Shen Chen's fingers hovered over the answer button, his pulse a steady but intense rhythm in his ears. The name Liu Zhiqiang glowed on the screen, the phone vibrating ominously in his grasp. Every officer in the dimly lit apartment held their breath.
Then, the call ended abruptly. The room fell into an eerie silence, broken only by the ticking clock on the wall.
Li Hao exhaled sharply. "No way. That number should be dead—just like its owner."
Shen Chen ignored him, tapping to check the call log. The most recent call was indeed from Liu Zhiqiang's phone number—but the system listed the origin as unknown.
"Did anyone track the signal?" Shen Chen asked, his voice low.
A voice crackled through his earpiece. "Captain, we tried, but... it's impossible. The number doesn't exist in any current network. It's like it came from nowhere."
A chill ran down Shen Chen's spine.
He turned to Wu Xue, who was gripping the edge of the table, her knuckles white. "Did you hear anything else? Any background noise?"
Wu Xue swallowed, shaking her head. "Just breathing... slow and heavy. And then—he said one thing before the line cut." Her voice trembled. "He said, 'I'm home.'"
A sharp knock on the door made everyone jump.
Weapons were drawn instantly. The team exchanged wary glances before Shen Chen stepped forward, gripping the handle. He counted silently—three, two, one—then yanked the door open.
Nothing.
The hallway was empty.
Li Hao took a cautious step forward, scanning the dimly lit corridor. "Who the hell knocked?"
Wu Xue took a shaky breath. "It was three knocks."
Shen Chen turned back to her. "Why does that matter?"
Her eyes met his, hollow with fear. "Three knocks... it's how Liu Zhiqiang used to signal me when he came home late at night."
A sudden commotion from the police team at the entrance broke the tension. "Captain! You need to see this!"
They hurried outside, where one officer pointed at the wet ground just beyond the apartment complex. A trail of footprints—bare, human—leading toward the building.
They stopped directly in front of Wu Xue's door.
But there were no exit tracks. The footprints simply… ended.
Shen Chen turned back to the apartment. The light in the hallway flickered once, then went out.
Wu Xue whispered, "He's here."