Chapter Twenty-Seven: An Old Acquaintance in Black

At eight o’clock on the evening of October 26, 2015, Ji Li was abruptly awakened from a light doze by a notification from an email.

One could say he had been waiting for this mission for several hours.

As the phone screen lit up, the dim light harshly illuminated Ji Li’s pale face, revealing the surprise flickering in his eyes.

“To protect someone else...”

He set the phone down, the mission details already etched into his mind. Lighting a cigarette, he began to ponder.

“Bogu Tower… there shouldn’t be any ghosts there.”

The voice of his third persona echoed; he seemed to know something about that building.

Ji Li nodded silently, listening closely.

“It’s a commercial building with a mixed crowd inside.

From what I know, there are more than twenty small companies alone.

The number of employees definitely exceeds three hundred!

Perhaps because there are so many people during the day, it’s easier for us to enter at night. The hotel has calculated that now only 43 people remain there.”

The second persona sounded skeptical. “How do you know that?”

“I once treated one of the executives there,” Ji Li replied, waving off their idle chatter. He grabbed the backpack that had been prepared on the chair and strode out of the room.

Upon stepping outside, he saw on the far end of the third floor a figure like himself, hidden in the shadows, smoking a cigarette.

If not for the flickering glow of the cigarette’s ember, the man would have seemed completely merged with the darkness around him.

Ji Li watched silently until the man briskly approached.

In truth, Ji Li never had a good impression of Tongguan from the very start.

It wasn’t Tongguan’s fault; he simply felt they might never be comrades.

Tongguan sized him up, then spoke in a low voice:

“I sense a deathly aura around you, but it’s not from within.

You’ve killed people. Many people...”

Ji Li’s eyes flickered with uncertainty. Thinking he referred to the mission, he casually said, “Your eyes are sharp.”

“You resemble an old acquaintance of mine. Have you ever been to No. 77 Tulip Street in Huhai City?” Tongguan’s tone became inscrutable, his resolute profile betraying no emotion.

Yet Ji Li felt deep down that the “old acquaintance” he mentioned was no mere phrase.

Ji Li finally raised his head to look at him but did not answer the question, responding coldly:

“No wonder you’ve been watching me since we entered the hotel.

Right now, many things have no conclusions or answers. For now, survival is our foremost priority.”

After speaking, Ji Li turned and left.

From the moment they arrived at the hotel, Tongguan had been observing him repeatedly, including their recent exchange.

Ji Li could never discern Tongguan’s true intentions or what goals he harbored.

That sense of being out of control stuck in his throat like a bone.

Tongguan stubbed out his cigarette underfoot and stared at Ji Li’s retreating figure. Amidst the shifting light, his expression was somewhat dazed.

“Is it him?”

Chang Nian appeared beside Tongguan without his noticing. Her tone was gentle, unlike the sharpness she had shown hours earlier.

Pain flickered in Tongguan’s eyes. He gripped Chang Nian’s hand, his palms slick with sweat.

“I don’t know.

When I was seven, my parents were taken away by four men in black robes right before my eyes. I only remember the vague figure of the leader—I couldn’t recognize him.

But that dark hair and those icy eyes remain fresh in my memory.

Ji Li’s eyes resemble that man’s very closely, but...

Twenty years have passed. In search of the truth behind my parents’ deaths, I came to Shanming City, entered the Tianhai Hotel, and became its manager.

I thought I was close, especially the moment I saw Ji Li!

But there are too many doubts.”

Tongguan’s shoulders trembled. His entire life had been destroyed by those four men in black, yet he never found the real culprit.

Until he came here and saw Ji Li, his heart trembled!

Those eyes, indifferent to all, were almost identical to the leader’s!

This was also why he openly revealed his hostility.

“But Ji Li’s age doesn’t match, and the clues we found ended abruptly at the cemetery...” Chang Nian’s heart ached watching Tongguan’s tortured expression.

Tongguan exhaled deeply, his body relaxing somewhat.

“When we just started investigating that cemetery, we were dragged into the hotel.

This means the Tianhai Hotel, my parents, the men in black robes, and Ji Li must be connected somehow.

We must survive first, get close to Ji Li, and learn everything about him!”

…

“The mission itself isn’t complicated, but details are scarce. We’ll only understand more once we reach Bogu Tower,” Ji Li said on the van, holding his phone and looking at the mission briefing as he addressed those inside.

Yu Guo anxiously juggled two phones, unable to let go of the banned live stream or the upcoming mission, sweat beading on his forehead.

Fang Shenyan drove the vehicle, speaking as they moved forward: “I checked online; there are no reports of supernatural events at Bogu Tower. But since the hotel mentioned it, that means there must be a ghost.

And that ghost must be vicious. Forty-three staff members killed within six hours—I’m very curious about the method it uses.”

Ji Li nodded, then turned to look at Tongguan’s calm face behind him.

“What do you think?”

Li Xing also cast a glance at Tongguan. In his eyes, Ji Li, the so-called manager, had no intention of helping him. He might as well follow Tongguan, who seemed relatively mild.

Tongguan thought for a moment and spoke softly:

“Six hours, forty-three staff members. Even if we can’t protect them all, we have enough time to find a way out.

This mission isn’t difficult.”

Yu Guo laughed from the side—an irritated laugh that everyone present understood.

Only Ji Li, Tongguan, and Chang Nian remained expressionless.

Ji Li was eager to see just why Tongguan was so arrogant and self-confident.

“We’re here!”

With a sudden brake, Fang Shenyan’s cold voice cut through the van. Without looking back at the others, he stepped out first and stood before the entrance of Bogu Tower.

Bogu Tower was seventeen stories tall. From the outside, countless billboards covered nearly every surface, wrapping the entire building tightly.

Even though it was already ten at night, most windows still shone with light.

Ji Li tilted his head back just as a cold raindrop landed on his face.

Dark, brooding clouds covered the sky, plunging the six standing before the tower into shadow.

Ji Li held out his palm to catch the raindrop and whispered softly:

“It’s raining. Time to start the mission.”