Just before the two eerie hosts could embrace her, the girl in the cumbersome Lolita dress walked into the television world.

Her body vanished from Room 413, reappearing an instant later inside the TV screen.

The two hosts, one in front and one behind, held Xia Ta up by her arms, just like a family of three—parents supporting their little girl. The three figures slowly receded into the depths of the television, soon vanishing from sight.

THUD.

The television, which had been flickering precariously, finally shut off completely.

...

Gao Tian didn’t hesitate for a second. He immediately left the mirror in 413. Once back in the Mirror World, he sprinted down the long white path in the opposite direction, trying to get back to his starting point as fast as he could.

’Which mirror was it? This one? No, it should be a bit further ahead... This one. Yes, found it.’

It was a full-length mirror, facing the dark corridor outside. Through it, he could see the anxious figures of Zhao Zhenjia, Jiang Yang, and the others pacing back and forth, waiting for him to emerge.

Gao Tian rushed to the mirror and knocked on its surface, trying to get the attention of the people outside.

When Gao Tian’s figure appeared, Zhao Zhenjia didn’t waste a word and immediately summoned a Wind Attendant Buddha. Gao Tian activated his Mirror Ghost ability, pulling the Wind Puppet into the Mirror World as he himself slipped out.

"What’s going on? Did you find Sister Ta?"

Facing their anxious questions, Gao Tian took a moment to compose himself. He then recounted everything he had seen in Room 413 as best he could: Xia Ta’s past, the origin of the Children’s Home, and finally, how Xia Ta had walked into the television at the call of her parents.

Although Xia Ta’s final order had been for the team to consider the mission complete and wait for her downstairs, Zhao Zhenjia and the others couldn’t possibly just leave.

’If Xia Ta were to die in the Children’s Home again, wouldn’t this whole paranormal incident become even more dangerous, to the point of spiraling completely out of control?’

The only good news was that the ghosts on the fourth floor couldn’t yet descend to the third and second floors at will. The children who had come downstairs were just living people who perceived themselves as ghosts.

The residential floors were still the safe house they knew.

Jiang Yang glanced at the stairs leading to the fifth floor and made up his mind.

"Looks like we can’t escape our fate of going to the fifth floor after all."

"Everyone, thank you for all your efforts up to this point. Anyone who wants to head downstairs is free to go. I’m going upstairs alone, and I won’t stop until I’ve confirmed whether Xia Ta is alive or dead and whether this Children’s Home incident is truly over."

"Of course, if anyone is willing to come with me, you’re more than welcome."

Zhao Zhenjia:

"Why wouldn’t we go? We’ve already come as far as the fourth floor, and we’re just one step away from resolving the Children’s Home incident. How could we possibly turn back now?"

As for the madwoman Lan Chu, she was even more nonchalant. The fear-processing system in her brain had long been broken, and she had only come to the fourth floor for the thrill of it.

’The fifth floor promised an even bigger thrill, so why wouldn’t she go?’

Since three of the four had made their intentions clear, the team’s final objective was set. The only question that remained was which room on the fifth floor had Xia Ta been sent to?

After all, every room on the fifth floor was even more dangerous than those on the fourth. Searching them one by one was out of the question. The slightest mistake could be fatal.

Jiang Yang speculated:

"Lin Nan’an was in Room 414. He said he heard children from the floor above talking to him, and they claimed to be from the Children’s Home."

"That means the room above Lin Nan’an is 515. Xia Ta must have been transported to Room 515."

Gao Tian spoke up, cutting Jiang Yang off:

"Xia Ta is in Room 525."

’That was the prediction from the Future Altar. Everything had been set in stone the moment they decided to go upstairs.’

Jiang Yang looked at him.

"Did you scout the fifth floor using the Mirror World?"

"But the timing doesn’t add up. Going to the fourth floor and then the fifth... how could you possibly be back so soon?"

Gao Tian:

"No, I didn’t."

"Unfortunately, there isn’t a single mirror in Room 525. My power can’t get inside."

’He knew Xia Ta was in 525 because the Future Altar had predicted it, and its predictions were fated to come true.’

Jiang Yang opened his mouth, as if to ask another question.

But seeing the serious look in Gao Tian’s eyes, he swallowed the rest of his question.

’This wasn’t the time for such questions. Gao Tian, the newcomer, wasn’t like Lan Chu; he didn’t just spout nonsense. If he said Room 525, he must have gotten reliable information from somewhere.’

Zhao Zhenjia:

"Room 525... that’s the extra room on each floor that Yu Sheng mentioned. This can’t be a good place."

"Gao Tian, since you already know Xia Ta is in Room 525, can you give us any more information about it?"

Gao Tian began to recall the scene he had witnessed in the Future Altar, searching for any suspicious details.

Unfortunately, the image was simply of Xia Ta sitting amidst a floor full of toys, playing house by herself.

No ghosts were attacking her. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying herself, completely relaxed and unaware of any threat.

The gloomy, empty room didn’t even have a single mirror.

This also dashed Gao Tian’s hopes of monitoring the situation inside via the Mirror World.

A room without mirrors effectively neutralized Gao Tian’s greatest advantage.

He shook his head.

"I don’t know. All information about that room... it’s a complete zero."

"It’s a complete black box."

Hearing this, everyone’s hopes were dashed.

Zhao Zhenjia gave a bitter laugh.

"Well, it looks like we’re left with only the dumbest option."

"And that’s to go up to the fifth floor, open the door to Room 525, and experience the horror inside for ourselves."

"Let’s just hope Xia Ta is still alive in there when we get to her."

Jiang Yang loaded his revolver, then was the first to start up the stairs to the fifth floor.

Zhao Zhenjia slowly hoisted the full-length mirror onto his back and followed him.

The mirror was crucial. If they ran into any danger upstairs, Gao Tian could use his Mirror Ghost ability to pull everyone into the mirror to take refuge.

It was safe to say that Gao Tian’s Mirror Ghost ability, combined with Zhao Zhenjia’s Wind Attendant Buddha, was an overpowered combination.

In a truly desperate situation, it had become their only source of confidence and their ultimate trump card. It was this confidence that allowed Jiang Yang and the others to defy Xia Ta’s final order and choose to ascend.

Fate was a fickle thing. When they first came upstairs, Gao Tian had been the weakest member of the team. But now, as the wielder of the Mirror Ghost ability, he had become their greatest pillar of support and their last hope.

The layout of the fifth floor wasn’t much different from the fourth: a gloomy corridor, tightly shut doors, and room numbers starting from 501.

He didn’t know if it was his imagination, but it felt colder here, and a faint, almost imperceptible smell of damp rot drifted in the air.

This time, they arranged their formation with Jiang Yang and Lan Chu walking side by side in the lead. Zhao Zhenjia, carrying the mirror, was in the middle—so that if anything unexpected happened, he could pull people into the mirror from either the front or the back. Gao Tian, gripping the Terror Blade, brought up the rear.

"Ha ha... ha ha ha... HA HA HA HA!"

"Mister, come and play with us..."

Around the corner ahead, two children appeared with eerie smiles on their faces. They were dressed in rags that looked like they hadn’t been changed in a very long time. The clothes were not only riddled with holes, but had insects crawling all over them.

With a single thought, Zhao Zhenjia summoned his Wind Attendant Buddha. It strode up to the two children and, without preamble, gave the little boy six hard slaps—WHAP, WHAP, WHAP—alternating left and right, slapping the boy into a stunned stupor.

Without giving the little girl who was watching from the sidelines a moment to react, the wind-construct "Zhao Zhenjia" lifted her into the air. It delivered another six slaps, spanking her so hard she started wailing.

These little brats were originally human. The Children’s Home was using them to break through the suppression on the third floor and create ’paranormal incidents’ below.

Now that he knew they were human, he had no patience for their ghost act. He would teach them a lesson on sight. His "six slaps are a cure-all" method worked like a charm; the two wild children’s eerie facade crumbled instantly, and they couldn’t keep up the pretense any longer.

"Don’t stay on the fifth floor. Get your butts down to the third floor, now. We’ll be down to deal with you later."

Zhao Zhenjia commanded coldly. The Wind Attendant Buddha gave each of them a swift kick, sending them flying.

Of course, even though these children were human, that didn’t mean they weren’t dangerous.

They had been on the fourth and fifth floors for so long that they had come to perceive themselves as ghosts. What’s more, they could use various ghostly items, like that soccer ball that meant instant death on contact.

It just went to show that unless the Children’s Home itself was dealt with, tragedies like this would keep repeating in the apartment building, forever.

As the group reached the end of the corridor, they found the number on the last door was 524.

That was the end of the hall. Each floor of the apartment building only had 24 rooms. The legendary 25th room simply didn’t exist.

"Is there any way to make Room 525 reveal itself?"