"Speaking of which, if we go up now, won't we bump into... um... you..."

As Luo Bin was speaking, someone suddenly covered his mouth. He instinctively tried to break free, but then found the atmosphere around him strangely unusual.

"Shh!" Tong Xiaolu shook her head slowly at Luo Bin with a solemn expression.

Luo Bin: "???"

They exchanged a glance, and Luo Bin knew something was wrong, especially when he caught a glimpse of Xiao Jin assuming a fighting stance, gripping the knife in her hand.

He gently removed Tong Xiaolu's hand and followed her gaze to look behind him.

At the entrance, the flames on the talisman spread at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, the entire talisman was engulfed by the eerie blue flames, making a hissing sound.

A foul, indescribable stench filled the room, and a series of 'click-clack' footsteps approached from afar, like the sound of high heels striking the floor tiles.

The group slowly retreated, grabbing the props in their hands.

"Huh~ Why... is it sick..."

A faint, eerie female whisper suddenly echoed in the dark corridor, sending chills down the spines of the four people.

Not long after, a ghostly figure appeared at the door.

Xiao Jin had excellent eyesight; she had seen the picture of the female ghost, which was posted on the wall of the lobby on the first floor, in the office where they were located—the head nurse, Laura.

Lola's long hair was disheveled, her face was as pale as paper, her eyes were empty yet flickered with an ominous light, and a dagger was stuck in her neck.

She staggered closer, then suddenly tilted her head, a chilling grin spreading across her face. In her hand she held a massive syringe, as thick as an adult's arm, its tip gleaming with a sharp, cold light.

"The patient must behave!" Her voice was low and hoarse.

Before she could finish speaking, the female ghost's face suddenly twisted in pain, and a deafening roar erupted: "Why are you here... Why are you disobeying me! Why?"

With that roar, she charged at Xiao Jin and the other three like an enraged beast, brandishing a huge syringe.

Xiao Jin reacted quickly, his figure flashed, and he teleported to steadily block the syringe in front of him.

Her eyes flashed sharply, and she kicked the head nurse hard in the abdomen. The powerful force sent her flying backward like a kite with a broken string, crashing into the corridor wall with a dull thud.

At the same time, three cold lights slashed through the air as Xiao Jin swiftly unleashed his blade, striking the head nurse with pinpoint accuracy.

'Boom!'

A tremendous sound erupted, and the entire building seemed to tremble.

Interestingly, the haunted house seemed to be protected by something; the walls remained completely undamaged under Xiao Jin's attacks, not even a single piece of plaster fell off.

However, the group didn't have time to investigate further.

Upon seeing this, Cui Mingyang, who was near the door, felt a chill run down his spine. Without hesitation, he stepped back and pulled out a faintly glowing talisman from his pocket.

With a flick of his wrist, the talisman transformed into a streak of light, accurately affixing itself to the fallen head nurse. It was a slowing talisman, capable of reducing the opponent's speed.

Luo Bin then gently blew the whistle hanging on his chest. As the whistle sounded, the surrounding space seemed to distort slightly, and a mist appeared out of thin air, as if trying to engulf the head nurse.

The most amazing one was Tong Xiaolu. Xiao Jin was right; don't underestimate her just because she's young.

The familiar chains shot out and tightly wrapped around the head nurse. Then, Tong Xiaolu exerted a little force, and flames spread rapidly along the chains, climbing straight up the head nurse's body.

Before long, the head nurse transformed into a giant cocoon of fire, causing the surrounding air to distort.

"Aaaaaah!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream came from the fire, followed by a dark figure falling heavily to the ground.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on him... He must be dead!

Xiao Jin frowned.

No, there was no notification sound; the opponent wasn't killed.

The next second, Xiao Jin seemed to see something, his expression changed, and he shouted, "Retreat and defend!"

At the same time, she leaped forward and activated the quantum shield of the 'damage-reducing bracers' without hesitation, and crystallized armor also appeared on her body.

The moment Xiao Jin finished speaking, Cui Mingyang and the other two, though they didn't know why, subconsciously did as Xiao Jin said.

Sure enough, as soon as they set up their defenses, blades, flames, and mist surged toward them.

Their previous attacks were all reflected back.

This was the first time Xiao Jin had faced the blade aura of Shattered Shadow. His quantum shield was shattered in just two breaths, leaving Xiao Jin with no choice but to pick up his sword to block the blade aura.

She then exerted force, the muscles in her arm bulging, and the blade's edge was forcibly redirected, flying to the other side and striking the ceiling with a 'boom'.

"Hoo~" Xiao Jin breathed slightly, squinting at the head nurse who had stood up again.

At this moment, Cui Mingyang and the other two had also dealt with the rebound attack.

Luo Bin frowned and said, "This is terrible, all of this guy's injuries have healed."

"You deserve to die!!" The head nurse roared and charged forward again. This time, Xiao Jin and the other three were cautious and did not use any skills.

Like the previous female nurse, she was incredibly fast, rendering Cui Mingyang's slowing spell useless as soon as it was applied.

Apart from Xiao Jin, who could keep up with her movements, the other three found it extremely difficult to withstand the head nurse's attacks.

While fending off the head nurse's attacks, Xiao Jin looked at the wounds on her body inflicted by the shattered shadows. Sure enough, these marks healed completely in no time.

She simply couldn't kill him.

A thought flashed through Xiao Jin's mind, and then she kicked the head nurse away again, with Shattered Shadow following closely behind, pinning her heavily to the wall.

She gripped the knife handle, using it to stop the head nurse from pulling out.

He then said to the three people behind him, "Quick, go straight to the 4th floor, go to the archives and find the medical record. I'll hold her off."

“This…” Cui Mingyang looked troubled, but he knew that this was indeed the best choice.

“Then I’ll stay and help you,” Tong Xiaolu said without hesitation.

Seeing this, Luo Bin quickly chimed in, "Me too."

Xiao Jin stared at the constantly flailing arms in front of her. The head nurse repeatedly tried to slit Xiao Jin's throat with her fingernails, but she failed each time.

"Go, leave none of them alive, you're useless here."

Even though they knew it was true, the two of them couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths.

Cui Mingyang also pulled the two of them back: "Haven't you seen it yet? The head nurse can't be killed. The game is just trying to create difficulties for us."

"The fourth floor might be dangerous; I can't handle it myself. Are you two sure you want to linger here?"