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墨書 Inktalez
Ziya curled up in the elevator, which continued its slow descent. She glanced around and noticed that aside from herself and the glaring red color of the interior, there were no other women present. What had just happened? Was it the message conveyed by the woman who entered, or something else entirely? Rubbing her sore neck, she managed to pull herself up from the cold elevator floor. Her mind was still lingering on the scene she had just witnessed when the elevator flickered with the final number, 1, and came to a slight halt.
"Ziya, are you in the elevator?" Liu asked in surprise as she looked at Ziya, who had just stepped out. Liu's expression was one of disbelief, as if she had seen an alien. Beside her stood Zhang, the Chief Editor, and Yuan Ye.
Having just exited the elevator, Ziya's legs felt a bit numb and unsteady. "What’s wrong? Did you fall or…?" Yuan Ye asked gently, supporting her with concern.
"I'm fine, it's just…" Ziya began to explain what she had seen in the elevator but suddenly realized how bizarre it sounded. How could anyone believe her? Besides, Luo Daoming had been dead for quite some time.
"Just as well. We received a call from your mother saying you came to work early. We looked everywhere for you and even checked this elevator; we just don’t understand when you got on," Zhang, the Chief Editor, said with confusion. They had clearly checked the elevator one by one; it had been fine on the first floor—how could there have been a mistake?
"Is it serious?" Ziya felt her body sway slightly; if Yuan Ye hadn’t caught her, she might have toppled over. Facing Yuan Ye’s attentive care, which felt almost fatherly, she inexplicably felt a sense of warmth. Perhaps it was because he was around her father's age—how else could she explain this strange feeling?
"I'm fine," Ziya replied softly. She knew she might be experiencing a bout of anemia but didn’t want to admit it in front of an adult man; she didn’t want others to think she was being overly dramatic. So she feigned nonchalance and gently pulled away from Yuan Ye's supportive arm, managing a weak smile.
A series of high-heeled footsteps echoed from the curved reception area as Nana called out in a flirtatious tone, "Chief Editor, your appointment with the advertising client has just landed. We need to hurry to the airport; look..."
"Oh dear! Look at my memory..." Zhang, the Chief Editor, nodded knowingly at Nana and sheepishly smiled at everyone present.
"Go ahead! Taking care of business is important," Yuan Ye said awkwardly after Ziya slipped away from his grasp. Just then, Nana arrived with news that provided him an easy way out.
"I'll leave this to you; I might be late returning to the News Agency. If it gets too late, I'll head straight home," Zhang said apologetically to Yuan Ye before leading the way toward the parking lot. Nana swayed her curvy figure confidently behind him.
As Yuan Ye watched Zhang and Nana disappear from view, he turned back to see Liu supporting Ziya. Being a woman herself, Liu understood what Ziya was likely feeling; seeing her slightly pale face made it clear that anemia must be causing her current state.
“Xiao Fang, come on, I'll take you to the medical room,” Ziya said, slightly nodding in acceptance of the help as Liu supported her toward the elevator. Suddenly, she remembered what Zhou Chen had told her and stopped in her tracks.
“Yuan, are you free?”
“Yes, yes, what do you need help with, Ziya?” Yuan Ye had just turned to head toward the office when he heard Ziya calling him. At first, he thought he misheard, but seeing her gaze fixed on him made him hurriedly respond.
“Liu, we’ll go to the medical room later. I want to talk to Yuan about something,” Ziya said, frowning with a serious expression and an apologetic tone directed at Liu.
“Then you…” Liu’s worried tone was not without reason; at that moment, Ziya’s face had turned pale, almost transparent.
“I think this way, Ziya. I’ll go with you to the medical room and wait for you outside. I won’t leave, but you have to go see someone first. Otherwise, I can call your mom. How about that? Or we could go to the hospital instead,” Yuan Ye said, clearly concerned. However, he sensed that Ziya must have something very secretive to tell him; otherwise, she wouldn’t be so particular about the timing.
“It’s nothing, really! It was just something that happened in the elevator… Alright, let’s go!” Ziya felt an increasing chill within herself but didn’t know why. As she spoke, there was a sense of insincerity in her words, as if her consciousness were being controlled by someone.
Liu and Ziya entered the elevator first while Yuan Ye pressed the button for the 15th floor. The Arabic numerals lit up above them: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… Ziya felt colder and colder; she wrapped her arms around herself and her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. Liu noticed that Ziya was trembling and was about to ask when suddenly the elevator stopped moving. Yuan Ye stepped forward and pressed the button again.
“Does this elevator always act up like this? You should tell Zhang, the Chief Editor, to replace some parts or do a major repair.”
“You know how our chief editor is—stingy…” Liu wrapped his arms around Ziya and muttered a complaint but suddenly remembered that she was a good friend of the chief editor and quickly dropped the subject. He quietly asked Ziya about her condition. “Xiao Fang, are you feeling really cold?”
“Ah… it’s really cold… why don’t you touch me and see…” To their surprise, Ziya’s tone changed completely as she spoke; she tilted her head back in pain. Her fingers curled helplessly as if trying to grasp something but were instead being controlled by an unseen force.
“Ziya, what’s wrong… you… you…” Yuan Ye looked at Ziya's sudden horrifying state and was so startled that his voice cracked. Even a strong man like him was rendered speechless by what was unfolding before him. Liu felt as if he had been electrocuted; he quickly released her and grabbed Yuan Ye's sleeve instead. His legs felt weak as he trembled with fear written all over his face.
"She... she is possessed..."
"What? Oh my... Ziya... is it you... or something else?" Yuan Ye trembled even more upon hearing Liu's words. He had never witnessed the supernatural occurrences at the News Agency himself, but now he was being told that Ziya was possessed.
Ziya's brows were tightly furrowed, her eyes revealing a glimpse of a gaze that did not belong to her. Inside her body, two extremely discordant souls were struggling for control over one another, sweat dripping silently down her face. The elevator seemed to be stuck in place, and Liu knew this was a spot where Lao Ran often took the lift.
Ziya realized that a cold ghost had forcefully invaded her body. Just moments ago downstairs, she had lost her thoughts and was under its control. She could clearly see Yuan Ye and Liu frantically pressing the elevator buttons in panic.
At that moment, the elevator doors unexpectedly opened. Ziya struggled to speak, "Quick... find Liu..." Yuan Ye and Liu hurriedly ran down the corridor on the tenth floor. The hallway was eerily quiet, with each department's doors closed as they busily worked on their tasks. To avoid causing a major panic, Liu quickly dashed to a hidden corner by a pillar and dialed Liu's number.
However, they were unaware that something had clouded their vision; they were actually on the fourteenth floor, which was entirely vacant with all doors tightly shut. Ziya had lost her protective sachet because it had been accidentally soaked by Zi Anqing, leaving only her own spirit vulnerable to the ghost's invasion.
Yuan Ye was frantic, regretting that his abilities were ineffective at this moment and unable to protect Ziya. He noticed the elevator still hadn't moved from its spot. Anxiously pacing back and forth, he considered calling Zhang, the Chief Editor, but then remembered he had assured him that the Taoist had dealt with the unclean entities here. Suddenly, the lights in the corridor began to flicker erratically, and Liu's phone call resulted in nothing but a busy signal...
Yuan Ye looked at Ziya, who was painfully crouched on the ground, her fingers gripping the elevator door frame tightly as if trying not to emerge and harm them. Her hair hung loosely around her face, giving her a truly terrifying appearance as she continued to struggle against the possessing ghost. Seeing her in such distress made his heart ache; he silently prayed to the heavens that nothing would happen to Ziya—how could he explain it to Zi Anqing if something went wrong? Clenching his jaw in deep thought, inspiration suddenly struck him as he slapped his forehead and muttered something under his breath.
He quickly pulled something out from around his neck.
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