Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 288: Chapter 249: Caught

At exactly 1 a.m., the security room on the first floor of the apartment.

Tonight, Yang Xiao and Mo Daidai were on duty.

Seeing that it was about time, Yang Xiao stood up, ready to patrol. The floors he had chosen to check were the 4th, 5th, and 6th, starting with the 6th floor and then making his way down.

"Do you plan to stop by your room for a look?" Mo Daidai, sitting on the chair, looked at Yang Xiao donning his coat.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Yang Xiao asked.

Mo Daidai suddenly laughed, revealing a merchant-like face, "No objections, but I have a suggestion that you might find useful."

"Does it cost money?"

"Of course, 5 yuan." Mo Daidai smiled.

"Just 2 yuan, or forget it."

"Deal."

Yang Xiao passed over a 2-yuan note without any fuss. After receiving the money, Mo Daidai didn’t instantly stuff it into his pocket but examined it carefully against the light and rubbed it between his fingers before confidently putting it away, "Remember, whatever happens when you go back to your room, do not panic, and do not interrupt the ’Ghost’ tenant’s activities. Let them do whatever they want, for they can see you."

Yang Xiao fell silent for a moment, then pulled another 2-yuan note from his pocket and handed it to Mo Daidai, who raised his eyebrows in question, "What do you mean?"

"You never checked the money for authenticity in our previous transactions, so why are you inspecting it so closely this time?" Yang Xiao’s voice was low, "Tell me, has someone gotten hold of counterfeit money?"

After a few seconds of hesitation, Mo Daidai decided to take Yang Xiao’s money, "That’s right, I’ve heard that someone among us exchanged their real money for double the amount in fake bills with someone outside." freewebnøvel.com

"Who?"

"I don’t know either." Mo Daidai answered earnestly.

"How did you come by this information?" Yang Xiao doubted the veracity of this intel. This Mo Daidai was a bit shady, and one had to be cautious.

"I bought it, and it was quite expensive," Mo Daidai admitted, seeming a bit pained by the expense.

"Whose hands did you buy it from? Tong Han?"

"That’s another question, and it requires an additional fee," Mo Daidai extended his hand, "10 yuan, non-negotiable."

Though Yang Xiao had a decent amount of money with him, he couldn’t afford to waste it all here, especially since he couldn’t immediately verify the truth of Mo Daidai’s statements. The man was cunning and knew Yang Xiao was suspicious; for all he knew, this could very well be a smokescreen to swindle his money.

"Safe travels." As Yang Xiao stepped out the door, Mo Daidai’s blessing came from behind.

He made his way to the 6th floor through the emergency stairs, walking along the silent corridors, where the emptiness echoed with only his own footsteps.

Yang Xiao had carefully planned to patrol from the 6th floor downward, so that if danger arose, he could quickly run downstairs. Running down was always faster than running up, and besides, after reaching the 4th floor he could immediately duck into his own room.

The so-called patrolling was just a formality. After finishing with the 6th floor, Yang Xiao quickly reached the 5th floor, but this time, halfway through, he encountered trouble.

"Creak—"

"Creak—" freeweɓnøvel.com

From around the corner ahead came a strange noise, accompanied by intermittent flashes of light. An image formed in Yang Xiao’s mind: the elevator was currently stopped at the 5th floor, with something blocking its doors, causing them to open and shut repeatedly, unable to close properly.

It was the Surgery Ghost, and as Yang Xiao thought to turn and flee, he heard a strange noise coming from behind him.

"Thump!"

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

Muffled pounding sounds chased after him at high speed; Yang Xiao took off running, he couldn’t afford to be caught between two ghosts, front and back.

He ran past the elevator at top speed, forcefully suppressing his curiosity and not daring to glance towards it. Fortunately, he was not attacked by the Elevator Ghost, but as he passed, a strong scent of blood assailed his nostrils, and Yang Xiao didn’t dare to imagine how horrific the Surgery Ghost’s death was.

"Thump!"

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The Ball-slapping Ghost behind him was relentless, but thanks to his systematic training, Yang Xiao’s physical condition had greatly improved, running faster than a dog, he burst through the safety door on the fifth floor and sprinted downstairs.

Regrettably, even a dog couldn’t outrun the Ball-slapping Ghost—this thing was utterly unreasonable, leaping down the twenty-something stairs in one go—and as Yang Xiao rushed to the door of room number 4004, he was caught.

A hand grabbed the corner of his clothing, and Yang Xiao froze on the spot, not so much out of fear but because he couldn’t; it was as if his entire body was frozen, his veins filled with chunks of ice.

Rustle rustle...

An ice-cold large hand groped his body, and soon it fished out the money from his pockets, even the money hidden inside the inner pocket.

Yang Xiao was resistant to being touched randomly, especially by a man, but what made him more suspicious was that the man’s body seemed to be oddly disfigured; he was groping from the bottom up, at a very strange angle.

Previously, he had bought information from Mo Daidai who cautioned him never to make eye contact with the Ball-slapping Ghost, or no amount of money could buy back his life.

Suddenly, an urge surged within Yang Xiao—he wanted to see the real face of the creature behind him. Of course, he wouldn’t turn his head; instead, he’d lower his head and sneak a peek from underneath his crotch, just one look.

The moment this impulse arose, it could not be extinguished, and Yang Xiao even slowly bent over. However, the next second, as he bent down, he noticed the shadow under him.

Although the corridor was dim, it was still covered in a faint halo of light, and it was this halo that cast the shadow of the Ball-slapping Ghost on the floor.

The shadow of the Ball-slapping Ghost was peculiar; his feet were tiny and close together, while his legs were swollen terribly, several times wider than two feet.

Staring at it for several seconds, Yang Xiao’s pupils abruptly contracted; he finally realized that the Ball-slapping Ghost behind him wasn’t slapping a ball, nor was he carrying his decapitated head to smack it around, but... but he was upside down, moving forward with his head on the ground.

Those "thud, thud" muffled noises were the sounds of his shattered skull bumping against the ground.

In the dead of night, being seized by such a ghost from behind, Yang Xiao’s state of mind was indescribable, but he also finally understood why the Ball-slapping Ghost’s bloody handprints were upside down—it was because his entire "body" was upside down!

The Ball-slapping Ghost took away the 10-yuan note, which was the largest denomination Yang Xiao had, and stuffed the rest of the money back into his pockets, along with the coins, before finally leaving with "thud, thud, thud" sounds.

Once the thumping disappeared completely, Yang Xiao didn’t dare turn around, he slowly took off his coat to check, and thankfully, there were no bloody handprints on the back.

"Losing wealth to avoid disaster, losing wealth to avoid disaster."

Yang Xiao put his coat back on, comforting himself in his heart. Besides, he had clarified how the Ball-slapping Ghost operated; he planned to sell this information to Mo Daidai, asking for 10 yuan shouldn’t be excessive.

As Yang Xiao shakily searched for the keys to open the door, a strange electrical noise suddenly emanated from the room.

"Zzz..."

"Zzz... Zzz..."