Fortunately, Lu Ming didn't die.

He was covered in wounds and blood.

He was laid down on a recliner and gasped for breath for a while before recovering.

Good, good.

If two people had died in such a short time, everyone would probably have collapsed.

The colleagues looked at each other, anxious and uneasy.

I pretended to remain calm and reopened the computer.

After the computer restarted, several windows from internal software popped up again.

Without exception, they were all sent by the VP in charge of human resources and finance—

"Everyone: The company has encountered an unexpected situation. Stay calm and wait for someone to handle it!"

"Everyone: The project must go live on time tonight. If any issues arise, individuals will be held accountable!"

"Everyone: Considering the special circumstances tonight, the company has decided to provide a cash subsidy of 2,000 yuan to every employee who clocks out after midnight. 200 yuan will be directly paid out after work, and the remaining amount will be distributed together with the salary over 9 months to the salary card."

"Everyone: After power restoration, ensure orderly work. Taking photos or videos is strictly prohibited, and sharing them externally will result in personal consequences!"

...

"Tsk tsk, I knew it! There are no good people up there, huh? 2,000 bucks and they split it into installments. Why don't they just make you poor!"

Next to me, Da Pan muttered quietly.

"Zege, let's go, let's have a smoke! It's too suffocating."

Da Pan stood up and gestured for me to follow him outside.

Indeed, with all that has happened, I was getting nervous, and it was necessary to relax a bit.

"Let's endure until midnight, then take five days off as annual leave tomorrow and just lie down and rest!"

As Da Pan and I passed by the entrance, we had a rough idea of how Lu Ming got injured.

"Tsk! Serves him right!"

Da Pan spat.

He had long been displeased with Lu Ming, the head of that department.

Going left from the company entrance led to the restroom and smoking room.

Straight ahead were the corridor and the shared elevator area.

Going right led to the fireproof rolling shutter door that led to the stairwell.

Some of us smokers were sometimes too lazy to go to the smoking room and would smoke in the stairwell.

Normally, the rolling shutter door would not be lowered.

But at this moment, not only was the rolling shutter door halfway down, it was also severely damaged.

The rolled-up metal sheet was covered in bloodstains, and the walls and floor were also marked with blood.

Several bloody handprints were gruesome, sticking to the walls and even peeling off some plaster.

"Lu Ming probably wanted to smoke in the stairwell and got hit by the rolling shutter door. He was rolled inside, lucky he didn't die."

I expressed relief for Lu Ming.

I glanced at Da Pan and whispered, "Who knows, maybe what they said in the group is true..."

"Zege, don't scare me. I'm not afraid of being poor as a penniless new-generation youth. Why would I be afraid of some prank?"

"I was just saying."

Da Pan grumbled, "You see, that damn rule says the smoking room is dangerous, right? I still want to give it a try! It's all nonsense from the leaders, deceiving the employees!"

Clatter!

Da Pan took a cigarette and lit it.

Suddenly, I vaguely saw a red dot on his forehead, but it disappeared right away.

I shook my head, thinking it was just a trick of the eye.

It must have been the lit cigarette he was holding...

At that moment, there seemed to be something blowing on the back of my neck.

When I turned my head to look, there was nothing there...

"Don't smoke here, let's go a couple of steps to the restroom. Hurry up!"

Actually, at this point, I was starting to believe the anonymous rules in the group—

"Rule 2: Smoking inthe stairwell will result in severe consequences."

But I didn't want to say it out loud.

Da Pan stared at me with a frown and extinguished the cigarette.

We walked to the restroom, and as soon as we entered, we heard a loud crash from the direction of the stairwell.

Startled, we rushed out of the restroom and saw the fireproof rolling shutter door rapidly closing.

Da Pan shouted, "Who's messing around?!"

But before I could react, the rolling shutter door closed completely, trapping us inside the restroom.

The restroom was dimly lit, and the air was heavy with an eerie silence.

Da Pan banged on the door, yelling for someone to open it.

I took out my phone and tried calling for help, but there was no signal.

Panic started to creep in as we realized we were trapped.

Then, suddenly, the lights in the restroom flickered, and an unsettling feeling washed over me.

Da Pan whispered, "Do you think... we're not alone in here?"

Before I could respond, the lights went out completely, plunging us into darkness.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the restroom, but they were not our own.

I could hear Da Pan's heavy breathing as fear gripped us both.

Then, a voice whispered, "Rule 3: Those who break the rules will face the consequences."

I felt a chill run down my spine as I realized that the anonymous rules in the group were not a prank.

We were caught in a twisted game, and we had no idea how to escape.

Trapped in the darkness, we could only wait and hope for someone to find us before it was too late.