"Why have you been taking so long?" Number 2, unusually, wasn't blowing bubblegum anymore, and his level of mental pollution dropped significantly. He looked like an ordinary, unremarkable digital person.

"Number 7 is dead." Fang He announced the devastating news with a calm expression.

"So what if we're dead!" Number 3 yelled furiously. "Yesterday's game was absolutely boring! We didn't see anything!"

"It's okay, we can extend the game time today." Number 4 patted his shoulder and whispered reassuringly, "For example... for example..."

"How about a four-corner game?" suggested Number 2.

Number 3 thought for a while, without saying whether he agreed or disagreed, but simply said, "There are five of us."

"I'm not participating in this one. I want to play Mirror Ghost one more time." Number 2 made a combing gesture, and that's how the game for the fourth night was decided.

Xiao Cheng knew her opinion wasn't important, but she didn't expect it to be this unimportant.

"They just pretend we don't exist!" Xiao Cheng complained. "I want to play Mirror Ghost again!"

Fang He: "..." You'd better really want to play.

The game started quite early; they gathered in the lobby on the first floor at 6 p.m., except for number 2.

"I don't think I need to explain the rules of the Four Corners game again, do I?" Number 3, as the game leader, spoke first. "Let's go by number order. Stand in the corner and tap the person in front of you on the shoulder in turn. Number 8, you are the last one."

Xiao Cheng did not object.

Logically speaking, the last and first ones should be the most dangerous, but it doesn't matter. She's also very curious about what other strange things are in this building.

The initial corner assigned to her was right next to the guardhouse. Fang He watched her walk over, intending to offer a word of advice, but then, thinking about what happened last night, he realized that perhaps someone else needed to be more careful.

Number 3 turned off the lights in the lobby and clapped his hands to announce, "The game has begun."

Xiao Cheng stood still, waiting quietly. The hall was quite quiet; almost only the sound of footsteps could be heard.

Three, two, one.

Fang He patted her shoulder without hesitation: "It's me, continue."

Xiao Cheng pressed herself against the wall and groped her way forward in the dark.

There was no one in the corner.

Then, as agreed, she coughed loudly, and then continued forward, patting number 3 on the shoulder in the next corner.

The same operation was repeated for more than an hour. Xiao Cheng was a little tired, but nothing happened.

"Keep going, don't rest." Number 3 slapped Number 4 on the back, urging him impatiently.

Then another hour or so passed.

“It’s been a long time, let’s end it.” Number 4 walked to Fang He’s seat, his voice full of exhaustion.

No one responded to him. Xiao Cheng, with his back to where Fang He had come from, frowned slightly.

wrong.

She heard the dragging footsteps approaching.

This is not Fang He.

A bloodied and mangled hand pierced through the darkness, gently patted her shoulder, and then parted.

The cold, sticky sensation seeped through her clothes, and Xiao Cheng couldn't help but shiver. But she said nothing, continuing the game as if she knew nothing.

In the next corner, in the darkness, a blurry human figure could be faintly seen, and the sound of soft breathing lingered in Xiao Cheng's ears.

She reached out to the shadow that had its back to her, and the next second, her wrist was forcefully grabbed.

With a snap, the lights in the hall were turned on by Number 2, who appeared out of nowhere. Xiao Cheng looked up and met Fang He's gloomy gaze.

"Number 8, you're going the wrong way."

He released his grip, took a half-step back to create distance between them, and concealed all emotion in his eyes.

In the corner, Number 3 chuckled eerily: "Looks like nothing really happened." He pointed to the unidentified black liquid stuck to Xiao Cheng's shoulder.

"Today's game was definitely more interesting."

Back in her room, Xiao Cheng washed the strange liquid off her clothes with a look of disgust. It didn't smell bad, and a quick rinse with water was enough to clean it, but it looked sticky and a bit disgusting. She had no idea what kind of weird stuff had left it there.

Today's diary entry was still a long string of gibberish. The familiar drowsiness washed over her again, and Xiao Cheng yawned before falling into a deep sleep.

I slept until after nine in the morning.

When she stepped out of the room, she found the entire building eerily silent. All the room doors were locked from the inside, and the lobby on the first floor was deserted.

Everyone, including Fang He, disappeared.

Xiao Cheng tossed and turned several times before finally accepting the truth. She didn't know what had happened while she was asleep; surely it couldn't be... surely it couldn't be that Fang He displayed his divine power and perished together with the digital humans, could it?

She chuckled at her own guess, then glanced at the guardhouse, hesitated for a moment, opened the door, and went inside.

The layout of the guardhouse was exactly the same as before. A heavy military overcoat was draped over the back of the chair. Xiao Cheng picked up the sleeves that were hanging down to the ground and put them on the chair.

With a clang, a silver key fell from the cuff.

After repeated confirmation and verification, Xiao Cheng finally confirmed that this really was the key to the building's main entrance.

The tightly closed steel doors stood silently, isolating the eerie building from the outside world. She looked at the cold key in her hand; to open or not to open, that was the question.

If Fang He were here, he might carefully analyze the clues before making a decision. But Xiao Cheng didn't want to waste her brain cells, especially since she was reckless and impulsive to the end.

The key was inserted into the lock, and made a sluggish sound as it turned.

With a click, the door lock was fully opened. Xiao Cheng pushed the steel door open forcefully, but before she could even go out, six digital figures carrying bags filed in from outside.

The digital beings couldn't see her at all, passing through her body one after another. The moment she came into contact with the digital beings, Xiao Cheng felt herself become ethereal, as if she had fallen into another dimension, only able to observe their actions from the sidelines.

Number 4 looked around nervously: "Is this place safe? Will we get into trouble if we sneak in?"

"Don't worry, I've checked. There's usually only one security guard here, and he doesn't seem to be here lately. He's only staying for a week, it's no big deal." Number 2 said, blowing a bubble gum.

"Is there really a ghost?" Number 3 pressed her.

"Who can say for sure?" Number 2 shrugged. "Be careful, that old man at the gate is really fierce, don't let him find out."

Xiao Cheng watched them go upstairs, and then the scene changed to the six people gathered in the hall, arguing about something.

"There's nothing here!" Number 3 shouted. "Wasn't this supposed to be a haunted building? What a waste of time!"

"The club activity was a complete failure!" Number 1 summarized. "Let's pack up and go home, in case that security guard comes back..."

The door to the guardhouse creaked open, and a drunken middle-aged man poked his head out from the crack: "...Who is it?"