41: Chapter 41 On the Same Theme as the Ghostly and Supernatural

The Horse-faced Youth's group had only a dozen or so people left by the time they arrived, looking incredibly wretched; the rest had either scattered or perished in the maws of the monsters.

“Sister Qing, we searched so hard for you! You have to stand up for us!”

The Horse-faced Youth ran over with large strides, pointing at Chu Xuan as he wailed his grievances:

“This Chu Xuan just killed Liang Fei and caused the deaths of many others! And Lin Tong too—he took the black jade for himself and completely ignored whether we lived or died. You have to arrest them!”

“Don't think I don't know that those people were killed because of you and Liang Fei! If you had followed Lin Tong and Chu Xuan up here, how could so many have died?”

Qin Qing looked as if she had everything under control. Her eyes turned cold. “Stop being unreasonable. Chu Xuan already said the way out is to jump from the rooftop. If you want to live, get moving.”

The Horse-faced Youth's expression froze upon hearing the first half of her words, his face then flushing red. But when he heard the second half, he nearly jumped out of his skin.

Jump from the rooftop?

Wasn't that just seeking death?!

The Horse-faced Youth stomped his feet, saying incredulously, “Sister Qing, you actually believe Chu Xuan's words? He killed someone with his own hands! He's a murderer! And now he wants us to jump off a building? How can that be a way to live? He clearly wants to kill us all!”

“What? Chu Xuan is a murderer?”

At this moment, those people from the tenth floor seemed to have found allies and couldn't help but chime in: “Chu Xuan not only wants to kill us, he also wants to take Sister Qing to the eleventh floor to find some Specter source.”

“Sister Qing, you can't go. The next night is coming soon. Hurry and open that barrier storage device from before. Let's hide here for a while longer and wait until the next day for you to lead us out.”

“That's right! Didn't you say you were injured and needed to rest? Hurry and open that blue crystal wall again. As for this murderer Chu Xuan, let him go wherever he wants by himself!”

The group of over thirty people talked over one another, noisily moving through the corridor and crowding into the stairwell.

The Horse-faced Youth intentionally led people to block the fire door, shouting, “Sister Qing, you can't go with Chu Xuan. He might be a monster in disguise, just wanting to kill us all.”

The others were also clamoring, not wanting Qin Qing to leave them behind to go to the eleventh floor with Chu Xuan. Seeing this, Qin Qing's eyes suddenly turned frigid.

“In a Specter incident, resolving the Specter is the primary objective. Anyone who obstructs this shall be equated with the Specter, and special measures may be taken! I have already told you the way out. Now disperse and stop blocking the way!”

Qin Qing's voice wasn't loud, yet in that moment, it suppressed all the clamor.

A second later, the noise erupted again. No one believed Qin Qing would actually do anything to them. The Horse-faced Youth even puffed out his chest, glaring as he shouted:

“If you just leave like this, aren't you leaving us to die? How can you be so selfish...”

A cold flash appeared!

The drawing and sheathing of the blade happened in a single instant. A pillar of blood erupted from the Horse-faced Youth's neck, and his head rolled into the crowd, his eyes still wide even in death.

“Let's go!”

Qin Qing walked forward with a cold face. The crowd ahead scrambled to scatter, clearing a path.

Chu Xuan raised an eyebrow slightly and followed her out.

He hadn't expected someone of Qin Qing's status to be so decisive. He had even prepared himself to go to the eleventh floor alone if she were truly held back.

“We've made it this far, and everyone has contributed. The coming dangers are unpredictable, so you don't need to follow any further. I hope you all manage to survive.”

While heading upstairs, Chu Xuan looked back at the nine people who had followed him this far. Finally, his gaze landed on Tang Zheng, and he whispered into his ear:

“Go with them right now. Don't waste time being sentimental! Tang Zheng, you must remember—as long as you are alive, I won't necessarily die!”

“Remember this day. Remember everything that happened today!”

Chu Xuan lowered his voice and added, “Especially remember: three years from today, between 2:35 AM and 2:45 AM, you might encounter an assassination attempt!”

Hearing Chu Xuan's words, Tang Zheng was slightly stunned, but he still nodded heavily. “I don't quite understand what you're saying, but I'll remember your words. Good brother, take care of yourself.”

Tang Zheng turned and was the first to head upstairs.

Xu Zhiyou and the others also followed, each holding their makeshift fluorescent lamps.

Lin Tong, walking at the back, caught up and pressed a piece of black jade into Chu Xuan's hand. “I didn't have time to return this to Sister Qing just now. Please hand it over for me. We'll meet again outside. You must stay alive!”

Chu Xuan nodded, saying nothing more.

The people from the tenth and eighth-floor dorms originally didn't want to go to the rooftop, thinking it would be safer to follow Qin Qing. However, upon entering the eleventh floor and seeing the scene inside, they were all scared out of their wits and fled one after another, heading straight for the roof.

The eleventh-floor corridor was permeated with a faint black mist.

Chu Xuan held up a makeshift fluorescent lamp and quickly caught up with Qin Qing.

Qin Qing's expression was solemn. She held a pocket flashlight, and wherever the light shone—on the walls, the floor, the ceiling—there were eerie patterns drawn in blood.

Looking closely, these patterns were composed of countless identical tiny motifs tightly arranged and intertwined, forming blood-colored ring-like structures that were tangled and bizarrely complex.

These patterns were not static; they were slowly writhing.

There were no corpses here, yet these complex and eerie patterns were more sinister and terrifying than the corpse-piled fourth-floor corridor, giving off an indescribable sense of oppression.

When Chu Xuan looked at them, he actually felt a sense of dizziness, and an inexplicable fear rose in his heart, as if he were close to a Specter. Yet, looking around, nothing was approaching him.

The doors on both sides were all open, but strangely, the interiors were a deep, profound pitch-black where nothing could be seen, like bottomless abysses.

Chu Xuan only looked a few more times before he felt an impulse to walk inside.