The Zhaos' living room suddenly fell into a suffocating silence. Mother and son exchanged uneasy glances, their faces both dark and tense. Out of nowhere, the shattered phone crackled to life once more, and the eerie, mechanical female voice began to play:
"Zhao Ba, I'm here to claim your life."
"Zhao Ba, I'm here to claim your life."
"Zhao Ba, I'm here to cl-cl-cl-cl-claim your-your-your-your-your-your life-life-life-life-life…"
Mrs. Zhao, startled, grabbed the teapot from the coffee table and smashed it hard against the phone. Silence returned to the room, but neither spoke a word. After a long pause, Zhao Ba swallowed nervously and muttered, "Could it really be Xu Xi's ghost? Before she died, she said I'd pay for this one day—"
"Shut up!" Mrs. Zhao cut him off sharply. "There are no such things as ghosts!"
Zhao Ba closed his eyes and then reopened them, trying to mask his growing fear with a defiant scowl. "Yeah, right. Ghost or not, she couldn't touch me when she was alive. What's she gonna do now that she's dead? Ha! Let her dream on!"
What Zhao Ba didn't realize, as he fumed in his seat, was that the surveillance camera on the TV wall had begun to move on its own. The lens turned 30 degrees to the left, slowly panning until it framed him and his mother in its sight. Zhao Ba, do you see that tiny red light flashing on the camera? Doesn't it remind you of Xu Xi's eyes? The ones you left bleeding when she was only thirteen?
At first, people thought the murder countdown was some sick prank. But soon, a deleted news report resurfaced—"Rich Heir Walks Free After Murder: Where Is Justice?"—and it spread like wildfire across every major media outlet. This time, attempts to delete it couldn't keep up with how fast it was being reposted. Like a virus, the report multiplied a hundredfold for every attempt to take it down, until the whole internet knew the truth.
It wasn't long before online sleuths connected the dots between "Zhao Ba" and the missing leg from the video. Shock and outrage followed. Zhao Ba was the very same criminal from that *** murder case six months ago. And this monstrous villain had been secretly released, acquitted, without the public even realizing it!
Netizens were furious. They began to flood the internet with insults, targeting the police, judges, Xinlei Art School, and the entire Zhao family. In an online poll titled, "Do You Support the Anonymous Avenger to Kill Zhao Ba?" a staggering 87% voted "Yes." The remaining 13% argued for legal justice—but they, too, were soon overwhelmed by enraged commenters.
"If the law worked in Southeast Asia, Zhao Ba would've been shot by now!"
"When it's your turn to die horribly, I hope your family's just as forgiving!"
As time went on, more and more people began praying for the countdown to come true. Zhao Ba grew increasingly paranoid, refusing to leave his mansion and hiring five bodyguards to keep him safe. Meanwhile, his father flew into a rage, and his mother scrambled to have posts taken down and control the chaos.
Six hours later, the murder countdown once again hijacked the top 100 livestreams.
"Zhao Ba, where's my leg?"
"Zhao Ba, I'm coming to claim your life."
This time, the blood-red countdown showed only 18 hours left. The chat rooms exploded with cheers, as viewers celebrated the mysterious avenger, hoping justice would soon be served. Inside Zhao Ba's mansion, a team of programmers worked feverishly to try and remove the chilling, robotic voice. But their efforts were in vain.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ba, hidden deep within his fortified mansion, smashed yet another phone in frustration.
"Come on, you piece of—! Try me! Just TRY me!"
In the stillness of the night, the bodyguards around him remained quiet, their expressions tense. But from outside the villa, faint footsteps could be heard. The distinct sound of small shoes, tapping rhythmically against the pavement.
Tap… tap… tap…