The air inside the elevator carriage seemed to have solidified; only the jumping numbers on the floor display reminded everyone of the passage of time.
Ji Youran was the first to break the silence. Her voice sounded exceptionally clear in the cramped space: "Everyone, stay steady. Don't let panic spread."
The smile on her face had faded, replaced by a scrutinizing seriousness. Just moments ago, someone had vanished into the darkness without warning, which undoubtedly added another layer of pressure to their already taut nerves.
The elevator sensors detected no one entering or exiting, and the indicator light for closing began to flash. Without waiting for others to react, Dou Wenbo strode to the control panel and pressed the button for the fifth floor.
He held his head high, his tone revealing a decisive resolve: "I'm getting off when we arrive. After that, whether I live or die is up to fate."
Lin Xiao glanced sideways, her gaze lingering on him for a moment: "Are you sure your judgment is correct?"
Dou Wenbo raised his chin slightly and nodded with a hint of arrogance, but a trace of imperceptible gloom flitted across his brow.
The man who called himself Xu Liang made him feel very uncomfortable. The way the other looked at him was strange, as if he were looking at a corpse through a living person. This feeling of being treated as the subject of a "memorial photo" sent chills down his spine.
He turned around and pointed at Lin Yunfei behind Lin Xiao: "Her line of thinking is actually correct; it's just difficult to execute." He paused, then added, "Exchanging flyers relies on voluntary participation. Now that one person is missing, can the flyers in your hands still match the same floor?"
Lin Xiao thought for a moment, then shook her head helplessly: "I didn't expect everyone to be able to match them anyway."
Lin Yunfei's eyelashes trembled slightly, then she lowered her eyes, seemingly calculating something.
The carriage fell into a dead silence again, with only the numbers on the display jumping from "3" to "4", and then immediately to "5".
"Ding—"
The fifth floor had arrived.
Dou Wenbo twisted the ring on his finger, took one last look around at the people in the carriage, then took his flyer and walked out of the elevator with long, strides.
Lin Xiao leaned against the wall of the carriage, closing her eyes to relieve the stinging sensation after using her skill. Moments later, she opened her eyes again, activated [Insight Eye], and locked her gaze tightly on Dou Wenbo's retreating figure.
Without Dou Wenbo noticing, the grayish-black mist in the air seemed to come alive, happily winding around his body, tightening its grip.
Lin Xiao sighed inwardly; Dou Wenbo was clearly much more nervous than he appeared.
Despite his inner trepidation, Dou Wenbo stepped into the darkness without hesitation, his figure gradually swallowed by the heavy night. The elevator doors closed abruptly without warning. With a "click", Lin Xiao's line of sight was completely cut off.
Lin Yunfei raised her hand: "I'll press it this time, I'll press it..."
Ji Youran made the decision for her directly: "Press the seventh floor first."
Lin Yunfei pressed the button as instructed.
As the number of people decreased, the temperature inside the carriage seemed to continue dropping. An indescribable, sinister chill permeated the air, making one's hair stand on end. With Zhang Zhiyuan vanished and Dou Wenbo gone, only four people remained in the carriage.
The time left for them to think was running out.
Lin Xiao felt that this place was less like an elevator and more like a moving morgue.
Zhao Yiming, who had been silent all this time, spoke up cautiously: "I... I think I have an idea too."
Ji Youran raised an eyebrow: "Let's hear it."
Zhao Yiming stuttered a bit: "We... we're all here to shop at the mall, right? Since we're shopping, there has to be an order." He held up the two flyers in his hand, "I have two here, one for desserts and juices, and one for the Home Furnishing City. The Home Furnishing City is on the third floor, and the desserts are on the fifth floor. Generally speaking, browsing the Home Furnishing City takes more time, so it makes sense to go to the fifth floor first to buy something to drink, in case we get thirsty on the way. I think the logic of going to the fifth floor in the first round is quite reasonable."
Ji Youran did not immediately express her stance.
She had actually considered the point Zhao Yiming mentioned, but she felt it wasn't persuasive enough.
After all, while it was reasonable for Zhao Yiming to buy drinks first to take to the Home Furnishing City, it was also perfectly valid to say that one would buy drinks after getting tired from shopping to take a break.
Ji Youran turned to Lin Xiao: "Miss Xu, what do you think?"
Lin Xiao, always mindful of her cover identity, turned naturally upon hearing this. She didn't answer Ji Youran directly but said, "I'm looking at the button panel."
The other three followed her gaze—it was an ordinary button panel, no different from the mall elevators common in reality. Even the uncleaned, old stains on it exuded the perfunctory feel typical of old commercial districts.
Zhao Yiming looked blank, not understanding the significance of Lin Xiao's action.
Lin Xiao stared quietly at the panel for a moment. A few strands of black hair fell, obscuring the faint glimmer in her eyes.
The elevator's ascent began to slow.
"Ding—"
The seventh floor had arrived.
Outside the door lay the same impenetrable darkness.
Although the darkness was still terrifying, the people in the carriage began to feel a strange attraction. Their reason wavered, and a dangerous notion sprouted in their minds: since they would have to leave the elevator sooner or later, why not go now?
Lin Yunfei stared straight at the door, her gaze gradually becoming dazed.
Just then, a hand landed heavily on her shoulder, forcibly rooting her to the spot.
Ji Youran's cold voice came from behind, like a basin of ice water pouring down on her head: "Do you want to leave right now?"
Lin Yunfei shuddered violently, as if waking from a dream. Looking at the elevator door so close at hand, she shook her head frantically and retreated in terror: "No, I won't go..."
"Click."
Perhaps sensing the wavering of the passengers' resolve, or perhaps because no one responded, the elevator doors slammed shut with a crisp metallic crash. The airflow from the closing doors brushed past Lin Yunfei's nose, carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
The carriage fell into silence again. By now, the only person who hadn't pressed a floor button was Zhao Yiming.
Without needing a reminder, Zhao Yiming stepped forward tremblingly and asked: "So, where are we going now..."
Lin Xiao interrupted him: "To the first floor."
B2 and B1 had already been visited, so everyone understood why Lin Xiao chose the first floor, but surprisingly, she added another sentence.
Lin Xiao tilted her head slightly and said thoughtfully, "If my inference is correct, the first floor is the place we're looking for."
As soon as she said this, the carriage fell into a brief silence. Some were surprised, some relieved, and some full of suspicion. Ultimately, it was Ji Youran who broke the calm.
She raised her right hand and asked with interest: "I'm all ears."
Lin Xiao signaled Zhao Yiming to press the button for the first floor before beginning to explain her reasoning:
"Xinyuan Mall has only four floors in total. We clearly entered on the first floor, yet we all collectively appeared on B2 upon entering the instance." Here, she took out the flyers she had found in her pocket, "Initially, I thought my identity in the instance was that of a customer who had just arrived at the mall, preparing to wander around the various floors. But after taking stock of my personal belongings, I had a new idea."
Ji Youran pondered: "You mean..."
"Where did 'I' get these flyers?" Lin Xiao asked in return, "Perhaps on the street, or perhaps inside the mall. Based on past experience, many merchants like to have employees hand out flyers at the entrance."
Ji Youran nodded: "That makes sense."
She was accustomed to the absurdity of the instances, so she had overlooked the logic within the grotesque. Someone like 'Xu Liang', who still retained a mindset from the normal world, was indeed more likely to spot blind spots.
Lin Xiao continued: "So I made a hypothesis: the passengers in the elevator might not be preparing to shop at the mall, but have already finished shopping and are preparing to leave."
Zhao Yiming, who had been listening quietly, couldn't help but interject skeptically: "If we're preparing to leave, why wouldn't we go to B2 to drive away, but instead go to the first floor?"
Lin Xiao smiled: "Because we didn't find any car keys on us." She continued, "Have you noticed that no matter which floor button we press, the elevator stops directly on that floor without stopping anywhere in between?"
Ji Youran reacted immediately: "You mean, apart from us, there are no other customers left in the mall?"
"That's my guess—the mall is about to close, and we are the last batch of customers