[Ready? The countdown is about to begin.]
An eerie blood-red font abruptly appeared in the chat window in an unexpected way.
Like a virus infection, it kept flickering in the middle of the screen, as if it would fly right out of the screen the next second exactly like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
Chen Si’s face went pale at the sight, and his hand trembled involuntarily.
He lost his grip on the phone, and it crashed to the floor.
The screen instantly shattered into pieces.
Fragments scattered everywhere.
Chen Si froze, then instinctively crouched down to check his phone.
Suddenly, he heard a strange sound coming from the computer in front of him.
It sounded like something chewing, crunching with wet, squelching noises.
His pupils contracted sharply, and cold sweat soaked his back.
Chen Si abandoned his phone entirely and bolted for the exit in a panic.
As if some terrible monster were chasing him from behind.
Colleagues nearby assumed he had some urgent matter and, without giving it much thought, went back to work.
……
Inside the elevator, his heartbeat pounded violently along with the descending numbers, as if it might leap right out of his chest.
Chen Si’s face was deathly pale as he stared at his terrified reflection in the mirror. Whether it was his imagination or not, he kept feeling that some ghost would crawl out of the mirror the next second and devour him. So he didn’t dare linger, the moment the elevator doors opened, he rushed out, without even checking whether this was actually the place he wanted to go.
He had stumbled his way down in a daze.
Gazing with a hint of bewilderment at the pitch-black surroundings, Chen Si had mild night blindness. While not so severe that he couldn’t see at all after dark, it still affected his vision, leaving him unable to see clearly at night.
And that was the case now.
Without his phone as a light source, Chen Si instinctively felt uneasy in the darkness. He could only back away, trying to return to the elevator.
But the elevator seemed to have broken down, the buttons wouldn’t respond.
How could this be?
Biting his lip tightly, Chen Si stared nervously at the elevator before him.
In his heart, he kept praying that heaven wouldn’t play a joke on him.
But heaven, it seemed, wanted to do exactly that.
The elevator was truly broken.
All the strength drained from his body in that instant. Chen Si’s head spun, and his legs went weak as he tilted backward, on the verge of collapsing to the floor.
Suddenly, it felt as if someone behind him had caught him, holding him steady.
Under normal circumstances, Chen Si would have been grateful.
But now, being touched in a place like this… no matter what, he couldn’t feel happy about it.
His heart leaped into his throat as he realized the hand that had steadied him had not left his body.
Chen Si’s body began to tremble uncontrollably, not daring to look back at all.
Terrified of what unclean thing might be behind him.
Chen Si’s whole body went rigid, his breathing growing faint, as if he might pass out the next second.
Then he felt that person draw even closer.
A faint, barely-there breath fell against his ear, intimate and ambiguous, as if the two of them were passionate lovers. Chen Si was completely enveloped in the embrace of the person behind him, the arm locked around his waist gleaming a cold white in the darkness.
Distinct joints, pale and fair.
Like the Creator’s most satisfying masterpiece, it made one unable to resist the urge to collect and keep it.
The person leaned in extremely close. The moment he heard breathing, Chen Si froze for a second, then realized it wasn’t some unclean thing.
Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief. He was just about to speak when?
He felt his ear being enveloped by a wet, soft, scorching warmth…