Chapter 189: The Fifteenth Floor is About to Close

Words : 1380 Updated : Sep 30th, 2025

Chapter 189: Chapter 189: The Fifteenth Floor is About to CloseGu Yu pressed the elevator button again, yet the display continued to show only the number "15" without any change. Seeing Xu Huo walking out from the washroom area, she asked subconsciously, "Did you find any clues?" "The washroom is fairly clean," Xu Huo responded. Searᴄh the nôvelFire.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Zheng Liang snorted coldly and walked towards the next elevator. Having had some experience dealing with Xu Huo, Gu Yu did not press further and instead moved on with her companions. Meanwhile, Xu Huo returned to the location where he had entered the game and examined the bloodstains on the elevator door and the floor. The bloodstains were a mix of old and new, with handprints on the door from both someone banging from the outside and trying to pry the doors open from the inside; similarly, the blood on the floor pointed both towards the elevator and away from it. Compared to this place, the open area was considerably cleaner, with only some scattered bloodstains on the floor. Besides, there were some small abrasion marks on the wall next to the elevator door, similar in size to the spikes of the Man-Eating Flower. The open office area had more wall surfaces facing it, while the side offices and the washroom had fewer walls, especially the ones near the washroom. After examining the walls for a while, he squatted down at the window at the end of the corridor to move aside the vines and carefully inspect the ground edges but found no signs of wear. He then returned to the open area to inspect its edges. By this time, the middle-aged man from the backpack group had already taped reinforced horizontal strips across the floor-to-ceiling windows. Upon seeing Xu Huo, he remarked, "It seems like someone had used this method before; there are some bits of leftover tape on the walls." "Hmm," murmured Xu Huo, who could tell from the size of this place and the number of floor charging ports that the amount of desks and chairs did not match up. The middle-aged man wearing a backpack took another glance at him before hesitantly saying, "There’s something I’m not sure if I should mention." "Go ahead." "It’s just that the office and washroom are too clean," said the middle-aged man. "I overheard your discussion about how there might not only be mutated plants here but possibly mutated animals as well. But if people were attacked, wouldn’t their instinct be to hide in places with cover?" "That’s because the previous group didn’t stay on the fifteenth floor for too long," Xu Huo replied, then extended his hand, "Xu Huo." "Kang Hong," said the middle-aged man as they shook hands, followed by another question, "Why do you say that?" "The washroom being fairly clean suggests that the frequency of prior visitors wasn’t high. If the people who came in weren’t wiped out in a short time, nearly two hundred people would need to relieve themselves over three or four days." Xu Huo looked back at the floor, "It doesn’t seem like there was a massacre here." Realization dawned on Kang Hong, "So that’s the reason." "But why leave the fifteenth floor?" The young girl who had previously offered money to Xu Huo had been following him and now, hearing his words, asked, "Isn’t it safer the higher up you are?" "There’s always a reason," Xu Huo glanced at her and pulled over a chair to sit down and rest. On the other hand, both Gu Yu’s group and the flower seller’s group returned without success and had also gathered in the office area. After nearly six hours had passed through panic, tension, and heightened alertness, everyone had fallen into a state of weakness. Besides, in the past six hours, apart from Brother Tie who had encountered danger when trying to open the elevator doors, no other incidents had occurred, providing a bit of relief for everyone. No matter what, we need to replenish our strength," Gu Yu went to the trunk of the car to bring out several bags of snacks and fruits, "Luckily, the car came in with us, otherwise, we’d all be starving. Let’s eat sparingly." "Sister Gu Yu, didn’t you used to diet every day? Why do you carry so much food with you wherever you go now?" Xiao Ba, pulling the hem of the skull head short sleeves, took a bunch of snacks to distribute. "At a time like this, who cares about gaining weight?" Gu Yu took two more bottles of water, put the rest of the items in the trunk, and then sat on top of it. This made some people, who wanted to ask for food, hesitate to come forward. Previously, following Kang Hong’s suggestion, they had consolidated the personal belongings they brought with them. Most people were suddenly pulled into the game while they were out buying food reserves. Some of them lost their items in the fog, and others did manage to bring them, but vegetables and meats couldn’t be eaten directly. There were some snacks and fruits, but not enough to share among so many people. Kang Hong opened his backpack and took out several packs of compressed biscuits, saying, "Everyone, don’t panic. Ninety hours is less than four days. Normally, a person can survive for four days just on water, so with these vegetables, there is absolutely enough food." "There’s no need to fight over it, let’s let the ladies eat first, and we, the able-bodied men, can wait." "Why should the women eat first?" A man with a sharp chin and monkey-like cheeks in the crowd protested, "Men and women are equal, right? Don’t you all agree?" The current situation, unlike usual, amplified their panic of the unknown and their craving for food. In times of danger, good physical strength was also crucial, which made many reluctant to give away their chance to others. "This has nothing to do with equality," Kang Hong said. "It’s just us physically stronger people helping those who are weaker." "Isn’t that moral coercion?" the sharp-chinned man stirred up the crowd, "Why should we help them? When danger comes, who doesn’t want to run to the front? Oh, after giving them food, we’re left hungry, and later we’ll be the ones to fall behind and take hits?" Part of the crowd shared the same sentiment and voiced their dissatisfaction. Zheng Liang let out a cold laugh at this moment, "I hope those people won’t ask us for help when the danger comes!" The crowd fell silent. The men were stronger than the women present, but compared to the players, they were the weaker ones. "I don’t need food," a tall woman stepped forward to say, "I am a mountaineer, I have good stamina. However, this mother next to me is still breastfeeding, could you give her a bit more food?" Kang Hong tore open a packet and handed a biscuit to the slightly plump woman. "Thank you, thank you," the slightly plump woman kept thanking him. After receiving the biscuit, she didn’t just eat it herself but broke half for the tall woman. When refused, she offered it to another woman. The women began sharing the food among themselves. At this time, Xu Huo, who had been sitting in the back seat, raised his hand to catch the energy drink thrown by Gu Yu. Looking up, he saw that she had already looked away. Xu Huo placed the drink by his feet and then turned his gaze to another player, an older man with glasses, sitting in a corner. The man met his gaze and politely nodded with a smile. Xu Huo calmly looked away. "Squeak squeak..." Suddenly, a metallic friction sound came from the elevator, followed by a "ding" from all fifteen elevators at the same time. The open doors revealed the intact elevator cars, including the one that had nearly claimed the life of the stubbly player before. Then an electronic alarm sounded from inside, "The 15th floor of Xiaohua Honghong Building will soon close. Please, all personnel enter the elevator to move to the 14th floor!"

Chapter 189: The Fifteenth Floor is About to Close

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