“Don’t scare me, okay?”
The sky was barely light in the early morning when Yu Ning got up to make porridge and prepare breakfast.
Usually, when Pei Chongqing wasn’t around, she would sleep until noon before reluctantly crawling out from under the covers and throwing together something quick with frozen ingredients. But ever since she’d picked up a living, breathing man three days ago, she’d had no choice but to keep regular meal times.
That man she’d picked up was named Jiang Xian. He was a police officer, and like her, had somehow stumbled into this other world—though he hadn’t been as lucky as she had.
After being attacked by the monsters in the forest, he’d nearly lost half his life before finding his way to her place.
At first, seeing how half-dead he looked, Yu Ning had been tempted to just leave him to his fate. But then she thought about how dead bodies had a chance of mutating into monsters, and she decided to try anything, even if it was a long shot. Gritting her teeth, she dragged him to another rundown building nearby to treat his wounds.
Three days had passed, and Jiang Xian had survived. The superficial wounds on his body had mostly healed, though his leg had taken a hit and seemed to have some ligament damage. He still couldn’t get out of bed and walk, and would need to rest and recover.
Yu Ning wasn’t a trained medical professional—she’d made her judgment based on some medical books.
There were no doctors here, no medical equipment. Just managing to survive was already a blessing, but Yu Ning still felt a bit regretful.
Although this man had been a police officer in his original world, compared to Pei Chongqing, he wasn’t of much use. Not only had he eaten three days’ worth of her food, but he’d also used up all the medicine in the house.
She knew that most of the food and medicine had been gathered by Pei Chongqing during his trips outside. She was essentially using the hard-earned resources her husband had risked his life to collect, to save a strange man—a useless one who couldn’t help with anything, whose only redeeming quality was that he was somewhat decent-looking.
Yu Ning ladled the porridge from the pot into a bowl and stared at the rising steam, letting out an involuntary sigh.
She didn’t even know how she was going to explain this to Pei Chongqing. Although he was generous and gentle, would it be too much for her to have rescued a man of the opposite sex on her own while he was away?
Yu Ning hesitated for a moment, and only when a skin began to form on the porridge did she pack it into a food container and carry it to the rundown building next door.
“You’re here.”
When Jiang Xian saw her, a smile immediately spread across his face. He sat up, resting his arms on the bed table, and helped her take out the meal containers from the bag, letting out a sincere sigh of appreciation: “Smells wonderful. Sorry to put you through all this trouble so early in the morning.”
Yu Ning smiled, two dimples forming on her fair, rosy cheeks: “It’s just porridge. I need to eat too.”
Jiang Xian was momentarily dazzled by her face, his gaze lingering a few seconds longer than it should have. Only when she lowered her head to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, breaking their eye contact, did he withdraw his presumptuous stare and ask with concern: “Do you have enough food at home?”
“Enough for a week,” Yu Ning said conservatively, urging him gently: “Don’t worry, eat while it’s hot.”
Jiang Xian picked up his spoon: “I’ve put you through so much trouble. If there’s anything I can help with, feel free to ask anytime. Even though I’m bedridden right now, my hands still work fine. I know a bit of handiwork.”
As he spoke, he showed her a handheld electric fan—one that had been broken until recently.
Yu Ning was pleasantly surprised: “You can fix things too? You’ve got such skilled hands.”
Jiang Xian: “Just a little. It happens that there are handy tools here.”
Yu Ning said politely: “Just keeping me company is enough. I get bored staying home by myself anyway.”
Jiang Xian caught the key word: “Your husband hasn’t come back yet?”
“He—” Yu Ning paused for a second, pressing her lips together. “He should be close. The moon’s been blood-red these past two days, too much yin energy. His return is bound to be delayed a bit—it’s always been like this.”
Jiang Xian looked up with a light smile. “Not afraid to be alone?”
“What’s there to be afraid of?” Yu Ning brushed it off, feeling increasingly that this man had no sense of boundaries. But she didn’t leave—she sat by his bedside chatting. After all, she was genuinely a bit bored, and it had been a long time since she’d talked to anyone.
Because of his position, Jiang Xian knew a few things she didn’t—like the rules of survival in this world and how it came to be.
According to him, whenever a horrific murder occurred in reality, condensing enough resentment, a barrier called the “Death Domain” would be born. Anyone who was a friend or relative of the deceased, or anyone who had inadvertently wandered into the barrier, would be transported to this other world along with the Death Domain.
Jiang Xian claimed that a friend of his had taken on the murder case, and he’d been dragged into the Death Domain after overhearing it in casual conversation. Since he hadn’t been in direct contact, he’d kept his life—but his friend wasn’t so lucky. The Death Domain tortured him to death, turning him into nourishment for the monsters.
For survivors stranded in this other world, the increase of Death Domains had both benefits and drawbacks. The upside was that Death Domains that hadn’t been fully corrupted would have fresh food and various resources. The downside was that Death Domains could also spawn new monsters, making survival harder.
Death Domains could also silently erase a person’s existence in the real world—like a hunter with intelligence, actively choosing its prey while concealing its own presence deeply.
Just hearing about such things made Yu Ning shiver, yet Jiang Xian insisted on vividly describing his week-long, heart-stopping survival journey to her.
She didn’t really want to hear it—after all, she’d lived here for over a year and had already started thinking of this place as home. Since saying that out loud would likely get her labeled as a weirdo, she’d claimed to him that she’d only been here for a week, along with her highly capable husband.
Once he finished eating, Yu Ning immediately got up to clear the dishes, ready to leave.
“After recuperating here for three days, if I hadn’t written a diary, I probably would’ve forgotten all of it by now.” Jiang Xian leaned against the pillow cushion and let out a soft sigh.
“Is that so?” Yu Ning curled her lips, thinking to herself that next time she wouldn’t bring him any paper or pens.
Jiang Xian hummed in acknowledgment. “This kind of peaceful life makes it easy to overlook the dangers of the present, to unconsciously sink into it. Haven’t you noticed—you rarely think of home these days?”
Yu Ning instinctively retorted, “But living here safely is better than getting eaten by monsters out there, isn’t it?”
“That’s true, but when people live here too long, their minds are easily affected.” Jiang Xian sighed softly. “Some high-level monsters, they say, will seize the opportunity to sneak in, disguising themselves as the people closest to you.”
His voice dropped low, each word deliberate. “They skin a person and wear it, learning to walk like them, to talk like them. They look strange, but during the day they won’t slip up, won’t let anyone notice. Only at night—when you see their shadow on the ground, overly large, or their eyes that don’t blink, or even face the wrong way—do you realize the person before you isn’t the one you know.”
Yu Ning listened, her heart pounding with fear, eyes wide as saucers. “What’s the point of monsters learning all that? If they want to kill someone, they can do it anytime.”
“Stop scaring me, okay?” She gripped the bag in her hand tightly, unable to help the reproach in her voice, because her voice was trembling and her face had gone completely pale, making her look anything but intimidating.
Jiang Xian chuckled and coaxed her in a gentle tone, saying he was just taking a casual look and that it might not even be real. His phone was still with him and could power on, but there was no signal at all—aside from browsing some saved cloud files and photos, it was basically useless.
Yu Ning turned her back to him without speaking. She was genuinely frightened. Even after walking out the door, her hand unconsciously pressed against her chest to soothe herself.
She felt Jiang Xian wasn’t a proper, upstanding man, nor did he resemble any officer she knew. But since she’d already saved him, there was no reason to abandon him now. Besides, Pei Chongqing had been gone for a long time, and she was starting to feel anxious.
Having a living person to talk to, even if it felt offensive, was something she could tolerate for the sake of that sense of security.
After finishing her routine cleaning in the afternoon, Yu Ning had planned to take a shower, but because of that horror story, she no longer dared to. She stripped off her clothes and tossed them into the washing machine, then changed into a dress that didn’t require blindfolding her head to put on, and looked down at the rising water level inside the machine.
This place was desolate and quiet, not the modern society she knew, yet water and electricity were always supplied. Yu Ning didn’t understand the structural principles or how the energy worked, nor did she have the brainpower to figure it out. But the TV worked, the water was drinkable, the gas could be turned on, and it all cost nothing—for her, it was completely beneficial with no downsides.
If she had to name a drawback, it was that there was no internet connection here, no way to contact the outside world. For entertainment, she could only watch whatever was playing on the television.
The old TV only cycled through a few channels. Yu Ning had lived here for a year and watched for a year, to the point where she could recite the script of a certain channel’s love-defense program from memory.
However, when Pei Chongqing returned, he would occasionally bring her some new trinkets—things like a game console, comic books, or novels. So she didn’t find it too dull being alone.
Before she crossed over, she had stopped studying after high school and gone alone to an unfamiliar city to work. She had always been homeless, with no friends to speak of.
She’d get off work at seven, arrive home at nine, squeezed into a one-room apartment divided by the sublessor, and spend her days scrolling through short videos to pass the time. Not only could she not save money—she had to send her wages back home—she could barely afford the eight-hundred-yuan rent. It was a life she could see stretching endlessly ahead with no change.
Coming here, meeting Pei Chongqing, living in a house like this—for her, it was more comfortable and peaceful than before she crossed over.
Pei Chongqing was exceptionally capable, treated her well, and had an extremely handsome face. In her previous world, she had never dated a man this outstanding.
Even if he were a mute who couldn’t speak, he was still the benefactor who had saved her life.
Half a year ago, when he took out a found diamond ring and expressed his feelings to her, she was both surprised and overjoyed, and couldn’t help but immediately agree to his request, even though he didn’t even know how to propose. But after spending all those days together, Yu Ning could completely understand his meaning—he must like her, and he wanted to have a proper status with her.
Here she had a husband, a house, no need to work, no need to toil and rush for a living—it was the most leisurely and happy life imaginable. What reason did she have to miss the real world’s home? If she had any worries, it was only that Pei Chongqing might run into trouble out there, since he was, after all, just a slightly more capable man.
Her husband had been gone for three days without returning, and Yu Ning couldn’t help but feel somewhat anxious. Though she didn’t believe Jiang Xian’s words, when left alone, her mind inevitably wandered into wild speculation.
That evening, after preparing dinner, she brought it over to Jiang Xian and stayed to eat with him. Although Jiang Xian enjoyed saying those frightening things, he was generous with emotional support, praising her cooking skills throughout the meal.
Yu Ning still enjoyed talking with him. Feeling pleased yet shyly modest, she said, “Compared to your workplace cafeteria, it probably isn’t that good, right?”
Jiang Xian paused briefly, then smiled. “How could that assembly-line food compare to yours?”
Just a single compliment was enough to delight Yu Ning, and she couldn’t help but press her lips into a subtle smile.
She was very fair-skinned, with soft, delicate features and light hair and pupils. She wasn’t skilled at makeup—or perhaps she simply didn’t have cosmetics to use—giving her face an unpolished, rustic quality. Fortunately, her features were refined and striking enough that she didn’t need any embellishment to be beautiful.
Jiang Xian had never seen such a beautiful woman, nor had he ever met anyone so easy to deceive. The police uniform he wore when he arrived had been stripped from a corpse, and he had a tattoo running up his arm—his fake identity would have been easily exposed. Yet this woman hadn’t shown the slightest suspicion, instead tending to him without complaint, cooking for him and wiping down his body.
At first, he thought he was losing his mind—that his life was flashing before his eyes as he hallucinated a beautiful woman seeing him off to his death.
But when he realized she was a real, living person who showed no signs of being contaminated or wanting to devour him, he finally relaxed and focused on healing.
She wasn’t surviving here alone—she had a husband by her side, though he hadn’t returned in two or three days. The situation didn’t look promising.
In a place like this, having another person to cooperate with meant a greater chance of survival. But since this brother he’d never met had a high probability of dying out there, it was no great loss to him.
He would survive in his place, find the way back, and look after his wife.
After dinner, Yu Ning boiled hot water, checked his wounds, and wiped down his body.
She was very good at caring for others. She’d only studied until high school before being left in her hometown to look after her bedridden grandmother. It wasn’t until the old woman passed away that she went to the city to work. Hers was a rather tragic story.
Jiang Xian had never been in a relationship and had no interest in married women, but when Yu Ning’s hands traced over his lower abdomen and thighs, he couldn’t help but tense up, having to press the blanket down firmly.
After she finished and helped him get dressed, Jiang Xian let out a long breath. Glancing at Yu Ning as she rinsed the towel, he asked casually, “Your husband won’t be jealous knowing you take care of me like this?”
Yu Ning shook her head. “He’s a very good person.”
“Besides, you’re a patient.”
Jiang Xian let out a chuckle, curious just how good this brother of hers really was.
At nine in the evening, Yu Ning took the empty food container back to the next room, leaving Jiang Xian alone in the standalone house.
He’d slept a lot during the day, so falling asleep at night was difficult. He endured until one in the morning before drowsiness gradually set in.
Jiang Xian set down the phone he’d checked countless times, lay flat on his back, and closed his eyes. Suddenly, a “drip” sound reached his ears. He felt a drop of water land on his brow—the wet sensation was faint, but it didn’t feel like an illusion.
Jiang Xian opened his eyes, staring at the dim ceiling. He wanted to touch his brow, but he found he couldn’t move at all—couldn’t even curl his fingers.
After several failed attempts, Jiang Xian’s heartbeat quickened beneath his chest. He still desperately wanted to raise his hand—even just a single finger—but his body was as heavy as if it had been filled with lead. He couldn’t even tilt his head, leaving his gaze fixed solely on what lay before him, and even that vision was far from clear.
What was that?
Jiang Xian squinted through half-open eyes and saw a shifting disc whose edges curled and spread outward like tangled tree roots and branches.
The branches drooped downward, drawing closer and closer until they were enough to cover his eyes. By the time Jiang Xian realized what was happening, his face was completely wrapped—ears and nose included. The suffocating lack of oxygen made him instinctively want to struggle, but his body refused to obey, unable to muster any strength, and even a cry could barely escape his throat.
The thing wrapped around him crept down his chest, along his arms, and spread to his hands, granting him a moment to breathe. But the next second, thorns pierced between his fingers, ruthlessly prying and gouging, scraping his fingernails clean off.
Pain shot from his fingertips through every limb and bone. His veins bulged taut, hot sweat pouring down as he could feel each nail being torn away and hear the sound of flesh separating from bone.
Drip, drip.
Something was approaching—a heavy, sticky footstep that couldn’t quite take proper strides, unlike anything human, as if thick cloth soaked in mud were being dragged across the ground. It was barely perceptible while moving through the hallway, but once it climbed the stairs, the sound of that sodden cloth thudding against each step became unmistakably clear.
Twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two.
At the count of twenty-two, the footsteps ceased, replaced by the sound of a lock bolt scraping across metal.
Yu Ning’s fingers twitched. With a sharp gasp, she snapped her eyes open and bolted upright in bed, instinctively looking toward the door.
The bedroom door remained perfectly still, with no sign of being unlocked.
But then, she heard the sound of water rushing from the showerhead.
Yu Ning’s heart trembled. She got out of bed, bare feet sinking into the carpet, and peered toward the bathroom.
The light was on in there, and a vague silhouette could be seen through the misted glass door.
Yu Ning clutched the jade pendant at her chest, squeezing it tight as if seeking some kind of comfort from it. She steadied herself and spoke softly: “Chong Qing, is that you?”
The moment her voice fell, the sound of the shower stopped.