Nightmare Apostle

Zhao Xuejun had come from that direction, and he knew very well that there was absolutely nothing placed at that position!

The next second, he saw a horrifying scene; the dark shadow moved slightly, crept along the wall, and shuffled forward one step.

"Scritch—"

A chill rose from the ground, striking Zhao Xuejun like lightning, carrying through his entire body from feet to head, causing him to shiver fiercely.

He saw it clearly, a blurry humanoid figure; that Ghost was leaning against the wall, slowly edging towards him.

At the same time, he caught a smell of blood.

"Scritch—"

"Scritch—"

The Ghost’s movement was getting faster, while on the other hand, Zhao Xuejun and Zhang Xiaomin’s situation was increasingly dire; the utility room was cramped, leaving them little space to dodge; at this rate, getting caught was only a matter of time.

The more troubling part was that the utility room seemed to be influenced by some force, reducing visibility more and more; originally Zhao Xuejun could see 5 to 6 meters ahead, but now his view had been compressed to within 3 meters.

Every time they moved, the Ghost could quickly reconfirm their position and continue tracking them.

Hiding anywhere was useless; the distance between them and the Ghost was getting smaller.

At this moment, Zhao Xuejun also entertained the thought of abandoning Zhang Xiaomin, attempting to evade alone. But amidst his confusion, he suddenly remembered Feng Xiaoyan last night.

She had abandoned Guo Tiejun and chose to escape on her own.

And everyone knew the result; Guo Tiejun was fine, but Feng Xiaoyan went missing.

"If it means dying, then so be it..." In this moment Zhao Xuejun hardened his heart, choosing a path that seemed to lead to certain death.

He instructed Zhang Xiaomin to stretch out her hand and cover his eyes, while he covered Zhang Xiaomin’s eyes; they both closed their eyes, leaning against the wall, no longer running, leaving their fate in the hands of destiny.

...

Time passed quickly, the film had ended; as they exited the dimly lit workers’ grand hall and returned to the brightly lit lobby, Liu Hongwei felt as though she had been given a second chance at life.

In the lobby, they met Hu Weimin and Ma Jing, who were very obedient and remained seated without moving all night.

"Have you seen them?" Ye Zheng stepped forward to ask.

"No, they haven’t come down at all." Hu Weimin replied.

Just as the words left his mouth, Yang Xiao and Guo Tiejun were walking down the stairs; as the film ended, there weren’t many people left in the Cultural Palace, and it was almost time to clear the place.

The three groups gathered together, Yang Xiao routinely asked if they had encountered anything strange, but everyone shook their heads and replied no.

After waiting around 7 or 8 minutes, as there were fewer people remaining in the Cultural Palace, those coming down from upstairs were becoming fewer as well, and Zhao Xuejun and Zhang Xiaomin were nowhere in sight; this made everyone restless, and under Yang Xiao’s lead, they returned to the third floor, checking each room.

Yet after searching through several activity rooms and night school classrooms, even the bathroom, they still couldn’t find any trace of the two.

"Did either of you see anyone go out tonight?" Though he knew it was unlikely, Yang Xiao still asked anyway.

"No, absolutely no one. We’ve been watching all night and definitely didn’t see Zhao Xuejun and Zhang Xiaomin leave. I can swear!" Hu Weimin raised his hand in an oath.

Suddenly, Yang Xiao seemed to have thought of something, quickly walked to a dimly lit corridor, and looked inside; there wasn’t a single figure in the corridor, and the nearby rooms were all dark.

"They might be in the utility room?" Ma Jing seemed surprised.

"Whether they are or not, we have to see for ourselves." Yang Xiao took the lead, crossing the dimly lit corridor, and stood outside the utility room door.

At this moment, they saw clearly that the utility room door wasn’t locked, it was slightly ajar, and the lights were off inside, engulfed in darkness.

An ominous feeling emerged in everyone’s mind; Yang Xiao first stood outside the door and shouted a few times; inside was silent, not a single response.

"What now?" Liu Hongwei looked at Ye Zheng, and Ye Zheng looked at Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao wasted no time, raised his foot and kicked the door open, then switched on the flashlight, standing outside the door and shining inside. After confirming there was no danger, he reached inside, felt for the switch behind the door, and turned on the room light.

As the light flooded the room, everyone walked into the utility room, and quickly, they found Zhao Xuejun and Zhang Xiaomin standing behind a storage rack, leaning against the wall.

Their posture was very peculiar, standing very close to each other, holding hands, with the other hand extending to the side, covering each other’s eyes, their knuckles pressed with such force that veins popped from the back of their hands, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

"Zhao Xuejun? Zhang Xiaomin?" Guo Tiejun approached them and called out.

But calling out made it worse, prompting them to tremble even more violently, especially Zhang Xiaomin; if she hadn’t bitten her lip tightly, she would have burst into tears.

Unclear of the situation, Yang Xiao refrained from startling them, instead leading a thorough search of the utility room. After confirming there were no issues, he stepped forward and lowered their hands.

Even so, the two refused to open their eyes, until Yang Xiao pried open Zhao Xuejun’s eyelids, making him look at him.

"Captain Ma, it’s really you!" At that moment, Zhao Xuejun was almost moved to tears, believing it was a trick, a Ghost deceiving him.

"Everyone...everyone is here! Wonderful! We’re safe!" Zhao Xuejun babbled in excitement.

Zhao Xuejun hugged Yang Xiao tightly, while Yang Xiao gently patted his back, comforting him: "It’s over, we’re all here, you’re safe now. So, what exactly happened to you? How did you end up here?"