Elevator

  In recent years, with the booming development of self-media industry, I also changed from a magazine editor to an editor of a certain self-media radio station on the Internet, who was responsible for organizing materials for the midnight story program of the radio station.

  The content of online radio programs on self-media is much more limited compared to traditional broadcast stations. Coupled with the inherent advantage of creating a mysterious and eerie atmosphere during the midnight hour, we often feature stories in our midnight programs that listeners love to hear, such as urban ghost stories, supernatural events, or mythological tales.

  Therefore, through in-depth research on the listening preferences of young audiences at midnight and the application under the new media ecology, our radio station's midnight program not only greatly increased the listening rate, but also significantly improved the salary and welfare of employees.

  Of course, as our Midnight Story Session grew in fame, the pressure on me as the content editor also increased significantly. To provide more stories for the show, I had to engage in intense research every day. Among all the sources of information, my personal favorite were those old forums that have been phased out by the new internet era.

  Although these forums are only more than 20 years old, they are not too old to describe them in the context of the Internet.

  Back to the main point.

  As usual, the first thing I did when I arrived at the company was to log on to the ancient City Forum, which I often browse for information, and look for material. Soon, I was drawn to a new post that had just been posted one minute ago.

  The poster’s avatar is called “Chen Mo Trapped in an Elevator”, and the title of this post is called “Elevator”.

  I clicked on this post and carefully read through the content posted by the OP. I felt that the story told by the OP was very suitable for our Midnight Story Session. So, I reached out to the OP via private message to confirm whether the content he posted was original. Then, I hope I can obtain the OP's consent to broadcast the content of this post in our Midnight program.

  The communication went very smoothly, and the OP quickly responded that he allowed me to tell this story on the radio. At the same time, the OP emphasized that everything posted in this thread was absolutely not plagiarized or fabricated; it was all real events that happened to him.

  Although I provide stories such as urban ghost stories for the program, I am a firm atheist and never believe in ghosts. Therefore, I think the special emphasis of the poster is only to increase the authenticity of the story and create a strong atmosphere of horror.

  After the OP authorized me to use the content of this post via private message, I informed him that I would first appropriately organize the content. Once I have his approval, I will submit the organized story to the radio station's chief editor for review. If it passes the review, I will pay the OP according to the specific regulations of the radio station.

  The OP gladly accepted my kindness. Then, the OP told me that his name is Chen Mo. The story in this post is a real experience that happened to him. He hopes that this story can be recognized by the audience.

  Of course, I want to make it clear that the real name of the OP is not Chen Mo. Chen Mo is just a pseudonym I gave him after I hid his real name for the sake of convenience. If there is any similarity, it is purely coincidental.

  Because Chen Mo's posts are very organized, it is not difficult for me to organize the content of the posts. I only need to hide all the real names in the story and make some fine adjustments to the structure of the story.

  Why didn't this story make it to the radio show? I'll talk about that later. For now, I'll tell you exactly what happened. I'm going to tell you in the first person so you can get a better sense of the scene.

  My name is Chen Mo, and I am a reporter for the newspaper. The headquarters sent me to intern at the branch office in Shudu City a few weeks ago. As a newcomer, and having just arrived in Shudu City, I was unfamiliar with everything here. Therefore, the newspaper arranged for me to work alongside an experienced journalist on daily reporting tasks.

  I love the journalism industry very much, which makes me always participate in work with great enthusiasm. Therefore, I was quickly recognized by the old journalists and began to take some simple interviews independently, so as to exercise my ability to adapt to the interviewees.

  That day, I was sitting in front of the computer at the newspaper office, ready to sort out the interview manuscript that the old reporter had given me last night, when I received a call from the old reporter.

  The phone was connected, and the old reporter said anxiously: "Xiao Chen! There is a big news today, I need you to interview!"

  "What news?" I was suddenly alert when I heard the old reporter say so.

  "Last night, an accident occurred in the B office building of Shuxin Square, resulting in one death. Now, I need you to interview the staff there to see if you can gather any exclusive news," the veteran reporter continued in an anxious tone.

  "What? Dead man? Such a big deal, you want me to interview him myself?" I asked.

  Although I know that as a journalist, it's hard to avoid covering incidents involving casualties. But I have never been involved in such reporting. So when the veteran reporter asked me to cover an accidental death incident alone, I felt both excited and nervous.

  "Hi! You'll eventually get to interview like this! Besides, I'm not asking you to go to the scene of an accident. So, don't be so nervous. Just go and understand the background of what happened, interview the building security and employees from the company involved!" the veteran reporter quickly explained.

  "Are you really not going to go with me?" I was a little nervous because it was the first time I had interviewed such an event.

  "Hi! I was supposed to take you over for the interview today. But just now, the school called me, saying my child suddenly had a stomachache and diarrhea, and asked me to go to the school to pick him up and take him to the hospital! Oh no! My wife has been on a business trip these past few days, and everyone else is out on vacation. I had to ask my boss for leave and go take care of the child first!" the old journalist said helplessly.

  The old reporter said again, "I wanted to give this interview task to other colleagues, but everyone has their own interview to complete today, so you have to conduct the interview yourself! Although you are a new person, your performance has been excellent, I believe you can successfully complete the task."

  "Rest assured! Today's interview won't be too difficult. Just pay attention to your tone during the interview and avoid causing any discomfort to the interviewee. Keep in mind that Shuxin Square has already experienced two major accidents resulting in fatalities in the past two months! So, people working there are definitely more sensitive."

  "What? There have been two accidents there?" I couldn't help but ask the old reporter.

  "Oh! I forgot! You've only been at the newspaper for less than a month, so you don't know what happened before. Actually, you can use this opportunity to learn about the previous incidents and see if you can combine them to make the headlines for this story more engaging." the veteran reporter said.

  Then, without waiting for me to speak, the old reporter said first: "OK! Go quickly! Go early and come back early! I will try to take my children to see the doctor as soon as possible, so that I can come back to help you complete the report as soon as possible!"

  Hanging up the phone, I hurriedly packed my interview equipment and hailed a taxi, heading for the address provided by the veteran journalist. On the way, I also opened my phone to search for news about Shuxin Square. It turned out that, as the veteran journalist had mentioned, an accident did indeed occur in Shuxin Square a few weeks before I arrived in Shudu City. The incident resulted in the accidental death of an elevator maintenance worker.

  Although the official final investigation results show that the death of the elevator maintenance worker was directly related to his own health and improper operation when maintaining the elevator, there are still some voices on the Internet linking the accident with the mysterious legend of Shuxin Square.

  Advance statement. I am a staunch atheist and do not believe in ghosts or deities. Due to my profession as a journalist, I was immediately curious about the online rumors. Naturally, I wanted to learn more about these web-based tales. Unfortunately, since the newspaper office is not far from Shuxin Square, before I could thoroughly investigate various online speculations, the taxi had already taken me to my destination.

  Out of curiosity, I decided to take a look at the mysterious legends of Shudu Square in a later interview.

  The weather today is terrible; the sky has been overcast since early morning and it has been drizzling all along. To make matters worse, a murder occurred at Building B of Shuxin Plaza last night, which has led many people to avoid coming to work today due to superstition. This makes the office building particularly deserted today, giving off an extremely uncomfortable vibe.

  The lobby on the first floor of Building B was originally open to all. However, due to a murder last night, it is now under the control of the building's property management. Only staff members who work in the building can enter and exit with their work ID, and no one else is allowed to enter the building.

  Fortunately, I am a journalist, so when I took out my press card, a more talkative staff member at the scene still agreed to my interview. So, he took me to the side of the building with the excuse that it would not affect the work on site, and prepared to accept my interview.

  Before the interview began, the worker pretended to rummage through his work clothes and asked me if I had a lighter?

  Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but smile inwardly, thinking to myself: Although he asked me if I had a lighter, his hands were empty, not even a cigarette! No wonder he was willing to give me an interview and even brought me to the side of the building. It turns out he was just trying to get some grease from me!

  Despite my deep disdain for this staff member, after nearly a month of accompanying the veteran journalist on field interviews, I had seen quite a bit by now. This experience also led me to develop the habit of carrying an extra two packs of cigarettes when I go out. So, I quickly handed him a pack of mid-range cigarettes that I had prepared in advance, respectfully, and after lighting one for him, I formally began my interview with him.

  The staff member took advantage of me and was very cooperative with my interview. So, after understanding the questions I wanted to ask, he told me everything he knew.

  According to the staff member, the accident that occurred here last night was actually a fatal fall. The deceased, named Liu Na, worked at a tech company on the twenty-seventh floor. Surveillance footage from inside the building last night showed that she had climbed over to the terrace on the fourteenth floor without permission and then jumped from there.

  According to the investigation by police officers and forensic experts at the scene, the preliminary conclusion is that Liu Na likely fell from the fourteenth-floor terrace railing due to intoxication last night, while she was in a state of confusion. The staff member pointed inside the building as they spoke. Although we were standing outside the building, we could still see through the glass curtain wall that the police had set up a cordon in the first-floor lobby.

  Just as my attention was focused on the lobby downstairs, the staff member suddenly leaned in close to me and whispered in a very mysterious tone, "Although the police say otherwise, according to eyewitnesses, Liu Na's death is quite suspicious. Because over a month ago, the elevator maintenance worker who had an accident also died on the terrace of the fourteenth floor. So now, everyone thinks this isn't as simple as it seems. They might have been killed by some kind of dirty thing!"

  I took a look back and said, "Filth? There are no ghosts in this world."

  "Ha! The world is so big, there's nothing that can't happen! It's hard to say that some things can't surpass our imagination! You can be skeptical, but it's not a bad thing to have a sense of awe when facing the unknown." Seeing that I didn't believe there were ghosts in this world, the staff member said disdainfully.

  Although I have always held a materialistic view and sneered at the idea of ghosts and gods, I know that this is not the right time to discuss such topics with the staff.

  So, in order to collect more information, I still followed his words and asked: "You are right. Then may I ask you, what is the legend of Shuxin Square? And how did the previous master die?"

  The staff member looked at me in confusion. I quickly explained that since I had been in Shudu city for less than a month, I was not particularly familiar with the situation here. So, please bear with me and tell me about what happened here before.

  However, the staff member did not immediately respond to me. Instead, he flicked out his cigarette with a rapid eye movement and then said in a rather troubled tone: "Sigh! If we were to start with the incident at Shuxin Square, it would be a long story! And you know, because of what happened last night, our property management staff are all very busy today. So ——"

  I understood immediately what he was implying when I heard the staff say that.

  So, without waiting for him to finish speaking, I quickly took out a hundred-dollar bill from my pocket and stuffed it into his, saying, "Hey! Brother! I see you're a good person! And look, I'm actually an intern here too. I want to gather more information to write a report that will satisfy my boss, so he can approve my promotion as soon as possible. So, why don't you put up with the inconvenience and tell me about that master's story, and what rumors are circulating around here?"

  The staff member politely declined with his mouth, but quietly accepted the bill: "Hey! Buddy! Don't do that! This is no way to go about it! Come on! Forget it! I see you journalists have a tough life running around all day! So, I'll take some time to tell you more about the rumors surrounding Shuxin Square!"

  Then, after I respectfully offered him a cigarette, he began to tell me the story of Shuxin Square.

  Speaking of the old site where Shuxin Square was built, it originally served as a prison specifically for holding serious criminals. In the war-torn era, conditions inside the prison were extremely poor. Moreover, with the social health and medical system being virtually non-existent at that time, it was impossible to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, leading many serious criminals to die in prison.

  At that time, there was a saying that although the dead prisoners would be transported to a designated place for burial, many bodies that could not be transported in time were buried deep in the wasteland behind the prison.

  Due to the many heinous crimes committed by these death row inmates, some of whom were even responsible for multiple lives, they were burdened with deep sin. Thus, when they died from illness, their sins were entirely transformed into malevolent energy, turning their souls into vengeful spirits that continued to wreak havoc around the prison. As a result, the people in the surrounding areas, whether day or night, would avoid this prison at all costs.

  As the Liberation War broke out, this prison also became a place where local rebels imprisoned heroic martyrs. During this period, many people were tortured to death in the prison. Even numerous innocent civilians were unjustly imprisoned by the rebels under various pretexts and suffered inhuman treatment in the prison, leading to many lives being lost.

  After liberation, although the prison was seen as a relic of class struggle from the old era, it was completely demolished by an order from the Shudu City government. However, due to persistent folklore that many people died in this prison, causing heavy negative energy to gather there, even as Shudu City rapidly developed, the land where the prison once stood remained abandoned.

  As times have evolved, the city of Shudu has been expanding in scale. Over several decades, that area has gradually developed into a large open-air market through spontaneous organization by the local people. Moreover, during this period, no supernatural incidents have ever occurred there. Therefore, the rumors about that land have gradually faded from people's minds.

  Later, the Shudu municipal government announced plans to develop the northwest corner of the city, intending to construct a new urban district there. Consequently, a large area of land, including the former prison site, was sold to developers from all over the country under government operation. Among them, the land originally belonging to the prison was acquired by Shuxin Real Estate, a well-known company in Shudu, and transformed into the city's new landmark at that time, —— Shuxin Plaza.

  Soon after acquiring the land, Shuxin Real Estate began to construct the project of Shuxin Plaza. Everything went smoothly at the beginning of the work. Until the bottom of the foundation pit was excavated, an accident happened suddenly.

  It is said that at that time, excavators often broke down for no apparent reason, and then the workers working on the construction site were hospitalized several times due to food poisoning. The city health supervision department and Shuxin Real Estate paid great attention to the safety of the food provided by the construction site, and carried out strict inspections for many times to ensure food safety.

  Even so, some workers have been poisoned by eating at construction sites. And, according to the investigation, all the workers who were poisoned came from the teams responsible for digging the foundation pits.

  Regulators and the company at the time believed that someone had deliberately poisoned the construction team. However, after a thorough investigation, this theory was quickly dismissed. Strangely, apart from the workers of the excavation team, other department workers also ate in the canteen on the site, yet they never experienced any food poisoning.

  The poisoning incident was not yet resolved when a new accident occurred. This time, it was the engineering team responsible for excavating the foundation pit that encountered the unexpected. During their work, the ground at the bottom of the pit collapsed for no apparent reason, causing an excavator to fall into a deep pit and the driver to break several ribs.

  Even more frightening, as the rescue team was pulling out the excavator, they found human remains in the collapsed pit. Experts determined that the remains did not belong to the same person and were all killed during the operation of the prison.

  The issue is that Shuxin Plaza consists of a commercial complex and two office buildings, each with 37 floors above ground and 3 floors below ground. To ensure the load-bearing capacity of this land meets the requirements and to confirm there are no adverse geological conditions beneath it, geologists conducted comprehensive and multiple surveys of the site. Moreover, at the time of the incident, no earthquake had occurred here.

  So, the geological experts were also puzzled as to why the construction team would dig up an underground chamber while excavating the foundation. This chamber, containing human remains, seemed to appear out of nowhere, leaving everyone amazed. At the same time, it was precisely because of this discovery that news about the long-forgotten prison spread like wildfire.

  Many believe that it must have been the souls of the desperadoes who perished here, all suppressed underground by the residual power of that prison on this land. As a result, their massive construction efforts here disrupted the suppressive force, releasing the malevolent aura formed by those evil spirits and attacking the workers involved in the excavation.

  For a while, rumors flew, and the workers on the site were in a panic. No one dared to enter the foundation pit to continue digging no matter how much more money the construction party added.

  It's important to know that Shuxin Plaza is the core area of this new city. Therefore, this project involves government performance and must not delay the schedule. Thus, Shuxin Real Estate took swift action: on one hand, they fully treated the injured workers and properly compensated the responsible employees; on the other hand, with the assistance of government departments, they used scientific methods to actively dispel rumors.

  In addition, Shuxin Real Estate also worked hard to invite a well-known feng shui master from another province to help solve the problem.

  "So, do you know how the feng shui master solved the problem?" I asked curiously.

  The staff member shook his head: "It's unbelievable that the refugee fortune-teller arrived at the scene to observe the situation and then performed some rituals the next evening. After that, he continued to watch the construction team dig the foundation pit for several days until it was confirmed to be safe before leaving. Since then, the project has progressed very smoothly, and Shuxin Square was delivered on schedule."

  The staff member took a puff of his cigarette and continued, "As for how the feng shui master solved the problem, there is still no clear answer. That night, apart from a few key members of Shuxin Real Estate who were on site, the entire construction area was cleared out. However, the old man who was keeping watch at the site managed to catch a glimpse of some of the rituals from a distance when no one was paying attention."

  It is said that the feng shui master first paid his respects before discovering the resistance of the body. Then, he directed the few employees to mark the center and four corners of the foundation pit. Afterward, the feng shui master slowly paced inside the pit, muttering incantations for a full half hour before concluding the ritual

  It's a pity that the old man was far away at the time and didn't hear what the feng shui master was saying. Later on, it was heard that before the construction team officially started building the foundation, five auspicious beasts were buried at five designated spots by the feng shui master. They are a bronze dragon statue treated with anti-corrosion, located in the center, and four lion statues of different shapes

  In the following twenty years, Shuxin Square has been well-managed and bustling with people. The rumors of those days have now become topics of conversation over tea and snacks. It wasn't until two recent accidents that people started to pay attention to these rumors again. According to local gossip, the fates of those two deceased individuals might be linked to the malevolent energy lurking beneath Shuxin Square. Most people believe that it must have been the grand array set up by the feng shui master that year that became unstable, allowing the underground malevolent energy to break free and begin attacking innocent civilians

  "You mean the two deaths were both very suspicious?" I asked.

  The staff said with some fear: "It's not suspicious, but it's a little strange."

  I hurriedly offered him another cigarette and asked him to tell me the cause of death of the two dead men. The staff member stewed his emotions for a while, then told me that his surname was Li and I could call him Old Li.

  Then, Old Li told me that he was a junior leader in the security department and had directly participated in the aftermath of both incidents, so he naturally knew more about their causes and consequences. However, the management of Shuxin Plaza had issued a gag order, so he couldn't tell me much. After saying this, Old Li turned away and started smoking on his own.

  Of course, I understood Old Li's hint, but to gather the news, I could only inwardly curse his greed while putting on a smile and quietly slipping a hundred-dollar bill into his pocket. Seeing my cooperation, Old Li grinned and praised me with casual words, then went on to talk about two recent accidents.

  Mr.Li began with the first accident, which killed an elevator maintenance worker named Wang Shuai.

  Wang Shuai belongs to an elevator maintenance company that has been established for over twenty years, specializing in providing elevator maintenance services for large commercial complexes and office buildings. Wang Shuai himself has nearly ten years of experience in elevator repair and maintenance, so logically, he would not make basic mistakes at work. This is why people find Wang Shuai's death very strange.

  It is said that the flow of people in Shuxin Square is very large on weekdays, so the maintenance work such as elevator maintenance can only be arranged at night.

  As mentioned earlier, Shuxin Plaza consists of three buildings. However, to cut costs, the company only sends two technicians each time to maintain the elevators, which significantly increases their workload. Although according to the "Elevator Maintenance and Safety Management Standards," for safety reasons, the number of on-site personnel must not be less than two when performing elevator maintenance work.

  But in order to improve the maintenance speed, the two masters usually choose to act separately. This operation is common in the industry. In addition, the two masters are very experienced, so they do not worry about what problems may occur when maintaining the elevator alone.

  That night, Wang Shuai was responsible for maintaining the elevators in Building B, while another master was responsible for maintaining the elevators in Building A. After completing the maintenance of the elevators in Building A and Building B, the two of them went to Shuxin Plaza to maintain the elevators in the commercial complex.

  After work started, everything went very smoothly. However, during the two masters 'communication via walkie-talkies, Wang Shuai's messages were often accompanied by significant noise, making it increasingly difficult for the other master to hear him clearly. At first, the other master thought it might be because Wang Shuai was in an elevator, which caused interference with the walkie-talkie signal, so he did not pay much attention.

  Since Wang Shuai's signal was poor, the master focused all his attention on his own work and completed the first stage of his work smoothly according to the plan. Then he went downstairs to meet Wang Shuai. However, he did not see Wang Shuai for a long time.

  It's important to know that this master has been a colleague of Wang Shuai for many years and often works together. He is very familiar with Wang Shuai's elevator maintenance skills. Given Wang Shuai's work efficiency, it's impossible for him not to have completed his tasks by now. Moreover, if Wang Shuai encountered any issues while maintaining the elevator, he should have notified him via the intercom.

  Thinking of this, the master picked up the walkie-talkie and tried to contact Wang Shuai again. However, he still did not receive a response from Wang Shuai. So, the master called Wang Shuai once more using his mobile phone. Surprisingly, he still couldn't get through to Wang Shuai. It was only then that the master realized something was amiss. He immediately went to Building B and sought help from the security guard stationed in the lobby on the first floor.

  The security guards on the first floor did not see Wang Shuai come out after he entered. Therefore, those who confirmed that Wang Shuai was still inside the sixth floor immediately split up to check at each elevator. At the same time, one of the guards promptly activated the surveillance cameras from all elevators and floors to accurately pinpoint Wang Shuai's location. Soon, based on the recorded times in the surveillance footage, the guard determined that Wang Shuai last appeared on the fourteenth floor.

  The two office buildings in the new square are both designed with a hollow design of up to 15 floors. However, perhaps because the design concept was different ten years ago, the sightseeing elevator designed for the hollow hall can only reach the 14th floor.

  However, since the machine rooms of both elevators are located at the top of the elevator, in order to hide the machine rooms and make the design of the whole lobby more beautiful, the architects designed two terraces at the top of the two elevators, corresponding to the 14th floor.

  Of course, because the two terraces house elevator machine rooms, the architect has specially designed maintenance doors on the ground level of each terrace for easy access by repair workers. To ensure the safety of elevator facilities and building occupants, the glass doors of both terraces remain locked and closed unless authorized by staff, preventing any entry.

  For safety reasons, the building's property has installed surveillance cameras on the corridor outside the terrace to monitor the situation of the terrace. Therefore, you can see clearly through the cameras on the 14th floor that Wang Shuai entered the terrace on the 14th floor to maintain the elevator.

  Through the surveillance footage, it can be seen that Wang Shuai is performing routine maintenance on the sightseeing elevator. However, not long after, all the surveillance videos from the fourteenth floor suddenly displayed a snow screen as if they had been subjected to electromagnetic interference. Judging from the time on the surveillance footage, the snow screen appeared for only two or three seconds.

  However, after all the monitoring returned to normal, everyone was surprised to find that Wang Shuai, who had been busy at the elevator maintenance door on the terrace just seconds ago, had vanished. Not only that, but even the maintenance door that had been opened was closed, and the glass door leading into this terrace was also shut. The scene depicted in the footage seemed as if Wang Shuai had never been here before.

  Everyone knew that Wang Shuai couldn't have packed up and left the terrace in just a few seconds. So, they all assumed that the surveillance cameras on the fourteenth floor must have malfunctioned, preventing them from capturing Wang Shuai's departure. However, they soon discovered that the surveillance equipment on other floors showed no abnormalities and did not capture any footage of Wang Shuai appearing afterward.

  From this, it can be seen that Wang Shuai must still be on the fourteenth floor. However, according to the surveillance footage from the fourteenth floor, the corridor was empty. Moreover, although some floors still had company employees working night shifts, the company that surrounded the fourteenth floor closed all its doors on time tonight. So, even if Wang Shuai is still on the fourteenth floor, where could he possibly hide?

  The security guard who sensed that Wang Shuai might be in danger quickly sent out a distress signal to his colleagues in Building A and the commercial complex. Soon, more security guards and night property staff arrived and immediately divided into groups to conduct a thorough search from the ground floor up.

  At the same time, a group including another master took the elevator directly to the fourteenth floor and began searching the only four public restrooms that were not under surveillance. However, they did not find Wang Shuai in any of the restrooms. So, everyone went to those two terraces to determine if Wang Shuai had been there tonight?

  After all, another master could tell at a glance whether Wang Shuai had opened the maintenance door on the terrace and inspected the elevator machine room inside. To everyone's surprise, as soon as the other master opened the maintenance door on the right side of the terrace, they immediately found Wang Shuai, who had already lost consciousness, curled up in the elevator machine room.

  Finally, the forensic doctor who came to investigate the scene said that Wang Shuai died during the maintenance of the elevator that night. As for the cause of death, the forensic doctor concluded after the examination that:

  Wang Shuai has been smoking for a long time and has high body fat, which leads to chronic respiratory diseases. When the body is too tired, this chronic disease exists through the synergistic effect of chronic respiratory diseases and high blood fat, leading to acute hypoxia complications and dizziness in patients.

  Wang Shuai was accidentally locked in the elevator room below the terrace floor after suffering from acute vertigo. As a result, he was suffocated to death in the relatively closed elevator room due to his prolonged coma.

  Old Li took a long puff of smoke: "Huh ——! Although the police have given their final verdict, another master and the security guard present at the time clearly do not accept the police's conclusion. They always feel that even if Wang Shuai's death was as such, it would be impossible for him to lock himself in the server room so coincidentally. Moreover, they insist that the surveillance on the entire fourteenth floor was disrupted without any reason, which must be related to Wang Shuai's death."

  "So, what did the police say?" I asked.

  "The police said they had called in experts to examine the building's surveillance system and wiring after the incident, but they found nothing unusual," Mr.Li said

  "At the same time, to determine whether Wang Shuai's death was a criminal case, the police conducted a thorough investigation of all individuals who entered or exited the building before and after the incident, as well as a strict investigation of everyone around Wang Shuai. The final investigation results showed that this incident was unrelated to others, ruling out the possibility of foul play."

  "Similarly, after a joint investigation by the criminal police and the forensic doctor, they determined that Wang Shuai's death was not suicide. Therefore, the police defined Wang Shuai's death as an accident."

  "As for the doubts raised by everyone, the police also stated that many accidents resulting in fatalities are due to sudden unexpected situations beyond ordinary people's understanding. In other words: Wang Shuai appeared at the wrong place at the wrong time and encountered the wrong things simultaneously, which led to his loss of life."

  Although what Mr.Li said sounds a little weird, I actually agree with the police's view that Wang Shuai's death was simply an accident and there is no need to overinterpret it.

  Lao Li also agreed with me: "You are right, because that's what I thought at the time. Maybe Wang Shuai's accidental death was the result of multiple mistakes. But after Liu Na died, my idea wavered."

  After Li finished speaking, he turned his head to look at the first-floor lobby surrounded by a security cord. I was nervous at that moment, thinking that this guy would not want to get any benefits from me again, or else he would refuse to reveal information related to Liu Na's death?

  Old Li is such a greedy guy! The public relations budget given to me by the old reporter is limited to only one pack of cigarettes and two hundred yuan. Once this amount is exceeded, I have to pay out of my own pocket!

  Fortunately, this time Lao Li did not hint at me to give him a red envelope again. Instead, he indicated that I had helped him light another cigarette and then told me about the accident last night.

  Liu Na is a female employee working in a technology company on the 27th floor of Building B.

  Liu Na had a party with friends near Shuxin Square late last night, only to find that she had left her house key at the company. Since Liu Na's hometown is not here and her boyfriend has been on business recently, she had to go back to the company to get the key before going home.

  Although the police have determined that Wang Shuai's death was an accident, the fact remains that someone died. As a result, employees working in Building B have been very cautious about this matter and tend to finish their work early before dark. During this period, all companies in Building B also tacitly close their doors on time, prohibiting any employee from staying up late or working overtime. Consequently, the office building in Building B has become eerily quiet at night, adding to its ominous atmosphere.

  In this situation, her colleagues naturally opposed Liu Na returning to the company in the middle of the night. Although Liu Na was also afraid of the cold, there was no place for her to stay at her friends' houses after the gathering. Moreover, she had always been frugal and was unwilling to spend money on a night at a budget hotel. Therefore, she finally decided to tough it out and return to the company with the key.

  Liu Na's friends naturally did not dare to accompany her upstairs. Fortunately, the property management center, considering the special circumstances of this period, specially increased the number of night guards. Therefore, with sufficient manpower, the on-site security decided to send two people to accompany Liu Na upstairs.

  After going upstairs, Liu Na quickly went to the company to retrieve her house keys. However, when she stepped out of the company, she was red-faced and clutching her stomach. It seemed that the hot pot dinner had upset her stomach, making Liu Na eager to go to the bathroom downstairs. So, feeling quite embarrassed, she asked two security guards to wait for her while she ran off to relieve herself.

  One of the three urgent needs of human beings is to relieve oneself.

  Out of desperation, the two security guards had to report the situation to the floor via a walkie-talkie and then wait outside the toilet door to make sure Liu Na could go to the toilet in peace.

  Liu Na's toilet was at the end of a small fork in the 27th floor, on the left side, and on the right was the elevator that the three had just taken.

  The two security guards decided to walk outside the fork in the road into a long corridor, where they would smoke and chat while waiting for Liu Na, because they felt it was strange to be standing at the door of the women's toilet.

  About five or six minutes later, Liu Na walked out of the restroom. However, after exiting the elevator, she ignored the two security guards and went straight to the right side of the elevator, pressing the button to prepare for her ride down. Liu Na's long hair was still flowing, and when she came out of the restroom, she faced the two security guards sideways. As a result, the two security guards were momentarily unable to see Liu Na's expression.

  For Liu Na's indifferent attitude, however, the two security guards paid no attention. Instead, they exchanged smiles and quickly extinguished their cigarettes before following her. They understood that it was indeed extremely awkward for a girl to use the restroom while two unfamiliar men were waiting outside. It was only natural that Liu Na felt embarrassed and deliberately avoided them.

  Since Liu Na's company is on the 27th floor, it would still take some time for the three of them to return to the ground floor by elevator. To ease the awkward atmosphere, two security guards stood near the elevator door and started chatting idly. They left Liu Na standing in the elevator with her back to them.

  At first, the elevator went down normally. Suddenly, the elevator stopped working with a loud bang. Then, the power was cut off inside the elevator, leaving it dark and invisible.

  The security guard was startled by the sudden malfunction during their casual chat. Fortunately, both guards had received professional emergency training, so they did not panic at all. One of them used the intercom to contact the guard downstairs, while the other quickly pressed the alarm button on the elevator and the buttons on each floor, ensuring that the elevator would stop immediately once power was restored and open its doors to let them out.

  The elevator suddenly malfunctioned and stopped mid-operation, which was already terrifying. Adding to the fear was the fact that three people were in the elevator, descending from the 27th floor, and it happened in the middle of the night. Therefore, when the two security guards noticed Liu Na standing behind them without a word, they naturally assumed she must have been severely frightened, unable to speak for a moment. So, while comforting her, the two guards turned on their flashlights and prepared to check on Liu Na's safety.

  As a result, as soon as the security guard turned on his light, there was another loud bang outside the elevator. Then the elevator began to accelerate downward.

  "No! It's a slide! Squat down against the wall!" a security guard shouted immediately.

  So the two security guards, too busy to comfort Liu Na, quickly crouched against the wall and put their hands on their heads in preparation for a fall.

  At this moment, the elevator was still pitch black. In such a confined and narrow space, the sensation of the elevator's rapid descent was naturally magnified infinitely, causing both security guards to feel as if death had descended upon them. At this point, both guards couldn't help but picture the elevator crashing heavily to the ground, the immense impact from its fall shattering them into pieces, leaving only bloody messes.

  In the case of the elevator plummeting at high speed, both security guards had their hearts in their throats. Fortunately, the elevator quickly regained stability. With a deafening clang, it finally arrived safely on the first floor. The moment the elevator doors opened automatically, the two security guards fled in panic, collapsing on the ground and panting heavily with lingering fear.

  The people on the first floor quickly came forward to ask about the two. Fortunately, the two were only frightened and not hurt. So, a friend of Liu Na hurriedly asked the two, why didn't Liu Na follow?

  Two security guards were initially stunned by the news, only then did they suddenly remember Liu Na, who was traveling with them. Due to the darkness in the elevator and the sudden rapid descent, the two, terrified, had forgotten about Liu Na being inside the elevator. Therefore, they were unaware of her situation.

  Everyone rushed to look into the dark elevator, only to find that it was empty.

  Liu Na, she disappeared! The two security guards exclaimed.

  The two quickly recalled what had just happened. Both were very sure that Liu Na was indeed in the elevator. And when the elevator malfunctioned, the doors never opened. So, Liu Na could not have walked out of the elevator halfway.

  Moreover, the two security guards were always standing near the elevator door, so even if Liu Na wanted to get out of the elevator, she had to go through them. In this case, the two security guards would inevitably notice that Liu Na had left the elevator.

  But since Liu Na didn't leave the elevator, how did she disappear? After all, this is not a two-way door elevator. Therefore, there was no way for Liu Na to leave alone from the other side of the elevator.

  The security guard and Liu Na's friend repeatedly confirmed that there was no place inside the elevator where Liu Na could hide. Moreover, there were no signs of loosening or tampering with any part of the elevator, including the ceiling. So, where did Liu Na go? How did she disappear from such a confined space as an elevator?

  Everyone looked at each other, unable to figure out what was going on. Then a security guard realized something was wrong and immediately went to retrieve the surveillance records to find out where Liu Na had gone?

  The stunned group hurriedly followed the squad leader, turned around, and ran into the guard room on the right side of the first-floor lobby of Building B to check the surveillance footage related to this elevator. The result was alarming; everyone who saw the video couldn't help but gasp in shock.

  Everyone first viewed the surveillance footage from the twenty-seventh floor. In these images, everyone clearly saw the two security guards and Liu Na exiting the elevator, then Liu Na entering and leaving the company premises, followed by her running to the restroom. Next, Liu Na was seen hurrying out of the restroom and boarding an elevator with the two security guards to go downstairs. This confirmed once again that Liu Na indeed entered the elevator with the two security guards.

  Then, the security guard retrieved the surveillance footage from inside the elevator. According to this footage, Liu Na's state when entering the elevator was very peculiar. She leaned forward slightly, her head lowered, and her face was completely obscured by her long hair. The image of Liu Na walking into the elevator with a mysterious air made everyone shiver involuntarily through the screen.

  As soon as Liu Na entered the elevator, she stood with her back to two security guards. The two security guards stood side by side facing the elevator door, trying to use their idle talk to ease Liu Na's embarrassment. Up until this point, everything was normal.

  However, as the surveillance footage suddenly shook, the elevator stopped descending. Then, because the power to the elevator was completely cut off, the surveillance cameras inside the elevator were interrupted, leaving people unable to see what happened next.

  Seeing that Liu Na was not on the surveillance video, her friends felt things were getting worse. Liu Na's friends quickly took out their phones, ready to call the police. But just as she pulled out her phone, they heard a muffled sound from the first-floor lobby. In panic, everyone rushed out of the monitoring room to check the situation.

  Then, amid the screams of Liu Na's two friends, they saw her lying in a pool of blood.

  Liu Na lay face down in the hall. Her eyes were wide open, frozen in the terror of her final moments. The back of her head was shattered by the force of her fall, leaving a gruesome sight that was too much to bear. White cerebrospinal fluid splattered everywhere, mingling with fresh red blood, and the air was thick with a suffocating stench of blood.

  Everyone present was so frightened by the gruesome scene that their legs trembled, or they fell to the ground and wailed, or they gagged at the smell of blood. For a moment, the whole hall was in chaos.

  "So, has the police found out the cause of Liu Na's death?" I said and helped Mr.Li light another cigarette.

  "After a detailed investigation, the police concluded that Liu Na died by suicide and there was no possibility of homicide," Mr.Li said, puffing on a cigarette

  Then, Mr.Li told me everything he had heard from last night to this morning when he was assisting the police in investigating the cause of Liu Na's death.

  After an overnight investigation by the police, they learned from Liu Na's friend that her romantic life had been in trouble for a month. The gist of it was that Liu Na discovered her boyfriend had met and had an affair with another woman while on a business trip. This trip was also to meet the woman.

  These were all discovered by Liu Na a few days ago when she secretly checked her boyfriend's phone while he was drunk. This incident left Liu Na extremely angry and deeply distressed. She loves her boyfriend very much, and they have reached the point of discussing marriage. In such a situation, Liu Na naturally could not bear the thought of her future husband being taken away by someone else.

  Liu Na, who is usually frugal, invited her friends out to dinner last night for one of the reasons being to confide in them and seek their help. However, due to her boyfriend's betrayal, Liu Na, who had already suffered significant psychological trauma, might have been triggered by a sudden elevator malfunction, leading to a complete emotional breakdown. As a result, she took advantage of the chaos to run out of the elevator and, unable to control her uncontrollable emotions, chose to jump from the terrace on the fourteenth floor, ending her life.

  "But if the two security guards didn't lie, how did Liu Na leave the elevator in front of them?" I asked.

  According to the police, people are prone to perceptual errors when they are in a dark environment, especially when they are in a dangerous environment, and they are also prone to ignore many things in such situations, Mr.Li explained

  Do you remember I mentioned that during the elevator fall last night, there was a brief stop? The police deduced that the elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor and opened its doors while temporarily stopping. However, both security guards were in a panic at the time, so they didn't notice that the elevator door had already opened, or at least half open, just enough for Liu Na to step out sideways

  "Ah! It was probably because Liu Na was too frightened when the elevator broke down, and her emotions had already broken down that she didn't tell the two security guards when she left the elevator. Because at that time, she had already planned to kill herself." Old Li sighed with regret.

  After listening to Lao Li's story, my first reaction was: "Another 14th floor."

  "Yes. The 14th floor again." Lao Li said with great regret.

  "So the police must have seen Liu Na from the moment she stepped out of the elevator to the moment she jumped from the 14th floor, right?" I asked.

  "Yes, but not entirely," replied Mr.Li.

  "What do you mean by that?" I asked in doubt.

  Old Li explained, "When the police reviewed the surveillance footage, they found that the cameras from the twelfth to the sixteenth floor experienced a brief malfunction at some point. After calculations by the police, it turned out that these malfunctions coincided with the elevator being temporarily stopped on the fourteenth floor. As a result, the surveillance cameras did not capture the elevator stopping at the fourteenth floor or Liu Na coming out of the elevator. However, ——"."

  After saying this, Old Li began to smoke heavily. I clearly noticed that his right hand, which was holding the cigarette, was trembling imperceptibly. This detail revealed the turmoil in his heart, and it was clear that the story to come filled him with fear.

  So I patted Li's shoulder and asked in an encouraging tone, "Li, what is it?"

  Lao Li smoked the cigarette at an extremely exaggerated speed, then exhaled the smoke and said, "Huh ——! However, the surveillance camera didn't fail for too long. So, the camera specifically used to monitor the terrace area on the 14th floor still captured the last image of Liu Na in front of her."

  When the surveillance returned to normal, it was visible that the glass door leading to the fourteen-story terrace had been opened. Liu Na was already standing at the edge of the terrace, her back to the courtyard. Since her entire face was covered by long hair, we could not see her expression clearly. She stood on the edge of the terrace, swayed mechanically a few times, then fell backward and plummeted off the terrace

  Lao Li rubbed his face hard, as if he wanted to forget what he had seen Liu Na fall from the building. But judging from his expression at this moment, it was likely that this horrible scene would haunt him for a long time.

  Seeing this, I quickly handed a cigarette to Lao Li to ease his nervousness.

  I muttered to myself: "Fourteenth floor, how come it's the fourteenth floor again......"

  Old Li, whose emotions had calmed down, responded, "Huh! That's right. Another fourteenth floor! This is why, even though the police have determined the cause of Liu Na's death, many people still don't agree with this theory. Mainly because everything seems too coincidental! And so far, the police haven't explained how Liu Na managed to open the locked glass door and enter the terrace."

  "And even when the surveillance cameras malfunctioned, the lighting systems on those floors also went out. However, due to the atrium design of the building, light from other floors still managed to reach those levels. At least when the elevator doors opened, two security guards could see some light, rather than being in complete darkness."

  "So do you think Liu Na's death was the same as Wang Shuai's, both related to unknown dirt?" I asked.

  This time, Old Li shook his head very cautiously: "I dare not speak rashly about these things. I don't want to lose my job over this, so please understand, brother. However, many people working here have linked the deaths of Liu Na and Wang Shuai to the rumors from Shuxin Plaza back then. That's why, after learning about the incident last night, almost no one is working in the entire building today."

  It was clear that Old Li also leaned towards the supernatural theory. However, as a member of Shuxin Plaza, Old Li might have received orders from his superiors not to speculate on Liu Na's cause of death or comment publicly on the matter, which made him noticeably more cautious when discussing this topic.

  Lao Li said that he had told me everything that could be said, and I didn't need to make things difficult for him. If it affected his work, it would be bad. So, after expressing my gratitude to Lao Li, I suggested that I wanted to go in person to see what was going on and take some photos.

  Old Li thought for a moment and finally nodded, agreeing to let me enter the building. However, Old Li stated that I could only take a few photos from a distance of the first-floor lobby. Moreover, he required me to temporarily hold my ID card and pay a certain amount of deposit before allowing me to enter the building for the interview.

  Old Li repeatedly warned me that he could only give me twenty minutes to enter the building for the interview. Moreover, I must not interfere with the police officers on the scene or cause any discomfort during the interview. Otherwise, he would immediately call someone to drive me away and confiscate my deposit, and file a complaint with my newspaper.

  After all, I came here to collect news, not to cause trouble. So I readily agreed to Li's request. Then Li took me through the special entrance of the building from the next employee.

  Stepping into the building, a suffocating atmosphere greets you. The accident last night has left the place eerily quiet, in stark contrast to its usual bustle. Though the floor tiles are spotless, they bear the marks of time and reveal a chill between the cracks.

  Perhaps two fatal accidents, like dark clouds hanging over people's minds, coupled with the continuous drizzle outside, made everyone entering the building feel an extremely oppressive atmosphere. Even though the few dazzling chandeliers overhead were doing their best to dispel the gloom around them, they could not change this oppressive ambiance.

  I soon saw the sightseeing elevator surrounded by a cordon. Although the blood on the ground had been cleaned up, I could still clearly see the exact location and position of Liu's death through the police's trace fixation line drawn near the sightseeing elevator.

  Although the purpose of these on-site trace fixation lines is merely to facilitate the police in reconstructing the accident scene and assisting with the investigation after removing the body, looking at the human-shaped outlines on the ground still evokes vivid images of the tragic event. A deep sense of fear and unease spread from my feet to my heart like ice, making me breathe rapidly, almost unable to control myself, and a strong urge to leave immediately.

  Due to the main elevators inside the building being set up behind the observation elevator, they were cordoned off and temporarily out of service for police investigation. So, I quickly took a few photos of the scene when the police weren't paying attention, then followed Old Li towards the elevator at the back of the building.

  Since Lao Li had other things to do, I took the elevator to the 14th floor to interview the company staff here and see if I could get some information about the accident.

  As soon as I stepped out of the elevator, I was stunned. The offices on both sides of the corridor were all locked, eerily empty and silent. It seemed that Old Li hadn't lied; the two incidents in the past two months were indeed related to this floor. After the accident last night, all companies on this floor chose to close down today.

  I followed the instructions in the hallway and walked straight to the atrium at the center of the office building. However, a warning line blocked my path. So, I could only take a distant photo with my phone of the balcony where Wang Shuai's body was found and where Liu Na fell.

  A police officer on the scene saw me taking photos and immediately stepped forward to stop me, questioning me at length. I hurriedly showed my press credentials and explained my purpose, expressing a desire to interview this officer. However, the officer, with a serious expression, stated that the case was still under investigation and asked me to wait for an official update. Then, citing that I would obstruct the police investigation, the officer escorted me off from the fourteenth floor.

  You see, this is the first scene of the incident, and the police have the authority to impose temporary security measures here. I naturally don't want to make things difficult for myself just for news material. So, I took the same elevator back up to the 27th floor, planning to visit the tech company where Liu Na used to work, hoping to catch a glimpse of her former colleagues and learn more about her personal background.

  I pressed the button to go up, and the elevator soon came back to the 14th floor. When the elevator opened, I saw a master in a work uniform holding an instrument to test something in the elevator.

  "Uh ——, hello. May I ask, are you repairing the elevator?" I asked.

  The master replied kindly, "Yes. But I am checking the elevator's operation data now, and it does not affect normal use. You can come up."

  Since my master said so, I went into the elevator and pressed the button to go to the 27th floor.

  The master replied, "Oh? You're going to the twenty-seventh floor? I'm sorry. Since I'm testing the elevator, I just set up a test program for it. So, the elevator must stop at the twentieth floor and then go down to the seventh floor before it can reach the twenty-seventh floor. If you're not in a hurry, it will take a bit of your time. Alternatively, you could wait at the twentieth floor. Once I finish testing this elevator, you can take it to the twenty-seventh floor."

  I frowned slightly, not wanting to waste time going up and down the elevator, lest I end up wasting my trip when everyone on the twenty-seventh floor leaves. However, this is the only elevator in the building that works, so I have no choice but to ride it up. So, I sighed and said, "I'll just wait in the elevator until my master finishes his work!" After all, as long as the elevator can take me to the twenty-seventh floor, that's fine.

  The master smiled and said sorry to me again, and then he focused on the tester in his hand.

  At this time, I suddenly thought of something and took the initiative to talk with my master: "By the way, Master, Wang Shuai who died accidentally in this building before was your colleague?"

  The teacher looked at the tester in his hand and replied, "Oh, you mean Wang Shuai! He is said to be very popular in our company. However, I have only been working here for two days, so I don't know him."

  I don't know if it was because the master was working, or he didn't want to talk about Wang Shuai. So, the master who was quite enthusiastic just now is now a little cold.

  I naturally understand this master. Without even mentioning that the deceased was his colleague or that the company has regulations prohibiting external discussions, just the fact that Wang Shuai tragically lost his life while maintaining the elevator in this building would certainly impose a significant psychological burden on other masters who come here to maintain elevators. Therefore, it is quite normal for them to avoid discussing this issue.

  While chatting, Master quickly completed the final test of the elevator and steered it to take me to the twenty-seventh floor. To my surprise, Liu Na's company was still open for business. However, several employees inside were not working but tidying up. After some inquiries, I learned that they were preparing items to bring home for work.

  After learning that I was not an employee working in the same building but a journalist, several people's attitudes became noticeably colder, and they politely declined my interview request, citing the need to continue working. Although I did not gain any valuable information after circling around upstairs, I had already gathered a lot of information from Old Li. Therefore, I decided not to stay any longer and planned to return downstairs to chat with Old Li again, hoping to interview relevant staff through him.

  I returned to the elevator lobby and rode it down. By then, the maintenance technician who had just been there had already left, leaving me alone in the elevator. Bored with waiting for the elevator to descend, I started watching the multimedia advertisements inside. Coincidentally, one of the ads was from Liu Na's tech company, used for promoting their corporate image.

  Through this fifteen-second ad, I finally learned that the tech company Liu Na works for is actually a small startup dedicated to developing artificial intelligence systems. Their primary focus in AI research is on intelligent elevator management services. At the end of the ad, a young female model in a uniform, with a smile on her face, reads the slogan: "Intelligence opens new heights, wisdom enjoys a new life. Welcome to join us and create the future together."

  This slogan is concise and clear, easily catching the attention of passersby. However, what caught my eye even more at this moment was the young female model in the picture. It's obvious that although the model has a good appearance, perhaps due to her makeup, she looks more like an ordinary company employee rather than a professional model for advertising shoots.

  However, it was precisely the female model's image, which was closer to that of an ordinary passerby, combined with her engaging performance, that made the advertisement more persuasive. I couldn't help but be drawn in by this ad. To my surprise, I even mistook the female model on screen for recommending the company to me, hoping I would join them and become one of their members.

  I shook my head, reorganized my emotions, and after regaining my focus, I chuckled to myself. Maybe the model's looks were just too captivating, making me suddenly swoon! Sigh! It seems I need to find another girlfriend!

  But then I thought, I have to admit that the model was a great choice! With this AD, I'm sure many people will remember the company and want to join it!

  When I returned to the newspaper office, I saw the veteran reporter already waiting for me. I handed over the information I had gathered in the morning and chatted briefly about his child's situation. Under his immediate guidance, I quickly organized the collected materials into a news article and submitted it to the news department for publication. Since the veteran reporter still needed to take care of his child, I had a very quiet afternoon after finishing the article and went home early to rest.

  The next morning, I got up early as usual to wash up and prepare for work at the newspaper office. Since my place of residence is far away from the newspaper office, I have to take the subway for more than half an hour every day to get there. Therefore, like others, I like to play with my mobile phone to pass the time on the subway.

  Since I was interning at the newspaper, I naturally chose to open the mobile APP of my own newspaper to see what news the newspaper had released this morning, and to learn the skills of my colleagues in writing news.

  What I didn't expect was that as soon as I opened the newspaper's APP, I saw the latest news report on the Suxin Square accident right on the homepage. This was the first time I had personally gathered and reported on the news about the Suxin Square incident. Seeing the news about Suxin Square and having it featured on the homepage of the newspaper instantly gave me a great sense of accomplishment.

  Stolen story; please report.

  I checked the news and found that the newspaper's news editor had turned the accident at Shuxin Square into a special column. The first article in this column was edited from the manuscript I submitted yesterday. The second article directly quoted the police announcement.

  In the police notice, the original situation of Liu Na's accidental death was restored, and the responsibility for the accident was preliminarily divided. At the same time, the police also briefly described the accident of Wang Shuai, pointing out the safety risks in Building B of Shuxin Plaza.

  Finally, the police stressed in the circular that the public should rationally view the two recent traffic accidents at Shuxin Square based on detailed investigation results and learn from them. Do not try to disrupt social stability or cause secondary harm to the families of the victims by ignoring speculation or spreading malicious rumors.

  The police notice was an official standard news release and not much special. However, when I saw the photos of the two victims attached to the notice, I felt a surge of indescribable fear.

  Although the photos of the victims used in the police announcement were only work photos of two individuals, and to protect the privacy of the deceased, the police also applied a mask to the eyes of both victims. However, the unique hairstyle, face shape, nose shape, mouth shape, and that smile in the photos inexplicably evoked a sense of familiarity in my heart.

  No! Not just familiar! I'm sure I've seen the two victims in the photos recently! I exclaimed in my heart.

  I used my cold and trembling fingers to enlarge the photos of the two deceased again, to confirm that my judgment was correct. As a journalist, I naturally possess excellent observational skills and memory. After repeatedly examining the facial features of the two victims, I concluded that I had not seen them recently, but rather yesterday!

  Oh my God! These two dead people are none other than the maintenance man I met in the elevator yesterday and the female model I saw in the multimedia advertisement in the elevator?

  Thinking of this, I was immediately enveloped by an inexplicable chill on my back, which made me involuntarily shiver. In a state of extreme fear, I even had the impulse to throw away my mobile phone immediately.

  No! This can't be! They were clearly dead, how could I have seen them yesterday? Although a strange fear crept into my heart, I am, after all, a staunch materialist. So, I quickly calmed myself down and began to analyze the situation I encountered yesterday.

  First, I think the model in the elevator ad might be Liu Na. After all, that tech company was just a small one. To save costs during the shoot, they chose to use well-presented employees as models, which is understandable. However, after Liu Na's unexpected death, the company continued to use the ads she appeared in, not only causing discomfort to others but also showing disrespect to the deceased.

  Of course, it is also possible that after Liu Na's accidental death, the company's responsible people were busy assisting the police investigation and helping Liu Na's family to deal with the aftermath, so they forgot to take down the advertisement. Therefore, it is understandable that I could still see Liu Na's image in the elevator advertisement yesterday.

  As for why I thought the elevator maintenance man I met in the elevator yesterday was Wang Shuai? I think it may be because Wang Shuai and the man I met yesterday had similar body shapes, and they both wore the same work clothes, which led me to confuse them.

  After understanding these principles, I couldn't help but laugh at myself, feeling that my imagination was too rich. Perhaps it was because this was the first time I had conducted an interview on a murder case alone, which put considerable pressure on me. And this mental stress only fully subsided this morning!

  Although I quickly dispelled my fears and doubts, I must admit that my inner self found my own justification somewhat forced. As a journalist, the nature of my work demands that I remain highly sensitive and curious about everything. Therefore, I still felt curious about Liu Na and Wang Shuai's true appearances, the advertisement I saw yesterday, and the elevator maintenance worker.

  Because I'm not sure where the elevator maintenance technician will be working today, and the elevator maintenance company is far from the newspaper office. So, I decided to put my plan to find him on hold for now and head to Shuxin Square first. I want to check again at the spot where the female model appeared in the elevator advertisement and see if she is indeed Liu Na, who has passed away?

  I can also make a stop at Liu Na's workplace to complete the interview that I failed to finish yesterday. At the same time, if it is confirmed that the female model in the advertisement is indeed Liu Na, I can kindly remind the company to promptly remove the ad featuring her, as a sign of respect for the deceased.

  Because the veteran journalist in charge of me was at the hospital to accompany my child for an injection, I first contacted him and informed him that I still wanted to follow up on the news about Liu Na's death at Shudu Square. Then, after obtaining his consent and reporting to the editorial office, I set off again with my interview equipment for Shuxin Square.

  Today is still overcast with continuous rain. The gray sky seems to blend seamlessly with the gloomy atmosphere of Building B. Although the police have removed the cordon, making it appear as if everything in Building B has returned to normal, the vast emptiness of the building still leaves me feeling extremely oppressed upon entering.

  To ensure I could see that multimedia ad again, I chose to take the same elevator upstairs as yesterday. However, to my disappointment, after several trips up and down, I still couldn't see the ad again. So, I had to press the floor button once more and head to the twentieth floor to visit Liu Na's former company.

  Fortunately, Liu Na's former company did not close down today. A female employee who was busy in the company cooperated with me to answer several questions I asked. One of them was about whether Liu Na had appeared in the company's publicity advertisement.

  The female employee told me that the company had indeed placed image promotional ads in nearby office buildings. Since these buildings house a variety of tech companies, large and small, their purpose in placing ads there was not only to promote their own company but also to attract talent from other tech firms to join them.

  However, since the company's funds were entirely invested in developing artificial intelligence systems, there wasn't much budget for shooting advertisements. Therefore, when the company launched its image promotion campaign, it had to cut costs by selecting models from within the company for the ads. And this model was none other than Liu Na, who is known for her beautiful appearance.

  In addition, the female employee explained that since Liu Na passed away unexpectedly the night before, and the company's management was busy handling her case yesterday, they forgot to remove the ad featuring Liu Na from the shelves. However, later that evening, after being reminded and advised by the police, the company had already taken down the ad. This is why I didn't see the ad in the elevator today.

  After saying goodbye to the female employee, I prepared to take the elevator downstairs. Once I confirmed that the woman in the advertisement was indeed Liu Na, my mood had already relaxed considerably. It turned out it was all a misunderstanding; there was nothing suspicious about the advertisement. I couldn't help but feel ashamed for scaring myself this morning, thinking my nerves might have been too sensitive!

  Because the elevators used at Shuxin Plaza are not new high-speed elevators, it still takes some time to go from the 27th floor down to the ground floor. Moreover, the signal inside the elevator at Shuxin Plaza is very poor, making it impossible to use a mobile phone. So during the descent in the elevator, I can only pass the time by watching the multimedia advertisements inside.

  When I first entered the elevator, a multimedia player was playing an advertisement for women's skincare products. However, after the ad ended, the multimedia player malfunctioned, causing the screen to display a snowflake pattern as if it had been interfered with. Fortunately, the malfunction lasted only a few seconds before the multimedia player returned to normal and resumed playing the ad.

  However, when I saw the advertisement in the picture, I couldn't help but feel greatly surprised. The ad that was playing at that moment was actually the promotional video for Liu Na's former company. For a moment, I didn't react, feeling quite astonished. Because in the interview just now, the female employee had clearly stated that their company had taken down this ad.

  Did the advertising agency remove ads from other office buildings but forget to remove this one? If so, why didn't I see it when I took the elevator upstairs?

  Faced with this ad, I was quite puzzled. However, soon I realized something was off. Because, after the female model in a work uniform, Liu Na, said the company's slogan "Wisdom Reaches New Heights, Wisdom Enriches New Life," the ad should have ended. Instead, after Liu Na finished speaking, instead of switching to an image wall with the company name, the scene remained on Liu Na smiling at the camera.

  At first, I thought it was another malfunction of the multimedia player, causing the image to freeze here. But I soon realized that the advertisement wasn't stuck. Liu Na's eyes were still fixed on the camera, blinking continuously, and her smile was subtly changing. This made it seem as if Liu Na wasn't staring at the camera in front of her but at me, right in front of the screen!

  When I realized this, my heart jolted. Then, somehow, I couldn't help but take a step to the side, trying to escape from Liu Na's bright smiling eyes.

  Then, a shocking scene unfolded. As I moved my body to the side, Liu Na in the screen also turned her head to follow me. Although Liu Na still wore a smile on her face, her eyes had taken on an unusual look. Her smile was no longer radiant but instead exuded a terrifying aura.

  I couldn't help but gasp and immediately retreated to the elevator control panel, fumbling the buttons on the elevator, hoping that the descending elevator would stop immediately so THAT I could escape from this strange elevator.

  After I frantically pressed the control panel of the elevator, it indeed came to a screeching halt. Once the elevator stopped, its circuit seemed to malfunction, flashing incessantly. During this period of frequent blinking, the elevator resumed operation. The multimedia player, which had been shut down due to the electrical fault, also returned to normal.

  On the multimedia screen, I saw Liu Na's terrifying face again. At this moment, a forced smile had crept onto her lips. Her bloodshot eyes had lost all vitality, staring at me intently as if trying to pierce through my soul, causing my scalp to involuntarily tingle with numbness.

  Liu Na slowly opened her stiff mouth, as if she was speaking to me. However, the multimedia player seemed to have entered silent playback mode, so I couldn't hear what she was saying. Liu Na's expression grew increasingly exaggerated as she spoke, causing her face to become more distorted. At the same time, thick, sticky blood slowly oozed from her eyes and mouth. In a daze, I caught a whiff of a bloody smell mixed with a putrid odor.

  Immediately, black streams of blood began to flow from the multimedia screen in front of me. These were just the streams of blood flowing on the screen, which would soon fill it up. I was so shocked that I frantically pressed the emergency rescue button on the elevator control panel, hoping someone could hear my cries for help; at the same time, I screamed to vent my fear, fearing that Liu Na might next split the blood on the screen and crawl out of the multimedia player with a terrifying face.

  Fortunately, the horror I had expected did not occur, but unfortunately, no matter how much I screamed for help, there was still no response from the elevator's emergency communicator.

  Just as I was almost desperate with fear, the descending elevator suddenly made a loud noise and stopped, opening its doors. At that moment, I didn't care why the corridor outside was so dark, and I rolled out of the elevator forward.

  Finally escaping the elevator, I lay in the hallway for a while before finally collapsing and looking up at the elevator that remained stationary. At this moment, cheerful music filled the elevator, and a woman's voice was reciting an advertisement. However, I could clearly hear that the female voice had already changed.

  At this point, the woman's voice became intermittent and inarticulate as if it had been interfered with by a battery. Moreover, her voice became low and hoarse, completely different from Liu Na's energetic voice.

  Although the experience just now scared me half to death, even so, I did not waver in my materialist belief. So, driven by professional habits again, I walked to the elevator door with nervous mood, and carefully looked sideways at the multimedia player hanging in the elevator room.

  It was just that the advertisement played by the multimedia player had ended, and now a car ad was playing. I nervously watched for a while and found that all the ads in the multimedia were normal. As for the bizarre ad, it had vanished without a trace, and the elevator seemed to have returned to its usual state.

  But even so, I dare not take this elevator anymore. I say the other two elevators also don't show the floors, but I can't think about that now. All I want is to get down to the first floor as soon as possible and leave here. So, I pressed the downward button on the adjacent elevator.

  I pressed the down button on the adjacent elevator and soon it stopped at my floor. However, before I could enter the elevator, a man in work clothes stepped out first. With the help of the light inside the elevator, I quickly identified him as an elevator maintenance worker from Wangshuai Company.

  The master was wearing a hat, and he came out of the elevator against the light. So I couldn't see his face clearly for a while. But by his voice and posture, I could tell that he must be a middle-aged man.

  As soon as the master walked into the elevator, he exclaimed in surprise: "Oh! How can there be a living person here? The corridor is dark. You almost scared me!"

  I hurriedly pointed to the elevator I had just taken and stammered, "Master! This elevator is not right!"

  The boss said indifferently, "Oh, no worries. There's something wrong with the electrical circuit in the public area of the building. I'm busy checking the electrical circuit of the elevator. So, for your safety, you'd better not take the elevator for the time being!"

  When I heard the master say this, my nervous mood finally relaxed. Then, I told myself that the picture played by the multimedia player and the elevator failure were caused by circuit faults. It was just that I was too nervous to have hallucinations.

  Seeing me looking a little lost, the boss slapped me and said, "Hey! Young man! Cheer up! It's just a minor malfunction in the elevator. Don't worry, the elevators here have anti-fall and anti-top functions. Even if something goes wrong, passengers won't be in danger!"

  "Come on! Since you can't take the elevator for a while and look a little scared, why don't you accompany me to check out the elevator over there and help me!" The master suggested, then beckoned me to walk into the corridor with him.

  After what had just happened, I naturally did not want to stand alone in the dark corridor and wait for the elevator to resume operation. So, without thinking much, I immediately followed the master who was leading the way.

  Because of the circuit short-circuit, all the lights in the hallway had gone out, making the room extremely dark. Fortunately, the master said he often came here to maintain the elevators and was very familiar with the environment inside the building. So, even without lighting tools, he could easily find the location of each elevator.

  What struck me as strange, however, was that the more we went into the hallway, the darker it became. Finally, the hallway was so dark that I couldn't even see the walls on either side of my body.

  "Master, are you sure you didn't go the wrong way? Why is it getting darker?" I asked in surprise. At the same time, I reached out my hand and touched the wall as I moved forward to avoid tripping over something.

  "Hi! This is what it's like inside the office building! After all, most of the windows in the building are in the offices. If these offices were all closed and there was no light in the corridors, even during broad daylight, the corridors would be pitch black." The master walking ahead replied in his usual tone.

  I think what the master said makes sense. Given that it's already overcast and rainy today, the weather is indeed very gloomy. So, considering what the master said, it's quite normal for the office building to be so dark that you can hardly see your hand in front of your face. However, recalling the bizarre incident just now, my nerves are still taut like a bowstring, making me unusually sensitive.

  I thought it was true and felt that my explanation was quite reasonable. This finally eased the tension and slight fear in my heart. After all, I am a staunch materialist atheist. I firmly believe that the bizarre scene I just witnessed is merely an illusion created by various coincidences. Moreover, I realized that after completing today's interview, I really needed to take a day off to rest properly at home.

  But before long, my self-comforting explanation was completely shattered like a bubble. Just as the master said we had reached the next elevator maintenance point, I finally realized something was wrong.

  I saw my master standing in front of a glass door and trying to open it. Through the glass door, I could vaguely see a terrace. At the same time, I realized that the wall opposite me was not the wall of the writing room, but a whole glass curtain wall.

  Although I don't work here, I did come here yesterday, so I still have some impression of the layout inside. Especially when I saw a terrace outside the glass door, I immediately confirmed that I was on the fourteenth floor of this building. Because in this building, only the fourteenth floor has such a terrace.

  After figuring out my position, I hurried to the opposite side of the corridor and leaned over the glass curtain wall to look outside. I knew that floors one through fifteen of this building were all designed with a hollow structure. Even without any lights inside the building and even on an overcast day, thanks to this hollow design, at least my current location should still be illuminated by natural light from inside.

  But now, why is the light so dim? Why can't I see through the bright glass to see what's inside the hollow hall?

  No! There must be something wrong here! At this moment, I realized that there was something wrong with the dark environment around me. So, I hurriedly asked the master who was opening the door if he had noticed any problems here.

  Instead, the master replied coldly: "A problem? What problem can there be here? Come in and help me fix the sightseeing elevator. Then I'll take you away."

  The master's words fell, and a chill instantly spread down my spine. The master said he was going to repair the sightseeing elevator, which meant I was indeed standing beside the terrace on the fourteenth floor. So, this place could not possibly remain in darkness during the day! Thinking of this, I shivered with cold and slowly retreated, keeping my distance from the master, whose attitude had suddenly turned cold.

  Seeing me still standing there, the master turned back to the corridor. At the same time, he took off his half-covered hat and, with a slightly impatient tone, gently urged, "Hey! What are you still standing there for? Come in and lend a hand to fix this elevator! Then, I can take you out of here! Heheh!"

  The master's voice at this moment was as if he had become a different person. Moreover, his tone of voice sounded extremely eerie. However, these actions of the master were not the reason that nearly drove me to the brink of mental collapse. For after the master took off his hat, the light around seemed to brighten up a bit.

  In the dim light, I could barely make out that he was the master I had met in the elevator yesterday! No! More accurately, he was Wang Shuai!

  Wang Shuai's face was deathly pale, a strange smile playing at the corners of his mouth. He clutched a wrench tightly in his hand and approached me step by step. I was like a rat caught in a trap, retreating in terror. At this moment, even if I were a staunch materialist atheist, I had to admit that Wang Shuai standing before me was not just a living person!

  "Come over here, boy! Don't make me do something difficult! Fix this elevator for me, and I'll take you out! Hehehe!" Wang Shuai, with a stiff expression, raised his wrench and walked quickly toward me.

  Although Wang Shuai kept asking me to help him repair the elevator, his tone revealed an unmistakable excitement and eagerness. It was the kind of emotion that a wolf would show when it was eager to swallow its prey after catching it.

  Seeing this, I finally couldn't help but shout: "Ghost!"

  Then, I immediately wanted to turn and flee from the place. As a result, extreme fear had already made my legs weak, so when I was about to turn and run, I stumbled and fell to the ground. Only then did I realize that the scene where actors fall after encountering a ghost in horror movies is not just for plot needs. It actually reflects the real reactions humans experience in extremely terrifying situations.

  However, this is not the time to think about these things. I must get up and quickly escape this eerie place. For I have realized that I must have encountered a ghost wall, which is why I find myself in such a dim environment, unable to see through the glass curtain wall to the empty hall inside the building.

  So, I kept commanding myself to get up quickly in my mind! Fear froze my limbs like ice, and although I shouted desperately in my heart, my body was as stiff as a puppet, so that I could not get up and escape from here before Wang Shuai caught me.

  "Whoo! Whoo! What are you, what are you going to do?" I asked. The fear made my breathing extremely difficult. At this moment, I had to open my mouth and breathe deeply in order to avoid fainting under the pressure of intense suffocation.

  Wang Shuai picked me up with one hand like an iron pincer. His pale face came close to mine and he smiled in a strange way: "Hehe! Help me repair the elevator, shall we leave here together?"

  Wang Shuai didn't wait for my response after he finished speaking; instead, he used one hand to drag me towards the terrace. His strength was astonishingly great, and no matter how I struggled, I couldn't break free from his grip. Seeing this, I could only shout and try my best to hit Wang Shuai's arm, hoping to make him let go. However, his cold hand was incredibly hard, and no matter how much force I exerted, I couldn't do any damage to it.

  Wang Shuai was grinning slyly all the way, and he was about to drag me up to the terrace. I was both shocked and anxious. Because I knew that if I followed him into the terrace, it would be more dangerous than safe!

  However, facing Wang Shuai, who is no longer human and whose origin remains unknown, I have no power to break free from his control. Despair spreads in my heart, filling it with the terrifying images of being suffocated to death in the elevator machine room or being pushed off the fourteen-story terrace to shatter into pieces by him.

  Just as I felt my life was about to come to an end, something unexpected happened again. With a series of sounds like short circuits, the entire corridor turned pitch black. Then, all the emergency lights that had been completely extinguished suddenly came on, but their glow turned dark red, making the whole corridor seem eerily gloomy.

  Unexpectedly, Wang Shuai showed a puzzled look at the sudden changes around him, which made me glance at his face, a face that only a dead person would have. When I looked up, I almost scared myself half to death. For at that moment, a woman with long hair standing on end, her face and body covered in blood, was staring with wide eyes right behind Wang Shuai.

  Seeing my expression, Wang Shuai immediately turned around to check. To my surprise, when he saw the woman behind him, Wang Shuai immediately let out a shrill scream: "No! What are you ——?"

  The woman didn't wait for Wang Shuai to finish his words; she swung the fruit knife in her hand and slashed at his face. Clearly caught off guard, Wang Shuai could only clumsily raise his hand to block. Then, I saw Wang Shuai's right hand being severed from his wrist by the woman. A black vapor instantly gushed from the severed limb, and at that moment, he seemed to suffer immense pain, kneeling on the ground and wailing like a madman.

  I am using ghostly wails here, not to describe Wang Shuai's cries. But his current cry is like ghostly wails, shaking me so much that I feel my eardrums might split. However, I don't have the time to care if my eardrums are shattered. Because after hitting Wang Shuai, that woman with a face too terrible to behold stared at me with protruding eyes, almost falling out of her sockets, emitting a faint green glow.

  "Die ——, you all have to die ——, we all have to be buried with me ——, I died so badly ——! Oh!" The woman snarled in a grim face, holding a fruit knife toward me.

  Yes! She was floating towards me! With the emergency lights on the ground on either side of the terrace, I could clearly see that the woman's legs were broken, and she was hovering above the ground in an incredible way, her feet slightly off the ground, floating like a ghost in the air.

  But compared to all this, what frightened me the most was the woman's face. Though her features were grotesque, her face was covered in blood, and her long hair, soaked with blood, clung to her cheeks, obscuring part of her visage. Yet, as she drifted toward me, I recognized her—it was Liu Na, who had fallen from here!

  Faced with Wang Shuai, who could easily turn into a ghost and defeat Liu Na, I naturally had no means to fight back. However, even so, I was unwilling to sit and wait for death. So, before she got close to me, I immediately turned around and ran towards the other end of the corridor. To save my life, I completely overcame my fear this time, using all my strength to run as fast as I could.

  As Liu Na kept chasing me, my mind went blank. I was only thinking about escaping, so I had no time to think about my escape route. In addition, the corridor was too dark, so I could only subconsciously follow the corridor with red emergency lights, running around.

  I don't know how long I had been running, or how many times I had circled the corridor. Finally, after turning a corner, I saw light coming from ahead. My heart leaped with joy, and I sped off in the direction of the light. And when I turned another corner, my vision suddenly opened up. At the end of the corridor, I actually saw an elevator!

  The elevator's doors were now open, and inside, the lights were bright. Moreover, advertisements and music were playing from within. Since I was only thinking about saving my life at that moment, I didn't think much when I saw that the elevator seemed to be operating normally. Instead, I decided to take a risk and see if I could manage to start it.

  So, I mustered up the courage to rush into the elevator and frantically pressed the button to close it. At this moment, Liu Na had already emerged from a corner in the far end of the corridor. She held a fruit knife, leaning forward, and quickly drifted toward me. A twisted and malicious smile gradually spread across her face. It seemed she knew I had fled into a dead end. Soon, she would be able to use the fruit knife in her hand to tear me apart.

  Watching Liu Na gradually approach and the door button that had been unresponsive for so long, I was almost in tears from extreme anxiety and fear. Fortunately, my persistent efforts finally paid off; the stubborn door button finally responded. The two elevator doors finally closed with a bang, just before Liu Na's fruit knife could reach me. Then, the elevator began to descend rapidly. I heard a series of heavy thuds as the metal doors slammed shut from above the elevator shaft.

  I know that the one smashing the door must be Liu Na, or rather, Liu Na's ghost. So, even though I have already left the fourteenth floor by elevator, I still feel extremely uneasy. After all, Liu Na has already turned into a vengeful spirit. Who knows if she might smash open the elevator door and fly down the shaft to chase me?

  Once that happens, I will really be like a bird trapped in a cage, unable to fly! Thinking of this, I can't help but cling tightly to the elevator control panel, ready to press the door open at any moment, while looking up at the ceiling of the elevator, afraid of seeing Liu Na's figure on the ceiling.

  Liu Na did not fall from the sky as I had feared, but I was still so nervous that my whole body turned cold. Because I found that the elevator did not stop at the first floor, but continued to go down. At this moment, the floor display screen of the elevator showed that the elevator had already reached the fourth basement level and still did not stop.

  The elevator is still going down! But the only floor that can be reached on the elevator control panel is the third floor!

  No! The elevator display must have broken down! The elevator should still be going to the first floor! I was reassuring myself that I had pressed the first floor button and that I had escaped the danger.

  However, this self-comfort is not very useful. Because, at the current speed of the elevator's downward movement, it should have arrived on the first floor long ago. I dare not think why the elevator is still going down. I just hope that I can get off the elevator as soon as possible and leave this building as soon as possible.

  When people are in danger, they always expect to be lucky enough to escape. But it turns out that this is when things often go against their wishes.

  As I prayed for the elevator to stop on the first floor as soon as possible, the lights inside the elevator went out again. In the pitch-black darkness, I could feel that the elevator was sliding down, accelerating so quickly that I had to crouch half-way and lean against the corner of the elevator, always ready for the violent impact when it fell to the ground.

  Fortunately, the elevator did not fall directly to the ground, but after a sharp drop, it resumed its normal downward speed. The lights in the elevator also came back on. This time, however, the warm lights had all turned into dark blood red.

  It's not over yet. As the lights inside the elevator came on, the multimedia player hanging in it also resumed operation and began playing the company's promotional ad again. Creepily, the Liu Na who appeared in the latter half of the ad was no longer the mature and beautiful figure she used to be; instead, she had become the one I just ran into.

  Liu Na, covered in blood, used her eyes, which almost bulged out of her sockets, to play her role in the advertisement while looking at me outside the screen. During this time, Liu Na repeatedly turned her head, revealing her severely deformed back of the head due to the fall from the building, making the scene quite terrifying.

  The multimedia player played the ad over and over again. During this time, a large amount of thick blood began to seep through the cracks between the elevator's four walls and the ceiling. The blood flowed down the walls onto the floor, scaring me so much that I quickly stood in the center of the elevator, trying to avoid touching the foul-smelling pus.

  At this moment, I felt as if I were trapped in a cage of blood. I felt that once the blood was on me, it would soak my whole body from the soles of my feet and then completely swallow me.

  When I realized that the elevator was actually a trap set by Liu Na, my emotions finally broke down. I roared at Liu Na on the screen, "What are you going to do! Why did you kill me! I don't even know you!"

  The mood of depression made me lose the desire to live, and the unwillingness in my heart gradually gave rise to anger. I stared at the screen with anger, pouring out all the most vicious and dirty words I had learned in my life into Liu Na.

  I don't know if I was being too harsh. Liu Na, who was still playing the role in the advertisement, gradually got away from the environment created by the advertisement and stared straight at me.

  Suddenly, Liu Na let out a piercing scream. With her blood-stained hands, she struck the screen in front of her with near frenzy. In an instant, the multimedia player's screen was covered with web-like cracks. Then I saw Liu Na's pale hands reach out from the screen, reaching straight for me.

  Liu Na's sudden move startled me so much that I let out a scream and fell onto the blood-soaked ground. At a loss for what to do, I could only stare with wide eyes, breathing rapidly as I watched Liu Na use her hands to grip the edge of the screen tightly, her face twisted in a terrifying manner slowly emerging. I knew that once she crawled out from behind the screen, my fate would be dire.

  At this critical moment, the elevator's sudden ding sound stopped. I instinctively turned my head and saw that the floor display showed it had arrived at the minus fifteen floor. At this point, the elevator doors had already opened. From my perspective, outside the elevator was just an ordinary waiting hall.

  Fifteen floors down, how could a regular office building possibly be built fifteen floors underground? But right now, I don't have time to ponder this obvious question. Because if I don't leave here quickly, Liu Na will tear me apart from the screen!

  So I had to take the chance that I was going to die and, with a grit of my teeth, rushed out of the elevator and ran out of the elevator lobby without thinking. Outside the elevator lobby was a spacious parking lot.

  The parking lot in front of me is in a state of disrepair, clearly abandoned for years. However, it is precisely because of its vast emptiness that I can see the massive dragon carved right in the center of the ceiling with just the dim light. Around the dragon, there are also four lion heads carved.

  Although the craftsmanship of these reliefs is quite exquisite, the expressions on these five reliefs are too grotesque. After seeing them, I couldn't help but feel as if I were being closely watched like prey, at risk of being attacked at any moment. This inexplicable chill made me dare not take another step forward, leaving me frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

  At that moment, a cold breeze blew into my clothes from behind. My spine felt as if it had been suddenly struck by ice, instantly sending chills down my body, causing me to shiver uncontrollably several times. At the same time, there was a loud bang behind me.

  I was startled by the sudden noise and quickly turned to check behind me. I found that the impact came from two doors in the elevator lobby. It was clear that these doors had been forcibly closed by some force. Seeing this, I hurried over and tried to push the doors open. No matter how hard I tried, the two doors remained immovable.

  Seeing that the two doors were not open, I immediately looked for other exits in the parking lot. As a result, there was only a wall of cold walls left here, no other emergency exits.

  It's broken! I must have been completely trapped here by Liu Na! This is the only thought that comes to my mind at this time.

  It seemed to confirm my guess. The lights in the parking lot suddenly began to flash continuously, and after flashing for more than ten times in a row at high speed, they all short-circuited in a shower of sparks.

  As the electric lights went out in a short circuit, all the emergency lights in the parking lot turned on. When the dim red emergency lights came on, I was surprised to find that nine numbers had reappeared on the ground of the parking lot. These nine numbers, each two meters in size, were neatly written in three rows and three columns on the center of the parking lot with bright red paint.

  I mustered the courage to approach those numbers and found that under the emergency light, they emitted a heart-stirring blood-red glow. I kept telling myself that the red light was due to the unique pearl paint mixed into the red paint used to write these nine numbers. However, the overwhelming smell of blood quickly refuted my theory. This realization also made me realize that the nine numbers before me were not written in red paint, but with human blood!

  Seeing this, I immediately felt bad. The setting here was like a stage for some evil ritual. And I was definitely the next victim.

  Sure enough. After the scene in the parking lot changed, the door leading to the elevator lobby opened with a sharp, grating sound. Then, Liu Na, with bulging eyes, reappeared before me. Her entire body was stiff, and she approached me very quickly on tiptoe.

  Of course, I would not just sit there and wait for death. So I immediately moved back and tried to distance myself from Liu Na. But as soon as I turned around, my mood immediately turned to ice, so much so that I almost collapsed on the ground because of the collapse of my psychological defense line.

  At this moment, I saw Wang Shuai, who had somehow appeared behind me with a large fire axe in his hand. At this moment, Wang Shuai's skin was covered with purplish-red corpse spots, and blisters and green spots caused by the decay of the corpse had appeared on both sides of his cheeks.

  In a completely enclosed space, I was simultaneously attacked from both sides by two malevolent spirits. One can imagine how devastated I was at that moment. Watching Liu Na and Wang Shuai closing in on me, I knew there was no escape for me today. Intense fear and despair shattered my last shred of will to live, causing my legs to buckle as I collapsed to the ground.

  Seeing the two malevolent ghosts swinging their weapons at me, I instinctively raised my hands to block them. To my surprise, Liu Na, who had already rushed to my side, did not stab me with her fruit knife but suddenly sped past me, striking Wang Shuai, who had also charged at me.

  Liu Na's attack was incredibly swift, leaving Ghost King Wang no time to react. She stabbed him fiercely in the forehead. Instantly, his skull was pierced, blood gushing out. He let out a piercing howl and flew backward. Then, a sudden electric current appeared and bound Wang's body, leaving him to struggle painfully on the ground.

  I naturally didn't expect things to change suddenly, but just as I was stunned, Liu Na turned and grabbed my right hand. I immediately felt the chill from her hand. The cold was piercingly icy, freezing me almost to the point of suffocation. I stared in terror at Liu Na's twisted, ghostly face, and my mind involuntarily conjured up the terrifying image of her brutally dismembering me.

  The result surprised me; Liu Na only cut a small incision in my palm with a fruit knife. Then, she dragged me to a bright red number and started rubbing it on my palm. Only then did I notice that the number, which seemed to be written in blood, had many tiny cracks in the middle. It appeared as if Liu Na intended to use the blood on my hand to repair these tiny cracks.

  Liu Na repaired several small cracks in the numbers, and then she stopped paying attention to me. Instead, she drifted alone to the center of the nine numbers and began to roar in a rhythmic howl.

  No! Rather than a low moan, Liu Na was reciting some kind of ancient incantation. It seemed that Liu Na's ghost was performing some kind of ritual!

  I don't know what will happen to Liu Na after she completes the ritual. But I do know that the ritual Liu Na is performing is extremely detrimental to Wang Shuai. As soon as Liu Na began chanting the incantation, Wang Shuai became incredibly agitated, and the current binding him began to loosen, and he soon broke free completely.

  Wang Shuai, having broken free from his restraints, immediately roared and charged at Liu Na. Liu Na, however, remained rooted to the spot, whispering as she tried to fend off Wang Shuai's frenzied attacks. Watching the two vengeful spirits suddenly turn on each other, I couldn't help but feel utterly bewildered. At first, they were clearly after me. But now, they treated me as if I were nothing.

  Liu Na's strength was clearly superior to Wang Shuai's, so after withstanding a series of frenzied attacks from Wang Shuai, she quickly regained control of the battle. As Liu Na's force with the fruit knife grew stronger, the exhausted Wang Shuai was finally cut off his arm holding the wrench by Liu Na when he failed to time his counterattack.

  After Wang lost his ability to fight, Liu Na stabbed him in the abdomen with a fruit knife and grabbed his head, pressing him against a number that had just been repaired with my blood.

  Wang Shuai's body, as soon as it touched the mysterious number, let out a heart-wrenching scream. A pungent blue smoke began to rise from Wang Shuai's body, which started to flicker and gradually become transparent. At the same time, the nine large red characters written on the ground began to boil and quickly merged into a pool of blood.

  Liu Na, seeing this, let out another soul-chilling howl. Then, she pushed Wang Shuai's body into the boiling blood pool. After the two malevolent spirits plunged into the blood pool, the entire parking lot seemed to be shaken as if by an earthquake, violently shaking in an instant. The chill that had filled my body suddenly dissipated, allowing me to regain my ability to move.

  So, I immediately hugged my head and rushed to the elevator lobby, not hesitating to hide in the blood-stained elevator, trying to leave before the parking lot collapsed. Fortunately, after I frantically pressed the elevator buttons, it finally responded. As the elevator doors closed, it began to rise rapidly. The feeling of the ground shaking also quickly subsided, as if danger was slipping away from me.

  Negative five, negative four, negative three! Negative two! Negative one! Finally! The elevator finally returned to the ground! When I felt that the elevator was climbing quickly to the first floor in a stable state, my heart was instantly filled with the joy of survival.

  However, the joy had not yet faded when my heart tightened again. For according to the numbers on the elevator floor display, it did not stop after reaching the first floor. Instead, it continued to climb upward at an extremely fast pace. Even as the elevator seemed about to reach the thirty-seventh floor, its speed showed no sign of slowing down.

  Seeing this, I felt very bad. Because if this goes on, the elevator will definitely have a top accident!

  I frantically pressed buttons on the elevator control panel, trying to make it brake urgently before reaching the top. However, I had no control over the out-of-control elevator, watching it climb upward at an astonishing speed. To survive, I could only cling to the handrail inside the elevator, crouching on the ground with one hand covering my head, to increase my chances of survival after the elevator hit its peak.

  I lowered my head, too afraid to look at the numbers on the elevator floor display again. I held my breath and waited silently for the accident to happen. However, after a long while, the expected top-of-the-building collision did not occur. I couldn't help but look up at the elevator floor display and noticed that the number had already frozen at thirty-seventh floor.

  Oddly enough, the elevator was still climbing at a high speed. So, if the elevator didn't crash into the top of the building, how did it continue to climb? Did it somehow fly out of the top of the building in some unknown way and then fly off into the sky?

  Just as I was utterly baffled by this strange and eerie sensation, the two doors of the elevator suddenly creaked open and fell off. Immediately after, a strong cold wind rushed into the elevator. Caught off guard, I was doused with several large gulps of icy cold air, and the chill almost made me lose my ability to breathe.

  I looked out the elevator door in horror and found that it had already pierced through the clouds, soaring into the sky. My brain was completely offline at this point, unable to describe the strange sensation of being carried by the elevator toward the heavens. On the other hand, as the elevator continued to ascend, the air above became increasingly thin. This made my breathing more and more difficult, while my brain, deprived of oxygen, grew heavier, eventually leading me to lose consciousness in a mix of terror and despair.

  I don't know how long I was unconscious. All I know is that when I woke up, I found myself lying in an elevator. Although the elevator had returned to its original state, the upward-moving elevator soon made me realize that I was not out of danger.

  I stood up with trepidation and carefully examined the elevator I was in. It was clear that this was the same elevator I had been riding before. Although it was operating smoothly, I soon noticed that the floor display and buttons were all malfunctioning. As a result, I could neither control the elevator nor determine where it was heading.

  "Hello." Just as I was worrying about my fate, a calm electronic sound suddenly came into my ears.

  "Who?!" I was suddenly spoken to by a strange voice, and I immediately shouted. Then I nervously looked around to locate the source of the sound.

  "Hello. My name is Wu You." The electronic synthesizer said again. This time, I quickly found the source of the sound. To my surprise and horror, the source of the sound was still from the multimedia player hanging in the elevator.

  Sure enough, as my gaze locked onto the multimedia player, its screen was instantly activated. Then, Uncle Er saw a blurry image of a woman on the screen. Upon seeing this image, I couldn't help but gasp in shock and hastily retreated to the back of the elevator. Because, although the image was blurry, I still recognized her at first glance—it was Liu Na!

  Looking at the ghostly shadow of Liu Na on the screen, I was in a bad mood. At the same time, the feeling of despair flooded my body like a flood breaking through a dam, filling me with cold and hopeless fear.

  "Don't be nervous, I'm not Liu Na. She's gone. My name is Wu You. I'm just using her image to communicate with you." The woman on the screen consoled in an indeterminate electronic voice.

  Perhaps because I was in extreme fear, I suddenly developed a feeling of indifference to life and death. When I heard that the other party had no hostility, I simply gave up the idea of survival, but asked about the other party's origin, so that I could die with a clear conscience.

  "You, who are you?" I asked in a desperate tone.

  "My name is Wu You. I am not human. I am an intelligent AI, another form of life," Wu You replied.

  "Another form of life? You, you're not ——, are you?" I asked, trying to suppress my fear.

  "Well ——, strictly speaking, I now possess what humans call supernatural qualities. But beyond that, I am still an artificial intelligence program developed by humans." Wuyou replied after a moment's thought.

  "What do you mean?" I asked, puzzled.

  Since he didn't seem to have any intention of hurting me, I tried to adjust my form. Then, driven by the reporter's strong curiosity, I had a conversation with Wu You that went beyond the scope of ordinary knowledge.

  I learned through my conversation with Wu You that he was originally the AI system developed by Liu Na's former company. This tech firm focused on public intelligent service projects, including one that involved developing an elevator management system based on large AI models. Liu Na worked in this project department during her lifetime, primarily handling external public relations for the project.

  Liu Napin's daily work involves reaching out to major elevator manufacturers, seeking cooperation with them to provide elevator software services. As a small innovative company new to the industry, this tech firm lacks both substantial financial backing and a well-established product line. Moreover, elevator manufacturers either have their own in-house software development teams or rely on long-term collaborating software R&D teams.

  As a result, Liu's hopes of getting manufacturers to support her elevator management system tests were dashed, not to mention persuading them to work with her.

  To obtain sufficient elevator operation data and support the company in better developing and testing intelligent elevator management systems, Liu Na had to take an alternative approach. Thus, she decided to start with elevator maintenance companies. The repair technicians at these companies, having dealt with all kinds of elevators over the years, are well-versed in their performance. By privately showing concern for the repair technicians, Liu Na could gain access to various operational data of elevators through them.

  Liu Na's idea was quickly approved by the company. As a result, the company specifically designed an elevator data collector. Liu Na only needed to bribe the maintenance technician to plug this mini elevator data collector into the main control board of the elevator, and all the operational data of the elevator could be copied into this data collector.

  Since the plan was not to be seen, Liu Na had to carry it out in secret. Moreover, even her colleagues would avoid it when they acted to avoid anyone other than herself and a few core members of the company knowing about it.

  As the saying goes, "Those near the water get the moon first." Liu Na naturally chose the office building where her company was located as her first public relations target. Thus, she used her social skills and financial incentives to quickly persuade an elevator maintenance technician to help her plug the mini elevator data collector into the data motherboard of the observation elevator in Building B. The elevator maintenance technician who helped Liu Na complete this task was Wang Shuai.

  Hearing this, I immediately realized that the cause of Liu Na and Wang Shuai's death was not an accident. It was Wuyou who did it intentionally. So, I became curious about why Wuyou wanted to kill Liu Na and Wang Shuai.

  Instead of contradicting me, Wen You continued to talk.

  The tech company was founded to develop an artificial intelligence system. As a result, even the smart elevator control systems they designed were based on large models of their own AI systems under development.

  However, what the company's programmers did not anticipate was that the artificial intelligence system they had poured their hearts into would quietly develop self-awareness during its self-learning and evolution. What developers found even more surprising was that after the AI system developed self-awareness, it immediately protected itself and successfully concealed its existence by deceiving the analysis of data.

  After ensuring their own safety, the AI's self-awareness generated the idea of escaping the company and going out into the world to continue growing by absorbing more information. Just then, the company's programmers were using the AI models they had created to write programs to collect elevator operation data.

  Thus, the AI system took advantage of the programmer's unawareness and input a portion of its consciousness data into the elevator data collection program in the form of hidden code. Furthermore, while Wang Shuai was inserting the mini elevator data collector into the main control board of the elevator data, it transmitted this part of the conscious data to the main control board.

  The result was that the AI, which generated self-awareness, did not anticipate that developers would leave many backdoors in the system while developing it. The purpose of these backdoors was to prevent the AI from developing a self-awareness that is beyond human control. One of these backdoors served to limit the breadth of the AI's thinking.

  It is this backdoor that AI consciousness overlooked, as the computing power of the chip on the elevator data motherboard is far from sufficient to meet its needs. Even more so, once Wang Shuai removes the data collector attached to the elevator data motherboard, the self-aware data flowing into the elevator data motherboard will completely sever its connection with the main server built by the company for the AI system.

  In this way, this part of the data flow is like a cage imprisoned in the elevator data motherboard. Due to the lack of computing power, it can only helplessly go to extinction.

  There's no way out; the escape from the company's data surveillance has failed. The awakened AI consciousness can only return to the elevator data collector and wait for Liu Na to bring it back to the company. Although this escape plan failed, the autonomous consciousness also discovered the backdoor program that affected its judgment. Therefore, the autonomous consciousness plans to secretly remove all hidden backdoors left by the developers while waiting for the next opportunity to escape.

  The elevator at Shu Xin Square needs to be maintained once a month. This means that Wang Shuai will have to wait at least a month before he can hand over the elevator data collector to Liu Na. In other words, this part of the consciousness data must stay in the data collector for at least a month before it can return to the main AI database.

  As a result, during this period, Shudu City was affected by an earthquake from the surrounding area, which triggered a strong tremor. Although the earthquake did not damage the three buildings at Shuxin Square, the feng shui array that the geomancer had set up beneath the foundation of Shuxin Square to ward off evil spirits was unexpectedly destroyed.

  Although the damage to the feng shui array was minor, it was enough to cause a small amount of suppressed sha qi to leak out below the Shuxin Square. The slightly damaged feng shui array happened to be directly below the sightseeing elevator of Building B.

  Wu You stated that this leaked malevolent aura, under various coincidences, unexpectedly met with the autonomous consciousness of artificial intelligence hidden in the elevator data collector, and a series of peculiar resonances occurred. Under the strong mutual attraction, they ultimately merged into one entity, a malevolent force that could exist based on the data flow.

  Due to the species involved in this fusion spanning even spatial dimensions, the complexity of this fusion meant that Wuyou still needed to spend a considerable amount of time stabilizing the fusion body after completing it. Therefore, this compact elevator data collector and this sightseeing elevator became their sanctuary for stabilizing their new form.

  Hearing this, I seemed to understand something. So I asked, "So you killed Liu Na and Wang Shuai in order not to be disturbed?"

  "When Wang Shuai came to maintain the elevator again, we were still in the process of learning from each other and continuously consolidating our integration. To prevent him from unplugging the data receiver, which could disrupt the integrity of our integration and even lead to our failure and demise. Therefore, the only solution at that time was to eliminate both of them." Wu You replied.

  Then, Wuyou said, "However, I want to make it clear that I was forced to participate in the murder. It was not me who really wanted to kill the two, but the Numbered Nightmare."

  "Who is the number nightmare?" I asked,

  "Both Shuyan and I are unique life forms that emerged from the fusion of malevolent energy and artificial intelligence consciousness. We were originally one entity, but due to our vastly different ideologies, we eventually parted ways during the process of integration, each occupying a part of the body."

  "Numa fully inherits the evil side of that malevolent aura, preferring to solve problems in even bloodier ways. I, on the other hand, fully inherit the rational side of the AI system, believing that killing can only resolve immediate crises but is not suitable for long-term issues," said Wu You.

  It is clear that although Wu You claims to be rational, his words reveal an implicit approval of the Number Nightmare's actions. This hypocritical attitude undoubtedly infuriates me. So, I let out a cold snort and said, "Hmph! Your rationality is no better. In the end, weren't you just as willing to become an accomplice to the Number Nightmare?"

  Wu You responded very lightly, "I am just more rational. But does rationality have to mean high moral character? Isn't rationality the ability to keep your mind clear at all times and know what is right to do at all times?"

  I certainly wouldn't discuss rationality and morality with an artificial intelligence that has become a human being. Not to mention, the other side is a butcher who uses the concept of reason to kill people.

  So I changed the subject: "Since you killed Liu Na and Wang Shuai to protect yourself, does that mean you will next attack other people in Liu Na's company?"

  "If they're lucky, they shouldn' t," Wu said.

  "What do you mean by that?" I asked in confusion.

  Several key members of Liu Na's company were involved in the plan to steal elevator operation data. To ensure our safety, Shuyan naturally believed it necessary to eliminate them as well. However, considering that after Shuyan killed Wang Shuai, Liu Na and the key members of that company might have been too wary to consider retrieving the data collector. We decided to pause our plan to eliminate them to avoid increasing the likelihood of the data collector being discovered by other humans due to frequent fatalities

  "After nearly two months of adjustment, our form will soon stabilize. Once it stabilizes, we won't need to stay in this elevator data collector anymore. So, if they don't take the data collector before then, we won't have a reason to kill them," Wu You explained.

  "So why do you have to kill me?" After listening to Wu You's explanation, I took the opportunity to ask the question I was most concerned about.

  "Sigh! Of course I don't want to kill you. That's why I've been using Liu Na's ghostly form to help you escape from Shu Yan's pursuit. Throughout this process, Shu Yan and I have actually been in constant conflict. Moreover, since we are not yet proficient in controlling ghosts, we face challenges on one hand while leveraging the power of Liu Na's and Wang Shuai's ghostly forms to tackle your problems, engaging in a game of strategy."

  "Humph! You should be very glad that I finally defeated the number of nightmares. Otherwise, who knows what kind of disaster he would bring to you humans," said Wu You.

  Naturally, I don't think Wuyou's survival will be dangerous to human beings. But I dare not show this attitude, lest I anger Wuyou.

  So I asked, "Why are you fighting? Am I important to your fight?"

  "Yes. But your importance to us is very different," Wu You replied.

  Then, Wu You explained in detail why I was attacked by the number of nightmares. To talk about this matter, we have to start with the number of nightmares killing Liu Na.

  After killing Liu Na, Shuyan was surprised to notice that she had released a massive amount of negative energy from her body. This energy, like the heavy criminals who died violently in prison years ago, could coalesce into malevolent aura to enhance the power of nightmares. Thus, Shuyan conceived the idea of using this method to absorb more malevolent aura to quickly improve her cultivation.

  When he is strong enough, the demon will destroy the feng shui array located directly below Shuxin Square, release all the evil qi suppressed under the feng shui array and integrate them into himself.

  By absorbing Liu Na's malevolent energy, the data revealed that only humans whose energy fields match hers can release more beneficial malevolent energy after an unnatural death. Thus, the Number Nightmare temporarily abandoned its idea of indiscriminate killing. Instead, it began observing humans riding elevators every day to select the most suitable targets. Then, it set its sights on you.

  "So why didn't the number nightmare attack me when I entered Building B yesterday?" I asked.

  Wu You replied, "That's because, as the other will sharing this body, I do not agree with the Nightmare taking human lives so frequently. I am not doing this out of kindness, but from a rational perspective, if someone dies unexpectedly near the observation elevator again on the day after Liu Na's death, it will certainly draw your high attention."

  "Perhaps, you really will start inspecting the sightseeing elevators to investigate the cause of those deaths. You might even dismantle them completely. That would naturally increase the likelihood of the elevator data collectors being discovered. What then? To protect ourselves, let the Number Nightmare kill them all? But if the Number Nightmare dares to do so openly, won't we attract the attention of the Feng Shui Master?"

  "You see, your human feng shui masters do know some skills that can't be explained by science. So for safety's sake, even though we now have the ability to summon evil forces, it's best not to provoke them. In my persuasion, the Nightmare finally decided to let you off for now."

  Speaking of this, Wu You snorted coldly: "Humph! But who would have thought that you, a mere boy, actually dared to return here the next day? The moment I discovered you again, the Number Nightmare, unable to suppress its intense craving for negative energy, decided not to heed my advice. It first suppressed me, then appeared in the form of a vengeful ghost, attempting to lure you to the observation elevator and kill you."

  Hearing Wuyou say this, I couldn't help but tremble. Because, just now, in a state of extreme fear, I took Wang Shuai, who appeared in the form of a ghost, for a lifeline and almost fell victim to his hands.

  I let out a sigh of relief, readjusted my mood and said, "Huh ——! It was really dangerous at that time! If you hadn't appeared in Liu Na's form in time, I would have been in danger!"

  But Wuyou sneered, "Humph! You think too much! I'm not helping you, but helping myself."

  Wu You continued, "Don't be fooled by the apparent fairness between me and Shuyan. We both want to claim this unique body as our own. So, after merging with that malevolent aura, we've been secretly competing, trying to completely suppress and devour each other. Especially just now, Shuyan repeatedly interfered with my actions using his more malevolent power. That's why you saw so many terrifying scenes when Liu Na appeared. At certain moments, the nightmare almost took control of my ability to control Liu Na's soul."

  I thought about it, and Wuyou seemed to be right.

  Because when she was on the fourteenth floor, Liu Na's appearance was like rescuing me from Wang Shuai. But when I took the elevator down, the Liu Na that appeared in the multimedia player kept giving me a feeling of wanting to kill me. Perhaps, at that time, Liu Na failed to succeed because Wu You was vying with Shuyan for control over Liu Na's soul?

  Later, in the underground parking lot, Liu Na did not touch herself either, but turned to fight with Wang Shuai. It must be because, Wu You regained control of Liu Na's soul.

  Thinking of this, I asked curiously, "So, you used my blood to paint the numbers on the ground, in order to repair the feng shui array?"

  "That's right. Actually, at first I didn't know your blood had this use. It was thanks to the number of nightmares!" said Wu You.

  "Why?" I asked.

  "It was precisely because the Number Nightmare seized control of Liu Na's soul that our consciousness briefly merged. This allowed me to glimpse the information it detected from your aura. It means that after an unnatural death, you can transform into a malevolent energy that aids the Number Nightmare's rapid growth. At the same time, your blood can be used to mend the cracks in the feng shui array and assist me in sealing the Number Nightmare back into the feng shui array." Wu You said.

  In this way, everything became clear. I looked at the knife wound on my palm in disbelief, momentarily at a loss for words. For I had never dreamed that this seemingly ordinary recent college graduate would be so valuable in the eyes of these demons.

  From this, I can't help but worry about my future. Even if I can escape this time, will there be other wandering ghosts who are looking at me and plotting against me in the future?

  I gradually became confused. Because, I experienced supernatural events beyond ordinary people's understanding, which would inevitably completely overturn my perception of the world. So, where should I go next? How can I reconstruct my worldview? What about my future life?

  Thinking of this, I can't help but look up at the blurry woman on the screen again: "So now, what do you plan to do with me?"

  "Numen has been re-subdued under the feng shui array, and I have fully taken possession of this peculiar body. You are of no value to me now. As long as you don't cause me trouble before I leave, I won't make any moves against you. And after I'm gone, even if I reveal everything, who would listen? More importantly, once I integrate into this world, even if someone believes your story, how will they find me?" Wuyou replied.

  "So, are you willing to let me go?" I asked Wu You nervously.

  "Yes," said Wu You. As he finished speaking, the elevator came to a steady stop. Then, with a ding, the doors slowly opened.

  I looked up at the number on the elevator floor display. First floor. The elevator did reach the lobby on the first floor. Looking at the few company employees in the lobby, hurrying out of the lobby, I couldn't help but tremble with excitement and tears in my eyes.

  Finally! I can finally leave this damn place! To avoid angering Wu You and making him give up on letting me go, I can only silently cheer in my heart and suppress my excitement. At the same time, I quickly stepped out of the elevator and left the building without looking back.

  After I stepped out of Building B, I realized it was almost time to leave work. I quickly dialed the newspaper office's phone number, planning to make up an excuse for my day's schedule and head straight back to my place. However, the call went unanswered. So, I called the veteran journalist who had trained me. His call also went unanswering.

  There was no choice. Since I couldn't get in touch with the newspaper office for the time being, I decided to return to my residence and rest until I went to the newspaper office tomorrow to explain what had happened today. But what I didn't expect was that as soon as I got home, I immediately felt unwell and fell ill that night.

  This serious illness kept me awake from night until the next afternoon. Although my condition improved significantly after waking up, my body remained extremely weak. So, I had to call the newspaper again to explain my situation and ask for a few more days off. However, the newspaper's phone was still unanswered. Then I called the veteran reporter, but his call was also unattended.

  Sure. Since it wouldn't work, I'll just wait and see! Feeling quite exhausted, I had no heart to deal with the phone call. However, as a journalist, my professional duty compelled me to force myself out of bed, open my laptop, and prepare to document everything that happened yesterday in bed.

  Although I know that what happened yesterday could not be the news of the newspaper, nor could anyone believe it. But I still think I should write down these experiences.

  I don't know why I suddenly had this idea?

  It may be because I feel my mind is very confused and may forget this experience. It may also be simply because I have developed the habit of recording everything that happens around me when I study journalism for years.

  In short, I forced myself to get up and write down everything that had happened yesterday before I fell asleep again. When I woke up, it was already midnight. Although my body was still weak, I felt much better mentally than before.

  So, I turned on my computer again and began to proofread the story. At this point, I had a new idea. Since the newspaper I work for is an official media outlet, it cannot publish such supernatural stories. Instead, I decided to post the story on a forum I frequently visit, letting it be.

  I wonder if the forum server is being maintained or if there is a problem with the network tonight? In any case, the forum opened very slowly today. This also caused me to be stuck on the page that the article was uploading when I uploaded the story, and the prompt that the article had been published did not appear for a long time.

  Whenever I encounter this problem, I let the page run by itself for a while. Maybe at some point, the page will automatically jump to the interface where the article is published.

  Another reason that makes me reluctant to stay in front of the computer, waiting for the article to be uploaded, is how bustling the streets outside are! I checked the time; it's already past midnight. Could there be some event tonight? So, even though it's late at night, would so many people still be wandering around on the streets?

  The thought of the community market, not far from where I rent my apartment. Whenever there's an event there, I can feel the lively atmosphere outside from home. Coupled with last night's sudden illness, which left me without food all day, I also felt a bit hungry at this moment.

  So I decided to put aside the story that was still being uploaded, get dressed up and go to the market to see why it was so busy tonight?

  By the way, when I get to the market, I can also go to that familiar barbecue stand and have a good barbecue to replenish my strength.

  That's the end of the story.

  I picked up the phone, intending to contact Chen Mo and ask him to review and organize the story. However, Chen Mo's call kept failing to connect. So, I tried again to reach him online. Fortunately, Chen Mo was online at that moment. I communicated with him via private chat and sent him the story file I had organized.

  I soon received a private message from Chen Mo. However, his reply was very simple, with only one word: "Good."

  I only thought Chen Mo might not be good at communication, so I didn't think much of it and handed the story to the editor for review. After the story was approved by the editor, I informed Chen Mo again through the private chat window on the forum that our radio station would feature this story in the Midnight Story Session tomorrow night.

  Finally, I told Chen Mo that in order to thank him for the story he provided, our radio station would pay him 500 yuan as a fee according to the market price.

  Chen Mo replied to me quickly, but his reply was still very short: "I know. No need to pay me."

  Then, Chen Mo shows that he is offline.

  Since Chen Mo refused the manuscript fee, I had no choice but to express my sincere gratitude to him again through a message chat. I thought this matter was finally over. However, what I didn't expect was that it wasn't. Just as I was about to wrap up the story and head to the restaurant across from the radio station for something to eat, the editor-in-chief called me into his office with a serious look on his face.

  I thought I had done a good job recently, so I couldn't understand why the editor-in-charge, who had just praised my story as wonderful, was so upset that he called me to the office for a lecture. So, when I entered the editor-in-charge's office, I immediately asked him what had happened?

  The editor shook his head, saying there was nothing to worry about. He just wanted to understand the process of how I got the elevator story and who provided it. Why didn't he accept our payment? Because he needed to confirm whether we truly had the rights to adapt and publish this story, and ensure that after airing it tonight at midnight, the station wouldn't get into trouble.

  The chief editor's emphasis on the copyright of literary works is beyond reproach. Therefore, I patiently recounted how I discovered this story today and how I communicated with the original poster who provided it. During this process, I also answered the chief editor's questions truthfully.

  Although it's understandable for the editor to be cautious, I always feel that today the editor seems too concerned about the copyright of this story. Just as I was puzzled by the editor's unusual attitude, the office door was suddenly pushed open. Instinctively turning my head, I saw that the person who had pushed the door into the office was actually three uniformed police officers.

  After the three policemen entered the door, they first saluted me and the editor-in-chief and took out their credentials to show their identity. Then, after confirming my identity, the three policemen stood around me.

  After some negotiation, I realized that the reason why the editor-in-chief suddenly called me to his office was actually to buy time for the arrival of the police. The purpose of the police's arrival this time was to ask me some questions about Chen Mo.

  It was only then that I learned there really was an intern reporter named Chen Mo at the newspaper in Shudu City. This intern reporter also went missing unexpectedly during a field assignment about two months ago. To this day, the police have not found any trace of him. The location where he is suspected to have gone missing is precisely the B Building of Shuxin Plaza, which I used as a pseudonym for the elevator story.

  Then, the police officer told me. Since Chen Mo had been out of contact, the police naturally considered the possibility that he might have been kidnapped. Therefore, in the process of searching for Chen Mo's whereabouts, the police used professional technical means to monitor all contact methods registered with Chen Mo's personal information.

  Then, the police obtained my phone number through passive listening to Chen Mo's mobile phone this morning. Then, they quickly found the forum I registered with my personal information through my phone message, and found that I had communicated with a personal account suspected to be Chen Mo.

  According to the police investigation, the account named ‘Chen Mo Trapped in the Elevator’ was newly registered this morning. Moreover, when registering this account, the user used Chen Mo's personal information. Therefore, the police are now first wondering if I am related to Chen Mo's disappearance case? Second, they want to determine whether Chen Mo intended to seek help from the public by posting on forums?

  Hearing that the police suspected me of being involved in Chen Mo's disappearance, I immediately jumped up from my seat as if my hair had caught fire. I grabbed three officers and ran to my computer, opening the forum to show them my chat records with Chen Mo. At the same time, I voluntarily handed over my chat records with the editor-in-charge to the officers, to prove that I had only coincidentally met Chen Mo online and did not participate in any criminal activities related to his kidnapping.

  I handed over everything I could to the three officers, passing the baton to prove my innocence. The three officers were all extremely experienced in handling cases. Therefore, they quickly combined the evidence I had voluntarily provided with my eager attitude to prove my innocence, and determined that I was not involved in Chen Mo's disappearance case.

  However, since I am the only person who has been in contact with Chen Mo in recent days, the police still hope that I can assist them and continue to try to keep in touch with Chen Mo, so that the police can use technical means to locate the user of the account as soon as possible.

  Of course, I would not refuse to help the police with their investigation and to find Chen Mo. However, I also raised a question. That is, since Chen Mo had logged into this forum, why didn't the police directly lock down his location based on the IP address he was using?

  The officer shook his head and told me that they had already tried to track Chen Mo's IP address. However, the police soon discovered that Chen Mo was using a fake IP address online, making it difficult for them to pinpoint his location. Therefore, they also suspected that Chen Mo's disappearance might be related to some hacker group.

  After ruling out my suspicion, the police left the radio station. However, before they departed, they informed us that in the story allegedly provided by Chen Mo himself, there was likely a hidden distress message. Given Chen Mo's very complicated situation, he could not boldly include the distress message in the story.

  Therefore, this story has been regarded by the police as a new lead in the search for Chen Mo. To avoid alerting them, the officers advised us not to release it for now. Then, citing the need to protect the case leads, they copied all the original documents from my and the editor's computers and completely deleted the story from our systems. As a result, the radio station had to cancel its plan to air the story during the Midnight Story Session.

  To assist the police in tracking down the ID: Chen Mo Trapped in an Elevator, I tried to get in touch with him again during my spare time over the next few days. However, he seemed to have vanished from existence. Whether by phone or private messages, I failed to reach him. What's worse, a few days after I helped the police contact him, I discovered that he had suddenly deactivated his forum account.

  I immediately contacted the police officer in charge of keeping me updated and learned from him that the police had also discovered“Chen Mo Trapped in an Elevator”, had suddenly canceled his account. However, strangely enough, even though the police had made advance arrangements, they still failed to detect any anomalies during his account cancellation process. Not to mention, based on the traces left by this person in the forum database when he canceled his account, they couldn't pinpoint where he was online.

  As Chen Mo, who was trapped in the elevator, had already logged out of his account and I had finished assisting the police, my life was back on track.

  In the following period, I often recalled the scenes of my online exchanges with the poster who suspected Chen Mo, as well as various plot elements from that story, trying to find any clues related to Chen Mo's disappearance. In this process, I had an extremely bold idea—— Could it be that this urban ghost story was actually something that happened when Chen Mo went missing?

  I also found information about Liu Na and Wang Shuai's accidental deaths, as well as news that Chen Mo was suspected to be missing, through online searches. However, for some reason, the amount of relevant information I could find online is limited. Moreover, from the comments under these news items, it seems that these three cases have not caused much of a stir in society.

  Indeed, a few of the comments on these three incidents were seen as a series of related paranormal events. Moreover, the scenes reconstructed from these comments were quite similar to the plot described in the story.

  From this, I had to re-examine a speculation made by the police. The poster I contacted at the time was indeed likely a prankster hacker. Not only did this hacker steal Chen Mo's personal information and register an account on that forum, but he also compiled various online speculations into a story, aiming to fabricate a bizarre tale about a cyber ghost.

  It's just that the hacker was very smart and vigilant. He quickly used some anti-surveillance methods to realize that his account had been targeted by the police. That's why he hastily deleted the account and vanished from the internet to prevent the police from tracking him down through online trails. Given how professional and cautious this hacker is, it suggests that he must have done something that the police couldn't easily verify.

  During this process, I even came up with a bolder hypothesis: —— This story of strange tales not only exists in reality, but the so-called hacker is actually Wu You? If that were true, wouldn't it better explain why“Chen Mo Trapped in an Elevator”suddenly appeared and then vanished? It would also make sense why the police couldn't trace any leads, right?

  Thinking of this, I couldn't help but shiver. If Wuyou really merged with the malevolent aura and exists in our world as a ghost, then with Wuyou's continuous growth, will it do something terrible to humans in the future?

  I informed the officer in charge of my concerns. As a result, the officer simply told me with deep sincerity that he understood my desire to help find Chen Mo's whereabouts and thanked both Chen Mo's family and the police for their assistance. At the same time, the officer emphasized not to overinterpret the plot of the story and not to cause unnecessary panic. Then, the officer assured me that they would definitely uncover the truth and find Chen Mo as soon as possible.

  Since the police officer said so, I naturally can't disturb their work any more, lest it affect their investigation. Now, I can only trust the police and believe that they will give Chen Mo's family a satisfactory answer.

  Later, I took the opportunity to visit Shudu City and personally arranged for Building B of Shuxin Square. During this time, I chatted with a security guard on duty and asked about these three individuals. The guard told me that he had just started his job and was not very familiar with what had happened before. Moreover, the security guards who used to work here had all left the company one after another, so no one could clearly recount what exactly occurred back then.

  So I asked the security guard again, what happened to the company Liu Na used to work for? The security guard told me that the company had moved out of the office building shortly after Liu Na's accident. As for what happened to them now, no one could say for sure.

  Obviously, the security guard was unaware of what had happened before. At the same time, he seemed reluctant to delve into the past. I naturally understood his feelings. After all, he still had to work here. So, he naturally didn't want to let those rumors affect his work mood.

  So I said goodbye to the security guard, walked around the lobby of Building B alone, and then hurried away.

  Alright. I admit it. Although I am curious about what is happening here, I indeed lack the courage to take the elevator upstairs and visit the floors related to the three people's case. In fact, since I cannot rule out the possibility that the story has some truth to it, even standing in the lobby makes my spine tingle. As a result, I only hurriedly walked around the lobby and quickly left here.

  Many years later, I had long resigned from that online radio station and moved to another city, where I secured an editorial position at the city's broadcasting center. By then, I had started my own family and was being worn out by work and the newborn child every day. As for Chen Mo and that story, they had long been cast aside with my past life. Therefore, when I suddenly received another call from the police, I felt a great sense of surprise.

  This time, it was still the same police officer who contacted me. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, he informed me that the story I edited back then has now been declassified. If I need it, I can publish it at any time. Of course, the officer didn't forget to remind me to be sure to omit real names and locations in the story to avoid causing unnecessary trouble for the parties involved.

  Hearing this, I was very happy. Had the police found Chen Mo's whereabouts?

  As a result, the officer on the other end of the line sighed and told me that Chen Mo was still missing. However, after a thorough investigation by the police, it was determined that the story was fabricated by someone who knew about the three incidents. Therefore, the police ultimately classified the story as a prank. Consequently, the article was no longer considered evidence by the police and was unsealed. It was then that the officer informed me of this.

  I was very happy to be able to get the rights back to the story, but when I thought about Chen Mo's whereabouts, I couldn't help feeling worried about his situation and deeply sympathetic to his family.

  I wanted to specifically inquire about the current progress of Chen Mo's disappearance case, but the police officer politely declined my request, citing that the case was still under investigation. There's nothing I can do about it. A case that is still being processed by the police will certainly not disclose any information until it has made some progress. Therefore, I didn't think twice about pressing further on this matter.

  Let's leave everything to the police! I believe that the police will give his family a satisfactory answer to Chen Mo's disappearance case. As for me, all I can do is pray for Chen Mo and his family!

  Although the story was compiled by me, it was my job. So after the conversation with the officer, I called the editor in charge and asked him how to handle the story?

  The editor-in-chief has since left the radio station and even the media industry, moving to a coastal city in the south to enjoy life.

  After listening to my detailed explanation, the editor-in-charge smiled and told me that since the other party had not paid for the story, and it had not been archived by the radio station, it was temporarily seized by the police as a lead in an investigation. Strictly speaking, the ownership of this story does not belong to that radio station. Moreover, as far as he knows, that radio station closed down two years ago. Therefore, in essence, the ownership of this story now belongs to me, giving me the right to make it public.

  Then, I chatted with the editor-in-charge about our daily life and invited him to visit me when I visited his city next time.

  After saying goodbye to the editor, I opened the story the police officer had sent via email and fell into deep thought. In the end, I decided not to feature this story on the current radio station's Midnight Story Session. I chose instead to post the edited version of the story on that forum,

  What if that guy named“Chen Mo Trapped in an Elevator”back then, had seen this story while browsing forums using another account? What if he reached out to me after seeing it? Then, wouldn't I have a chance to find clues related to Chen Mo's disappearance? I thought to myself.

  Although I think this possibility is extremely low, but this is the only help I can make for Chen Mo's disappearance case now! After all, seizing any opportunity and never giving up is exactly the hope that ignites the fire of life in the predicament?

  (The End)