Ning Wei had angered the flight attendants twice, so everyone avoided her. Even those who were assigned the same room number as her were afraid to stand with her.
Ning Wei didn't care. She ambled around the complex as if she were home.
She didn't know what time it was, but after her stroll, no lights were on in the vicinity.
The passengers quickly found Building Four. Opinions were divided on whether to take the stairs or the elevator.
Usually, there were ghosts in the elevator, but the stairs were dark and narrow, and they didn't have the courage to climb them.
When Ning Wei reached the first floor, she saw the group huddled by the elevator entrance, but no one dared to press the button.
She walked past them and pressed the 'up' button.
Perhaps this group had been debating for so long that they were waiting for someone to take the elevator first.
The screen began to count down, from the eleventh floor to the first.
With a "ding," the elevator doors opened.
Ning Wei walked in directly. As she pressed the floor button, she asked the people crowded outside, "Are you sure you're not coming up?"
They looked at each other. The first one to enter was Song Zhi, the one who had been ostracized.
Later, the elevator doors closed automatically, and the elevator slowly ascended. Inside, there were only Song Zhi and Ning Wei.
Ning Wei smiled and said, "They can't possibly stand downstairs all night, can they?"
Song Zhi didn't reply. Instead, he said, "How about we cooperate on this mission?"
Ning Wei glanced at him. "We'll see based on your performance."
This wasn't a direct refusal, and Song Zhi smiled faintly.
Soon, the elevator doors opened again. The two arrived at the tenth floor. This building had two elevators and four units per floor. Ning Wei lived in 1001, and Song Zhi lived in 1002.
Ning Wei fiddled with her key, not forgetting to glance at the elevators. One was stopped at the tenth floor, and the other at the eleventh. It seemed the people downstairs still hadn't decided whether to come up.
After the two of them returned to their rooms, the people downstairs were still deliberating.
The first floor at night had a chilling coolness that made one's spine tingle.
Someone finally couldn't stand it. "They've been up for a long time, and there haven't been any strange noises. Nothing happened, right?"
"Perhaps."
"I don't care anymore. If you want to stand here, keep standing." A middle-aged man pushed aside the people blocking the elevator entrance and pressed the button.
The elevator arrived quickly. The doors opened slowly, and everything inside was normal. Not even a drop of blood could be seen.
The middle-aged man's heart settled. He strode in. As he pressed the floor button, he asked, "Are you sure you're not coming up?"
Ning Wei's question was born out of simple curiosity about how long these people would stand there. The middle-aged man's question, however, clearly indicated his lack of courage and his desire for company.
But he was too embarrassed to say it directly, so he held down the 'door open' button, waiting for someone to get in.
Before the others could make up their minds, the elevator doors closed on their own, but the floor remained the same, still on the first level.
No one knew what had happened. Less than a minute later, screams of agony began to emanate from the elevator.
The sounds were terrifyingly loud. Those standing outside flinched and leaned against the wall like startled birds.
What was even more terrifying came next. After the screams, bright red blood began to flow from the elevator entrance, more and more. Judging by the amount, the middle-aged man inside was in dire straits.
As the blood flowed out, the shoes of those at the front were splashed.
They shouted in terror, "Go back! Go back!"
Those behind dared not move, terrified to death.
At that moment, the elevator doors suddenly opened on their own. Inside was the middle-aged man.
His face was contorted with terror, his pupils dilated to an impossible degree. Both his hands had been torn off, one of them still hanging from the elevator handrail. The three elevator walls were splattered with blood.
No one knew how he had died.
In any case, no one dared to take this elevator anymore.
There was another elevator left. If they didn't take it, they would have to climb the stairs.
The remaining passengers had no choice. They pushed open the door to the stairwell and slowly climbed up together.
They went to the ninth, tenth, and eleventh floors respectively.
There were four other passengers sharing a room number with Ning Wei: three women and one young man.
When they opened their room door, they saw Ning Wei sitting on the sofa. The living room light was off, and she was watching television while eating, as comfortable as could be.
One of the women couldn't stand it. She immediately jumped in front of Ning Wei and snatched the bag of chips from her hand. "Do you know someone just died in the elevator! And you're still in the mood to eat snacks!"
Ning Wei looked at the woman as if she were an idiot, snatched the bag of chips back, and took out a chip to eat in front of her. The crisp sound of the chip was clear.
The woman didn't have the courage to snatch it a second time. She could only shout, "She's crazy! She's crazy!" and went into the room.
Room 1001 had three bedrooms: a master bedroom, a secondary bedroom, and a study.
After the woman entered the master bedroom, the other two women followed. In a blink, only Ning Wei and another young man were left in the living room.
The young man sat down and began to eat snacks from the coffee table.
As he ate, he said, "My name is Fu Chengwei. How about we cooperate on this mission?"
Ning Wei gave the same answer. "It depends on your sincerity."
After she finished, she put down the bag and turned back to the secondary bedroom. Before closing the door, she reminded Fu Chengwei, "Remember to turn off the TV before you sleep."
After she went into her room, Fu Chengwei turned off the TV and went to the study.
The study had only a small bed, which was a bit cramped for a man over six feet tall. He lay on the bed with his body curled up. There was a nightlight by the bed, which he didn't dare to turn off.
Lying on the comfortable bed, covered by a soft duvet, under the dim yellow light, Fu Chengwei was drowsy.
After he fell asleep, the nightlight suddenly turned off, but Fu Chengwei didn't notice.
It wasn't until the next morning that he reached out to turn off the light and looked up to find that it had already been turned off. He even touched the light bulb, which was cool.
This meant the nightlight had been off for a long time, not even a trace of warmth could be felt.
Fu Chengwei was so startled that he fell off the bed with a "thud."
The sound attracted the attention of others. Except for Ning Wei, the three women in the master bedroom rushed to the study and pushed the door open. "What's wrong?"
Fu Chengwei shook his head. "I accidentally fell. This bed is too small."
The three women gave Fu Chengwei an eye roll and swayed their hips as they left.
After they left, Fu Chengwei got up from the floor. Ning Wei also walked to the study door.
Fu Chengwei directly asked her, "Have you come out after going into the secondary bedroom?"