Chapter 01: The Female Ghost

Mo Mingzhi waited for a moment, but the girl showed no intention of coming out. Mo Mingzhi felt a bit puzzled; this building did not have any underground parking or similar facilities, and the first floor was already the lowest level. Why wasn't the girl coming out? "Are you going up? I just pressed the wrong button," the girl seemed to sense Mo Mingzhi's doubts and smiled slightly at her.

Struggling, at this moment, she did not know what else she could do besides struggle. Suddenly, Mo Mingzhi remembered the scriptures her grandmother recited in front of the Guanyin statue every night before going to bed. That should be useful, right? Mo Mingzhi gritted her teeth and began to recite from memory: "Avalokiteshvara Bodhisattva, when practicing deep prajna paramita, perceives that all five aggregates are empty, thus transcending all suffering. Shariputra, form is not different from emptiness, emptiness is not different from form; form is precisely emptiness, emptiness is precisely form ..."

In such a large company, the bustling atmosphere during the day becomes increasingly eerily quiet at night. Mo Mingzhi hurriedly walked to the elevator door and pressed the button. The display light on the elevator indicated that it was slowly descending from the 14th floor. Mo Mingzhi anxiously glanced at her watch; it was 9:32. No matter how she rushed home, it would be past 10 o'clock. It seemed that staying up late was unavoidable today

Anxiety is a very unpleasant feeling, akin to a peculiar little beast jumping up and down in your heart. This brief moment feels more distressing than an entire hour usually does. When the elevator finally stopped on the 19th floor, Mo Mingzhi cast a wary glance at the girl, who merely smiled at her and walked slowly out of the elevator. Mo Mingzhi followed her at a leisurely pace.

The sound of shoes clicking on the marble floor echoed sharply in the quiet corridor, making Mo Mingzhi feel uneasy. She sighed, originally planning to take that document home to work on, but she had forgotten it. That document was extremely important; it had to be completed by tomorrow, otherwise, she would not be able to pass her internship.

Suddenly, a hand grasped Mo Mingzhi's hand, slender and icy cold, causing her to feel goosebumps all over her body. She hesitantly turned her head back and saw the girl with a gloomy expression gripping her wrist. "Since you are here, it would be best to have a check-up before you leave." A strange smile appeared on her face.

I...墨茗芷 swallowed hard, involuntarily taking a step back. The girl's expression gradually changed, becoming somber and grave. Run, run! A voice in墨茗芷's heart screamed frantically. She took two steps back and turned to press the elevator button, but when she looked back, she found that there was no elevator behind her, only a large door. Beyond the door was an endless expanse of darkness.

"Oh, I am just like you," the girl continued to smile, but Mo Mingzhi felt a slight chill running down her spine. On the 19th floor, there was only her department, but... ? Although Mo Mingzhi had not been at the company for long, her memory was quite good. She was certain she had never seen this girl before. What could she possibly be doing here so late?

"Miss." The sudden shout from behind startled Mo Mingzhi, and she turned around to see the old security guard from the guardhouse. "You must be the new one..." The old guard's eyes flickered slightly, "Unless there is something particularly important, it is best not to go up at night. It is not safe to go up alone at such a late hour."

So it is... The stone in Mo Mingzhi's heart has finally been set down. To be honest, being alone in the company at this late hour is quite frightening. Now that there is someone accompanying me, it feels much better. As they entered the elevator, Mo Mingzhi couldn't help but scrutinize the girl. After all, the company had long since closed; was this girl really going to the upper floors? What could she possibly want up there? There shouldn't be anyone else on those upper floors, right? While pondering this, Mo Mingzhi reached out and pressed the button for "19." Whether it was an illusion or something else, she seemed to see that she had pressed "91" instead. "Which floor are you going to?" Mo Mingzhi turned around and politely inquired of the girl.

With the sound of a prompt, the elevator doors slowly opened. Mo Mingzhi was about to step into the elevator when she noticed that there was someone inside. It was a girl who appeared to be under twenty, looking quite adorable. She wore a white blouse with lace trim on the top and a white skirt with yellow flowers on the bottom, giving off an air of elegance and simplicity. Upon seeing Mo Mingzhi, the girl offered her a faint smile, one that was imbued with a sense of professionalism. She wore a white blouse with lace trim on the top and a white skirt with yellow flowers on the bottom, giving off an air of elegance and simplicity. Upon seeing Mo Mingzhi, the girl offered her a faint smile, one that was imbued with a sense of professionalism.

The corpses, moving with stiff steps, slowly approached Mo Mingzhi, while the female ghost gripping Mo Mingzhi's wrist kept repeating, "You should still check, it won't do you any harm..." I can only fight back! Mo Mingzhi silently recited in her heart, gripping the thumb of the ghostly hand that held her left wrist. "Namo Amitabha!" With the utterance of the Buddha's name, Mo Mingzhi's right hand exerted force, and with a crack, the female ghost's thumb was surprisingly twisted off by her! Without hesitation, Mo Mingzhi lifted her right foot and kicked the female ghost in the abdomen, causing the ghost to stagger back a few steps. Seizing this opportunity, Mo Mingzhi turned to glance at the unknown darkness outside the large door behind her, gritted her silver teeth, and... kicked the door open, charging into the darkness...

Where is this place? Mo Mingzhi felt that her speech was somewhat sluggish, and her throat was persistently dry.

"Thank you, Uncle, but I have something I must finish today." Mo Mingzhi reached up to touch the mask that covered half of her face. Given her circumstances, it was truly not easy for her to find such a job. It didn't matter that she had no diploma and her face was covered in scars; apart from her kind-hearted fourth sister, there probably wouldn't be many people willing to give her a chance. After thanking the security guard, Mo Mingzhi quickened her pace towards the elevator. Given her circumstances, it was truly not easy for her to find such a job. It didn't matter that she had no diploma and her face was covered in scars; apart from her kind-hearted fourth sister, there probably wouldn't be many people willing to give her a chance. After thanking the security guard, Mo Mingzhi quickened her pace towards the elevator

Contrary to what she had imagined, the girl... or rather the female ghost, upon hearing Mo Mingzhi recite the Heart Sutra, did not scream and flee. Instead, her expression turned somewhat unpleasant, her body trembled slightly, and the empty hand was pressed against her ear. Seeing that the chanting was effective, Mo Mingzhi became more urgent in her recitation. The faster she chanted, the more violently the ghost trembled. Just as Mo Mingzhi felt a sense of pride, the ghost suddenly threw her head back and let out a howl. The sound was as piercing as nails scraping against glass, causing Mo Mingzhi to shudder in response. However, she continued to chant even more urgently. The faster she recited, the more the ghost's body shook. Just as Mo Mingzhi felt a sense of pride, the ghost suddenly threw her head back and howled again, the sound as piercing as nails on glass, making Mo Mingzhi shiver. Yet, she soon realized that the ghost's howl was not the most terrifying part—those figures that had been clawing and flailing inside the door seemed to break free from their invisible restraints with the howl, slowly walking out of the room. In the dim light of the corridor, she could see that among those figures were doctors, nurses, and patients. Their eyes were all extremely vacant. Although they did not resemble terrifying zombies, the corpse spots on their hands and faces proclaimed to everyone—they were all dead!

Oh my! Mo Mingzhi was horrified to discover that her standing position was not in the familiar company, but in an unfamiliar environment! The corridor was still a corridor, yet it looked vastly different! The walls on both sides of the corridor were painted a green color that reached halfway up a person, the ceiling lights were nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by hanging light bulbs that cast a dim yellow hue over the lifeless corridor. The air was filled with a mixed scent of medicine and a peculiar tonic. ... The walls on both sides of the corridor were painted a green color that reached halfway up a person, the ceiling lights were nowhere to be seen, replaced instead by hanging light bulbs that cast a dim yellow hue over the lifeless corridor. The air was filled with a mixed scent of medicine and a peculiar tonic. ... This ... this scene looked just like a hospital from an old movie. ... Mo Mingzhi swallowed hard; there was absolutely no such place in this building ... Where ... where am I ...? Her heart raced incessantly, "What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?" The girl accompanying her turned back to look at Mo Mingzhi, who seemed to find everything quite ordinary.

"No, no need, I'm fine, I have no illness, I just took a wrong turn... Let go of me..." Mo Mingzhi began to struggle desperately, but the hand gripping her wrist felt like a cold iron clamp. No matter how hard she struggled, she could not break free.

"You should check it out, it won't do you any harm..." The girl's voice and the illustrations in the book gradually became sharper. Some doors along the corridor swung open, and the light spilling from them was not the dim yellow glow typical of the hallway, but rather a series of faint green beams. In the dim green light, shadows of people could be seen trying to emerge from the rooms. At this moment, Mo Mingzhi's heart was in her throat; with events having escalated to this point, even the dullest person could sense that something was amiss. "What do you want to do! I am not sick at all, I don't need an examination!" Mo Mingzhi's shout abruptly ceased as she noticed several deep brown spots on the girl's hand that was gripping hers—these were... post-mortem lividity! Although Mo Mingzhi had never seen post-mortem lividity before, the term suddenly flashed in her mind. Yes, the girl who inexplicably appeared in the elevator, who was supposed to go to the 19th floor but ended up on the first floor; she realized that the girl gripping her hand had several deep brown spots—post-mortem lividity! Although Mo Mingzhi had never seen post-mortem lividity, the term suddenly flashed in her mind. Yes, the girl who inexplicably appeared in the elevator, who was supposed to go to the 19th floor but ended up on the first floor; and this inexplicably altered space, this should definitely be the 19th floor, the floor where her department is located, yet the scene before her was absolutely not! Mo Mingzhi was not an atheist; her home did not have a television, and her grandmother often told her ghost stories when she couldn't sleep at night. According to her grandmother, a large portion of these stories were based on her own experiences... Could it be...? Had she encountered a ghost herself!? Fear filled Mo Mingzhi's heart; post-mortem lividity... only the dead would have post-mortem lividity! Then, the girl holding her hand was a dead person... or perhaps she was simply a female ghost!?

What place is this? Don't you know since you came here by yourself?" The girl looked at Mo Mingzhi with some curiosity. Mo Mingzhi felt a bit uneasy, as she indeed came here on her own, but... wasn't this supposed to be her company? Why has it turned into such a scene...?