Jiang Mingran felt his blood turn to ice.
He was about to leap away when a hand clamped over his mouth.
Shao Lan.
He was right behind the woman.
She hadn't heard his footsteps because each one had landed at exactly the same time as hers.
Shao Lan signaled Jiang Mingran to keep quiet.
The woman reached the apartment across the hall and pulled open the door.
Now!
Shao Lan grabbed Jiang Mingran, and they spun around and ran!
Across the hall, the woman raised a foot over the source of the ringing.
Crunch. The alarm clock shattered beneath her shoe. The ringing stopped.
Which made the running footsteps in the hallway suddenly very clear.
Her unseeing eye blinked, then flew wide!
She knew she'd been tricked!
Jiang Mingran heard a shriek behind them, followed by heavy footsteps thundering toward them at speed.
She was coming!
"Don't look back!"
Shao Lan shoved Jiang Mingran hard.
Gritting his teeth, Jiang Mingran sprinted through the security door. Shao Lan followed on his heels.
The woman shrieked and lunged. Both men spun around, hauled the door shut, and fastened the security chain.
She slammed into it, shaking loose a shower of plaster dust.
Jiang Mingran and Shao Lan braced their bodies against the door.
Bang!
Bang!
Just as they began to fear she would break it down, the noise outside abruptly stopped.
Gasping, Jiang Mingran looked uncertainly at Shao Lan.
Shao Lan leaned toward the peephole.
The dim hallway was empty.
She was gone.
"Did she go across the hall?" Jiang Mingran panted.
Shao Lan shook his head. He couldn't be certain, either.
Looking back into the living room, they saw Uncle Pancake clutching the receiver. He was shaking, but he nodded emphatically at them.
Shao Lan let out a small breath. The call had gone through.
This was their first coordinated effort, following a plan he'd devised.
Jiang Mingran had thrown the alarm clock across the hall to lure the woman away, then hurried back.
Shao Lan had covered his retreat. Together, they'd shut the security door and kept her outside.
Uncle Pancake had used that window to call the police.
They knew from the previous loop that the police would take time to arrive. Uncle Pancake estimated about ten minutes. They had to stay alive that long. Get faster updates on g.com.
"This door should hold for a while." Shao Lan inspected it. The two impacts had slightly warped the metal bolt, but it still worked.
Even so, bending metal with just two blows took the strength of an outright monster.
"Search the rooms. Bring anything we can use as a weapon," he said. They didn't know how long the door would last. They needed a backup plan.
Jiang Mingran found a mop in the bathroom and a sharp knife in the kitchen. Lashed to the end of the handle, the knife would make a spear.
"Remember, don't take her head-on. Focus on buying time," Shao Lan said. "She's terrifyingly strong, but not that fast. We just need to hold out until the police arrive."
"Should we heat some oil?" Uncle Pancake suggested quietly. "If she breaks through, we throw it on her."
The older generation had its own practical wisdom. Shao Lan nodded and lifted the lid off the pot on the stove.
A batch of herbal medicine bubbled inside, giving off an indescribably unpleasant smell.
Uncle Pancake, following behind him, happened to see a severed human finger bob to the surface of the dark brown liquid. He swayed and nearly collapsed, but Jiang Mingran caught him in time.
"Uncle Pancake, go keep an eye on the hallway," Jiang Mingran said. "Brother Lan and I can handle things here."
Knowing he would only get in their way, Uncle Pancake nodded and left the kitchen.
Shao Lan put a pan of oil on the stove while Jiang Mingran tied the boning knife to the mop handle.
The flame hissed softly. Wisps of white smoke rose from the oil.
"Did you hear something?" Shao Lan asked suddenly.
"No," Jiang Mingran said.
Shao Lan frowned. Perhaps nerves were playing tricks on him, but he was sure he'd just heard the faint sound of a door opening.
"Brother Lan, you're too tense," Jiang Mingran said. "We locked the security door from inside. Even a key won't open it. If she tries to break it down, it'll be loud. We'll definitely hear. Besides, Uncle Pancake's keeping watch."
Shao Lan's expression didn't improve. He lifted the pan with one hand and left the kitchen. "Bring the knife."
Puzzled, Jiang Mingran nevertheless followed with his makeshift weapon.
They knew the layout of the old apartment well by now. The kitchen and security door stood at opposite ends, with the living room between them. Going from the kitchen to the entrance meant passing two bedrooms and a bathroom.
They hurried to the security door. It was still properly locked.
"See, Brother Lan? I told you you were worrying too much." Jiang Mingran relaxed.
Shao Lan only grew paler.
Something was wrong.
An instinct inside him screamed that something was wrong.
"Uncle Pancake?" he called softly.
No answer.
Jiang Mingran frowned, too. Hadn't they asked Uncle Pancake to watch the hallway? He should have been right beside the door.
Had the scare made him feel ill? Had he gone back to the bedroom to lie down?
Jiang Mingran looked around. Both bedroom doors were shut. The whole apartment was silent.
Yet, listening carefully, it wasn't quite as silent as it seemed. An easily overlooked background noise had become much louder.
Shao Lan's eyes flew wide!
He knew what was wrong!
The rain! He could hear it much more clearly!
"Run!"
He grabbed Jiang Mingran, opened the security door, and rushed out.
At the same moment, the curtains swayed. A tall, grotesque shadow lunged from behind them.
The rain sounded clearer because... the window was open.
The woman hadn't used the security door. She'd climbed out the window across the hall and crawled over along the building's exterior wall.
What Shao Lan had heard wasn't a door opening. It was the window!
Dragged along by Shao Lan, Jiang Mingran raced toward the opposite apartment.
The woman lunged after them.
She spread her arms, her hands blocking the entire width of the hallway as she charged forward.
"Aaaah!" Jiang Mingran turned and stabbed wildly with the spear.
She didn't dodge. She drove straight into the blade.
At the last possible moment, Shao Lan shouted, "Her belly!"
He raised the pan and flung hot oil at her swollen abdomen.
This time, she dodged. One hand shielded her belly while the other shoved Shao Lan away.
He went flying, but the remaining half pan of oil spilled over her body.
Her tall, gaunt frame tipped off balance. She tumbled down the stairs.
Seizing the chance, both men rushed into the apartment across the hall.
Its entrance had an iron outer door and a wooden inner one. To Jiang Mingran's despair, the iron door's lock was broken.
All he could do was lock the wooden door.
"Go... guard the window..." Shao Lan ground out.
Only then did Jiang Mingran see that Shao Lan's entire right side was soaked in blood. His right arm hung limply at a strange angle.
The woman had merely shoved him while retreating, but it had felt like a solid metal shot slamming into his shoulder.
His right shoulder was clearly broken. The pain was excruciating. He couldn't lift the arm at all.
"The window," he said through gritted teeth. "[Her] weak spot is her abdomen. If she climbs in again, stab her in the lower belly."
Jiang Mingran nodded and started toward the window with his spear. Suddenly, someone knocked.
Shao Lan tried to look, but the blood loss made his vision black out the moment he moved.
Jiang Mingran hurried to the door.
It had no peephole, but there was a pane of glass at the top. Dirty though it was, he could vaguely see through it.
He jumped up and looked outside.
Uncle Pancake stood there. From Jiang Mingran's angle, he could see his graying hair.
"It's Uncle Pancake." He looked at Shao Lan. "Let's let him in!"
Shao Lan stared at the entrance. After a moment, he shook his head.
Jiang Mingran grew frantic.
"Brother Lan, I know you're careful, but the killer isn't here right now! We can let Uncle Pancake in and lock it immediately. There's time!"
Too weak to speak, Shao Lan lowered a finger, pointing at the floor.
Jiang Mingran followed his gaze downward.
Goose bumps exploded across his skin.
Beneath the wooden door stood a pair of red embroidered shoes.