Manjusaka huddled tightly inside a room, attentively listening to the sounds outside the door.

Not long ago, she had encountered Nine Lives, a fellow Hunter.

A Survivor connected to Nine Lives, known as "Safe Life 658," told Nine Lives that two other Survivors were being stalked by a ghost in an office building, hoping that he could alert them through another Hunter.

During their phone conversation, Nine Lives was on his way to Dajiale Supermarket. He had already guessed that the game of hide-and-seek might restrict the ghost, so his concerns were now centered on how to limit the ghost's power. The matter of capturing Survivors had been pushed to the back of his mind.

Naturally, he would not take the trouble to notify other Hunters to help pass messages. Even if all the Survivors within this instance ended up wiped out, it wouldn't be his problem. That's why Nine Lives completely disregarded this situation.

Although he had no plans to involve himself in the Survivors' affairs, coincidentally, Nine Lives ran into Manjusaka, who happened to be alone.

There was no harm in telling her about the situation, so Nine Lives casually relayed the news to Manjusaka without a second thought.

However, the Survivor connected with Manjusaka was a player named "This nickname is already taken," and was not one of the two being stalked.

Although she was unable to inform those two Survivors being followed by the ghost, she had a different idea in mind.

"I came here in such a hurry because I wanted to pick up some scraps... even if the ghost attacks, at least one Survivor should escape, right? If they escape, they'll definitely run downstairs," Manjusaka mumbled to herself, hiding in front of a room by the fifteenth-floor stairwell landing. "But why hasn't there been any movement upstairs after all this time?"

She had originally made it up to the nineteenth floor, but for safety, she descended several floors and finally chose to hide on the fifteenth floor.

She was hiding here to block any Survivors running downstairs.

There are two Survivors. If the ghost goes after one of them, the other Survivor should be able to escape. This is a golden opportunity. The ghost, busy chasing other Survivors, surely won't have time to bother with me. As long as I hide here, I have a great chance of catching my prey! Fortune favors the bold. Nobody would expect a Hunter to pursue Survivors while under threat from the ghost.

Manjusaka waited quietly. Could it be that the ghost already attacked the two Survivors while I was on my way here? No, I was fast enough... I even used a special item to get here quickly. That ghost shouldn't have made its move yet. I'll wait a bit longer...

While contemplating, she moved her head in the dark, bringing her ear a little closer to the door.

Sure enough, she did not wait long before the sound of hurried steps descending the stairs broke the silence.

Manjusaka perked up her ears, listening carefully to the commotion outside.

Ji Bie Li strained her ears, listening to the sounds above. There seemed to be no activity up there anymore. This meant whatever was there before hadn't followed her.

She heaved a sigh of relief and crouched slightly behind the door.

Good thing I ran fast...

As she thought this, her mind raced.

The Doctor who had just contacted her said a Hunter was following her.

I've run down so many floors now, why haven't I encountered the Hunter stalking me? Could the Doctor who just called have been lying? No, that's unlikely. If he were lying, he couldn't have guessed my floor so precisely. Wait, what floor am I on now?

Ji Bie Li peeked out to look at the sticker on the adjacent wall: sixteenth floor.

The sixteenth floor, huh... she thought, pulling her head back. I've only run down seven floors and I'm already exhausted. It must be because climbing the stairs earlier took so much energy... But why hasn't the Hunter the Doctor mentioned shown up yet?

Ji Bie Li remembered the person who had called her saying the Hunter had reached the nineteenth floor. But now she had descended to the sixteenth floor, yet that Hunter was nowhere in sight.

She quietly held her breath, listening to the sounds outside.

If that Hunter is still around, they should have reached above the nineteenth floor by now, right? There were still no signs of activity from above. And it's impossible that the ghost got rid of the Hunter; I speculated earlier that the ghost can't hurt Hunters. Why haven't I encountered anyone? It's strange.

Ji Bie Li had rested enough. She crept out from behind the door. "Leaving that Hunter aside for now," she muttered to herself, "the ghost upstairs could come down anytime. I need to get out of this godforsaken place..."

Murmuring to herself, she made her way towards the staircase.

But just as she took her first step, she suddenly felt that something was wrong.

I made such a commotion just now. If there's a Hunter nearby, they'd definitely follow the sound. But so far, I haven't heard anyone else moving. I made so much noise, and the Hunter didn't appear... That means... she's intentionally hidden herself! Why would she hide deliberately? A Hunter wouldn't fear Survivors or other Hunters; their only fear is the ghost. This means the Hunter following me knows there's a ghost in this building!

In an instant, Ji Bie Li realized why she hadn't encountered the Hunter following her, even after descending so many floors.

She looked at the pitch-black staircase in front of her. It was as if, in that moment, the staircase no longer led to another floor, but to the gates of hell itself.

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