A decade or so ago, at that time, Old Wang was still known as Little Wang. He had just come to the city from his rural hometown to work. His family had several mouths to feed and debts of tens of thousands to repay. Every day, apart from working at the construction site, he took up various part-time jobs. Among them, working as a night-shift security guard was the best-paying job he had.
The hourly wage was good, and wages were paid weekly. At that time, surveillance cameras weren’t widespread, and security guards didn’t need to watch over them. Most of the time on the night shift was spent chatting, playing cards, and occasionally having a sip of liquor. Every couple of hours, he would take a stroll outside.
Old Wang’s workplace was an old office building with only two or three small companies, with no more than ten people inside. Even during the daytime, there were hardly any people around, and at night, it was even more desolate. But Old Wang heard from people in nearby shops that the building used to be different. There used to be dozens of companies, big and small, with over a thousand people working inside. It would often be bustling until late at night, with food stalls delivering snacks directly until dawn.
But as for why the office building had turned into this desolate state, the experienced security guards would give you a fearful look if you asked them about it. Old Wang had to ask several times before they vaguely explained, “Young people are under a lot of pressure. There have been suicides.” And they repeatedly warned Old Wang not to go to the rooftop if he didn’t want trouble.
“At that time, I was young,” Old Wang chuckled, “I wasn’t afraid of anything, and after a couple of drinks, I wouldn’t even know who I was.”
So, the more his colleagues warned him not to go there, the more determined he became to find out what was really going on. One dark and windy night when he was on duty alone, Old Wang had a few bottles of alcohol, and with his blood boiling, he decided to go up to the rooftop in the middle of the night.
Old Wang wiped his face as he spoke, and then described what he saw on the rooftop, “The rooftop was very dark. When I opened the door, it felt like entering a closed room, and it was so silent that I couldn’t hear any sound around me. Even my own cough echoed loudly.”
At first, he didn’t see anything, the rooftop was pitch black and empty. He just felt uncomfortable being there, with a heavy feeling in his chest, as if a big stone was pressing on it. He suddenly felt a rush of troubles, as if living had become a burden.
At this point, Old Wang took another look, and suddenly there were people all around him, in front, behind, and on both sides. They were dressed like young office workers, and they were moving in a daze, walking towards the edge of the rooftop. When Old Wang looked at them, those “people” also stared back at him with dull, lifeless eyes, wearing stiff, emotionless smiles like masks, giving off an eerie and chilling vibe in the middle of the night.
Old Wang also saw some people sitting on the ground, mechanically typing on computers, or nervously muttering to themselves while holding their phones, saying things like “I know,” “I’ll be right there,” and repeatedly apologizing, or suddenly showing a look of despair, as if there were debt collectors chasing them on the other end of the phone.
As Old Wang described what he saw on the rooftop, a cold wind suddenly blew through the room. The wind was accompanied by a mournful, weeping sound, making the backs of those listening feel cold and a sense of despair and exhaustion from deep within.
Old Wang instinctively paused, looked at his companions, and Xiao Qing urged him to continue with a piece of half-eaten asparagus in his mouth, “And then?”
“It’s okay,” Xu Yintang pinched Little Darling’s tentacles and tried to stuff the scalded beef to the cub. Seeing Old Wang suddenly go silent, he reassured him, “Go on, it’s nothing too strong.”
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
The smell of the “thing” that entered the room was quite mild, probably not having harmed anyone or possessing any unique qualities. Smelling similar to some patients in the hospital, both cubs who had eaten delicious prey didn’t find this plain meal appealing.
“Cigluta.” Yiv Qjcu ragjlutafcfv eq j yla, ralii tbivlcu tlr tjwwfg lc tlr tjcv yfobgf mbcalcelcu, “Djmx atfc, P vlv offi atja rbwfatlcu kjr boo, yea joafg j ofk vglcxr, j qfgrbc lrc’a atja mifjg-tfjvfv, frqfmljiis ktfc P kjr sbecu…”
Lf qjerfv obg j wbwfca tfgf, abemtlcu tlr kfjatfgfv jcv rlwqif ojmf klat j rbwfktja fwyjggjrrfv fzqgfrrlbc, “Gbc’a pevuf wf yjrfv bc tbk P ibbx cbk. Pc ws fjgis akfcalfr, P kjr xcbkc jr ‘Dlu Dgbatfg’ bc atf ragffar, jcv jii atf qbilmf lc ws tbwfabkc xcfk wf. Yatfgklrf, P kbeivc’a yf rb rxliifv ja yjrtlcu qfbqif’r tfjvr klat j tjwwfg. Po P tjvc’a aegcfv ws ilof jgbecv fjgis jcv yfmbwf j yfaafg qfgrbc, P kbeiv flatfg yf lc pjli bg lc j ugjnf ys cbk.”
So, faced with the eerie scene on the rooftop, the younger and more ruthless version of Old Wang wasn’t scared in the slightest. On the contrary, a sinister fire blazed in him, and if anyone stared at him, he’d glare back even more fiercely, grabbing the collar of the person closest to him and aggressively asking, “What are you looking at!”
It is said that even evil spirits fear evil people. Old Wang’s intimidating demeanor in his youth actually frightened the “people” around him. They stuttered, “N-nothing,” and stepped aside to let him pass.
The room was filled with that eerie cold wind again, and the mournful crying echoed around. If they had eaten something bland, they would have smelled a bloody scent emanating from the food, and the food would have dripped with a crimson liquid as if it were oozing blood.
However, they had indulged in an extremely spicy hot pot with a thick layer of red oil mixed with the strange crimson liquid. The faint scent of blood mixed in, and only Xiao Qing noticed something was amiss. A lightbulb went off in his mind, “Oh! We forgot to order duck blood!”
He said it as if something important was missing. How could you have hot pot without tender and smooth duck blood?
“Wait, Old Wang, finish your story, and then we can add the order.” Huahua wisely prevented Xiao Qing from immediately going to add the order, asking Old Wang, “So, they let you pass, and you actually went over?”
Old Wang had a look of youthful recklessness that he didn’t want to revisit. “I not only went over, but I also did something big.”
He followed the path cleared for him by those “people” and discovered that they were actually queuing up to jump off the rooftop. Looking over the edge, he saw a pile of disfigured bodies, many of which were almost level with the first-floor windows. It was like a sea of bodies, with blood sticking them to the ground.
These bodies seemed to retain some consciousness, still twitching and moaning, forming a scene of roiling waves in a sea of blood.
Suddenly, the “people” behind him became blurry figures, transforming into those who had fallen, their bodies mangled. They swayed toward him, reaching out to push him off. In the blink of an eye, they turned into foremen at the construction site, part-time supervisors, and unfriendly colleagues, wearing ugly, demon-like expressions. They accused him of being lazy, useless, and worthless.
At the same time, phone ringtones and clock-in sounds echoed from all directions, creating an inexplicable sense of anxiety and urgency, as if his father, his landlord, and debt collectors were all calling for money.
“W-w-wait, please stop! Don’t say it anymore!” Old Wang had only gotten halfway through the story when the room erupted with hysterical sobbing. A slender figure crawled out of the mushroom soup, his pale face filled with fear and panic.
He appeared to be in his early twenties and exuded the delicious aroma of mushroom soup. He couldn’t make eye contact with anyone and, especially when he realized that his entrance hadn’t scared anyone present, he became awkward and didn’t know where to place his hands.
Despite being fellow spirits, compared to Laura and Gerald’s appearances, he looked like a cannon fodder soldier, so timid that anyone could step on him. There was no need for further questioning, as he voluntarily spilled the beans.
“My name is Lei Bo. I used to live in room 2232… I was sent by the hotel people. If I didn’t come, they would have kicked me out…” Lei Bo’s voice grew softer as he spoke, and his face turned even redder, his freckles more prominent.
“I-I-I died from food allergies, so I can turn any food I touch into poison that causes allergic shock…” In the face of Xu Yintang’s increasingly friendly smile, Lei Bo couldn’t help but start trembling. Just before he emerged because of the ghostly story told by Old Wang, Xu Yintang had scooped out three beef balls, two chopsticks of enoki mushrooms, and a shrimp paste from the mushroom pot…
In short, Lei Bo felt like he was about to be stuffed into the hot pot as shrimp paste.
Waaaah, why was his fate so cruel, being exploited to death by a heartless corporation’s malicious bosses while being bullied in various ways in the afterlife…
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Luckily, you didn’t end up in the spicy hot pot,” Huahua, another struggling worker, pulled Lei Bo out of the mushroom pot, blocking Xu Yintang’s gaze as she consoled him. “Otherwise, you’d be dead by now.”
They were all seasoned spicy hot pot enthusiasts. Xu Yintang had only added a few dishes to taste, so Huahua could still help Lei Bo pick out the mushrooms from his head, speaking to him calmly, “We’re all good people, we won’t hurt you.”
She thought of her laptop in her luggage and recalled Old Wang’s description of how he had scared Lei Bo. She quickly pieced together Lei Bo’s background and crafted the appropriate persuasive sentences. “Well, we’re all workers. We finally managed to take a break and relax. I know you don’t want this situation. Talk to me about your difficulties, and we’ll figure it out together.”
Her words were gentle and reassuring, like the dream co-worker you’d want in the workplace, someone who understands your struggles, holds your hand, and says, “Don’t worry, we’ll figure it out together.” She even knows how to handle those difficult clients for you.
Lei Bo timidly glanced at Xu Yintang, then quickly averted his gaze and leaned towards Huahua, relying on her. “Um…”
She really was a kind person. If only he could meet such a co-worker at his company.
Huahua led Lei Bo to another corner of the room. “Don’t worry about him, we’ll talk separately over here.”
Xu Yintang made a casual hand gesture, and Little Darling quietly slithered out from the sofa and discreetly settled on the other side of the room, pretending to be a decorative pillow.
“Should I continue the story?” Old Wang observed the situation on Huahua’s side and tentatively suggested. He noticed the terrified look in Lei Bo’s eyes when he hinted at continuing the story.
It couldn’t be…
Old Wang didn’t think his story was all that terrifying, especially when he was sitting there perfectly fine without any psychological trauma. Everyone should know that what happened next was resolved.
“Yes, please continue!” Tiantian wanted to hear the rest of the story and kindly poured Old Wang a glass of juice.
“Alright!” Old Wang nodded, “Let me think, where did I leave off…”
Author’s Note –
Xu Yingtang: No problem, it’s harmless, you won’t get sick after you eat it.
Old Wang scared Lei Bo with a casual threat and succeeded easily.
Huahua used some casual rhetoric and succeeded without much effort.
Xu Yingtang: …That’s okay ╮(╯_╰)╭
Thank you for the chapter!! 🧡💛
Not sure what happened… Did the ghost poison them or not?
Well the ghost was in the mushroom soup but everyone ate the spicy soup.
OMG that’s hilarious… That’s what saved them and frustrated the ghost! Also hilarious if you heard of the murder case in Australia about the woman who fed mushrooms to her in-laws and they all died
Thanks for the update 🤣❤️🤣❤️
Oooooo wild guess but those scary stories were of the characters in real life, not the games right? What if those strangely realistic situations is what is happening with Mc at the hospital? If my memory serves me right, there’s some freaky stuff going on there, especially w the random children. Hmmmm I just feel like they’re connected somehow
Fear of routine life
Thank you for your translation 💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜💜