CHAPTER 62: CHAPTER 45: A CAT’S GRATITUDE

When Sang Que turned around, the suit fell to the ground.

But she acutely sensed that the atmosphere in the room had changed. Black mist was seeping in from the ceiling, and an angry voice kept growling.

Die! Die! Die!

Bang!

The bed board was violently flipped by an invisible force, revealing beneath it the disembowelled corpses of wild cats, crawling with various vermin, swarms of flies buzzing, and many little girls’ clothes among them.

Die! Die! Die!

The furious voice grew even angrier, Sang Que gestured for Xu Yichao to leave. As soon as they moved, the wardrobe was toppled by a great force, crashing down towards them.

"Watch out!"

Xu Yichao, using his height advantage, braced the wardrobe with effort, veins bulging on his neck, signaling Sang Que to go first.

Sang Que was about to charge forward when suddenly a pair of hands reached out from the mirror in the middle of the wardrobe, grasping for Xu Yichao’s neck.

Sang Que swung the fruit knife, and the hands instantly turned to ash under the influence of the Ghost Soldier Talisman, allowing Sang Que to grab Xu Yichao by the collar and yank hard.

Bang!

The wardrobe crashed down heavily, sending dust flying as the two of them tumbled to the door.

Before they could get up, pots, pans, and dishes on the table next to them vibrated and flew at them, with a kitchen knife among them, aiming straight for Sang Que’s face.

With a crisp sound, Sang Que sitting on the floor, swatted the kitchen knife away with a crowbar.

Xu Yichao got up first and grabbed the door handle, ready to push it open when suddenly!

Knock knock knock knock!

A knocking sounded from the door. Xu Yichao had already twisted the lock open when Sang Que quickly pulled him back by the collar.

Bang!

The kitchen knife struck the door, but it didn’t open, while Xu Yichao’s face turned red as he held his throat from nearly being choked by his collar, suppressing a cough with effort.

Knock knock knock knock!

As various objects in the room vibrated and flew around, the knocking came again from the door. Xu Yichao picked up a cutting board from the ground to shield his face and peered out the kitchen window toward the hallway and the apartment door.

He saw a woman with disheveled hair in a red dress standing at the door of room 202, swaying as if sleepwalking, occasionally raising a hand to knock.

He remembered his grandma said that people knock in threes and ghosts in fours, that knocking four times at night is not a good omen, and never to open the door or respond.

Xu Yichao suddenly recalled the notes on the renter’s guide that stated: The tenant of room 705 sleepwalks and knocks at night, do not respond, do not open the door, and never wake her!

If he had opened the door just now, he might have been killed on the spot by that sleepwalking girl!

This truly is like being caught between a rock and a hard place, feeling both scared and bitter!

The trembling in the room stopped. Just as Xu Yichao was about to feel relieved that there was a way out, a plume of fire suddenly erupted from beneath the stove beside him, instantly setting the kitchen curtains ablaze.

Xu Yichao backed away hastily, spotting a faucet and grabbing a basin from the floor, ready to use it to extinguish the fire.

"Water use is prohibited now."

Sang Que reminded him. Xu Yichao remembered the current time within the building and glanced at the water storage plastic bucket nearby.

Sang Que added, "I wouldn’t open it if I were you, there might be a ’Sadako’ sister inside."

The hand Xu Yichao extended quivered and retracted, the fire growing rapidly, filling the room with choking smoke. Sang Que had a mask to fend off the smoke for a while; Xu Yichao lifted his shirt to cover his mouth and nose.

Even if this wasn’t real, the smoke was still suffocating them. If this continued, when the police arrived in the future, they might find their roasted corpses with no sign of a fire source around.

This is exactly how it plays out in horror movies!

The knocking outside still came intermittently. Xu Yichao rushed into the room, but couldn’t open the window, trying futilely to kick it open standing on a table.

Sang Que looked at Xu Yichao, then at the fire nearing a gas cylinder, steeling herself to confront the sleepwalking woman outside!

Meow —

A cat’s cry suddenly sounded from outside, as if something had been broken, and a chime resonated through the building.

In an instant, sunlight streamed in from outside, painfully brightening Sang Que’s eyes that had adjusted to the darkness. She raised a hand to shield her eyes and when she lowered it, the room, which was chaotic and aflame, had reverted to its original tidy state.

No smoke, only dust floating in the sunlight, tranquil as a dream.

Sang Que and Xu Yichao exchanged puzzled glances. She peeked out through the kitchen window, finding nobody blocking the door.

Cautiously, Sang Que pushed the door open, outside transitioning from night to day.

Meow~

A black cat sat next to the main door, staring at Sang Que with its green eyes.

"How did you get in here?" Sang Que was quite surprised, perhaps this black cat had saved them?

Seeing the cat, Xu Yichao whispered urgently, "The renter’s guide said stray cats should be chased off!"

Sang Que ignored him, crouching down and reaching out her hand.

The black cat approached, nudged Sang Que’s hand with its head, then turned and walked away, stopping after two steps to see Sang Que not following, meowing once, sitting to wait for her.

Sang Que pulled out her phone, which displayed the normal time, August 13th, 7:43 PM.

She looked up, spotting a round clock above the public restroom entrance in the distance.

The hour hand pointed to one, though the daylight surely indicated it was 1 PM.

Sang Que suddenly remembered Zheng Letian’s video saying, ’Be mindful of each floor’s clock, the time in this building is off.’

Now that it was 1 PM inside Skywell Building, the ground floor’s exit should be open, perhaps this black cat intended to guide them out of Skywell Building.

It only took a casual feeding of a sausage stick, for the little cat to repay the kindness.

It’s said black cats are spiritual beings, and the stray black cat in Xujiawan Village is likely no ordinary cat.

"Xu... Run Tu, do you want to follow the cat first..."

"I won’t leave!"

Before Sang Que could finish, Xu Yichao already knew she intended to have him seize the opportunity to escape. Although he was quite frightened, abandoning a girl in a situation like this...

Can’t abandon a female boss casually either!

One must not be unyielding in loyalty!

Sang Que sighed, reaching into her crossbody bag to find a small packet of biscuits, tearing it open and placing it on the ground, "Little guy, I have something important to do here, you go on first, I’ll bring you a treat next time."

Meow~

Without further attention to the black cat, Sang Que, along with Xu Yichao, quickly searched the entire second layer.

Perhaps because it was daylight, besides being dilapidated and messy, no eerie events occurred on the second floor, nor was there any sign of Xu Shufen.

Looking from the second-floor railing, through the dark window in the duty room on the first floor, a silhouette could be seen, presumably the security guard Old Tian resting inside since no patrol was needed at this hour.

Sang Que decided to proceed to the third layer.

The black cat, after finishing the biscuits Sang Que offered, didn’t leave, tagging along with them, appearing to join their adventure.

Finding it amusing, Xu Yichao reached out to pet the black cat, which hissed fiercely, not allowing him to touch it, yet turned back to meow sweetly at Sang Que, presenting a double demeanor.

At this moment, an extremely chilly air current brushed past Sang Que’s arm, she halted abruptly, scanning the surroundings but finding nothing peculiar.

"What’s wrong?"

Sang Que frowned, shook her head, "Nothing, let’s go."

The pair continued upstairs, the black cat following but suddenly pausing, arching its back to hiss defensively at something nearby, then darting up the stairs.

On the same staircase, Xu Shufen, clutching a Mountain God Statue, was taken aback as the black cat suddenly appeared, causing her exhausted legs to buckle, sitting down and panting heavily.

Once regaining a little strength, she leaned against the wall, tottering down the steps.

Upon reaching the next layer, she could clearly see the room number on the nearest door, her face turning deathly pale.

She had returned to the 4th layer, and no matter what, could not get out...