Nightmare Assault

“I don’t quite understand,” the suited man said gently. “Is there anything unusual going to happen after dark?” The woman turned around and regarded him with a strange gaze. The man didn’t avoid her gaze. He smiled at her until she moved her eyes away. Then, she turned and left. She didn’t say anything.

The middle-aged man with the tank top wanted to rush after her to ask for more details, but the woman turned around the corner and disappeared like a ghost.

“Where… did she go?” The middle-aged man asked in a trembling voice. He couldn’t understand this world at all.

“If you want to know, you can keep on chasing after her.” The young man in the cap said through the chewing of his gum. He shrugged at the man. “Perhaps she’ll bring you with her.”

The middle-aged man could sense everyone’s dissatisfaction with him, so he stopped talking and stayed with the group.

The deeper they went into the hostel, the clearer the strange feeling. The creepiness surrounded them. It was like there were pairs of red eyes staring at them from the dark. The damp air assaulted them. The smell of mildew was mixed with an unknown substance.

Since the corridor was littered with trash, they had to move things around. The hostel building looked unpresentable. There were black moulds and yellow stains on the walls everywhere. Strange material scabbed on the ground. The place looked deserted.

“Doctor.” Fatty frowned as he moved over. He wanted to say something but was stopped by Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng took a big step forward to move away from Fatty.

The girl with the pyjama stayed in the middle of the group. Her eyes were red as she rubbed her shoulders and whispered, “This place feels… wrong, like something bad has happened here.”

The young man touched his cap and scoffed, “Isn’t that a given? Why else would this place be abandoned otherwise?”

“What could have happened here?” The middle-aged man shivered.

The young man grinned with disdain and then purposely said in a creepy tone, “Maybe someone has died here.” Hearing that, a few people in the group trembled visibly. The girl in the pyjama started to cry. However, she tried her best to keep her crying to a minimum, afraid that it might attract the wrong attention.

Regardless, this was not the real world, and no one was brimming with pity. Or rather, those who showed pity had already died in the missions. Even the suited man couldn’t help but show a trace of disdain. However, he quickly wiped that emotion off his face. Jiang Cheng captured this detail.

“Brother in the suit!” Jiang Cheng shouted.

The man turned around in confusion, “What is it?”

“I think you’re a good man.” Jiang Cheng said sincerely. “I think our chance of surviving is much higher with you in our team. You’re so nice and so willing to help others.”

The suited man was startled. He thought about it and couldn’t understand why Jiang Cheng would suddenly say that. However, he enjoyed the compliment because it helped build his persona.

“It’s nothing.” The suited man lifted his chin and smiled. His hair was well-combed. “It’s not easy for us to meet. I’ll do my best to lead everyone out of here safely.”

This was Fatty’s first time hearing Jiang Cheng praise someone. Instantly, a bad feeling entered his heart.

“Well said,” Jiang Cheng gasped before turning to the newbies like the girl and the middle-aged man, “This brother has stated his stance. Why don’t you hurry up and stick with him? He’ll protect you. He’s our guardian angel!”

The suited man, “???”

Fatty, “...Why does this feel so familiar?”

Almost instantly, a group of people rushed to the suited man’s side. The girl looked weak, but she was the first to reach the suited man and grab his left arm. The other newbie young man was slower and grabbed his right arm. The middle-aged man was slower to react because of his age. When he reached the suited man, he could only extend his arm to grab the man’s collar.

Just like that, the suited man was pushed to the front of the team. He couldn’t reject them even if he wanted to. To make matters worse, he had to comfort these people in his gentle tone.

Eventually, they reached the fourth floor. The suited man finally got rid of the people suffocating, using the excuse that he needed to get the key. His face was red because those people sucked the oxygen out of him and because of Jiang Cheng. At that moment, Jiang Cheng looked at him with the deepest admiration.

“Okay.” The suited man began, “Since everyone trusts me, I’ll divide up the rooms.”

The woman in the qipao and the girl in the pyjama stayed in Room 407. The two newbies, the young man and the middle-aged man with the tank top and a woman with dark skin, stayed in Room 406. The suited man and the young man with the cap stayed in Room 405.

The suited man’s smile brightened when he saw Jiang Cheng. “Brother, I sense that you already knew this large brother beside you before this. In that case, you two can stay in Room 404.”

4 was a taboo number.

Undeniably, this was the suited man’s revenge.

Fatty was about to reject it when Jiang Cheng tapped his shoulders and said in an easy tone, “Okay. We’ll follow the guardian angel’s arrangement.”

The suited man could hear the sarcasm, but he had to act like he didn’t care. Even Fatty felt sorry for him.

It was clear that not everyone was satisfied with the room arrangement, but the day was darkening. No matter what, they had no choice but to return to their rooms. After all, being inside a room was safer than staying out.

Fatty received the key and opened the door. Even though he was mentally prepared, when he walked into the room, he was still stunned.