Free Web NovelLate at night.
The light rain, which had stopped for a short while, started falling again, softly dampening the bluestone streets of Peony Street. A cold, fresh scent permeated the air, and under the dim streetlights, the puddles on the street shimmered with a faint glow.
Huacheng Folk Culture Research Administration.
Sitting in front of the computer, the soft sound of rain hitting the broad banana leaves outside the window made Jiang Li restless, so much so that she, who rarely lost at cards, lost several rounds in a row.
Sending Lu Yibei as bait was indeed a very risky decision, like holding a bad hand and still wanting to achieve the Nine Lotus Lantern.
However, she had no choice but to make such a decision.
Even if the scope was limited to a city with millions of people, it was still very easy for Weird tale to hide. Unless they revealed themselves, the Night Watch would find it very difficult to catch them.
There were still too few Psychic in Hua City, and their types were relatively singular. It would be great if, like the Night Watch in some other cities, there were Psychic who possessed Spirit Marks for tracking.
That Lu Yibei was quite talented in this regard, if...
As soon as this thought popped into Jiang Li's mind, she quickly shook her head gently, dismissing it.
The process of becoming a Psychic was too painful and dangerous. Forcibly demanding someone to become a Psychic was not much different from premeditated murder.
The only difference was that premeditated murder would result in death, while failing to become a Psychic would result in a miserable death!
Perhaps Jiang Li's methods in dealing with Weird tale were somewhat risky and aggressive, but she absolutely did not want to harm anyone's life.
“Phew—!”
Finally, he was back from that ghostly place.
Lu Yibei collapsed onto the bed, letting out a long breath.
Although various articles, videos, and even ghost-hunting live streams had been popular online in recent years, Lu Yibei didn't feel his worldview collapse when he suddenly discovered that Weird tale and the special organizations targeting Weird tale incidents were real.
However, tonight's experience still brought him a considerable shock.
Lying on the soft bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, he couldn't sleep anyway, so Lu Yibei simply began to think quietly.
Of course, it wasn't actually that quiet. Soon after Lu Yibei lay down, the dripping sound from the toilet, the bouncing sound of glass marbles on the ceiling, and the faint sighs from the living room... all appeared at once.
How thoughtful, making a lonely teenager like me not feel alone at all! Lu Yibei thought.
No wonder those doctors said my eyes were recovering well! Because it's not my eyes that are the problem, it's this world that's the problem!
Those strange shadows I see might all be Weird tale!
The Headless Senior Sister at school, the giant black shadow on the playground, the grotesque person infested with a deformed tumor in the hospital...
Huh, so, does that mean the Magical Girl at the crossroads is real too?
Wait! That's not the point!
The point is, only getting people involved in dangerous incidents but not providing a 'golden finger' (cheat ability), what kind of treatment is this?
This is cannon fodder treatment!
Just like the cannon fodder in horror movies and games who get 'door-killed'.
Although Lu Yibei felt that if he really fell into some Weird tale incident, he would definitely not run around foolishly, but would carefully walk in the rear of the main group, though not the very last person.
But in this fucked-up situation, without a 'golden finger' and no 'protagonist's leg' to cling to, he would die sooner or later!
The silhouette of the girl that appeared in his dream might be some kind of 'golden finger', but it's not working yet!
Judging from the 'throat-slitting' warning from the girl's phantom formed from dust in the interrogation room, Lu Yibei felt that not having this 'golden finger' might be the correct choice!
If it really was some future daughter or past life wife, he even considered whether to righteously report it to the'Space-Time Planning Administration' or something!
As a successor of socialism, fate cannot be trusted, free love is the way to go!
Who can say what love is?
A tiny emotional fluctuation might lead to falling in love with someone else, and the world line would change accordingly.
If he didn't touch it, didn't delve into it, it would just be a bizarre dream.
If he insisted on courting death and was targeted by the mysterious organization behind the Little Maid, turning an 'online conflict' into an 'offline conflict' would be a big problem!
Thinking of this, Lu Yibei suddenly felt that the mysterious organization that had tied him up earlier seemed like a good 'big leg' to rely on. He wondered if they were still recruiting people.
Even if [N O V E L I G H T] he couldn't become a full member, being a temporary worker or doing odd jobs would be fine!
Hmm, preferably odd jobs!
Dirty work, tiring work, housework, I'll do it. Adventures, dying, taking the blame, you guys go!
Lu Yibei was idly letting his thoughts wander, and time passed bit by bit. Unbeknownst to him, his eyelids began to droop, and sleepiness crept in. Just then, a knocking sound suddenly came from downstairs.
“Thump, thump, thump—!”
The rhythmic, gentle knocking sound, after three knocks, briefly fell silent.
Under the onslaught of sleepiness, Lu Yibei was in a daze. Hearing the knocking, he got out of bed and subconsciously prepared to go downstairs to open the door. However, the words that followed immediately made his sleepiness vanish in an instant.
“Is anyone home? If not, I'm coming in!”
A hoarse, sharp voice sounded from outside the door.
This... wasn't this the line Mr. Rabbit said in his dream before breaking into that woman's house?
Lu Yibei sat on the edge of the bed, hugging the mingwang statue in fright, swallowing hard, his legs feeling a bit weak.
There seemed to be other things in the pitch-black room, constantly making fragmented sounds: dripping water, sighing, faint rustling sounds like hair dragging across the ground...
Lu Yibei's 'old friends' all became restless, as if fearing the presence outside the door, scattering and hiding. Soon, the entire room fell into a dead silence.
It was too quiet.
So quiet that Lu Yibei could even hear his own erratic heartbeat.
Lu Yibei sat still in the silence for a few seconds. Perhaps due to the obstruction of the safety latch and the car battery current, Mr. Rabbit was unable to enter the house smoothly, and the knocking sound rang out once again.
“Thump, thump, thump—!”
Three knocks, each one like a hammer striking Lu Yibei's nerves, making his body involuntarily tremble with the rhythm of the knocking.
“Is anyone home? If not, I'm coming in!”
“Hoo—hoo—!”
Lu Yibei took deep breaths expressionlessly, hoping to calm his mind as much as his face. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
I can't just sit here and wait to die. Do something!
Right! First, call all the emergency numbers I can think of!
Thinking this, he lunged towards the nightstand and found his phone.
With slightly trembling hands, Lu Yibei tried several times before successfully unlocking the screen.
The moment the screen entered the main menu, his gaze fell on an Eyeball logo outlined with a simple sketch.
That was the home remote monitoring APP.
It was installed when this house was renovated, under the persuasion of a salesman who told Lu Yibei's dad, “If your son lives alone, installing remote home monitoring will provide an extra layer of safety.” It could effectively monitor the living room, kitchen, upstairs, and in front of the main door!
Staring at the APP, driven by curiosity, Lu Yibei tapped on the APP, adjusted it slightly, and switched the view to the area in front of the main door.
The screen was pitch black, as if the hallway lights weren't on at all, and nothing could be seen.
Holding his breath, he stared at the phone for a few seconds. Just as Lu Yibei was about to put it down, exit the APP, and start dialing for help,
Suddenly!
The screen flickered, as if something's eye blinked. Immediately after, the hallway light turned on, and a rabbit head, almost pressed against the camera, burst into view.
“Fuck!”
Lu Yibei shrieked, so frightened that he threw his phone away.
I shouldn't have been so stupid as to open that APP in the first place!
He sat stunned for a few seconds, then lunged back towards his phone, fumbling to pick it up, and shakily dialed for help.
“Ah ha! I hear you in there! I'm coming in!”
A voice came from outside the door again.
Lu Yibei was on the verge of collapse, dialing the phone while cursing loudly, “You see your sister! You're not playing by the rules! No one's supposed to come in if someone's there, so why the f*ck are you still trying to come in? Can't you play fair? Damn it, can't you play fair!?”
Anyway, he was already in this situation. If rescue didn't arrive, he'd die no matter what, so he might as well curse a bit and get it off his chest. At least that way he could die with some dignity! Lu Yibei thought.
As if responding to Lu Yibei's request, amidst a crackling sound of electricity, the doorknob gently turned, followed by a violent banging on the door.
Never heard such a request.jpg
“Thump, thump, thump—!”
The security door shook violently, plaster dust sprinkled down from the doorframe, and the safety latch on the floor scraped against the smooth floor, making a grating sound.
“Beep—beep—beep—!” Amidst the incessant banging on the door, each busy signal on the phone sounded as long as a century.
Lu Yibei's vision began to blur in waves, and his Eyeball felt like it was burning, with an unbearable scorching pain.
In a trance.
He saw something stirring in the dark room, a wisp here, a wisp there, quietly approaching. The ceiling seemed to be slowly sinking, bringing a peculiar sense of oppression that made his chest feel tight and his mind restless.
Just then, the call connected, and the banging on the door stopped.
“Hello? Is this the police station? There's a monster banging on my door! My name is Lu Yibei, I live in Jingyi Apartment, Phase 3, Building 3, Ninth Floor, I...”
Halfway through his sentence, Lu Yibei detected something strange. There was a 'zzzt' static sound like signal interference in his ear, and no response at all!
One second, two seconds, three seconds...
“Giggle—giggle giggle—!”
Amidst the static, a strange giggling sound began to become clear. It was Mr. Rabbit's voice!
Along with Mr. Rabbit's laughter, there was movement outside the living room window.
“Creak—creak creak—!”
It sounded like something outside the window was prying at the locked window, trying to get into the house.
The blood instantly drained from Lu Yibei's expressionless face, making him look somewhat frightening, but his hands continued to dial for help without stopping for a moment.
Police, fire department, downstairs security guard, delivery guy...
Every call went unanswered, as if the signal for the entire apartment complex was blocked.
“Creak—creak creak—!”
The sound of the window lock being pried open continued, the thing outside the window persistently trying to get into the house.
After calling every number he could think of, Lu Yibei finally remembered Shui Ge. He quickly pulled his number out of the blacklist and called him.
“Beep—beep—!”
After two or three busy signals, accompanied by a burst of lewd and unrestrained laughter from a man and a woman, Shui Ge's voice came from the other end of the line.
“Hello? Xiao Bei? Why are you calling me at this hour? I'm having fun at the Underground World! Want to come and party with us? Lots of beautiful girls and handsome guys! Yo yo yo~!”
“Yo your sister, I'm about to die! My door, no, there's a monster outside my window, I...”
Before Lu Yibei could finish speaking, an unusual soft click suddenly came from the living room.
“Click—!”
The window opened.
The cool breeze after the rain suddenly poured into the living room, bringing a bone-chilling coolness...
(Almost forgot about the PY deal, quickly adding it. Recommending my good friend Chongyan's new book, 'An Unusual Life Starting with Evil Spirits'! He's an experienced author, so his character is guaranteed!)
