Running A Cemetery in North America-Chapter 381 - 257: Midnight Elevator

"Hello everyone, my name is Lin Yunzhong, you can just call me Old Lin."

The chubby guy held the gourd and chuckled.

"Alright, since everyone is here now, let’s set off. I believe everyone is aware of the dangers of a Five Stars mission, whether we survive this time will be left up to fate."

Zhou Mangmang nodded. As the initiator of this task, she reverted to her cold and stern demeanor typical of the Grand Sacrificial Society in this moment.

Then, she took the lead and headed towards the Golden Mountain Building, the others following behind her.

The Golden Mountain Building is a complex of residential and commercial units.

The bottom one to five floors are shop units like those in shopping malls, and above that are residential apartments.

Due to its origin as an old building from the last century, there isn’t any property management, and only a security booth was constructed at the entrance.

An old man was sitting there, deeply asleep with his head down.

A mobile phone on the table was playing free short dramas via the Red Fruit app.

Sun Yan and the others quietly bypassed the railing and entered the building.

It was close to midnight, and the entire building was pitch-dark. The street lamps had long been out, and no one had come to repair them.

Li Bo took out a flashlight and switched it on, instantly lighting up the path ahead.

The narrow corridor was cluttered with cardboard boxes and various trash, as if it hadn’t been cleaned for a long time.

"Who is it? Why use a flashlight at night?"

Suddenly, an angry voice emerged from a pile of cardboard boxes as a ragged man climbed out.

"What are you doing? Using a flashlight here at night," the man said discontentedly.

"Are there homeless people here?" Lin Yunzhong laughed cheerfully.

"What did you say? Look down on homeless people?"

"Don’t be mad, brother, have a smoke to calm down." Lin Yunzhong pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and handed him one.

Upon seeing that it was a Yellow Crane Tower 1916, the homeless man’s eyes lit up instantly.

He took the cigarette, and his demeanor softened immediately.

"You all don’t look like residents of this building. What are you doing here so late, looking to stream an exploration?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

The homeless man pulled out a cheap lighter and lit the cigarette, asking leisurely.

"Stream an exploration?" Zhou Mangmang was puzzled.

"Don’t pretend, aren’t you influencers from Douyin, looking to explore here for some heat? I’ve seen too much of this, but let me warn you, this Golden Mountain Building is genuinely eerie, not just a legend. If you’re planning an adventure tonight, I suggest you leave now, don’t get yourselves into trouble."

The homeless man smoked and blew smoke rings as he spoke.

"Aren’t you afraid of danger living here?" Zhou Mangmang asked.

"What do you take me for? I am a homeless person, why should I care? I have nothing to lose, if I die, so be it. Living without a place to stay is worse than dying."

The homeless man finished the whole cigarette in a few puffs, threw it on the ground, and extinguished it with his flip-flops, then comfortably lay back down.

"I’ve already told you, hurry up and leave. Young people shouldn’t risk things just for views, it’s unnecessary."

Sun Yan and his group watched the homeless man lying on the ground, covering himself with a piece of cardboard.

They obviously wouldn’t heed his words.

This time, the group had come from afar for the Five Stars mission, there was no way they would give up easily and leave empty-handed.

The Tomb Guardians who dared to take on a Five Stars mission were naturally not weak, and all had great confidence in their abilities.

"Let’s go." Zhou Mangmang walked away briskly, and Sun Yan and the others followed one after another.

They quickly found the elevator on the first floor.

"According to the mission instructions, we need to take the elevator to reach the nonexistent city. Let’s get to the point."

Zhou Mangmang walked to the elevator on the first floor and pressed the button to go up.

With the slow opening of the old elevator doors, a narrow and cramped space was revealed.

The walls of the elevator were already peeling, covered in various advertising posters and small trash ads.

"Wow, it’s an antique," Lin Yunzhong said as he stepped inside first.

Li Bo and Li Lang followed, while Sun Yan and Zhou Mangmang stood on the outermost side.

Sun Yan pulled out a notebook from his pocket and once again carefully checked the mission requirements.

’There is a building in the coastal Wenyang City. It’s said that every night at midnight, as long as you press the elevator floor sequence 793486, you can reach a nonexistent city. Many have disappeared this way, never to return.’

Sun Yan’s gaze fell on the elevator buttons: "Let’s begin, who will press them?"

Lin Yunzhong, holding the gourd, laughed: "Zhou Mangmang is the task initiator, let her do it."

"Alright." Zhou Mangmang didn’t waste words, directly pressing the 7th floor button.

With a rumble!

The elevator began to move slowly, continuously rising, quickly reaching the 7th floor.

The elevator doors slowly opened, revealing the dark corridor outside.

Zhou Mangmang pressed the 9th floor, and the elevator kept ascending.

Descending to the 3rd floor, ascending to the 4th floor, ascending to the 8th floor...

Throughout the process, Sun Yan and his group inside the elevator were extremely quiet, not saying a word.

For some reason, the temperature in the elevator seemed to start dropping at this point, a faint chill filled the air.

Sun Yan’s Celestial Eye between his brows opened up, immediately noticing something was wrong.

He saw a significant amount of Yin Energy seeping inside through the gaps in the elevator, permeating from outside.

"Something’s up," Sun Yan thought privately.

Ding!

When the elevator descended to the 6th floor, the doors slowly opened, and a rush of Yin Energy surged in.

You could even see a white mist swirling in the air.

The emergency light in the hallway emitted a ghostly green glow, making the whole corridor look eerie.

"Is this it?" Li Bo asked, breaking the long silence inside.

"This is already the final step of the process. If it doesn’t work, then there’s a problem with the task requirements," Zhou Mangmang said calmly and was the first to step out of the elevator.

Instantly, Zhou Mangmang’s hands glowed with a golden light, and two Flood Dragon-shaped long whips appeared in her hands.

These two whips emitted a radiant golden glow, obviously not ordinary magical treasures at first sight.

"Could it be... the Female and Male Flood Dragon Golden Whip?" Lin Yunzhong asked curiously.

Li Lang was stunned, his expression amazed: "So your Tomb Guardian is the Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable!"

Sun Yan was surprised to look at Zhou Mangmang, not expecting her Tomb Guardian to have such a prominent origin.

Wen Zhong, also known as Grandmaster Wen, was an entrusted minister by Emperor Yi, father of King Zhou of Shang, Grandmaster of the Shang Dynasty, and a third-generation disciple of the Jie Sect.

Proficient in Five Escape Techniques, he had a Mysterious Kirin as a mount, able to travel miles instantly. He wielded the Female and Male Flood Dragon Golden Whip. Wen Zhong early on apprenticed under Golden Spirit Saint Mother at Biyou Palace of the Jie Sect, training for fifty years before coming down to assist the Shang Dynasty. Initially, Wen Zhong was tasked with leading campaigns in the north, taking charge of the state’s eastward and westward expeditions, quelling rebellions, thus rarely showing up formally.

As Xiqi grew stronger later, he began to frequently attack Xiqi, causing many setbacks to Xiqi’s army. Ultimately, he still couldn’t rival the forces from the Expository Sect, suffering defeats in several battles, and finally was burned alive at Juelong Ridge by Yun Zhongzi using the Heaven-Reaching Divine Fire Pillar. After death, Wen Zhong was bestowed the title Nine Heavens Responding Origin Thunder Sound Universal Transformation Celestial Venerable by Jiang Ziya, making him a very powerful Tomb Guardian indeed.

Sun Yan couldn’t help but nod, no wonder Zhou Mangmang had the confidence to undertake the Five Stars mission.

Her Tomb Guardian is indeed stronger than the Tomb Guardians of Lin Wan, Shi Langfei, and Gu Xing.

With such a temporary companion, the mission becomes much more reassuring, worthy of trust.