Chapter 14: The Elevator Shaft and the Truth of the 14th Floor

“What… what are you saying?”

“I’m saying your friend was tricked by a ghost.”

Bai Yuliang pulled a sturdy, dark flashlight from his pocket and shone it on the adjacent wall.

“Look closely at the numbers on the wall.”

Qichuan Feng followed the beam of light, her previously bewildered expression instantly changing.

“The 14th floor?! How is that possible? Shouldn’t this be the first floor?”

“No, it’s the 14th floor,” Bai Yuliang affirmed. “It always has been.”

Qichuan Feng was utterly stunned.

“If… if this is the 14th floor, then what was that back door Ogiwara-kun just opened, the one Noriko walked out of…?”

“It was the elevator shaft.”

The flashlight’s beam swung back to where the ‘back door’ had appeared moments ago.

An inexplicable sight unfolded before them: where an open door had been, now stood a solid elevator door. It slid open, revealing an abyssal darkness within.

A putrid, cold wind gusted from the opening, as if it were the gaping maw of a monster, awaiting its next victim.

“Qichuan-san, open your phone now.”

“Eh?”

Qichuan Feng visibly trembled. She had, in fact, felt her phone vibrating moments earlier, signaling new messages. And for this news, she seemed… to have had a premonition.

Her hands shaking, she fumbled for her phone, trying to unlock it, but her fingers refused to obey, missing the wake button several times.

Bai Yuliang simply held his own phone before her. A message starkly appeared on the screen.

[Iwata Noriko, mission failed.]

“No, that’s a lie!”

Qichuan Feng clapped a hand over her mouth in disbelief, tears streaming down her face. Noriko, who had stood beside her perfectly fine just a short while ago, Noriko, with whom she had sought an amulet earlier that day—how could she be…?

Clutching the last shred of hope, she asked, “Hey… commoner… that… mission failed… what does that mean?”

“It means she lost her life, naturally.”

Bai Yuliang directed the flashlight beam to the floor in front of the elevator. A distinct footprint was etched in the thick dust.

The print led directly into the dark elevator shaft, as if walking into the mouth of a beast, to be devoured.

“Noriko walked in that direction just now. She stepped into the elevator shaft and fell. This is the 14th floor; a fall from such a height leaves no chance of survival.”

“Stop talking!” Qichuan Feng’s pupils quivered. “Don’t… don’t say another word…”

“Hmm…”

Seeing Qichuan Feng’s distraught state, Bai Yuliang sighed, pulling a packet of tissues from his pocket and offering it to her.

“While you look beautiful even when crying, it’s probably better to wipe those away.”

“Mm…”

Qichuan Feng hesitated for a few moments, but ultimately accepted his kindness.

“In any case, we need to leave this place now,” Bai Yuliang stated gravely, staring at the deep, dark elevator shaft. “If we don’t go soon, that thing will be coming up.”

Qichuan Feng didn’t quite grasp his words; her mind was more chaotic than ever, reeling from the news of Noriko’s death.

“Thing? What thing?”

“There’s no time to explain for now, Qichuan-san. Just follow me out of here first.”

Seeing the wealthy young lady still dawdling, Bai Yuliang wasted no more words. He simply grabbed her wrist and started to pull her away.

Bai Yuliang had anticipated resistance, even preparing to knock her unconscious and carry her if necessary. Yet, this time, Qichuan Feng was surprisingly quiet—so quiet that as he led her, he could distinctly feel the delicate texture of her slender wrist.

****

Not long after they left, a pale, ghastly arm slowly extended from within the dark, empty elevator shaft.

****

Bai Yuliang, still gripping the wealthy young lady’s hand, descended more than a dozen floors. Just before her strength gave out, they finally reached a particular room.

The room’s exterior appeared no different from a standard dormitory room, but where the room number should have been, a talisman had been pasted. Strange, crooked characters, utterly unreadable to Qichuan Feng, adorned the yellow paper.

“It’s a simple illusion spell, just barely enough to fool the senses of unsavory things,” Bai Yuliang explained, then opened the door.

“Come in. I’ll explain everything slowly.”

“Mm…”

Before entering, Qichuan Feng glanced back. The vast darkness behind them exuded a bone-chilling cold, as if something lurked within.

As Bai Yuliang closed the door, that piercing cold was sealed outside.

“Have a seat first,” Bai Yuliang gestured to the bed opposite. Qichuan Feng nodded, sitting down somewhat stiffly. She hugged her shoulders, hunched over, clearly still reeling from the recent events.

Bai Yuliang lit a white candle, carefully placed it on the table, then sat on the opposite bed. His hands rested on his knees, his back slightly bent, looking utterly exhausted.

They remained in silence for a long time, until Qichuan Feng finally broke it.

“You… you even brought a candle?”

“Yes, because there’s definitely no electricity here. Based on my childhood experiences, if you need light at night, you light a candle.”

“Oh…”

Qichuan Feng was a little surprised, having never experienced a night without electricity. In her memory, candles were only used for birthdays or to honor the deceased.

She looked around the room, then asked, “Um… is it safe here?”

“I’m not certain, but it’s definitely safer than anywhere else in this building.” Bai Yuliang gave her a reassuring look. “I’ve already checked this room; there are no unclean things here, and it’s protected by the talismans outside the door, so you can rest assured.”

“Talisman?”

“Simply put, it’s a kind of artifact from Shenzhou, specifically for dealing with unclean things.”

“Unclean things?”

“You’ve been here this long and still don’t know what you’re up against?” Bai Yuliang said with a slight chuckle. “Qichuan-san, think carefully: why was Asakura Mirai able to speak in the group chat after he died? What was that thing that appeared after Ogiwara Tai died? Why did you and your friends mistake the 14th floor for the 1st floor? Can any of this be explained by anything else?”

Qichuan Feng fell into a deep contemplation. After a long moment, she spoke softly.

“Alright… I remember a quote from Sherlock Holmes: ‘When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth.’ So, what Teacher Matsui said, that the owner of this place is actually… a ghost, right?”

Even as she uttered the word, she found it somewhat absurd. According to the education she had received since birth, ghosts simply did not exist. Everything could be explained by science. But now, she truly felt this was the only explanation.

“Exactly. But I have something even more terrifying to tell you.”

Bai Yuliang suddenly leaned closer, his expression distorted under the flickering candlelight.

“Not only is the thing targeting us a ghost, but Asakura Mirai, Ogiwara Tai, Koda Hikari, and now Iwata Noriko—they are all ghosts!”

Qichuan Feng gasped, as if her throat had been seized.

“Even I might be a ghost.”