The Staircase

Translator: Cinder Translations

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"Did something grab Liang Long here?" The Fatty stared at the sports watch in Chen Ran's hand, his face twitching a few times. "Is that why the watch was left behind here?"

"Could it be the thing that took the motorcycle girl?" The Fatty looked around warily, his voice trembling. "Last time, the motorcycle girl was taken at the lighthouse, and now Liang Long also went missing here."

"There seem to be a lot of strange events centred around this area," Chen Ran squinted, casually tossing away the watch, which was likely Liang Long's belongings, and then began walking to one side, slowly crouching down.

Chen Ran had half hidden himself in the darkness, and the Fatty seemed reluctant to go over. Ever since entering the nightmare, his fear of the dark had reached its peak.

But he wasn't the one who made decisions for the team; it was the doctor.

If the doctor had told him to go back to Blackstone Town by himself, he would, well, he would've thought about it carefully.

"Let's go," Jiang Cheng glanced around and said to the Fatty, "Let's head back first."

The Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng, then glanced at Chen Ran, who was crouching in the darkness, showing only half of his back. He seemed to be asking, "What should we do about him?"

"Brother Chen Ran, take your time," Jiang Cheng shouted, politely saying, "We'll head back first."

Upon hearing this, Chen Ran quickly stood up and walked over.

For the one who said one thing but did another, the Fatty was extremely wary.

His face seemed to be as thick-skinned as the doctor's, and the fake expression was quite similar.

"Brother Hao, you're too polite," Chen Ran was almost close to Jiang Cheng's face, so much so that the latter could feel his breath. "I'm worried about you two going back alone. Let's go together."

Jiang Cheng looked into his eyes, suddenly pulled the Fatty behind him, and the doctor's move was so sudden that the Fatty almost fell over from being yanked.

"Sure," Jiang Cheng answered in his distinctive tone, "But you can't get too close to this Fatty," he paused, stuck out his neck, and continued, "This Fatty is mine."

Chen Ran sized up Jiang Cheng and the Fatty, then smiled, "Understood."

With each of them holding a torch, Chen Ran was told to lead the way. Jiang Cheng's reasoning was that Chen Ran reminded him of the sports committee member from elementary school who got hit by a car.

Back then, during morning exercises, he always felt safe following the committee member.

The Fatty still walked last. The further he went, the less certain he felt, because he remembered once when he had insomnia and was caught by the doctor who was out for a late-night bathroom break. The doctor then enthusiastically told him several bedtime stories.

Stories like ghosts knocking on walls in cemeteries, midnight debate contests in morgues, and the most terrifying of all—the never-ending staircase at midnight.

It was about a female office worker who worked overtime alone at the company until dawn. Then the power went out, and she had to walk down the stairs. No matter how much she walked, she found herself stuck on the 18th floor.

Later, she even tried jumping down a few steps at a time.

But the scariest part was that a ghost, with no lower body after being severed by the elevator, clung to her back.

The ghost covered her eyes with its hands.

The woman was always moving, but not in the stairwell; she was in a pitch-black hallway, hopping toward a desolate elevator shaft—the place where the ghost had died.

After hearing the doctor's story, the Fatty couldn't sleep all night, feeling like something was pressing on him from behind. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng slept soundly and even snored with satisfaction.

The immediate consequence of this was that the Fatty no longer dared to take elevators, nor could he walk alone in stairwells—especially at night.

And even, right now! The doctor's stories kept replaying in his head, and he always felt like something was following him.

After walking a few steps, he had to turn around to check.

"Doctor," the Fatty said nervously, "Could you slow down? I'm afraid I won't keep up."

Jiang Cheng really did slow down a bit and then whispered to the Fatty, "Fatty, I'm afraid if I slow down, something behind you will catch up."

The Fatty immediately shut down.

Thankfully, until they reached the second stone door, they encountered no strange occurrences. Chen Ran squinted and was the first to enter the lighthouse.

Inside, the flames were burning brightly, and the warmth spilling out comforted the Fatty's heart.

Everything seemed normal inside the lighthouse. Su An was asleep in the corner, and Su Xiaoxiao was guarding the stone door. Whether it was Su Xiaoxiao's doing or the old woman's, the old woman had crawled out of the basket and was now squeezed between two baskets.

Su Xiaoxiao was highly alert, and when they entered, she didn't show any particular expression, clearly having heard their footsteps long before, even seeing them from the stone door.

But when the Fatty was pushed inside by Jiang Cheng and everyone sat in a circle, Su Xiaoxiao's face started to change. She glanced at the stone door and then her face darkened.

Without asking, the missing Liang Long was most likely in great danger.

"What's going on?"

Jiang Cheng was still warming himself by the fire. The Fatty saw that Jiang Cheng didn't respond, so he didn't speak either. Chen Ran slowly explained the events that had transpired during this time, especially the things they encountered in Blackstone Town and the scene of Liang Long's disappearance.

"What about her watch?" Su Xiaoxiao suddenly asked.

Chen Ran grinned, "It's lost."

"Lost?" Su Xiaoxiao's eyes widened slightly.

"Miss Su, please believe me," Chen Ran said with a knowing glance at Jiang Cheng, "And of course, Mr. Hao's judgment, Miss Liang is most likely dead, so I think there's no need to keep this watch. We no longer have the chance to return it to her," he said, spreading his hands.

It was perfectly normal for someone to die in a nightmare, so after Su Xiaoxiao learned she couldn't get any details about Liang Long's disappearance or death, she naturally shifted her focus to what they had learned in Blackstone Town.

At least they learned some information about the curse and the origins of this giant building.

Su Xiaoxiao wasn't hiding anything about her discovery in the forest, whether from Jiang Cheng, the Fatty, or Chen Ran. Her sole purpose was to end the mission as quickly as possible.

Although after returning to this stone room, her younger brother Su An's condition had stabilized, no one knew how long he could last.

The Fatty, observing the lively exchange among the three, couldn't help but interrupt, "So what the people in Blackstone Town said is true, we just need to protect the fire inside the lighthouse and we can safely complete the mission?"

Su Xiaoxiao, who was speaking, suddenly stopped.

She then looked at the Fatty with a strange expression.

The Fatty became nervous under her gaze.

"How old is the blond man?" Jiang Cheng asked calmly.

"About... about 35," the Fatty replied.

"But according to his storyline," Jiang Cheng put his hands down from the fire, looked up at the Fatty and said, "He was already the town mayor decades ago."

(End of the Chapter)

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Translated 4 Series, 1.65K+ Chapters and 2.01M+ Words.