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墨書 Inktalez
Ziya and Qin Nannan exchanged a knowing glance, both feeling a shiver run down their spines as they watched the Cleaner Aunt's retreating figure, hesitant to step out of the elevator. It seemed that even ghosts had their classifications: good ghosts, bad ghosts, fierce spirits, evil spirits, hungry ghosts, lecherous ghosts... This was just Ziya's self-deprecating thought. It wasn't until later, when she uncovered the truth about the Cleaner Aunt, that she understood the reasons behind it all—though that was a story for another time.
Having seen countless objects that didn't belong in this space, Ziya was no stranger to such sights. She pondered whether the lingering spirits truly wished to remain here or if some unknown, sinister force was intent on keeping these poor souls trapped. When these spirits posed a threat to the living, she thought it best to save as many as she could, though she kept those thoughts to herself.
"Shh! This is superstition..." Yet some things were indeed beyond scientific explanation, and even Ziya couldn't articulate them clearly. Not to mention how others might perceive it; in truth, they lacked the courage to face such matters and sought various excuses to avoid discussing these sensational topics. But there was a saying that rang true: as long as you have no demons in your heart, no demons will come for you. However, if you have done something wrong, you'd better be cautious...
As they gazed down the corridor on the thirteenth floor, Ziya and Qin Nannan hesitated over whether to proceed. After a few minutes of indecision, a figure hurriedly approached from down the hall, footsteps echoing with urgency. The person reached them without uttering a word and pressed the button for the elevator with long strides.
Caught up in their own thoughts and unable to clearly see the person's face, they noticed he was pressing the button to go down. Feeling embarrassed, they quickly nodded and stepped out of the elevator. Just as the doors were closing, Ziya casually glanced back and caught a glimpse of a strange grin on the man's face—a ghostly smile that made her catch her breath in surprise. He was one of those who had come to work earlier that morning.
Qin Nannan watched Ziya freeze at the elevator door and then glanced at the empty corridor. Her legs felt weak and powerless; a sense of defeat washed over her. She had come here intending to protect someone but found things were far more complicated than high school drama.
"Did you see that guy smile just now?" Ziya asked while looking at the room numbers.
"Who smiled?"
"Uh... never mind." Ziya felt an urge to confide but decided against it, reassuring herself that perhaps it was just her imagination.
The file room was only four or five doors away from Liu's break room. It seemed Cui Er had already checked her floor; now she was slowly making her way over from the other end.
Ziya raised her hand and knocked on the door marked "File Room." The door opened with a creak. "Hello! Are you the manager here?"
"Yes... Are you students here for an internship?" A middle-aged woman with delicate features spoke in a flat tone.
"Uh... yes," Qin Nannan replied as he stepped inside and looked around without concern for any disapproving glances directed at him. Ziya gently tugged at his sleeve, prompting him to finally focus on their interlocutor.
"Please have a seat while I check the computer records."
"Alright," Ziya replied, stepping back to sit beside Qin Nannan on the bench by the door. Cui Er's figure looked just as it had when they descended the stairs, which felt quite awkward.
"You sit for a bit; I'll go take a look," Ziya said to Qin Nannan before walking towards where Cui Er was standing.
"Auntie, what are you doing?" Ziya called out to Cui Er's back.
However, Qin Nannan sitting at the door saw no one. Who was Ziya talking to? The thought that she might see things others could or could not see sent a chill down her spine. This building was too eerie! There wasn't a single normal person around.
Inside, the manager opened the door and peeked out at Qin Nannan, asking, "Where's your girlfriend?"
"Over there, chatting away?" The manager glanced in the direction she indicated and only saw Ziya talking to herself near the balcony in the corridor. Muttering something about it being boring, she handed the documents in her hand to Qin Nannan before slamming the door shut with a bang.
Holding the documents, Qin Nannan widened her eyes in surprise. Was this manager illiterate? How could she give them someone else's documents?
"Ziya, come take a look." Qin Nannan's voice echoed through the corridor with a rising tone. Hearing this, Ziya hurried over and took the documents handed to her, her brows instantly knitting together.
Ziya knocked on the door of the file room. The manager responded impatiently, "What do you want?"
"Auntie, these documents aren't ours; you've got the wrong ones." Ziya looked at what was in her hands—one was for someone named Ran Zhaoming and another for Liu Xicui, who had just ignored her.
The manager remained arrogant and dismissive. "I was told over the phone to give you these two people's documents. How can there be a mistake?"
"No... I want to check our documents..." Ziya hurriedly explained.
"You... you haven't reached your time yet; why are you so anxious?" The manager's tone sounded strange, causing Ziya to pause in confusion. Feeling increasingly uneasy, she noticed an unsettling expression on the manager's face.
"Let's go... quickly..." Ziya said as she grabbed the documents and hurriedly spoke to Qin Nannan. The two of them rushed to the elevator, but it refused to open, leading to a flurry of frantic button pressing.
"Where are we going?"
"Twelfth floor."
"Oh!"
The elevator was out of order, so Ziya and Qin Nannan had no choice but to take the stairs to the twelfth floor. They looked at the door signs one by one until they found the one labeled Storage Room. Ziya raised her hand and knocked several times before the door slowly creaked open, revealing Liu yawning.
"Hey! Why are you back again?" Liu asked, a bewildered expression on her face, still half-asleep.
"Where's Aunt Cui?" Ziya noticed that Liu was the only one in the room and felt a sudden jolt of alarm as she hurriedly inquired.
"She went out a while ago and hasn't come back yet!" Liu replied, equally puzzled.
"Not good, hurry!" Ziya's urgent words startled both Qin Nannan and Liu, who quickly followed her as she dashed toward the elevator.
When they reached the elevator, they saw that the odd-numbered elevator was on the sixteenth floor, which would take a bit longer to arrive, while the even-numbered elevator was on the first floor. Following Ziya's cue, Qin Nannan pressed the button for the odd-numbered elevator repeatedly. After a few moments, it finally began its descent from the sixteenth floor.
As the elevator dinged and came to a stop, Ziya felt her heart racing as if it might leap out of her throat. She anxiously stared at the doors that were about to open.
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