Chapter 1207 - 1173: The Disappearing Escape Route

The eerie elevator creaked as it descended.

The journey from the fourth floor to the third was supposed to be short, but inside this elevator, the distance seemed magnified endlessly. After several minutes of descent, they still hadn’t arrived, and the strange sounds from the ceiling were growing louder.

The noise resembled fingers scraping against metal or perhaps a corpse being moved.

Blood dripped down from the crevices above, occasionally accompanied by strands of black hair.

“The ghost in the elevator is becoming more restless. I really want to deal with this thing,” Li Yang said, suppressing his voice.

After all, having a ghost staring at you from above would make anyone uneasy, even if he was a ghost handler controlling three vicious ghosts. There’s still the risk of being killed by a ghost if he wasn’t careful.

“We still need this elevator to get to the third floor.”

Tong Qian stated, “As long as we don’t get attacked by the vicious ghost in the elevator, just pretend it doesn’t exist.”

“The furnace’s fire is about to reignite, though.”

Yang Jian remarked, “I know, I’m watching it. This thing is special. My firewood knife can only suppress it for about ten minutes or so. Judging by the time, it should be ready to reignite by now.”

“Once the flames reignite, the vicious ghost in the elevator is bound to be affected as well. At that point, the elevator will most likely stop, making it difficult for us to reach the third floor,” Tong Qian said.

“If worse comes to worst, I’ll just chop it again,” Yang Jian said.

Although there is a way, chopping again would mean that the furnace cannot be used for another ten minutes. If the elevator reaches the third floor, they’ll face a dangerous period of about ten minutes.

“Would leaving the furnace on the third floor and then leaving help?” Li Yang suggested.

“If burning the body fails, we’ll have to make another trip.”

Yang Jian replied, “The best way is to wait at the elevator door, and once the furnace ignites the body, we seize the chance to leave the third floor.”

“You’re right. There’s only one opportunity. Leaving the furnace behind and going could be problematic if something goes wrong and we want to act again,” Li Yang said.

Yang Jian added, “The vicious ghost doesn’t necessarily guard the elevator door every time. We got unlucky last time, intercepted by the third floor’s ghost. Maybe this time, it’s not around, and we can stay safely for a while.”

The group discussed their next move as they spoke.

But doing so didn’t prevent the furnace’s fire from reigniting.

The strange flame burned again, the surroundings filled with an indescribable heat, a scorching sensation that was different from Li Jun’s Ghost Flame, causing a burning sting.

Soon, Yang Jian and Li Yang’s skin turned crimson as if sparkling with embers, close to igniting, and even the ghosts within their bodies were suppressed. Their supernatural powers quickly dissipated.

The only one less affected was Tong Qian.

He had a human body without supernatural abilities, so he was the least affected. However, his two Ghost Faces were slightly roasted red.

“The furnace’s extinction previously had a great impact on us. Now with the flames reigniting, and us standing so close, we’ll soon be roasted alive. Moreover, the elevator is still in operation, and it doesn’t seem to be stopping. Under these circumstances, we won’t last more than thirty seconds.”

Li Yang couldn’t help but want to retreat, but being in the elevator, there was nowhere to go, forcing him to endure the terrifying searing.

The flames, after reigniting, grew stronger and stronger, exponentially increasing their impact on the surroundings.

Yang Jian realized that it was absolutely impossible for them to withstand it any longer, and without hesitation, he once again raised his firewood knife.

With one strike, he slashed at the ghostly figure appearing beside the furnace.

Undoubtedly.

The ghost was dismembered once again, and the rapidly reigniting flames in the furnace were swiftly extinguished.

The feeling of being on the verge of being ignited quickly dissipated from everyone’s bodies.

However, though the situation had improved, it wasn’t completely resolved. The furnace’s fire was still there, diminished but still emitting a faint glow, not enough to ignite Yang Jian and Li Yang, but still turning their skin red with an inexplicable prickling sensation.

Fortunately, this situation was bearable and not deadly.

“This thing is very dangerous. I’m a bit worried now that putting it on the third floor might make things go out of control.”

Li Yang, with a bit of apprehension, watched the furnace.

“We’ve already started, so don’t overthink it. If nothing is done, how can you be sure what the result will be?” Yang Jian said calmly.

He showed no hesitation or concern.

Because this was a matter for later. What he needed to do now was ignite this fire.

However, only a minute passed.

The elevator seemed to crash into something, letting out a loud bang then violently shook, and came to a halt, while the red numbers on the screen kept flickering, faintly revealing the number: 3

They had reached the third floor.

Creak

The crooked elevator doors slowly opened, revealing a darkness outside that was oppressive and stifling, causing one’s heart to palpitate. Inside the elevator, the lights flickered frantically, faster than before, making it worrying when the only source of light might extinguish completely.

“As expected, the ghost isn’t outside,” Yang Jian breathed a sigh of relief.

He used his ghost eye to peer into the darkness but did not see the vicious ghost from last time.

After all, the third floor of the Caesar Grand Hotel is vast, and there’s no reason a vicious ghost would linger at the elevator doors day in and day out, as this would not follow any logic at all.

“Now that the fire in the furnace has gone out, it will take seven to eight minutes to relight. In other words, we have to stay here for seven to eight minutes,” Yang Jian glanced at the furnace again.

Indeed, the timing was not on point.

“If we don’t stray too far from the elevator, it shouldn’t be too difficult to hold our ground here for seven to eight minutes.”

Saying this, he carried the furnace and walked forward.

The flickering light from within the furnace dispelled the darkness ahead, simultaneously revealing a horrifying scene hidden within the shadows.

Outside the elevator was a narrow corridor, through which various putrid fluids trickled. On both sides were rows of piled-up corpses arranged haphazardly, resembling walls. Some corpses had arms protruding, while others had heads sticking out, mouths agape, eyes refusing to close in death.

The bodies included both men and women, young and old, and even children. Their clothing varied greatly, some old and reminiscent of styles from decades ago, while others were trendy, matching contemporary societal fashion.

Yang Jian even noticed a female corpse with a flip phone hanging around her neck, which was suspended mid-air, still faintly glowing.

Could it still have power and be functioning?

Yang Jian glanced at it but had no curiosity to pick it up for a closer look.

After walking a little distance, he stopped, set down the furnace, and then turned back.

The distance was well calculated.

Too close would be influenced by the firelight of the furnace, too far, and it would be impossible to control the situation.

“Where on earth did all these corpses come from?”

Tong Qian, looking at the bodies reflected in the weak firelight, immediately paled.

Piles of bodies forming walls—how many people had to die for this to happen?

Li Yang also examined the scene carefully: “These bodies must have accumulated over a long period. Their clothing styles span a large timeline, and due to supernatural reasons, the corpses haven’t decayed, so they’ve been preserved. Look at that corpse with the wristwatch from the 1980s; it indicates this person disappeared forty years ago.”

“Perhaps this place had issues even back then, although it wasn’t called the Caesar Grand Hotel at the time.”

Just then, an anomalous sound came from the elevator behind them. The once-opened elevator doors now creaked and groaned, astonishingly starting to close.

“Hmm?”

Immediately, all three turned to look.

“Let me stop the elevator.” Before Li Yang even finished his sentence, he rushed over and placed a hand on the elevator door.

Influenced by supernatural power, the elevator, which was about to close, stopped instantly. But soon after, the elevator creaked again, as if struggling with an invisible force trying to forcibly shut it.

“This elevator wants to move; it doesn’t want to stay on this floor for long. It’s also possible someone on another floor is using it. I can stop it temporarily but can’t hold it indefinitely.” Li Yang’s face changed slightly as he felt the clash of supernatural forces, unable to maintain a prolonged stalemate.

After all, inside the elevator stood a ghost, whereas he was merely a ghost-handler, a disparity nonetheless.

“It’s pointless to drag this out. Let the elevator leave,” Yang Jian frowned, making a decision.

Tong Qian said, “Yang Jian, once the elevator leaves, if a ghost arrives, we have no retreat.”

“Li Yang, how long can you hold it?” Yang Jian asked.

“The elevator’s resistance to me is increasing, so at most, I can hold out for five more minutes,” Li Yang replied.

At this moment, the elevator was deforming and twisting, its lights dimming to near extinction. However, beneath that dim light, a shadow was vaguely visible, pressing against the elevator doors to jam it from leaving.

“Holding off a supernatural force for five minutes is already quite long, but this time isn’t sufficient for us. We need to hold for at least ten minutes. Let the elevator go for now, and we’ll call it back later.”

Yang Jian said, “Let go now; we can’t waste energy for nothing. We need to conserve strength for the dangers on the third floor.”

“Since the captain has decided, I’ll ease up.” Li Yang hesitated briefly but reluctantly withdrew his hand.

Without the interference of supernatural power, the elevator doors closed with a thud, followed by the sound of the elevator descending. By the sound, it was discernible that the elevator was moving further away until even the sound of its operation vanished.

Soon after, Li Yang pressed the elevator button again.

The elevator button glowed softly, but there was no sign of the elevator returning.

Clearly, this elevator wouldn’t be coming back to the third floor anytime soon.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by novlove.com

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