YM778.TV Chapter 44 - 44 Mysterious Mall
This group of people had really gotten themselves into trouble.
It seemed that the ghost lurking in the mall had truly made its appearance.
But where could that ghost be now?
The surroundings were dim, not so much that you couldn’t see at all, but enough that you could only make out a person’s outline, not the features of each person’s face.
At this time, Boss Tang, Manager Li, Master Luo, and the others weren’t concerned about why the lights were out. Seeing the corpse disappear, they each began to panic, instinctively feeling that something bad was happening.
Haunted?
The two candles on the table were still burning, the orange flames flickering unsteadily in the darkness.
However, with the mall so large, the two candles were hardly enough to fully light up the place, only managing to dimly illuminate the surroundings. Furthermore, as people blocked the light, shadows moved about, adding an even more sinister feel to the eerie atmosphere.
“Quick, let’s get out of here. It wasn’t successful before, and that filthy thing has been angered. If we don’t leave now, something terrible will definitely happen,” cried Master Luo at that moment.
Faced with such bizarre incidents, it was highly likely they had really encountered a ghost. He didn’t dare stay there any longer.
As soon as he said this, a female staff member let out a sharp scream and started to flee the place.
Suddenly, they were scurrying around like headless flies.
But then they discovered a very serious problem.
All the exits of the mall were locked, both the main entrance and the emergency passages.
This was per the instructions of that Master Luo.
“The key, where’s the key? Security, hurry up and open the door,” Boss Tang tried to open the main door and, finding it locked, called out in a panic.
“I told you, why did you lock the doors so firmly? If you wanted to keep the ghost inside, didn’t you think that you’re inside too? Now you’ve really done it,” said Yang Jian as he turned on his flashlight to illuminate the surroundings.
“Young man, where’s the key to the main door? Hurry, open the door,” Boss Tang said, a bit frantic.
Yang Jian shook his head and said, “I don’t have the key. I’m new here; today is only my second day at work. Elder Sister Li is in charge of the keys. I can only lock the doors, not open them. Moreover, isn’t the person next to you supposed to be able to catch ghosts? Why don’t you let him show his skills and capture that ghost? That way, we’d all be safe?”
Saying this, he turned his gaze to the side where Master Luo stood, sweating profusely.
“It’s all because you meddled earlier and prevented me from finishing. Otherwise, none of this would have happened. Now that thing has been riled up, it won’t be so easy to deal with,”
Master Luo angrily accused, pointing his finger directly at Yang Jian’s wrongdoing.
“It’s amazing how as an adult, you’re so irresponsible to pin the blame on me like this. Do you have no sense of your own abilities or whether you can catch a ghost? Look at how scared you are, and you still dare to talk? With how scared you are, if a real ghost shows up, you’d definitely be done for,”
Yang Jian glanced at him with a hint of mockery.
Master Luo retorted, “Don’t talk nonsense. Although I can’t deal with the thing here, with me around, that thing won’t have the capacity to harm people.”
“Boss Tang, you can rest assured. I guarantee your safety, and nothing will go wrong,” he claimed confidently.
Trusting him, Boss Tang replied, “Then I leave everything in your hands.”
“No problem,”
Master Luo again displayed his conman potential with full confidence.
Yang Jian shook his head, thinking that Master Luo indeed had some skill to be able to deceive Boss Tang to this extent.
Suddenly, he seemed to hear a sound rolling over. He moved his flashlight and shone it on the ground to the side.
In the light, a head was rolling towards them.
The head had neatly combed hair and appeared to be that of a female staff member, looking just like Wuei Xiaohong, the cashier who had suddenly screamed about the disappearing corpse.
“Oh my god.”
Master Luo’s legs gave way in fright, and he tumbled backward against a wall, collapsing onto the floor.
His pants were wet.
He had peed himself.
Boss Tang and Manager Li also widened their eyes in fear.
Before, when the corpse had just disappeared, their hearts weren’t that afraid, but seeing the head of the employee who had been alive just moments ago roll towards them made it different.
Everyone realized that this was not just an ordinary brush with the supernatural.
“Has the ghost started killing?”
Yang Jian frowned deeply. He hadn’t used the power of his ghost eye. He refrained from resorting to the powers of malevolent spirits unless absolutely necessary, especially when there was no benefit to be had.
Yet out of curiosity, he approached, shining his flashlight on Wuei Xiaohong’s head.
“There’s no blood at the neck.”
He knelt down and manipulated the head slightly, and a wave of revolting stench of decay hit him.
“And it doesn’t look like she’s just died… it’s as if she’s been dead for several days. But why would a head that’s been dead for days remain so intact?”
“That’s impossible. She was still alive before, how could she have started decaying in the blink of an eye? And the ghost hasn’t used the Ghost Domain; it shouldn’t have been able to decay the body this fast.”
Yang Jian fell into deep contemplation.
What exactly was this ghost that haunted the mall?
There wasn’t enough information, and he had never even seen that ghost.
He simply couldn’t figure out the ghost’s abilities or its patterns of movement.
Moreover, since the terms had not been agreed upon, he didn’t want to exert himself and waste his power.
Without delay, he stood up, turned around and said, “A serious incident has indeed occurred; there really is a ghost in the mall. I suggest you leave and escape now, get out of here.”
“All the doors here are locked, how do we leave? And what about Elder Sister Li, doesn’t she have the keys? Can you help us find her and get her to come unlock the doors?” Manager Li said.
Yang Jian looked at him and said, “This mall is so big, who knows where Elder Sister Li ran off to in fear. I’m not going to look for her. If you want to go, you go. But out of kindness, I can give you a tip: although the first floor is locked, the safety passage on the fifth floor isn’t. If you go from there, you can reach the fifth-floor platform and then circle around to descend from another place to leave here.”
“Right, right, right, how could I not have thought of that, thank you, young man, for the reminder, thank you.” Manager Li, ecstatic, instantly took off running.
“What about you guys? Are you not leaving?” Yang Jian looked at Master Luo and Boss Tang and the others said.
Reminded by this, the others quickly came to their senses.
Several employees immediately got scared and followed Manager Li up the stairs as if fleeing for their lives.
“Young man, thank you for the reminder; I’m so grateful.”
Boss Tang grabbed his hand, excited.
“Don’t be so affectionate, and besides, I’m just giving you a heads-up. Whether you can safely get out is still a question. Move quickly, don’t waste time,” Yang Jian said calmly. He wanted to see if these people’s escape would lure the ghost out.
Of course… he really did need to go to the bathroom now.
Boss Tang said, “Aren’t you going to go with us, young man?”
“No, I want to go to the bathroom first. You go ahead,” Yang Jian said.
Boss Tang was taken aback. What kind of time was it to think about going to the bathroom?
The fifth floor of the mall.
It was only when Yan Li ran to the fifth floor that he clearly saw the figure next to the railing.
He froze, as what stood before him was not a person but a plastic mannequin, perfectly shaped like a human, standing in the dimness and eerily similar to a person, impossible to distinguish.
Only, this mannequin, like the rotting corpse he had found earlier,
Was headless.
“The ghost is not on the fifth floor…”
Yan Li suddenly realized something and looked down the stairs.
At that moment, a sound echoed; the entire mall lost power, and in the gloom, only two candles were lit. But then a woman’s scream came from below, followed by panic in the crowd as people began to flee in all directions.
“A diversion?”
For some reason, the idiom popped into Yan Li’s mind.
But could a ghost be that clever?
“Damn it.”
No matter what, he gritted his teeth and decided to head to the first floor immediately.
However, at that moment, Yan Li caught something from the corner of his eye and immediately broke out in a cold sweat.
The headless plastic mannequin that had been standing by the railing was now gone.
Looking around, he couldn’t find any trace of the mannequin.
It was as if it had vanished into thin air.
“Tap! Tap!” Yet behind him, a faint sound of footsteps arose.
“Something’s not right,” Yan Li quickly turned around.
A headless mannequin now stood right behind him; however, its arms were raised as if reaching out for him.
“Seeking death,” Yan Li bellowed and immediately grabbed the outstretched arms of the plastic mannequin.
His palms turned a deep crimson at that moment, emitting a strong scent of blood. Droplets of fresh blood oozed from his fingers and dripped down onto the floor.
The arms of the mannequin, soaked in this rich blood, suddenly collapsed with a bang, disjointing and scattering across the floor.
Peace returned to the surroundings instantly.
“Was that the ghost?”
With a sense of gravity, Yan Li examined the disassembled faux mannequin on the ground.
There was nothing unusual.
Even soaked in the blood from his hands, it showed no change.
It was just an ordinary fake mannequin.
“This thing here is not easy to deal with,” Yan Li frowned deeply.
The blood on the ground began to move slowly, as if alive, crawling up his palm and gradually seeping inside.