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墨書 Inktalez
Liu and Ziya walked into a small lounge of less than thirty square meters. The furnishings were simple: a basic folding bed, a cabinet by the window where one could use their phone, and an old, somewhat worn-out sofa.
"Liu, are you staying here overnight?" Ziya asked in surprise.
"Didn't I just agree to move in this year? In the past, we always rented elsewhere. Suddenly, a lot of rooms opened up on the thirteenth floor. The boss probably thought it was a waste for them to be vacant, so he allowed us to stay here temporarily."
"Uh, how many cleaners are on this floor? Do they all live here?" Ziya asked quietly as she casually sat down on a wooden stool that Liu had wiped for her, her eyes scanning the area to see if Zhou Chen had followed.
"There are four cleaners on this floor. A few days ago, one named Duan Xiuying took leave and hasn't come back yet. She said there was something going on at home. I think she has her own issues, especially with that deadbeat Luo Daoming."
"Ah?" Ziya was taken aback by Liu's words, momentarily lost for words… she fell silent.
"Hey, little sister, if you want to ask something, just say it! I'll tell you everything I know." Liu seemed like a very capable woman, both in speech and action. As she spoke, she picked up a partially knitted sweater and smiled while continuing her work.
Ziya hesitated for a moment before asking, "Liu, I want to know about what happened before Luo Daoming's incident… and also about what you said regarding Duan Xiuying?"
"Little sister, why are you interested in these dark matters? You seem quite pretty; it's just that you're a bit too gloomy… Since you want to know Luo Daoming's story, I'll share some with you." Liu stood up and grabbed a towel, seemingly wiping her sweaty hands to avoid dampening the yarn. She looked around mysteriously before pushing the door slightly to ensure it was closed properly before sitting back down to recount her tale. I remember when I first moved into this thirteenth-floor lounge…
That night, having drunk a bit too much water, Liu kept getting up to use the restroom. As she entered the bathroom, she suddenly heard a noise coming from the hallway. It sounded like someone struggling to walk. Fearless as she was, curiosity got the better of her.
At that time, Liu was still overseeing floors twelve through eight; the thirteenth floor was under Duan Xiuying's jurisdiction. Following the sound, she walked over and saw a shadow flash at the elevator entrance on the twelfth floor before disappearing. Thinking she might have encountered something unclean, she hurriedly muttered a prayer for protection. Just then, a sulky voice scolded from nearby; startled, she stopped speaking and turned again to follow the sound.
"Stop it, don't do that. It's not good for others to see..." With the faint light from the corridor, Liu saw a woman entangled with a man... She cursed under her breath and hurried to her break room.
...
"Are you sure that's Duan Xiuying?" Ziya interrupted Liu's story anxiously before she could finish.
"I'm just guessing! The very next day, I told Lao Ran from the tenth floor. He didn't believe me at first, but he agreed to sneak a look with me."
"Ah! Why did you involve Lao Ran?"
"Sister, don't interrupt. Just let me finish."
"Okay," Ziya said, noticing Liu's serious expression, feeling a bit nervous herself.
...
As a news editor, Lao Ran was naturally curious about mysterious matters. When he heard about the incident at the News Agency, he immediately agreed to investigate with Liu. He told his wife a little lie, saying that the News Agency had called him in for overtime and he couldn't come home for dinner. The two of them hid on the twelfth floor, waiting for the couple to appear.
That night, the moon was as round as a disc, illuminating the News Agency brightly. They had been lurking on the twelfth floor for quite some time without any sign of movement. Lao Ran began to feel restless; it was already midnight.
"Well, Liu, you can wait here alone. I need to go home..." Before Lao Ran could finish his sentence, they heard footsteps coming from the corridor.
"Shh! Now you can't say I was just fooling you!" Liu whispered.
A slow, orderly sound of polished shoes scraping against the floor echoed through the corridor, followed by the clattering sound of the elevator doors opening. Bathed in the corridor's light, a disheveled man in disarrayed clothing appeared before Lao Ran and Liu.
"Is that Luo Daoming? Is he the one you saw that night?" Lao Ran whispered, lowering his voice.
"No way! If it were Luo Daoming, how could I not know?" Liu replied incredulously. The two of them crouched beside a pillar in the corner, not daring to move as they watched to see what Luo Daoming intended to do.
They saw Luo Daoming stumble out of the elevator, glancing around the corridor with an odd expression, seemingly realizing he had gone to the wrong place. He turned back towards the elevator.
"There's nothing to see here; I'm going home," Lao Ran said as he stood up and headed toward the elevator, intending to ride down with Luo Daoming. Liu found it uninteresting and returned to the twelfth-floor lounge to sleep, needing to wake up early for cleaning duties. Exhausted from staying up late, she quickly fell into a deep slumber.
The next day, Lao Ran told Liu something that happened. He entered the elevator, which was eerily quiet. The silence made him feel compelled to say something to break the strange atmosphere. Normally, he wouldn't engage with someone as brash as Luo Daoming. But being timid, he glanced around at the elevator; aside from the faint sound of its movement, it felt uncomfortable—especially with Luo Daoming's demeanor.
"Hey, Lao!" Lao Ran called out as he noticed Luo Daoming pressing the elevator buttons, but his expression seemed off. To Lao Ran's astonishment, Luo Daoming appeared indifferent to his shout. Lao Ran waved his hand in front of him, but Luo Daoming continued staring blankly at one spot. This unnerved Lao Ran; he watched as the elevator numbers ticked down: 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4... Not giving up hope as they approached the first floor, he reached out and shook Luo Daoming vigorously.
"Hey! Lao..." Lao Ran shouted loudly at this seemingly dazed and confused Luo Daoming. It seemed like Luo Daoming finally sensed someone was calling him; he slowly lifted his head and stared blankly at Lao Ran. The look in his eyes startled the already timid Lao Ran; he felt an intense chill run through him and quickly stepped back to distance himself from Luo Daoming. Yet Luo Daoming continued to fixate on him with that eerie gaze, stepping closer...
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