Free Web NovelChapter 333: Chapter 333: The Nightmare Returns
Tang Yuanxiao didn’t know how he ended up downstairs from Su Li’s apartment.
He also didn’t know what state of mind had brought him here.
He only snapped back to his senses when a blinding flashlight beam hit his face.
The light was in his eyes, so Tang Yuanxiao couldn’t see Wu Sheng’s expression.
But he recognized Wu Sheng’s voice.
Now that he was lucid again, Tang Yuanxiao finally understood why he had come.
He had come to see, to confirm—to confirm whether Su Li had accepted Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng, Wu Sheng...
The thought of Su Li choosing Wu Sheng, of Wu Sheng proposing to her, already felt like a knife to the heart. Hearing Wu Sheng’s harsh, accusatory tone, Tang Yuanxiao’s own voice turned cold.
"Why can’t I be here?"
The words had barely left his mouth when a fist flew at his face.
Wu Sheng grabbed Tang Yuanxiao by the collar. He took a retaliatory punch from Tang Yuanxiao but didn’t let go, instead demanding in a frigid voice,
"Did you take Su Li? Was it you!"
Tang Yuanxiao froze for a second. "That’s ridiculous. What do you mean, ’did I take Su Li’? I just got here..."
He trailed off, then suddenly seized, grabbing Wu Sheng’s collar in return. "What’s wrong with Su Li? What happened to her?"
Wu Sheng stared intently into Tang Yuanxiao’s eyes. "Don’t think you can fool me with this act. If anything happens to Su Li, I won’t let you off the hook!"
The color drained from Tang Yuanxiao’s face. "Something really happened to Su Li? What’s going on?"
Seeing Tang Yuanxiao’s reaction, Wu Sheng violently shoved him away.
"It had better not be you!"
Wu Sheng spun around and ran toward the gate.
Tang Yuanxiao steadied himself, his expression shifting in alarm as he watched Wu Sheng’s retreating back.
"Wait! Explain yourself! What happened to Su Li?"
Tang Yuanxiao rushed forward to grab Wu Sheng.
Wu Sheng violently shook off Tang Yuanxiao’s hand. "Su Li’s gone! She disappeared, leaving behind a pool of blood!"
After roaring this, Wu Sheng ran to the gate guard. "Did you see Su Li from Building One, sixth floor, leave?"
The old guard shook his head. "No, no one’s gone out. The only ones coming and going just now were..."
He pointed at Tang Yuanxiao behind them. "Just the two of you."
"No one? Impossible! Think carefully, was there anyone else?"
The old guard shook his head again. "I told you, no one. I was watching you the whole time... Although, a car did leave. A white car."
Wu Sheng’s eyes narrowed. "A white car? What was the license plate number?"
The old guard tried hard to remember. "Oh, I only glanced at it, how could I recall? The last part was something like 36 or 34..."
Wu Sheng rattled off a license plate number. "Was it this one?"
The old guard’s head bobbed emphatically. "Yes, yes, that’s the one!"
Wu Sheng slammed his fist on the gatehouse door. "That’s the one!"
He had seen that car when he dropped Su Li off. It was parked downstairs from Building Two.
And just now, as he was running back, that same car had brushed past him at the entrance.
The thought that Su Li might be in that car filled Wu Sheng’s eyes with murderous intent.
A motorcycle was slowly approaching the complex. Wu Sheng rushed forward to block it. "Let me borrow your bike."
Wu Sheng pulled the man off the bike and got on.
"Hey, this is a robbery..." The middle-aged man was shocked and hurriedly tried to pull Wu Sheng back. "Robbery in broad daylight? I’m calling the police..."
"Go ahead. And while you’re at it, report a crime for me."
As soon as the words left his mouth, the motorcycle shot forward.
Tang Yuanxiao had driven here. Following Wu Sheng’s lead, he sprinted toward his car like a cheetah.
After speeding out a few meters, the car quickly reversed.
Tang Yuanxiao stuck his head out the window and looked at the old guard. "Sir..."
Two streets away, the white car was slowly heading toward the edge of the city. More than ten minutes later, it stopped beside an underpass.
Once the car was stationary, the driver’s side door opened, and a person got out.
A moment later, under the cover of night, the person dragged an unconscious woman in a long dress and walked slowly under the bridge.
The long hem of her dress trailed behind, sweeping the dust from the ground.
The underpass, which offered shelter from the wind and rain, wasn’t large, but it was spacious enough. From several meters away, one could smell a faint, foul odor.
Getting closer revealed the source of the smell: several filthy, stinking homeless men lying about haphazardly.
Bedding, mats, pots, and pans—all the essentials were there. It was clearly a gathering spot for the homeless.
Hearing the disturbance, a few of the homeless men looked over curiously.
But when they saw the newcomer’s fine clothes and menacing aura, they grew wary.
They watched cautiously, and when they saw the person being dragged, their backs instantly stiffened.
"What are you doing? Get out."
A bolder homeless man shouted.
The newcomer didn’t stop walking until they were right in front of them.
Ignoring their hostile attempts to drive them away, the newcomer tossed the person in their hands forward.
"This woman will be keeping you company from now on."
A grim voice spoke, sending a collective shiver down the homeless men’s spines.
This was also the voice Su Li heard, the first sentence she registered, as she woke up in excruciating pain.
Su Li’s expression changed drastically. She tried to cry out, but her mouth was gagged.
She tried to move, but her body wouldn’t respond.
Unprecedented fear and despair washed over her, and her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
The turn of events had been too sudden. Before Su Li could even react, she had been plunged into hell.
Heaven one moment, hell the next.
She had been caught completely off guard.
’I thought it was Wu Sheng, so I let my guard down just that once and opened the door, but instead...’
After opening the door, Su Li sensed something was wrong, but before she could react, someone grabbed her hair from behind and slammed her head against the door.
After the door came the wall, and then the floor.
Su Li was hit so hard that her vision swam and turned black. She wanted to turn around to see who it was, she wanted to fight back, but she had no strength to resist.
"You dare to kiss him? You dare to steal him?"
The familiar yet strange, paranoid and crazed voice was accompanied by searing pain.
Her face, her mouth, her body—heavy blows landed one after another.
Su Li managed to hook her fingers around a small wooden board that had fallen nearby, intending to hit back, but before she could even pick it up, a foot suddenly stomped on her hand.
"Nngh..."
"Heh heh heh..." Along with a chilling laugh, the small wooden board was stomped on again and again, then picked up and smashed down repeatedly until it splintered into pieces.
Su Li used this moment to desperately crawl toward the outside.
But she had only managed to crawl a few steps before she was dragged back.
As a sharp pain shot through her leg, Su Li was yanked to her feet by her hair.
The next second, with a sickening CRUNCH, Su Li let out a scream, and her arms fell limply to her sides.
The excruciating pain caused her to pass out.
When she woke up again, Su Li—her arms dislocated, her legs injured—had been thrown among a group of homeless men.
"Don’t you welcome her?"
The grim voice spoke again, coolly, signaling the true beginning of the nightmare.
