Chapter 12

Xu Ming remembered it clearly. When she was in the toilet cubicle, she had asked the voice in her mind whether there were any extra people among her current companions.

The other party did not give her a definite answer, but gave her two tips to distinguish between the living and the dead.

First, the dead are prone to losing things.

Second, the things lost by the dead tend to gather in one place.

Coincidentally, when it was halfway through its words, Xu Ming reacted. In fact, he had heard similar words before -

"I have an aunt who screams to scare people, and she knows a little about this. I have talked about this with Sister Jiayi."

At the table. Xu Ming lowered his eyes, his tone was nonchalant as if he was chatting casually: "What she said just now was also heard from her when I was a child."

"She said that it is very difficult for the dead to hold on to things. Because when a person dies, it is like a light going out. Even if they want to hold on to something, the traces of their life will be erased bit by bit. And even if they can continue to exist in the world for some reason, those things contained in their souls will disappear on their own when they are not paying attention.

"But on the other hand, those things all have the same aura. This makes them attract each other. Even if they disappear, they will automatically gather to one place under the influence of some mysterious force."

Turning his gaze to Lao Li in front of him, Xu Ming said lightly: "As for where they will gather, that's very interesting. It is said that sometimes, they will fall on the place that the dead person cherishes the most, and sometimes, they will fall on the place that the dead person cares the least. But more often - especially in the area of ​​ghost stories. "

"All lost items will silently follow such a rule - they will gather together with the first item that the dead person actively abandons as the core."

Xu Ming paused again when he said this. His eyes fell directly on Lao Li.

The atmosphere at the table gradually became weird. Yuan Jiayi was tactful and didn't speak. She followed Xu Ming's gaze and looked over, only to find that Lao Li's forehead was covered with sweat at some point.

One of his hands was still in his pocket, and he touched it back and forth, but he never took it out.

"Lao Li." Xu Ming spoke again, his body leaning forward slightly, "Let me ask you one more question, you should be engaged, right? "

"Where is the engagement ring?"

"..."

Old Li's throat rolled for a while before he stopped smiling: "Xiao Xu, what are you talking about? Of course I keep my ring well..."

Xu Ming: "Can you show it to me?"

Old Li didn't say anything this time, and his forehead was covered with sweat.

Yuan Jiayi next to him seemed to realize something and moved silently towards Xu Ming.

"Come to think of it, I remember that you wore the ring on your hand, right?" She asked tentatively, and the atmosphere at the table became more and more suffocating. "When we just met at Hongqiang, I saw you wearing it on your hand. I don't know when I saw it again afterwards..."

"Wait, meet?" Xu Ming raised his eyebrows, "In other words, you weren't together from the beginning?"

"That's interesting..."

"What's the point! "

Before he finished speaking, there was a "bang", and Lao Li slapped the table and stood up.

"Why did I show you my ring? But you have been talking nonsense since just now, about dead people and lost things, what on earth do you mean!"

"What do I mean?" Xu Ming raised his eyes and his tone became sharp, "The specialty mints brought back by the otter are only available to people in the photography department. Among the people in the photography department, only you have been engaged. The mints and the ring were both found next to the discarded notice. What do you think I mean?" "

I have photos of both the candy and the ring. Do you need me to show them to you directly to help you remember? Or--"

Xu Ming paused, suddenly took out a piece of paper from his bag, and slapped it on the table: "Please take a look at this? "

The paper was spread out, and it was the fire drill notice that was picked up.

The content was exactly the same as the one that the otter got. Yuan Jiayi's eyes turned around uneasily, obviously not quite understanding Xu Ming's intention of suddenly taking out this thing.

On the other side, Lao Li's expression froze again.

He stared at the paper, as if he saw something terrifying. From the other end of the table, Xu Ming's voice floated over again:

"I was wondering before, how could someone throw away something with such obvious information. And when I found it, it was crumpled up, obviously thrown away on purpose. "

Later I figured it out, if he really threw it away himself, there are only two possibilities. One is that he can't see the information on the paper, and the other is that he doesn't like the information on the paper.

"So Lao Li, which one are you? "

...

Lao Li did not answer.

He was still staring at the piece of paper.

The paper neatly listed the nine rules that needed to be paid attention to during fire drills. However, Lao Li could see clearly that under the ninth rule, there was another line that no one else could see.

——[10. Don't think about it, you can't escape anymore.]

...No, you can escape.

His breathing became rapid unconsciously, and Lao Li stretched out his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, but his rough palm was out of control and slapped himself in the face, even knocking his glasses crooked.

"I can escape, I will definitely escape. I want to go out, my wife is still waiting for me, I must go out..."

He murmured unconsciously, his nails plowing deeply into the skin under his eyes, leaving deep marks: "I'm not a dead man, I'm still alive, I want to go out, let me go out, let me go out - let me go out! "

He murmured the last sentence, and his voice suddenly increased - Yuan Jiayi on the opposite side had been on guard for a long time, and she almost jumped up on the spot when she saw this, and quickly grabbed Xu Ming and stepped back a few steps, then took out a bottle of anti-wolf spray and pointed it directly at the mad Lao Li, with a look of fear on her face.

But Xu Ming gently pushed her hand away, and took the opportunity to look at his mobile phone again.

"Fifteen minutes." Yuan Jiayi heard Xu Ming's low voice, and his tone seemed to carry a bit of relief, "Fortunately, the time is just right."

... ?

What does that mean?

She glanced at Xu Ming in fear, and just as she was about to ask a question, she heard two "dong dong" sounds - the door was knocked.

"Hello, the cleaning process is ready." The voice of the security guard came from outside. It could be heard clearly through the door panel, "Have you decided on the order?"

- Oh, right, there are security guards! Security guards who can save people!

Yuan Jiayi was shocked and raised her voice quickly: "Please wait a moment! We have a situation! There is a -"

"Cough cough - cough cough cough!"

Before she finished speaking, she heard a violent cough next to her. I don't know if Xu Ming was so anxious that he had a seizure. He started coughing again at this time, and the cough was even more serious than before - his body was bent like a shrimp, and he was shaking while coughing. He was unstable and bumped into Yuan Jiayi's arms, almost knocking her to the ground.

Yuan Jiayi had no choice but to support the person first. On the other side, Lao Li suddenly raised his head as if he was awakened by something.

Then his eyes froze, and he turned around without hesitation and ran towards the door.

"It's me!" Yuan Jiayi heard his voice the moment the door opened, "I'm the first one, please take me away! Please hurry up..."

Then the security guard responded, very quickly, and it seemed that he didn't notice anything wrong with Lao Li. Hearing that the two were about to leave, Yuan Jiayi became even more anxious and angry. Just as she opened her mouth to speak, she suddenly felt her arm tighten.

She lowered her head in surprise and met Xu Ming's warning eyes.

She grabbed Yuan Jiayi's arm tightly, coughing desperately and shaking her head gently.

...What does this mean?

Yuan Jiayi widened her eyes in confusion, thought for a moment, but still kept her voice down as he said.

At the same time, the voice of the security guard was heard outside the door again.

What he said was almost the same as before, except that he would come to pick them up later. Then there were the footsteps that gradually faded away.

And almost at the moment when the footsteps disappeared, Xu Ming's coughing stopped instantly.

Then she jumped up quickly, dragged Yuan Jiayi to the door, and looked out - Yuan Jiayi looked out with her, only to see that the corridors on both sides were empty.

The security guard who was originally guarding nearby had already left with Lao Li. No one filled his vacancy.

Isn't this... unsafe?

Yuan Jiayi began to murmur in her heart, but felt Xu Ming's grip on her hand tighten again.

Then, he pushed the door open and ran out!

Yuan Jiayi:...

...? ? ?

A big question mark appeared in her eyes, but her body instinctively followed Xu Ming and ran all the way to the fire door.

"What's the situation?" When she helped push the door, she couldn't help asking back. Then, as if she realized something, her face suddenly froze, "Don't tell me that the security guard is also..."

"Fake." Xu Ming said concisely.

Yuan Jiayi: "...Because of that 'Best wishes for business'?"

"More than that." Xu Ming said, pushing open the heavy security door in front of him, and his mind flashed again what he had seen under the cabinet in the room.

A blood-stained key, a rubber glove with a hole in it, and a crumpled piece of paper.

On the paper was a familiar blue handwriting, with only one word on it.

[Escape]

*

Behind the fire door, there was still a dark corridor.

Cutting in from the light, the darkness seemed even darker. Xu Ming did not dare to hesitate, and rushed upstairs with a flashlight. Although Yuan Jiayi was a little confused, she cooperated and helped with the lighting, climbing up quickly.

Because this was what she had agreed with Xu Ming before - in the bathroom in the waiting room.

Speaking of which, Xu Ming didn't say much at the time, but

he just agreed on two things with her. First, wait for Xu Ming and Lao Li to talk, and don't interfere casually. Let her do it.

Second, if Xu Ming said he wanted to run, she shouldn't dawdle, and run after him quickly.

... To be honest, she is still a little confused about many things now. But who cares.

Just like at work, if you meet a reliable leader, just get in the car with him, no need to worry too much!

Having made up her mind, Yuan Jiayi climbed up even harder. Just as she was about to climb back to the fourth floor, she heard the creak of the fire door not far away -

"Two ladies?" The security guard's calm voice came, "Where are you going?"

"I said, even if you want to go back to Hongqiang, you need to clean it first. It's dangerous to run around, please come back with me first."

"..."

The voice and tone were all normal.

Yuan Jiayi listened silently, but a layer of cold sweat broke out on her back.

- There is obviously a distance between the fire door and the stairs. They heard the sound of the fire door being pushed open in the last second, and the next second they heard the voice of the security guard behind them. What's going on? After

exchanging a glance with Xu Ming silently, Yuan Jiayi swallowed again.

The next moment, the two of them simultaneously quickened their pace and ran up desperately!

Almost at the same time, clear footsteps were heard behind them, so close that they seemed to be able to grab them with their hands, and the security guard's voice rang again:

"Please cooperate with our work, we are here to help you.

"We will save you and help you get rid of Hongqiang.

"We are good people, please don't be afraid..."

- It would be strange if she wasn't afraid!

Yuan Jiayi felt that her heart was about to jump out of her throat, and the movements of climbing the stairs almost evolved into using both hands and feet. And just when the two of them reached the fourth floor, the calling voice behind them suddenly stopped -

after a moment, it sounded again in a mechanical tone:

"Hello, I'm glad you can come here. Don't worry, it's safe here...

" "The cleaning process requires some preparation time, please wait patiently...

" "Please do not run around while waiting. Please do not use any items brought out from Hongqiang..."

"Thank you for your cooperation. I wish you all safety. Best of luck in business...

" Best of luck in business, best of luck in business, best of luck in business!"

...? !

The two of them supported each other and ran forward. Yuan Jiayi was frantic: "What the hell is going on?!"

Xu Ming, who actually didn't hear anything: "...Ah?"

"It's like a cassette!" Yuan Jiayi had goosebumps all over her body. Seeing that Xu Ming seemed to be unable to run anymore, she quickly dragged him. Behind her was still the voice of the gun chasing her:

"Best wishes, best wishes!" Best wishes, best wishes,

best wishes, best wishes, best wishes, best wishes, best wishes, best wishes, best wishes -

the meaningless repetitive words lingered around like a spell, making people's heads explode. Yuan Jiayi struggled to climb up the stairs to the fifth floor, and then she realized that the footsteps following behind her had changed at some point:

rustling and sticky. It didn't seem like people were moving, but rather some kind of multi-legged creature crawling quickly.

...So what was that thing following them now?

Her steps slowed down slightly, and a strong curiosity suddenly emerged along with fear. Yuan Jiayi trembled and tilted her head slightly. Before she could turn her head, she heard Xu Ming shouting:

"Don't look!"

...!

Yuan Jiayi was startled and came back to her senses. And in just this moment of delay, that sticky sound had already climbed up to her heels.

She couldn't help but let out a low cry. The next second, Yuan Jiayi felt herself being pulled forward and then pushed upward. She followed Xu Ming's strength and climbed up several steps, finally reaching the sixth floor.

The warning strips between the fifth and sixth floors were still there, and Yuan Jiayi tore them apart randomly, throwing herself forward. She felt that the sound that had been chasing her finally stopped.

She didn't dare to delay, so she turned around and pulled Xu Ming up again. The two of them sat at the top of the stairs and gasped for a while. Yuan Jiayi finally found her voice: "It's gone?"

"...Probably." Xu Ming was panting even harder than her, his throat was full of rust and sore, "It can only go to the fifth floor at most, it can't come up."

Yuan Jiayi: "..."

"By the way, I just saw that there seems to be words on the back of this sign." She swallowed and pointed to the signboard next to her, "But I ran too fast just now and didn't see clearly what it said..."

"I saw it." Xu Ming said coldly, "It says 'Welcome back, you idiot'."

After that, he slapped the signboard next to him unhappily: "You are the idiot!"

- The back of the signboard faces the fifth floor. Under normal circumstances, only people who come up from the fifth floor can see it. It goes without saying who this wave of ridicule is directed at.

Xu Ming was speechless. Why didn't he realize that the domain master of Hongqiang Company was so bad before?

Yuan Jiayi didn't want to make any comments on this. After a while, she spoke again: "So, when did you find out that there was something wrong with Lao Li?"

Xu Ming glanced at her and didn't hide it anymore: "I found out before I went out."

Yuan Jiayi: "Then why did you bring him out?"

"I brought him out because I knew there was a problem." Xu Ming pressed his chest and coughed twice, "I wanted to make preparations at the time."

Yuan Jiayi: "?"

"If the people downstairs on the fifth floor are reliable, hand Lao Li over to them to deal with, just as if we were eliminating a hidden danger." Xu Ming said, "If the people downstairs are unreliable, just sell him out and let us take the blame."

Yuan Jiayi: ...Is there a difference between these two?

"Of course there is." Xu Ming said confidently, "In the former case, we can part ways amicably. In the latter case, we will have a falling out."

And now, unfortunately, they have finally reached the point of falling out.

As for forcing Lao Li to recognize his identity first, it was just a matter of course - the situation at that time obviously could not go with him to do any cleaning, so Lao Li had to go first. But if the other party kept giving in, things would be awkward, so she had to force him.

On the other hand, she also wanted to thoroughly confirm her guess... What if she was wrong?

"Yeah." Yuan Jiayi was also surprised, "What if you guessed wrong?"

"If you guessed wrong, we can think of another way. The only difference is that we will drag Lao Li to escape with us." Xu Ming said, sighing, "You actually guessed right. I don't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing."

In any case, letting Lao Li go to "clean" first has bought them some time to escape, which is certain.

"Now think about it, the security guard's description of 'cleaning' is itself quite problematic." Xu Ming thought for a while, and then said, "He said that cleaning is like letting shellfish spit out sand. Listen to what he said."

... Indeed.

Yuan Jiayi pondered for a while, and suddenly felt a little numb on her scalp.

When do people arrange shellfish to spit out sand?

Of course, when they are ready to eat.

This late realization made her rub her arms and curiously asked, "Why did you bring me along?" "

To testify." Xu Ming said bluntly, "Three people went out and two returned. I have to give a reasonable reason, otherwise my credibility in the team will be reduced. Qiu Yufei and I are too familiar with each other, and her testimony is not effective enough; the others are not in sync with me, and may delay things."

In comparison, Yuan Jiayi is the best solution.

Yuan Jiayi: ...Should I thank you for thinking highly of me?

Thinking about it carefully, she couldn't help but sigh: "With this level, why did you think highly of our company at that time?"

Xu Ming: "For the tripartite agreement."

Yuan Jiayi: ...

Okay. A very convincing reason.

While talking, the two had already touched the staircase of the seventh floor. Seeing that Xu Ming was still breathing heavily, Yuan Jiayi offered to lend a hand to help him breathe more easily. Just as she extended her hand, a voice suddenly sounded behind her head.

The voice said, "Best wishes for the business."

...

Yuan Jiayi froze on the spot.

Almost at the same time, Xu Ming's expression changed.

But it was not because he heard "Best wishes for the business" - but because she suddenly remembered another very important thing.

Old Li was sold out by her, and his work badge was also bundled and sold out.

Hongqiang once emphasized that after entering the fifth floor, one must remember to destroy the work badge. At the same time, Lan Zi also mentioned that the work badge can help them.

... So what is the role of the work badge?

A terrible guess suddenly came to Xu Ming's mind, and the next moment, this guess was confirmed by the voice in his mind:

"Damn it, it's coming up."

Xu Ming: "..."

He turned his head suddenly and looked at the empty corridor behind him, and at the same time, Yuan Jiayi's scream of collapse rang in his ears. Xu Ming's mind raced, and he made up his mind in a blink of an eye. He rushed to Yuan Jiayi's side, pushed her forward, took out the selfie stick from his bag and stuffed it into her hand.

"Go back first!" She said quickly, "I'll be back tomorrow at noon at the latest!"

After that, she turned around and ran back, while running, she did not forget to hold the bag in her hand high.

"Is it coming towards me?" she asked hurriedly in her consciousness, "It's not chasing Sister Jiayi, is it?"

"Here it comes, it's coming towards you - wait, why are you holding your bag so high? Don't you know I'm in the bag? Hey, where are you going -"

After getting a positive answer, Xu Ming walked faster and ran down the stairs.

"Downstairs." Xu Ming responded in his heart, "I have somewhere to go, so I might as well take it away."

"Go? Where are you going?" The voice exploded instantly, "The fifth floor and below are all its territory! I know you are an idiot and you are great for being a hero, but can you please consider my feelings?"

"It can't do anything to you, but it can do something to me!"

"Not necessarily." Xu Ming said.

Voice: "...Huh?"

"I said, the area below the fifth floor may not be entirely its territory." Xu Ming said, pursing her lips, tightening her grip on the bag in her hand, her heart beating like a drum.

Maybe there is another place...

Her mind once again flashed through the things she found under the cabinet - a blood-stained key, a torn glove, and a warning note.

The key was secretly hidden in the glove and put into the bag when Xu Ming was rummaging alone; and on the key, there was a piece of single-sided tape with a house number clearly written in blue handwriting.

[106]