"Since they know there's a ghost upstairs, the Hunter will definitely take a conservative approach and stay far away from it... The Hunter who made it to the nineteenth floor must have regretted it and retreated to a lower floor."

It would be fine if they just fled, but what if the Hunter didn't run away?

Moreover, Ji Bie Li hadn't heard any sounds of panicked fleeing before.

"That person might still be hiding in this building! Just on a lower floor, waiting for me to run downstairs and then catch me..."

No! I absolutely cannot go down!

In a flash, Ji Bie Li found herself in a dilemma.

Upstairs was the ghost, while downstairs was the Hunter's ambush.

Whether she went up or down, both paths seemed deadly.

The only difference lay in the manner of death. Going upstairs might lead to a gruesome one, while falling into the Hunter's hands downstairs might be somewhat more 'comfortable'.

But no matter how 'comfortable' it was, the end result was always death!

"Should I take a gamble? Gamble on whether the Hunter following me has left this building?"

Ji Bie Li took a deep breath, looking at the pitch-black staircase.

She realized she had little time to choose.

The ghost from upstairs could descend at any moment, and the hidden Hunter below could also come up to check at any moment.

Moreover, she had no idea which floor the Hunter was hiding on. It was entirely possible she'd run into that frightening Hunter just by turning a corner.

What to do? What to do?

Ji Bie Li wished she could ask someone for help.

But in this godforsaken place, there was no one to aid her.

The only way to communicate with the outside world was the mobile phone in her hand, provided by the instance.

She thought for a few seconds, then acted decisively. Grabbing her phone, she retreated into the hallway, randomly chose a room, entered, and huddled in a corner to make the call.

Just as Gu Mian rounded the corner of the office building, his phone in his pocket started ringing.

He didn't even have to look; he knew it was Ji Bie Li, as this phone could only communicate with her.

Without thinking too much, he answered the call.

Immediately, a very faint voice came from the other end.

It was so faint that Gu Mian almost thought Ji Bie Li was on her last breath.

But facts proved the player on the line was still very much alive. Whether she would remain so for much longer, however, was uncertain.

On the phone, Ji Bie Li succinctly described her current situation to Gu Mian. It didn't take long—just a dozen seconds or so.

Most people would stutter under such stress, but Ji Bie Li impressively didn't. Instead, she spoke clearly and methodically, allowing Gu Mian to quickly grasp her predicament.

In short, it was: "A silent ghost above, a silent Hunter below." She was asking him which path to death she should choose.

Gu Mian really wanted to offer her a third option, like jumping out a window. Of course, that would only work if she possessed the 'Protagonist Never Dies From a Cliff Fall' ability.

But clearly, Ji Bie Li didn't possess such a miraculous ability.

So Gu Mian sincerely offered his advice: "Go up."

As he spoke, he quickened his pace around the office building. Gu Mian had initially wanted to enter the building to get a look at the ghost on the upper floors, but upon arriving downstairs, he suddenly noticed an amusement center not far behind it.

A tall drop tower stood out, though it was obviously no longer operational for any free-fall descents.

"But going up might lead to encountering the ghost," Ji Bie Li said, taking a deep breath.

"You said the ghost suddenly stopped chasing you. I suspect it halted on a particular floor and is searching. This is the best time to go upstairs. The ghost would never guess you'd return to a floor where you were just being chased."

Ji Bie Li bit her lip. "Yes, that makes sense... But what if I go upstairs just as it finishes searching a floor and starts coming down?"

Gu Mian stroked his chin, not telling Ji Bie Li that ghosts seemed to be able to teleport.

In his experience, if a ghost suddenly stopped its pursuit, it had most likely teleported elsewhere. Which means the ghost might very well no longer be on the upper floors. But that was only a possibility, not a certainty.

As Gu Mian pondered, he said, "Aren't there always more than one staircase in office buildings? At least two."

Ji Bie Li had a flash of understanding. "You're suggesting I take the other staircase?"

"No," Gu Mian corrected. "Go up the same staircase you just came down."

Ji Bie Li was somewhat baffled.

"Since the ghost stopped to search floor by floor, it clearly suspects you're using a diversionary tactic. Moreover, judging from its erratic behavior in the instance, this ghost isn't stupid; it seems to be scheming. An intelligent ghost like that would definitely suspect you might have slipped onto another staircase to continue going down."

Gu Mian paused, then continued, "You're at the staircase you escaped down, right?"

Ji Bie Li nodded and hummed in affirmation, even though she knew he couldn't see her nod.

"That's right," Gu Mian said. "You've been there a while and haven't heard anyone coming down. That strongly suggests the ghost has moved to another staircase. So, you'd best move quickly. It could start searching your floor at any moment."

Ji Bie Li wasted no more time. After thanking him, she hung up.

She looked at the staircase before her, took a deep breath, then quickly started running upwards.

Watching as the other person hung up, Gu Mian put his phone back in his pocket.

Although the ghost had likely left this building, it was still wise to be cautious.

With this thought, he continued toward the Paradise in front of him.

Manjusaka waited for quite a while, but there was still no sign of anyone coming down from above.

Unable to stand the isolation, she slowly pushed the door open and looked outside.

The corridor was incredibly dark. A window at the far end let in a faint glimmer of light, barely enough for her to make out her surroundings.

Gazing at the empty staircase, Manjusaka frowned in confusion, muttering, "This isn't right. Someone should have run down by now. Could that ghost actually be strong enough to have killed both escapees?"

Just as she was muttering to herself, she suddenly heard footsteps on the stairs.

It was coming from above!

She tensed. Could the escapee upstairs have discovered I'm down here? There's a ghost up there! Would the escapee rather face the ghost and die than come down?

Just as Manjusaka pulled out her flashlight, considering whether to give chase, she heard another set of footsteps on the stairs.

This time, the sound was coming from below.

Manjusaka instantly took two steps back, eyeing the staircase in front of her with caution.

There were two people: one climbing the stairs above her, and another climbing from below—this one getting closer and closer!

On high alert, she strained her ears, listening to the sounds from below.

The footsteps from below sounded somewhat hurried, not like the sounds a ghost would make ascending stairs.

Manjusaka frowned, ducking behind the stairwell door to wait for the person below to ascend.

If it's an escapee, that would be perfect...

She silently prayed.

Even if I don't catch the one upstairs, getting this other one wouldn't be a bad trade-off.

Sure enough, the ascending footsteps grew closer. Only when they echoed on her floor did Manjusaka get a clear look at the newcomer.

It was a person, but not one she recognized. All Hunters knew each other by sight; a new face had to be an escapee!

The person furtively climbing the stairs was a young man. They were now very close, and Manjusaka could even see his player nickname.

"Username Already Taken"

It's the escapee I was on the phone with! What a coincidence.

She silently pressed herself behind the door, motionless, waiting for this unfortunate soul to draw nearer before she struck him down!

The escapee was getting closer, almost reaching the landing on her floor.

Manjusaka felt a thrill of excitement.

But at that very moment, she suddenly sensed something amiss behind her head.

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