Under the dim lights, several moths bumped against the glass cone. They danced in the light before their bodies fell weakly into the darkness. The boots of the investigation centre stepped over the moth’s corpses. Security members with the blood band walked out of the darkness. The night was so dark that it looked like it was about to fall. They moved around without making any sound.

“We’re here.” Zuo Jun raised his hand. Everyone stopped. They stood on Ya Shou Street east of Everlasting Life Apartments and looked across the street.No?v(el)B\\jnn

Black vans with Xin Lu’s registration number slowed on the other side of the street. Wan Jie opened the door and got down. He lit a cigarette, leaned against the car window and asked, “What time is it?”

“There’s still four minutes and forty-four seconds,” The leader of Team One glanced at his watch. “All fours. What an auspicious number.”

Different from the East City special security team led by Zuo Jin, Wan Jie’s team was all injured like they had passed the past few days in life-threatening ordeals.

Wan Jie nodded and looked behind Zuo Jun. His gaze landed on Bai Xiao. Bai Xiao was fully different from before. His body was hidden by the uniform as his hand held the strange blade.

“Has he eaten the malice’s meat? The bunch of crazies from the Research Centre dare to try anything.” Wan Jie closed his eyes as if waiting for the end to arrive. The horror game players and other forces gathered there, but they avoided Wan Jie and Zuo Jun’s groups astutely.

“The investigation centre sent so few people this time. However, why are their communication bands different? Don’t they usually have black bands?”

“Shush. Don’t let them hear you. They are half-human and half-ghost monsters.”

The dark clouds pressed down. The air was thick with anticipation and anxiousness. The streetlights dimmed. Eventually, the time given by the investigation centre arrived, and many cars drove to the entrance of Everlasting Life Apartments. A pale hand reached out of the car. Jing Tuoshen tossed a string of keys to the ground.

“Everlasting Life Apartments and Prosperity Neighbourhood, as well as the nearby streets, like Ya Shou Street, Song Fu Street, Wan He Street and so on, are within the influence of this anomaly. I don’t think I need to elaborate on the rewards provided by the investigation centre for this mission. Anyone who manages to leave this anomaly alive will join the Research Centre to participate in the selection. If they manage to provide extra information about the anomaly, the rewards will be greater.” Jing Tuoshen’s driver exited the car with an umbrella. “The occurrence of this anomaly is related to Li San Hospital. Our investigation shows that two Big Ghosts who have escaped from the hospital are responsible for this. Considering some of you have no experience, we do not require you to hunt down the ghosts. The goal of this mission is to filter out the citizens with potential. Therefore, the length of survival is the selection criteria of this exercise.

The driver was worried that Wan Jie might anger Jing Tuoshen, so he quickly handed Wan Jie a key. After the security members from Xin Lu left, Zuo Jun’s team sauntered over.

Jing Tuoshen tossed away the white gloves. His nails dug into his scars. He used the pain to ease a different kind of emotion. “The death portraits given to you by the headquarters have been sewn into your arm. After you enter the apartments, try to use the portraits to recover the memory. After that, follow the plan.” Jing Tuoshen’s gaze was venomous and sharp. “If there’s a chance, make sure to have them stay inside the anomaly forever.”

“Understood.” Zuo Jun and the other leaders nodded. They didn’t follow the rules and took one key each.

“Let’s go.”

The new East City security team entered Everlasting Life Apartments. Bai Xiao stayed behind the team. He held the blade in his right hand and glanced at the key in his left. R??α?

The copper key didn’t feel special. A string of numbers was etched at the top--4343.

As he entered the yard, the malice inside Bai Xiao gushed to his brain uncontrollably. It screamed, but the scream sounded far away. His vision blurred. Bai Xiao memorised the number 4343, gripped the key and ran into the apartment complex.

More and more citizens gathered outside the apartments. Most of them just wanted to try their luck because the driver made the mission sound so simple. However, the headquarters had never treated them as humans before. They were just chips on the betting table.

Jing Tuoshen’s eyes cooled. He touched the white band around his wrist and switched on the communication channel. “How is the situation at Prosperity Neighbourhood? Are the people from Class 13 there?”

There were two mission-gathering spots this time. They were Prosperity Neighbourhood and Everlasting Life Apartments.

“No sign of them for now.” The man on the video wore the uniform of the headquarters branch. He had a square face. He looked rather similar to Gao Ming’s classmate, Wang Jie.