Chapter 468 – Fear is Contagious

Darkness enveloped the eerie, deathly silent hotel. The deep corridors and tightly shut doors added several layers of terror to the place.

Suspicious dark stains could be seen on the walls and carpets at any moment.

“Whoosh!”

The Smoking Man moved lightly along the corridor, his toes barely touching the ground.

The atmosphere, reminiscent of a horror movie set, had no effect on him.

His heartbeat, breathing, and movements were all adjusted to their optimal state the moment he stepped into the hotel.

At this moment, he was like a shadow in the night—silent and elusive.

A mission… meant substantial rewards.

Especially a mission like this, which would make him the center of attention once completed, was particularly enticing.

All he had to do was find Lucy and coerce her. Not too difficult…

As long as he wasn’t discovered.

“Even Broadsword appeared so blatantly without being noticed. I’m good at hiding, so there’s no way I’ll be detected. No problem at all.”

The Smoking Man thought to himself.

As he swiftly moved along the corridor, his attention remained highly focused.

He lightly pressed his ear against the door and used his highly enhanced hearing to detect if anyone was inside.

Even if there was only one person’s breathing, he could clearly capture it.

Creak—

A sudden soft sound from behind almost scared the Smoking Man out of his wits.

He instinctively pressed himself against the wall and glanced sideways toward the direction of the sound.

“What was that… blown by the wind?”

He slowly pressed against the wall and cautiously approached, then suddenly jumped to the doorway with his gun ready.

No one…

The window was open, and a layer of white gauze was swaying in the wind.

“Scared me to death…”

The Smoking Man wiped a cold sweat from his brow, then suddenly realized something.

How could the wind move such a heavy door…

Swish!

Cold sweat instantly broke out on the Smoking Man’s back. He stared at the door for a moment and suddenly noticed five scratch marks on the door frame.

Deep white marks, with a hint of blood…

“What is this? A bloody handprint?” The Smoking Man tensed up instantly.

“Wait, no, this is fresh wood shavings? Could it be a Zombie? Impossible, how could a Zombie slip past the guards?”

The Smoking Man nervously glanced inside, rolled, and entered the room with his gun ready.

Empty bed, empty Restroom…

There was nothing in the room.

Suddenly, the Smoking Man’s gaze turned toward the window.

“The door was just opened, the scratch marks were just made, and there’s no one inside, so…”

The Smoking Man slowly approached the window with his gun, quickly searching the corners by the window.

He finally turned his gaze to the open window and slowly drew closer.

Suddenly, the Smoking Man jumped up and grabbed the back of his neck: “What the hell!”

At the moment he turned around, he felt a cold breeze blow on his hindbrain, and it seemed like a hand had patted the back of his head.

The sensation was too real, not like an illusion at all.

But the room was still empty…

“Haunted? Hahaha… that’s impossible. Zombies, sure, but ghosts?”

The Smoking Man slowly retreated toward the window…

What he didn’t notice was that in the darkness, a silver thread had already reached his heel…

“Bang!”

He fell heavily onto the bed’s edge, his hindbrain throbbing with pain, his vision darkening, almost causing him to pass out.

“What the hell!”

The Smoking Man quickly grabbed his gun, rolled on the ground, and aimed at the window.

“Whoosh~”

There was nothing but the cold wind blowing through…

Even when he bravely stuck his head out, he saw nothing.

“This is really driving me crazy!”

The Smoking Man cursed inwardly, but his forehead and palms were already drenched in cold sweat.

“Damn it, what’s going on!”

The Smoking Man frantically ran out of the room, took a couple of deep breaths, and calmed himself down.

Despite having been through countless battles, the eerie events just now were so bizarre that he had to restrain his urge to flee immediately.

“Yuanyuan is also here, and the mission hasn’t even started yet…”

The Smoking Man tightened his grip on his gun, feeling slightly more at ease.

As long as he had a gun in hand, he felt much calmer.

“Still, I need to consider the possibility that I’ve been discovered. That Yin Jie wouldn’t even tell me his location, clearly worried that if I got caught, it would ruin the whole plan… Damn it, where’s Yuanyuan!”

The Smoking Man slowly walked down the corridor. Suddenly, a shadow flickered in front of him.

Without thinking, he pulled the trigger, but the bullet hit the wall, missing its target.

Even with the silencer, a faint noise echoed through the corridor.

“Who’s there!”

The Smoking Man tensely approached, the pitch-black staircase ahead seemingly hiding something in the darkness.

He immediately focused all his mental ability on his eyes, significantly enhancing his vision.

Even in this darkness, he could see a bit…

“Could it be that mental ability superhuman? If all these earlier events were his doing… Right, mental ability superhumans are weak in close combat, and I have a gun!”

The Smoking Man felt more confident: “Pretending to be a ghost is a sign of lack of strength…”

After entering the staircase, the Smoking Man’s mindset calmed down considerably.

As he ascended the stairs, a soft woman’s laugh suddenly brushed past behind him.

It was brief but very clear!

It felt as if someone had appeared behind him and then vanished.

He quickly turned around, aiming his gun at the corridor behind him.

The corridor was empty, nothing there…

The Smoking Man quickly turned back to the stairs. Just as he did, a shadow like an old TV image suddenly appeared at the top of the stairs.

The shadow was crawling on the ground, its whole body contorted as if afflicted with severe arthritis, accompanied by a “crack, crack” sound, slowly crawling toward him.

It seemed slow but appeared in front of him in the blink of an eye, changing its posture at an imperceptible speed.

One moment it was crawling on the ground, and the next, it was standing in front of him with its head tilted.

Long black hair, blood-red eyes like those of a Zombie, resembling a Kaleidoscope…

“Ah!”

The Smoking Man let out a short cry, almost instinctively pulling the trigger repeatedly.

The bullets hit the railing, making a crisp sound…

But in front of the Smoking Man, the shadow had already vanished without a trace.

The entire stairwell was empty… only the stairs leading up and down into the pitch-black darkness…

The Smoking Man, drenched in sweat, quickly pressed himself against the wall.

“An illusion? No, he’s not a superhuman who can create illusions! But what was with that arthritis patient just now? Isn’t that the typical B Country female ghost? Once they die, they’re haunted by resentment, resulting in the classic image of a female ghost with severe arthritis…”

He slowly moved along the wall, retreating to the stairwell entrance: “No, no, as a firm materialist, I absolutely won’t be scared…”

“Clang!”

Suddenly, an unseen force snatched the gun from his hand.

Losing his weapon, the Smoking Man was instantly terrified.

But before he could react, a figure appeared in front of him.

It was a neatly dressed Loli, except for her somewhat pale face…

“Ah!”

With a pitch-shifted and elongated scream, the Smoking Man instinctively prepared to use a grappling move.

But he quickly realized this was the girl from Ling Mo’s group, wasn’t it?

So it was all just a trick!

Feeling more confident, the Smoking Man sneered and was about to make his move…

But at that moment, a Red Glimmer suddenly flashed on the Loli’s neck.

With her eyes tightly shut, she asked in a clear voice, “Uncle1, Uncle, do you see my eyes?”

Countless silver threads suddenly emerged from her body, faintly glowing in the darkness…

“Eyes… aren’t they hanging around your neck? Where did all these threads come from, and why are they binding my hands and feet, preventing me from moving?”

The Smoking Man screamed internally, but his body couldn’t move at all.

Footnote:

1. Uncle(叔叔): In Chinese, the term “叔叔” (shūshu) translates to “uncle” in English. However, its usage extends beyond familial relationships and is often used to address older men who are not related by blood. This practice reflects the cultural values of respect and familiarity in Chinese society.