Holmes furrowed his brows as the white-dressed specter finished speaking. "So this mission was impossible from the start?" he asked, frustration lacing his voice. Another dead end—just when I thought there was a way out.
The specter rose from the chaise longue, her graceful figure shimmering in the moonlight. She moves like a phantom—no wonder this floor feels so cold. Her porcelain-pale face leaned closer, red lips curving into a smirk. "Not necessarily. I have a plan."
Here it comes—the catch. Holmes braced himself. "It's a dirty trick, risky even. You game?" Her smile reeked of mischief.
"Risky is my middle name at this point." Holmes squared his shoulders. What's one more suicidal move in this hellhole? "As long as it works."
"Simple: play the hostage card. Those parents will explode when they see—" She paused, eyes glinting. "But you'll need to play the villain."
Holmes' eyes lit up. Hostage... Of course! "I can handle being the bad guy." Like I haven't been since day one.
Minutes later, the foyer door creaked open silently. The 804 specter couple stalked in, following the scent. They move like predators—this won't end well.
In the dim light, two spectral figures scanned the room, focusing on the white-dressed specter. "Alice, always meddling in others' affairs?" the husband growled.
Flipping a page, she didn't look up. "I merely observe. When have I meddled?" Her calm is a front—she knows exactly what she's doing.
The wife bared her teeth, neck wound oozing black blood. "That rat's scent is here! You're hiding him!"
The husband, a hulking figure with blood-soaked bandages over empty eye sockets, stepped forward. "He hurt my wife. Stay out of this, Aliece." His voice trembles—even they fear her.
"We're neighbors. Why fuss over a stray?" he added. "You wouldn't take his side over ours, would you?"
They're trying to intimidate her, but I can see the doubt in their stance. The couple was notorious for arrogance, yet they hesitated. No one survives on the eighth floor without fearing her.
"Search if you like," she said dismissively. "But my roommates have... short tempers. Try not to wake them."
She's warning them, but they're too enraged to care. The couple exchanged a wary glance but marched in anyway, shoulders tense. They know they're playing with fire, but pride won't let them back down.
On the other side.
To mask his scent, Holmes donned the [Scissor-Hand Human Skin Mask], transforming into a spectral resident. Ten minutes—just need ten minutes to pull this off. The mask's bone spurs pierced his cheeks, adhering tightly as if fusing with his skin. The nauseating stench of blood filled his nostrils. This thing reeks—how do they stand wearing it?
The 804 door stood ajar. In the foyer, the spectral child squatted, playing with two coconut-sized shriveled heads. Those used to be someone's... no, don't think about it. Holmes forced a gentle tone: "Kid, want to go somewhere fun?"
The child looked up with starry eyes. "Uncle, your face is pretty! Can you take it off for my ball?" She held a head, empty eye sockets oozing innocence. Creepy, but maybe I can use this.
"Wait till we get there, and I'll give it to you."
"I want it now!" The child pouted.
"Be good—there are tons of 'balls' where we're going." Holmes stroked her head. Weirdly cute, despite the... everything. Maybe cuteness is universal.
But Xiaoxiao grabbed his hand, grinning ominously: "Daddy says not to trust strangers! If I cry, he'll skin you!" Shit—she saw through me.
As the child opened her mouth to wail, Holmes swung his hammer. Sorry, kid—no time for tantrums. One blow failed; she howled louder. Another strike—cracks spidered across her head, and she collapsed.
DING! Player used spooky weapon on spectral child: -75 HP. [Hammer] durability +20.
Holmes slung the child over his shoulder and bolted. But her cries reached the parents.
In 801, the couple wheeled on Alice, aura pulsing. "Bitch! You tricked us!"
Alice flipped a page, unperturbed. "I was reading. You broke in, searched, and now blame me? I should be the angry one." Her eyes flashed cold. She's enjoying this—playing with them like toys.
Growling, the couple fled to find their son. They know they're outmatched here—but I'm not safe yet. Holmes dashed toward the rooftop, heart pounding. Next move: get that kid in the tank before they catch up.
On the rooftop.
By the water tank, the twin sisters spun toward Holmes as he approached, their voices tight with tension. "Did the spectral parents come?" the elder sister demanded, her gaze darting past him.
Holmes shook his head, hoisting the unconscious spectral child by the scruff. "Parents didn't show. Brought their kid instead."
The younger sister blinked blankly. "Why capture the child?"
The elder sister's face drained of color. "Are you insane? This will push them into full dark corruption!" She's right—8th-floor residents in that state are walking nightmares.
"It's the most direct way to lure them here." Holmes shoved aside the cement lid. From the tank's darkness, a pair of pale white eyes flared, swimming in thick resentment. "You dare return!" So she remembers the hammer blow—good, her grudge works in my favor.
"Don't be angry. I brought family." He tossed the child inside and slammed the lid shut, then turned to the gaping twins, clapping dust from his hands. "Mission accomplished."
The elder sister gaped. "You knocked out the brother, threw him in, and that's it?"
Holmes checked his watch. "Patience. Wait."
"For what?"
"For the 804 couple to come tear us apart."
The twins went dead silent. Oops, maybe shouldn't have joked about that. He waved it off. "Kidding. Just stay and watch."
"Did you do that to the child's forehead?" the elder sister pressed.
"Yep."
"Nighttime rules are useless—how do we fend off two 8th-floor darkeners?"
Holmes smiled without answering. If I had an answer, my hands wouldn't be shaking.
"Crazy bastard. Sister, let's go!" The elder sister grabbed her sibling, but both froze—their talent triggered, picking up hysterical roars from the stairwell.
"They're here!" the younger sister whimpered, clutching her wrist.
In an instant, the stainless-steel door burst open, spectral energy roiling out. The darkened couple stepped onto the rooftop, eyes blood-red. The door oxidized to rust in seconds, walls cracking and flaking.
"Filthy rat! You took our child!" the husband roared. "Even Alice can't save you—hand him over for a quick death!"
While the twins looked ready to collapse, Holmes forced calm, his heart pounding so hard he thought it would burst. This is all a gamble. The tank has to work.
"I didn't take him," Holmes said. "He wanted to play, so I let him meet his sister—whom he's never known."
The couple's fury spiked, their auras darkening to a corrupting pitch. A red warning flashed before them:
WARNING! Player actions have triggered 90% dark corruption in residents. Imminent lethal threat—evacuate immediately!
The couple advanced, their forms warping into nuclear-radiation horrors. Holmes leaned against the tank, ignoring the warning, his palms sweating. Please, let the tank's reaction hit the mark.
Holmes ignored the warning panel, leaning against the water tank when a sticky sensation crawled up his back.
He turned to see black pus oozing down the tank wall... Looking up, the tank seemed to overflow, black filth churning over the edge.
A pair of swollen black hands gripped the cement lid, and a specter with slime-matted hair crawled out like a mutated spider, clutching the still-unconscious child. The advancing couple halted, staring at the drowned daughter they'd buried—terror replacing their earlier fury.
Holmes dared not move, letting pus splatter onto his head. His heart pounded faster than ever—this specter was the most spine-chilling he'd encountered in the dungeon.
"Daddy, Mommy... you came!" the daughter croaked. "We played hide-and-seek, but it was so cold... I hugged myself in the corner, waiting..." A hand like molten asphalt landed on his shoulder, steaming black slime dripping.
Holmes held his breath, body rigid.
"they says he's my little brother. I smelled you on him—why didn't I know him? WHERE DID HE COME FROM?!" Her shriek boiled the slime on her body, piercing Holmes' eardrums.
The parents gaped at their daughter's ravenous eyes, the inevitable nightmare finally here. Their gazes snapped to Holmes: "I'LL TEAR YOU APART, RAT!"
The mother lunged, but the daughter seized her, slamming her into the floor. "Mommy, why angry? Is he really my brother? You abandoned me for him, didn't you?" Her hands caressed the mother's face as she repeated the questions.
The mother screamed: "Filthy bastard! Let go of my son! We took you for the rent—you're just a replacement! We should've dumped you in the gutter!"
The daughter's hands stilled, then gently pressed into the mother's eye sockets. "No... you love me most." Fingers melted skin like hot irons, tearing the head in two with a sickening crack. The daughter nuzzled the bloody remains: "Mommy, you're so warm. You're the best."
Holmes fought to keep his stomach down. Thought I was immune—guess not. He could smell the warm brain matter. The daughter held the head fragments, eyes blissful.
The younger twin had fainted; the elder sister gagged, pale as a sheet. The father stared at his ruined family, then bolted into the stairwell like a mad bull, vanishing in seconds. Only the mother's torn body remained, the daughter gone.
"What kind of specter is she?" Holmes shivered. The elder sister hugged her sister, eyes disbelieving: "That was your plan?"
"Yep. Slight hiccup, but under control." Holmes stood, wiping slime from his shoulder.
"Your legs are shaking."
"Just numb from sitting." He coughed, climbing onto the tank to peer inside before closing the lid. "Water problem should fix now. As for 804... family drama.
"The sister rolled her eyes. "Go report to the landlord." Holmes exhaled, still mourning his lost axe.