“C’mon, John—you’re not scared, are you?”

  Miller wasn’t ready to give up, trying to goad him into it—only to be cut off mid-sentence.

  “Cut the crap.”

  John shot him a cold glance.

  “If you want me to take on more risk, you better pay me more for it.”

  Miller froze, then caught on at once, hurrying to agree.

  “Deal! You can take an extra ten percent of the mission reward!”

  “You trying to feed me empty promises?”

  John shook his head with a laugh. “We don’t even know if we’ll finish the mission. Give me something real.”

  “Then what do you want?”

  Miller’s brow furrowed. He was starting to realize this guy wasn’t nearly as easy to fool as he’d thought.

  “Thirty grand in cash.”

  John locked eyes with him, his tone firm.

  “Now. Right now. Cash it over.”

  “…”

  Miller’s mouth twitched. With that tone, he felt like he was being held up by a thug.

  “Thirty grand is a little steep…”

  he muttered, trying to haggle.

  “The three of you can split it.”

  John’s gaze drifted to the other two Ghost Binders, a smirk playing on his lips.

  “And for the record, I’m a straight-A student of the new age. Not some psycho thug. I won’t force you to pay.”

  He shrugged, acting nonchalant.

  “If you don’t cough up the cash, we’ll draw straws for the fifth floor.

  Your call.”

  The three exchanged a look, huddling together for a quick whisper before making their decision.

  “We’ll pay.”

  Miller ground his teeth. “But there’s a catch!”

  “Spit it out.”

  “William patrols the fourth floor!”

  Aside from the fifth, the fourth was easily the next most dangerous.

  “Done!”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  William agreed at once, relief flooding his face.

  If John was on the fifth, the fourth was the only safe spot for him.

  “Then we have a deal. We’ll go grab the cash!”

  The three left to fetch the money, leaving John and William alone in the lobby.

  “Boss John, you have to be careful up there.”

  William’s face was etched with worry.

  “Nothing to worry about. The odds of the ghost striking are basically the same on every floor.”

  John shook his head, then added, “If something happens tonight, come find me first.”

  “Got it, no problem!”

  William nodded furiously, a wave of relief washing over him.

  John turned to him, curious. “By the way—you got any actual fighting power now?”

  “A little, I guess.”

  John pressed further, nodding at William’s signature item. “What’s with that coffin? Can it trap ghosts? Or release yours to fight?”

  William’s Bound Ghost had looked pretty formidable, after all.

  “Uh…”

  William hesitated, stammering for a moment before finally admitting the truth.

  “Actually… its main use is… I lift it and smash ghosts with it.”

  “Huh?”

  John stared at him, dumbfounded.

  “It’s a Bound Ghost for crying out loud—could it be any less cool?”

  “I’m not even a First-Curse Ghost Binder yet. My combat power’s pretty much nonexistent.”

  “First-Curse?”

  “It’s the entry level for Ghost Binders.”

  William knew John was in the Intelligence Division and would learn this stuff sooner or later, so there was no point in keeping it a secret.

  “Once I hit First-Curse, I’ll unlock my Ghost Coffin’s first Cursed Technique. That’s when I’ll be a real professional.”

  “Cursed Techniques?”

  John raised an eyebrow, filing away the new info on Ghost Binders.

  Their conversation was cut short when Miller and the other two returned, cash in hand.

  “Thirty grand.”

  Miller held out a thick stack of bills.

  “Perfect.”

  John’s eyes lit up at once. He counted the cash carefully, making sure the amount was right.

  “Now the fifth floor’s all yours.”

  Having learned his lesson with John, Miller dropped the fake flattery, his tone flat.

  “Course it is.”

  John grinned. “I might charge a pretty penny, but I’ve got professional integrity. Don’t worry about it.”

  Miller and the other two let out a collective sigh of relief.

  The money stung, but it was a small price to pay for their safety. As Ghost Binders, they’d make far more once they survived this mission.

  The five split up to patrol their assigned floors as night fell.

  Aside from John, the other four were on edge, jumping at every shadow.

  They’d hyped themselves up for the mission a hundred times over.

  But walking the empty, silent hallways, fear crept in all the same.

  What if the ghost was lurking in the corridor, just out of sight?

  Anxious thoughts plaguing them, they’d already started scaring themselves half to death.

  Miraculously, though, the hotel stayed quiet—no strange noises, no cold spots, no signs of the malevolent ghost. It was as if it had left entirely.

  “It’s one in the morning. Maybe it’s not coming tonight.”

  Miller, patrolling the second floor, felt a mix of disappointment and relief.

  “I’ll head back to my room for a quick nap…”

  He stared down the empty hallway, yawning, his guard slipping a little.

  “The place is so quiet. If anyone screams, the other four will hear it right away.”

  With that thought, Miller turned and headed back to his room. He had no intention of pulling an all-nighter.

  He quickly washed up and collapsed onto the bed.

  “Guess we’ll try again tomorrow…”

  He closed his eyes, ready to drift off to sleep.

  Then he froze.

  Footsteps. Loud, heavy footsteps, coming from the floor above him, pacing back and forth.

  “Whoever’s patrolling up there is making a racket.”

  Miller muttered to himself, annoyed—until his blood ran cold a second later. A horrifying realization hit him, and he jerked upright in bed.

  “That’s not right! I’m in my room. They’re patrolling the hallways. Different spaces!”

  His brow furrowed, his mind racing.

  “Unless a guest’s still up… or someone’s getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night?”

  He glanced up at the ceiling, clinging to the rational explanation, and let out a shaky breath.

  “Just scaring myself…”

  He patted his chest and lay back down.

  At that exact moment, the footsteps fell silent—confirming, in his mind, that it had just been a guest upstairs.

  But then his entire body tensed up again.

  The footsteps were back.

  This time, though, they weren’t coming from the floor above.

  They were in the hallway he’d just patrolled!