Xiao Yao stabbed himself to death and then disappeared, without leaving a drop of blood on the ground, like an illusion.
There was dead silence at the bathroom door.
"There are no monsters today..." Pan Lin's pale lips opened and closed, his thin body twitching slightly with excitement. Once Xiao Yao died, there would be no danger on the last day. He could just wait until the end of get off work and leave here. That was great. He could finally go home. That was great.
Chen Yang rubbed the flashlight: "Monsters are not that easy to kill."
Pan Lin felt as if someone had grabbed his neck and pushed him into an ice hole. His brain was numb from the cold. “But she wasn’t a monster when she died.”
Not getting a response from Chen Yang, Pan Lin looked up at Zheng Zhitan in panic.
"Do you want that woman to die and one of the six of us to become a monster to replace her, or for her to live and go to work as usual?" Zheng Zhiqin gently stroked Pan Lin's asymmetrical little face.
Pan Lin opened his mouth with difficulty: "Then it's better for her not to die."
At least it can lock onto the target directly.
"There are still more than six hours until nine o'clock." Pan Lin glanced at his phone, which was about to run out of battery, and quickly turned it off. "Should we do something before then? We need to hurry up and check what we need to check."
"Silly boy, it's not enough to just use your brain. You also have to learn to draw inferences from one example and apply it to other similar situations. The monster will know his identity only when it's time to go to work. It's the other way around." Zheng Zhitan looked at him with eyes full of pity.
Pan Lin's face turned pale instantly.
To put it the other way around, the moment the monster knows its identity, it starts to work.
"Then, then, then what should we do?" Pan Lin stammered, panicking, "What should we do now?"
"When the monsters come to work, taboos will appear." Chen Yang turned off the flashlight and took out a cigarette box and a lighter from his backpack. The last round has begun. What will the taboo be
The cell phone involved Xiao Yao, and Xiao Yao involved the elevator.
Obviously, the elevator is the finale.
This step was so easy, but Chen Yang didn't feel relieved. Instead, he felt an indescribable uneasiness. He was thinking about something, and the cigarette butt left a deep mark between his teeth. He was reluctant to put down the lighter.
Chao Jian took the lighter that Chen Yang had heated up and removed the cap.
Chen Yang leaned forward with his head lowered, holding a cigarette in his mouth. The orange-red firelight reflected the sharpness in his eyes. He took a deep puff of the cigarette and said, "Let's go pry open the elevator."
Soon, six people stood in front of the elevator on the third floor.
Chen Yang stood there and took a few puffs of his cigarette. He took out the keychain of Xiao Yao's best friend and inserted the key of the electric bike into the gap of the elevator door: "Open it."
As he said this, he stepped back. The mute understood and stepped forward, took the key, slid it downwards, let the end of the key fit into the crack of the door, and twisted it with force.
Chen Yang, Chao Jian, Zheng Zhitan, and Pan Lin stood on both sides of the elevator and forced the door open.
Pan Lin had some nails left and was afraid they would fall off, so he quickly bit off his nails, got close to Zheng Zhiqin and pushed the door aside, using all his strength.
"It's in the way." Zheng Zhiqin pushed away the little head that was blocking his view.
Pan Lin shuddered in embarrassment. He said weakly, "Brother Qin, as the saying goes, unity is strength."
"Wrong logic." Zheng Zhitan sneered and didn't let him leave.
Compared with Zheng Zhiqin and Pan Lin, the two people opposite are much more harmonious.
Chao Jian's left leg was injured and he couldn't stand on one leg. He used a crutch and one hand to open the door, while Chen Yang used both hands and stood in a position that would not block him.
When Zheng Zhiqin looked up, the cigarette in Chen Yang's mouth was in Chao Jian's mouth, and he raised his eyebrows.
Chao Jian held the cigarette in his mouth and raised his eyelids casually.
Zheng Zhitan smiled like an elder and kissed indirectly n times, but it was just indirect kissing, coward.
Chao Jian's emotions were not disturbed. He took a puff of cigarette casually, and the taste of nicotine and the taste of the person next to him blended into his mouth. He abandoned the former, pestered the latter for a while, and continued to open the door.
Qiao Qiao was in charge of holding the light nearby. She looked listless and had little desire to survive. She was wearing a white dress and black hair. She stood there like a lonely soul, with the flashlight in her hand hanging down.
Chen Yang gasped and shouted: "Qiao Qiao!"
Qiao Qiao was startled and quickly raised the flashlight.
Xiao Yao had no memory of anything that happened in the elevator. Chen Yang and the others didn't know whether the problem occurred as soon as she entered the elevator, or whether the elevator reached a certain floor before the problem occurred.
It's not clear which elevator it is.
So Chen Yang and the others opened both elevators. The one on the left happened to stop at the third floor, with nothing inside, while the car of the one on the right did not go up.
Chen Yang stood at the edge of the elevator on the right, holding up the mute flashlight and shining it downwards. Behind him was the person he trusted the most, so he was not worried that a pair of hands would push him down from behind.
Pan Lin felt that Chen Yang was really brave. He just shone the light into the elevator shaft without any fear of a face coming out from inside, or a pale hand reaching out to grab his ankle and drag him into hell.
Pan Lin then felt relieved. After all, he was an old tasker and had so much experience.
After a few seconds, Pan Lin became depressed again. If he became an old tasker, he would not be able to be like Chen Yang.
"Mr. Chen, is the elevator parked on the second floor?" Pan Lin didn't get an answer. He thought of something, his face changed, and he raised his voice and asked, "Is it between the two floors?"
"No, it should be the first floor." Chen Yang shook his head and they were about to go down.
Chen Yang took a few steps back before leaving the elevator. He turned around and looked at Chao Jian: "We have to go to the elevator."
It's the rules that allow them to go.
Then, the taboo will be related to this matter.
They had already touched the elevator, and they were fine, which meant that the taboo was not the elevator itself, so there was only one possibility left...
The taboo is on the way to the destination.
Chen Yang looked at Chao Jian, and Chao Jian was also looking at him.
"water."
The three of them said in unison.
In addition to Chen Yang and Chao Jian, Zheng Zhitan also said that word at the same time.
Pan Lin couldn't keep up with them: "Xiao Yao is hiding in the water?"
You can’t look at the water. The mute showed Pan Lin the words on her sticky note pad.
Pan Lin shuddered at the reminder of the mute. Reflection? He scratched his hand and thought, this task is actually not a mess. It revolves around this from beginning to end, and he has been repeatedly reminded.
But…
The first floor was flooded. They had to go down to get the elevator, but they couldn't see the water. How could they walk? Wasn't this a dead end
Chen Yang also thought of this, but the difference was that he did not collapse like Pan Lin. He was trying to find loopholes in the deadlock.
"Can I turn on my phone and look through the camera?" Chen Yang was not sure. He shook his head out of instinctive safety. "Just in case, I'd better close my eyes and go."
"What do you think?" Chen Yang asked everyone.
No one came up with ideas.
There was a video of the four floors in Chen Yang’s mobile phone. He clicked on the part of the first floor and moved the progress bar backwards.
"Go down the stairs and turn left. The elevator is very close." Chen Yang said while watching the video.
The trouble came after they got to the elevator. They had to pry open the right elevator door just like they did before, and they had to do it with their eyes closed.
There was nothing in the team that could be made into cloth strips to cover the eyes, so those who went down could only close their eyes themselves.
In addition to having enough courage, you must also stretch your will to the extreme and remain vigilant at all times. You must not panic or open your eyes involuntarily, otherwise you are over.
Chen Yang's phone was about to stop working, so he took Chao Jian's phone, removed the password lock, and turned on the camera mode. This was a life-threatening measure in an emergency.
Every time you go down there, you always have to consider the worst possible outcome.
Therefore, Chen Yang had to make all the necessary preparations to leave him and Chao Jian a chance to survive as much as possible.
Chen Yang glanced at the two girls in the team and said, "Don't go down."
The mute had no objection. She and Qiao Qiao were not able to participate in physical labor. Besides, this trip was life or death uncertain, and if they went down they would only make things worse.
Brother, be careful. The mute tore off a piece of paper and gave it to Chen Yang.
Chen Yang took the note: "You too."
Pan Lin looked at Chen Yang with red eyes. He hesitated and hesitated. He didn't say anything for a long time, and the words in his mouth were broken into pieces.
Chen Yang said: "You can go with them."
Pan Lin's body trembled, his eyes became redder, he moved his lips and uttered "thank you", then he lowered his head and walked to Zheng Zhiqin: "Brother Qin..."
Zheng Zhitan walked towards the corridor entrance.
The young man's sobbing voice came from behind, full of worry and concern: "Brother Qin, you must be careful!"
Zheng Zhiqin kept walking, his demeanor revealing the calmness and composure of a workplace elite, as if he was rushing to a meeting.
The two people walking behind him looked like business partners.
Zheng Zhitan stopped in the corridor between the second and first floors and said in a voice that only Chen Yang could hear clearly, "Are you sure you want your brother to come with you?"
Chen Yang didn't say anything. In his heart, he hoped that Chao Jian would stay upstairs, but he knew that the other party would not agree to do so.
So he would carry Chao Jian on his back.
It was difficult to walk in the water, and I could only grope in the dark with my eyes closed. It was even more difficult because I was carrying an adult with an injured leg on my back.
Chen Yang rubbed his face and calmed down. Since Chao Jian had already made his choice, he would cooperate. They would die together and live together.
Thinking of this, Chen Yang felt something hit his chest.
The blow came without any warning and with great force, carrying with it a scorching heat. Chen Yang's limbs and bones felt numb and he was unable to recover for a long time. It was not until Chao Jian lay on his back that he came out of his delicate state of mind.
Zheng Zhiqin stood on the stairs, watching Chen Yang carrying Chao Jian on his back, and whispered to him to hold his neck tightly and not let go.
Then he closed his eyes, supported Chao Jian with one hand, and held the stair railing with the other hand, and walked up the stairs in the dark, one step at a time, neither fast nor slow, emitting a kind of backbone strength.
Every step was taken with the momentum of moving forward courageously and recklessly, as if silently saying, don't be afraid, I am here, follow me, I will take you home.
Zheng Zhiqin blew out a smoke ring with a strange expression on his face, and locked his eyes with the man carrying someone on his back. At this moment, he seemed to fit the description... The description fit the three-digit ID number.
Sometimes they don’t match, sometimes they match. There are so many secrets.
Walking down to the first floor, Chen Yang stepped into the water and shouted, "Zheng Zhitan!"
"Yes, I'm here." Zheng Zhiqin answered subconsciously.
The mute, Qiao Qiao and Pan Lin went from the third floor to the second floor. They were closer to the first floor, so if there was any movement on the first floor, they could hear it more clearly.
Qiao Qiao sat by the wall, picking at the astrology book with her slender fingers: "I'll tell you a secret, this book is actually my aunt's treasure."
The mute turned his head.
"My aunt is a remarkable woman. She follows her heart and lives a carefree life. She has many admirers, but she never has a siege. There is never a fire in her backyard. That's because she is really capable and has the aura of a novel heroine." Qiao Qiao paused, "She gave me this book on Wednesday."
Qiao Qiao chuckled: "I came in here on Thursday morning."
The mute thought that Qiao Qiao would think the book was unlucky and even resent her aunt, so he quickly exclaimed "ah" a few times.
"I don't think so." Qiao Qiao was still laughing, tears falling, "I just think this book is a liar, a big liar."
The delicate and pretty girl said sadly, "Except for the first day, which is not suitable for work, the others are not allowed."
The mute's silent comfort.
Qiao Qiao didn't cry for long before her tears stopped. She handed the constellation book to the mute and said, "I have a favor to ask."
The dumb man didn't understand.
"Sister," Qiao Qiao called out to the little mute who was two months older than her, and said in a cute voice, "I don't think I can get out."
The mute's eyes suddenly widened.
"My humble request is that you take the book away and return it to my aunt." Qiao Qiao said seriously, "Don't take it. She won't listen to me. She won't listen to anyone. She is so willful. I want to be like that in my next life."
As he spoke, Qiao Qiao showed a hint of embarrassment, and then sighed quietly: "It's too bad that this life is short and dull."
"I've never been in a relationship before, and I missed such a good boy..."
Qiao Qiao looked at the little mute, her watery eyes full of pleading.
The mute waved his hand.
Qiao Qiao pouted aggrievedly: "Don't you agree?"
The mute uttered an "ah", wanting to cry and laugh at the same time. She wanted to say, it's not that I don't agree, it's just that I feel I can't get out of this task...
Pan Lin came over and asked, "What are you talking about?" He glanced at the horoscope book in Qiao Qiao's hand and blurted out, "What's the fortune of Aquarius today?"
"I won't ask anymore! I don't want to know!" Pan Lin said hurriedly, looking frightened as if he was avoiding wolves and tigers.
Qiao Qiao thought to himself, I didn’t mean to translate it for you to see.
Qiao Qiao held the constellation book in her arms. She leaned against the little mute, stared blankly for a while, then closed her eyes. Her bloodless face was filled with a dejected look of "leaving everything to fate".
The second floor was quiet. The mute closed his eyes to the sound of Qiao Qiao's gentle breathing.
After an unknown amount of time, a suspicious murmur came from the side: "There seems to be some noise downstairs."
It was Pan Lin. He stretched his neck and stared at the guardrail in front of him. Zheng Zhiqin's painful screams reached his ears, and he felt cold from head to toe.
Something went wrong…
Pan Lin was trembling, something happened!
Zheng Zhiqin's screams made Pan Lin panic. He covered his ears with a pale face and tried to stop him, but it was useless. He could still hear it clearly.
That old man is just a financial sponsor, not someone I have. I don't need to be grateful to him. He and I just get what we need. I want to live, I want to survive. Pan Lin hunched his shoulders, buried his head in his arms, and his red and swollen slanted eye trembled constantly.
"Baby, be concise when answering other people's questions."
"Knock me out." "No, there will be changes."
“Don’t gather in groups.”
Pan Lin covered his ears and shook his head continuously. That man was not helping me avoid taboos. He was just having fun and teasing the puppy.
Yes, that's right, he will have other puppies besides me.
Pan Lin stood up suddenly. His legs were numb from sitting for so long that his body froze for a moment. Many fragments flashed through his congested mind, all of which were about the good and bad things Zheng Zhiqin had done to him.
It was too fast and too many to count. Pan Lin's legs were stuck to the ground.
The mute was not asleep. She noticed Pan Lin's abnormality in time and suspected that he was dragged into his inner fantasy. But she was a mute and could not speak. Before she could take out the sticky note book and pen, Pan Lin rushed to the guardrail.
“Ah…” The mute pinched his neck anxiously, trying to make himself make a louder sound, “Ah! Ah!” Come back! Come back!
Qiao Qiao was awakened: "What's wrong?" She looked in the direction the mute was looking, her expression changed in shock, and she screamed with a sore throat, "Pan Lin, what are you doing there? You can't look at the water. Hurry up..."
Qiao Qiao saw something, and a sinister smell of blood rushed into her throat, shattering the rest of her words. She kept shaking, and the mute protected her tightly.
When Pan Lin found that there was no scream from Zheng Zhiqin downstairs, the blood in his body froze. Qiao Qiao's shouting broke his frozen blood vessels bit by bit. He wanted to escape from the guardrail immediately, but his feet were out of control and he was nailed to the spot, with his neck maintaining an arc looking down.
There was a figure beside him, accompanied by a soft sigh.
Pan Lin fell to the ground with shaking legs. Something fell from above him and swayed in front of his eyes.
It was a piece of intestine.
Pan Lin was frightened. He looked up blankly. The woman bent down holding a bloody steel pipe. Her gray face slowly approached him. There was a hole in her belly.
At the corner of the first floor, Chen Yang and the other two finally opened the elevator on the right.
"The door is open." Chen Yang said.
After the vision disappeared, the sound of flowing water, heartbeats, and breathing were amplified several times and became terrifyingly loud.
Neither of the people around him made any sound.
Chen Yang touched Chao Jian's arm. The temperature of his touch was very low and the muscles were very tense. He was slightly stunned, pressed it soothingly, then held on to the elevator to steady his body, and carefully used his foot to test forward half an inch. The thing in front was not empty space, but an elevator car.
Guessed it right.
The car really stopped on the first floor.
Chen Yang took a few deep breaths, and the rise and fall of his chest calmed down a little. He carefully rubbed his toes in.
"There is no water in the elevator." Chen Yang told his partner and teammates.
"Good." Zheng Zhiqin moved his closed eyelids and spat out the cigarette butt that he had bitten into pieces.
Chao Jian has not said a word since he came downstairs. There is no expression on his face and he seems calm. However, his thumb and index finger have been grabbing Chen Yang's clothes. His fingertips are white and his knuckles are cold.
After careful consideration, Chen Yang picked up Chao Jian's phone, fumbled and pressed the button on the side. The phone screen lit up. At the same time, he opened his eyes, held his breath, and stared at the screen.
Four faces appeared in the camera.
Chen Yang was caught off guard. At that moment, it was as if his brain was filled with ice, and his ability to think was frozen to death.
The elevator is an independent space, not a drop of water from outside can get in. There are four people standing inside, three men and one woman.
They were divided into two groups, standing stiffly in the elevator, their lips wrinkled, their pupils dilated, their gray faces covered with corpse spots facing the elevator door.
Like getting out of an elevator.
Chen Yang faced them.