Translator: Atlas Studios
Editor: Atlas Studios
Constable Wang’s gaze swept across the frozen crowd but failed to spot the young man.
“Strange things keep happening.”
Li Ang, who had turned and left, rubbed his chin, narrowed his eyes, and murmured, “There are indeed more and more of them…”
In the past few months, many kinds of strange events had been happening in the city.
For example, an old man had suddenly come back to life inside his coffin before the burial, delighting his family.
A gold-medal cowboy of a certain clubhouse had been torn into more than 100 pieces, but the primary investigator had determined that his death had not been instigated by someone else.
An archeologist had also gone crazy after exploring a grave. He had stripped himself naked, dashed into the toilet, performed a handstand by the wall, and pretended that he was a faucet.
Whenever gossip and news of these bizarre events spread widely, they would be blocked and removed on a grand scale.
The few surviving incidents could not be verified and spread, so they became gossip material for the bored masses.
“Who cares? I can hold up the sky with my height even if it falls.”
Li Ang pursed his lips and walked through the entrance of Building Three.
Unfortunately, there was an “Under Repair, Temporarily Closed” sign by the elevator’s entrance.
What was even more unfortunate was the fact that he lived on the 20th floor.
“What the hell? Why am I so unlucky?”
He sighed and obediently walked toward the stairwell.
The process of climbing stairs was very mundane. Upon thinking that he did not have a microwave at home and that the chives were about to go cold, Li Ang split the chopsticks into two and ate as he walked.
The chives, which could invigorate a man’s potency, were indeed good for the body. However, for singles, the long night could only be satisfied by the “traditional legacy of hand art”.
“Ge… Ge…”
Suddenly, an indistinct sound came from the floors above. It sounded like the difficult breathing of an old man when he could not cough out or swallow the phlegm in his throat.
Li Ang stopped fiddling with the box of chives and looked up through the gap between the stairs.
It was exactly midnight. The only light source on the stairwell was the dim voice-controlled sensor light installed on every floor.
Based on the light source, this cough should be coming from the 17th floor.
This district was considered resettlement housing, so most residents were elderly who moved there when their previous housing was destroyed. Perhaps an elderly had coughed while placing their trash near the stairwell…
Li Ang slowly chewed his food and continued climbing up.
Meanwhile, he was counting the steps. One, two, three… twelve. He had climbed to the 8th floor.
One, two, three… twelve. He had climbed to the 9th floor.
One, two, three… twelve. He had climbed to the 8th floor.
Li Ang stopped walking.
He stared without blinking at the red number 8 painted on the wall by the stairwell entrance, which indicated that this was the 8th floor.
“Ge… Ge…”
The indistinct cough came from the floors above again. Compared to the previous time, it seemed to be closer to where he was now.
If this was the 8th floor, the floor where the light was lit up should be the 15th floor.
Li Ang took a deep breath and slowly closed the box of chives. Then, he stuck his body very close to the wall, turned, and sprinted down the stairs.
8th floor, 7th floor, 8th floor, 7th floor, 8th floor, 7th floor…
Li Ang frantically sprinted down the stairs with all his might while silently counting the steps he had taken. In a few minutes, he had already run a distance that surpassed eight floors.
Li Ang took a deep breath and looked at the red number pasted on the stairwell wall. This was the 7th floor.
He unclenched his fists, walked to the balcony of the stairwell, and looked down.
The area below was shrouded in mist. Nothing could be seen, including the high-rise buildings, the passersby on the street, and the street lamps. The only light came from the moon hanging in the sky.
“Did I encounter a ghost?”
Li Ang started contemplating this. In his short 17 years of life, he had been a firm believer in materialism and atheism. He did not believe in the existence of any deities, be that Buddha or demons, and he mocked the notion of ghosts and monsters.
Until today, reality had always prevailed.
Li Ang forced himself to calm down as he held onto the chopsticks and casually threw the box along with its plastic bag off the building.
Then, he listened intently. There was no sound of insects or birds other than a regular gurgling sound.
The sound grew louder and closer. Li Ang turned and watched as the sensor light on the 14th floor lit up… 13th floor… 12th floor…
As the distance shortened, the sound became shriller, like a caged ferocious beast struggling and screaming, like a fingernail scratching the blackboard, like a key scratching glass…
Like a devil rising from the grave…
“Ge… Ge… Ke… Ke… He… He… Wu… Wu… Wa… Wa… Ah… Ah…”
The sound completely changed at the end. Loud and shrill, it echoed in the stairwell.
Li Ang gritted his teeth and walked to the end of the stairwell, where the entrance to Flat 801 was. Then, he took his keys out of his pocket, twisted the keyring into a straight wire, and inserted the key into the dark red anti-burglary keyhole of Flat 801.
His interests were vast, and he had many different kinds of skills, including lock picking. In fact, he was capable of easily opening any door lock in this district.
The thin metal wire entered the keyhole deep, slowly separating the inner and outer lock cylinder slightly. It was slotted in place into the keyseat. He gently moved the metal wire around, lifting the pin lock. Then, when he exerted force onto the wire, the upper pin landed right into the keyseat.
Li Ang leaned heavily against the door. His steady hands twisted the metal wire, returning all the upper pins back to their original positions. The lower pin remained in the inner lock cylinder, separating the inner and outer lock cylinders.
Crack. The lock had opened.
Li Ang gripped the door handle, smoothly pressing it down. As he attempted to pull it open, he realized that the door would not move no matter how much strength he exerted. It seemed as though the door had been sealed shut with glue.
He silently tucked the metal wire away and kicked the anti-burglary door.
Dong!
The steel anti-burglary door emitted a groan. Its dark red color looked sinister under the dim light.
Temporary venting was meaningless. The sensor light on the 10th floor lit up. There were only two floors between Li Ang and the sound.
Desperate times called for desperate measures. Thus, Li Ang started to narrate the Buddhavatamsaka-mahavaipulya Sutra. His left hand drew a cross on his chest, making the Seven-Star Seal as he executed the Eight-Trigram Linked Steps.
Unfortunately, these actions were incapable of warding off the sound. By relying on the dim light of the sensor light, Li Ang saw a huge shadow slowly move down the stairs toward the entrance.
Li Ang cursed, slapped himself on the chest, and hollered at the shadow, “Stop your prank right this moment! I live in Fandou Street Garden’s Building Two, Flat 1001. My father is Hu Yingjun, my mother is Zhang Xiaoli, and I am Hu Tutu. Stop making those noises, or I will rip you apart!”
The screams suddenly stopped and the world went silent again.
The voice-controlled sensor light was slowly extinguished. Li Ang held his breath.
Thud, thud, thud.
The faint sounds of footsteps came closer. With the help of the moonlight, Li Ang saw the “thing”.
It was a cat with a completely black body that was filled with elegance. Its fur was damp, and it was wearing a yellow handmade vest.
That was not the point, however.
This black cat had no face. Or rather, it was wearing a human face.
It was the wrinkled, pale face of an old lady.
The pink tongue of the black cat extended from the mouth of Old Lady Zhang’s face and licked its sharp claws. The face remained in position and unchanged.
It was as though the face belonged to this cat.
“He… He… He…”
The human-faced cat let out an indistinct whine. Li Ang watched as its body quivered and spat out a ball of mucus.
The mucus fell to the ground. It was a finger with flesh still attached to it.
Li Ang was silent as his hand tightly gripped the wooden chopsticks.