Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1434: Chapter 891: They’re Here (Part 2)

The four of them formed a single file line, each about a meter apart, so that even if something unexpected happened, they could still maneuver easily.

Walking down the dusty corridor, on either side there were doors either open or tightly shut. Looking inside through the open doors, the windows were all covered with boards or similar materials.

However, the setup was quite rough, and a small amount of sunlight still filtered through the gaps in the boards, bringing a scarce bit of light to the place.

Clearly, this floor was completely abandoned, not even bothering with superficial cleanup. The walls and ceiling were blackened by soot, and an unsettling scent lingered in the air.

The corridor floor was dirty too, clearly not thoroughly swept. Occasionally, they stepped on some charred bits, producing a crisp, crunchy sound.

"Strange. There are smoke marks everywhere here, but some wooden doors and tables are still intact. Where did the fire start? Didn’t it burn here?"

It was only natural for Yang Xiao to have doubts. After all, the 20th floor, two floors above, was completely blackened, indicating the fierceness of the fire then. In Yang Xiao’s mind, the 18th floor should have been completely scorched, leaving mostly some cement and stone frameworks.

But clearly, that wasn’t the case here, and there were also no signs of renovation.

Turning a corner, a wall suddenly appeared before them, causing all four to instinctively halt.

This wall was peculiar because it abruptly cut off the corridor, creating a dead-end.

The construction of the wall was very crude, merely piled with red bricks bonded with cement. Even more surprising was a Eight Diagrams picture hung on the wall.

In the corner, golden offerings were placed, folded from gold-colored paper, including pig heads, ox heads, horse heads, and various fruits and preserves, now all covered in dust.

Behind these was a three-legged copper incense burner, filled with many extinguished incense sticks. Judging by the incense ash scattered nearby, it was clear someone frequently came to offer incense in worship.

The most crucial discovery was behind the incense burner, where stood a black memorial tablet with white writing. No specific name was inscribed, just the words "Chen’s Strange Film Industry."

"Sounds like a company, a film company," Yang Xiao said as he continuously scanned the area.

Before long, he indeed found something unusual. On the corridor walls near this wall, there were not only smoke blackens but also severe burning, with some areas even vitrified and crystallized.

"Behind this wall is where the real fire accident area was. Because it was so badly damaged, it was deemed irreparable, so they simply built a new wall to permanently seal off that area," Munan analyzed, noting the abnormalities Yang Xiao had discovered did not escape her sharp eyes.

"What was behind this wall was a company, Chen’s Strange Film Industry, and this memorial tablet was set up for them. It seems a lot of people from this company died in the fire," Liu Yang said cautiously, the atmosphere nearby making him uneasy.

Chen’s Strange Film Industry... The name itself sounded peculiar, not like a regular film company.

Just as they were about to conduct a thorough search, suddenly, a sudden change occurred. A rush of footsteps could be heard from behind them, starting off distant but rapidly approaching.

Though it came from behind, in the pitch-black surroundings, it was impossible to accurately locate the direction by sound, and the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Yang Xiao reacted swiftly, immediately turning off his flashlight and instructing everyone to spread out to the side, hiding in the open rooms.

Seconds later, not only did the footsteps get closer, but a beam of light swept over as a person hurried over with a flashlight.

Due to the backlight, Yang Xiao and the others couldn’t distinguish who it was for the moment.

It wasn’t until the person got close and hoarsely shouted, "All of you come out! How dare you come here? Come out quickly!"

Hearing the familiar voice and seeing the person’s attire, they realized it was the elderly security guard of the building. The Eight Diagrams on the wall was identical to the one on the ceiling of the security room.

This Eight Diagrams and the golden offerings were evidently set up by him.

It was clear the old security guard was very familiar with the terrain here and effortlessly dragged Yang Xiao and the others out of the rooms.

Even when dragged out, Yang Xiao and the others didn’t voluntarily expose themselves or greet the old security guard.

After all, they weren’t sure if this was a person or some other ghostly thing.

But after being dragged out by their arms, Yang Xiao and the others confirmed the man was real. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

"Move, all of you move!" The old security guard herded them like ducks, chasing them away, clearly enraged. He continuously cursed in his dialect, his eyes glaring red.

Yang Xiao caught a few terms in the security guard’s dialect, including the word "exploration," so he played along and explained their actions as a curiosity-driven adventure and took the opportunity to ask the security guard for stories about the place.

In no time, the four of them were chased out of the 18th floor, returning to the initial position by the safety door.

It seemed they were simply unlucky, coincidentally catching the old security guard’s routine patrol of that floor, finding the safety door open, and thus coming in to catch them.

"Uncle, please don’t be mad, have a cigarette." Munan cheerfully took a pack of cigarettes from her pocket, skillfully pulled one out, and handed it to the security guard.