Chapter 3

After inserting the wire for a dozen seconds, there was a click, and the door lock responded by opening.

The rusty iron door was pulled open by the wind with a harsh sound, and a cold draft along with a shower of dust hit the two in the face.

"It's open." Yu Xing put away the wire, used his hand to block the dust, and nonchalantly showed his results. He then picked up the camera and sneakily hid behind it, "After you."

Since everyone already knew he was timid, he let the brave one go first.

"It's already rusted like this after just half a year." Zhao Yijiu didn't rush to enter, even though he could already see a new dark space through the door crack. He leisurely wiped the ugly rust marks on the iron door.

"Our area is naturally humid, and there's a lot of rain after autumn. No one takes care of this place, so it's normal for it to rust. Look, the walls are also moldy in many places." Yu Xing pointed casually, and indeed, there were spider webs and some unidentifiable mold in the corners.

"Uh-huh." The other person responded, pushed the door all the way open, and behind it was a new corridor, much wider, with walls on the left and rooms on the right.

The nearest room had a white sign that read "Office 01."

Yu Xing shone his flashlight further down the corridor, revealing Office 02 and Office 03, and further still, a display room and a toilet.

Between Office 03 and the display room was a dark fork in the corridor.

After the toilet was another iron door, which seemed to lead to other areas. However, according to the factory map Yu Xing had memorized before coming, that area belonged to Tang Li and Tang Yuan's search range.

He held the flashlight, smoothed out his soft, drooping bangs with two fingers, and pointed to Office 01 with his chin, "Shall we go in and take a look?"

"Wait a moment." Zhao Yijiu kicked a small piece of wood from the ground, pushed it with his shoe, and wedged it in the door crack to keep the door from closing. "To prevent the wind from shutting it."

Why prevent it? Yu Xing's eyebrows twitched. Was this a hint that they might need to run later? No, no...

Comrade Zhao Yijiu, can you please continue your cool and aloof style without making things so clear, making me unnecessarily nervous?

After some self-deception and comfort, Yu Xing followed Zhao Yijiu to the door of Office 01.

The office door was unlocked and opened with a light turn of the handle.

Inside, there were few objects; it seemed mostly empty due to the factory's abandonment and the departure of the staff.

The only places to hide things were the wooden cabinet against the wall, the desk opposite the door, and the sofa and coffee table on the other side of the desk.

After entering the office, they had to both take photos and search for batteries, so Yu Xing and Zhao Yijiu turned off their flashlights and used the camera's night vision mode.

The screen in night vision mode glowed with a greenish light, adding a chilling atmosphere to the darkness.

Without further words, the two split up with some默契 (默契 means默契, but in this context, it means "coordination" or "understanding"). Zhao Yijiu searched the desk, and Yu Xing went straight to the storage cabinet.

According to his calculations, six people needed 48 batteries. If the company didn't intend to eliminate anyone, the number of batteries wouldn't be less than this. Distributed throughout the factory, each room would likely have one to two batteries.

The storage cabinet was covered in thick dust, indicating it hadn't been touched in a long time. He opened the cabinet door and noticed the faint fingerprints left behind, which raised a question.

"Strange, with so much dust, how did the company people hide the batteries without leaving any marks?"

As they walked, he had been paying close attention to the batteries. Now he realized he hadn't seen any footprints on the ground.

If the company people had been here recently, there would have been footprints.

Once he started to doubt, more details came to mind. His heart beat faster as he maintained his composure and checked the contents of the cabinet with the camera.

There were unused toothpick holders, empty square iron boxes, meaningless rags, and overly obvious fake ivory carvings... all useless things.

There were no batteries.

He squatted down and pulled open the lower drawers. There were three layers, and he pulled from the bottom up. The bottom two layers were empty, but when he opened the top layer, it made a rolling sound.

"You'd better gouge out your eyes." A cold voice came from behind him, startling him. He turned around and saw Zhao Yijiu standing behind the desk, holding a piece of paper. His visible eye was fixed on the content, as if he had just read it aloud.

"It was in the desk drawer." Zhao Yijiu waved the paper at him when he turned around, "It says, 'You'd better gouge out your eyes.'"

"Oh..." Yu Xing didn't want to gouge out his eyes. He sighed at how Zhao Yijiu's voice was as scary as a ghost and looked at what was in the drawer he had opened.

Two round beads rolled to the edge of the drawer. Yu Xing was surprised, "Black glass beads?"

He reached in, and the sensation in his palm made him shudder.

"Soft! Ah!!!"

They were sticky and warm.

What the hell, these aren't black glass beads, they're "eyes"!

Zhao Yijiu was startled and quickly walked over to Yu Xing, seeing two things thrown at him. He turned his head, and the objects hit the ground behind him, making a crisp breaking sound.

"Why did you throw the glass beads?"

The sound was clearly that of glass.

Yu Xing, confused, replied, "They were soft."

"Hard, they're broken." Zhao Yijiu, like a cold-blooded killer, coldly contradicted him.

"Impossible..." Yu Xing approached the broken beads, aimed the camera at one, and saw the fragments reflecting a translucent glow.

"..." Yu Xing was incredulous.

Am I hallucinating?

Was it a tactile hallucination caused by his own psychological suggestion in the tense moment?

The sticky, warm sensation in his memory became clearer. He frowned, not believing it was his fault, and decided to explain to Zhao Yijiu: "When I picked them up, they were clearly eyes..."

Although eyes wouldn't roll with a "clunk," this was why he initially thought they were black glass beads. But the sensation in his hand was real. Plus, the note on the desk mentioning "eyes" couldn't be a coincidence.

"If what you say is true," Zhao Yijiu pondered, "something interfered with your sense of touch to scare you."

"Is that it?" If so, there must be a ghost here!

One time could be a coincidence, but the second time, Yu Xing felt he didn't need to risk his life here. He broke out in a cold sweat.

"I want to leave."

He wanted a better job, but not at the cost of his life. There would be other jobs, but only one life.

Thinking of this, he became more determined: "What about you? Are you coming with me? There are four others..."

Zhao Yijiu stared at his face for a moment, then said, "Are you really leaving?"

Yu Xing found the question strange. Was he going to stay here for the New Year?

"You're right." Zhao Yijiu nodded, "It's a bit dangerous here. Let's go together."

What a strange person. Yu Xing smiled.

Also, from Zhao Yijiu's hand, he saw a glimpse of a battery.

"..." It seems the batteries were at the desk. Damn, why did he get scared and the other got the batteries?

Leaving Office 01, Yu Xing's face was a bit pale. He suddenly felt the urge to use the toilet: "I'll go to the toilet and then leave."

"Oh?" Zhao Yijiu glanced at him, "You dare to go to the toilet now?"

Throughout history, in the realm of horror, countless films and urban legends have made toilets a high-risk area.

The ghost in the toilet, the mirror in the toilet, the knocking in the toilet, the lack of toilet paper... each one is terrifying!

"It's a physiological need, not my choice." Yu Xing hesitated, "Can you come with me?"

He really didn't dare to go alone.

"Sure." Zhao Yijiu responded indifferently and walked with Yu Xing to the toilet at the end of the corridor.

Passing the fork in the corridor, the deep darkness made Yu Xing quicken his pace, fearing a ghost face would appear if he delayed.

The toilet hadn't been cleaned for a long time since the factory's abandonment. As soon as they entered, they smelled a strange, mixed odor.

To their surprise, the men's room had separate stalls, with urinals also separated, blocking the view between them.

"This makes it easy for something to happen..." Yu Xing entered the outermost stall, trying to ignore the discomfort. Zhao Yijiu waited outside, showing a bit of warmth under his cold exterior.

Inside the stall, there was a mop and a trash can, nothing unusual.

"Can you hold my camera?" He felt a bit embarrassed.

"I think you should take it in." Zhao Yijiu surprisingly refused.

"Why?"

"Intuition."

Fine...

Yu Xing took the camera, feeling that Zhao Yijiu was too calm in this situation, possibly knowing something. He should listen to his advice. He went in, placed the camera on the ground, and aimed it at the wall, wanting to finish quickly. He didn't plan to close the stall door, but a gust of cold wind blew in, making him shiver.

At the same time, the door was blown shut.

Oh no? Yu Xing immediately became alert, quickly zipped up his pants, and tried to push the door open.

"..."

The door wouldn't budge.

"Zhao Yijiu?"

No response.

Oh no, oh no, oh no... Yu Xing felt a headache. Was this the third time? Why always him?

"I don't have paper, I'm deaf, I'm blind, I don't buy anything, I'm cute, I don't want to hear my neighbor, and I don't need my neighbor to pass me paper. Please leave me alone, QAQ..." He muttered, ready to run as soon as the door opened.

"Rushing water..."

The sound of water flushing from the urinal made Yu Xing's body stiffen. He immediately said, "I'm deaf, I'm blind, I've gouged out my eyes, I can't see you, don't waste your effort..."

He was thoroughly scared.

But, even as he said he was blind, he couldn't help but glance at the urinal with his peripheral vision.

A pair of bloodshot eyes met his.

A pale face floated in the water, black hair spilling out and clogging the urinal.

It was a woman's face.

Swollen and deformed, it was both ugly and terrifying. Her body seemed to be in the drain, struggling to climb up. Her mouth opened, and she emitted a chilling, teeth-chattering laugh.

"Hehehe..."

"Ghost!!!" This was the second time Yu Xing shouted this in less than half an hour. He was absolutely certain. To hell with the recruitment test, they were sent to a ghost house!

The ghost's face got closer, and it seemed she was about to climb out of the urinal. Her laughter grew louder, and among it were some indistinct words: "Hehehe... gouge... eyes..."

Yu Xing was desperate.

He grabbed the mop, stepped on the mop head, and pulled out the stick, shouting fearfully, "Did you say I'm timid, so don't scare me! What are you laughing at!"

He then jabbed the stick at the ghost's face, pushing her back into the drain.