Chapter 13 The Return of Yao Shunyu

　　Noticing Zhu Jie’s unusual behavior, the others quickly spotted the shadow outside the door. Zhang Qizheng gestured for everyone to be quiet, but the shadow outside seemed even more patient than them. After a full ten seconds, the scene they least wanted to see unfolded: the shadow raised a stiff arm and began to knock on the door.

　　The sound of knocking wasn't loud, but perhaps amplified by the environment, each tap instilled fear, as if directly striking their hearts.

　　"Don't be afraid, as long as we don't open the door, whatever is outside can't come in," Tang Qisheng reminded in a low voice. The people in the room were all top performers who had survived multiple missions, so they naturally understood the danger.

　　The knocking seemed only intended to attract the attention of those inside. After a few taps, it stopped. Zhang Qizheng made a bold move. He slowly walked to the door, bent down, and peered out through the crack.

　　But after just one glance, he quickly retreated, not suppressing his inner panic until he was back in the crowd. "It's... it's Yao Shunyu, he's back..."

　　Before the others could react, Jiang Cheng quickly went to the door, mimicking Zhang Qizheng's posture to look outside. Sure enough, in the dim light of the white lanterns outside, he saw Yao Shunyu standing there, pale-faced and filthy, soaked in water, and covered in mud from who knows where.

　　Due to the light, he couldn't see Yao Shunyu's eyes clearly.

　　Zhu Jie and the others also took a look. Everyone's conclusion was surprisingly consistent: this was a ghost. Yao Shunyu, after being killed, had become a ghost and returned to find them.

　　But the longer Jiang Cheng looked, the more he noticed something amiss. The "Yao Shunyu" outside didn't seem quite right. How to put it? He was completely different from the ghosts he remembered, the ones who went to great lengths to trick people into opening the door so they could kill them. This ghost seemed only capable of standing there dumbly, not even trying to coax them. With such a face and such abnormal behavior, only an idiot would fall for it.

　　Jiang Cheng pondered for a long time, then suddenly asked, "Yao Shunyu?"

　　The Yao Shunyu outside immediately nodded upon hearing this, but not swiftly. Instead, it was a series of small, stiff movements.

　　Upon seeing this, Zhu Jie and Tang Qisheng immediately stepped forward. Zhu Jie stood guard vigilantly by Jiang Cheng's side, while the physically strong Tang Qisheng directly blocked between Jiang Cheng and the door, growling, "Don't do anything foolish. The person outside is no longer your friend. Your friend is dead. What's outside... is a ghost!"

　　Tang Qisheng's voice was low, but the warning was clear. Jiang Cheng didn't want to clash with them, so he nodded to show he understood. Tang Qisheng then slowly moved aside, but didn't leave.

　　After a moment of contemplation, Jiang Cheng asked Yao Shunyu outside the door a second question: "You can't talk right now, can you?"

　　Yao Shunyu nodded.

　　"Why? Is it because you're injured, or are there... those things around you?" Giving Yao Shunyu, who couldn't speak, a way to choose, Jiang Cheng continued, "If it's because of your own reasons, nod once. If it's because there are things around you, nod twice."

　　Immediately afterward, Jiang Cheng saw Yao Shunyu nod once. But that wasn't all. Soon, he nodded twice more, though all the movements were somewhat stiff.

　　Zhu Jie, who was also peering out from behind the door, was dumbfounded upon seeing this. "What's going on? He nodded three times."

　　"He really can't speak because of his own reasons, and there really are those ghostly things nearby," Jiang Cheng said, as if he understood. "No wonder he didn't try to ram the door. He's worried that if the door opens, those things will come in with him."

　　"So he's not dead. Those things didn't kill him, but intentionally let him come back, wanting to use him to open the door and wipe us out in one fell swoop?" Zhu Jie exclaimed, shocked.

　　If that was the case, then the Yao Shunyu outside might really be human. But if that were so, then they absolutely couldn't open the door, even if it might lead to Yao Shunyu being killed by those ghostly things hiding in the dark.

　　If they couldn't trick him into opening the door, Yao Shunyu would lose his value, and his death would be terrible.

　　After a moment of silence, Jiang Cheng spoke again, "Yao Shunyu, if I open the door now, can you guarantee you can rush in before those ghostly things do?"

　　Yao Shunyu didn't move anymore. Jiang Cheng guessed that he might not be able to do anything other than nod, so he changed his approach. "If you can, nod once. If you can't, nod twice."

　　This time, Yao Shunyu didn't hesitate and nodded twice decisively.

　　"I understand," Jiang Cheng pursed his lips. "Now I can pretty much confirm that you're the real Yao Shunyu, but I can't open the door for you. If anything goes wrong, everyone will die. I'm sorry."

　　The Yao Shunyu outside nodded gently.

　　"Dawn is coming soon, although..." Jiang Cheng paused halfway through his sentence, then changed his tone, saying firmly, "Hold on. I believe in you. Leave first, don't stay outside the door, or those things will盯死 you (ding si you, fixate on you). Remember, as long as dawn breaks, I'll bring you back."

　　Jiang Cheng couldn't see Yao Shunyu's expression, but this time he didn't move, nor did he leave. Instead, he stared at the door, his gaze seemingly trying to penetrate it and see what was on the other side.

　　This action instantly made Zhu Jie and Tang Qisheng nervous. After all, Jiang Cheng's choice was almost equivalent to sentencing Yao Shunyu to death. No matter what kind of person he was before, when faced with a life-or-death decision, he might turn into a monster. They were worried that Yao Shunyu would lose his mind and do something out of control.

　　Tang Qisheng quietly braced against the door with his body, and Zhu Jie also leaned against the door, ready to face the worst-case scenario.

　　A few seconds later, Jiang Cheng suddenly reacted, pushed Zhu Jie away, and leaned closer to the door crack. "Don't worry, Fatty is back. He's safe."

　　Then, a scene that Tang Qisheng and Zhu Jie never expected occurred. Yao Shunyu, who had been standing stiffly outside the door, nodded, then slowly retreated, until he disappeared into the darkness beyond the reach of the light.

　　After confirming several times that Yao Shunyu had left, Tang Qisheng and Zhu Jie looked at Wang Fugui with slightly horrified eyes. This seemingly simple and honest man was already in tears.

　　Li Bai covered his mouth and pressed down on his shoulder with his other hand, but Li Bai's thin arms were not even as thick as Wang Fugui's wrists. Obviously, Fatty was restraining himself. He knew they couldn't open the door, even if the price was to lose Yao Shunyu forever.

　　Time passed second by second. No one spoke during this time. Everyone endured the torment and fear. But the only thing they could confirm was that it was always quiet outside.

　　Accompanied by a distant cock-a-doodle-doo that seemed to come from nowhere, the darkness of night was finally torn apart, and the sky vaguely revealed a glimmer of dawn.

　　Jiang Cheng and Fatty stood up almost simultaneously. A weak but firm sound of footsteps came from outside the door.