Nightmare Apostle

After questioning, the woman was a staff member of the auditorium, responsible for inspecting the scene each night after the movie ended, cleaning up, and checking if any items had been forgotten on the seats.

Just a short while earlier, when she was checking the back row of seats, she saw someone lying back, facing upward.

It was dark there, and she initially thought someone had fallen asleep, unaware that the movie had ended, so she walked over to wake them up. But as she got closer, she discovered the person had no face.

Feng Xiaoyan’s body was found, really in the cinema.

Just like last time, there was only an abandoned body at the scene, with no other clues.

Yang Xiao also noticed a change in Chief Zhou’s attitude towards the scene; this time, he didn’t inspect carefully but instead ordered a piece of dark cloth from backstage to be pulled down and wrapped the body, first transporting it out of the auditorium.

Yang Xiao also noticed Chief Zhou’s shift in mindset from his reaction; although he didn’t say it outright, he had internally accepted that this was a supernatural event, and the clever adversary they were dealing with wasn’t an enemy agent but a real Fierce Ghost, that Zhou Wenqing had returned.

"Chief Zhou, I’d like to go back with you to the security department and participate in the interrogation work," Yang Xiao proactively suggested.

But Chief Zhou politely declined, shaking his head and stating matter-of-factly, "No need to concern yourselves; Director Zhai is an expert in this area. You’ve been busy all day, go back and rest. I believe there will be breakthroughs tomorrow."

After a pause, Chief Zhou seemed worried about something, pressing his lips together, and finally lowered his voice to remind, "At night... you must be careful."

"We will," Yang Xiao acknowledged Chief Zhou’s good intentions, nodding as a response.

Chief Zhou didn’t miss a beat, arranging for two security department team members to escort them home, all the way to the family building.

Back in the room, Ye Zheng closed the door and said, "Did you notice that Chief Zhou is also suspicious about this incident? He also feels there’s a ghost, but he can’t express it openly."

"You’re right, I felt it too—which is a good thing for us," Yang Xiao said as he took off his coat and collapsed onto the bed, exhausted after a long day’s work, both physically and mentally drained.

Ye Zheng also took off her shoes and climbed onto the bed, nudging Yang Xiao with her elbow, asking, "Do you think the two people who escorted us back are still here?"

"No, those two won’t leave tonight—I think they’ve already followed inside and are in the corridor outside," Yang Xiao replied casually without opening his eyes.

"You’re quite sharp; I noticed today when I went downstairs that Chief Zhou didn’t bring many people with him, probably because he’s spread them out in batches to protect us,"

"He’s also realized ever since we came, that ghost seems focused on targeting us, but such words aren’t easy to express," Ye Zheng continued, lying beside Yang Xiao.

"It’s hard to say today, it will be easier to talk about tomorrow. Two deaths might be accidental, but three in a row can’t be reasoned away," Yang Xiao said.

"Who do you think might encounter trouble tonight?" Ye Zheng asked.

Yang Xiao remained silent for a while before finally shaking his head.

"Don’t know or don’t want to say?" Ye Zheng asked, intent on pursuing the matter relentlessly.

Perhaps annoyed by her pestering, Yang Xiao opened his eyes, a rare solemnity within, "If my judgment is correct, it could be Ma Jing."

"Reason?" Ye Zheng asked curiously.

"Let’s sleep first; I’ll tell you tomorrow morning," Yang Xiao interrupted her before turning over, muttering, "By the way, if you’re not sleepy, you can stand watch, because I am."

"You go ahead, sleep; I’ll stand watch for you." Ye Zheng sat up, arranged the pillow comfortably, and leaned back against it.

"Hey, when I say I’ll stand watch, let me do it; you’re really not being a gentleman, not even considering being considerate," Ye Zheng said, seeing Yang Xiao turning his back to her without a word.

"Snore—"

"Snore—"

Just as she finished speaking, Yang Xiao’s gentle snores began, which Ye Zheng initially thought was a joke, only to realize soon after that he wasn’t pretending and had genuinely fallen asleep.

"Really? Falling asleep so quickly, are you a pig?" Ye Zheng teased.

But soon, Ye Zheng let out a bitter smile, changed to a more comfortable position, leaned back again, muttering softly to herself, "Sleep, sleep, knowing you’ve worked hard, while I can’t do much, at least I’ll keep watch."

"But honestly, Yang Xiao, if we survive this, next time there’s a nightmare... I’d still want to face it with you."

...

In the infirmary’s resting room, two people squeezed onto a small bed.

"Tick"

"Tick"

"Tick"

Listening to the crisp sound of the old mechanical wall clock in the hallway, Hu Weimin’s unease grew, like the prelude to execution.

Feeling distressed, Hu Weimin sat up, got out of bed, came to a small wooden table, sat on the chair, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, intending to smoke one to calm his nerves.

At this moment, the other person in the bed also sat up; like Hu Weimin, Ma Jing had no sleepiness either. Closing her eyes only brought the Fierce Ghost closer, unsettling her mind.

"You said..." Hu Weimin hesitated, "Do you think it’s unwise for us to come here tonight without discussing it with Captain Ma and the others?"

"We’re already here, so make peace with it; stop overthinking,"

Ma Jing comforted, "Moreover, consider that there are people standing watch here, patients in the wards, and also two security personnel have moved in; there’s no safer place than here."

"Wang Yong, Feng Xiaoyan—they went home but ended up... not differently..." Ma Jing swallowed the word ’dead,’ knowing it’s unlucky in this atmosphere, mindful of avoiding ominous words.

"Yes, what you said makes sense, I understand, yet I just... feel uneasy inside," Hu Weimin said, puffing smoke in frustration.

This era’s cigarettes are very choking; just after a few puffs, the crude tobacco processing made him cough repeatedly.

With Hu Weimin coughing, the patients in the ward outside also started coughing, as if triggering a chain reaction.

Seeing this, Hu Weimin didn’t dare smoke anymore, tossing it to the ground and stomping it out, remaining in a state of extreme unease.

This was a dormitory at the infirmary, prepared for night-duty nurses; Ma Jing was a nurse there.

After pondering for a long time, she decided not to return to her dorm. Choosing to stay at the infirmary might be the right decision.

Her situation was different from Yang Xiao, Ye Zheng, and those "couples" living in the family building; she didn’t qualify to live there, and returning would only be to the female worker’s dormitory, with her roommate being Zhang Xiaomin.

Yes, the very Zhang Xiaomin who encountered ghostly experiences tonight with Zhao Xuehua.

To avoid implicating her roommate, and more so, to avoid being implicated by her roommate, Ma Jing chose not to return.

If anyone had the highest possibility of encountering ghosts tonight, it would be their two groups—Ma Jing and Hu Weimin, and the other unlucky pair, Zhang Xiaomin and Zhao Xuejun.

After arriving here, Ma Jing found the infirmary environment better than she expected, mainly because of the number of people.

Counting the on-duty nurses, patients, security personnel, plus the two of them, there were about a dozen people.