The scene depicted my terror at the sight of the crowd, which caused He Xin to hastily unplug the television. She then kicked the cabinet with her foot, cursing, "Screw you! Trying to scare us?"
"Don't be impulsive. Let's be careful. If he's here, our impulsiveness will give us away!" Xiao Yuan De rationally restrained He Xin.
"I don't care how long this guy plans to hide. If I find him, I'll definitely shove him to the ground and stomp him to death!"
Seeing He Xin's agitation, Hua Xing Hui said, "Big sister, don't be angry. I think I heard footsteps upstairs!"
We hadn't noticed until Hua Xing Hui mentioned it. Everyone immediately held their breath, and then we indeed heard the sound of pattering footsteps from upstairs.
He Xin quickly became vigilant, grabbing a wrench from beside the sofa. I also found a hammer, while Xiao Yuan De pulled open a drawer of the TV cabinet and took out a screwdriver. Even Hua Xing Hui picked up a pair of scissors. In this situation, we had to make do with whatever we could find.
The footsteps seemed to be slowly moving away. We followed the sound, leaving the apartment's main hall and entering a long corridor. We noticed rooms on both sides, quite spacious. As we reached the end of the corridor, the footsteps abruptly stopped, as if someone upstairs had detected our presence!
We suddenly noticed stairs nearby. The group cautiously moved towards them, but He Xin pulled us back, whispering, "Won't we be walking into a trap if we go up now?"
"He probably won't come down. Let's be careful. Xiao Yuan De, cover us!"
"Alright, everyone be alert. Once we catch Du Qi Tai, things will be much easier!"
We all agreed and then quietly started ascending the stairs. However, the stair treads were in poor condition. Even with our lightest steps, our shoes creaked with every movement. At that point, Xiao Yuan De simply broke into a run, heading straight for the third floor. He Xin and I, fearing for his safety, quickly followed.
Upon reaching the third floor, we discovered a pair of shoes on the ground. There was no one on the third floor; it was a vast, empty room devoid of any furniture. However, the walls were lined with windows, completely encircling the entire floor.
There was nothing else in sight besides the shoes. I scanned my surroundings but found no trace of shoeprints. Strange. I squatted down to examine the shoes when Xiao Yuan De produced a flashlight from somewhere and turned it on. He Xin and I both had flashlights, but ours had run out of battery.
Now we relied solely on Xiao Yuan De's flashlight. We searched the third floor thoroughly. Suddenly, in a gap in the wall, we found a lever. Hua Xing Hui said, "Try it!"
Xiao Yuan De and I exchanged glances, gripped the lever, and pulled it with all our might. The next second, a loud *crack* echoed, and something fell from the ceiling. I saw a pile of bones, covered in dust.
We approached and squatted down to examine them. I realized these bones seemed to belong to several people who had died some time ago. I took photos on the spot, realizing we were gathering more and more evidence.
Then, Hua Xing Hui spotted stairs not far away, but for some reason, he froze as if he had been electrocuted.
I hurried over and discovered a person standing on the stairs!
"Get down here!" I shouted.
At that moment, I thought it was Du Qi Tai, but the person cautiously descended, trembling as they gripped the handrail. It turned out to be Xiao Hong, the hotel attendant.
"What are you doing here?" I questioned.
"The boss sent me. Why aren't you all resting so late? This is a work area for the tourist zone; ordinary people aren't allowed here!"
"Heh, our friends are trapped in the cinema. Can you explain that?" I said with a cold laugh.
"What happened? What do you mean trapped in the cinema?" Xiao Hong asked, appearing confused.
I could tell she seemed genuinely unaware, but I still angrily said, "Don't pretend! Is this intentional?"
"No, Mr. He. Are they feeling uncomfortable? We have a medical room here if they want to see someone!"
"You're the ones who are uncomfortable, you're the ones who are sick! Tell Du Qi Tai to get out here!" He Xin, with her shorter temper, began to curse.
"The boss is a bit busy. He's not here, but he instructed me to handle some matters!" Xiao Hong explained apologetically.
I asked, "Where did he go?"
"I don't know. I'm just an employee; I don't have the authority to ask," Xiao Hong replied.
I scratched my head, a thought occurring to me. "Can you accompany us to the cinema?"
"Alright, I really want to know what's going on." Xiao Hong joined us and walked past, heading towards the stairs.
We immediately followed, but Xiao Yuan De went upstairs. We decided to split up. Hua Xing Hui followed He Xin and me.
Soon, He Xin and I followed Xiao Hong downstairs. At that point, Xiao Hong took out a walkie-talkie and said, "I need a small boat!"
A small boat quickly appeared on the nearby waterway. Xiao Hong beckoned us, "Get on!"
The three of us boarded the boat with her, and she took us back to the cinema.
Xiao Hong led the way, entering first. However, upon entering, we found that the others were gone. The place was empty everywhere. I shouted loudly several times, calling out everyone's names.
"Liu Yu Ning! Gao Ming Qiang! Xie Chu Chu..."
As I called out, He Xin and Xiao Hong joined in. Xiao Yuan De and Hua Xing Hui also started calling out. The entire cinema was filled with our shouts. Theoretically, this sound should have echoed outwards, but there was no response at all.
We suddenly had a thought. Xiao Hong led us upstairs, saying the cinema had a second floor where much of the machinery was located. When we got up there, we saw torn screens and many mannequins placed around. On a balcony, there was a projector, and near the adjacent window, several withered cacti. Above the hall, a seemingly ancient, rusted chandelier hung, looking as if it would fall at any moment. We all avoided getting close to it, searching everywhere.
There was a corridor that spanned the length of the balcony. We split up and found rooms along the corridor. I pulled open door after door, but found no one. The rooms were empty, but each had a chandelier similar to the one in the main hall hanging from the ceiling. The dim light made it feel like entering a cursed ancient building, instilling fear, unease, confusion, and oppression, along with discomfort and loneliness.