301. This was Ji Li's room.
The second floor housed the ghosts; the third floor belonged to the staff. As acting manager, Ji Li's room was at the very front.
On the chair rested a black shoulder bag filled with tools, while Ji Li's pale face was turned toward the window.
His features were striking—sharp brows and clear eyes carrying a natural melancholy. But the pallor of his skin, shadowed in gloom, lent him a chilling air.
*The time is near. With a few newcomers helping this time, we shouldn't repeat the same mistakes,* the third persona's cold voice echoed in his mind.
It was immediately drowned out by the second persona's foul temper.
*Damn Tianhai, won't give me a moment's rest! Just got some sleep and already another task. What a damn soul-sucking ghost!*
Ji Li said nothing. He glanced at his watch, grabbed the black bag, and left the room.
*Knock, knock, knock!*
He stood in the silent corridor, tapping the wall with the hotel-issued phone—the only sound in the stillness.
At his signal, the first door opened, as if the person inside had been waiting. Fang Shenyan stepped out in his gray Zhongshan suit. He didn't speak, only locked eyes with Ji Li across the air.
"Brothers! It's me, Yu the Fearless! My past ghost-hunting streams always failed, but this time's different!
Load up the rockets and cruise ship[1]—get ready to bleed your wallets dry!"
The voice arrived before the man. Yu Guo was unlike the others. His nerves seemed far too thick; even here he kept streaming live. Ji Li couldn't yet decide if his presence was a blessing or a disaster.
The last to emerge were Ding Miaoxin and Cao Yuan, trembling. Their faces were ashen, their afternoon spent in despair since receiving Tianhai's email. They had gone to Ji Li several times, seeking reassurance, but left disappointed each time.
To them, this felt like a road of no return.
Ding Miaoxin's eyes were swollen red, supported by Cao Yuan. The two weakest of the newcomers clung together.
Ji Li gave them a glance, then turned away, heading straight for the lobby.
The second floor remained eerily quiet, which made him frown. He paused for a moment, then shook his head and moved on.
When staff were away on missions, ghosts rarely attempted to escape—that was an unwritten rule observed by past managers.
Five people together looked imposing, but in truth, they were nothing but scattered sand.
On the street, Ji Li considered splitting into separate cars, but finally chose to hire a single van for them all.
The autumn night was mild, the streets busy with people, shadows rushing past Ji Li's gaze.
"My child is only four years old. Her father's away all year round. If I don't make it back this time, I won't even see them one last time…" Ding Miaoxin broke down again.
Cao Yuan comforted her quietly, though his own voice trembled.
"Brother Ji… can the five of us really survive?
Me and Sister Miaoxin are just ordinary people. We've never done anything wrong in our lives. Do we really deserve this?"
Ji Li listened without turning, his eyes fixed on the passing view outside.
That afternoon, he had compared their mission emails. As acting manager, his message mentioned the *replacement staff*.
But the others' tasks didn't. To them, only five people were part of this mission.
Ji Li sighed inwardly. Family and attachments—those were things he couldn't understand.
His memories were gone. Though he retained instincts for daily life, emotions tied to family meant nothing to him.
It was as if he had appeared out of nowhere, lacking the attachments ordinary people found impossible to sever.
So he didn't answer Cao Yuan. He only said coldly: "Calm yourselves. We're almost there."
Fang Shenyan sat rigidly, like an old pine, finally turning at Ji Li's words to ask stiffly:
"How confident are you we'll survive?"
"I don't know. This is the first mission since the hotel was promoted to one-star. The difficulty isn't the same. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been pulled in."
Fang Shenyan nodded and fell silent.
The van's oppressive silence was broken only by the driver's nervous breaths—except for Yu Guo, still chattering nonsense to his viewers.
"Brothers, we're here!"
Yu Guo leapt out of the van before Ji Li could speak, phone in hand, unbothered by the danger ahead.
"Take a look, everyone—this is Sanhe Community in the eastern suburbs. The place is crumbling, must've been built over ten years ago.
We're headed to Building 2, Unit 4, Room 701. From the outside, this building has the fewest tenants. It's only 8 p.m., yet not a single light is on.
They say 701's a cursed house—whoever enters never comes out alive.
Well, Yu the Fearless doesn't believe that crap! I'm putting my life on the line for you guys, so clear out those inventories and show me some support!
Shout our slogan: If a man wants to make it big, he's gotta charge ahead!
I'm going in!"
Ding Miaoxin shot Yu Guo a glare at his nonsense, while Cao Yuan scratched his head awkwardly.
Ji Li had intended to stop Yu Guo's antics, but on second thought, he realized it wasn't entirely bad. The suffocating tension just now had indeed been broken by a few foolish words.
Only the second persona cursed crudely: *Idiot*.
"Time's almost up. Let's head to 701."
Walking through the dusty old stairwell, Ji Li brushed past faded flyers, pausing briefly at each floor.
Every level had two apartments that looked lived in—even trash bags lay outside some doors.
But why, from the outside, had there been no lights at all?
Their footsteps and quickening breaths echoed in the narrow space.
Ji Li wasn't too worried about entering 701. What unsettled him was that he still hadn't seen the *replacement* mentioned in the hotel's email.
"Could they be waiting inside the room?"
Soon the five staff reached Room 701.
From the outside, it looked utterly ordinary. A paper couplet and a New Year print hung on the door. Nothing seemed old or unusual.
A rug lay at the threshold—clear proof that someone lived here.
Ji Li turned his head to glance at the opposite door, 702. It was tightly locked, with a pink teddy bear hanging from the handle.
It suggested a woman with a girlish heart lived across the hall.
This left Ji Li confused. The mission's location was 701**, but the place hardly looked haunted.
Not only was it inhabited, but so were the neighbors. If something supernatural were happening here, the entire building would've been long abandoned.
"We're here, but… how do we get in?" Cao Yuan asked timidly from the safety of the group.
Ji Li frowned, uncertain.
But beside him, Fang Shenyan suddenly bent down, lifted the rug, and retrieved a bronze key from underneath. He held it out toward Ji Li.
Ji Li stared in surprise at the quiet man, puzzled.
"Don't look at me like that. Lots of households keep a spare key under the mat. I just tried."
Ji Li, lacking such life experience, didn't press further. He took the key, slid it into the lock, and gave a twist. The door clicked open.
Creak…
The task location revealed a narrow crack, waiting for the living to enter.
Ji Li drew a deep breath, said nothing, and stepped through first.
The others followed, some hesitating, some trembling, but all crossed the threshold before the mission deadline.
Ji Li's tall figure stood framed in the doorway as the door slowly swung shut.
Bang!
The instant 701 sealed, all the living had entered the task site.
But then, at that exact moment, the third persona spoke, calm and strange:
*The door has closed.*
*But I heard two doors shut… overlapping as one.*
[1] Expensive virtual gifts in Chinese livestreams that viewers can send to tip or support the streamer.