Wan Jie Hospice Care Company

The footsteps behind them grew clearer, and Xiang Yu immediately tensed up. They had just come up from downstairs, and there should only be an escalator behind them.

Could it be that my judgment is wrong, and ghosts can come up from escalators?

Thinking of this, Xiang Yu secretly clenched his fist, gathering energy at the tip, ready to deliver a vicious blow to the person behind him at any moment.

"Smack."

Arrived!

Xiang Yu suddenly turned around, his right fist already halfway through its trajectory.

Before the fist could even break through the wind, the "thing" behind him made a sound first.

"Help, please help me!"

Suddenly, the person behind him knelt down, his hands on the ground, his voice trembling.

The man's entire body was covered in paper.

One sheet after another, layer upon layer, the stark white paper wrapped him from head to toe, not a single inch of skin showing. From a distance, he didn't look like a person, but rather like a mummy hastily wrapped up and carelessly tossed into a corner of the mall.

Oh? So that's a trick of the trade. Looks like this person is quite resourceful.

This is indeed a way to deal with the supernatural, but it's not without its price. Being wrapped in white paper does prevent people from recognizing you as human, but it also prevents you from taking any action. White paper isn't very durable, and if you're completely wrapped up, it will tear into pieces after just a few steps.

The next person's words confirmed Xiang Yu's conjecture.

"I...I've been squatting in the trash can for three days now," the man in the paper clothes cried, his voice muffled by the paper covering. "There were originally three people who crawled in with me that day. But...the two of them couldn't hold back and climbed out halfway through."

He paused for a moment: "Then it started making a commotion outside... a lot of noise, really loud... and after that, I don't know anything anymore."

His shoulders heaved violently, each movement accompanied by the soft rustling of paper.

"It's been three days, and I'm reaching my limit. I originally wanted to try my best to break out, since I'd starve to death anyway if I hid, so I might as well give it a shot... But in the end, I still didn't have the courage to break out."

"I only decided to take one last gamble after you arrived and I heard the commotion outside... Please, save me!"

It sounds like there's no problem...

Xiang Yu didn't rush to retract his fist. He lowered his eyes and quietly used his "Knowledgeable" ability to scan the man—

[Rank: E]

Level E. An ordinary person, nothing special.

He then slowly loosened his fist, letting the scorching light sink back into his palm.

Xiang Yu turned to look at An Ling. There was indeed a hint of pity in An Ling's eyes, but she did not act on her own initiative. Instead, she turned to look at Xiang Yu, and the two locked eyes.

The fat boss, however, inexplicably spoke up: "I suggest we ignore him. If he follows us now, he'll just be a burden and hinder our escape."

"Who asked you?" Xiang Yu thought this guy was incredibly shameless. "And do you even have the right to say that?"

"...I'm sorry, but I'm telling the truth, comrade." The fat boss's tone suddenly wilted.

The man in the paper clothes was looking at the fat boss with a piercing gaze, as if he wanted to devour him alive.

Ignoring the fat boss, Xiang Yu slowly said, "It's also dangerous to come with us, because my goal isn't to escape at all. If you just want to escape, stay in the trash can and you can leave naturally after everything is over."

"Huh? Not to escape?" The fat boss was taken aback. "Then what is it for? Are you going to investigate whether I'm open for business at a time like this?!"

The man in the paper clothes stopped looking at the fat boss, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "I... I'll stay with you. I really can't take it anymore..."

"Alright, but there are three conditions for following me. First, absolutely do not do anything unnecessary." Xiang Yu held up three fingers. "Second, absolutely do not disobey my orders."

"Third, once you join me, never listen to anyone else. Otherwise, you can leave now and go back to the trash can. Choose."

The man in the paper clothes didn't hesitate: "I...I'll do as you say!"

"Alright," Xiang Yu nodded, then said to the fat boss, "Let's move on... By the way, you just said that the third floor is the toy store, right?"

"Ah...yes."

"That means we're about to encounter someone just like the kid who was playing soccer earlier..."

The moment the words left his mouth, the sounds of children playing emerged from the darkness ahead.

"In 1997, I learned to drive a car. Going uphill and downhill, I ran over more than a thousand people."

A man was driving a bumper car, crashing and smashing everything in his path. In an instant, the third floor was covered in blood and gore, with countless severed limbs flying through the air, making one's eyelids twitch.

Several heads were rolling around on the ground, their faces obscured by blood and gore, but Xiang Yu guessed they must be those of the people who had gone missing.

Moreover, those heads were still murmuring something and groaning in pain; it was hard to imagine how much suffering they were enduring.

At the same time, several bumper cars appeared, colliding violently with each other at speeds so fast that they didn't seem like toys at all, but rather like countless real cars speeding between buildings at 100 miles per hour.

Sure enough, each floor had its own dangers. Those who dared to venture to the third floor were likely to be killed by the bumper cars that sped around everywhere, and were smashed to pieces.

The fat boss and the man in paper clothes turned pale at the sight. They couldn't imagine how painful it would be to still have consciousness after being crushed into mincemeat.

"It's over, it's over! We're going to die here too!!!" The fat boss cried, his face full of despair. He was truly caught between a rock and a hard place. He would be hit and killed on the third floor, and dismembered on the second floor. There was no way he could survive!

"..." The man in the paper clothes was speechless for a moment and could only subconsciously back away.

The only solution now is...

"Go back to the escalator!" Xiang Yu immediately ordered.

Upon hearing the order, the group quickly returned to the escalator, which continued to slide upwards. In order to remain stationary on the escalator, they could only slowly descend with it.

Sure enough, the way these kids drove the bumper cars wasn't random; at least they only circled around the third floor and didn't rush over the railing to other floors.

That means it's safe on the escalator for the time being.

If you stand on the third floor for even a short while, you're bound to run into these speeding bumper cars. And the escalators going up and down the floors are conveniently located on opposite sides of each floor, one at one end and the other at the other.

To get to the fourth floor, you have to cross an entire floor.

The likely outcome of crossing over is being head-on smashed through by those unreasonable bumper cars.

There is a solution, though. If Xiang Yu is quick-witted and agile enough to punch a bumper car to pieces, that would certainly work.

But here's the problem: this thing is as fast as a wild dog that's off the leash. Even someone as agile as Xiang Yu, who has reached the pinnacle of human agility, can't guarantee that he can destroy the bumper car while avoiding a collision.

It's like making Usain Bolt race against a giant truck.

However, just as Xiang Yu was pondering how to resolve this matter, he noticed that his system bar vibrated.

"Um?"

Xiang Yu glanced at the system and noticed an exclamation mark on the [Items] tab.

He focused his gaze on the [Items], and after opening the inventory, he found that the [Forgotten Doll (Remains)] he owned was highlighted, as if it were reminding him of something.

He then clicked on the item description, and a pop-up window appeared in front of him.

There are materials nearby that can repair the item. You can choose to collect the items to restore it from (wreckage) to (completeness).