Proofreader&Editor:Howard Wong
On the second floor of Administrative Building No. 3, by the elevator.
The elevator doors were open, stationary as if the power had gone out.
The area near the second-floor elevator was already dimly lit, and now with the elevator lights extinguished, He Gu was almost completely engulfed in darkness.
The feeling was terrible. He Gu pulled out his phone to use the flashlight, but it could only illuminate a small area in front of him.
Silence surrounded him. He Gu pressed all the buttons inside the elevator, but nothing worked.
Time ticked away, second by second, in this oppressive environment that felt suffocating.
According to the clichés of horror movies, this would be the moment for He Gu to step out of the elevator to investigate, only to have something rush out of the darkness to end his life.
Truth be told, staying in a dead-end elevator was indeed more unsettling. Even He Gu felt the impulse to step out and take a look.
But he quickly suppressed that thought.
Staring at the open elevator doors, He Gu made a firm decision in his heart: Even if he had to be trapped in the elevator all day, he was determined not to step out!
So there he stood, flashlight on, cornered in the elevator.
***
A few minutes later.
Footsteps suddenly echoed from the dimly lit corridor outside.
He Gu's heart tightened, he gripped his cane firmly, and stared intently at the doorway.
Meow~
At that moment, a slightly hoarse cat's meow came from outside.
Startled, He Gu shone his phone light outwards and saw a black cat slowly emerge from the darkness.
The cat's eyes were an eerie orange-red, and it was missing a piece of its left ear. It stopped not far from the elevator door, staring straight at He Gu.
Rule 6 stated: If you see a cat in the factory area, give them some sausage, but if you see a black cat, leave immediately.
However, He Gu was certain that this rule was wrong.
Despite feeling uneasy, He Gu stayed put, holding his cane and locking eyes with the black cat.
Unless the black cat truly posed a threat to his life, He Gu was resolute not to leave the elevator!
The black cat stood just over a meter away from the elevator door, lazily licking its paw while watching He Gu.
He Gu, on the other hand, held his cane tightly, quietly observing the cat.
After a standoff between man and cat, suddenly, footsteps echoed again from the depths of the dim corridor.
The moment the footsteps sounded, the black cat abruptly stood up, glanced back in that direction, and then arched its back, its fur standing on end as if it had seen something alarming.
As the footsteps drew closer, the black cat turned to He Gu and let out a piercing cry before darting into the darkness and disappearing.
The footsteps didn't stop; they continued to approach the elevator!
He Gu stood inside the elevator, gripping his cane tightly, bracing himself as he stared in the direction of the sound.
After about ten seconds, He Gu finally saw the source of the footsteps.
It was a figure in a white hazmat suit, slowly emerging from the darkness, stopping about a meter away from the elevator door.
In that instant, He Gu was even prepared to fight for his life.
However, the figure in the white hazmat suit merely lingered outside the elevator for a moment, bent down to place an envelope on the ground, and then turned and left.
Watching the figure disappear back into the darkness, and listening as the footsteps faded until they were gone, He Gu finally let out a long sigh of relief.
Then, he glanced at the envelope left on the ground.
What did this mean?
Leave an envelope and just walk away?
After a moment's thought, He Gu decided to continue with his strategy of "not leaving the elevator" and ignored the envelope.
At that moment, the walkie-talkie in He Gu's pocket suddenly crackled to life.
"Bizzz… 444, please report to the HR office immediately!"
He Gu realized it was already 13:32.
After a brief thought, He Gu picked up the walkie-talkie and replied, "I'm on the elevator, but… it seems to be malfunctioning, I'm stuck on the second floor."
After He Gu spoke, the walkie-talkie fell silent, with no response.
Silence enveloped the surroundings once again.
Three or four minutes later, the walkie-talkie crackled again: "Bizzz… The elevator will resume normal operation in 1 minute. Please retrieve the envelope and return safely to the elevator within that time."
…
Hearing this, He Gu felt an urge to curse.
"So after all this, you just want to force me out of the elevator, huh? Damn it!"
He Gu muttered to himself, cautiously took two steps forward to the elevator door, peering into the pitch-black corridor, refusing to step out.
After a moment's thought, an idea struck He Gu. He picked up his cane, holding one end, and extended it out of the door.
The envelope was just about a meter away from the elevator door, well within reach with the cane!
So there he was, standing inside the elevator, carefully dragging the envelope on the ground towards him with the cane.
Before long, the envelope was within reach at the doorway.
Perfect!
He Gu felt a surge of joy and reached out to pick up the envelope at the door.
But in that instant, a grayish-green hand suddenly reached out from the side and grabbed He Gu's wrist.
He Gu felt a chill on his wrist, followed by a surge of force that nearly yanked him out!
Caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, He Gu quickly braced his feet against the door frame to prevent being pulled out, while his other hand swung the cane down on the grayish-green hand.
Thud!
The hollow aluminum cane struck the wrist with a crisp thud.
Due to the cane's light weight and the awkward angle, the blow wasn't very heavy.
However, the moment the cane hit the hand, a puff of white smoke instantly rose, as if a red-hot iron had touched a snowman.
Sss—
With a hiss, the grayish-green hand retracted as if electrocuted.
Once the hand let go, He Gu, unable to brace himself, fell to the ground, his phone dropping and the flashlight being suppressed.
Darkness enveloped him, and He Gu quickly stood up, gripping his cane and watching the doorway warily.
The darkness outside was silent, as if everything that had just happened was an illusion.
Seconds later, the lights in the elevator cabin came on.
The elevator doors slowly closed, and then it resumed its ascent.
He Gu let out a long breath of relief and picked up his phone, cursing, "Damn, good thing I didn't go out!"
There was definitely something filthy outside!
Just as He Gu caught his breath, the elevator reached the ninth floor.
Exiting the elevator, He Gu headed straight for the HR office, which he had visited once before.
Soon, He Gu arrived at the door of the HR office.
However, this time, he noticed an A4 paper stuck on the office door:
[Rule Four]
In this building, do not refuse any request from someone wearing a purple uniform (or DEAD).
…
Then, slowly, a line of red text that only He Gu could see appeared in the blank space below:
[Hidden message]
When necessary, purple is your protective color
…