Extreme Vigilance
Chapter 25 - 25 25 Verses of Midnight Song
?25: 25 Verses of Midnight Song 25: 25 Verses of Midnight Song The roof of the room was hung with an old incandescent bulb that was flickering on and off, casting everyone’s faces in an unpredictable mixture of light and shadow.
Xun Jiasheng couldn’t help but ask again, “Where are we?”
“Are you asking me?” Shen Yue finally responded.
Xun Jiasheng held back his anger and said, “I am asking you, Advisor Shen.” The word “Advisor” came out exceptionally loud as a way of implicitly reminding Shen of the responsibilities of his role.
Shen Yue responded indifferently, “If I don’t ask you, then who should I ask?”
Xun Jiasheng almost passed out from anger.
Jin Xin chuckled, fearing Xun Jiasheng hadn’t been angered enough and added, “President Xun, you seem to have forgotten.
This is a special advisor hired by jintong Security with my own money.
You are not prohibited from asking questions, but you must hand over the check you received today.
Ask any questions you wish then.”
Xun Jiasheng’s heart skipped a beat and, with a very wary expression, he couldn’t help but grip his wallet tighter.
In such a spooky place, it wouldn’t be anything big if someone died.
He and Manager Song were clearly no match for Jin Xin.
If Jin Xin killed them off and snatched their checks, what then?
The check was payable to the bearer, it didn’t matter who the beneficiary was.
Considering this, Xun Jiasheng couldn’t resist taking a few steps back from Jin Xin.
Jin Xin saw through Xun Jiasheng’s fear and sneered, “Are you afraid that I’ll steal your check?
President Xun, rest assured, I am not as shameless as you.
The money I spent is earned by my own abilities.”
“Indeed, indeed.
President Jin is a model of morality for the new era.” As Xun Jiasheng reluctantly acknowledged Jin Xin’s moral line, he didn’t forget to insult Jin Xin.
Bang!
Everyone was startled by a sudden loud noise from above, followed by a “crackling” sound.
Sparks flew and the room promptly fell into darkness.
Everyone scrambled away, in the hasty commotion Shen Yue had managed to pull Hai Mingzhu away.
In her panic, Hai Mingzhu felt somewhat reassured, she looked up and asked, “What happened?”
“The light bulb exploded.” Shen Yue replied.
“Could it be…” Hai Mingzhu had a terrifying answer in mind, but was too afraid to voice it.
In the movies, such a phenomenon usually hinted at the presence of a ghost.
“It’s probably due to the aging of the electrical wires.
Can’t you smell the burnt rubber scent?” Seeming to know what Hai Mingzhu wanted to ask, Shen Yue quickly provided an answer.
Then it wasn’t the doing of a ghost.
Hai Mingzhu indeed smelled the unpleasant odor of burnt rubber.
She felt somewhat relieved and decided to trust Shen Yue’s professional judgment.
After all, as a modern college-educated woman, she shouldn’t be influenced by feudal superstitions.
As the crackling sound gradually subsided and the room descended into darkness again, Jin Xin reactivated his flashlight.
Suddenly, Hai Mingzhu said, “Can you hear that?” She had just heard the faint sound of music.
Manager Song had been silent all along, but now, he quickly replied, “You heard it too?” His voice slightly trembling.
Xun Jiasheng, who was more preoccupied by the strange occurrences than Manager Song’s emotional state, was suddenly startled by Manager Song’s trembling voice. Sёar?h the N?velFire.nёt website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.
He shivered, “Why wouldn’t we hear it?” At this point, he too could hear the faint music.
Seeing Manager Song’s pallid face and his sweaty, greasy skin, he was startled, took a few steps back, and asked, “What’s the matter with you?
Are you sick?”
Manager Song shook his head, “President Xun, I…
I’m fine.”
Everyone looked at each other, realizing that there was definitely something seriously wrong with Manager Song!
“You’re not possessed by a ghost, are you?” There was something strange in Xun Jiasheng’s voice.
He had finally noticed that there was something off about Manager Song since they had entered the elevator.
Manager Song forced a smile, “No, I just heard a song.
I thought you couldn’t hear it, and that scared me.”
Shen Yue looked thoughtfully at Manager Song, “Did you just hear the song too?”
Manager Song’s body shook slightly, then he replied, “Yes…
yes.
Why?”
Seeing that Shen Yue wanted to move forward, Hai Mingzhu tugged at Shen Yue’s clothes, “Advisor Shen, where are you going?”
“What are you staying here for?” Shen Yue retorted.
“Yes, why am I staying here?” Hai Mingzhu repeated her thoughts and realized that being in a horror movie and watching a horror movie are two very different things.
In horror movies, there are always characters acting foolishly.
Outside the movie, such behaviour may seem incomprehensible to Hai Mingzhu, but now she understood – they were scared senseless.
In situations of fear, people can easily lose their ability to think rationally.
The group continued to move forward in their previous formation – Shen Yue in front, Hai Mingzhu closely behind him and Jin Xin taking up the rear.
The sound of the music became clearer, and they could even faintly hear the sound of singing.
It was a woman’s singing!
Xun Jiasheng’s legs weakened with each step he took.
Suddenly, he quickly moved to the front of the group and spread his arms out to stop everyone.
He shouted, “Stop.
Don’t go any further.”
Everyone stopped.
The singing didn’t cease, its graceful melody echoing all around, had an indescribable sense of thrill.
Shen Yue was still able to calmly look at the somewhat sweating Xun Jiasheng, “What are you trying to do?”
“We can’t go ahead any more.” Xun Jiasheng said hurriedly, “That’s a ghost singing.
This is a place where ghosts dwell.
If we move forward and encounter a ghost, we’ll never make it out of here!”
With the melodious singing, the eerie yells and gusts of chilly wind, Hai Mingzhu felt a wave of cold washing over her.
She chimed in, “Yes, we shouldn’t go there, alright?”
“Why not?” Shen Yue retorted.
Hai Mingzhu muttered, “According to my experience watching horror movies, the people who die first are always the ones who are drawn by curiosity to investigate.
Curiosity killed the cat, can we stop being curious?”
A corner of Shen Yue’s mouth curved into a smile, “Then where do you think we should go now?”
Hai Mingzhu fell silent.
She had no idea.
She suddenly realized that many people are not drawn to ghost encounters out of sheer curiosity.
Rather, when the only way out is to encounter a ghost, they really have no other choice.
Shen Yue turned to Xun Jiasheng and asked, “President Xun, since we arrived on the 13th floor, you’ve been insisting that this floor shouldn’t exist.
Can you tell me how are you so sure?”
Xun Jiasheng stubbornly retorted, “Why should I tell you?”
Shen Yue chuckled, “You don’t have to answer, but you can’t prevent me from going, right?
Please let me through!” Seeing that Xun Jiasheng remained motionless, Jin Xin began popping his knuckles, making a “cracking” sound, “Do you need me to make you move?”
Xun Jiasheng was sweating profusely, his face already distorted.
Realizing he couldn’t stop Shen Yue and Jin Xin, he finally said, “Fine, I’ll tell you the truth.
In fact, we knew that this building was evil long before.
We had investigated the Giant Building and personally verified that there was no 13th floor.”
“How did you confirm?
By taking the elevator?” Shen Yue suddenly became interested.
“No, by walking.
We followed the fire escape stairways.
We proved that there is no 13th floor, the stairs went straight from the 12th to the 14th.”
“So, where are we now?” Hai Mingzhu asked, her teeth chattering.
“We are now on the ‘Ghost Gathering Floor’ of the Giant Building!
It doesn’t exist and is not a place for humans to be in.
Manager Song was one of those who personally proved the nonexistence of the 13th floor during that time.” Xun Jiasheng confirmed.
To prove he wasn’t wrong, he turned to ask Manager Song, but froze in shock.
Somehow, Song had silently moved in front of him, his pale face almost touching Xun Jiasheng’s!