Mysterious Revival

Chapter 1030 - 996: Encounter on the Staircase

The darkness enveloped the post office, and the entire building was silent.

It is said that after the lights go out in the post office at six o'clock, bizarre things happen. Messengers who stay inside at night are advised not to wander; otherwise, they might inexplicably disappear, never to be found again.

However, the dangers hidden in the darkness do not scare everyone away.

Yang Jian was exploring in the darkness, trying to unearth more information and secrets about the Ghost Post Office. He knew that there might be ghosts roaming inside at night, but he believed he could handle the danger.

"The stairway door on the fifth floor of the post office seems to be open at night."

An old wooden double door was half ajar.

When Yang Jian opened it, a staircase leading down was revealed, seemingly providing a way back to the first-floor lobby of the post office.

He thought for a moment and decided to go down to take a look.

The old wooden stairs creaked ominously in the darkness, seemingly on the brink of collapse due to disrepair.

Surrounding him was a black haze like dense fog, making it impossible to see the situation below. Even the vision of the ghost eye was obstructed, allowing only a limited view.

As Yang Jian reached the end of a flight of stairs, he suddenly stopped.

He heard a sound.

A sound of footsteps ascending the stairs, though it seemed somewhat distant, there was no doubt that the sound was real.

"There seems to be something coming up the stairs from below," Yang Jian frowned at this moment, "Is it a ghost?"

His first reaction was that he had encountered a fierce ghost.

It was post office blackout time, so it was nearly impossible for a living person to be inside the post office, only ghosts would wander after the lights were out.

"Has that footstep sound stopped too?"

Soon after, Yang Jian heard no more footsteps, as if it had halted at a certain step below.

Isolated by the haze-like darkness, the source of the footsteps could not be determined.

Meanwhile, Zhao Feng, who was climbing the stairs from below, also stopped.

His slightly chubby face showed a touch of gravity and vigilance, looking up ahead. He couldn't see anything clearly, moving forward by feeling the handrail.

"I couldn't have missed it, there was definitely a footstep sound coming down from upstairs. My luck couldn't possibly be this bad, running into a ghost in the post office just after arriving? And encountering it on the stairs, indeed, coming to the post office at night after the lights went out wasn't a good decision, I should have waited until six in the morning when daylight returns."

Zhao Feng hesitated.

He didn't want to clash with a fierce ghost inside the post office, as it would be meaningless. The ghosts in the post office were quite dangerous, and if not handled well, he could die there.

"Killing that newcomer heading to the fifth floor shouldn't be rushed. The black letter has appeared, but the delivery task won't be initiated until tomorrow at least, by then I can make my move."

Zhao Feng preferred not to face a ghost on the stairs and wanted to retreat temporarily.

However, just as this thought occurred to him,

the footsteps above the stairs reappeared, as if whoever it was had paused briefly, but now continued to walk down. Judging by the pace, the footsteps hadn't slowed; in fact, they seemed to pick up speed.

"It seems it's coming towards me." Zhao Feng immediately dismissed the idea of turning around and leaving.

He knew very well that if a ghost was really targeting him, turning away wouldn't matter, the ghost would keep following until the attack ended.

"No way, I'll have to confront this imminent ghost first." Zhao Feng prepared himself, staring intently ahead.

In the darkness, he couldn't see clearly, but he determined the distance by the position of the footsteps.

Yang Jian descended the stairs, hesitating only briefly, but not delaying long, as he had confidence to deal with the forthcoming ghost.

Ghost eye observing.

Despite limited visibility, he could still see ahead.

Suddenly.

Yang Jian's expression shifted slightly, unsure if it was an illusion, but he saw a person on the stairs—a slightly chubby man wearing an apron, roughly in his forties or fifties. The man's face bore a serious expression, gazing sharply in this direction.

It seemed he was wary of Yang Jian.

"Why is there a living person in the post office at this hour? Is he a messenger? But this is the staircase leading to the fifth floor, a typical messenger wouldn't likely appear here."

"He's stopped moving, seems to be cautious of me, right? No, that's incorrect, it's nighttime, he can't see me, he must be like me earlier, only hearing the footsteps. Therefore, he probably thinks I'm a ghost and prepared himself for an encounter."

"Why is this fifth-floor messenger coming to the post office at night? Message delivery tasks don't happen at night, perhaps he came early to rest? Doesn't make sense either, the fifth floor is too complicated, it's highly unlikely a messenger would wander into the post office unnecessarily at night."

Yang Jian saw Zhao Feng, but Zhao Feng did not see Yang Jian.

So, Yang Jian observed, his mind quickly analyzing the situation.

He believed the person's presence was likely related to the black letters he held. Old Li from room 502 mentioned that once a black letter left the room, the delivery task on the fifth floor would resume.

Once a delivery task emerged, the messengers on the fifth floor would surely receive a signal.

"This person probably realized something was amiss on the fifth floor, therefore he came immediately to investigate, which means he's after me."

Yang Jian squinted, readying himself at once.

Upon understanding, he knew what to do next.

"That footstep stopped again, and it doesn't seem far from me," Zhao Feng stood motionless in the darkness, remaining calm.

With a ghost, the more one moves, the higher the likelihood of being targeted.

He did nothing, standing still was the safest choice.

"Something's off, if it were truly a ghost, the footsteps should be consistently descending the stairs, how could it stop intermittently?"

Zhao Feng, though having not engaged with supernatural events for a long time, still retained his prior experiences.

"What if, the footsteps weren't from a ghost, but a person?"

A hypothesis emerged in his mind.

Then Zhao Feng realized something, a sudden shock hitting him.

"Not good."

Zhao Feng immediately retrieved a white bone from his pocket, resembling a human rib, but only a small part remained. He forcefully scraped it against the stair handrail beside him.

Just like striking a match, the white bone suddenly ignited.

The eerie blue flame arose, like ghostly fires between graves, briefly hovering mid-air. Despite not consuming any material, it couldn't be extinguished in the short term.

The phosphorous fire from the bone quickly dispelled the surrounding darkness.

All at once.

Everything nearby became visible, the illumination was even better than during the day with the lights on.

In the next moment.

Zhao Feng dramatically saw someone, standing above him on the stairs, looking down at him. The person appeared young, in their twenties, with eyes cold and sharp. Most striking was a red eyeball on the person's forehead, restless and noticeably moving.

"This person must be the newcomer who went to the fifth floor and took the black letter."

At the sight of Yang Jian, Zhao Feng instinctively judged.

Admittedly, this judgment was astute, Zhao Feng truly showed strong adaptability, far exceeding other messengers Yang Jian encountered before.

"I'm Zhao Feng, a messenger from the fifth floor, had to return due to some matters, didn't expect to meet another messenger here. Never saw you on the fifth floor before, you must be a newcomer from the fourth floor. Wandering in the post office at night isn't a good habit, you might stumble into danger accidentally."

Zhao Feng remained indifferent, neither hostile nor overly friendly.

For people like them, being too friendly or hostile would provoke others' animosity. Neutrality suited initial encounters for greetings the most.

Having missed the chance for the upper hand, he decided to proceed methodically, observing first.

Most importantly, he needed to understand the situation with the other party first.