Free Web NovelI wasn't the only resident troubled by the overly enthusiastic invitations from the property management.
The woman who lived in Room 102 of the same building as me was in the same awkward situation.
It was through her that I discovered the abnormalities in the community.
She was a young, beautiful, and aloof woman, looking like the kind of strong, unapproachable woman often seen in movies.
Originally, I would have had no interaction with such a woman.
I only happened to learn from the registration form at the property management office that she had a child in elementary school and a mother with Alzheimer's at home.
For some reason, she strongly disliked interacting with outsiders; occasionally running into her in the community, she would quickly dodge away.
Someone like her naturally wouldn't attend the new owner welcome party.
The difference was, I didn't attend passively, she didn't attend actively.
We were the only two outliers in the entire Happiness Community.
That day, when I returned home late, I saw her downstairs arguing with a security guard. The reason for the argument was that her mother, the elderly woman who was already mentally confused, had gotten lost in the community.
But the security guards not only failed to help her find the elder, they couldn't even provide any useful surveillance footage.
The woman and the security guard argued fiercely, but I didn't pay much attention.
What was so strange about a mentally confused elderly person getting lost?
At that time, I thought the fault was mostly with the woman for not taking good care of the elder.
The woman searched for the elder for about two or three weeks, her mental state deteriorating at a visible speed... and she ultimately didn't find her.
One day, two or three weeks later, I met her downstairs. She was sitting on the bench in front of the building, looking lost and dejected. Seeing me pass by, she actually initiated a conversation with me.
She said, "As someone who shares the same plight, I envy you for being able to live on a higher floor."
I'm ashamed to say that due to work, I rarely had contact with women, let alone such beautiful women.
So, when the woman spoke to me, I was a bit flustered and shy, giving a dry laugh and saying, "Haha, isn't the first floor also very good? It even comes with a small garden."
"No, it's not good at all," she said. "Do you know what the first floor means? It means being close to the underground. The underground is buried with tombstones, skeletons, Jews Harps, and bizarre dreams."
"Oh, really? How interesting." I didn't understand what the woman meant and replied perfunctorily, then turned and left. As I passed by her window, I subconsciously glanced inside.
It was pitch black inside, and I couldn't see anything.
I leaned in a bit, and suddenly saw a listless face with vacant eyes gradually appearing on the glass.
The woman had come up behind me without me knowing when.
She didn't scold me for my intrusive action, but just said to me in a rambling way, "Be careful, those people are watching you!"
Who were those people? Neighbors? Security guards? Property management staff?
I felt that she might have been stimulated by her mother getting lost and was a bit mentally unstable.
That night, I searched for Jews Harp performance videos and heard that strange sound.
The music of the Jews Harp is very strange, wavering between melody and onomatopoeia, like the sound of vibrating airflow, or like the low growl of some creature. The syllables drilled into my mind through my ears, as if they had been given life, constantly bouncing.
To this day, I still don't know why that woman said that Jews Harps were buried underground.
It's very possible that she heard some sound coming from underground.
Seeing this, Jiang Li put down the tablet in her hand and picked up the archive file she had brought back from the Night Watch, flipping through to the content about the investigation of the Happiness Community's underground space.
Jiang Li had always disliked places like sewers, basements, and underground parking lots. Those places were dark and damp, without windows, and easily reminded one of tombs.
In fact, these places were also among the key areas of investigation for the Night Watch when investigating potential urban legend events.
"The sewers of Happiness Community are cleaner than a rich loli's small hand..."
Seeing such a description, Jiang Li's mouth twitched slightly. Without thinking, that investigation must have been done by Bai Kai, and only he would write such a bizarre investigation report.
Bai Kai's investigation report showed that the underground space of Happiness Community was very clean and tidy, with no residual Spiritual Energy fluctuations, and even the sewers were regularly cleaned, but his investigation conclusion was that there were abnormalities.
After reading the investigation report, Jiang Li nodded thoughtfully.
Although Bai Kai didn't give a clear reason, Jiang Li still very much understood and agreed with his point of view.
The underground space being cleaned so meticulously, without even a trace of residual Spiritual Energy fluctuations, instead gave off a feeling of trying to cover something up. freēwēbnovel.com
Days passed, the environment of the community didn't change at all, and the neighbors were still very friendly.
However, influenced by that woman, I began to unconsciously observe the community.
I found that the birds flying past the window every morning seemed to look exactly the same, and their calls were perfunctory.
The neighbors in the community were all young, just as the rumors said, none of them looked over forty.
After dark, the man in the building opposite always held binoculars and looked around, perhaps monitoring me.
I even felt that my own home wasn't safe anymore; I had seen strange marks at the door.
Then, there were the dreams. I had the same nightmare every night.
I dreamed that a figure with an unclear face had sneaked into my home. It was a bit stronger and shorter than me, with an ordinary build that could be anyone I passed on the street.
It hid in inconspicuous corners of the bedroom, either at the foot of the bed or behind the door, quietly watching me with malicious intent.
At that time, I always thought that I had those thoughts entirely because of some suggestion caused by that woman's words and the sound of the Jews Harp, which made me overly suspicious.
It wasn't until one day a month later that I realized there really was something strange and mysterious in this community.
That evening, when I came home from work, I kept feeling like someone was following me.
I heard that mixed in with my footsteps, there seemed to be another person's footsteps, very light and slow, restrained like a cat waiting to hunt.
The first time I turned around, I only saw the flagstone path and the grass on both sides whose heads had been cut off by the gardener.
I continued walking forward, and soon heard those footsteps again, lighter than before, but closer than before.
I suddenly turned around and indeed saw a man.
He was a property management staff member, wearing a black suit, a bit stronger and shorter than me. He had been to my home before to invite me to the welcome party.
I don't know his name.
In fact, many of these property management staff were recruited online. I estimate that the property management company only knew them by their ID cards; no one truly knew their background.
He didn't avoid my gaze. He walked slowly in front of me, with a smile on his face.
Whether it was an illusion or not, I felt that his smile that day was particularly fake, like he was wearing a mask.
He said to me, "Mr., we have a small gathering this weekend. We hope you can attend, to make up for the welcome party you couldn't attend before. Everyone really wants to meet you!"
"Everyone?" I asked in confusion.
"That's all of our property management staff and your neighbors!" he said with a smile.
I suddenly thought of the woman who lived in the same building as me, "Will the Miss on the first floor also attend?"
He looked into my eyes and said with a smile, "Yes, she has already agreed."
I was silent for a while before saying to him, "Okay, if I have time, I will attend."
During that time, the company was preparing a new project, and I could be working overtime at any time. I couldn't guarantee whether I could attend their gathering on the weekend at all.
After I said that, I felt that my vague answer might have caused me to make an enemy of him. Although he still had a smile on his face, I saw anger in his eyes.
As I turned to leave, I felt someone staring at me. I knew it was likely that property management staff member, but I didn't dare to look back. I could only secretly take out my phone, open the camera, and use the camera to look behind me, and then I saw a terrifying scene.
The man who had been smiling at me just now was standing not far from me, looking at me expressionlessly, his eyes not at all like a human's, terrifyingly venomous.
Further away, there were neighbors walking and walking their dogs. They were all standing still, staring straight at me, and even their dogs were motionless, as if under some spell.
I turned back in horror, and the spell seemed to be broken the moment I turned around.
The neighbors continued their leisurely stroll, the little dogs continued to run playfully, and the man in the black suit smiled at me.
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"Mr., is there anything else?"
"N-nothing."
His words brought me back from my daze, and I hurried home without a moment's delay.
As I walked, I felt them once again look at me with expressionless, malevolent eyes.
Although I couldn't see them, I could feel their gaze, like nails, fixed upon me.
Is there anything more terrifying than being treated like an enemy by your neighbors and the property management?】
"A curse?"
Jiang Li put down the tablet computer and looked at the Night Watch's case file. It contained data from a sample survey of Happiness Community residents. The data showed no signs of any curse or infectious Gu poison on the residents of Happiness Community.
"Could it be affected by the power of the urban legend? Or has it already become a dependent?"
Jiang Li muttered to herself and picked up the tablet computer again to read.
【When I rushed downstairs to my home, I saw the son of the woman on the first floor from afar. A property management staff member was beside him, squatting on the ground, talking to him about something, and reaching into his pocket to take something out.
Seeing that scene, and remembering my experience on the way back earlier, I felt that the child was probably in a very dangerous situation. Just as I was about to step forward to stop them, I heard the woman's scream from behind me.
"Don't touch my son!" That's what she shouted at the time.
I turned back to look at her and was startled by her appearance. It hadn't been long since I last saw her, yet she looked as if she had aged more than ten years. If I hadn't heard her voice, I definitely wouldn't have recognized her.
After seeing her that time, I didn't see the woman again for about a week. When I saw her again, something terrifying had happened.
After her mother disappeared, her son also went missing.
That night, I had just bought something from the small store and was returning when I saw the woman running towards me from afar. She was wearing a Sleeping Dress, her hair was messy, and she looked completely devastated, her spirits low.
She ran up to me and asked, "Have you seen my son?"
I said, "No, I haven't." She then ran away without looking back, her figure quickly disappearing into the night.
Shortly after I returned home, I faintly heard the sound of police sirens. I assumed the woman had called the police.
Listening to the intermittent siren sounds, I inexplicably recalled the scene where the property management staff member was alone with the woman's son earlier. The unease in my heart grew stronger and stronger.
Tell me, if the people who are near your home at all times want to harm you, is there anything more terrifying than that?
Days passed, and my job was very busy. It was normal for me not to come home for several consecutive days. I ultimately didn't know if the woman living on the first floor finally attended that weekend gathering.
When I remembered to ask her, I realized she might have been missing for a long time.
When I went to look for her, a layer of dust had accumulated on her windows and front door.
I looked into her house through the window, and it was still pitch black inside, nothing could be seen clearly.
I tried calling out twice but received no response.
...
I was the only anomaly left in the community.
Every night, I still had the same recurring nightmare. The difference was that the dream became clearer and clearer, and the strange figure in the dream got closer and closer to me.
The intense unease made me instinctively not want to go home. Finally, I simply bought a folding bed and lived directly at the company, only returning home when I needed to change clothes.
More than a week passed peacefully like this, and then the terrifying thing finally happened—the figure from my dream chased me to my company.
That night, I was writing code at the company. All my colleagues had left, and the entire office was empty.
It was past midnight, the sky outside the window was very dark, and dark clouds hung low overhead, preventing anything from looking up.
Soon it started to rain from the sky, a torrential downpour. The world outside the window was misty with water vapor, and the city seemed to tremble in the lightning and thunder.
Large raindrops hit my window, making a constant Crackling sound. I couldn't concentrate on my work at all, so I simply lay down on the folding bed early, played on my phone, and then fell asleep without realizing it.
In the middle of the night, I dreamed of that strange figure again, the one that was stronger and shorter than me. It crept into the building under the cover of darkness, went up the stairs of the fire escape, and arrived at the entrance of my company.
I realized it was approaching and wanted to get up and run away, but found that my hands and feet seemed to have lost sensation and were completely unresponsive.
I could only lie on the bed in terror, watching as the strange figure, using the office desks and chairs for cover, slowly approached, then from the darkness, it slowly climbed onto the folding bed from the end where my feet were, without making a sound.
I didn't know who it was, just as I didn't know the background of that property management man.
Its face was blurred, a patch of black.
It was hunched over, squatting on my chest, holding a small wooden hammer, and repeatedly striking my crown with a pale, sharp, tentacle-like object.
It wanted to hammer that strange thing into my head.
Even though I was in a dream, I felt a chilling coldness accompanied by bone-crushing pain, coming in waves from the top of my head.
Under the dual assault of pain and fear, I opened my mouth to scream, trying desperately to flail my limbs. Finally, after my finger moved slightly, I awoke from the dream with a start.
The cold rain hitting me quickly brought me back to consciousness. Looking at the familiar streets around me, I was so scared that I fell to the ground.
While having the nightmare, I had actually left the company and returned to the entrance of Happiness Community, vaguely seeing rows upon rows of shadows towering behind the gate, like tombstones.
From afar, I heard strange music coming from the community, very soft and slow, like vibrating air, or like animals growling. It came from far away and got closer, each note seemingly alive, jumping and entering my mind through my ears.
I was sure, that was the sound of a Jews Harp!
That kind of sound is very hard to forget once you've heard it.
I realized that the thing making the Jews Harp sound, after causing the woman on the first floor to disappear, was now targeting me. I turned around and ran outwards desperately, and haven't dared to go near there since.
From that day on, I really started to be afraid. I was afraid that I would disappear inexplicably, just like the family of three on the first floor.
Or, as rumored, continue to live in the community, and then one day not long after turning forty, leave this world.
So, please help me, save me, no matter who you are, I don't want to disappear inexplicably like this.
I really 【remaining content has been deleted or blocked by the administrator for suspected violation of community guidelines】
...
Reward Commission: Ten years of lifespan, a property in Happiness Community.】
Jews Harp...
This might be a key element.
Finally finishing the long description from the reward publisher, Jiang Li put down the tablet computer and rubbed her slightly throbbing temples.
She initially thought that the urban legend within Happiness Community might have a limited range of activity, like ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ the urban legend students in Shihekou Middle School.
If that were the case, they could minimize the harm simply by strictly monitoring and setting up seals.
However.
After reading this description, she realized that things were not that simple.
The urban legend lurking in Happiness Community could not only leave the community and go to the publisher's company, but also had the ability to harm and bewitch human minds, and could even completely hide its Spiritual Energy fluctuations through some means.
"Spiritual Energy fluctuation level might be B+, or even higher... and possesses a certain level of hiding skill..."
As Jiang Li was thinking, her phone by her pillow suddenly vibrated. She picked it up and glanced at it. It was a message from "Wang Bu Liu Xing".
Wang Bu Liu Xing: "You there? Asleep?"
Genius Mahjong Girl: "Asleep."
Wang Bu Liu Xing: "Then, could you sleepwalk and send me a selfie? We agreed on it during the day. Don't tell me you're still using a landline, my end shows you're logged in on a mobile phone."
"..."
Jiang Li was silent for a moment, opened her album, and sent the picture she had prepared earlier.
Genius Mahjong Girl: "【Image】"
Genius Mahjong Girl: "After seeing the selfie, hurry up and get ready. Don't hold me back later. 【Heart emoji】"
Wang Bu Liu Xing: "???"
