APP: Chapter 7

Zhang Lan pressed the button to the seventh floor and watched the elevator doors close. He was a smoking addict so he started to look for a lighter and cigarettes in his pocket. After work, there would be no ghosts. Thinking of this, Zhang Lan relaxed.

“Huh, what happened to my cigarettes?” Zhang Lan only touched the lighter and looked around for his cigarettes. He looked down and found that the cigarette box in the pocket of his pants was lying on the ground.

“When did it fall? Why didn’t I hear it?”

Zhang Lan picked it up and light a cigarette. He was preparing to take a comfortable breath when one or two drops of water dropped from the elevator roof without warning. It fell just right and hit the cigarette he just lit up. The smoke went out instantly and he couldn’t smoke.

“What garbage elevator is leaking?!” Zhang Lan scolded as he looked up but he couldn’t find where the water was leaking. There was no gap at the top of the elevator.

“Where is the water coming from?” Zhang Lan murmured to himself and lit another cigarette. This time, he was smart and went to the corner of the elevator. This way, even if the original place leaked again, it wouldn’t get on his cigarette.

It was weird… the smoke was once again extinguished by the water leaking from the top of the elevator. An unknown hunch filled Zhang Lan’s heart and he raised his head slowly to see a pale face! The woman hung from the top of the elevator, a steady stream of saliva dripping from her mouth.

Drip, drip, drip—

***

Outside the horror movie:

[First Blood]

[Your ceiling is leaking. Look up, it is saliva.]

[Congratulations to the spirit in red clothes. You can’t be proud of one kill. Please make persistent efforts and achieve good results.]

[This man is stupid. That little brother told him not to take the elevator. It isn’t wrong that he is dead.]

[Who wants to poke a ghost? After all, in his mind, he is off work and there is no longer any danger.]

[Then I would believe the blind man.]

[Don’t forget, although there is the female ghost who can only kill in the elevator, there is the baby ghost outside the elevator. I think the baby ghost is more terrifying than the female ghost.]

[Cut to the little brother. The little brother’s sleeping position is super cute and I want to watch him sleep.]

***

At the same time, the fifth floor.

Yan Jing gently pushed Xie Chi sleeping on the sofa. “Brother Xie, wake up. It’s time to get off work.”

Xie Chi frowned and refused to open his eyes. He hugged the pillow and continued sleeping, “The app hasn’t rung so we can’t leave work.”

Yan Jing didn’t give up. “It really is time to get off work! I can’t see but a newcomer just came down from the seventh floor to specifically remind me!”

Yan Jing suddenly made an exclamation. “Brother Xie, you seem to be right. The app is so human friendly and it shouldn’t be quiet after work. The end of the first day’s shift should definitely update the plot. We should’ve received a message. What is going on…”

Xie Chi mused, “The clock has a problem.”

He couldn’t bear Yan Jing’s continued nagging and sat up to look at the clock. It was really 5:03 a.m. Xie Chi stared for a few seconds before sneering. “The app can’t deceive us. So either the clock is broken or… ghosts are deceiving people.”

Yan Jing instantly awakened. He opened his yin yang eyes and the next second, he screamed and hid behind Xie Chi. “Brother Xie, in the clock… a ghost hand!”

In Yan Jing’s field of view, a ghost hand was inside the clock and patiently touching the clock hand. It was a woman’s hand. The skin was wax-like and pale, with wine red nail polish on her fingernails.

As if aware that it was discovered, the ghost hand paused for two seconds. Then it quickly retreated back into the clock and disappeared. The clock’s real time appeared. It was 3:50 a.m.

Yan Jing was scared and gasped for air. They hadn’t finished work at all! It was the ghost that slowly moved the minute hand past five in the morning, creating the illusion that they were off work. Xie Chi could guess what Yan Jing saw and yawned lazily, seemingly a bit indifferent.

Yan Jing was confused. “Why did the ghost change the time?”

Xie Chi slightly raised his eyebrows, lit a cigarette and sucked it. He felt clarity in his mind and spoke slowly, “To trick us to take the elevator.”

Yan Jing realized. “Fortunately you told someone to unlock the stairwell. I also told them to be careful of the elevator. They shouldn’t be fooled…”

Just then, there was a heart-rending scream from the elevator.

Yan Jing froze for two seconds before his eyes widened. “It is the man from the 11th floor!”

***

Zhang Lan’s scream of horror shocked all the actors in the building.

Xie Chi and Yan Jing hurried down and everyone was gathered. Zhou Wen was in front of the elevator and hesitating on whether to press the elevator door button or not. The other newcomers were hiding far away.

The thin, black man panicked. “Brother Zhou, don’t open the elevator… Zhang Lan is silent, he must be dead. If the ghost is still inside, won’t it come out once the elevator is opened?”

Another newcomer also reacted. “Yes, he is dead. It is still work hours. If a ghost attacks us…”

The other two people agreed. “If you want to open it then wait until we get off work!”

Zhang Lan must be dead. There was no doubt that Zhou Wen wanted to go to investigate the clues but the newcomers said this and he felt a bit worried. He thought it wouldn’t be too late to go in after work ended.

The moment he retreated, he turned and saw Xie Chi in the crowd and his eyes flashed with resentment. This person looked mild and weak on the surface but his actual strength was appalling. He was a tiger dressed as a pig, waiting for Zhou Wen to take the bait. After so many movies, he was actually beaten up by a newcomer and it was shameful. Zhou Wen gripped his phone tightly, wanting to crush it.

After a few horror movies, he had accumulated 2,000 fans. He lost nearly half of them in the bathroom because of the new guy. He lost so many points! In this movie, he had failed to gain new fans.

This was by no means a good sign. It showed that the audience’s attention was completely away from him and focused on others. Someone other than him had intercepted the output of the movie screen.

He knew the other newcomers and all of them were empty-headed wastes with dreams. Xie Chi was the only one who could possibly snatch his fans. Xie Chi also had the side plot he dreamed about. It was impossible to retaliate using force. actors weren’t allowed to kill the other actors in horror movies but…

A dark light flashed in Zhou Wen’s eyes. In a horror movie, the only one who could kill this man without going against the rules was a… ghost. He couldn’t let this newcomer continue grabbing the limelight and increase his fans. It was better to force him to hand over the branch plot line before killing him.

Zhou Wen stared at the elevator where someone had just died and his eyes flickered slightly. There was obviously a ghost in the elevator. It was work hours and it was still the ghost action time. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Although a ghost in low-level movies generally didn’t kill two people in a short time interval, he could use some special means to encourage the ghost to kill people. This was something tacitly agreed to in horror movies.

It was forbidden for actors to kill other actors in horror movies but it was possible for actors to buy props with points and force a ghost to kill people. The newcomers didn’t know this rule and only understood it after a lot of trial and error.

Zhou Wen quietly opened the app store. He had been watching this item for a long time but he never found an opportunity to use it.

[Does Actor Zhou Wen choose to spend 30 points to buy Satan’s Tribute?]

[Satan’s Tribute: Sacrifice blood and flesh to the ghost (the living is the best, the dead is second, a live bird is reluctant and a dead bird is last) to obtain a short period of peace.]

[Instructions for use: Stick Satan’s eye on flesh and blood to mark a sacrifice to Satan. After the ghost sees the mark, it will come to receive the tribute.]

[Effect: The more flesh and blood there is, the higher the quality and the more satisfied the ghost. This means there will be a longer safety time for the actor.]

Zhou Wen didn’t care about the optional safety period. He wanted the process where the ghost received the tribute and killed people.

30 points. Zhou Wen felt pained but then he thought about the injuries on his face and the loss he experienced and didn’t hesitate to press ‘confirm.’ His points were instantly reduced and there was a thin sticker in the shape of an eye in his hand. Now he just had to put Satan’s eye on Xie Chi and lead this person to the elevator. Then he would be successful.

Xie Chi noticed that Zhou Wen had been looking at his mobile phone in an abnormal manner. Behind him, Yan Jing pulled his sleeve and whispered, “Brother Xie, that person surnamed Zhou had a surge of maliciously just now. It was particularly strong. I think he might harm you so be careful.”

Xie Chi was surprised. This person standing beside him was simply a human detector.

“I know.” Xie Chi’s mouth widened in a smile.

Zhou Wen walked toward him while smiling happily. This attitude was simply a 180 degree turn from before and the contrast was sharp. The newcomers were surprised. Zhou Wen lowered his voice and was full of apologies. “I’m sorry. I was confused before and got that type of idea. It is right that I was beaten. Can this matter be cancelled out?”

Xie Chi raised his eyebrows and didn’t talk.

Zhou Wen seemed to have anticipated this reaction and smiled. “I’ll be honest. I wasn’t prepared to apologize and didn’t feel I was wrong. After all, the weak is food for the strong. Everyone is like this. However, Zhang Lan is definitely dead now and we need to go into the elevator to see what happened. The safest one here is you so I admit that I was wrong. Can you do me this favour, please?”

Zhou Wen added, “You have the ability and I have experience. We don’t need to be hostile to each other and can mutually benefit each other.”

Zhou Wen spoke so sincerely that Xie Chi felt he couldn’t justify it if he refused. His lips curved. “Okay, I’ll go and see.”

Xie Chi bowed his head to Yan Jing. “You wait for me outside.

Since Xie Chi won the game with the baby ghost, they were absolutely safe tonight no matter what happened. Yan Jing wasn’t worried and nodded. Xie Chi put on white gloves and opened the elevator door. Not surprisingly, the tangy smell of blood came out and Xie Chi slightly frowned.

Blood overflowed from the elevator. The newcomers saw Zhang Lan’s tragic death and were frightened. Zhang Lan sat on the ground, head raised at a weird angle and his belly surprisingly big. He looked like a pregnant woman about to give birth.

Xie Chi was close to him and found that he had been opened open. His heart and lungs had been stuffed into his stomach, making it bulge out. Several cigarettes were scattered in the filthy blood.

Zhou Wen followed him in and seemed to inadvertently pat Xie Chi’s shoulder.

A trace of interest flashed in Xie Chi’s eyes. This person deliberately led him into the elevator where someone had died and stuck an unknown thing on him. The purpose was obvious.

Zhou Wen seemed to have a weak heart and deliberately squatted down to examine the body to conceal what he had just down. “Why do you think the ghost put Zhang Lan’s heart and lungs into his stomach? It feels like a pregnant woman. The method the ghost uses to kill can reveal a bit of information. Look, there is a half-smoked cigarette here…”

As he spoke, Zhou Wen’s elbow ‘accidentally’ hit the elevator button and the door closed. The two people were suddenly standing in a closed elevator with a corpse at their feet.

Zhou Wen thought that Xie Chi would hurriedly open the door and moved to the door, ready to stop this person and give the ghost time to act. However, Xie Chi just smiled and leaned against the clean elevator wall beside him. “In fact, I’m also sorry.”

Xie Chi’s back was against the elevator wall and Zhou Wen’s line of sight was blocked. He couldn’t see the Satan’s eye on Xie Chi’s back and was a bit anxious and absent-minded. “Sorry for what? Hitting me?”

Xie Chi smiled softly and was about to reply when his eyes fell on Zhou Wen’s back. “You have blood on you. I’ll help you wipe it.”

Xie Chi patted Zhou Wen on the back of the shoulder. Zhou Wen was at a loss and didn’t understand what this person meant by his offer. Could it be that Xie Chi realized the consequences of offending him and chose to follow obediently?”

“I’m sorry.” Xie Chi paused, glancing at the evil eye on Zhou Wen’s shoulder before laughing. “I’m sorry I forgot to tell you. No matter how many ghosts I encounter tonight, I can’t be hurt. I won a game with a baby ghost tonight and he lost. Ghosts can’t kill me tonight.”

The fake smile on Zhou Wen’s face could no longer hold up. 30 points were wasted.

“I’m sorry.” Xie Chi’s voice was gentle. “I’m sorry I forgot to remind you.”

An ominous hunch filled Zhou Wen heart. “A-About what?”

A drop of water fell from the top of the elevator onto Zhou Wen’s shoulder.

Xie Chi laughed harmlessly. “Please look up.”