Fatty glanced at Zi Liang, who was huddled beside him. Don't worry, we're not that close to the door. It'd have to press its eyes right up against the air vent to see us.

Of course, Fatty didn't say this aloud. Instead, he tried to convey it with frantic glances, hoping Zi Liang would understand.

Luckily, Zi Liang had no idea what Fatty was trying to imply. Otherwise, Fatty's terrifying description would surely have scared him.

At this moment, the extremely timid Zi Liang was clutching his phone tightly, listening intently to the sounds outside the restroom door.

The sounds outside progressed very slowly. Zi Liang felt as if they would reach the restroom door any second, yet it also seemed like they were still a considerable distance away... But it's definitely getting closer, he thought.

Regardless, the sound was drawing nearer.

THUMP. THUMP. THUMP.

Slow, dull thumps echoed from outside until, finally, the heartbeats of the two men inside the restroom began to synchronize with that sluggish THUMPING rhythm. As the sound drew nearer, they both heard a noise like hair being dragged across the floor.

That was it—the ghost's hair was dragging on the ground, trailing far behind it. That was the sound its hair was making. Fatty suspected, If Gu Mian were here, he'd probably take the chance to stomp on its hair. Unfortunately, Gu Mian wasn't there, and neither of the two men present had any inclination to step on the female ghost's hair.

The noise was getting closer…

The muffled thumping finally reached the outside of the door. Fatty heard a louder thump than before from outside, followed by an eerie silence. But this peaceful silence didn't last long, as a rustling sound soon followed. It seemed the thing outside was moving its head, drawing closer; it was looking inside.

In their cramped corner, Fatty and Zi Liang huddled tightly together. Fatty sucked in his stomach until it was flat, like a deflated ball that had been pricked by a needle. Unconsciously, both men held their breath, almost feeling a malevolent gaze sweep in from outside the door.

During these silent few seconds, Zi Liang even suspected, We've been seen. Fortunately, the thing outside took no further action. Just as the two were on the verge of suffocating from holding their breath, the THUMPING resumed.

It had left.

Only then did Zi Liang begin to take small, cautious breaths, like a shy young woman. It wasn't until the sound from outside grew more distant, finally disappearing completely, that the two men in the restroom dared to make any noise.

"Did we manage to hide from it?" Zi Liang asked, glancing nervously at the ventilation window under the door; now he could only see the floorboards.

We should be safe... Fatty thought, wiping the sweat from his forehead and also looking towards the air vent. "As long as we don't follow the clichés from horror stories when we leave..."

Zi Liang was all too familiar with horror story clichés: being chased by a ghost, thinking you've escaped, then turning around to find it right behind you. The thought sent chills down his spine. Subconsciously, he pressed himself closer to the wall behind him. Even though the wall was grimy with some unidentifiable substance, this wasn't the time to be picky. With his back still feeling cold, he glanced at his cell phone. The screen still showed the inside of the restroom, but the two small figures on it seemed to have calmed down.

[Wang Panzi]: It looks like it's gone. Let's get out of here, quick.

[Liang'er]: Yeah... but this restroom is filthy. Looks like something happened here. Should we stick around and investigate?

An option then appeared at the bottom of the screen.

[Explore the 'Filthy Restroom'? This exploration will take twenty minutes.]

Fatty glanced at Zi Liang. "Are you planning to explore?"

Zi Liang eyed the phone screen. "Theoretically, yes. But damn, this exploration time is way too long!"

God knows if that damn thing will suddenly come back to search again, he worried.

"Let's get out of this damn place first. That ghost sounded like it went upstairs," Zi Liang suggested, hesitating. He knew full well that choosing to explore might be better than leaving, but twenty minutes was a daunting amount of time.

Fatty clearly wasn't keen on staying in this place for twenty minutes either. He nodded in agreement. "We can explore this damn place properly when the Doctor gets here."

The Doctor... The name echoed in Zi Liang's mind. Perhaps it was Gu Mian's doing, but now, the mere mention of "Doctor" immediately filled Zi Liang's mind with the sound of a chainsaw. He still remembered the crisp snap as his handcuffs were sawn apart. In all the instances he'd experienced—not a few, though not many either—it was the first time he'd ever known handcuffs could be opened like that.

"Alright," Zi Liang said, selecting 'No' on the screen. He then glanced towards the door. "Let's go first..." As he spoke, he put his phone back in his pocket. Zi Liang was still afraid that opening the door would reveal something unexpected, so he remained poised to flee.

Meanwhile, Fatty had already taken a deep breath and reached for the restroom door. Fortunately, the restroom hadn't been used for a long time, so even a deep breath didn't bring any nauseating smell. Zi Liang clutched his pocket tightly, his gaze fixed on Fatty pushing the door.

Then, with a CREAK, Fatty pushed the door open. After cracking the door open, Fatty first peeked outside cautiously. Seeing nothing, he then boldly pushed the door fully open.

The lab was now empty; not a single ghostly shadow remained.

Seeing it was safe, Fatty stepped out. Zi Liang quickly followed. Since the door panel always creaked when moved, he carefully closed it behind him after stepping out.

Fatty rubbed his hands. "Let's check the other door on the first floor to see if it's locked." If both doors were locked, their only choice would be to escape by jumping from a second-floor window. Bashing the door down was out of the question. Who knew how fast the ghost could move? If it heard the noise and instantly appeared on the first floor, they'd be done for.

Fatty spoke as he prepared to leave. Just then, Zi Liang suddenly bent down as if he'd discovered something, staring at the ground with a strange expression.

"What is it?" Fatty, who had just lifted his foot, lowered it again and turned to look at Zi Liang. He saw Zi Liang staring intently at the ground beneath his feet, an utterly baffled expression on his face.

Fatty also bent down, following his gaze, and saw that a bloody footprint had appeared on the ground not far from the restroom door. It was a vibrant red, as if freshly made.

Fatty was certain. This wasn't here when we ran in. And it definitely wasn't left by that female ghost. I remember it moved by thumping its head; there's no way it could have left this.

What is this...? Fatty frowned. Then, he noticed something was wrong with the footprint's direction.

Its toes were pointing towards the restroom!

Fatty, still bent over, instinctively glanced towards the restroom. He saw a face pressed tightly against the air vent, staring fixedly at him.

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