Alex watched as the cars with the girls slowly drove away. In the window of one of them, he spotted the faces of Nyaruko, Jinx, and Anya — their expressions seemed to say he was the greatest villain in the entire multiverse. Alex waved goodbye to his three daughters, to which the gremlin trio responded in perfect sync by sticking out their tongues. He just shook his head.

Behind him, the academy where Zhang Ya had once studied was still burning. Next to him stood GIR, MIMI, and Stitch, practically burning with impatience themselves — after all, the hunt for one fat bastard, the man responsible for Zhang Ya’s death, was about to begin.

“Let’s go,” Alex said, beckoning them to follow.

Approaching the car, he opened the trunk and tossed in an empty backpack. Meanwhile, GIR, MIMI, and Stitch had already made themselves comfortable in the back seat, ready to roll. Closing the trunk, Alex glanced at his watch. There were still three hours before his meeting with the Ghost Story Society — the gathering started at midnight. That meant he could afford to grab a bite before delivering justice to that fat bastard.

Sliding into the driver’s seat, he started the engine.”We’ve got three hours. How about we grab some food?” he asked, glancing at the trio.

“I want a burger!” Stitch said cheerfully, raising his paws over his head.

“Milkshake!” GIR bounced in his seat.

“Ice cream!” MIMI raised a paw.

“Perfect. Next stop — any fast food joint that sells junk food,” Alex smirked, pressing the gas pedal.

GIR, MIMI, and Stitch threw their paws up in excitement — junk food was their weakness. Alex listened to their joyful chatter with a smile. He knew the Ghost Story Society was based in the Fan Hua Apartments. Steering with one hand, he opened the map with the other. After finding the address, he noticed the area was filled with similar buildings under different names. But the best part? Directly across from the Fan Hua Apartments stood a fast food restaurant.

Once he reached the street, he parked right in front of the restaurant. Getting out, Alex took a look at the twenty-three-story apartment building. Smirking, he glanced up at the roof — he knew the Society met on the “twenty-fourth” floor, a level that didn’t officially exist. In this country, people avoided the number 4, associating it with death, and skipped all floors containing it.

Inside the restaurant, he quickly placed an order: a combo meal for himself, ten hamburgers for Stitch, several large milkshakes for GIR, and five ice cream cones for MIMI. While waiting, he once again looked at the apartment building, trying to recall the exact floor sequence needed to reach the “twenty-fourth.” No matter how hard he tried, his memory stubbornly refused to cooperate.

“Damn,” he muttered, rubbing his temple in irritation. “Again…”

The cashier who had taken his order was quietly observing the strange customer — a man who came in alone, ordered a mountain of food, and kept staring across the street. Locals preferred not to talk about that building. Shops in this part of the street all closed at ten, even though fast food places normally ran 24/7. Here, everything shut down at the exact same time — ten o’clock sharp.

“Sir? Are you all right?” the cashier asked cautiously.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just… you know that feeling when you’re trying to remember something, and your brain suddenly decides it doesn’t want to cooperate?” Alex replied with a faint smile.

“I get it,” the cashier nodded. “Especially in the morning, when you can’t find your keys or phone.”

Alex leaned forward slightly, as if making casual conversation.

“Since we’re on the topic… what can you tell me about the Fan Hua Apartments?”

The cashier visibly flinched at the question, staring at him as though he were a madman willingly walking into one of the most dangerous places in the city. Alex didn’t miss that look — he was watching every subtle change in the man’s expression.

Alex knew perfectly well that the rumors about the Fan Hua Apartments were far from pleasant. Even here, in a well-lit district, the streets would empty soon after sunset, as if people avoided going outside unless absolutely necessary. Anyone else in his place might have suggested that the residents move out, but the answer was always the same — no one would buy the apartment. And without selling, there was no money for a new home. Even if by some miracle a buyer could be found, the price would be so low it wouldn’t even cover a tiny studio.

The cashier kept glancing between Alex’s smiling face and the silhouette of the apartment building beyond the fast-food window.”And why do you want to know?” he asked cautiously.

“Oh, nothing special,” Alex replied with a light, almost carefree smile. “My family and I are thinking about moving. The neighborhood is quiet… so I thought maybe I’d buy a place in one of those buildings.”

“All I can advise is — don’t buy anything here. Especially not in that building across the street,” the cashier said, nodding toward the grim structure.

“And why’s that? Triad hideout? Or is the place falling apart?” Alex asked, pretending to have no idea about the building’s reputation.

“If it were the triad, things would be easier,” the cashier smirked. “As for falling apart… yes, the building’s in terrible shape.”

“You say that like you live there yourself,” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“I do, unfortunately,” the man replied with a strained smile.

“Sounds like you’d prefer a dumpster over spending another night in that ‘cozy apartment,'” Alex teased, still smiling.

“You’re right. I’d rather sleep in a dumpster than go through another night there,” the cashier sighed heavily. “When I bought my apartment on the thirteenth floor, I was so proud of myself. I even bragged to my friends that I finally had my own place instead of a rented room. At first, after moving in, I didn’t pay attention to my neighbors with their lifeless eyes and gray faces, like they hadn’t slept in months. I was too busy — working multiple jobs to pay off the mortgage — and during the first months I noticed nothing unusual.”

Alex pulled a candy from his pocket and handed it to the cashier.

“So, what did you start noticing? Or did you learn something? You look like you haven’t slept for days yourself.”

The cashier took the sweet, but only rolled it between his fingers.

“It all started when I invited friends over for a housewarming. One of them is a real estate agent — works for the same firm that sold me the apartment. Over drinks, he told me what had been happening in Fan Hua before I moved in. People dying in their sleep for no apparent reason. Others found brutally murdered. But most often… they just disappeared. Sometimes one person, sometimes entire families. No one ever saw or heard from them again.”

He glanced up at the ceiling, his eyes tired and hollow.

“I started digging deeper. And you know what? Everywhere I asked, it was the same — that building is cursed.”

Alex only nodded silently while scrolling through the city’s online forums, looking for any information on the Fan Hua Apartments. He was genuinely intrigued, and every time he came across an especially grim story, he sent the link to the family group chat so the girls could read it too.

Just as the cashier had said, there had been plenty of strange and frightening incidents in the building since its construction — as if it had absorbed dozens of urban legends into its walls.

One old newspaper clipping he found on a forum told of a man who murdered his entire family before throwing himself out the window. The family had lived on the fourteenth floor. The irony was that in Fan Hua, there was officially no fourth or fourteenth floor at all — those numbers were skipped, as if deliberately emphasizing the building’s sinister reputation.

Another story told of a student who vanished after returning home from an evening walk with friends. Security cameras caught him entering the building, stepping into the elevator… and then nothing. The elevator never arrived at the intended floor. On the footage, he simply disappeared.

There were dozens of similar cases on the forum. Something was always happening in Fan Hua.

“Maybe you’ve seen or heard something yourself?” Alex asked, turning his phone to show an open article about a missing man. “Otherwise my wife will definitely kill me if I buy an apartment in a place like this.”

The cashier nodded wearily.

“There was one time… after which I never wanted to sleep in my apartment again.”

He paused for a moment, as if gathering strength.

“That night, I was supposed to be working, but a colleague covered my shift. I couldn’t fall asleep, so I decided to pass the time by watching TV. I was just sitting in the living room, watching a movie… and suddenly I heard footsteps directly above me.”

“Maybe your upstairs neighbor was just walking around? Or a burglar got in?” Alex suggested with a light smile, leaning against the counter.

“If it were a neighbor, I’d be happy,” the cashier smirked bitterly. “The problem is, the apartment above mine is empty. It’s the one where that man killed his family and jumped out the window. No one’s bought it since. Bare walls, no furniture, nothing to steal. But the footsteps were there — clear, measured, as if someone was walking in circles right above my head.”

“Let me guess… you decided to check?” Alex raised an eyebrow.

“I did,” the cashier admitted. “At first, I just ignored the steps and kept watching the movie. But when I went to the kitchen to grab a snack, the footsteps followed me. That’s when I froze. I took a step back — above me, someone took a step back. I took a step forward — and above me came a step forward. Whoever it was, they were copying my movements exactly. That’s when I realized that whatever was up there was deliberately matching me, step for step. But what happened next is why I don’t dare sleep in my apartment at night anymore, and why I take extra night shifts. The thing that had been following me must have sensed I was going to test it. And after that, all sorts of things started happening in my apartment at night. The footsteps overhead became far more frequent.”

For a moment, his eyes drifted away, as if reliving that night.

“I kept trying to convince myself I was imagining it. But… then it got worse. The footsteps came more often. Sometimes, from the neighboring apartment. One time, I listened closely… and heard breathing. Heavy, muffled, on the other side of the wall, along with a scraping sound, like someone was clawing at it from the other side.”

The cashier’s voice dropped to a whisper.

“One night, someone knocked on my door. I thought it was a neighbor complaining about noise. I went to the door and looked through the peephole… but the hallway was empty. Still, I could feel someone was there. And I knew that if I opened the door, I’d vanish like so many before me. Whoever — whatever — was outside, I could hear it breathing. I could almost see it… staring into the peephole, even though I couldn’t see a face. When I didn’t open up, it started pounding and clawing at my door. I was sure it wouldn’t hold. But then, suddenly, everything went silent.”

He ran a hand down his face, as if trying to wipe away the memory.

“Since then, every time I spend the night at home, I hear that breathing through the wall. Sometimes, scraping against the plaster right beside my head, as if it’s trying to dig a hole exactly where I’m sleeping. I haven’t slept for three nights now. These last few days, it’s been much more active… like it knows I’m close to breaking, and soon… I’ll open the door for it.”

The cashier’s expression was that of a man who had already accepted his end was near.

Alex opened his mouth, but said nothing. For some, the cashier’s story could have been a great campfire ghost tale to scare friends during sleepovers. But for the cashier himself, it was a grim, merciless reality from which there was no escape. How could one come to terms with being hunted by an unknown entity that slowly and methodically drove you insane?

Alex understood: this hadn’t been happening for a day or two — it had been many long, exhausting, sleepless nights, filled with the sound of breathing and scratching behind the wall, and footsteps overhead. These sounds had been wearing down the man’s mind, dragging him into the depths of despair and madness. Alex knew there were no words that could help here. The best course was to get away from this place before it completely broke you.

When the cashier fell silent, there was a rare flicker in his eyes — a tiny spark of calm in the middle of a chaotic life. He didn’t even understand why he had decided to confide everything to a random customer, but the conversation had helped him feel that he was still sane. Alex didn’t push the topic further — he didn’t want the cashier to sink back into those dark memories.

When the order was ready, Alex took it and said goodbye. The moment he stepped out of the restaurant, the cashier’s phone buzzed with a new message. On autopilot, he pulled it from his pocket — and saw a row of zeros. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at the sender: the bank. It was a message confirming a deposit to his account.

At first, he thought it was a prank from friends or a scam. But the next message froze him in place:

“I liked your story. You can use this money to buy a new apartment — one without ghosts. You’re a good guy, don’t give up — things will get better. P.S. If you want to survive the night, sprinkle salt at your apartment’s entrance and on the windowsills. Best wishes, a mysterious customer.”

The cashier read the text several times. For the first time in a long while, he didn’t know what to say. Opening his banking app, he confirmed it — the money was real. He leaned against the counter, feeling reality slipping away, half-expecting to wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of footsteps or breathing and scratching behind the wall again. He stood in a daze for several minutes, completely oblivious to what was happening around him, and only snapped back when a colleague tapped him on the shoulder. At that moment, the cashier realized with certainty — this was no dream.

Meanwhile, Alex, already walking toward his car, was thinking about what the cashier might decide to do next. He had given the man a chance, a way out, an opportunity to avoid a terrible fate. But Alex didn’t have time to dwell on it — before he reached the car, someone snatched the food from his hands.

The culprit was obvious. A second later, Alex spotted GIR, MIMI, and Stitch perched on the hood of his car, happily devouring his meal. Alex just sighed, leaned against the hood, pulled a burger and coffee from the paper bag, and, while eating, recounted the cashier’s story to his companions.

GIR, MIMI, and Stitch listened attentively — though without pausing their feast. At one point, Stitch, finding himself out of napkins, simply wiped his greasy paws on GIR. GIR didn’t notice at first, but when he spotted the sauce stains on his green fur, he lunged at Stitch without a word.

Grinning, Stitch dashed across the hood, still clutching his burger, with GIR in pursuit. He scrambled onto the car roof, pressing a paw to GIR’s face while GIR yanked at his leg. Stitch kept grinning, and after popping the last bite of his burger into his mouth, he promptly wiped his dirty paws across GIR’s face.

That act became the last straw for GIR’s patience. In the same instant, GIR pulled a power hammer from his little satchel and lunged at Stitch. Now GIR and Stitch were chasing each other around the car — GIR gripping the hammer in his paws and shouting insults at Stitch, while Stitch, still on the run, kept chewing through yet another burger.

MIMI, sitting next to Alex, calmly finished her ice cream as if all of this were completely normal. Alex, however, couldn’t understand where they were getting so much energy after a day like this: a haunted house, a cursed psychiatric hospital, a cursed tunnel, a cursed academy — and now a visit to cursed apartments. He even thought they might have visited far too many cursed places for a single day.

Gradually, everyone settled down. The street grew empty, shop windows went dark, and dim lights flickered in the apartment windows. No one went outside after sunset. Alex knew the reason — the red door that had been opened in Fan Hua’s apartments. It was poisoning the whole neighborhood, even affecting nearby buildings.

He took a photo of the building and sent it to the girls so they could see for themselves how sinister it looked at night. Along with the picture, he sent an audio recording of his conversation with the cashier — just for a little chill down the spine. The girls immediately bombarded him with questions: what had he seen, when would he be back, and whether he’d run into any stray ghosts…

While Alex was texting with them in the family group chat, the girls occasionally sent in curious news about strange incidents happening in the city. He still couldn’t figure out why they even used the chat when they were sitting right next to each other — and somehow still managed to text each other privately at the same time.

Alex decided not to dwell on that odd fact.

Clicking through the links they sent from various forums, Alex was once again convinced that this world was truly a dark place — and especially this city, where events far beyond the ordinary happened far too often. He knew it was all connected to cursed places, ghosts, or people possessed by them.

Lucina had even dug up a post on one forum about a strange village called Coffin Village, where, according to an eyewitness, the population was split like this: 10% living, 10% dead, and 80% ghosts. Alex smirked and immediately recorded a long voice message to the chat, telling the girls the creepiest details about this mysterious ghost-filled village.

All the most interesting urban legends they found were sent to him — so he could retell or comment on them. And if Alex didn’t know something, their family had the Red and White Queens, who could dig up any information, right down to the most classified rumors, by hacking into whatever database was needed.

And so, talking and sharing stories, the time crept toward midnight. If it hadn’t been for GIR tugging on Alex’s sleeve, he might not have noticed that the moment had come.

“What?” Alex asked, looking up from his phone.

“It’s time,” GIR replied, pointing at his watch.

“Hmmm… Looks like it’s almost midnight. Alright. Quick change — and off to the apartments. Chen Ge will be here soon. We can’t miss this chance. Besides, I still haven’t remembered how to get to the 24th floor,” Alex said, jumping down from the car hood.

GIR, MIMI, and Stitch packed away their portable game consoles, changed into ninja outfits, activated camouflage mode, and quietly “latched on” to Alex’s body. He himself was dressed in a black coat and held his favorite white mask — the very one in which he’d committed more than a few crimes across different worlds.

Pulling up his hood, he calmly walked past the gate guard. The man didn’t even notice anyone slip inside. The time was 11:35 PM. Putting away his phone, Alex headed toward the third building — the one he needed.

At first glance, the entrance looked completely ordinary. But Alex knew that inside was a society of ghost story enthusiasts.

He stopped at the doorway, realizing that Chen Ge must already be inside, hiding on the stairwell, waiting for the right moment.

Lighting a cigarette, Alex leaned against the wall, gazing at the grim night sky. He quietly whistled a somber tune, reminiscent of a flute melody — one so eerie that even stray animals scattered in all directions. At that moment, a faint shadow of a smile played on his lips.

His mind swirled with possibilities — each one a different way to deal with the person he had come here for. Every method seemed far too merciful. He even considered tossing that bastard into Chaos as an intriguing option. Still, he decided he’d make the final choice on the spot. Worst case, he’d let Zhang Ya decide what to do with the one responsible for her death.

The clock read 11:50 PM. The time had come. Alex effortlessly opened the building’s front door and stepped inside.

Meanwhile, Chen Ge descended from the stairwell landing where he had been waiting and walked over to the elevator. Stepping inside, he pressed the button for the 23rd floor.

The silvery-gray doors began to close slowly, as if trying to shut him away from the outside world. But at the very last moment, a hand slid into the gap, stopping them from sealing shut.

Chen Ge flinched, instinctively lowering his hand toward the cleaver strapped to his calf. The stranger who had stopped the doors confidently pushed them open. Before Chen Ge stood a tall man, his face hidden under a hood.

“I told you we’d meet again, boss,” came a familiar male voice.

Hearing it, Chen Ge instantly recalled today’s strange visitor to the Haunted House — the one with irises of an unusual color. He didn’t know the man’s name, but those rainbow-hued eyes were unforgettable. And now, this man was in the elevator with him.

The only explanation Chen Ge could think of was that the guest had come here for the Ghost Story Society. Alex, noticing the flicker of uncertainty on his face, barely held back a smirk.

“Mind taking your hand off the cleaver?” he drawled lazily. “If I wanted to do something to you, I’d have done it already.”

“Are you following me?” Chen Ge asked, keeping his distance.

“You think too much, Chen Ge. You don’t have anything worth hunting you for. And besides…” Alex tilted his head slightly. “I’m going to the same place as you. Just for a different reason. You’re looking for answers. I’m looking for something… entirely different.”

“How do you know my name?” Chen Ge asked warily, pressing himself into the corner of the cabin.

“While I was in line for your Haunted House, someone in the crowd called you by it. Would’ve been rude not to introduce myself. I’m Alexander, but you can call me Alex,” he replied calmly.

“Nice to meet you, Alex,” Chen Ge said with a strained smile.

“Likewise. So, shall we ride? It’s not every day you get the chance to play the ‘elevator game.’ By the way, remind me of the sequence. Rules differ in different countries.”

“First 23rd, then 2nd. And then we keep going up. What do you mean by ‘rules differ’?”

“Exactly that. Different countries have their own legends, their own ghosts — and their own elevator games. If you want to add something like that to your Haunted House, you’ll have to put in a lot of work,” Alex said, glancing at the button panel.

Chen Ge nodded. He had already realized that Alex knew more than he was letting on. Silence filled the cabin, broken only by the soft hum of the machinery. From time to time, Chen Ge cast sidelong glances at his companion, trying to figure out what kind of man he was.

The elevator quickly reached the 23rd floor. A chime rang, the doors slid open, and the cabin’s light spilled into the hallway before being swallowed by darkness. Closed doors lined both sides, and at the far end, an open window let in the howl of the wind.

Without hesitation, Alex pressed the button for the 2nd floor. The doors slid shut again, and the cabin began its smooth descent.

Chen Ge felt a strange tension, but was slightly reassured by the fact that he wasn’t alone. From the speakers inside the elevator, a calm melody played.

As soon as the elevator stopped on the 2nd floor, Alex pressed the button for the 22nd. The cabin began to ascend again.

Alex smirked to himself — this all seemed like a ridiculous way to reach the cursed floor. He could clearly sense the presence of the Red Door and knew exactly where the 24th floor was. But the urge to follow the game’s “rules” was stronger and far more entertaining than taking the shortcut.

Chen Ge was beginning to feel slightly unwell — the elevator had been going up and down endlessly, and even his good physical shape didn’t save him from growing motion sickness. He stole a glance at Alex to see how he was handling these monotonous rides. Alex’s face was perfectly calm, and he was quietly humming along to the tune from the speakers, swaying slightly as if in rhythm with the music.

“What’s wrong, Chen Ge? Feeling sick?” Alex asked, noticing his gaze.

“It’s fine… just a little dizzy,” Chen Ge admitted, shaking his head.

“Then let’s keep going,” Alex said calmly, pressing the button for the 18th floor.

The elevator rose to the 18th, then went down to the 7th, and soon was headed up again — to the 17th. All this time, nothing unusual happened. When the doors opened on one of the floors, Alex leaned out curiously. The corridor stretched into darkness, and when Chen Ge did the same, he saw no movement and no light.

“Lucky so far. Just a bit more and we’ll reach the 24th,” Chen Ge said, already suspecting that he and Alex shared the same destination.

“You should be careful saying things like that,” Alex replied darkly. “Usually, when you think or say everything’s going fine, reality decides to flip it upside down.”

Chen Ge simply nodded — he knew all too well about jinxing. Without missing a beat, Alex pressed the next button and went back to humming. But soon, a light tug on his shoulder distracted him — Chen Ge silently pointed to the panel. The red number 16 was glowing, even though they hadn’t pressed it.

“Oh. Looks like the fun part’s starting,” Alex drawled, glancing at his phone. “Past midnight now, which means we’ve hit peak activity.”

Chen Ge frowned. The button for the 17th floor was still lit, but the elevator stopped on the 16th. The doors slid open, revealing darkness as thick as ink. Chen Ge instinctively reached for the cleaver hidden on his calf, but a strange metallic click sounded beside him. Turning his head, he saw Alex holding a massive revolver of an unfamiliar design.

“What? Never seen a gun before?” Alex smirked. “You’re allowed to carry a cleaver for ghosts, but I can’t take a revolver for a walk?”

Chen Ge stayed silent. Both of them peered into the corridor. The darkness swallowed everything — beyond ten meters, nothing was visible. In the silence, only their breathing could be heard. Alex tapped the elevator doors lightly with the gun’s barrel, as if trying to provoke a ghost into showing itself. But no one emerged from the gloom.

When the doors began to close again, Alex narrowed his eyes.”After seventeen, little ‘surprises’ like that will be more common. Just don’t panic. Worst case… you can try kicking a ghost in the… well, in its ghostly balls.”

“And if it’s a female ghost?” Chen Ge asked, realizing Alex was just trying to lighten the oppressive mood in the elevator.

“Then grab her by the chest. Later you can tell your friends you caught a ghost by its most valuable asset,” Alex said with a grin, giving a thumbs-up.

Chen Ge laughed, shaking his head. Alex calmly pressed the button for the 8th floor. The doors closed, and the elevator began its next descent.

To be continued…

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep