Outside the Window...

Even if those four newcomers resisted, they eventually had to accept the fact that they had traveled through time. They were all on edge, each finding a room in the brick building to settle in, not daring to move once inside.

...But why mention only four newcomers?

Because Zoe was certain that among the nine of them, besides the man in black, the couple was definitely not new to this either.

As the night deepened, she found a drawer full of steamed buns in the kitchen on the first floor.

"The food here is really subpar," she remarked.

Penny, tearing a bun apart beside her, responded with a hint of resignation, "At least there's something to eat. Are you here for a gourmet tour or something?"

Zoe retorted, "It's not just about living for the sake of living. We should seek spiritual satisfaction and pleasure. If life has no quality, what's the difference between that and being dead?"

Penny paused in her chewing, then raised her hand and gave a half-hearted clap, "Miss Faye, even though you look so innocent, I think you have the potential to be a great con artist."

"And why's that?"

"You have a knack for talking nonsense with a straight face. And you never smile."

Zoe stuffed the remaining half of her bun into her mouth, "I'm usually very friendly and professional with my clients, always wearing a standard smile."

Penny curiously asked, "I'm also your client. Have you ever smiled at me?"

"You haggled with me non-stop, cutting the price in half from 30,000 to 15,000. Why should I smile at you? Is my smile that cheap?"

Penny turned her head away, mumbling guiltily, "I really didn't have much money. I have so many worlds to travel to in the future. I need to save up. Otherwise, if I go broke, who will help me get through?"

Zoe glanced at her, "Traveling through worlds can be life-threatening. I hope you won't risk your life just to save some money."

Penny was about to say something when suddenly, a man's scream echoed from the third floor.

"Damn it! Holy crap!"

The two exchanged glances and immediately headed upstairs. Upon reaching the third floor, they found that everyone had gathered around the source of the scream.

The one who screamed was the tallest among the newcomers, a big burly man who, despite his size, seemed quite timid. He was trembling, leaning against the wall for support.

The girl who had been crying earlier asked in panic, "What happened? Did you see something?"

"Outside the window... outside the window..." the tall man pointed to a window in the corridor, his face pale as a sheet, "There was a woman's face outside the window just now. She had huge eyes, her hair was disheveled, and she grinned at me..."

His description sent chills down everyone's spine. Even Penny shuddered.

"Could it be a ghost that lives in this building?"

"Damn it! Stop scaring me!" The man's voice raised an octave, "If this house is haunted, how can we stay here?!"

"What kind of place did you think you came to?" Zoe replied calmly, "Did you think you were brought here for construction work?"

The man, driven by fear, shouted at her, "How do you know so much? Are you hiding something from us? You must know the way out. Tell us!"

But before he could get any closer to Zoe, he was stopped by the handsome man in black.

The man in black effortlessly pushed him back several feet with just one hand, causing the tall man to stumble.

The man in black smirked, "It's quite rare to see someone blatantly break the rules right off the bat."

"What rules? What damn rules?"

The couple, who had been silent until now, finally spoke up. The male, who seemed to have a short temper, said, "Didn't you see the writing on the wall when we first arrived? It said not to make loud noises at night. You've already broken that rule."

The tall man had indeed been shouting and making a ruckus since they arrived, seemingly afraid that the ghost might not hear him.

The girl who loved to cry asked nervously, "What happens if we break the rules?"

She looked at Zoe, hoping for an answer. After all, Zoe had an innocent face, which often gave people the illusion that she was easy-going and kind-hearted.

"What happens?" Zoe pondered, "Well, it's hard to say. But there's a high probability of death. So, good luck."

The girl looked at the tall man, her face pale, and without saying a word, she turned and went back to her room.

The others also seemed to realize something and left one by one, leaving the tall man standing there, trembling and looking lost.

The night grew even darker.