Chapter 12 Heavenly Descent

"It's covered, but it's trying to break free!" Tang Yingying said. 

"It probably won't hold for long. Let's go while we can!" Upon hearing this, Gu Shan immediately grabbed Tang Yingying and ran downstairs. 

He wanted to seize this opportunity to escape—at the very least, they couldn't be trapped in this building. 

As long as they escaped, there was still a chance. Worst case, they could follow Lu Tianming's example and lure the hanged ghost to someone else. 

Though Tang Yingying didn't fully understand Gu Shan's plan, she ran as fast as she could. After all, she didn't want to die, and if she had to, she definitely didn't want to be hanged. 

She'd heard that people who were hanged had their tongues sticking out really long—it was too ugly. 

The two of them moved quickly and soon reached the second floor. 

But at that moment, Tang Yingying's face turned pale. "Oh no, that thing—" 

Before she could finish, the sound of shattering glass came from above, and a figure plummeted downward.

"That thing used the jump to break free!" Tang Yingying felt like dying. She hadn't expected it to be so clever. 

But at that moment, someone else felt even more like dying. 

Zhao Kuo was startled by the sudden appearance of something landing in front of him. 

*What? Someone's jumping off a building here?* 

But he quickly realized that the thing in front of him wasn't human. No one could fall from such a height and still crawl around, with their limbs twisting unnaturally. 

As for the doll lying nearby—hmm, it looked familiar. 

Without hesitation, Zhao Kuo pulled out a talisman and lit it with a lighter. 

A wisp of blue smoke drifted out and landed on the hanged ghost. 

In an instant, Zhao Kuo seemed to hear a scream. The blue smoke burned the hanged ghost's body like acid. 

The talisman was unexpectedly brutal! 

The struggling hanged ghost, now agitated by the talisman, leaped up and ran away. 

It ran pretty fast. 

Zhao Kuo didn't chase it. After all, whether it was the talisman or the pendant, they only had the effect of dispelling supernatural entities. He didn't yet have the ability to completely kill them. 

Zhao Kuo picked up the familiar-looking bunny doll from the ground and looked up at the building. 

He took out a flashlight and entered the building. The first floor was a reception hall, laid out like a typical office building—spacious and dark. 

Clearly, Tang Yingying wasn't on the first floor. 

Zhao Kuo didn't continue upward. Instead, he closed the door and shouted, "Idiots!" 

On the second floor, Gu Shan and Tang Yingying heard the voice and exchanged glances. 

"That sounds familiar," Tang Yingying said uncertainly. 

Gu Shan, however, smiled. "It sounds like Zhao Kuo. The hanged ghost must have been driven away by him." 

"Ah, could it really be such a coincidence?" Tang Yingying still wasn't sure. After all, the safe zone wasn't small, and running into each other like this would be quite a stroke of fate. 

Gu Shan raised an eyebrow. "The number of survivors isn't large. It's not surprising that Zhao Kuo is still alive." 

Clearly, he had great confidence in Zhao Kuo's abilities. 

Downstairs, Zhao Kuo, seeing that Tang Yingying hadn't responded for so long, began to wonder if the doll was something she'd left behind after dying. 

It was very possible. After all, given her intelligence, the probability of her surviving was quite slim.

So he simply shouted, "Tang Yingying, if you don't come out now, I'm leaving." 

"Coming, coming!" Tang Yingying ran out from around the corner, looking unhappy. "Who are you calling an idiot?" 

"Calling..." 

Zhao Kuo was about to say "calling you" but then realized she was trying to trap him. "Are you okay? I thought you were dead." 

Tang YingYing: 

"I'm fine. Oh, and Brother Gu Shan is here too. If it weren't for him, I'd definitely be dead." 

After she finished speaking, Zhao Kuo also saw Gu Shan's figure. 

Now, the three of them were finally together. It was truly something worth celebrating. 

"What exactly happened?" Zhao Kuo asked. 

With his intelligence, it wasn't hard to guess that the two had been chased by the hanged ghost and, without any means to deal with the supernatural, had been forced into this building. 

But after listening to Gu Shan's account, Zhao Kuo's expression instantly turned grim. 

It was Lu Tianming again. 

Fortunately, the guy was currently alone. 

This guy had tried to trick him the moment they met, and now he'd almost gotten Tang Yingying and Gu Shan killed. Zhao Kuo would remember this grudge. 

"Let's get out of here quickly, before that thing comes back," Zhao Kuo said, not revealing his plans for revenge as he led them out of the office building. 

The three of them weren't in the next safe zone, 

but the rules had changed at this point. 

All paths to the next safe zone were now closed and would only open in the final five minutes. 

This meant that all survivors would be forced to encounter each other on the way to the next safe zone, leading to inevitable conflicts. 

This wasn't good news for anyone. 

And at this moment, Zhao Kuo had finally shaken off his weakened state and returned to his peak.

He recounted in detail the woman he had encountered at the bridgehead, analyzing her skills thoroughly to ensure that the two of them wouldn't be caught off guard if they met her again in the future. 

After listening, Tang Yingying was brimming with confidence and patted her chest. "No problem. When the time comes, I'll just have my cute little bunny go invisible and slice her through the heart, sending her flying." 

Zhao Kuo rolled his eyes at her words. He could imagine that if the three of them were together, that woman would definitely target Tang Yingying first—the one who looked like she could be taken out with a single shot. 

*Heart-slicing and flying? More like heart-shattering for you,* he thought. 

"It's better to be careful," Gu Shan, the eldest, said earnestly. "Brother Zhao was lucky this time. If it weren't for that bulletproof vest, things might have turned out differently. She's a tough opponent." 

Zhao Kuo nodded. "Fortunately, she seems to be a lone wolf. At least that's how it appeared during the auction and when I encountered her just now. Brother Gu Shan, take this shield. If we run into another team later, you'll likely have to take on the role of tanking damage." 

Gu Shan didn't hesitate and took the shield with a smile. "Ah, if only we had a healer or something right now." 

Zhao Kuo chuckled along. 

Having a healer would indeed make things much easier, but their team's composition wasn't bad. 

Gu Shan was responsible for tanking damage, while Zhao Kuo and Tang Yingying focused on quick, surprise attacks. With the element of surprise, they could take down most opponents in the first wave. 

However, this only worked for the initial strike. Once the enemy was prepared and the battle dragged on, their team would indeed be at a disadvantage. 

But disadvantages were relative. Zhao Kuo wasn't afraid of anyone. Even if it were Lu Tianming and his group, Zhao Kuo was confident he could handle them. 

*Lu Tianming...* 

With Zhao Kuo's addition, Tang Yingying and Gu Shan visibly relaxed. The two of them followed behind, and just looking at Zhao Kuo's back gave them a sense of inexplicable security. 

However, Tang Yingying soon became alert and whispered, "Zhao Kuo, someone's following us." 

Zhao Kuo's eyes narrowed, but he didn't turn around. 

Earlier, Zhao Kuo had suggested that Tang Yingying send out her doll to cover their rear. Unexpectedly, it had actually proven effective. 

"No problem. How many people?"