"Elevators are still being used?" Beichuan Si frowned.

Others aren't blind; they can't see a corpse right in front of them.

And aside from the corpse, surely someone must have heard Ookubo Hayato's screams?

The pain of having an iron spike driven into your eyeball is beyond words, right?

But in fact, the corpse was discovered at 2 AM.

During that period, the elevator was still operating normally...

The only possible explanation is—

Beichuan Si narrowed his eyes and said calmly,

"The corpse disappeared from the elevator between midnight and 2 AM."

Gangye Yoshiko shrugged and added,

"More precisely... Ookubo's body disappeared around 8 PM. He first wandered around the stairwell, then returned to the elevator, entered it alone, and at that moment, the surveillance inside the elevator failed. Everything went dark, and we couldn't see anything... The surveillance was restored at midnight, and there was nothing inside the elevator... not even a trace of blood."

"Then, at 2 AM, the surveillance failed again for a moment, and then the body inexplicably appeared in the elevator. After that, the residents here found the body and called the police."

At this point, Gangye Yoshiko's face showed a thought-provoking expression.

No wonder she looked that way.

After all, the coincidence of the surveillance failure and the disappearance of the body was too perfect.

Is there really someone out there who kills people and then goes to the trouble of bringing the body back?

And even if there was such an absurd murderer, how were the bloodstains in the elevator cleaned up?

"The only somewhat reasonable explanation is that the murderer used hallucinogenic or knockout drugs to incapacitate Ookubo Hayato, tampered with the surveillance in advance, moved the unconscious Ookubo out during the time the surveillance failed, and then brought the body back at two o'clock, killing him with an iron spike... But then Ookubo's time of death wouldn't match."

Gangye Yoshiko gestured helplessly with her hands.

How are we supposed to investigate such an absurd murder case, and where should we even start... She really had no clue.

And the manner of Ookubo Hayato's death is so similar to that of Ruyue Nao...

It doesn't feel like a mere coincidence.

Seeing Gangye Yoshiko's expression, a shadow passed through Beichuan Si's eyes.

With the vision of death, Beichuan Si saw something unusual in the elevator.

It was a swirling, dark resentment.

Beichuan Si's eyes flickered, and then he looked at Gangye Yoshiko and said conclusively, "It was that thing that did it."

"Really?" Gangye Yoshiko smacked her lips,

She had felt something was off, and...

It was indeed a vengeful spirit wreaking havoc.

She didn't know what to make of it.

Any case involving Beichuan always seemed to dredge up these bizarre phenomena.

It was as if Beichuan was a high school student haunted by the Death God.

Remembering this, Gangye Yoshiko reached into her pocket, pulled out a box of gum, and dumped several pieces into her mouth, then, as if remembering something, said,

"Oh, there's something else I need to tell you."

"What?"

"The corpse, before dying, had pressed four floor buttons continuously on the elevator's control panel... I don't know what it means, so I thought I'd just tell you, Beichuan."

Chewing her gum, she said slowly, "2, 4, 1, 8, those were the floor buttons pressed."

"2418?" Hearing the number, Beichuan Si frowned.

That number sounded familiar...?

Beichuan Si took out his smartphone, opened his supernatural urban tales homepage, and then looked at a certain private message in his inbox.

'Elevator and the Otherworldly Tales.'

'It is rumored that if you enter an elevator at 8:04 PM and press the floors in the sequence 2418, the elevator will transport you to another world.'

'As for what that world contains, or what has occurred there, that remains unknown. Because from the moment you step into that world, you are completely cut off from this one, and what awaits you might be an ending corroded by unknown fears.'

"Elevator and otherworldly ghost stories..." Beichuan Si muttered to himself.

Not only concerning this ghost story, the more important thing was—

He lifted his head and asked Gangye Yoshiko, "I remember Ruyue Nao once lived with Ookubo Hayato for a while, right?"

Gangye Yoshiko was taken aback by this sudden question from Beichuan Si, and then she confirmed, "Yes, they lived together for a while."

"And what was their apartment number?" Beichuan Si asked without hesitation.

Gangye Yoshiko fell silent.

She probably understood what Beichuan Si meant.

First, Gangye Yoshiko asked Beichuan Si to wait a moment, then she took out her own cellphone.

She used her phone to access the police's special data retrieval website, then pulled up the information about Ruyue Nao, and lifting her head, she said, "It's room 2418."

So the number 2418 had such a meaning?

Gangye Yoshiko had not expected that.

Her voice carried a hint of surprise, "But Beichuan, how did you connect this number?"

The information only had a brief annotation, and to say Beichuan Si remembered all the details just from one look seemed a bit exaggerated.

With such an expression, Beichuan Si also explained without changing his tone, "Spirits are essentially manifestations of human obsessions twisted into form, their nature is very simple.

"And in everyone's obsessions... or rather, in thoughts, there are many things worth clinging to. The number 2418 represents where Ruyue Nao and Ookubo once lived, and this could potentially become a main method for summoning spirits."

After this long string of idealistic theory, listening to Beichuan Si felt to Gangye Yoshiko like listening to a monk chanting scriptures, she could only 'um' and 'ah' vaguely agreeing a couple of times, before speaking again:

"Oh, oh, I see, I totally get it now."

"...," Beichuan Si.

Beichuan Si gave her a deep look and didn't bother responding to her obviously perfunctory answer.

"Ahem." Clearly, Gangye Yoshiko also felt Beichuan Si's gaze and coughed slightly embarrassedly:

"So, as long as we don't press the number 2418, it won't attract any spirits, right? Since that's the case, Beichuan, you really shouldn't purposely press it..."

Uh—

Gangye Yoshiko's voice halted.

Because she clearly saw on Beichuan Si's face...

A look of eagerness?

What is this?

Gangye Yoshiko opened her mouth, somewhat astonished, "Beichuan? You wouldn't be thinking about taking a risk, right? Going to press the 2418 button?"

Beichuan Si shifted his gaze away, emotionlessly responding: "I haven't."

"Before saying that... Beichuan, could you look at me when you're talking?"

Gangye Yoshiko's mouth twitched.

"I haven't," Beichuan Si remained unmoved.

"You definitely want to press it, right? Beichuan, answer me honestly."

Gangye Yoshiko's forehead showed veins, and her tone became slightly hostile.

Under such a tone from Gangye Yoshiko, Beichuan Si finally turned his head.

He still had an unflinching expression, and his voice was steady:

"A little bit. But just a little."

"...," Gangye Yoshiko.

A little bit?

Are you sure it's not a huge bit?

She looked at Beichuan Si, and after quite a while, she waved her hand dismissively:

"Fine, fine, you little troublemaker, you really want to be the death of me—I can't control you anymore! Do whatever you want."

After all, the hands are still his own; she really couldn't control him.

And besides... given this guy's cunning nature, even if he fell into a dangerous situation, he'd probably still come out without a scratch, right?

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