Empty, empty, empty.
In the entire city, there were only seven of them.
Nie Shi was behind the wheel, with Fang Chen in the front passenger seat, while Xie Ying and Fan Yingying occupied the rear seats. When they got into the car, Fan Yingying had even asked, “Fang Chen, aren’t you sitting in the back?”
Fang Chen shook his head in refusal. In any case, it wouldn’t be fitting for him, a man, to sit in the back with two ladies out of courtesy, and besides, there were vacant seats available.
No one had the energy to speak, and soon enough, a tranquil ambiance engulfed the car.
Outside the windows, the scenery remained ordinary, yet devoid of human presence. The road stretched before them like an open canvas, and amidst the vast emptiness, there were only two cars of theirs driving seamlessly, unhindered by obstacles.
City B was very close—merely a three-hour drive away. Their phones were on speaker mode for easy communication, and occasionally, they could hear the distant hum of the wind on the other end.
After more than ten or so minutes, Gao Cheng couldn’t hold back and leaned towards the phone, voicing, “What if we don’t make it to our destination before nightfall?”
Fang Chen glanced at Nie Shi, then cast his gaze to the rear seat. Xie Ying also seemed to be pondering this question.
Up until now, only Fang Chen, Nie Shi, and the couple had encountered the malevolences, while Gao Cheng and the others had only heard descriptions from their recount. The eerie screams seemed to permeate everyone’s dreams, and silent prayers echoed from deep within their hearts: Please, don’t let us be so unlucky; please, don’t let us encounter those entities.
“Actually… something’s always been off with the day and night, right?” Wang Huiwen spoke up, “I remember that the sky would get dark very early even before all this happened.”
It was only that they hadn’t noticed.
Everything bore signs of foreshadowing, starting from the moment they opened their eyes in that enigmatic building.
Where were they exactly? That was the prevailing question in everyone’s thoughts.
“Nie Shi, you seem quite experienced and fearless in confronting those entities. Fricking impressive of you,” Gao Cheng remarked offhandedly. Whether by design or happenstance, his comment stirred the curiosity of many, leaving them to wonder the same about the subject of his question.
Anticipated silence ensued.
Gao Cheng chuckled. “Fang Chen, say something.”
“What should I say?”
“Anything. As long as it’s something you say, Nie Shi will respond.”
Fang Chen was choked speechless. It seemed undeniable; Nie Shi was cold to everyone except Fang Chen, treating him well and responding only to his questions.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
“If you’re tired, I can take over the driving,” Fang Chen suggested to Nie Shi.
Fan Yingying, who had been quiet ever since they got in the car, spoke up, “Fang Chen, you even know how to drive?”
Fang Chen’s semi-profile was reflected in the rearview mirror. His hair was somewhat dishevelled, and the front loose strands were slightly curled. He heard Fan Yingying’s question, licked his dry lips, and admitted, “Mm.” He wasn’t sure if he could actually drive, and with Fan Yingying’s reminder, a tingling sensation was felt through his scalp. Leaning against the car window, he chose to remain silent.
Out of nowhere, a hand suddenly covered his head, landing gently on the top of it. His already somewhat tousled hair received a light ruffling, making him felt like some sort of animal being tended to.
At times like these, should I cooperate and start snoring?
“What are you doing?” Fang Chen asked.
Nie Shi withdrew his hand. “Comforting.”
In the rear seat, Xie Ying couldn’t help but burst into laughter with a snicker, while Fan Yingying stared intently at the back of Nie Shi’s head. The expression in her eyes clouded with an indescribable strangeness.
“Fang Chen,” she said again, “Do you know anyone in City B?”
Fan Yingying always managed to hit Fang Chen’s sore spots.
Fang Chen fell into silence once again.
Fan Yingying remained completely oblivious. “My uncle is there, so if you have nowhere to go by then…”
“Let’s discuss this later when we get out of here.” Zhang Rui’s voice suddenly interrupted from the other end of the phone, sounding a bit impatient with their chattering. “Just drive out of this city first…”
Fan Yingying nibbled on her lips and hushed up.
“Suppose someone orchestrated our presence here, creating an illusion of us getting to know each other. If that was the case, then what could their purpose be?” Xie Ying suddenly spoke up, initiating her analysis and redirecting the conversation back on track.
“Oh yeah,” Gao Cheng responded from the other end of the phone. “For what reason, though?”
“Are any of you familiar with the three people who died?” Xie Ying asked. “Anything will do, share whatever you can think of.”
Gao Cheng began to think seriously, pondering for a while before saying, “I only know that Auntie Wu, who lived on the first floor, was quite talkative. Uncle Wu seemed to have a gambling problem. The both of them often got into an argument.”
Wang Huiwen also chimed in, “The person on the second floor rarely left his home. He also seemed to have pets?”
“He abused animals,” Fang Chen lowered his head and murmured.
“Fang Chen?” Xie Ying felt something wasn’t right with Fang Chen.
Fang Chen slowly came back to his senses. “There were many animal corpses inside the second-floor apartment.”
Only Nie Shi and Fang Chen had entered the second-floor apartment; others simply couldn’t fathom the spine-chilling sensation that enveloped the space within. The dim room, heavy with dampness in the air, and the sight of numerous animal corpses…
Just then, Fang Chen felt like he had stumbled upon something significant—the couple on the first floor and the “hairy person” on the second floor…
“Are they really real, or could they also be our illusion?” Xie Ying, however, extended the line of thought to another side. “If they’re real, then who’ll be the next one to die?”
Silence enveloped the car.
They were so focused on escaping that they forgot about this.
The people from the building were slowly dwindling. They died, disappeared, and ultimately leaving nothing behind.
A sob echoed from the back of the car. Fan Yingying seemed as though she was made of water. Tears streamed down uncontrollably, falling in such abundance that her eye sockets ached from the incessant weeping.
“Damn it!” Zhang Rui cursed, thinking about smoking again, but eventually resisted the urge to.
The car continued to drive forward, and no one knew the ultimate destination awaiting their arrival.
Fang Chen fell asleep; he didn’t even know why he could sleep in such a terrible environment and dire situation.
Amidst utter darkness around him, the surroundings buzzed with liveliness. Numerous voices conversed, the clatter of dishes and utensils resonated, and the sound of gushing water echoed. He found himself navigating through, pushing open a glass door and sealing off the coolness behind him. Outside, the rhythmic chirping of cicadas intermingled with the blistering summer heat. Through a narrow opening, brightness seeped in, revealing only the floor beneath his feet in his sight.
“Are you skipping class again?” Fang Chen heard himself speak, his voice still full of youthful vibrancy. “Why did you come here?”
“To see you.” Someone stood opposite him, their figure blurry.
“You can’t be like this. Go attend your classes properly. Remember our agreement?”
There was a long pause before a faint “Mm” finally came through from the other side.
The narrow opening widened, and Fang Chen saw his hand reaching upward. “Can you give me a smile? Why are you wearing such a gloomy expression?”
“Don’t feel like going…”
“That can’t do.” Fang Chen’s tone suddenly became firm. “You f*cking get yourself to school right now.”
Startled awake by a scream, he opened his eyes to see a pair of dark, hollow eyes staring straight back at him. The car window acted as a barrier, with the malevolence pressing against the glass from the outside. The already wrinkled and withered skin was compressed together, forming an ‘O’ shape with the mouth. It was only then that Fang Chen noticed it had a tongue—greenish-purple but very short, as if unable to extend beyond its mouth. Its teeth were serrated and yellowish, and a strangely puerile, childlike cry could be heard emanating out from its mouth.
Truly disgusting.
Before Fang Chen could react, the malevolence pressing against the car window was suddenly yanked away. Nie Shi was already outside, dragging it by its feet and throwing it on the ground, aiming the gun at the monster’s chest, and pulling the trigger.
Bang—
In the depths of Fang Chen’s eyes, a fleeting silhouette emerged, swiftly merging with Nie Shi, only to dissolve into nothingness just as quickly.
The malevolence shrank into a soft, pulpy piece of skin. In the rear seat, Xie Ying firmly clamped her hand over Fan Yingying’s mouth, ensuring no sound could escape her lips.
Fang Chen eased himself into an upright position, the grip of fear fading from his consciousness, “What’s going on?”
“That thing suddenly ran out of nowhere.” Xie Ying explained frantically, “After driving for a while, we realized it seemed impossible to shake it off. That’s when Nie Shi went out to deal with it!”
The phone displayed 3:00 PM, indicating they had been driving for two hours.
The sky hadn’t completely darkened yet, presenting a rich, deep blue colour.
“What about Gao Cheng and the others?” Fang Chen asked.
“Right in front of you guys! Hurry, hurry! There’s a guest house here. Come quickly, let’s take shelter inside!” urged Gao Cheng over the phone.
Nie Shi returned, closing the car door with a heavy thud. His gaze remained icy, seemingly indifferent to everything that had just happened, as if the malevolence he had just vanquished was of no concern to him whatsoever.
“You didn’t wake up no matter how hard we tried to call you.” Xie Ying felt rather worried about Fang Chen as she asked, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” Fang Chen responded, his eyes darting to Nie Shi. When Nie Shi caught his gaze, Fang Chen quickly averted his eyes, his heart pounding violently.
Fan Yingying was half-lying down, occupying most of the rear seat, while she rubbed her shoulders.
She felt nauseous.
Just what were those disgusting things, and why did she have to go through all of this?!
Dorm life was perfectly fine in the first place. Why did she have to move out? If she hadn’t moved, could she have avoided all of this…? It was all her roommate’s fault—wouldn’t even let other people live in peace even after death, filling her with anxiety and making her uneasy, compelling her to move out. She wasn’t acquainted with students from other departments, so she had no choice but to find accommodation off-campus.
She was so terrified, yet Fang Chen didn’t even spare her a glance.
Crushing on someone is so exhausting. Her eyelashes fluttered as she thought, and he didn’t even acknowledge me.
She felt so weary… So homesick…
Her gaze shifted to Nie Shi in the driver’s seat, and Fan Yingying couldn’t help but tremble.
That wouldn’t do, she had to let Fang Chen know…
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