Nightmare Assault

Chapter 357: Yu Lan

“The boss walked over and realised the storage door wasn’t locked. It was left ajar. He opened the door slowly. The ringtone continued to ring.

“He entered carefully. He found Jianyou at the last row of the shelves. She squatted on the ground, facing the wall. The ringtone came from her body.

“At the time, the boss already felt something was wrong. Jianyou was a nice girl. She would never do a prank like that. The boss walked over and called her name, but Jianyou didn’t react. The boss patted her lightly on her shoulder.” At this point, the woman’s face paled. “Jianyou… was dead!” The woman’s breathing raced. “Her eyes were large. Her mouth and nose were stuffed with hair!”

“Wait… hair?” Banana Wolf breathed quickly. He was immediately reminded of the ghost Chu Jiu encountered in Building One. That ghost used hair to attack.

The woman assumed the travellers were scared. She continued carefully, “That’s right. Hair. Jianyou’s face was green from asphyxiation. The boss of the wig store screamed from fright. He was stunned for a long time before he realised he needed to call the police.”

“What happened after that?” Hua Luo asked.

“Later, someone who had a connection at the police station said that the coroner found a lot of hair in Jianyou’s stomach, nostrils, oesophagus, and throat. The hair was bunched into balls. There was no gap at all.” She paused. “She died from the inability to breathe.” The woman huffed. She was trying to escape from the wicked memory, “Tell me. What kind of person would do something like that?”

Normally, this wouldn’t happen so clearly, this was abnormal. It was the ghost’s doing. Plus… the travellers suspected that if something happened to Chu Jiu last night, they would find her in the same state as Song Jianyou. In other words, they were haunted by the same ghost. Jiang Cheng called her the Long Hair Ghost.

“Was there anything out of sorts before this happened to Jianyou?” Wan Xiaoning enquired. Her calmness aided everyone. The manicurist calmed down. After she thought about it, she said, “Now that you mention it, there was something strange.”

“This happened about one week before the incident.” The woman tried to remember, “She came to ask me to borrow money. She wanted a month’s salary in advance. She looked anxious. She kept looking behind her shoulders like someone was after her. I thought she was being followed. I tried to settle her down and went out to check. I didn’t see anyone.”

“Did she say why she needed the money?”

“She did.” The woman nodded and looked at Hua Luo, “She said she needed to move.”

“Move…” Banana Wolf asked hurriedly, “Do you know where she was moving from?”

“Ping An Apartments, Building 2, Room 404,” The woman answered uncertainly, “I think that was it.”

Banana Wolf’s face dropped. It looked like the ghost in his room was Song Jianyou.

“Why did you ask that?” The woman frowned.

“It’s nothing. It’s just…”

The light above their heads went out without warning, sinking the world into darkness. “Fuck!” Banana Wolf cursed. “My flashlight won’t switch on!”

“Mine either!”

“Same!”

“Everyone, calm down! This is just the circuit acting up.” The female boss announced. However, her tone was shaking. “I will… go take a look.” There were some rustlings as the woman moved around. Then, the sound trailed away. Moments later, Wan Xiaoning sounded, “Hmm?”

Then, Hua Luo’s voice came from behind her, “Are you… all here?” His voice was strained, like he had discovered that something was wrong.

“Yu Lan?” Banana Wolf called out.

“Yu Lan?”

A few seconds later, their hearts skipped a beat. Yu Lan was gone.

“Where is she?”

There was no need to answer because something terrible must have happened to her. With her guts, she wouldn’t have left on her own.

“Get closer.” Banana Wolf spoke under his breath. “Back to back.” Soon, the three congregated together. They formed a defensive array. They couldn’t see each other, but they could hear each other's breathing and heartbeats.

“Follow me.” Wan Xiaoning lowered her voice, “We’ll leave this place first.”

“Do you remember the way?” Banana Wolf questioned.

“Yes.” With Wan Xiaoning’s guidance, the group managed to exit the inner room. Thankfully, their flashlights could be used again.

“I plan to visit the wig store.” Wan Xiaoning offered, “There might be clues there.” She looked at the other two. There was an unspoken possibility. Yu Lan might be there too. The female boss had disappeared.

“Okay.” As Wan Xiaoning turned around, Hua Luo and Banana Wolf shared a look. They ambushed Wan Xiaoning easily. When the latter reacted, Banana Wolf’s long blade was already on her neck.

“Who are you?” Hua Luo appeared to have changed into a different person. His eyes were sharp as knives.

Wan Xiaoning froze. Banana Wolf’s blade might accidentally cut her. “What are you doing?” She asked.

“How did you manage to move around when it was so dark?” Banana Wolf demanded, “There were so many tables, chairs and bottles. You didn’t bump into a single one. Why?”

Wan Xiaoning sighed. “It’s because of my eyes. I can see things clearly in the dark.”

Hua Luo aimed his flashlight at Wan Xiaoning’s face. Wan Xiaoning’s pupils narrowed like she was overly stimulated. She pressed her lips and said nothing.

Her retina had a light blue glow, turning her eyes into translucent sapphires. Pretty as they were, they unsettled the other two.

Slowly, Banana Wolf retracted the blade. Hua Luo let go. Wan Xiaoning let go. She was as calm as ever as if the confrontation hadn’t occurred.

“By the way,” Banana Wolf posed the question, “Since you can see the dark, what… did you see earlier?”

Wan Xiaoning’s face was drained of blood.