Chapter 1

"Tap, tap."

In the rain, the short boots stepped on the puddles, splashing shallow water that quickly merged with the dense raindrops, not even causing a ripple.

Not far away, the outline of an abandoned factory stood alone, quietly towering in the darkness like a huge, crouching devil waiting for its prey.

Yu Xing held a black umbrella in one hand and a flashlight in the other, wiping the thin layer of mist that had drifted onto his face. He stopped at the factory gate.

There seemed to be voices talking behind the door.

"Have the others already arrived?" he murmured, a chill running down his spine. No matter what, coming to an abandoned factory in the suburbs alone near midnight sounded both eerie and bold.

After getting out of the taxi and walking all the way, he had been on edge for a long time, his legs trembling, always feeling as if something was following him.

The wind mixed with the rain, producing a hollow, intermittent howl that easily evoked a sense of dread. Yu Xing felt as if he were on a horror movie set, his knuckles white from gripping the umbrella handle, matching his ghostly pale face.

He was in poor health and easily frightened!

This place made him very uncomfortable, but he had to come.

Because at the age of just graduating from university, finding a job with a monthly salary of over 6,000 was quite lucky, even if the job requirements were a bit strange.

Yu Xing took a deep breath, suddenly regretting that he shouldn't have attended the company's interview! The more he thought about it, the more eerie it seemed...

Three days ago, at a friend's recommendation, he went to a company called Tuiyan for a recruitment event. The HR manager was very satisfied with him and offered a series of attractive salary benefits, with the condition that he come to the abandoned Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory in the suburbs at midnight three days later for a test.

The company's business leaned towards bizarre entertainment, including the production of horror short films, investment in online horror series, and live broadcasts of horror stories, among other things. In short, it involved various risky activities, requiring employees to have a strong and steady heart, as well as a rational mind.

So tonight's test could be considered a courage and reaction assessment, and only those who passed could work for the company.

Yu Xing's appearance was very appealing, and although his health was not great, his heart was fine, so the HR manager wanted to recruit him as a broadcaster.

"I wonder if this company is reliable... The reviews online are good, though." Yu Xing muttered to himself, trying to build up his courage. It was too late to regret now; he had already come, so he might as well see what the so-called assessment was like.

There seemed to be people in the factory, which made him feel a bit more secure.

Putting the umbrella aside by the gate, Yu Xing tidied his black T-shirt and khaki work pants, took a deep breath, and pushed open the heavy, rusty iron door.

Creak—

The harsh sound was drowned out by the heavy rain. The factory had been abandoned for over half a year and was naturally without power. A few beams of light from flashlights shone through the door cracks, and Yu Xing's arrival was noticed by several people not far from the door, who stopped talking and looked at him.

"You... are well." Yu Xing finally saw some people, and his heart eased a bit.

He glanced around and saw that the HR manager's assistant was also there, apparently surnamed Hao. Besides Hao and himself, there were five others, three men and two women, all good-looking, suggesting they were applying for the same position.

"Hello, hello!" A brown-haired young man waved enthusiastically and called him over. He jogged a few steps closer and greeted Hao.

"Good evening, Hao Assistant."

Hao Assistant was a chubby man in his early thirties, looking very friendly. He nodded at Yu Xing: "Good evening, now everyone is here."

The long-haired girl standing next to the assistant saw Yu Xing's face in the flashlight's light and exclaimed, "Wow, handsome guy, you're almost late, just five minutes left!"

But... it's not late yet, right... Yu Xing laughed inwardly, feeling a bit embarrassed: "The road was a bit scary, and the car couldn't get in, so I was delayed a bit."

"Being timid and still applying for this company, you're pretty brave, buddy!" The brown-haired young man laughed, without any ill intent, just being straightforward.

Hao Assistant smiled and said, "Our company's broadcasters come in many styles. Calm and composed is popular, but we also need those who react dramatically, which can make the audience feel more involved."

Yu Xing managed a weak smile: Yes, if I get scared, I'll definitely react dramatically, with screams that are more terrifying than any ghost...

There's no helping it; he was just naturally timid.

Seeing that the time was about right and everyone had arrived, Hao Assistant got down to business: "I called you here today for a test. What do you know about the Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory?"

The man with glasses standing next to Yu Xing answered calmly, "Six months ago, a murder occurred at the Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory. The media reported that the factory owner hanged himself at night, and the factory's production came to a halt, leading to its closure soon after."

The long-haired girl immediately added, "Since the first death in the factory, strange things have been happening, almost leading to more deaths. It only stopped when the factory was abandoned. Later, when the demolition team came to work, the workers claimed they saw ghosts at night, and the ghosts wouldn't let them demolish the factory. The workers were terrified, and even after several batches, it was the same. In the end, nothing was done, and it remains like this to this day."

A cliché process, like a low-quality horror novel, or an urban legend made up for clicks—usually by marketing accounts, with very low credibility.

So, although these two had gathered this information, they didn't take it seriously, considering it just a rumor passed from one person to another.

"Anything else?" Hao Assistant seemed quite satisfied and looked at the others who hadn't spoken.

"Well, I know about the same things they do, after all, that's all the media reported." The brown-haired young man scratched his head, and the others, a short-haired girl and a young man wearing a mask, nodded in agreement.

"I do know something else," Yu Xing hesitated for a moment, thinking that as the last one to arrive, he should try to improve his image in front of his "future boss" and "future colleagues." "The Qingyuan Pharmaceutical Factory secretly produced counterfeit drugs for huge profits, harming many people. I heard that the factory owner might not have committed suicide but could have been..."

He didn't finish, but the others understood his meaning.

"How did you know this? The media didn't report it," the man with glasses glanced over, his eyes showing a hint of curiosity.

"Right, wasn't it determined to be a suicide?" the short-haired girl asked in surprise.

Yu Xing explained, "I have a friend who was involved in the investigation. He told me, but since I'm not part of the system, he couldn't say much, and the information he gave was vague, but it's better than nothing."

"If that's true," the long-haired girl became excited, "the logic of the rumors makes more sense! Otherwise, why would a suicide turn into a ghost?"

Yu Xing chuckled: It was clear that this girl was really brave, at least more so than he was.

Hao Assistant clapped his hands and praised, "Gathering information before work is a good habit, and you should continue it in the future."

He then lowered his voice, "However, these rumors, whether true or false, have scared away many people. There must be something unusual in this factory. Your test tonight is to stay in the factory for four hours."

"I'll give each of you a portable camera. Turn on the recording function and move around the factory for the next four hours. You can't stop recording except to use the bathroom. After four hours, if you haven't run out of the factory and the recording interruption is no more than five minutes, you pass."

"Is it that simple?" the brown-haired young man was surprised.

Simple? Yu Xing looked at the dark, almost blurry first floor and once again despised his own timidity.

"Of course not," Hao Assistant laughed, the fat on his face forming a few shallow wrinkles. He took out cameras from his backpack and distributed them to the six applicants, "Take them."

Yu Xing reached out to take the camera, accidentally touching Hao Assistant's hand.

A cold sensation came from Hao Assistant's hand, making him shiver involuntarily.

Why is it so cold? It feels like a lifeless object.

This thought made Yu Xing jump, but he blamed the environment for making him think of horror. He shook his head to clear his mind.

"The battery in the camera is very low. You need to find the batteries I've hidden around the factory. The batteries are used and only have a little charge left. To ensure the camera doesn't run out of power for four hours, you'll need about eight batteries," Hao Assistant announced the additional rule with a smile.

The applicants all acknowledged, and Hao Assistant patted his clothes and prepared to leave, "Remember to keep the camera on while moving. I'll be back in four hours to check the recordings and determine if you pass. Good luck!"

"Okay!" everyone responded, regardless of whether the job was good or not, they needed to show their enthusiasm to the boss.

Yu Xing saw that the assistant was about to leave, and after staring at the ground for a moment, he suddenly asked, "Hao Assistant, it's cold, your jacket seems a bit thin, won't you be cold?"

It was mid-September, and the weather had been hot, but the rain of the past two days had brought the temperature down to a level where long sleeves were necessary.

The short-haired girl widened her eyes, thinking that this script of caring for the boss shouldn't be played by a man, was he trying to take her job?

Hao Assistant stopped at Yu Xing's question.

A few seconds later, he turned around, a standard smile on his chubby face, "Not cold."

He paused, staring into Yu Xing's eyes, and added, "Not at all. This temperature is very good."

The calm tone made everyone shiver inexplicably.

Instinctively, Yu Xing swallowed the words "If you're not cold, why are your hands so icy?"

Hao Assistant still smiled, waved to the five people, and left through the gate.

As he left, he kindly closed the door, leaving the six applicants staring at each other in the flashlight's light.

Yu Xing touched the goosebumps on his arms, not wanting to be the first to speak, and focused on the camera. He quickly figured out how to use it.

After turning it on, the battery level in the upper right corner of the camera was only one-fifth full. He adjusted it and found that the camera had a night vision mode, which would make moving in the dark easier, but it was power-consuming.

The rule of finding batteries was likely to encourage them to move around the factory, rather than just hiding in a corner for four hours.

However, why did the camera feel a bit sticky?

He didn't know what he had touched, but his index and middle fingers felt an unusual sensation. Before the flashlight was turned off, he put the camera down and held his hand up to the light.

Under the pale yellow light, the fresh red on his fingers stood out like rubies on a white porcelain plate.

Yu Xing immediately realized it was blood.

The camera Hao Assistant gave him was covered in blood.