In the spacious ward, Xu Shuhan spoke softly, her sweet voice carrying a hint of magnetism, reminiscent of a late-night radio station that captivates listeners…
“When I stepped into the hallway, I had a vague feeling that there was soone ahead. Maybe it was because I was so hungry that I didn’t think much about it at the ti; instead, I got excited… Even though you’re not a zombie, you know that feeling of emptiness like your stomach has been hollowed out? Especially when you’re so hungry that it gnaws at your insides, and food is right in front of you… I was so thrilled that I hurried to catch up while shouting…”
“Ling Mo?”
On the dimly lit staircase, Xu Shuhan clutched the handrail as she walked upward, continuing to call out.
The path ahead was pitch dark, but through her eyes, it was as if she was wearing Infrared Night Vision Goggles, except the light was red instead of green…
At a glance, she could see nurous old black bloodstains lingering on the filthy steps, with so suspiciously solidified substances swaying slightly on the edges.
The walls were dotted with black marks, so of which were clearly the deep scratches left by fingernails, dragging long, dark streaks that abruptly vanished.
Just by looking at these, it wasn’t hard to imagine what had happened in this hospital.
Especially for Xu Shuhan at that mont, she would see the bloodstains and imdiately conjure images of terrified people being torn apart.
Blood splattering, limbs scattered, and Xu Shuhan’s heartbeat quickened in response…
“No, no… I don’t want to think about it!”
Her gaze moved upward with her steps, finally noticing sothing different on the staircase.
It was a barely visible footprint. It looked quite fresh but was slightly blurred at the edges, obviously left while in motion.
Just by looking at these features, it was impossible to identify whose print it was.
Yet Xu Shuhan imdiately derived a piece of information from it: Ling Mo was indeed up there!
“Ling Mo?”
She stared at the footprint for a mont before lifting her head in delight.
And just as she looked up, she caught a glimpse of a shadow.
That shadow flickered at the corner up ahead, as if it had been hiding there, peeping at her…
“Don’t… don’t run away!”
Xu Shuhan was getting anxious. She picked up her pace and chased after the shadow.
Soon, she heard faint footsteps. The sound was coming from upstairs.
As the distance between them closed, the pursuer also quickened their pace.
With their differing paces, the chase brought them quickly to the Fifth Floor…
“Where did they go?”
Standing in the corridor, Xu Shuhan looked around in bewildernt.
She was sure she had seen the shadow again on the stairs leading to the fifth floor…
Even if it was just the corner of a garnt, it ant she was getting closer!
“Co out!” Xu Shuhan was getting impatient and a bit scared.
In the silent, dark corridor, she was the only one standing there, with the staircase behind her yawning like a black hole…
When she called out, the corridor echoed her voice…
The floor and walls here also bore plenty of old bloodstains, and for the ravenous Xu Shuhan, these marks were as tempting as pictures of food drawn on paper…
“Ling Mo, where are you? Co out!” Xu Shuhan continued to shout.
And then she saw the shadow again…
This ti, it appeared at the far end of the corridor. As she looked, the shadow turned and entered a ward.
“Wait!”
“Tap, tap, tap…”
The clear sound of footsteps echoed again, and soon, Xu Shuhan reached the ward’s doorway.
The door was ajar, and she could faintly hear voices from inside…
Peeking through the gap, she saw no one.
“Ling Mo, is that you?”
Xu Shuhan called out while gently pushing the door open.
Creak-
For so reason, the shadow had entered silently, but now the door creaked as if it were rusty…
The sound inexplicably filled Xu Shuhan with dread, but thoughts of food kept her going…
As the door fully opened, the room’s interior ca into view.
“How could it be…”
But behind the door was not the layout of a ward, but a pitch-dark room.
Puzzled, she stepped inside, but after only a few steps, she suddenly heard a dull thud behind her.
“Ah!”
Xu Shuhan instantly turned around, only to be horrified to find… the door was gone!
Not only that, but the red glimr in her eyes seed to have dimd, leaving everything as re vague silhouettes.
“What’s going on…”
Xu Shuhan stood bewildered for a couple of seconds before hurriedly turning back around.
In that instant, a person was already standing right in front of her!
This person had appeared silently, and the distance between them was no more than a few inches…
“Ah!”
As Xu Shuhan scread, the person started speaking.
“Are you prepared?” he asked, showing a set of slightly yellowed teeth, his eyes filled with a sinister glint…
Instinctively, Xu Shuhan stepped back, but before she could react, another person erged from behind her.
This person passed right through her body…
To Xu Shuhan’s horror, the newcor was dragging a burlap sack, which was slightly writhing, as if containing sothing alive…
“Is it… a person?”
Xu Shuhan stood to the side, eyes wide open as she watched these two people, but they seed oblivious to her presence and continued their discussion.
“We’ve got him. Let’s move,” said the person dragging the sack.
“Are you sure it’s Ling Mo?”
The sack-bearer sneered, “No mistake.”
As they spoke, the two began to walk away, one after the other, and soon disappeared behind another door.
Xu Shuhan didn’t know how that door had appeared, but upon hearing it was Ling Mo, she imdiately wanted to rush over, yet she was always one step behind the two.
With her speed, she burst through the door only after the two had already disappeared…
“Where is this place…”
The mont Xu Shuhan walked through the door, she was stunned.
In front of her was an overwhelming darkness…
The sky was black, massive and withered black trees towered around, and black mist swirled through the low bushes…
A crooked sign stood at the crossroads. She walked over to take a closer look and read aloud, “Black Forest?”
“This is a forest suffused with the breath of death. The person you are looking for is sowhere within this forest. But if you don’t move quickly enough, you may only find his corpse… Maybe you have your doubts about this scene, but do not doubt your eyes. If zombies can exist, what else…”
“Ah! Ling Mo has been taken in!” Xu Shuhan exclaid in horror before she finished reading.
Without hesitation, she sprinted straight down the path.
At the sa mont, a distressed face emoji silently appeared on the sign: “囧”.
…
“How did you know?” Ling Mo asked.
“I went back to check! The emoji disappeared the mont I saw it! I was originally trying to see if there was a map or sothing…” Xu Shuhan said, feeling a bit helpless.
“Maybe they didn’t expect you to believe it so quickly… Alright, go on…”
At this point, Ling Mo was more certain of his earlier judgnt-that their adversary could sense the actions of the dream infiltrator, and hear what was said, but could not directly see the infiltrator.
…
After stumbling and running a short distance, the trees ahead finally disappeared, replaced by a dark swamp.
There was no bridge over the swamp, nor were there any boats in sight.
Xu Shuhan tried to cross directly but found the swamp bubbling, with many skulls faintly visible in the rolling mire…
“What should I do…”
As she panicked, Xu Shuhan noticed a figure behind a large tree.
The figure was small and cloaked in black, barefoot, and carrying a basket, watching her with curiosity.
Xu Shuhan cautiously walked over, only to be startled by the little girl’s appearance.
The girl looked like a patched-up rag doll, with everything but her skin being black. Yet, her skin was as white as paper.
The two stared at each other for a mont before the little girl spoke first. “Do you want to go across?”
“Uh-huh…” Xu Shuhan nodded honestly.
The little girl slightly grinned. Her smile seed innocent, but her eyes were unsettlingly eerie. “Then can you do a favor first?”
“What do you need?” Xu Shuhan, now in a sowhat dazed state, was thinking in a very linear fashion… After equating a favor with crossing in her mind, she nodded without hesitation.
“I’ve been standing here for a long ti, but no one passing by wants to help .” The little girl lifted the basket and took out a small black stick. “The weather is really cold. If I can’t sell any matches, I won’t be able to go ho… Could you buy one? I don’t ask for much-just light the match and answer one question.”
As she spoke, she handed the small stick to Xu Shuhan.
“Okay.”
Without much thought, Xu Shuhan struck the match with a “whoosh.”
A pale blue fla imdiately flared up, causing Xu Shuhan to montarily lose her vision…
To her surprise, she found herself at a dining table, viewing the scene as if she were lying on it.
“Uh… I can’t move?”
At that mont, footsteps approached from the side, and soon the little girl appeared in front of her.
“Scrape…”
The girl pulled out a chair and sat down, picking up the knife and fork, her eyes gleaming as she looked at Xu Shuhan.
In the reflection of the shining knife, Xu Shuhan saw “herself”…
She had turned into a roasted turkey!
At this point, the little girl revealed a crazed smile, rubbing the knife and fork together: “Answer the question, or I’ll eat you…”
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