The scream rang out briefly before quickly disappearing, as if it was everyone’s illusion.

Dead silence returned once again, and except for the four living people in the courtyard, all the dormitory buildings were dark and morose, like monsters standing in the darkness, silently looking down on the small panicked humans.

“I’m going in.” Ye Chen whispered. Without waiting for Ji Mingxia to respond, he added, “My parents and sister are up there, I don’t know if He Tian is alive or not so I have to go in and see. Mingxia, can you help me call the police?”

“I ……”

“Go out from here, walk along the lake and you will be out of the dormitory area. There is an internet café, and a 24-hour convenience store so there will definitely be a signal there. Once your phone regains its signal, help me tell the police about the situation here.” Ye Chen said, “There is no one around here and it’s dark, so let me get a bodyguard to escort you out. Be sure to pay attention to safety, everything is counting on you.”

With that, Ye Chen quickly turned around and called the two bodyguards over.

These two bodyguards had long felt that something was wrong, and when they saw Ye Chen signaling to them, the two rushed over and looked at him with anticipation.

When they learned that Ye Chen intended to take one bodyguard upstairs and the other was to escort Ji Mingxia out, the two bodyguards’ faces instantly turned green.

“Sir, the situation inside is not right, if we go in rashly, we may not be able to find anyone.” One of the bodyguards discouraged, “Paul and Tang are more skilled than us and if they went in for half an hour without any feedback, then …… then I’m afraid that we won’t be able to protect you.”

Another bodyguard also hurriedly said, “Why don’t we wait for the police to come over and then go in and take a look. That way, we can avoid unnecessary sacrifices.”

“The police are too slow, not to mention that there is no signal around here, I don’t know when the police will be called. Even if they are successfully called, it is more than half an hour’s drive from H University campus to here, I can’t afford to gamble all that time.” Ye Chen said, “Besides, who knows what is happening and whether it is caused by a  person, or a ghost.”

Although Ye Chen had just consulted Ji Mingxia, he had never met a ghost after all. He was curious about ghosts, but did not have heartfelt fear and dread for them.

In his opinion, there was a high possibility that the strange situation in the building was a ghost haunting, but there was also a small possibility that the unknown Master Zheng was causing this.

His parents and Uncle Zhang trusted Master Zheng, but Ye Chen was different.

Ghosts were scary, but sometimes,  people were more scary than ghosts. At this moment, his loved ones were in danger and he couldn’t retreat out of fear.

He wouldn’t  regret his choice if he went in now, but if he dawdled, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

“I have lived for so many years and have never seen a ghost, so this ghost is not actively seeking me out.” Ye Chen made up his mind and said, “I would like to see what the situation is inside.”

With that, Ye Chen looked at the two bodyguards.

The two bodyguards saw Ye Chen’s gaze resting on them and their faces turned green. They moved their gaze away, not wanting to meet Ye Chen’s eyes.

If it were any other time, Ye Chen would certainly not force people, but the situation was urgent.

These four bodyguards were hired from abroad and at a high price, their salary was not monthly, but hourly so their overall pay was far from average.

The reason for such good treatment was purely because Ye Chen’s parents were superstitious, and they heard that things would get difficult.

The country was peaceful, and Ye Chen’s parents were unlikely to be involved in danger. These four bodyguards had nothing to do most of the time yet the Ye family invested so much in them. They hired them for the sole purpose of working in such special situations like these.

The two bodyguards were very unwilling in their hearts, but they were constrained by the contract. They could only lower their heads and wait for Ye Chen’s command.

In the end, Ye Chen chose the taller and thinner bodyguard to accompany Ji Mingxia to call the police, while the shorter and stronger one would follow him into the dormitory.

The tall and thin bodyguard was so happy to learn that he could leave with Ji Mingxia that he smiled. He couldn’t wait to run to Ji Mingxia and escort him out, while the short and sturdy one felt like he was going to his death.

He tried to dissuade Ye Chen several times, but Ye Chen turned a deaf ear. After the two prepared a baton and flashlight, they walked together towards the dormitory.

At the same time, the tall and thin bodyguard said to Ji Mingxia, “Sir, let’s leave here as soon as possible and look for a signal to call the police.”

However, Ji Mingxia remained standing in place and watched Ye Chen walking away. The tall thin bodyguard decided to walk ahead, intending to push the courtyard gate open before urging Ji Mingxia.

Fortunately,  he had escaped having to enter that dormitory. He was so full of joy that he was almost dancing as he pushed the courtyard gate open.

However, the strange thing was that the gate, which was originally open, was locked at some point in time.

The bodyguard froze for a moment. He pushed again, and after ascertaining that the gate was really locked, he reached out and touched  the lock, only for his face to change slightly.

At the same time, Ye Chen and the short and sturdy bodyguard had walked to the door of the dormitory.

The last one to go in was Uncle Zhang. He had the dormitory key and after opening the door and going in, he locked the door from the inside.

Both Ye Chen and the bodyguard did not have the key, and were ready to pick the lock to get in.

As a result, they had just walked to the dormitory door, when they heard a “click”, and the dormitory door automatically unlocked itself.

As if a person was standing inside, the door opened with a creak the moment Ye Chen and the bodyguard heard it unlock.

The outside was not bright, but at least there was a street lamp shining, and one could see their  surroundings..

Inside the dormitory was the opposite. The hallway was dark, there was a flashlight to illuminate inside, but they still couldn’t see the situation inside.

From the outside, the open door was like a monster’s open mouth, waiting for the prey to take the initiative to enter.

The short and sturdy bodyguard was reluctant to enter, and his face turned white the moment he saw the situation. He took a step back, pointed to the dormitory door, stumbled and said: “Haunted…it’s haunted …… No one opened this door, it opened automatically!”

Just after the short strong bodyguard’s words, the tall thin bodyguard’s voice came from the other side at the courtyard gate: “The courtyard gate is locked!”

Ye Chen and the short strong bodyguard looked back. They saw the tall thin bodyguard throw away the wire in his hand, walk to them, and said with a pale face: “I don’t know why it won’t get unlocked. Unless the lock is removed with an electric drill, it just can’t be pried open.”

The tall thin bodyguard looked at the wide open dormitory door before him, a cool breeze came out of the dormitory and sent chills all over them.

The tall, thin bodyguard said, “You succeeded in picking the lock?”

“We didn’t pick it, it opened by itself.” The short and sturdy bodyguard said with a pale face.

The tall and thin bodyguard froze for a moment, and his face, which was already a little pale, suddenly turned even more pale.

The courtyard gate was locked, while the dormitory door, which was originally locked, opened automatically. What did this mean?

“There are ghosts ……ghosts really exist…..” the short and sturdy bodyguard said in a trembling voice. “I don’t want to go in, I don’t want to die!”

Ye Chen’s face was also a little ugly.

He didn’t know what to feel. He had never encountered anything supernatural in his life. Unexpectedly, he directly came to one in only a few minutes.

He was prepared to face danger when he entered the dormitory, yet the facts told him that the whole courtyard was not under his control.

“It’s no longer a matter of whether we want to go in or not.” Ye Chen gritted his teeth and said, “The courtyard gate is locked while the dormitory door is open, it’s …… inviting us in.”

The two bodyguards looked at the darkness beyond the dormitory door and backed up by a few steps.

They were not afraid of enemies with knives and guns, but such bizarre situations left them completely helpless.

An eerie cold wind constantly blew from the dormitory, passing through each person’s body. It was still autumn, but their hands and feet were so cold.

Ye Chen stared at the door for a few seconds, and eventually said, “Let’s go.”

“Sir, we ……” a bodyguard pulled Ye Chen, hesitantly.

Ye Chen turned back and said in a stern voice: “You guys want to escape from your duty?”

“Although we promised to protect you, we never said that we would handle this kind of situation ah!” The short and sturdy bodyguard couldn’t help but say.

“The courtyard gate is locked, do you think it will let you guys go if you don’t go in?” Ye Chen asked rhetorically.

The two bodyguards stiffened and did not say anything.

They also knew this, but at least there was light in the courtyard. Their desire to survive made them really unable to move their legs.

Ye Chen looked at the two bodyguards’ reluctant looks, and seeing the time pass little by little, he finally did not say anything. He looked at the dark entrance, took a deep breath, and walked towards the dormitory door with the baton and flashlight.

Ye Chen had one past the threshold when then, a familiar voice came from behind: “I’ll go in with you.”

Ye Chen looked back in surprise and saw that Ji Mingxia was standing behind him.

Ji Mingxia did not look like he was joking and Ye Chen changed from his earlier attitude of forcing the bodyguards. He quickly advised Ji Mingxia, “Mingxia, you can just wait in the courtyard, there is no need to go in.”

Ji Mingxia sighed in his heart.

If he could, he didn’t want to go in either.

Although Ji Mingxia had several experiences of facing ghosts and had the good fortune of coming back from the gates of death time and again, it did not mean that he possessed the ability to fight ghosts.

He couldn’t even conquer his fear, and the sight of ghosts made him scared. His intelligence was also at the level of ordinary people, and although he would occasionally have ideas and play a decisive role, this was random, and incomparable to Yu Ning stable play.

He came to visit Ye Tian, and was not ready to go up against a ghost, but the current situation forced him to make a decision.

Ji Mingxia said, “The courtyard gate is locked, which means the whole area is under its control. As long as it’s inside there, it can’t escape no matter how much it hides. It's better to go in and see what’s going on.”

“But ……”

Although the words were said, a discerning eye could see that the dormitory was the most dangerous place. The bodyguards refused to go in, while Ji Mingxia was his friend, and guest. At such times, at least he should go alone.

He brought Ji Mingxia here to understand Ye Tian’s situation, not to let him get involved in a risky situation.

 Compared to Ye Chen who was hesitating, Ji Mingxia, who had made the decision, was rather straightforward.

He said to the two bodyguards, "Since you two are not going to go in, can you give me a baton and flashlight?"

The two bodyguards looked at each other, and then looked at Ji Mingxia with some shock.

Out of all the people present, they had to say that Ji Mingxia was the weakest one out. The two bodyguards were professionals, and needless to say, Ye Chen also trained. In addition, he was tall, and looked quite able to fight.

On the contrary, Ji Mingxia, looked young although he already looked like an adult male. The face still looked youthful and tender.

His body would be considered good if placed among ordinary people. But in a fight, it was completely inadequate. The muscle content was not up to standard, and he simply looked like he couldn't hold out in a fight.

The situation inside the dormitory was strange and even the two bodyguards did not want to enter. Unexpectedly, Ji Mingxia, who seemed to be the weakest, took the initiative to ask to enter.

"Yes you can ......" the tall thin bodyguard hesitantly said, "but you ......"

"I'll go in with Ye Chen to take a look, you guys guard outside. Check the courtyard gate every half hour. If the lock is open, immediately find the opportunity to call the police." Ji Mingxia instructed.

The two bodyguards looked at Ji Mingxia and listened to his instructions; the more they listened, the more uncomfortable they felt.

"You really want to go in, huh?" The short and sturdy bodyguard couldn't help but confirm.

"Mmm." Ji Mingxia nodded. "The ghost has issued an invitation. It might hide for a while, but it can't do that until dawn. We might as well take the initiative."

In fact, if Yu Ning was there, Ji Mingxia would definitely be shrinking behind him.

Unfortunately, out of those present at this moment, he was the only one who had experience in dealing with ghosts.

When a rookie falls into a group of even less experienced rookies, he becomes the most experienced one.

So although Ji Mingxia was inwardly reluctant, he could not retreat.

At this moment, he was trying to imitate Yu Ning's style of action, trying to turn passivity into initiative, and perhaps find a ray of hope.

The two bodyguards didn't hand over their batons and flashlights, and Ji Mingxia did not insist. He turned around and went to the door of the dormitory.

Ye Chen just wanted to dissuade him again when the two bodyguards suddenly spoke up, "Forget it ...... we'll also go in."

Ji Mingxia and Ye Chen looked at them with some surprise.

The short and stout bodyguard muttered, "You guys are right, it's the same anyway, might as well be four people together and have a better hope of survival ......"

"Mr. Ye, I'm sorry." The tall and thin bodyguard apologized to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen looked at them and then at Ji Mingxia, and finally shook his head, "It's okay, let's find the people first."

"Ye Chen, you've been in the dormitory, right?" Ji Mingxia looked at the pitch black entrance and said.

"Mmm."

"Then I'll go first, and you'll be behind me. Help me illuminate the way and point out the right direction. The two bodyguards will guard the rear." Ji Mingxia said, "The four of us will hold hands so as to not get separated."

With that, Ji Mingxia handed the corner of his coat to Ye Chen.

Ye Chen froze for a moment. He looked at Ji Mingxia's side face, and then looked at his hand and the corner of his coat, and his heart started to beat violently.

"Ye Chen?" Ji Mingxia saw Ye Chen staring at him and called out.

"Um, okay." Ye Chen instantly came back to his senses. He reached out and grabbed the corner of Ji Mingxia's coat.

The four quickly held each other, and after making sure that no one would fall out of line, Ji Mingxia took the lead in walking towards the dormitory door.

He took a few steps and the dense darkness swallowed his figure like a fog.

Ye Chen, who was still immersed in his heartbeat, saw this and was startled. He hurriedly dismissed his thoughts to the back of his mind, and followed Ji Mingxia's pace into the dormitory.

The first floor of the dormitory building was about one hundred and fifty square feet. There were doors on the left and right, equivalent to a floor with two small units.

Like the general standard, the dormitory building had a total of three floors, two doctoral students lived in each unit, so each floor could house at least four people.

Although the school added a small courtyard on the periphery for Ye Tian, the internal structure was not easy to change, so there was no extensive transformation.

Of the three floors and six units , Ye Tian chose the unit on the left side of the third floor, and that was Ji Mingxia and Ye Chen's destination at the moment.

"So Ye Tian lives in a small area out of the large building? Are the other places all empty?" Ji Mingxia askes.

"Yes." Ye Chen said.

At that moment, they were walking in the dormitory building in the dark. While walking, Ye Chen described the internal structure of the dormitory to Ji Mingxia.

From the outside, they only felt that the dormitory building was dark, but when they entered, they unexpectedly found that the light inside the dormitory was better than expected. Although it was still dim, they could vaguely see the general outline of their surroundings.

However, while the autumn breeze outside had water vapor from the lake and was a little cool, the temperature on entering the dormitory was even lower.

The coldness outside the courtyard was brought by the wind, while that in the dormitory was like a coldness that permeated the air, silently seeping into the bones so that the people walking couldn't help but get goose bumps.

During this period, Ye Chen and Ji Mingxia found the electric switch, as well as the light switch, but all failed to work without exception.

They had to use a flashlight, and by relying on Ye Chen's memory, they walked around the first floor and looked for access to the upper floors.

After about five minutes of walking, the four finally came to an elevator.

Ji Mingxia did not expect that this three-story dormitory building would actually be equipped with an elevator. It was indeed the latest place built for doctoral students to live, and the environment was much better than the boys' dormitory.

"I used to take the elevator to go upstairs, but now ......" Ye Chen said without hope and casually pressed the up button of the elevator.

The originally dark elevator suddenly lit up when Ye Chen pressed the button.

Ye Chen was stunned, and Ji Mingxia also turned his head abruptly.

In the next instant, a bright light came from within the elevator doorway, followed by the elevator door automatically opening in front of everyone.

The elevator was bright, and the front was installed with a mirror. At this moment, the mirror reflected the light so not only was the elevator bright , but the first floor was also properly illuminated.

The light was reflected in the faces of four people, and their expressions were clearly reflected by the mirror in front of them.

All four people had shocked expressions, but after the shock, Ji Mingxia had a sullen face, Ye Chen had some doubts, and the two bodyguards were happy.

"Did you call for it?"

"It's so bright, it doesn't feel so scary anymore."

"Are we going to the third floor, Mr. Ye? Mr. Ji?"

The two bodyguards stood by the elevator, stopping its doors from closing, and they couldn't help but ask when they saw that both Ye Chen and Ji Mingxia were standing still.

"This elevator ......" Ye Chen came back to his senses, "Let's not take the elevator, let's use the stairs."

Ye Chen then turned and shone the flashlight around, trying to find the entrance to the stairs.

The two bodyguards were confused when they saw this.

"Why ah, we can use this elevator."

"Aren't we rushing upstairs to save people ......"

"Where are the stairs? Have you seen them?" The tall, thin bodyguard asked his colleague.

"No, it's dark, and maze-like, the flashlight can't even shine far." The short, stout bodyguard muttered.

"Mr. Ye, are you sure you don't want to take the elevator?" The tall and thin bodyguard couldn't help but ask Ye Chen again.

Ye Chen frowned and looked around for a long time before saying, "There might be a problem with this elevator, the electric switch and light switch are not responding, and the whole building has no light. Don't you think it's strange that only the elevator works?"

The bodyguards looked at each other, and said nothing.

They certainly found a problem.

But they were also unable to resist the temptation of the light source.

It was dark all around, and suddenly seeing light made them want to get closer, even if they knew that there was a problem.

When they got close, they found that there was no danger in the light, and even though there were doubts in their hearts, they also didn't want to leave.

However, since Ye Chen had said so, the two bodyguards naturally wouldn't refute him: "Then let's not take the elevator and look for the stairs."

The bodyguards stepped away from the elevator doors. They turned with the intention of walking to Ye Chen's side when suddenly, a hand reached out from the elevator.

With a swift movement, it pulled the two bodyguards into the elevator.

The two bodyguards, whose backs were to the elevator, were caught off guard and immediately lost their balance. They fell into the elevator almost at once.

Although they fell with their backs to the ground, they were bodyguards after all. They quickly stood up from the spot with their hands supporting the ground, but unfortunately, it was already too late.

The moment they fell, the elevator doors closed, and by the time they got up, the doors had already closed completely.

During that time, Ji Mingxia reacted the fastest and hurriedly pressed the elevator's open button.

However, the elevator button, which was very sensitive just a moment ago, was like it had a malfunction, and was not working at all.

With the elevator doors closing, not only was the light source taken away, even the two bodyguards' figures disappeared from Ji Mingxia and Ye Chen's view.

"They ... just now…!" Ye Chen watched the elevator doors close and turned his head to look at Ji Mingxia, "They fell down together."

"It's not a fall." Ji Mingxia slowly said.

From the time the two bodyguards fell, to the elevator door closing, everything was like pressing the fast forward button and in three seconds, it was all over.

Ji Minxia's ears had improved a lot since the forest, and his eyesight was also a bit sharper from the time he spent the summer in Banana Leaf Village.

He would usually miss it, but from the moment everything happened earlier, Ji Mingxia saw a pair of hands grab the two bodyguards and pull them towards the elevator.

"It was a woman's hands." Ji Mingxia said.

"A woman's hands?" Ye Chen said in shock, "Did you see the face?"

"There was no face, only hands." Ji Mingxia said.

As if they had suddenly grown from the elevator, a pair of women's hands dragged the two bodyguards in.

Ye Chen listened and did not speak for a long time.

Although he was prepared to face supernatural things, watching the two bodyguards disappear just like that made Ye Chen unable to calm down for a long time.

At this time, the elevator, which had already closed, suddenly emitted a crisp "ding".

Ji Mingxia looked over.

His hand had been pressing on the open button, from the time the two body guards went in and didn't let go.

The elevator button was out of order at the critical moment, and it now seemed to have returned to normal without him realizing it.

With the "ding" , there was the sound of sliding inside the elevator, followed by the elevator doors slowly opening again.

There was a bright light source again, and a full body mirror reflecting the faces of the people outside the elevator.

The elevator was no different from before, and the only difference was that the two bodyguards who were pulled in just now had disappeared.

Before they knew it, it seemed like Ye Chen and Ji Mingxia were the only people left in the whole dormitory building.