This time Fang Shenyan took the lead. Without hesitation, he shoved open the glass doors of Broad Valley Building.
At that exact moment, the clock struck ten.
Shhh!
From the seventeenth floor down, the entire building's power cut out in an instant.
By the time Yu Guo was the last to step inside, total darkness swallowed them.
The silence was absolute—only the sharp drumming of rain against the glass doors remained.
That silence lasted less than half a second before Ji Li caught the faint uproar from above: the shouting and commotion of overtime workers.
He turned his head toward the street outside. Across the road, the lights of another building still glowed bright. Only Broad Valley Building had lost power.
The meaning was obvious.
A ghost was about to appear.
"Our mission is to protect the forty-three workers still inside. We need the smallest space, the most concentrated group! Pair up, search the floors, and bring everyone down to the first-floor lobby."
Fang Shenyan moved first, naturally teaming up with Yu Guo as they ran toward the west stairwell.
Tongguan raised no objection to Ji Li's plan and went east with Chang Nian.
That left only Ji Li and Li Xing trembling on his legs in the lobby.
Ji Li stayed by the entrance, back to the rainy night. He made no move, instead taking out a cigarette and lighting it.
Li Xing waited for instructions. When he glanced over, Ji Li was already smoking.
"Man… Manager Ji, aren't we supposed to go find people?"
Ji Li looked up at him, inhaled deeply, and blew out a perfect smoke ring. "What was your old job?"
Caught off guard, Li Xing answered reflexively. "Just a regular office worker."
"If you're working late, the building suddenly loses power—what do you do?"
"What else? Go home…"
The words stopped in his throat. He realized why Ji Li hadn't moved.
With Fang, Yu, Tongguan, and Chang already covering both stairwells, the rest of the workers would naturally head for the front entrance to leave.
All Ji Li and Li Xing had to do was block them in the lobby.
Respect flickered in Li Xing's eyes. He edged closer and asked quietly:
"But they're ordinary people. They don't know ghosts exist. How are we supposed to keep them here?"
Ji Li didn't answer. He smoked silently, waiting.
Before long, hurried footsteps approached. Just as Ji Li finished his cigarette, his eyes lit up.
Groups of three and five staff, clutching briefcases, rushed toward the exit.
The first floor was still the brightest part of the building, aided by the fully lit offices across the street.
"Damn it, the boss wants that proposal tomorrow morning, and now the power's out?"
"Same here, my work isn't done. By the time I get home, it'll be midnight—guess I'm pulling another all-nighter."
Ji Li listened as they drew closer. He lowered his backpack to the floor, then reached behind his waist.
Boots clicked on the tile. Backlit, Ji Li's shadow stretched across the floor, looming before the workers.
"Your lives end tonight. If you want to survive, you'll follow my orders."
His voice rang cold through the empty lobby. Li Xing flinched, unsure what Ji Li planned—how could anyone obey under such circumstances?
"Who the hell are you? Move! We're in a hurry!"
"What is this crap? Are you insane?"
The middle-aged man at the front snapped, and the rest began shoving. Their tempers were already raw.
*She cursed at me—the woman in the back! Ji Li, do as you like. Don't give her any face!* The second persona barked, as foul-tempered as ever, fueling Ji Li's fire.
But Ji Li only smiled faintly. His right hand finally emerged from behind his back.
Not with a knife, as usual—but with a pistol, black and cold.
The staff couldn't see clearly, but Li Xing did. His jaw nearly dropped.
Before he could speak, a deafening crack split the air.
*Bang!*
The rude woman was blasted off her feet, crashing to the floor. Her carefully painted face smeared as blood seeped from her stomach. Only then did the pain hit, and she screamed.
Ji Li blew smoke from the pistol's barrel, holding it loosely as he strode past the stunned workers.
He stopped before the writhing woman, her shrieks echoing, and frowned.
Bang!
Another shot rang out. A hole blossomed in the woman's forehead; she died instantly.
"Ah! Robbery! Murder!"
"Don't run. You can't get out. Stay here in the lobby and don't move. I won't hurt you further."
Ji Li addressed the now-hysterical crowd in a clear voice.
"Please, please, don't shoot. We'll do as you say," the middle-aged man urged, and the others crouched down in the center of the lobby.
Li Xing stood dumbfounded, his ears still ringing. He was utterly stunned.
"Ji Li… he's a manager, but is he even human?"
"From now on, I order you to hold this place. Don't move — not even to go to the bathroom; relieve yourselves where you are. Later, many others will join you, so don't worry — I won't keep hurting you. What I want to say is this building contains something far more terrible than I am. The real threat to you is not me but that thing. When you see it with your own eyes, you'll understand how merciful I've been."
Ji Li's smile looked no less than a midnight demon to the living. None of them had ever seen someone joke casually and yet so quickly take lives.
They only half understood his words but dared not move; they resigned themselves.
Ji Li didn't have time to reason with each person or coax them into obedience. People act independently; even if he shouted himself hoarse, he couldn't control everyone. So he used force.
He didn't scorn life — he valued the function of life. The woman's death cost one of the protection slots, but it secured control over the remaining forty-two people far more effectively.
Ji Li's method favored the most rational, fastest solution; in this moment it worked best.
Most importantly, he had no time to stay in the lobby guarding them all.
There was another task he had to carry out personally — one he could not entrust to anyone else.
You can read Eerie Overseer ahead by 30+ chapters ad-free and for free at htt ps://ravenarchives. com/book/eerie-overseer]. Bulk uploads are a bit tricky, so updates here might be irregular, but they'll keep coming.