Where could this woman be? Although Lǐ Dàlù couldn´t make sense of it all, he was acutely aware that Luò Wǎn was in danger and that he had to find her.
He looked up and saw that the elevator Luò Wǎn hadn’t used had its doors closed and was heading straight for the thirteenth floor. Frantically, he jumped into another elevator, believing Luò Wǎn might be in that one. However, the surveillance screen showed that the elevator he had rushed into was actually empty.
Luò Wǎn walked up the stairwell. With everyone else taking the elevator, the stairwell was extremely quiet, and she was the only one on that entire floor. The sound of her high heels clacking against the floor echoed eerily, as if there was a return echo, making it feel like someone was following her.
She continued walking, turning corners, and it seemed as though the stairwell had no end.
But she did arrive at the seventh floor—the place where she worked, where she once worked with Chǔ Yīng. In the restroom on this floor, she had seen Chǔ Yīng before.
Luò Wǎn reached the seventh floor. Meanwhile, Lǐ Dàlù had already arrived on the thirteenth floor, which was desolate and in ruins, with charred remnants scattered everywhere. There was no one to be found. Lǐ Dàlù ran around frantically, searching in vain, and finally, in despair, he shouted, “Luò Wǎn! Luò Wǎn! Where are you? Come out!”
As Luò Wǎn reached the door of the restroom on the seventh floor, she suddenly heard a distant voice calling, "Luò Wǎn! Luò Wǎn!" She paused, thinking it sounded like Lǐ Dàlù's voice. She chuckled to herself, feeling foolish for being scared at a time like this.
It was likely just her longing for someone to be with her.
She hesitated for a moment at the door before reaching out to push it open. Just then, the door seemed to change color in an instant, a green hue enveloping it, but Luò Wǎn could no longer see it clearly.
At that moment, Lǐ Dàlù was roaming the aftermath of the fire on the thirteenth floor when he suddenly heard a door sound from the restroom, as if someone had pushed it open. He immediately turned and ran toward the restroom.
Luò Wǎn, having entered the restroom, found that despite it being daytime, there were hardly any people in the building because it was a weekend.
A woman was bending over the sink, washing her face—likely someone who was working overtime. Luò Wǎn felt a bit disappointed and silently hoped the woman would finish quickly and leave. She certainly didn't want to be in a position where she had to burn paper in front of someone. She worried that people might think she was crazy.
Since it was impolite to stay in the restroom while someone else was washing her face, Luò Wǎn entered one of the restroom stalls. Suddenly, she was struck by a sharp stomachache and urgently needed to use the facilities. The most embarrassing situation occurred when, after finishing, she realized she had no toilet paper with her.
Fortunately, the sound of running water continued, and the woman was still washing her face. Luò Wǎn, feeling embarrassed, called out, "Miss, sorry to bother you, but could you please help me? There's no toilet paper in here, and I didn't bring any with me."
The woman seemed to lift her head, and the sound of splashing ceased, leaving only the steady flow of water. As soon as Lǐ Dàlù entered the bathroom, he saw water rushing out of the wash basin under the wall. No, that was not water; that was blood.
The blood had overflowed. The blood had seeped into every tile of the restroom. Lǐ Dàlù was horrified. He frantically pushed open the stalls, shouting desperately, "Get out... Get out... Luò Wǎn, run!”
Luò Wǎn was sitting on the toilet, just having flushed. Although she heard some sound, as if someone was calling her, the loud flush made it hard to discern. When she listened more carefully, she couldn´t hear anything at all.
In the restroom on the thirteenth floor, Lǐ Dàlù turned around and was shocked to see that the floor covered in blood had no footprints—there was no one there. He was astonished to find that the wall, which previously had no mirror, now had a large mirror on it. In the mirror, it seemed like someone was washing their face—just like the image that had been flashing before his eyes.
Could Luò Wǎn be there? Lǐ Dàlù approached and saw the woman in the mirror, elegantly washing her face in a beautifully decorated restroom. She seemed to sense someone watching her and suddenly looked up. Her face was beautiful, but her gaze was menacing and fierce.
The face stared at her blankly, and suddenly blood flowed from the corners of its eyes, and blood foam gushed out of its mouth. The woman covered her face as if she was very scared, but the skin still separated from her body little by little and finally became a complete piece of human skin.
The woman turned around slowly. It seemed that someone was talking. It was Luò Wǎn's voice. When the woman turned around, Lǐ Dàlù found that her back was burnt like charcoal. This was a woman who was burned to death, so her face peeled off. She must have been disfigured by the fire before she died.
Lǐ Dàlù clearly saw that a large number "7" was written on the door behind the woman. That meant the woman was on the seventh floor, not the thirteenth.
Realizing that Luò Wǎn was on the seventh floor, he turned and ran, not waiting for the elevator. Taking the stairs seemed like a faster option.
The woman washing her face seemed to take a long time before she reached the stall where Luò Wǎn was. Feeling a bit embarrassed, Luò Wǎn opened the door slightly and reached out her hand. The woman rummaged through her bag for a while. Suddenly, Luò Wǎn felt a chill run through her as a soft object fell into her hand. She was relieved and pleased as she took it.
The light in the stall was always a bit dim, but it was still sufficient to see what she had received. The object in her hand was so soft, it felt as gentle as a lover's kiss.
