We lingered a little longer near the basement entrance, the air still heavy with what we'd just experienced.
I held the iron chain tightly in one hand, its weight strangely comforting.
It was heavier than it looked. After a moment, I opened my system inventory and stored it inside.
It was my first time using the system's storage function as the weight of iron chain was too much to carry around.
Qin Yan glanced at me. "Strange item. Better keep it safe."
I nodded slightly.
"We still haven't found any clue about the fire," I murmured.
Qin Yan's gaze shifted to the stairway. "Let's get out of here first."
We climbed out of the basement, one step at a time.
The light outside had vanished almost completely. The sky beyond the window was a deep, starless black, and shadows no longer stretched. They had already swallowed the hallway whole.
I took out my phone
The glow from my phone screen felt jarring in the overwhelming dark.
A new message popped up from the screen.
Jiang Che [8:42 PM]: Where are you now?
The message came in with a sharp vibration. Before I could reply, another one arrived, as if his fingers hadn't left the screen.
Jiang Che [8:42 PM]: They're moving. Staff members… something's wrong.
Then came the third one. It was written very quickly and intermittently, as if it was typed in a hurry.
Jiang Che [8:42 PM]: It's not even 10pm. They're already changing...I think they're...
The last message stopped mid-sentence. No punctuation. No follow-up.
Like he'd been interrupted.
We froze.
"Mutated?" I looked at Qin Yan, trying to make sense of the words.
But before he could respond, a sharp noise cut through the silence from the floor below.
Footsteps. Dragging. Uneven. Something scraping along the wooden floor.
Then came the sound of heavy, hoarse breathing.
We crept to the stairwell and peeked over the edge.
They were there.
The "staff members" we'd seen before—at least, what used to be them.
Their bodies became pitch black, as if charred in a fire—
Their mouths hung slightly open, dripping saliva. They muttered constantly, "So hungry… so hungry…"
Their limbs twitched unnaturally and their eyes glazed with a pale, milky film.
One of them tilted its head sharply, as if sensing something.
I stepped back, heart pounding.
"They're heading for the stairs," I said.
Qin Yan took my arm. "Run."
We turned and bolted down the corridor, our footsteps echoing behind us.
Behind us, the first thud hit the bottom of the stairs.