnessed a terrifying scene.
It was less than a minute.
On the white paper, a vivid face emerged.
âItâs this person.â Yang Jian put down the pencil, holding up the drawing for a closer look.
In the drawing was a young man whose complexion was dark and dull, lifeless, with even hints of corpse spots appearing. His eyes were open but numb, hollow, utterly devoid of spirit, which suggested the person had already been dead for quite some time.
Moreover, he seemed to have been dead for several days, showing slight signs of decomposition.
But Yang Jian couldnât deduce just from a picture how many days the person had been dead, as supernatural powers can preserve the state of a corpse for long periods, allowing decay without disintegration.
What he needed to see was the personâs appearance to recall where he had encountered this corpse.
Yang Jian possessed the ability to remember anything he saw, but that didnât mean his memory was excellent; it merely allowed him to retrieve past memories at any time, like a computer reading old data again.
âMy memories are too mixed, too many. My mind is filled with countless other peopleâs memories, occasionally surfacing, making everyone seem familiar, as if I know or have seen them somewhere before.â
âBut this corpse probably doesnât belong to other peopleâs memories.â
Yang Jian pondered, recalling his past experiences. Although he didnât remember immediately, as he stared at the sketch in his hand, he quickly retrieved memories related to this person.
He remembered.
It was when he entered Caesar Hotel the second time and took the firewood knife from the tall male corpse.
At that time, he was under the Eight-Tone Music Boxâs curse, not worried about supernatural powers killing him, thereby daring to rush in here, and deeper within Caesar Hotel, he heard piano music from room 71. Thinking there were ghosts in the room, he instead met two people.
A woman named Xiang Lan and a man named Ah Nan.
âThis person is Ah Nan, the one with Xiang Lan before.â Yang Jianâs expression shifted, immediately recalling everything.
No wonder he looked familiar, he had indeed seen this person before.
But he had only met Ah Nan once, and at that time he was focused on the piano music in room 71, so he hardly paid attention to Ah Nanâs appearance.
However, Yang Jian was deeply impressed by the woman named Xiang Lan.
Because Xiang Lan played the second segment of the Eight-Tone Music Box curse melody.
âWhether itâs Xiang Lan or Ah Nan, they should be living together, and danger was indeed present, as after escaping room 71, they didnât head towards Caesar Hotelâs exit, but ran deeper inside, indicating Caesar Hotel wasnât the only village exit.â
âBut they also said theyâve been trapped here for a long time, searching for an exit, which I find curious.â
Yang Jian pondered, recalling some fragments from that time.
Unfortunately, last time he only focused on retrieving the firewood knife, lacking the time to deal with these two people, leaving them be. But now, in someone elseâs memory, he saw Ah Nan, already deceased, unsure whether the woman named Xiang Lan was also dead. If sheâs alive, perhaps thereâs another chance to find her.
Yang Jian didnât know how long he was lost in thought until Li Yang and Tong Qian approached, pulling him back to reality.
âCaptain, weâve searched the hotel. Found some things, but none are important.â Li Yang said, âChecked every room, no supernatural occurrences, no ghosts found.â
Tong Qian added, âOnly found a few corpses dead for a long time, about four or five, and theyâre somewhat unusual.â
âWhatâs unusual?â Yang Jian asked.
Li Yang replied, âTheyâre all ordinary people, nothing special, but their clothing style is notable, not resembling modern fashion, but that of the eighties and nineties, or even seventies. One even dressed like the Republic of China Period.â
âItâs not strange to encounter people long dead in supernatural events. I know that, as people from the past trapped and died in such events arenât rare. Supernatural power preserves the deceased, which is why we see people from various eras.â
âBut this is different; they werenât dead before but were alive, dying later.â
Yang Jian squinted and said, âDo you think thereâs a supernatural entity allowing people from the past to survive till now?â
He glanced at the sketch in his hand,
The person named Xiang Lan and Ah Nan might be from the Republic of China Period.
âItâs possible, given Wang Chalingâs ancient house even has a supernatural pendulum clock that resets time, itâs not entirely unfeasible for such things to appear.â Li Yang said, âBut I think thatâs not the main point; itâs more about where these people came from and why theyâre here.â
âIf they arrived through a supernatural passage, how did they live as ordinary people, surviving in such a dangerous place?â
Yang Jian said, âItâs not difficult for ordinary people to survive in supernatural places; lasting long is the hard part. You also lived in The World of Ghost Drawing for more than half a year.â
Li Yang was momentarily stunned, then said, âI only survived by luck; after all, it was an entire city drawn into the world, this survival is merely statistical bias. As time passes, surely fewer will remain alive, until none are left.â
âIf their environment is like mine, theyâd be dead long ago; how could they possibly survive till now?â
âThereâs no point guessing here; weâll see what happens tonight. Maybe weâll find something.â
After speaking, Yang Jian turned to Tong Qian, âAlso, remember, weâre here to investigate, not handle a supernatural event. There are only supernatural occurrences here, no event happening, so in dangerous situations, we must retreat promptly.â
This ŃĐŸpy wаs gĐ”nĐ”rаtĐ”d frĐŸm ŃĐŸntĐ”nt аt
âAt worst, relocate and expand the blockade area.â
âI understand, I wonât act impulsively.â Tong Qian said.
He understood Yang Jianâs meaning.
If necessary, they could evacuate the city, outright sealing Caesar Hotel, rather than stubbornly confronting a supernatural event.
They cannot afford to lose.
âHowever, Tong Qian and I havenât gone to the fourth floor yet. Captain, do you think itâs necessary to investigate the fourth floor?â Li Yang asked again.
Yang Jian looked at the time: âItâs three oâclock in the afternoon now, and thereâs seven hours until the ten oâclock Tong Qian mentioned. We have plenty of time. Letâs go to the fourth floor, but I need to grab something first.â
Saying this, he stood up.
Water quickly seeped beneath his feet, spreading from around Yang Jianâs feet to form a puddle about six meters in diameter.
This puddle wasnât large, but it seemed to connect to some abyss, causing a chilling sensation.
âThis is Ghost Lake Water.â
Li Yangâs expression shifted slightly. His feet werenât stepping in the water as it automatically bypassed both him and Tong Qian.
Yang Jian squatted down and reached his hand deep into the water.
The water served as a medium, connecting to any place, including the swimming pool at his residence in the Guanjiang Residential Complex in Dachang City.
He grabbed something in the water.
The next moment.
Yang Jian withdrew his hand, and as water splashed, a golden, cracked long spear was taken out from within the water.
âLetâs go.â
Holding the cracked spear, he led the way, leaving behind a trail of wet footprints with each step.
âSo thatâs how it works.â Li Yang stared at the puddle, roughly understanding the situation.
The captainâs spear has gold components, unaffected by supernatural influences, but the water serves as a medium to form a passage to connected places. Yang Jian can directly retrieve anything immersed in the water through this medium, even weapons made of gold.
But itâs not just convenient for retrieving things.
In critical moments, these puddles serve as escape routes; Yang Jian can enter Ghost Lake to flee directly.
Because some areas of the Ghost Domain might be affected, but affecting Ghost Lake is likely not easy.
The three of them joined forces and took the safe staircase back to the fourth floor.
But just walking up the stairs to the fourth floor, they noticed something amiss.
The fourth floorâs walls appeared mottled and aging, exuding a cold aura. The air was also filled with a strong stench of corpses, and light seemed unable to penetrate this floor. Although it shone through an opening, only the opening itself had some brightness, unable to illuminate the surroundings.
âItâs a supernatural influence, and quite severe, if this continues it might form a Ghost Domain.â Yang Jian touched the wall, sensing the unusual aura.
Li Yang asked, âSo, is there a ghost on the fourth floor?â
âThereâs definitely a ghost. The question is whether the ghost is affecting the floor from the fourth floor or from within the corridor. Thatâs uncertain.â
âFollow me.â
Yang Jian didnât hesitate; in the gloomy and oppressive environment, his ghost eye opened, reflecting everything around him in a crimson world.
His steps were swift, almost without hesitation, heading in a specific direction.
Tong Qian and Li Yang followed closely, already on high alert.
Stepping into this place meant they could encounter a lingering ghost at any moment.
This level was the hotelâs guest rooms.
But now these guest rooms were already in ruin. Every door was tightly shut, eerily quiet, with the fear of one suddenly creaking open and terrifying them.
Yet Yang Jian knew these were merely rooms of Caesar Hotel itself, not supernatural rooms.
The true danger was a corridor newly emerging within the hotel.
âHere we are, weâve arrived.â Yang Jian turned a corner and immediately stopped.
This was supposed to be the end of the hotelâs guest rooms, with a wall beyond, but the scene before them was different.
A corridor extended here, leading to an unknown destination.
âJust as I thought, the wall I used to seal is gone, and the ghost I had sealed within the wall has disappeared.â Yang Jian frowned.
The corridor was carpeted in red, seemingly well-maintained, appearing quite new, lacking the rundown aura of Caesar Hotel. The wall lamps in the rooms on both sides were lit, emitting a faint yellow glow.
âIs this the forbidden area?â Li Yang asked, observing with curiosity.
It was his first time here, but he had read about this place in the archives, knowing of a terrifying corridor here connecting rooms suspected of housing lingering ghosts.
âThe surroundings are temporarily safe.â Tong Qianâs three faces looked in three different directions.
He was confirming the environment around them.
Yang Jian, however, was lost in thought staring at the vanished wall.
Last time, he had used the Corpse Wrapping Cloth to wrap the tall male corpse and seal it within the wall, then ignored it. Now the wall was gone, the Corpse Wrapping Cloth was gone, and the tall male corpse had disappeared.
âThe ghost wrapped in the Corpse Wrapping Cloth shouldnât be able to escape. Even if a wandering ghost appeared, it couldnât take the tall male corpse away. The Corpse Wrapping Cloth is a supernatural item capable of sealing supernatural powers, so the only possibility is someone broke through the wall and took the corpse.â
âChances are the person who did this isnât from the outside, but rather from inside.â
Yang Jianâs ghost eye peered towards the end of the corridor.
Unfortunately, the ghost eye couldnât cover this supernatural area; a room at the end of the corridor blocked the view.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com
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