Chapter 67: Escalator (1/2)

A narrow yet crowded place, disappearing as soon as he turned his head… Could it be that Hu Chen’s girlfriend had gone into the escalator?

Cai Yu’s mother was dragged into a freezer, so it also made sense that it was the escalator next.

Looking at it this way, the ghosts at this level might have been hiding in each of the mall’s facilities.

If Chu Fu hadn’t known that the freezer was problematic and had conveniently been dragged in by the female corpse inside for a box of ice cream, wouldn’t the person who was dragged in be also replaced?

A flash of inspiration instantly wiped across Bai Yan’s eyes, deciding that the following investigation required him to be extra careful. It would be best if he didn’t touch any of the things inside the mall.

Bai Yan raised his eyes and covertly observed the ghost handing out flyers.

The ghost took a step forward and gave a flyer to the passerby. That passerby accepted it without any trouble and stuffed it inside his bag, hurriedly walking away.

On a whim, Bai Yan pointed at the inconspicuous mascot and asked Hu Chen in a low voice, “Yesterday, when you guys came here, did you see that?”

At this moment, Bai Yan had already concocted a guess.

The mall, for the majority of the ordinary people inside, was a place where they could enjoy shopping to their hearts’ content.

But, as for the people who had grabbed a flyer, the mall was a place where they will be pushed to their deaths. Any items inside the mall might have the capacity to place a person on his deathbed.

And for the people who took a flyer, entering the mall would result in their untimely deaths.

After their deaths, they would conveniently turn into new ghosts, luring their close loved ones in their sleep to go back to the mall and telling them to die here with them.

As for those who were left unscathed, they were either the people who didn’t grab a flyer on their way to the mall or they did take one but threw it away.

Since he didn’t keenly observe the situation with Cai Yu’s mom, Bai Yan still couldn’t be certain.

However, even if he had established his theory, this didn’t mean that it was the way to survive. The designated NPCs’ deaths were only indirectly related. Like in Hu Chen’s case, he personally didn’t carry the flyer, so the flyer-distributing ghost wouldn’t kill him. But the one who genuinely wanted to harm him was his ‘missing’ girlfriend…

‘No, it can’t be said that these are completely unrelated.’

When their companions were receiving the flyer, the designated NPCs were also with them, and they also had close relations with the victims, so perhaps the ghost’s maliciousness was also spreading to them…

Bai Yan contemplated on it more and felt that these empty thoughts were useless. Nevertheless, putting practice into work and doing something right now would inevitably lead to the way out.

So, after he discussed a few more points with Hu Chen, he led them to the place where his girlfriend went missing.

When Hu Chen was ahead and leading the way, Bai Yan deliberately lagged behind and walked side by side with Chu Fu, telling her, “In a bit, he’ll be handed over to you.”

“!”

‘Why me?’

Chu Fu was raging with anger but didn’t dare say anything back. However, she was well aware of the real reason. Long ago, she already found out about Wang Ze’s true colors, so Wang Ze being polite to her would be completely strange.

After experiencing several levels, Chu Fu understood that everyone was trying their best to clear the level. But when encountering danger, it would be fair for everyone to be in it at least once.

However, whoever went first would be in the most danger, and she was still a bit hesitant about doing it. But, upon seeing ‘Wang Ze’s’ eyes and glancing at his insincere smile, her heart started to tremble as she clenched her teeth. If she didn’t go first, what if this psycho would accidentally trip behind her back?

Thus, Chu Fu regretfully said, “This time, it’s me, but shouldn’t the next time be your turn?”

After saying this, Chu Fu had made up her mind. If Wang Ze went back on his word next time, she would rather rip his face off and have a falling out with him than to succumb to his threats again!

Seeing Chu Fu’s squishy complexion, Bai Yan also knew when to stop, “Sure. The next one will be my turn.”

While they were talking, the three people had entered the mall, and the moment they went in, Hu Chen wanted to ride the escalator to the third floor.

Upon seeing this, Bai Yan quickly stopped him, “Mr. Hu, I suggest you don’t ride the escalator, and it would be best to go up the stairs instead.”

“Why? What would happen when I ride the escalator?”

Hu Chen’s movements looked fidgety. Just like with the flyers earlier, this detective kept asking questions willy-nilly and wasn’t at all helpful. Could he really solve this?

They already couldn’t see the flyer-distributing mascot given that they were far away from the entrance.

Bai Yan pondered more and ultimately decided to tell Hu Chen the truth.

Even if he won’t believe him, in a moment, they’ll see a real ghost, which will make him change his mind.

As a result, Bai Yan said, “Mr. Hu, do you believe that this world has ghosts in it? If I told you that your girlfriend isn’t missing but has already turned into a ghost, who died inside the escalator, would you still insist on finding her?”

Hu Chen puffed out an angry snort, “What is integrity? I hired you to help me find my girlfriend since you’re good. Even when you aren’t properly helping me, you would even go as far as to directly curse that she’s dead!”

Seeing Hu Chen’s whole face color red and his neck’s veins bulging with anger, it seemed that this situation was leading to a fight, which prompted Bai Yan to add, “Mr. Hu, please consider it carefully. In a mall that has plenty of people going in and out of it, the person couldn’t be seen anymore by just getting off the escalator. Getting boldly kidnapped also couldn’t be done so openly. Moreover, listening to your description, you and your girlfriend were on good terms. So, after buying clothes and preparing to head back, in such a short period of time, it would be impossible for her to suddenly get angry with you and leave you while fixing her shoes, right?”

“Although you have this explanation, you still said that she was dead, even turning into a ghost. It’s too…”

Hu Chen wasn’t done speaking when Bai Yan interrupted him, “You once mentioned in passing that you dreamt of your girlfriend saying that she’s trapped inside the mall in a narrow and crowded place and asked you to save her. Apart from the nearby escalator, what other place could be both narrow yet crowded?”