Chapter 6

Xia Tianqi did not tell his mother about his encounter last night, for a very simple reason: he did not want her to worry. However, even if he had told her, his mother, an ordinary high school Chinese teacher, would have been completely unable to help.

Of course, the person who let him down the most was his grandfather. It was as if he had chosen the worst possible time to go on a trip, right when Xia Tianqi was in trouble and desperately needed help. What was even worse was that he could not get in touch with his grandfather at all.

Xia Tianqi's grandfather was a very eccentric old man, known among his friends as "Old Child." Despite his nickname, he had a very stubborn personality, doing whatever he wanted without caring whether his family agreed or his friends were willing.

Sitting in the speeding taxi, Xia Tianqi thought drowsily all the way, but by the time he got out of the taxi, he had forgotten everything he had been thinking about.

Returning to the Golden Tower, Xia Tianqi no longer felt the excitement he had felt the last time he was there; all that remained was unease and anxiety.

He decided to come back here for several reasons, but the main one was to seek help from the middle-aged man. Although there was no concrete evidence, he felt that his terrifying experiences over the past two days were definitely related to the middle-aged man, or more precisely, to that mysterious company.

With a head full of questions, Xia Tianqi took the elevator to the 33rd floor where the company was located.

Just like the last time, as soon as he stepped out of the elevator, he found the middle-aged man already waiting for him.

"Follow me."

The middle-aged man, as usual, spoke sparingly. After seeing Xia Tianqi come out of the elevator, he turned and walked away.

"Damn, why don't you just die!" Xia Tianqi muttered, but he still followed the middle-aged man, his eyes constantly scanning the surroundings.

There was not much to see, as it was just a very ordinary office area, albeit with more luxurious decoration. It was not a series of connected transparent workstations, but rather individual offices with walls and doors.

So, Xia Tianqi had no idea who worked in these offices or whether anyone was actually in them.

Following the middle-aged man for a short distance, Xia Tianqi entered a luxuriously decorated office.

The office was spacious, with many calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls, revealing the middle-aged man's tastes.

Without asking for permission, Xia Tianqi sat down on the sofa and got straight to the point:

"Let's put the phone aside for now. I have several questions that I need answers to!"

Xia Tianqi spoke with determination, leaving no room for the middle-aged man to refuse. Of course, whether the middle-aged man would pay attention to him or completely ignore him was another matter.

"What do you want to ask?" the middle-aged man replied calmly.

"I want to know who you are and what your company does!" Xia Tianqi asked his first question.

"You are not qualified to know that yet, and I cannot answer you," the middle-aged man refused straightforwardly.

Seeing the middle-aged man refuse to answer, Xia Tianqi's anger flared up again:

"You can't answer this, and I'm not qualified to know that! Fine... I'll ask you one question now. Tell me, what can you tell me?"

The middle-aged man looked deeply at the angry Xia Tianqi, then said after a brief silence:

"I will only say this once, so I hope you do not interrupt me."

Xia Tianqi nodded impatiently; if there was nothing else, he would not interrupt without reason.

"I think you have encountered some inexplicable and eerie events at Xin Hua Grand Bookstore that night and last night. Or, you have seen ghosts, right?"

"You know about these things?"

Hearing the middle-aged man directly mention his recent experiences, Xia Tianqi could not help but exclaim, but remembering the middle-aged man's words, he quickly closed his mouth, signaling the middle-aged man to continue.

The middle-aged man paused, then continued:

"I can only give you a warning, or you can consider it as advice.

If you do not go back to work at Xin Hua Grand Bookstore tonight and try to complete your probationary period, you will find it very difficult to survive the night, even with some 'small gadgets' on you.

I think you should understand what I mean."

Xia Tianqi looked at the middle-aged man in confusion, nodding dumbly at first, then asking uncertainly:

"Are you saying that I saw ghosts last night because I didn't go to work at Xin Hua Grand Bookstore?"

"You can understand it that way," the middle-aged man nodded affirmatively.

Seeing the middle-aged man nod, Xia Tianqi quickly asked:

"Does that mean if I go back to the bookstore and work honestly, I won't see ghosts anymore?"

"Stop deceiving yourself. You should be very clear about the answer to this question," the middle-aged man poured cold water on Xia Tianqi.

Xia Tianqi's heart began to throb violently. He clutched his chest, taking deep breaths continuously. After a while, he said with difficulty:

"The bookstore is haunted at night, and the ghost is probably Zhang Xiaoshun. The corpses I saw that night were all brutally killed by him.

I would not have escaped either, but the ghost jade amulet my grandfather gave me must have saved my life at that moment."

The more he spoke, the more unstable Xia Tianqi's emotions became, and he finally roared:

"Going to the bookstore will get me killed by a ghost, and not going to the bookstore will also get me killed by a ghost. Either way, it's a death sentence. Is this some kind of sick game you're playing with me?

Have I ever offended you or your family? We have no grudges, so why are you trying to kill me?"

"You chose this path yourself, and you signed the contract yourself. No one forced you to sign it, and no one signed it for you. Also, no one told you that going back to the bookstore to work would definitely lead to your death."

A hint of mockery appeared on the middle-aged man's face.

"Is that not the case?"

"Is that the case?" the middle-aged man countered, "Did I say they were impossible to resist?"

Hearing the middle-aged man say this, Xia Tianqi perked up immediately. The hatred in his eyes towards the middle-aged man turned into friendliness:

"Quick, tell me how to deal with them!"

"I cannot tell you, because you need to figure it out yourself. As for the company's affairs, if you can successfully 'turn regular' in the future, you will gradually learn about them. Now, take your phone and leave. I will bring two new probationary employees over later."

Saying this, the middle-aged man deliberately approached Xia Tianqi and handed him the phone. Then, as if he remembered something, he looked up and said to Xia Tianqi:

"There are some things that secular forces cannot intervene in, which is why people like us exist."

As he spoke, the middle-aged man threw a set of car keys to Xia Tianqi.

"Here are your car keys, take them back..."

Xia Tianqi did not know how he got out of the Golden Tower, or rather, his thoughts were completely immersed in the conversation he had just had with the middle-aged man.

Sitting on the steps in front of the Golden Tower, feeling sore all over, Xia Tianqi's mind was as turbulent as the tide.

However, this trip to the Golden Tower had clarified many things for him.

First, his current situation.

He had only two choices: go back to the bookstore to die, or stay away from the bookstore and wait to die.

From the middle-aged man's warning, the former seemed to be a one-in-a-million chance of survival, while the latter was almost certain death.

Moreover, the middle-aged man seemed to know about the amulet he had, yet still gave him this conclusion. This suggested that even if his grandfather came to help him, he might not be able to survive unscathed.

Furthermore, he did not want his family to worry about him or be innocently dragged into this.

Additionally, he now had a clearer understanding of why he was being haunted by ghosts. It was most likely because he had passed the company's interview and signed that cursed "ghost" contract!

So, he now had to follow the company's orders and return to Xin Hua Grand Bookstore.

Finally, the mysteries surrounding the company would only be revealed to him if he successfully passed the probationary period and became a regular employee.

Although he had no idea how to pass the probationary period, it did not matter. Although he still had many questions, he now at least understood his situation and would not blindly stumble around in fear.

He knew what he needed to do.

That was to go back to Xin Hua Grand Bookstore and work the night shift, find a way to resist the ghosts, and survive.

Although the middle-aged man did not tell him how to deal with the ghosts, he did make one thing clear: ghosts were not completely invincible.

In other words, as long as he found the right method, he could eliminate them!