The sweet female voice that sounded completely normal sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
Those closest to the glass door saw that the specks of lights and the cluster of faces disappeared.
Only darkness remained.
Outside of the mall was pitch black, but inside, specks of yellow light slowly lit up.
The surroundings became a bit brighter, albeit still dim.
With Leinster's sharp eyes, he immediately saw the chandelier hanging above everyone's head, the completely still black pond bordered with marble stones and...
Rows after rows of shops.
He could see some vague movements in those stores and soon, rustling noises sounded everywhere around him.
Murmur. Murmur. Murmur.
The completely silent place suddenly became as noisy as a night market, as if it came alive.
The survivors who had entered the mall looked around with wide eyes, their hands almost dropping their oil lamps.
People that they hadn't noticed before suddenly appeared out of thin air, their figures concealed by the darkness with only some body parts illuminated by the survivors' yellowish light.
An unlucky survivor accidentally saw the new person's appearance and he almost peed his pants.
The exposed skin was greyish with a hint of blue, topped with some strange spots.
The eyes...there were none!
It was all white, with no pupils at all, only strange red veins wriggling inside.
With the emergence of new visitors, the stale smell inside the mall suddenly spiked.
This time, the smell of something rotten and decaying was mixed into the air, creating an unbearable, suffocating smell.
The challengers subconsciously pinched their noses as they took a few steps back away from the unknown people, their teeth chattering so hard that the noise almost overwhelmed the chaotic murmurs.
"G-ggg-ghosts! T-t-they a-are ghosts!"
Someone spoke in a hushed voice, their voice so shaky that Leinster almost couldn't hear what he was talking about, only catching one keyword.
Ghost?
What kind of monster is that?
The emo alien had never seen a ghost before so he immediately lifted his oil lamp and stared at the nearest "ghost", the one standing right on his left side, but his attention was instantly whisked away.
Hm? What are those glowing things above everyone's heads except for the ghosts?
Leinster looked above his head and saw his name was dyed in an ominous red color while his temporary teammate had a refreshing green name—
[Otomen Lover]
....wait, what?? Otomen Lover? Isn't that his benefactor??
Leinster was about to shriek and kneel to his reborn parent when Otomen Lover suddenly tugged Leinster's sleeve, her pupils shook in terror.
"S-sir! Sir! Your oil lamp— "
Leinster looked down and saw the flame in the oil lamp suddenly flickering, dancing so wildly that it looked like it was about to go out in the next second.
Not just Leinster, but those who were near the "ghosts" experienced the same thing!
Leinster's face instantly turned grim as he noticed the oil in the oil lamp decreasing faster than it should be.
What the hell? Is it because of the ghosts? What's going on?
Before Leinster could understand what was happening to the oil lamp, the ghosts around him who were standing stiffly suddenly moved forward step by step.
The ghosts, either men or women, old or young, all spoke in a hoarse, nail-scratching voice, their tone so slow, mixed with indescribable murmurs.
"The midnight hunt...has started...we...have to...quickly...choose the goods..."
"I...hope...I have...enough money...."
"Fresh....goods..."
Their voices grew louder and louder.
Their stiff bodies became more and more agile.
At one point, the group of ghosts suddenly ran with an unbelievable speed, pouncing ferociously at the rows of shops in front of the mall's lobby.
Their pure white eyes with no pupils suddenly reddened and the red veins inside their eyes turned black, wriggling so hard that they almost burst out of the eye sockets!
"Gooodsss!!"
"Hunt! Hunt!"
"Buy! Buy!"
The ghosts' sudden movement made the flame inside the oil lamp move erratically.
Even the oil decreased at a speed visible to naked eyes!
Some of the survivors instantly broke into choked sobs.
"W-what to do? The light is dimming. M-my oil is consumed so quickly!"
If this continued, they would run out of oil in less than five minutes when it should be able to last for fifteen minutes!
Panic spread among the ordinary people but Leinster, the new challengers, and veteran challengers quickly looked at the "busy shops", their eyes full of calculation.
There must be something important in the shops!
Leinster immediately gripped Otomen Lover's wrist and dragged her towards a store.
"Let's go! Let's find a clue!"
"Ah? Ah? O-okay, okay!"
Otomen Lover almost staggered but quickly balanced herself and ran after Leinster, the sound of her heels echoing throughout the lobby.
Seeing Leinster, that striking white-haired guy made a move once again, the ordinary people who had seen Leinster's action at the parking lot immediately followed him.
"Follow that guy! He must know something!"
On the contrary, the new challengers and veterans just took a short look at Leinster's departing back and they started to run towards other shops.
The shop Leinster had an eye on wasn't far from the lobby and soon, he stopped in front of it.
From such a close distance, Leinster could see the shop's outer design was clad entirely in black.
Even the inside of the "no-door" shop was pitch black, as if a beast was lurking, opening its jaw wide, waiting for prey to come in.
Only the two displays behind the glass wall were illuminated in a dim yellow light, showing a few watches locked inside muddy glass boxes.
Right next to the store's entrance, a half-person-tall LED board flickered dimly.
The screen without a sound played a video of a man's wrist wearing a watch that seemed to be a century-old.
If one looked closer, the man's skin was dull grey, with some blue and purple spots scattered unevenly!
Leinster lifted his head and immediately saw the name of the shop that almost blended with the black background—
Patek Rolek
At the same time, the red countdown that was floating at the edge of Leinster's vision flickered.
[00:08:00]