Chapter 1 Choosing a Storefront

Just as the security guard was about to walk a few steps to lead the way, a voice suddenly sounded from behind, "Lao Wu." A man holding a blue and white striped bag called out to him from not far outside the door, one of the people from before, "Who do I find to sign the papers later?"

"I can sign," the security guard replied loudly.

The man nodded, slung the bag over his shoulder again, and left.

The security guard was a little embarrassed. He turned his head and hesitated before saying to them, "I still need to sign something in a bit. Can you guys wait for me?"

Looking at the few scattered shops inside, and a cooked food stall owner lying on a deck chair, scrolling through her phone, Hua Luo asked the security guard, "Is it far?"

"Not far, not far, just go straight along here, see the elevator in front?" the security guard said, pointing with his finger. "You can go directly down by elevator."

"Where are the stairs?" Hua Luo continued to ask.

"Stairs?" The security guard paused. Why take the stairs when there's an elevator?

But quickly, he seemed to realize something.

He stared at Hua Luo's throat, where the Adam's apple was very obvious, and the other party's voice was also obviously thicker than that of a normal woman.

Sure enough... The security guard sized Hua Luo up and down, a glint flashing in his eyes. He swallowed, thinking to himself that they were indeed not normal people.

Most of his interest vanished at once, so he didn't try to persuade them any further, but said bluntly, "The stairs are over there, a little further. You can see a row of merchants opposite when you go downstairs." He paused, and continued, "You can choose any of the vacant ones, just write down the number and tell me."

"Okay."

Without much more politeness, the group headed for the stairs. Since entering the nightmare, everyone had developed an unspeakable fear of enclosed spaces like elevators.

And these fears all came from lessons learned in blood.

Before they even entered the stairwell, Jiao Tai Lang, who was walking in front, put down his backpack and took out the 30-centimeter-long broadsword.

"Follow me," he said.

Then Wan Yuanning, Hua Luo, and Yu Lan lined up very obediently behind Jiao Tai Lang, like a mother hen leading a group of chicks.

A moment later, Hua Luo walked out and stood behind Yu Lan, steadying herself.

Biting her lip, Yu Lan couldn't help but feel a little touched. She turned her head and whispered to Hua Luo, "Thank you."

Everyone knew that this place must be related to the ghost's life before death, and it was likely the place where the ghost had worked.

In other words, this place was very likely to encounter strange events.

And according to countless horror movies and novels, the people in the front and the back were the most likely to encounter danger.

Hua Luo nodded, simply saying "Mm," and staring at the steps leading downstairs, her beautiful eyebrows gradually becoming sharp.

But after going downstairs, the scene in front of them made them wonder.

They originally thought it would be a desolate and bleak scene, but what was in front of them could only be described as relatively deserted.

Wan Yuanning looked around, guessing that there must be more than one way in and that there should be other entrances.

Just outside the passage, right next to the door, sat an old woman with her trouser legs tied up.

A cloth bag was discarded by the old woman's feet, and in front of her was a white foam box, covered with a yellowed cotton quilt.

The aroma of corn wafted over.

Yu Lan couldn't help but swallow.

Further inside were two rows of smaller shops. As the security guard said, there were quite a few vacant spaces. At first, there were only a few shops open here and there.

Most of the owners were lazy, and didn't bother to greet customers, only focusing on scrolling through their phones.

Perhaps they were also running online stores at the same time.

They took a quick look. They were mostly small commodities like socks, gloves, underwear, and toothpaste, and there were also a few stores specializing in Korean imports.

Yu Lan picked up a few items and looked at them as she passed by, all brands she had never heard of.

There was also one shop where the owner couldn't be seen at all, with only a cardboard sign hanging on the door that said "Clearance Sale."

The further they went in, the more they could feel the desolation here. There was garbage on the ground, and some sand and building materials left over from renovations were piled together, but no one cleaned them up.

They continued to push forward. The lights here were not as bright as before, giving people a dim feeling.

Fortunately, they had the foresight to buy six flashlights from a stall they had passed earlier.

One for each person, with two spares.

Jiao Tai Lang also suggested that they buy a watermelon knife each for self-defense, but looking at Jiao Tai Lang's ferocious look when he said this, everyone thought it was better to pass.

With him alone holding a knife, everyone felt safe enough.

Wan Yuanning, who was walking behind him, deliberately lagged behind him by two positions, apparently worried that Jiao Tai Lang would injure herself when swinging the knife.

So the scene became very bizarre, with Jiao Tai Lang staring at the road, and the rest of them staring at the large knife in his hand that was flashing with a snow-white light.

"Are we there yet?" Yu Lan asked softly. She looked nervous, and her eyes began to dart around.

They had already passed a dozen shops, all of which were empty, leaving only some dirty glass counters and scattered merchandise and garbage on the ground.

But the most uncomfortable thing was the window mannequins piled in the corners, covered in plastic sheets of unknown colors.

They were posed in various strange poses, and looked very eerie in the dim light.

It was as if they could come to life in the next second.

Turning a corner, Jiao Tai Lang, who was at the front, stopped and said, "We're here."

Everyone immediately looked over. One shop was open, with a string of small colored lights hanging above it. The colored lights spelled out the words "Sunshine Story."

Flashing on and off, giving people a very cheap feeling.

They originally thought this would be an abandoned shop, covered in dust and very gloomy, but it seemed okay. At least it was still in business.

After walking over, everyone found that this was a nail salon, with a row of slightly worn-out seats, and a table covered with gold velvet cloth at the entrance.

The table was covered with various nail samples, nail polish, small nail decorations, and so on. The shop was decorated in a lively style, with pink as the main color.

Posters and colorful wallpaper were pasted on the walls.

But... everyone didn't see anyone, and there was no one nearby.

"Swish, swish—"

The sudden sound of water startled everyone. Yu Lan took several steps back, bumped into the table, and would have knocked it over if Wan Yuanning hadn't pulled her back.

"Clang!"

A bottle of bright red nail polish fell to the ground, splashing onto Yu Lan's white shoes. The viscous red liquid slowly flowed along the surface of the shoe, thicker than blood.

In the dim light, it gave people a very eerie feeling.

Then, the curtain, with a color very close to the wallpaper inside, was lifted, and a face covered with fine lines at the corners of the eyes peeked out.