Chapter 1 Quick Steps

"Deng deng deng."

Light and disordered footsteps echoed in the empty corridor. A man and a woman walked up the stairs along the rightmost fire escape, their eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

"Are you sure it's here?" The smooth and worldly appearance was gone. Now, Zhou Taifu's voice was low and hoarse, his eyes as sharp as blades.

Walking beside him was naturally his partner, Yu Wen.

At the same time... the two were also lovers.

Unlike the nightlife and romance that men and women are used to today, the two met, got to know each other, and fell in love in the muddy swamps of the Southeast Asian rainforest.

There, bullets rained down and snakes and ants were everywhere.

White maggots crawled out of the eye sockets of the dead, falling into the mud, wriggling, and staining their plump bodies.

The two were both mercenaries.

Doing the dirty work of selling their lives to whoever paid the most.

Whether it was the government army, the rebels, or big and small warlords, religious leaders, tribal chiefs... they were all their employers and targets.

In the muddy, low, humid, and smelly bomb shelters, the two had agreed to quit when they earned enough two million and then go back to their hometown to open a small supermarket.

To live a peaceful and stable life.

But...

Two million, three million, four million...

As their skills and coordination became more proficient, they became famous in this line of work.

Employers liked people like them.

They were silent, cold-blooded, and efficient, leaving no survivors, whether they were soldiers who had laid down their weapons or the elderly and children who had been coerced.

The corpses were pushed into the muddy swamps for burial, and blood was spilled in the dense forests.

Waiting only for a heavy rain.

The heavy rain would wash away all traces, even sins.

This also solved the worries of the employers.

Gradually, the two had long forgotten their former agreement. They bloomed in the killing, and the tail flames of the bullets fired at night drew beautiful streamlines...

Human life was as worthless as grass.

Only at this time could the two of them be completely quiet.

Under the giant trees that several people could hug, the two snuggled together, smelling the strong smell of blood and gunpowder that had not yet dissipated in the air.

The remains of corpses inlaid with shrapnel were everywhere, and blood dripped down the tips of the leaves, like a drizzle...

Near the horizon, the setting sun was like blood.

It was not until this moment that they finally understood.

So...

What they wanted was not just money, but the momentary satisfaction brought about by this extreme madness.

But... people's hearts are like ravines.

This was far from enough.

Until they pushed open a strange door in their dreams.

"Are you sure the archives are here?" Zhou Taifu asked for the second time, frowning.

His mercenary career had given him a strong sense of perception and made his personality more and more paranoid.

"It should be right," Yu Wen looked around. The doors nearby were all locked, and it didn't look like anyone came here often. She continued as if to confirm, "I asked Feng Lan and used a lot of excuses before she told me."

Zhou Taifu tilted his head and asked, "Could there be a problem with that Feng Lan?"

Yu Wen thought for a while and shook her head, "I don't know, but it's better to be careful."

She reached out and took out her phone, glanced at the time on it, and urged, "Hurry up, I'm afraid that Zhen Jianren won't be able to hold on for long, lest we attract the students and teachers over there..."

A fierce look flashed in Zhou Taifu's eyes, "If they dare to come, they can only blame their bad luck!"

"Try not to kill anyone again," Yu Wen's face turned ugly, she turned her head, and her tone became serious, "Don't forget, there are rules here."

"Okay, I know."

Just after the two turned a corner, a very strange room appeared in front of them.

The room looked from the outside to occupy the area of ​​three or four ordinary rooms, but the door was very strange. It was a relatively new alloy anti-theft door.

It looked like it had just been replaced less than half a year ago.

You know, many of the other rooms in this corridor had rusted door locks.

At the same time, the expressions of the two changed.

After a long while, Zhou Taifu opened his mouth with a cold face, "Did you smell it?"

Yu Wen nodded, looked at the door of the room, and her expression was slightly unnatural, "It's the smell of blood."

There... seems to be something going on inside.

Zhou Taifu put Yu Wen behind him and used his left hand to pull the doorknob of the anti-theft door. With a flick of his right wrist, a cold gleaming dagger appeared in his palm.

The two had been working together for many years and had a tacit understanding. Yu Wen habitually guarded his back for him.

The moment he opened the door, Zhou Taifu immediately retreated.

"Squeak--"

The door shaft made a harsh rubbing sound, but there was no danger.

The moment the door opened, a pungent smell of blood rushed towards them.

Inside, leaning against the wall, was a person, head facing out and feet facing in. The attire was undoubtedly Luo Yi.

"It really is him..."

Yu Wen said coldly, but there was no unexpected expression on her face.

Like Jiang Cheng, she also saw that there was a problem with Luo Yi. When they were meeting in 404 not long ago, she noticed that the camera that should have been kept by Jiang Cheng was missing.

She searched for it without showing any sign, and finally found the camera hidden under the bed while squatting down to tie her shoelaces.

The lens was facing outwards, faintly reflecting a faint light.

Jiang Cheng was sitting by the bed, intentionally or unintentionally blocking it with his legs.

Almost at the same time, Yu Wen frowned, thinking about the reason why Jiang Cheng did this.

There was probably a ghost mixed in among them.

This explained why the speed of people dying slowed down as they got closer to the mission deadline, and even the ghost disappeared for no reason.

She tied her shoelaces and sat back, her expression natural, without saying anything.

Who could it be?

She was thinking in her mind.

First of all, Jiang Cheng was excluded, and then Fatty could also be excluded.

If Fatty was a ghost, Jiang Cheng would have no need to gather everyone together and do this wave of probing. He probably would have slipped away long ago.

Of course, he might also be dead.

Then the three people on her side should also be excluded, because the three had never been separated, and the ghost had no chance to kill someone and then replace them.

The rest... were the two people in 405.

Yu Wen's gaze was directed towards Zhen Jianren and Luo Yi, seemingly unintentionally.

But no matter how she looked, she couldn't see anything. The two people's behavior and manners were reasonable and there were no flaws.

When Luo Yi heard the analysis of the ghost, there was even a faint look of fear in his eyes.

Yu Wen had an idea and suddenly looked at Zhang Yinyin's position.

The latter's perception was also quite terrifying. After a few seconds, she noticed Yu Wen's gaze.

The two people's gazes only touched for a moment before they moved away without leaving any trace.

After leaving room 404, Yu Wen and his group returned to room 406.

While tidying up her things, Yu Wen noticed a ray of light flashing across Zhang Yinyin's hand with the corner of her eye, but when she looked again, there was nothing in her hand.

She walked over without leaving any trace, lowered her head, leaned close to Zhang Yinyin's ear, and said in a low voice, "The mirror in your hand can reflect ghosts. I saw you use it yesterday."

Zhang Yinyin's hand, which was tidying up her things, paused.

The next second, Yu Wen continued, "Now... a ghost has mixed in."