Xu Hui slowly entered the room. The layout of this suite was identical to the one where they had encountered the zombie earlier; a short corridor led to one room on either side.

As he reached the end of the corridor, he couldn't help but glance back. He saw Kuang Feifan standing not far from the main door. When Kuang Feifan noticed him looking, he gave a slight nod.

Xu Hui pursed his lips and turned to look at the room on the left. Since his flashlight had been dropped during the earlier close call on the balcony, he could only make out the interior by the ambient light filtering in from outside.

Looking in from the corridor, the room was empty inside—nothing remained except walls stained with years of grime and a concrete floor dusted with filth.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, facing this room, the hair on the back of Xu Hui’s neck prickled, and a hollow feeling bloomed in his chest.

He took a deep breath, reminding himself that Kuang Feifan was just outside, not far away, and stepped into the room.

The moment both his feet crossed the threshold, his vision seemed to flicker momentarily, a brief blur washing over his sight. He quickly raised a hand to rub his eyes. When his vision cleared, the scene inside the room had drastically changed.

The light from the window was gone. In its place, in the corner diagonally opposite the door, an inexplicable source of light illuminated that spot—a ghastly, pallid, eerie green glow that made the hairs on his arms stand on end. Even more chilling was the addition of a bed in that corner: a dilapidated steel-framed cot.

Bathed in the sickly green light, Xu Hui clearly saw that a threadbare, color-faded quilt was spread upon it, and curled up on the bedding was a person.

An old woman, clad in black top and trousers, barefoot, so emaciated she was nothing but skin and bones.

The sight startled Xu Hui immediately. Kuang Feifan had mentioned earlier that the entity causing trouble was an old woman, and this was very likely her. The puzzle was that there had been no bed or person there when he first stepped in.

Xu Hui’s heart clenched, and he wanted to retreat, but his feet suddenly refused to move.

He looked again at the old woman. She was lying on her side, facing Xu Hui near the doorway, with a sharp chin, thin lips, and her eyes tightly shut on a face riddled with wrinkles.

After a long moment, seeing that the old woman showed no sign of stirring, Xu Hui decisively spun around, preparing to bolt out of the room.

Unexpectedly, just as he turned, he saw with horror that outside the door, not far from where he’d been, the old woman was floating just above the ground, staring at him with a pair of jet-black eyes, cold and hostile.

Xu Hui turned back in stark terror to look at the corner; the ghastly green light and the broken cot had vanished without a trace.

“Hss… Hah…”

The old woman suddenly opened her toothless mouth, stretching it far beyond the limits of human anatomy. Her darkened throat seemed capable of swallowing Xu Hui’s head in one gulp.

Xu Hui found it impossible to comprehend how an old woman whose lips were so withered as to be almost invisible could contort her mouth so wide. Overwhelmed by terror, he instinctively stepped backward, trying to pull away from the approaching head.

However, as he retreated, the old woman drifted slowly toward him, her mouth agape and her head tilted.

Furthermore, her hands, which had been hanging by her sides, slowly began to rise, and on her deathly pale, withered fingers, black, hook-like nails gradually extended.

The room wasn't large. Xu Hui shuffled backward until he was almost at the window. With nothing else available, he truly had no idea how to deal with this terrifying old woman.

At this moment, Xu Hui’s heart felt like it was being twisted, every nerve taut, and he swallowed nervously again and again.

Suddenly, the old woman’s forward momentum hitched, then her body convulsed. In the blink of an eye, she vanished completely before Xu Hui’s eyes.

The abrupt disappearance caused Xu Hui to cry out involuntarily. Only then did he realize Kuang Feifan was standing nearby, clenching his fist, looking slightly stunned.

The two stared at each other for a long moment, then simultaneously let out a breath of relief.

“Did you… hit her?” Xu Hui managed to ask.

Kuang Feifan shook his head.

“Damn, looks like she got away,” Xu Hui muttered dejectedly, surveying the surroundings.

Kuang Feifan remained silent for a moment. He dared not admit that when he saw Xu Hui’s figure disappear near the doorway, he had quietly followed, only to find himself paralyzed in the corridor as if struck by a spell, unable to move an inch. He eventually had to spit a mouthful of tongue blood onto his prayer beads to break the unnatural trance. Even so, he arrived late after entering the room; before he could prepare to strike the old woman with the beads, she had vanished before him.

Still, it was a relief that he managed to get in when he did; if he had been any later, Xu Hui might well have been forced to jump out of the window.

The two sighed in unison, and then froze simultaneously.

As their sighs faded, a voice echoed from somewhere inside the room—a faint, barely audible sigh.

Their four eyes frantically searched the interior, but they saw nothing, only a silence as profound as death.

Did they mishear?

This feeling of suspicion and doubt was not the first time, and they managed a wry, self-mocking smile.

As if to confirm their growing unease, a faint, ethereal sigh sounded again within the room.

Kuang Feifan couldn't help but frown.

Xu Hui immediately recounted what he had witnessed: the bed appearing in the corner and the old woman lying upon it. He concluded, “I don’t think this one is the same type as the one we met in the small building…”

“Uh…” Kuang Feifan paused, initially failing to grasp his meaning. He looked at Xu Hui, then nodded slowly, following his line of thought: “You mean, this old woman was a native resident of this building?”

Xu Hui shrugged. “Such a thin, withered old woman—she was very likely an empty-nester who died alone in her room. It’s not surprising she might have turned into… that thing.”

Despite their bold speculation, they had no opportunity for careful verification. This fleeting old woman didn't seem inclined to converse with them, and perhaps she had grown fearful of Kuang Feifan, vanishing as soon as she sensed his presence.

Xu Hui had completely shaken off the terror he felt moments ago. He walked to the doorway, gazing across the corridor at the other small room, and let out a long breath. “Are we trapped on this floor then?”

Kuang Feifan frowned, his heart trembling slightly, and quickly fumbled for his mobile phone in his pocket.

Xu Hui glanced at him and mumbled listlessly, “No signal.”

Kuang Feifan smiled faintly. Instead of attempting a call, he navigated into the stored data on his phone and began scrolling through it carefully. After a moment, a look of delight crossed his face, and he whispered, “Got it… Let’s hope this works…”