Chapter 127: A Ghost on the Sixth Floor

The man and woman walking in from outside were Jiang Chen and Ye Bing. They kept a distance of two or three meters between them. Even though they had already registered their marriage, an invisible barrier seemed to separate them.

My words struck a nerve, and Jiang Chen's face twitched slightly. Still, in front of his subordinates and the security guards, he couldn't very well lose his temper. "My health is no concern of yours."

He waved over a nearby security guard. "What's going on? Why are you blocking this guest? We have to treat everyone equally. We can't shut people out just because they're dressed in rags. If word got out, imagine how bad that would look for the Jiangjin Group."

His sarcastic tone was laced with thinly veiled barbs; he was obviously mocking me.

The security guard secretly gloated. With their young master backing them up, he grew bolder. "Young Master Jiang, it's not that we have it out for him. It's just that Gao Jian insists on bringing his dog into the hotel. This is one of the premier five-star hotels in Jiangcheng. We can't just let some mutt run around wherever it wants. We were worried it might frighten the other guests."

Jiang Chen feigned consideration. "That makes sense. Gao Jian, you heard him. A person can come in, but a dog stays out. So, I must ask you to leave."

I knew exactly what Jiang Chen meant, but I didn't have time to indulge him. I glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already seven twenty.

"Gao Jian, do you not understand human speech?" one of the security guards snapped, eager to score points with Jiang Chen. He blocked my path with his baton. "Get out of here! Take a look in the mirror. You think a place like this is for you?"

A crowd of onlookers was quickly gathering, and Jiang Chen made no move to intervene. With Ye Bing right beside him, he clearly wanted to win back the face he had lost at the wedding banquet and show her just how superior her man was.

The security guard kept brandishing his baton in my face. Judging by his stance, he was ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

"Wise up. There are over a dozen of us here. If you know what's good for you, you'll get out of here! You offended Young Master Jiang, yet you still have the nerve to show your face at Century New Garden?" The security guard grew increasingly out of line, jabbing his baton at me. His arrogance finally caused Bai Qi, who had been resting on the floor, to stand up. The dog bared his chilling white fangs, radiating a faint, lethal intent.

I pressed a hand down on Bai Qi's head. Ignoring the swaggering security guard, I waved to the front desk receptionist. "Did a stunningly beautiful female police officer head upstairs just now?"

The receptionist had never seen a scene like this before—over a dozen security guards surrounding one man. She kept her voice low. "I didn't see a police officer, but a really gorgeous woman did go upstairs just now."

"Which floor?" I pressed anxiously.

"The sixth floor..."

Before the receptionist could finish, Jiang Chen coughed, cutting her off. "Do you want to forfeit your bonus this month? As the front desk receptionist, how can you just casually hand out guest information?"

Jiang Chen repeatedly obstructed me; no matter how good my temper was, I couldn't tolerate it anymore. "Jiang Chen, something huge is going to happen in Century New Garden tonight. If you keep getting in my way over our past grudges, don't blame me if things get ugly."

"Oh, wow! A 'big boss' like you, running a tiny ten-square-meter shop, is going to get ugly with me? I'm absolutely terrified!"

The crowd of onlookers burst into laughter. "Threatening the Jiang family in Jiangcheng? Is your head filled with tofu?"

"Ten square meters isn't even as big as Young Master Jiang's bathroom! And a guy like this dares to talk tough?"

The security guards jeered alongside them, kicking up a racket. Surrounded by the crowd and feeling their malicious mockery, I didn't bother to argue back. I just kept a firm grip on Bai Qi's head.

He was far more sensitive than anyone else present. If I hadn't been holding him down, he probably would have already lunged at the security guard in front of me and pierced the man's throat with his fangs.

The city wasn't the wild mountains. It had its own rules—a system far more complex and terrifying than the simple law of the jungle. Slaughter wasn't the best way to solve things here.

I took out my phone and called Tie Ningxiang to make sure she was safe, but the line rang and rang without an answer. 'Could something have happened to her?' I thought. 'This is the busiest district in Jiangcheng. No matter how bold Lu Jin is, he wouldn't dare hurt Tie Ningxiang here.'

"Making a call? Are you going to call those little street punks over again?" The security guard waved his baton. Relying on their sheer numbers and Jiang Chen's backing, they were growing increasingly reckless.

I was just about to hang up when the call suddenly connected.

A deathly silence met me on the other end of the line. No one spoke; I couldn't even hear the sound of breathing.

"Senior? Tie Ningxiang?"

More than ten seconds passed before a voice finally spoke into the receiver. "Gao Jian, it's time we settled the score between us."

Hearing the unfamiliar voice, my eyes narrowed. "You're not Lu Jin. Who are you?"

"Who I am isn't important. What's important is that I have a very special hobby. I love taking away the most precious, beautiful things a person has, and then destroying them right in front of their eyes! I completely, utterly obliterate them until there's nothing left!"

Hearing those words, a drop of cold sweat slid down my cheek, and my pupils shrank to pinpricks. "Lu Xing!"

A burst of hysterical laughter rang through the receiver before the line went dead.

"The hell is wrong with you? Your face is turning blue and white. Who are you trying to scare?" the security guard shouted, waving his baton with a sneer. These guards were used to throwing their weight around on borrowed authority. Relying on the Jiang family's influence, any outsiders coming to beg favors from the family had to treat them with the utmost respect. It was common practice to offer them a cigarette the moment they walked through the door.

"You actually had the guts to call people to beat us up last time. You really don't know your place. If you don't leave right now, don't blame the boys and me for loosening your joints for you!"

"Loosening my joints?" I stared at the loudest guard in front of me and clenched my fists. Unnoticed, faint traces of crimson had crept into my eyes. "I will say this one last time. Get out of the way."

"Why are you acting so arrogant? Today, I'll—" He swallowed the rest of his sentence, because I didn't give him the chance to finish. Putting every ounce of my strength behind it, I threw a heavy punch and directly shattered his nose!

"Bai Qi! To the sixth floor!"

Nobody present expected me to strike first, much less drop a man with a single punch.

"You deliberately came to Century New Garden to start trouble, and you even injured my security guard." Jiang Chen couldn't have cared less whether the beaten guard lived or died; he was absolutely thrilled. "Gao Jian, oh, Gao Jian, you've finally fallen into my hands! Everyone, get him! Beat him to death!"

He laughed arrogantly. Beside him, Ye Bing showed a hint of distress in her eyes. "Stop it. Someone is going to get killed."

"What? You're still worried about him?" Jiang Chen shot Ye Bing a freezing glare. "You eat my food, drink my water, and wear my clothes. If I'm not the one in your heart, Ye Bing, do you know what your fate will be?"

With every word he spoke, Ye Bing's face grew a shade paler. She clasped her hands together, not daring to meet his gaze. "Don't think I don't know you secretly went to see Gao Jian. If you make a mistake like that again, don't blame me for disregarding our marital ties. I will make every nightmare you have at night become a reality!"

The couple's conversation was audible only to themselves. The scene was utterly chaotic. I sent Bai Qi ahead to the sixth floor to find Tie Ningxiang, while I shoved my way through the crowd.

There were simply too many security guards. They formed a watertight blockade around me, gradually forcing me into a corner.

"Fuck, you dare hit me?!" The guard whose nose I had shattered ran into the fray cursing, clutching his bleeding face. But before he could even reach me, the lights in the lobby suddenly flickered. A loud explosion rocked the floor above, and every light in the entire building instantly went dark!

The sudden plunge into darkness sent everyone into a panic. "A power outage? Start the backup generators!"

"The door to the electrical room has been forced open! Someone broke into the building!"

"Don't let that bastard escape in the dark!"

"Fuck, who just hit me?!"

The chaos continued in the darkness. Seizing the opportunity, I quickly used the confusion to sprint up toward the sixth floor.

I took out my phone to use for illumination. After climbing a few flights, I suddenly felt something was wrong. It was too quiet. It felt as if I had suddenly plunged into water; the thick darkness surged toward me like an ocean wave.

'I've only ever felt this way during my live streams,' I thought. 'Looks like something unholy followed me here!'

I bolted all the way up to the sixth floor in one breath, kicked open the fire escape door, and looked down the long corridor.

'The other floors were pitch-black too, but at least I could hear people's voices and see shadows moving around,' I thought. 'But this floor is completely empty, as if there isn't a single living soul here.'