chapter_019 : Peeping

This day, everyone gathered at Roderick Green's place. Of course, Joey Foster also came.

"Gary has been killed. If you want to live, you have to follow our instructions. Well... Listen up. First, try to stay away from mirrors and elevators during this time. When taking a shower, it's better to take a quick rinse, because if you take a bath, a ghost might pop out of the water. Never go to dimly - lit places. Try to stay in public areas."

These precautions were similar to the previous ones, and all three listened intently. At first, Joey didn't really believe it. But when Cedric told her that Gary was dead, and both Cedric and Roderick said they had seen the ghost - woman, she had to believe it. At the same time, she also placed great hopes on Orion and Jane.

"Don't be too nervous before the death deadline arrives," Jane first comforted them, and then said, "Well... Once the death date arrives, follow my plan. First, stay in a public place, and then we'll arrange the escape route. Once Orion uses his paranormal ability, it will create some obstacles for the ghost - woman, and that will be our best chance to escape!" Once the clock hands cross midnight, no, at the very moment of midnight, when the death date starts, the lives of those cursed are no longer guaranteed. They might die in the next second. So, they could only rely on Orion's paranormal ability to create some obstacles for the ghost - woman. Judging from the situation when he dispelled the ghosts, he could probably keep the ghost - woman away from the cursed for a while.

Within 24 hours, the most critical moment is midnight. It's the turning point from death to survival. Orion has to build up his paranormal ability before then and use it to the fullest at that time. As long as they get past midnight, they'll be in a safe period and can survive.

There are too many uncertainties within 24 hours. The ghost - woman won't just stand in front of you for you to deal with. She will surely hide in invisible places, making you completely unaware, and then suddenly strike and kill you. Sometimes, she might even make people disappear directly. Considering this, the protection has to be carried out in an area with no blind spots. That is to say, people have to be arranged to monitor around the cursed person from all directions, so that no matter where the ghost - woman appears, they can detect it immediately. This is the best arrangement for now... Jane knew clearly that even if Orion's paranormal ability improved, the possibility of saving them was still very slim. So, at least they had to use this opportunity to let Orion gain some practical experience and face the ghosts directly.

In addition, there was another problem, which was Violet. After much deliberation, Jane still decided to let Violet come in person. After all, determining the death date was a matter of life and death, and they couldn't afford to be careless. They had to let Violet say it herself. At present, Orion should be able to tell whether his sister was real or not. This would provide some insurance, at least. Of course, it took some time to persuade Orion.

"I promise you, she'll only provide the time data and won't participate in the mission at all. Is that okay? I admit that I have expectations for her paranormal ability, but this is the major premise of our cooperation. I won't sacrifice the big for the small."

Since she said so, Orion also understood the importance of Violet. After weighing the pros and cons, he agreed.

However, Jane didn't expect at that time that she really underestimated the horror of the ghost - woman in that painting. Although Gary was dead, since he lived alone, his body hadn't been discovered yet, and no one else knew about it. According to Jane's suggestion, they couldn't call the police. They had to leave the body there for now until someone found it. After all, the conversation between Orion and Cedric at their internship unit that day might have been overheard. If they told the police about Gary, they would surely be taken to the police station for investigation. If that happened during the death - date period, staying at the police station would definitely be unfavorable for the plan.

So the best way was... To try to keep Gary's body from being discovered. Of course, this couldn't last long. If he didn't go to work all the time, the people at the internship unit might contact his family. However, he was just an intern. At most, he would be fired for absenteeism, so there was no need to worry too much. The school was also quite lenient and wouldn't pay too much attention. In addition, Jane sprinkled a potion she had prepared herself on the body, which could delay the rotting and stinking of the body for about a week. In this way, the neighbors wouldn't call the police because of the stench. Since he still owed rent, Cedric paid the landlord with his own money to clear all the arrears. They were friends, so no one would suspect anything later. Afterward, Orion also admired Jane for her meticulousness. He never expected that she could make such a potion. It seemed that there were a lot of treasures in the laboratory in her basement. There were also many good things on her.

Roderick quit his job and could only wander around on the street. This could also be considered as staying in a "public place". Since it wasn't his "turn" yet, his life was safe for the time being.

That's when he noticed something.

There was another apartment building less than 10 meters across from his apartment. The room in the opposite apartment building, which was right across from his study window, seemed to have been empty all the time. He didn't really pay much attention to it at first. But that night when he got home and stood in front of the study window, he unexpectedly saw a light in that room. Had someone moved in?

It wasn't really that strange. But now that he was alone at home, he couldn't help but let his imagination run wild. Out of curiosity, he stood at the window and stared at it. Since the distance was close and his eyesight was good, he could see clearly. It seemed to be a study room too. There was a desk in front of the window and a bookshelf on the left. And what made Roderick a little concerned was...

Looking through the window, he could faintly see another row of windows on the right, with the curtains drawn. This was a very ordinary sight, but he always felt that there was something behind the curtains because they were bulging. Since the desk blocked the view of the bottom of the curtains, he couldn't see clearly. If there was a person behind the curtains, there was really nothing too surprising. But during this special period, Roderick always felt a little uneasy.

He opened the fourth drawer of the desk and took out a telescope. This was a high - power telescope with adjustable distance. He could clearly see the scene inside a window less than 10 meters away, as if it was right in front of him.

Through the telescope, he clearly saw... The curtains were really bulging! And the outline of the bulge was obviously a person!

His hand holding the telescope trembled slightly. He had to comfort himself: Maybe it was just the owner's strange hobby to hide behind the curtains. That was all. This explanation made sense. Besides, even if it was "her"... She could also appear behind the curtains in his own home. Why would she go to the opposite apartment?

Right? Thinking like this, he put down the telescope and went to sleep. However, the scene he saw through the telescope kept lingering in his mind. He also thought that just leaving Gary's body in his house without caring, would his ghost resent him? But there was nothing he could do. It was for the sake of survival... He hoped that Gary could understand him in the afterlife.

Around 6 a.m. the next day, Jane suggested that he should live normally and not be too anxious. For example, he could continue to send resumes to other companies for internships. After all, this was also a good way to stay in public places. He decided to first check online to see if there were any companies recruiting interns and then send out resumes. Just then, as if possessed, he picked up the telescope again and looked at that room.

It seemed that... As long as the person behind the curtains disappeared, he could explain all this as the owner's strange hobby.

But...

The bulging figure behind the curtains was still there! And it was in exactly the same position as yesterday!

The telescope in his hand suddenly fell to the ground. He didn't even react when it hit his foot. Could the person behind the curtains have been standing there from last night until now? Even if it was a strange hobby, it couldn't be that extreme, could it? No... There was another explanation. Maybe the owner really liked to do such meaningless things. So he got up early and hid behind the curtains in the same position again. This possibility wasn't ruled out. But... Was it really like this? Even he himself thought it was a bit far - fetched.

So, without thinking too much, he put on his clothes and ran out. He decided not to care about anything and just go to send resumes first. When he went out, he deliberately looked back at the window of the opposite apartment and then left.

On the way, he called Jane specifically.

"You mean you saw someone behind the curtains? Got it. Do you know which room it is? I have a master key and can go and check it out."

Hearing what Jane said, Roderick was very grateful. He had long forgotten about the time when she held a knife to his neck and thanked her repeatedly.

Violet wouldn't come until the afternoon, so Orion and Jane went to that apartment building first.

"By the way, don't you have to go to work? I remember you said you were an illustrator, right?" "Yes, I've drawn illustrations for Zoe Moore's novels. Since she hasn't had any new works recently, I'm out of work for the time being. I've always had the habit of saving money, and I'm not interested in investments. I never play the stock market, so I have enough money to live on. Even if I'm short of money, I can also help some pharmaceutical companies formulate drugs to earn some extra money. After all, I've spent a lot of time learning pharmacy in the past three years."

"How did you learn the chemical knowledge related to drugs, like the formulas?"

"It's not that complicated. Most of the time, I collect some plants, study their structures and components, and then conduct experiments on various animals. After selecting a suitable formula, I also have to pay attention to the components and determine their chemical properties. Of course, this requires time and money. I don't really care about time, but money was a problem at first. Fortunately, my father sent me a sum of money as startup capital. As for how to spend it, he let me decide for myself. I can probably guess how he got that money. For someone like my father with the ability of precognition, there are many ways to make money."

It seemed that Jane's father was testing her. He wanted her to learn to be independent without relying on others in a solitary situation, find the most suitable way to survive, and mature as soon as possible. "My father only provided the materials. It was up to me to figure out how to make the finished products. I don't really dislike the way he did it. Maybe it's the best for me. He has carried the fate of an unlucky child since he was young, so he has always been very independent. He also wanted me to grow up in the same way. Although it has been lonely for the past three years, whenever I think that my father is watching me somewhere, expecting me to grow up, I can persevere. All of this is just to survive."

At this moment, Orion deeply understood why Jane gave him a unique feeling. Her perseverance and resilience also gave Orion great encouragement.

No matter what, he had to survive!

The two first asked the apartment manager about that room. According to the manager, the room had been vacant for three years and no one had lived in it until now.

Hearing this, the two of them naturally understood what was going on.

Of course, they couldn't take the elevator. Otherwise, it would be like asking the ghost to come to them. Walking up the stairs also made one's hair stand on end. Although it was daytime now, the deserted corridor still made people have wild imaginations. Orion and Jane tiptoed up the stairs step by step. Orion's palms were already sweating. After all, this was the first time he was directly facing a ghost. What would it be like after they went in? "Listen... Our goal is not to kill 'her'... Not to mention you, even my father couldn't do that," Jane was also very nervous at this moment, but she still pretended to be calm and instructed Orion, "Our goal is to test the opponent's strength. After all, know your enemy and know yourself, and you can fight a hundred battles with no danger of defeat. It would be very unfavorable for us if we don't understand the enemy."

The study with the problem was in Room 401. It took them about 20 minutes to climb the four - story stairs. One reason was that they walked very slowly. The other reason was that they would stand still at each floor for a long time before daring to continue.

Finally, they reached the door of Room 401.

"Orion... Listen. When I insert the key into the lock, don't use your paranormal ability yet, or you'll tip off the enemy. After we go in, we have to be on high alert at all times. When you face 'her' directly, don't be afraid. She's not the ghost that will kill you in your curse. What you have to do is to use your paranormal ability as much as possible. If something goes wrong, run away immediately. Don't worry. I have ways to ensure that we can definitely escape."

Ways? Did she have some potion that could make one's feet fly? It wasn't impossible. Hearing what she said, Orion felt a lot more relieved. Then, Jane took out the master key and unlocked the door. Sure enough, as the manager said, as soon as they entered, they could tell that this place had been deserted for a long time. Not to mention the dust and cobwebs on the walls, the empty room was enough to prove it. Then, the two of them stood close together, always on guard.

Orion followed Jane's instruction and didn't release his paranormal ability. But he clearly felt that there was definitely something in this room. Although the sun was shining brightly outside, the sense of fear didn't diminish at all. If Jane hadn't been with him, he really wouldn't have been able to stay there.

The two of them were almost shoulder to shoulder, slowly moving towards the room facing the opposite apartment. To be honest, although they were both mentally prepared, the suffocating atmosphere was really too oppressive. It felt like the ghost - woman would jump out of the door at any moment. In fact, if she really jumped out, they wouldn't be so afraid. But the current situation was even more terrifying. An invisible enemy was far more frightening than a visible one.

It usually takes only five or six steps to get there, but they spent almost a minute and a half to move to the door of the room. When they went in, they saw the drawn - up brown curtains right in front of them. But there was no bookshelf or desk in this room! And it was obvious that there was no one behind the curtains.

"Did Roderick see it wrong?"