Chapter 25: You Can Only Stay in Africa for the Rest of Your Life

His eyes burnt as he peered around the dark hotel lobby. The thick stone pillars accentuated the difference in height, and the huge crystal lamp on the ceiling was turned off but still reflected light off its surroundings.

Under such light, it was still strangely magnificent, despite the eerie and empty atmosphere.

Many silhouettes were in the lobby of the hotel. They were of irregular shapes: tall, weird, long, and narrow. Their bodies were piled up like messy black lines.

Yibei has seen these figures before. In fact, most of the shadowy figures he saw were like this. Each time, whenever he caught a glimpse of them, they would disappear instantly.

However, they showed no signs of disappearing, and there were so many of them!

Some of them phased through the stone pillars, some submerged themselves in the walls, and some emerged from the ground. Whispers could also be heard being shared among the shadows.

He couldn’t make out the murmurs. They were broken up into sentences: sharp, manic, and insane.

However, as soon as Yibei made his presence known, all the murmurs fell silent, and he felt eyes on him.

It was silent and awkward for a long time, and Yibei waved at the strange figures.

“H-hello. I think I went to the wrong place. I’ll be taking my leave.”

As soon as his words fell, the strange figures looked away and minded their own business.

That’s good, he thought.

His stomach began to ache again, as if Zhu Linglong was urging him to move forward, “Okay! If it was you, wouldn’t you be scared too? Give me some time to adjust, at least…”

He lifted the statue on his shoulder and walked cautiously into the depths of the resort.

Walking in the lobby, he tightly held the statue of Acala, the Immovable, ready to slam the statue at any time.

However, these strange figures minded their own business and spoke among themselves.

“The stock has fallen… I’m gonna go bankrupt soon…”

“An incurable disease?”

“You’re cheating on me, you b*tch!”

Yibei eavesdropped on the whispers and murmurs, and all of them seemed to be complaining about something.

Were they vengeful spirits? He didn’t know. The next time he goes to the Night Division, he must borrow the Night Division Records for more information.

An Qing told him that the Night Division Records recorded all kinds of urban legends known to them.

“Ten! Ten orders of Kryptons have not been shipped… I guess I’m staying in Africa for the rest of my life!” A voice sounded.

He glanced at the strange figure who passed by and said, ‘It’s just ten orders. What’s the fuss about?’

Just as he thought of that, the strange figure stopped and stared at him.

And the figure started to phase towards him intermittently.

His heart skipped a beat, and his whole body trembled.

“What the hell… hey! Don’t get any closer!”

The figure stepped closer and closer, and before he could think about it, his legs had already carried him out of the lobby.

With the resort being closed, the elevators were out of service. Yibei rushed through the lobby at lightning speed and pushed open the iron gate of the emergency stairwell. He panted as he rushed up several floors in quick succession before leaning on the wall to catch his breath.

When he recovered, he noticed a thin, dark, red line stretching out from his chest, connecting him to something.

“Ten orders… I’ll be staying in Africa for the rest of my life…”

He heard faint whispers in his ears and realized that he was tied to the strange figure now.

“God damn it! I shouldn’t have talked behind his back!”

In an instant, Yibei continued running upstairs with a strange surge in strength.

He ran from the lobby all the way to the twelfth floor, which was where Zhu Linglong was murdered. It took him less than three minutes to climb up twenty-four flights of stairs.

Stumbling and pushing open the door of the emergency stairwell, a strong musty smell flooded his nostrils, along with the faint scent of blood.

The windows in the corridors were boarded up with wooden planks, and only a little sunlight penetrated through the gaps.

Yibei saw that the red line was still there, but the whispers in his ears had died down. It seems like the strange figure stopped chasing after him.

The corridor was divided into two sides in a T-shape. The dusty brown doors were tightly shut, and some mildew spots grew on the light grey carpet.

Standing in the dimly lit corridor, accompanied by nothing but dead silence, he vigilantly clenched the arm of Acala, the Immovable.

This place had no strange figures or shadowy silhouettes, yet he felt uncomfortable and anxious.

A cool wind could be heard blowing down the corridor. Although it was soft, it was deafening in such a quiet environment. He felt worried that something was about to pounce on him.

Yibei gulped and opened his mouth, whispering, “Linglong, which way is it? Left?”

“…”

“Right?”

A slight throbbing pain urged him forward, and Yibei nodded as he walked down the right corridor.

At the end of the corridor, there was a corner. When he was about to turn the corner, he slowed down and was put on guard. He leaned against the wall and poked his head around the corner.

The corridor was empty, and about ten meters away, there was a double door that was decorated, reminiscent of a classical Chinese design. The brown door was carved with delicate patterns and inlaid with copper rings.

This must be where Zhu Linglong was killed since the area was cordoned off. A warning belt was pulled up, and a sign that said [ONLY STAFF ALLOWED] was hung.

After confirming that nothing strange was waiting for him, he took a deep breath and walked over to the warning belt. In an instant, his eyes burnt, warning him of impending danger.

The next moment, the hairs on his body stood on their ends, and he froze in place.

A man was now in the empty corridor—a tall man in a black cloak with a crowbar that dripped with blood…

The man twisted his neck a hundred and eighty degrees, revealing a furry rabbit’s mouth underneath the hood.

Yibei’s palms were wet with sweat, and his heart was crawling out of the walls of his throat. The fear of death surged through him like a tsunami.

Lu Yibei and the pair of scarlet eyes stared at each other for about three seconds, and he ran wildly towards him…