Global Collapse-Chapter 558 - 526: There Really Aren’t Many Authors as Diligent as Me_1

"How is it?" Cang Yue looked at the person in front of her. "Did you remember anything?"

The company building's power was out, and the office lights couldn't be turned on. Cang Yue was illuminating the office desk before her with a flashlight, trying to help Zhao Shuang see it clearly. On the desk were disheveled documents, a few inkless pens, a thermos in the corner with unfinished water, and an opened drawer revealed half a pack of candied fruit, which Cang Yue, of course, dared not eat.

Zhao Shuang examined the desk by the flashlight's beam. She had only forgotten parts of her memory; she naturally still remembered her own desk. But this didn't seem to help her memory much. Zhao Shuang observed the desk for a long time but couldn't recall anything related to that day—October 1st. Helplessly, she shook her head at Cang Yue, indicating that she couldn't remember anything.

Cang Yue's eyes flickered. She realized Zhao Shuang hadn't noticed the missing photo. The photo of Zhao Shuang and Sun Zihao had been in a conspicuous spot, but Cang Yue had taken it and given it to Wang Chuan. Yet, Zhao Shuang hadn't noticed its absence. Had she not noticed it, or had she completely forgotten about it?

Just as Cang Yue furrowed her brow, contemplating whether to ask Zhao Shuang about Sun Zihao, a loud shout suddenly came from outside— "Run!" 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

The two of them looked towards the door in surprise. The wall with the door was made of glass, and the office door wasn't far from the stairwell door. From their angle, they could see the pitch-dark staircase. The three people who had been at the staircase entrance had all fled. Cang Yue immediately saw what made them run.

A pale, bloodshot face peeked out from the pitch-black staircase, meeting the gazes of Cang Yue and Zhao Shuang.

She shuddered, her mind racing. Now that the ghost had seen them, it was impossible to keep hiding in the room. The moment she realized this, Cang Yue abruptly turned off the flashlight, grabbed Zhao Shuang, and dragged her out of the room.

The ghost was already on the stairs leading to their floor. They couldn't run towards *that* staircase. They had to anxiously run past that stairwell door and head for the staircase on the other side.

At this moment, Wang Chuan was panting as he climbed the stairs behind Keke. When he first spotted the ghost, he had wanted to run to the other side of the corridor. But then he saw Keke dash directly towards the stairs leading to the floor above. The ghost was on the staircase between the twelfth and thirteenth floors. Anyone with any sense wouldn't choose to run towards the stairs, but Keke rushed up without hesitation. Wang Chuan immediately sensed something, quickly stopped, and followed Keke up. Meanwhile, Xia Jianren had already sprinted to the other end of the corridor; he was too far to call back.

After they had rushed up several flights and were out of breath, they finally stopped, leaning against the wall and gasping for air. Using the faint light from a window, they looked down. They saw nothing and heard no sounds of pursuit; the ghost hadn't followed them.

Wang Chuan finally let out a sigh of relief and turned to Keke. "Why did you run upstairs just now?"

Keke caught her breath. "When we split up to search the offices, Gu Mian tried to go down the other staircase, but that stairwell door was blocked. It wouldn't open."

This office building had two stairwells and four elevators. The elevators were unusable now, so running to the blocked stairwell on the other side was suicide. Hearing this, Wang Chuan felt a chill run down his spine. "Sealed off? Thankfully, Gu Mian checked there first... and thankfully, I followed you up the stairs."

Keke stared downstairs. "The ghost didn't chase us."

It must have gone to the thirteenth floor. On the thirteenth floor, one stairwell door was sealed, and the other staircase was now blocked by the ghost. Anyone trapped inside was like prey in a snare, helpless.

"I saw Xia Jianren run towards the other side. Cang Yue and Zhao Shuang, still in the office, would naturally try to find the safest route. They wouldn't run towards the dangerous staircase but would likely head in the same direction as Xia Jianren," Wang Chuan sighed. "Their chances of survival are slim."

Keke brushed the dust off her clothes and stood up straight. "Let's keep moving and find a way out. The ghost knows we're here; it's very unsafe now."

Wang Chuan nodded in agreement. Given their own precarious situation, there was no point wasting too much thought on others.

「Meanwhile, on the thirteenth floor」

Xia Jianren had already reached the other stairwell door, only to stop, stunned. He stood before the locked door. He pushed it, but it wouldn't budge. Ramming it with force didn't open it either. Just as he was anxiously wondering what to do, Cang Yue and Zhao Shuang ran up.

"Why aren't you going?" Cang Yue, having rushed over, immediately tried to push the stairwell door while questioning Xia Jianren, who was standing to the side. Only then did she realize the door wouldn't open. It was securely locked. At the same time, by the faint light, she spotted an A4 sheet of paper taped to the door: "This door is broken."

"Damn it!" Cang Yue, usually calm, fiercely kicked the door, but it had no effect.

Xia Jianren was frantic. He looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. While anxiously watching the distant corridor, terrified the ghost would appear, he fumbled in his pockets for anything useful. "What do we do now?!"

They had to try anything. Cang Yue made a quick decision. "Let's check the elevators!" What if the elevators suddenly had power? What if they were just unlit but still operational? With this thought, she dashed towards the elevators. Zhao Shuang and Xia Jianren scrambled after her.

The corridor was too dark for Xia Jianren to see if the ghost had already come up from the stairwell. He could only try to convince himself it hadn't reached the thirteenth floor yet.

It took them a few seconds to reach the elevators. They were surprised to see an indicator light on one of the elevator panels lit up. The small, red light was strikingly visible in the darkness.

"There's power! Quick..." Cang Yue, ecstatic, reached to press the call button, but then she saw the red number on the display panel change from "1" to "2." The elevator was ascending, but none of them had pressed a button. Could it be... someone else was using the elevator?

The thought had barely formed in Cang Yue's mind when Zhao Shuang's terrified voice shattered it. "These elevators... all of them are coming up!"

All of them... coming up? Cang Yue stared, aghast, at the other three elevators. She saw the vivid red numbers on their displays simultaneously flick from "2" to "3" in less than half a second. This was definitely not normal elevator speed.

Xia Jianren's teeth chattered. His voice trembling with fear, he stammered, "It's them! They're here!"

Four elevators. Thirty people. The red numbers kept flickering upwards.

Cang Yue was the first to react. She didn't know where to run, but she had to move. "Don't stay here! Run!"

The other two mindlessly followed Cang Yue. They had no idea where else to go but clung to a sliver of hope as they trailed behind her, desperate to find a hiding place. They ended up rushing into the restroom. Each floor of the building had a symmetrical layout, including a restroom. Cang Yue, leading the way, rushed into the farthest stall in the women's restroom. The others stumbled in after her, and they quickly slammed the stall door and bolted it.

Almost simultaneously, they heard the sound of multiple elevator doors opening. Then, heavy footsteps echoed from the corridor: THUD... THUD... THUD... The sound of many feet, advancing with an eerie rigidity. They were coming. From the first footstep, it was clear they were heading straight for the restroom. Soon, the footsteps stopped right outside the restroom door.

Cang Yue imagined dozens of figures standing stiffly outside, peering in. In the darkness, Zhao Shuang was shivering uncontrollably, her tremors making Xia Jianren, pressed beside her, tremble too. Cang Yue pressed herself tightly into the corner of the stall, her eyes fixed on the door's flimsy latch. She knew it wouldn't keep out a ghost.

In the suffocating silence, the footsteps resumed. Something was coming in. They heard it step into the restroom, take a few paces, and stop. Then, the first stall door was violently yanked open. Of course, it was empty.

The footsteps started again...

「Meanwhile, on the twentieth floor」

Keke and Wang Chuan also noticed the elevators were working. All four elevator displays showed the same number: "13."

"What's going on?" Wang Chuan stood before one of the elevators, utterly confused.

Keke stepped back, staring at the glowing numbers. "Something got on the elevators from the first floor and went to the thirteenth. And there are enough of them to require all four elevators."

Wang Chuan shivered. "You don't mean..."

"Thirty people would be just about right for four elevators," Keke said, her gaze fixed on the elevator doors. "They've all arrived."

Wang Chuan's mouth felt dry. Just as he was about to speak, he saw the numbers on one of the elevator displays change again. From "13," it flicked to "12," then "11," descending all the way to "1."

Wang Chuan unconsciously stepped back. "Is something else coming up?"

「Back in the restroom on the thirteenth floor」

There were only five stalls. The footsteps weren't fast, but they were drawing nearer with each passing moment. The three of them, crowded into the last stall, were sweating profusely.

They heard a SLAP! The entity outside had flung open the third stall door. A few more steps, and the door of the stall next to theirs was yanked open. It, too, was empty.

Finally, the footsteps stopped right outside their stall. Cang Yue's gaze was frozen. Peering through the gap beneath the stall door, she saw a pair of bruised, gory ankles.

BANG!

The thing outside was trying to pull the door open!

The latched door didn't give way immediately. The thing outside went quiet. Just as they began to wonder, the door suddenly began to shake violently. The entity outside was yanking and ramming the stall door. Terrified, Cang Yue lunged forward and grabbed the latch, desperately trying to hold it in place. The violent force from the door almost made her retch, but she clung to the latch, not daring to loosen her grip for even a second.

Fortunately, the stall door was surprisingly sturdy. It didn't break under the assault. After a final, violent shudder, the shaking stopped. The restroom fell eerily silent once more. It seemed like the thing outside had left. But none of them dared to make a sound, let alone try to leave. They kept their eyes glued to the door, terrified of any sudden movement.

Several minutes passed in unbroken silence. Cang Yue and Zhao Shuang were still staring intently at the stall door when Xia Jianren's faint, terrified voice reached them:

"Why don't you two... look up?"