Extreme Vigilance

23: Section 23 Abnormal Status 23: Section 23 Abnormal Status Hai Mingzhu was so startled by Manager Song’s shout that she almost felt her heart leap out of her chest, involuntarily stepping back and lightly gripping Shen Yue’s sleeve.

Jin Xin took a slight step forward, positioning himself in front of Shen Yue and Hai Mingzhu, cautiously staring at Manager Song.

He slowly said, “Manager Song, what happened to you?”

The elevator grew quiet for a few seconds.

After shouting, Manager Song seemed to snap out of his daze, and then asked, “What happened?

What did I do just now?”

“You were yelling for a dog to get lost,” Jin Xin replied.

Understanding something, Manager Song immediately looked at Xun Jiasheng, “President Xun, did I yell at you?” By saying this, he unknowingly confirmed Jin Xin’s implication that Xun Jiasheng was a dog.

Hai Mingzhu was scared but found it a bit amusing.

Xun Jiasheng’s face showed displeasure, but looking at the bloodshot eyes of Manager Song, he felt unnerved.

He cleared his throat and said, “It’s okay.

You must be under a lot of work stress and haven’t been sleeping well for a few nights, right?

It’s normal to vent.” Seeing Manager Song’s confused expression, Xun Jiasheng probed, “You…

don’t you remember what just happened?”

Manager Song hesitated.

“I…

just seemed to have spaced out for a moment.

Then…

I felt someone grabbing my shoulder, which scared me, and I reacted…” He immediately looked anxious and said, “President Xun, I didn’t mean to yell at you.

Please don’t blame me.”

“No worries at all.

Why would I?” Xun Jiasheng cursed internally, but outwardly remained calm.

He was not a fool, knowing that even a cornered rabbit will bite, and that the anger of a normally mild person can sometimes be scarier than a butcher.

Why would he blame Manager Song now?

After exchanging a glance with Shen Yue, Jin Xin felt that Manager Song seemed to be hiding something; but seeing that Manager Song did not want to continue, he did not further interrogate.

The elevator room became quiet again.

Hai Mingzhu felt the silence starting to frighten her, and she couldn’t help but seek help from Shen Yue, “Advisor Shen, what should we do now?

We’ve been stuck in the elevator for a long time.”

“The elevator might be broken,” Shen Yue said nonchalantly.

Hai Mingzhu had an idea, “Yeah, the elevator might be broken.

We should just find someone.” Seeing that Manager Song was by the elevator buttons, Hai Mingzhu politely said, “Manager Song, could you help me…” Seeing that Manager Song lowered his head again like a corpse, seemingly lost in thought, Hai Mingzhu simply said: “I’ll just press the emergency button myself.”

She reached out to press the emergency button and swiftly retreated back to Shen Yue’s side, still harboring doubts about the eerie Manager Song.

Observing Hai Mingzhu’s actions, Jin Xin secretly thought to himself that among all the people here, the person Hai Mingzhu trusted the most was undoubtedly Shen Yue.

Her trust in Shen Yue was perplexing, considering that she and Shen Yue were not even familiar with each other.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, a sound came from the elevator’s intercom, and Hai Mingzhu shouted, “Hello, we’re trapped in the elevator, can you come and fix it, please?”

The intercom emitted a sudden harsh “crackling” sound and then fell silent again.

Stunned, Hai Mingzhu queried, “What’s going on?”

No one was able to answer her.

Jin Xin stepped forward and pressed the emergency button again, but to no avail.

The intercom initially played connecting sounds, then emitted the same noises as before, and eventually shut off.

After three attempts, Jin Xin gave up and said with resignation, “I guess the elevator is broken, and the person in the control room is probably busy.”

“That’s likely the case.” Hai Mingzhu nodded repeatedly.

“Let’s try again later.

This is a big company, even if the maintenance personnel have a stomach upset, they wouldn’t be indisposed for an entire night, right?” Although she felt something was strange, Hai Mingzhu chose to believe Jin Xin’s explanation.

“President Jin, stop deceiving this young lady,” Xun Jiasheng suddenly sneered.

Jin Xin coldly glared at Xun Jiasheng, “What?

Are you about to spin another ghost tale again?”

Xun Jiasheng huffed coldly, “You don’t need to pretend to be calm; I know you’re also frightened inside.”

Jin Xin calmly retorted: “You’re quite perceptive, you’ve seen right through me?”

Shen Yue, not wishing to partake in the bickering, suddenly took out his phone.

His phone looked as bulky as half a brick.

Seeing this, Hai Mingzhu had a sudden realization and smacked her forehead.

“I’m such a fool, we can call for help on our phones.” She immediately took action and quickly pulled out her own phone, only to be taken aback by the signal.

There was no signal on her phone at all.

“What kind of multinational company is this that mobile signal doesn’t even cover the elevator?” While grumbling, Hai Mingzhu looked at Shen Yue with hope, “Advisor Shen, your phone is so…

unique, does it have a signal?”

She knew some old-fashioned phones looked clunky but actually had better signal reception capability than smartphones.

Shen Yue remained silent, merely lifting a finger to flip open the bottom of his phone.

Hai Mingzhu nearly overcame her fears long enough to chuckle, “Not only is your phone unique, but it’s also quite advanced.

It opens up like a flip phone.” She was obviously teasing him, as flip phones, though popular many years ago, were relatively obsolete now.

Her playful smile faded, replaced by a look of doubt, “Is this…

a mobile phone?”

When Shen Yue flipped open the phone, instead of revealing a button for making calls, it exposed a piece of metal that looked like a compass.

It was engraved with many circles and faint inscriptions on it.

Hai Mingzhu leaned forward to take a closer look and murmur, “This…

looks like a compass?”

Being a modern person, she had some knowledge of ancient times, and as soon as she saw the eight words engraved within the inner circle of the metal disk: Qian, Kun, Kan, Li, Xun, Zhen, Gen, Dui, she recognized them as the symbols of the “Book of Changes.”

Xun Jiasheng caught a glimpse and scoffed, “Jin Xin, you are stubborn, but you believe in ghosts too, don’t you?

Otherwise, your advisor wouldn’t carry a compass with him.

Your advisor doesn’t seem very proficient.

A compass is used for feng shui, but can it also be used for ghost hunting?

Let me give you a tip; you should carry a crucifix!

Western ghosts believe in crosses, and eastern ghosts are afraid of talismans.” He spoke confidently, apparently having investigated the subject of supernatural entities.

Jin Xin, surprisingly, didn’t retort.

Shen Yue laid his phone flat in his hand.

The compass needle in the middle of his phone’s compass was not pointing south, but was spinning erratically.

Watching this, Hai Mingzhu felt increasingly nervous.

“Isn’t that a compass needle?” Aren’t compass needles supposed to stabilize after identifying the north and south direction?

Why is this one spinning like a gyroscope?

After a while, the needle finally pointed forward, directly towards the direction of the elevator door.

Shen Yue frowned and seemed to be contemplating something, after closing his phone.

“Did you find anything, master?” Xun Jiasheng’s question was dripped with sarcasm, but it also carried a hint of expectation.

Even though he loathed Jin Xin, there was no reason to joke with his own safety at this moment.

Before Shen Yue could answer, the elevator “dinged,” and astonishingly, it opened.

Everyone was a bit surprised.

Xun Jiasheng, not wanting to spend another second in the ghoulish elevator, moved to step out.

But as he was about to do so, he immediately retracted his foot, his face filled with horror.

Hai Mingzhu’s body trembled.

The elevator door opened to reveal another elevator directly in front of them, contrary to the expected hallway or lobby layout.

This unexpected sight left everyone stunned.