After speaking, Xu Yin slowly materialized from behind Chen Ge. Man and ghost charged toward the old woman at the same time.
The wrinkles on the old woman's face bunched together. After watching Chen Ge leave room 304 and step into the darkness beyond the light's reach, her withered lips curled upward at both corners.
But before she could even smile, a man half-clad in red burst out ahead of Chen Ge!
"It hurts!"
Wounds across his entire body spurted fresh blood. The man was on all fours like a beast, his face a mask of pure hysteria!
The old woman's smile froze on her face. Her body transformed into a streak of black shadow and fled downstairs at a speed utterly at odds with her age.
"You're the one who told me to come with you!"
The Skull Crushing Hammer smashed into the spot where the old woman's ghost had stood just moments ago, the impact echoing through the entire building.
"Today, none of you are getting away!" Xu Yin and Chen Ge gave chase, one after the other.
The stairwell was flooded with footsteps. The flights of stairs seemed to stretch on forever, and for the first time, the old woman realized just how long this corridor truly was. This would be the most terrifying night she had ever endured.
The exit to the stairwell was right in front of her. The shadow ran with everything she had. She was nothing more than an ordinary ghost, and the moment she caught sight of Xu Yin half-draped in red, she was utterly paralyzed with fear.
"Stop!"
Chen Ge shouted from behind. Xu Yin was only slightly faster than the shadow, and just as it was about to escape the stairwell, he seized one of her arms.
The shadow shuddered all over. Without a moment's hesitation, she severed her own arm, ran out of the building without looking back, and vanished into the darkness.
"I guess I'll need to start working out. Way too slow." Chen Ge said with genuine regret. When he turned to look at Xu Yin, he noticed that the severed arm had already disappeared, and the bloodstains on Xu Yin's body seemed to have increased slightly.
"It wouldn't be bad if Xu Yin could become a Red Ghost." Chen Ge gazed into the pitch-black complex. "Since I've stumbled onto this, I can't just stand by and do nothing. Once I find the drawer, I'll go help that old woman resolve her obsession."
He called Xu Yin to his side, and Chen Ge returned to the third floor. He dialed the real estate agent's number once more.
The other party still didn't pick up. He sent several more messages asking if they were around — he wanted to "thank" them in person for their helpful tip.
"Why won't you answer my calls?"
Chen Ge held his phone in his left hand and dragged the Skull Crushing Hammer in his right as he stepped into room 304.
"I've already checked the living room and the bedroom by the entrance. The drawer should be in the last room. These ghosts tried every possible way to stop me, which means they're terrified of me getting in there."
The last room was locked, but for Chen Ge, that only took a single hammer strike.
"The bedroom door was locked from the inside. Is the gambler who lost a hand hiding in here?"
After smashing the door open, having spent the better part of the night fighting his way through, Chen Ge finally entered the last room.
The bedroom was tiny. A massive bookshelf and work desk consumed half the space. The other half was taken up by a small, rusted refrigerator and a tattered bamboo mat.
"The edges of the mat are completely worn through. It looks like the owner used it all the time. But isn't there a bed in the other room? Why would he insist on sleeping in here — could it be that he was afraid of ghosts?"