Nightmare Assault

The corridor was too deep and quiet… like it had no ending. They didn’t feel that way when the lady was leading them, but this looked like the typical start of a horror flick. When they turned the last corner, the group reached the end of the corridor.

The left was the female bathroom, and the right… Jiang Cheng saw the rusted, half-ajar door, and a curious expression crossed his brows.

“Here.” Xu Wen raised her chin to point at the male bathroom, “Go in and check.” No one questioned her because everyone smelled the scent of blood. The closer they got to the door, the stronger the scent. In the end, it was Luo Yi who pushed the door open further.

The moment he did that, he jumped back. The bathroom was very dim. None of them entered the bathroom instantly but waited to get used to the dark environment. Slowly, the scene inside the room clarified.

Zhou Taifu, who was forced to the front, slid down to the floor. Zhang Yinyin’s lips paled from fright. Her teeth kept trembling, and she couldn’t say anything.

Long Tao was standing before them with his head slightly raised. His body was frozen and he looked like he had just been hauled out of a blood pool. Like the woman in the qipao, his chin was gone. The exposed gum was ugly and glaring. The broken teeth were chipped in the flesh. They were like maggots wiggling. Fatty felt like the content of his stomach churning around.

There was spray-patterned blood everywhere.

Blood was on the mirror, sink and even the mouldy ceiling… Clearly, the murder happened in an instant. Long Tao’s chip was snapped off. The trace of tearing was visible. One could even see the oesophagus and other broken fragments.

Xu Wen was the first to walk forward. Jiang Cheng followed her. The two were very careful to pick where to put their feet. The sound of the shoes against the pool of blood was slippery and eerie.

The corpse’s arms dangled weakly. Jiang Cheng examined the body and realised the victim’s arm muscles were very tense. There was no sign of struggle, and the scene was well-preserved.

“Doctor.” Fatty said stutteringly, “Look at… his eyes.”

The corpse’s eyes were round, and the brows were raised at an exaggerated angle. The victim must have seen something extremely scary before he died. Even after death, his face displayed an indescribable terror.

“His tongue is missing too,” Xu Wen pulled back her hand and announced in a calm voice. One couldn’t help but wonder if this was a result of her interacting with dead bodies often.

It was normal to die in a nightmare. What they needed to do was to figure out the cause of death and the taboo behind it.

Zhou Taifu, who looked better, said in a hurry, “Why… Why is he in the male bathroom? He should be in the female bathroom.”

“That’s right.” Zhang Yinyin added weakly, “I remember the lady asking him to use the female bathroom.”

Lou Yi scratched his chin and said, “Could it be that Long Tao found something dangerous in the female bathroom, so he went to use the male bathroom?”

“No.” Jiang Cheng looked around. “Long Tao never even entered the female bathroom.”

“What’s your evidence?”

Jiang Cheng glanced at the person lightly and shrugged, “If he really discovered something in the female bathroom, do you think he would be given the chance to escape the female bathroom and enter the male bathroom?”

“Perhaps the ghost purposely chased him from the female bathroom to the male bathroom.” Zhen Jianren smiled snidely, “No one can tell.” Jiang Cheng’s attitude annoyed him.

Jiang Cheng shrugged again. “If our Guardian Angel insists on that, I won’t argue with it.”

“I also think Mr. Hao has a point.” Xu Wen thought about it and continued, “Now, we need to confirm this ghost’s identity and figure out its story.”

Zhou Taifu was visibly shaken. “Are… are you kidding? Why are we looking for the ghost? Can’t we just hide? The mission will end in seven days!”

Lou Yi licked his lips and chuckled, “The nightmare always has some naive people. This is very troubling because naivete can’t hide stupidity.”

Zhou Taifu was angry. “What do you mean?”

“Mr. Zhou Taifu,” Lou Yi turned his cap to the side to reveal the knife wound on his forehead. This changed his presence fully, “Are you sure you can leave this place safely after seven days.”

Zhou Taifu looked at the man who had shed his disguise. The evilness in his eyes was not an act.

At that moment…

“Hmm?” Jiang Cheng knelt down and observed the corner of the bathroom. Hearing that, the group walked over. They followed Jiang Cheng’s gaze and noticed an irregular imprint on the ground. It was hard to discover if one wasn’t paying very close attention.

“What is this?” Fatty asked.

The imprints were near Long Tao’s body. They looked like they were left behind by some kind of animal.

Xu Wen touched the prints. They were still fresh. They were easy to differentiate from the old stains on the ground. “They look like hoof prints.” Xu Wen concluded after a few more observations. “Probably a goat or a ram.”

Fatty widened his eyes. “Are… you saying a goat tore off his chin?”

This was too preposterous.

Xu Wen ignored him. She lowered her head to follow the direction of the prints. She realised that the thing that left behind the prints took some time walking around the bathroom.

The group pushed open the cubicle doors and found some faeces in the fourth cubicle. They were fresh. They should belong to Long Tao.

“He was killed after he just pooped and wanted to leave the cubicle.” Fatty shivered. This was a clear conclusion.

Even though they were prepared, the group became solemn after the second victim appeared.

There were two reasons behind this. One was the strange deaths of the woman in the qipao and Long Tao. Two was that mysterious ram.