Chapter Fifteen: The One to Fill the Void

“Complete upheaval! All our previous assumptions have been turned upside down!”

Ji Li and the woman who had fully revealed her ghostly form stared at each other from opposite sides of a glass window. From the hatred and resentment burning in the ghost’s eyes, he even discerned a trace of mockery.

“We were wrong from the start! This female ghost is the true owner of Room 701!”

When the third personality spoke these words, its voice trembled. It had never imagined such a staggering reversal would occur.

“A preconceived error! Everyone assumed voyeurism was a perversion of a man towards a woman, but this mission proves the exact opposite! The owner of 701 is a twisted woman, her diary filled with distorted love for the single man in 702! The toiletries in the bathroom, the men’s clothes in the cabinet—they must have been stolen from the Raincoat Man’s room! The diary mentioned a teddy bear on the door of 702 matching the pattern on the phone case—that’s solid proof! The Raincoat Man was stabbed, bled, and fled; he possessed the key to 702 but couldn’t enter 701… That’s because he is a living, breathing person! We were all deceived by the murder scene into believing the victim was the owner of 702 and the killer was the ghost of 701. But in truth, what we witnessed was not a reenactment created by the ghost at all!”

The third personality’s voice grew louder as it laid out the general picture in the wind.

“The female ghost cannot truly kill. The Raincoat Man, the real victim, must repeatedly try to kill her to end this horrifying entanglement. That is the truth of this mission!”

Without the third personality’s explanation, Ji Li had already seen through everything upon witnessing the phone case and the ghost’s true form. He exhaled heavily, cast a deep glance at the ghost still lying motionless on the bed, and slowly withdrew his body back to the window ledge of Room 701.

When Ji Li returned, he found Yu Guo and Fang Shenyan crouched by the entrance, while Cao Yuan leaned against the bed, clutching his chest with a ghastly pale face.

“Ji… Brother Ji… save me…”

Seeing Ji Li’s return, the flicker of hope in Cao Yuan’s eyes reignited as he stretched out his arm, calling Ji Li’s name, pleading for rescue.

But Ji Li paid him no mind and instead strode directly toward Fang Shenyan, the one responsible for this chaos.

“What happened after I left?”

Yu Guo pressed his lips, glanced at Fang Shenyan, and seeing no intention to speak, proceeded to recount everything that had transpired among the three of them.

Moonlight poured into the master bedroom of 701, merging the shadows of Ji Li, Fang, and Yu Guo as though converging into one.

Only Cao Yuan’s curled-up figure was reflected on the floor, one corner of his shadow stepping on Ji Li’s foot.

...

“That’s how it happened.” Yu Guo’s throat was dry; he wanted to drink water but then reconsidered.

“The Raincoat Man can’t be a ghost. His behavior is undeniably human!”

Ji Li nodded upon hearing this, then sat cross-legged and shared everything he had seen earlier in Room 702.

When the shocking reversal came to light, Yu Guo jumped to his feet.

“Damn! This ghost is hiding so deep!”

Fang Shenyan was visibly shaken. In fact, if they hadn’t boldly provoked the Raincoat Man before, this earth-shattering truth would never have been revealed!

No one could have predicted the situation would develop this far.

Ji Li’s gaze was profound, seemingly blending into the surrounding environment.

“What we can confirm now is that the Raincoat Man is very much alive. He tries to kill the female ghost because his mind has been tormented to the brink of collapse! At this point, a way out seems almost within reach...”

Ji Li exhaled deeply. The Raincoat Man’s identity was extremely special.

In life, he was the ghost’s most “favored” target, and even after death, her obsession with him continued unabated.

The crucial question remained: why could the Raincoat Man confront the ghost directly and even attempt to kill her without dying?

Yu Guo began pacing again, his mind racing.

Except for Cao Yuan, the other three were all sharp thinkers. Now gathered, they quickly understood.

The key to survival undoubtedly lay in the Raincoat Man’s unique nature!

“Why... does the Raincoat Man, knowing there’s a ghost in 702, keep returning there repeatedly?”

Fang Shenyan, silent for some time, raised this question.

Ji Li looked at him; this was also a puzzle he couldn’t unravel.

Logically, knowing a ghost haunted his home and tormented him, why would he keep coming back to 702?

After learning the truth, Ji Li had discussed at length with the third personality in his mind.

Though most mysteries had been solved, many inexplicable aspects remained.

The Raincoat Man’s strange behavior was one; the other was the ever-absent sixth temporary employee. Ji Li had long believed this hidden living person, revealed only at the final stage, would be key to unlocking all answers.

Yet, to this day, he remained clueless.

Ji Li slowly rose from the floor and turned his gaze to the star-studded sky.

“Constraint…”

Suddenly, a word sprang to mind, spinning rapidly in his thoughts.

“We were forced to come to 701 to carry out the mission, forced to wait here for the ghost’s hunt. Could the Raincoat Man, repeatedly returning to 702 and facing the ghost’s torment, be similarly constrained?”

This leap of thought was bold but revealed a connection.

Had the sixth person already appeared?

Connecting the dots—Raincoat Man as a living person, the only other living soul seen tonight, the sixth employee, mysteriously bound, waiting at the mission site.

In an instant, Ji Li gathered these scattered clues into a comprehensive theory.

“But... one thing doesn’t add up.

The email clearly stated the mission location was 701.

If the Raincoat Man is the new employee, then his waiting spot is already beyond the mission scope...”

After a moment, Ji Li gasped sharply, as if struck by a sudden realization.

Within 701, only a few living breaths remained.

The ghost’s true identity was exposed; from now on, anyone could become the next target.

The way out was right before them, just a hair’s breadth away.

Yet, that final veil unrevealed was enough to cause disaster.

At that moment, Ji Li abruptly turned toward Cao Yuan, barely clinging to life at the bed’s edge.

He strode forward, his steps firm and confident.

Their eyes met, and a profound light flickered in Ji Li’s gaze as he looked at Cao Yuan’s face, twisted with pain and pleading.

Slowly and deliberately, he said, “Do you want to live?”