Lu Ningfei lay in bed, his sleep light and restless.
He had grown used to this unease, a constant companion that had followed him from his previous life. Even in this world of fiction, of zombies and disasters, the darkness held familiar shadows.
The night was thick with the heavy patter of rain, each drop hissing against the windows of Lu Ningfei's flat as if the very air were alive with some malignant intent.
Lu Ningfei was feeling a lot restless, He felt as if he was asleep and awake at the same time.
Then he heard it—a sound so faint that at first he thought it was just the rain playing tricks on his mind. But no, there it was again, clearer this time. It was a soft, mournful cry, like the wail of a child lost in the night. The sound seemed to come from within the walls of his flat, echoing through the empty spaces and creeping into his ears with an unnatural persistence.
Lu Ningfei's eyes snapped open, his body instantly alert. He listened closely, his breath held as he strained to pinpoint the source of the sound. It was coming from the bathroom, a low, eerie crying that sent a chill down his spine.
But instead of fear, Lu Ningfei felt only a cold, detached curiosity. His luck had never been good, and he had long since accepted that strange and disturbing events were par for the course in his life.
Ghosts and such existence had came to say hello to him before too.
He rose from his bed, his movements slow and deliberate. The crying continued, a pitiful wail that seemed to grow louder with each step he took. Lu Ningfei's expression remained cold, his heart steady as he approached the bathroom door.
"Who's there?" he called out, his voice firm and unyielding.
As if in response, the crying stopped abruptly, leaving only the sound of the rain to fill the silence. Lu Ningfei paused, his hand on the doorknob, waiting for something—anything—to happen. But there was nothing, just an oppressive stillness that hung in the air like a shroud.
He frowned, What the hell? Was it his hallucination? However he felt it with extreme reality...
Before he could come to any conclusions, a sudden scream tore through the night, shattering the fragile calm. The scream was high-pitched, filled with raw terror, and it came from just outside his room.
Lu Ningfei's eyes narrowed, He threw open the door and rushed out into the hallway.
Si Qin was on the floor, crumpled in a heap in front of his door. He was shaking violently, his pajamas soaked with sweat and tears streaming down his face. His eyes were wide with fear, his mouth open in a silent scream as he stared at something.
Lu Ningfei was at his side in an instant, his hands gentle but firm as he helped the younger man to his feet. "Si Qin, what happened?" he asked, his voice calm.
Si Qin's response was choked and barely coherent.
"Brother… someone's there… in my room… staring at me… with red eyes…"
Lu Ningfei's gaze shot to Si Qin's bedroom, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the shadows. The room was empty, the bed rumpled from where Si Qin had been lying just moments before. But there was no sign of anyone else, no red eyes watching from the darkness.
Still, Lu Ningfei didn't dismiss Si Qin's fear as mere imagination. The temperature in the flat had dropped noticeably, a chill that seemed to seep into his bones.
"Stay here," Lu Ningfei ordered, his voice firm. He walked into Si Qin's room, every sense on high alert as he approached the bed. There was nothing out of the ordinary—no signs of forced entry, no disturbances that would indicate another person had been in the room. But the air was cold, unnaturally so, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.
Just as he was about to turn back to Si Qin, another scream echoed through the flat, this one coming from outside.
Lu Ningfei rushed out of Si Qin's room, pulling him along as they made their way to the front door. When they stepped into the hallway, they found that they were not alone.
Lin Yuxi and Shen Zhilan were standing outside their flats, their faces pale and drawn as they stared at something on the wall at the far end of the hallway. Lu Ningfei followed their gaze, and what he saw made his blood run cold.
The wall that led to the roof was splattered with blood. It was as if someone had taken buckets of it and thrown it against the wall, the dark red liquid running down in thick, viscous streams. The sight was grotesque, the blood glistening in the dim light of the hallway.
Shen Zhiling was standing a few feet away, his phone pressed to his ear as he spoke in low, urgent tones. When he saw Lu Ningfei and Si Qin step out of their flat, he quickly ended the call and strode over to them.
"Are you all right?" Shen Zhiling asked, his voice calm but tinged with concern.
Lu Ningfei nodded, though his mind was still reeling from the events of the night. "We're fine. But what the hell is going on here?"
Shen Zhiling's expression darkened as he glanced back at the blood-splattered wall.
"I'm not sure, but it's not good. This wasn't here earlier."
Before they could discuss the matter further, Shen Zhiwei emerged from his flat, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. He was clearly still half-asleep, his shirt rumpled and his hair sticking up in all directions. But when he saw the scene in the hallway, he froze, his eyes widening in shock.
"What the…?" Shen Zhiwei muttered, his voice trailing off as he took in the blood and the frightened expressions of his neighbors.
Si Qin was still shivering, his hands clenched into fists as he tried to keep himself from breaking down completely. Shen Zhiwei, noticing his distress, walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder, giving him a reassuring pat.
"Hey, it's okay," Shen Zhiwei said, his voice gentle but playful. "I'm sure it's just someone playing a prank or something. Don't worry."
But Si Qin, still on edge from his earlier experience, flinched away from the touch, his eyes wide with fear. In his panic, he lashed out, nearly slapping Shen Zhiwei in the process.
Shen Zhiwei quickly stepped back, raising his hands in surrender. "Whoa, whoa! Easy there! I was just trying to help."
Si Qin's breathing was ragged as he tried to calm himself, his body still trembling from the shock. Shen Zhiwei, realizing how scared Si Qin was, softened his tone even further. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. It was just a joke, okay?"
Lu Ningfei glanced at them and looked away.
The tension in the hallway was thick, No one knew what to make of the blood on the wall, and the strange occurrences in their flats had everyone on edge.
Zhang Wei emerged from his flat with a coat in hand. He draped it over Lin Yuxi's shoulders, his expression serious as he took in the scene.
"This isn't the time to be standing around," Zhang Wei said firmly. "We should all get some rest and talk about this in the morning when we're thinking clearly."
Lu Ningfei nodded in agreement, though his mind was still racing with thoughts of what had happened. "He's right. We don't know what's going on, but staying out here won't help. Let's get some sleep."
Lin Yuxi and Zhang Wei returned to their flat, while Shen Zhiwei gently led Si Qin back to his room.
He offered one last apologetic smile before following his brother outside.
Lu Ningfei lingered for a moment longer, his eyes fixed on the blood-stained wall. There was something deeply wrong here.
It's an apocalypse novel right?
He didn't read the full text but he read it more than half and only the last few chapters were left.
But he really didn't read the tags...
What if it's not apocalypse....