"I'm glad you like it. Let's go back to the room," Li Ye said, extending his hand to help Ning Wei up.
Ning Wei glanced at him curiously, finding him a bit strange tonight. But since Li Ye was still Li Ye, she didn't pry further.
The two returned to their room and immediately went to check the bathroom.
"She's here!" Ning Wei couldn't help but shout.
Li Ye gave a brief glance at the bathroom door and then opened the room door, walking out.
Before long, he returned carrying an axe.
"Starting now?" Ning Wei was quite pleased. She casually crossed one leg, her high heel hanging loosely on her foot, looking both alluring and seductive.
To her surprise, Li Ye completely ignored her current demeanor. He walked directly to the wall with the axe and announced, "I'm starting!"
Ning Wei trotted over, grabbed a stool, sat down, and watched Li Ye roll up his sleeves.
The defined lines of his arms caught Ning Wei's attention, and she was momentarily mesmerized.
Li Ye had already begun with the axe. Although the bead wasn't with him now, his strength remained undiminished.
Within a couple of strikes, the wall crumbled with a crash. Corpses and bricks fell onto the carpet with dull thuds. Although the bodies hadn't been stored inside for too long, the stench was unbearable.
This time, Ning Wei didn't rush to the bathroom to throw up. She was mentally prepared. The moment the wall collapsed, she had already covered her mouth and nose with a towel.
She walked up to Shan Shan's naked corpse and, seeing her right hand clenched into a fist, Ning Wei knew what to do.
She then dropped the towel, allowing the putrid smell to fill her nostrils and overwhelm her senses. Ning Wei took several deep breaths, couldn't hold it in any longer, and rushed to the bathroom to vomit.
Time was limited, so she needed to complete the remaining actions quickly. Having rehearsed it once, her movements were fluid and rapid.
This time, it worked. That familiar sensation washed over her. She lowered the towel and slowly looked up, indeed seeing Shan Shan and countless black threads behind her.
"Li Ye!" Ning Wei shouted his name, fearing he might be left behind. Her two shouts were, the first out of instinct, the second out of worry.
Li Ye had been waiting at the door. Hearing Ning Wei call him, he immediately strode forward and grabbed her wrist.
Black threads instantly ensnared both of them. Just as they were being pulled into the mirror, the room door was burst open by security guards. Their commotion had been so loud, audible from above, below, and even farther rooms, that security had been called.
If it had just been the security guards, it might have been manageable. They were hotel staff, and a few well-placed words could have silenced them. But this time was different. Ning Wei and Li Ye's disturbance had attracted the curiosity of other guests, who had gathered to watch the spectacle.
Their curiosity led to screams, each louder than the last. Four naked female corpses lay on the carpet, amidst a pile of bricks. The stench of decay wafted through the air, silently assaulting everyone watching.
Some immediately vomited, and the sickness spread like a contagion, one after another, until the carpet was littered with vomit. The situation spiraled out of control, forcing them to call the police.
The hotel was naturally the first to be investigated, but under the influence of a high-ranking official, the matter was quietly dropped. So many things happened every day; people would focus on this today, perhaps remember it tomorrow, but within a few days, everyone would be captivated by new issues. Furthermore, the identities of the four corpses were revealed to be prostitutes, and with this label, sympathy for them instantly dwindled.
For a period, the hotel's business suffered significantly. After all, four lives had been lost within its walls, and most guests were hesitant to stay. However, with "Pink Crystal" around, clients were never in short supply.
Meanwhile, Ning Wei, controlled by the black threads, was flung out of the mirror with Li Ye, landing with a thud on the room's carpet. Li Ye fared worse; he had shielded Ning Wei the entire time, acting as a human cushion.
Hearing a muffled groan, Ning Wei quickly scrambled up, "Are you okay?"
Li Ye waved his hand. A man never says he can't! He slowly got up, did a little turn in front of Ning Wei, signaling that he was perfectly fine.
Seeing that he was truly unharmed, Ning Wei returned to the bathroom and sealed Shan Shan within the mirror. This time, she put in a great deal of effort. No matter what happened, as long as she didn't intervene, Shan Shan would be trapped in the mirror forever.
While she was in the bathroom, Li Ye rubbed his chest vigorously several times, wincing. When Ning Wei emerged, he acted as if nothing had happened.
They had now returned to their original room, 4044. Everything in the room was exactly as it had been before they left. Therefore, four corpses still lay on the floor, one of them with its right hand clenched, unmistakably Shan Shan, whom Ning Wei had met once.
Li Ye successfully retrieved the ring and then prepared to search for their other teammates with Ning Wei. However, as they stepped out of the room, they were met by a group of bewildered faces, all familiar. They were their teammates, including Zhu Yilian, who had disappeared earlier, and Tang Tang and others who had vanished later.
"What are you doing here!" both parties exclaimed in surprise.
Subsequently, everyone explained their experiences. First, Zhu Yilian recalled searching for something when she was suddenly taken by an unknown force. Before she could even see where she was taken, she was pushed back into the room. However, there was a time lag, so Ning Wei and the others hadn't noticed their teammate disappearing and reappearing in the room.
Then came Tang Tang and the other two. The reason Tang Tang was able to shout out "negative" was that she had clearly seen they were in the elevator. As darkness descended, she saw the negative second floor on the elevator light up, and she shouted. However, Ning Wei and the others only heard the initial "negative" sound. The rest was lost. She and the other two, like Zhu Yilian, were thrown back into a strange environment within a second. Again, there was a time lag, so no one noticed anyone else.
After Ning Wei and Li Ye were also absorbed by the mirror, the remaining six people finally regrouped. Mei Nan and Song Zhi were prepared to be taken away, but they unexpectedly encountered the four people who had just disappeared at the stairwell. What should have been a joyous reunion turned somber when they remembered Ning Wei and Li Ye's disappearance.