The man in the raincoat stood frozen on the steps, staring blankly into Ji Li and the others' eyes, slowly…
Only then did he finally see, within those three pairs of pitch-black pupils, a scene that made his blood run cold!
Swish!
The man in the raincoat suddenly lowered his head—only to come face-to-face with a severed head!
As if sensing his movement, the head hidden beneath the raincoat twisted on its own, turning a full one hundred and eighty degrees against bone and flesh.
The sickening crack of joints echoed all around.
At last, he saw it clearly—the face pressed against him was none other than the female ghost who had tormented him for days and nights!
"Ahhh!!!"
"We're not necessarily doomed yet!"
Fang Shenyan's mind, stretched to its limit, slipped into confusion. After so much strain, he had finally allowed himself a moment's slack.
But it was that very pause that stalled his thinking.
In the blink of an eye, the situation worsened rapidly. He no longer had the energy nor the clarity to reason things through.
Ji Li, Fang Shenyan, and Yu Guo were already at their limits.
But there was still *one person* silently watching, his mind always calm.
*Not right. We've overlooked two key points.*
*First, the bond between the man in the raincoat and the ghost doesn't make sense.*
*We thought he was the path to survival. Clearly, that hope has collapsed.*
*That leaves one last clue—the true key to breaking this trap.*
*Why did the hotel emphasize that line in his mission briefing?*
The third persona.
Unlike everyone else, his existence gave him the detached clarity of an observer.
Different from the second persona, his perception and sensitivity surpassed even Ji Li himself.
Now, at the most critical moment, he was the only one left who could act.
Ji Li froze, suddenly realizing:
"The hotel's message—it emphasized that he could only leave Room 702 for ten minutes a day!"
"Exactly!
The man in the raincoat is nothing like us. He's not just a witness—he's the very originator of this event!
Even the earliest supernatural disturbance began with him.
Now that he's under attack, it proves the ghost holds nothing special about him.
That ten-minute limit wasn't his advantage—it was a condition set by the hotel itself.
So why would the hotel give him such a seemingly useless rule?"
Ji Li's mind raced, processing the tangled web of clues.
*The man in the raincoat is the true occupant of Room 702. Two days before our mission began, he had already clashed with the ghost.*
*The hotel's survival instructions were vague—no exact times, just survive until 8 a.m. the next day**.*
*Why so vague?*
*Because his only purpose was to wait until October 22, when our mission officially began!*
*This mission has two phases.*
*The two days prior were his struggle with the ghost, the waiting period before the real task began.*
*Tonight is the climax—because all the staffs have finally gathered.*
The third persona answered Ji Li's doubts, then continued:
*If he isn't special, why could he stay in Room 702 for two whole days unharmed, even wrestling with the ghost until now?*
Ji Li shook his groggy head and muttered softly:
"He said that during those two days, because the rules were so vague, he never once dared to leave Room 702.
But tonight, when the ghost came to kill us, he fled the room for ten minutes—only then did he get attacked…"
The third persona nodded silently. The truth was already laid bare.
*The hotel gave him that extra rule precisely so he'd be attacked during that ten-minute interval.*
*That way, the real clue to survival would be revealed.*
*After all, the hotel never sets a task without at least one path to life.*
Ji Li's head snapped up. The man in the raincoat was now entirely shrouded by the ghost's thick, black hair.
His body hung limp, boneless, as the ghost's grip crushed him, bones snapping one after another in rapid succession.
This ghost's killing method was gruesome and unique—crushing every bone in the body of its prey.
"The way out is Room 702!"
Ji Li suddenly grabbed Fang and Yu by their arms and sprinted toward the raincoat man.
"He wasn't spared because he was special.
It was because every time he faced the ghost at close range, he was inside Room 702.
That room is the refuge—enter it, and the ghost cannot attack!"
Fang and Yu were no fools. The moment Ji Li spoke, the truth struck them at once.
Yu Guo watched the raincoat man who was about to pass by and felt a chill.
"No wonder the raincoat man, who'd been fine until now, is being attacked by the ghost at this moment — it must have held back for a long time…" Thinking that, Yu Guo couldn't help stealing another glance.
That extra look froze his feet.
Ji Li glanced at him, then ignored the two and hurled himself with all his strength up toward the seventh floor.
The raincoat man's death shouldn't be delayed much longer.
Now that the real way out had appeared, the ghost would kill the raincoat man in a very short time, then immediately pursue the remaining survivors.
Time was short, but Ji Li felt strangely calm.
At their speed, they could reach Room 702's door within five seconds; even if the ghost were fast, it wouldn't make it.
He moved fastest, using hands and feet to scramble to the seventh floor. His eyes lit up as he grabbed the stuffed bear on the door and yanked at the handle—only to freeze.
The 702 door didn't budge at all under his pull.
*The door's locked!*
*Shit! It's over, it's over, it's over! That ghost must have been the last one to come out of 702 — it locked the door when it left!*
The second persona wailed again. Ji Li was about to speak when footsteps sounded beside him: Fang Shenyan had arrived.
Seeing the door locked, Fang Shenyan showed no surprise; he only said, "So it is."
Ji Li blinked. "Where's Yu Guo?"
Fang Shenyan looked at him intently, then abruptly turned to the stairs below: "Yu Guo! The door really is locked!"
Ji Li frowned, sensing something, and looked down. Yu Guo's panicked figure was almost there — and in his hand he clutched a silver metal key.
When they'd passed the raincoat man earlier, Ji Li had run fastest and hadn't noticed. But Yu Guo's casual glance had seen the room key hanging from the raincoat man's waist.
Fang Shenyan had said then, "I'm not sure how easy 702 will be to enter. The ghost might have contingencies. Take that key with you, just in case."
Only someone like Yu Guo — reckless, bold, and careful — could do that job.
Luckily, things went smoothly; the ghost had no time to notice him, and he took the key easily.
Even so, Yu Guo broke into a cold sweat.
When Fang Shenyan reached 702 and saw the door locked, he breathed a sigh of relief — thank goodness Yu Guo was their backup.
That was how it happened.
Seeing this, Ji Li understood everything and trusted Fang and Yu Guo all the more.
One person is still only one person.
He needed help now.
"Quick, quick!"
Yu Guo had reached the landing between the sixth and seventh floors. He gritted his teeth, knowing he might not make it in time.
He slowed deliberately, raised his arm, and with effort tossed the key to Fang Shenyan.
At that moment, a cold, bone-piercing hand grabbed his calf.
"Ah?!"
The instant it touched him, Yu Guo's leg went limp, replaced by unbearable, tearing pain.
As the key flew, he lost his balance and slammed into the wall, but he forced himself not to fall.
Pain and frantic despair lit his eyes. He stared at the ugly female ghost almost within reach; blood seeped from between his pale teeth.
"I haven't found A-Lian yet… I don't want to die! I can't die!"
You can read Eerie Overseer ahead by 20 chapters ad-free and for free at htt ps://ravenarchives. com/book/chapter/eerie-overseer/chapter-21]. Bulk uploads are a bit tricky, so updates here might be irregular, but they'll keep coming.