Shen Ge watched as the rat suddenly vanished before his eyes, only to reappear after being completely ensnared by the hair and drained of its blood, before finally being dragged into the tangled mass of hair.

This immediately made him realize that Cheng Shengnan and Xiao He, who had disappeared in the 19th-floor women’s restroom, might not have truly vanished. Instead, they were likely rendered invisible by the hair’s influence.

Once the hair fully wrapped around them and sucked them dry of blood, they would meet the same fate as the rat in the hair cluster.

What do I do? Shen Ge felt a surge of urgency but found himself at a complete loss.

He had the system, special traits, and even a weapon with unique properties—yet none of them could change the current situation.

Though his mind raced for a solution, he forced himself to keep moving. After learning from the system that the supernatural entity’s trait was immobility, he repeatedly reminded himself not to stay still. Whether it worked or not, caution was always wise.

As his mental energy neared depletion and the Silence state was about to fade, Shen Ge didn’t know if the entity would continue ignoring him afterward. He had to act fast.

Without hesitation, he grabbed the fire extinguisher and sprayed it into the water tank, but it had no effect on the hair cluster.

Psssh—

A faint hiss came from the extinguisher—sound had returned, meaning his mental energy had run out, and Silence had automatically deactivated.

Sure enough, the next second, strands of hair from the water tank lashed toward the nozzle of the extinguisher.

At the same time, Shen Ge felt a slight wave of dizziness. He gripped the handrail tightly with one hand while swinging the extinguisher at the hair mass with the other. Yet, the hair effortlessly coiled around it and yanked it into the tangled cluster.

Thud.

Clumps of hair slithered up the edges of the tank like creeping vines. Shen Ge didn’t dare linger—he let go of the ladder and jumped down.

He hit the ground hard, gritted his teeth, and scrambled to his feet before bolting. A glance back revealed strands of hair already crawling out from the edges of the water tank.

Shen Ge rushed beneath the tank, tightening the valve and opening the four drainage holes at the corners to empty the water inside.

On one hand, this would prevent the hair from spreading to lower floors through the pipes. On the other, since the thing seemed to thrive in water, draining it was worth a shot—whether it worked or not.

What are hair’s weaknesses?

This thing has to have a vulnerability, right?

That said, Shen Ge knew that if supernatural entities were so easy to deal with, the world wouldn’t be doomed in three years.

He dashed into the elevator, his gaze flickering to the button for the first floor. After a brief hesitation, he pressed the one for the 19th instead.

[Host’s intelligence and bravery are unmatched. Successfully escaping the lair of a Tier-5 supernatural entity (Trait: Immobility) rewards 50 system points.]

Back in the office, Shen Ge pulled a Mental Apple from his crossbody bag, devouring it in a few bites until only the core remained, fully restoring his mental energy.

System, draw a reward!

With 111 system points now, Shen Ge had no way to counter the supposedly Tier-5 (but actually Tier-1) Immobility entity. His only hope lay in the draw.

If I get something that can deal with this thing, I’ll call you godfather!

[Ding!]

[Congratulations, Host! You’ve drawn Free Attribute Points (1%).]

Damn it, you useless piece of—!

Now what?

With the system failing to deliver a miracle, Shen Ge’s heart sank. His mind raced, trying to recall any weaknesses hair might have.

Fire?

I’ve got no choice but to try everything.

He rummaged through Old Zhao’s desk drawers—the chain-smoker always kept several lighters stashed away, claiming it was “better safe than sorry.”

Shen Ge found one, then grabbed a few bottles of alcohol from the storage room before bundling up a stack of A4 paper and sprinting to the restroom, crumpling sheets into balls as he ran.

BANG!

He slammed the restroom door open, his eyes immediately scanning beneath the sinks. Still nothing visible—but now, a faint rotting odor hung in the air.

Shen Ge frowned. If Cheng Shengnan and Xiao He had been ensnared by the hair and vanished, why could he see the hair in the water tank but not here?

Unless… the long hair only affects women, making them invisible, while men can only see it up close?

No time to dwell on it. Shen Ge activated Silence, stepped into the women’s restroom, and tossed the crumpled paper beneath the sinks before dousing it with alcohol.

He flicked the lighter and touched it to the alcohol-soaked paper.

The paper ignited instantly—then, to his shock, the flames spread to the drainpipe below, setting something invisible ablaze.

The fire traced an unseen thread through the air, forming a fiery line. Then—

“AH—!”

“AHHH!!”

Cheng Shengnan and Xiao He suddenly reappeared, screaming as they frantically kicked and slapped at their legs, trying to shake off the flames licking at their ankles. Shen Ge grabbed them both and hauled them out of the restroom.

Back in the office, Xiao He threw herself into Shen Ge’s arms, sobbing. “Waaah— Shen-ge, I thought you ran off and left us! I was so scared, so scared!”

Cheng Shengnan, still shaken, clutched her chest, gasping for breath. “W-what was that? I saw hair coming out of the drain… The second it touched my foot, I couldn’t move! And once it wrapped around me, no one could see me anymore. It was the same for Xiao He.”

So it was

 the hair.

But why could he see the hair in the water tank but not in the restroom?

Shen Ge guided Xiao He to a chair. “You two vanished right in front of me. I thought about calling security, but I was afraid it’d waste time. Then I remembered Xiao He mentioning the smell under the sinks this morning. I figured, ghost or not, fire should scare it—so I tried lighting it up.”

“Shen-ge, you’re amazing! How’d you even know that?”

“Oh, it’s in the movies.”

“Which movies?” Cheng Shengnan asked reflexively.

“Uncle Ying’s films.”

“……”

Cheng Shengnan glanced uneasily toward the restroom. “So… what now? Do we wait for the police?”

“Will they even believe us?” Xiao He fretted.

Shen Ge shook his head. “Whether they believe us or not doesn’t matter. What matters is that thing’s still in the restroom. For safety, we should get out of here first.”

“Yes, yes!” Xiao He nodded vigorously, like a woodpecker. She couldn’t stand staying in the office a second longer.

Cheng Shengnan agreed, but just as she and Xiao He turned toward the elevators, Shen Ge sprinted back into the office.

“Where are you going?” Cheng Shengnan called after him.

Without looking back, Shen Ge replied, “You two head downstairs first. There’s something I need to check… Don’t wait for me.”

“Shen Ge, but—” Xiao He hesitated.

“Do you need help?” Cheng Shengnan asked.

“No. I’ll be down soon. Go ahead.”