Chapter 56 Someone Died
The two hid behind the sofa, the light from the black and white television illuminating their faces in a pale white. Qiu Leling’s teeth chattered from fear, her hand tightly gripping Liu Haoyu’s sleeve, not daring to move. The footsteps behind them continued to approach, seeming to get closer and closer to where they were hiding. Liu Haoyu held his breath, tightening his grip on the table leg he held. He knew its effectiveness against ghosts was limited, but it was better than waiting to die.
“Tap…” The footsteps stopped. Even though the sounds ceased, the two still didn’t dare to turn around. No one knew if the ghost was standing right behind them. Qiu Leling squeezed her eyes shut, while Liu Haoyu stared intently at the television screen. The silent black and white animation showed a shadowy figure, neither fully human nor something else, seemingly trying to evade something. It was as if any slight delay would result in it being captured by something terrifying outside the screen. No one knew what this silent underworld mini-theater was trying to convey. The shadow in the animation stumbled repeatedly, only to get up again. Its speed slowed, and then a black hand appeared on the screen. Two black hands attacked, finally capturing it and pulling it towards the edge of the screen. The small figure silently screamed but was slowly dragged out of the screen. Upon seeing this, Liu Haoyu felt a slight tremor from the sofa. It was as if something had landed on it… He glanced to the side and, in the dim light, could faintly see a pale white arm. Judging by its size… it should be a woman’s hand. Seeing this, Liu Haoyu’s heart began to pound uncontrollably. He held his breath, his mind racing. Honestly, Liu Haoyu really wanted to drag everyone else in the apartment over to watch TV. Share the joy and share the hardship, you know? But as he shifted his gaze back to the television, he saw an even more horrifying scene. Through the light of the television, he could vaguely see a pair of legs hiding under the bed not far away. My god… Jade. Those were clearly a woman’s legs, and judging by Liu Haoyu’s guess, they likely belonged to the same person whose hand was dangling from the sofa. Cold sweat had already soaked the stray hairs on Liu Haoyu’s forehead. He stared intently at the pair of legs under the bed, slowly moving his body to the side. On one hand, he was trying to distance himself from the ghost hand on the sofa, and on the other, he was trying to find a way to escape.
“Ssssss…” Just as Liu Haoyu’s plan was forming, the television made a strange sound again. The cold light emanating from the black and white screen became distorted. The figures on the screen repeatedly struggled free, only to be caught again. No one knew what was capturing it, nor did anyone know who this figure was. Liu Haoyu only knew that its silent screams seemed to herald the death of someone in the apartment… But was that person himself? Liu Haoyu couldn’t help but question it.
“Pop.” The television went dark. The room plunged back into darkness again. Liu Haoyu hid behind the sofa, Qiu Leling’s grip on his arm starting to hurt. In the dim room, he glanced upwards again. The pale ghostly hand that had been dangling earlier had disappeared. The cold room slowly began to warm up. Liu Haoyu cautiously peeked behind the sofa from the side. There was no surprise attack, nor any terrifying ghost. The empty bedroom was as dark as could be. The overly quiet environment allowed Liu Haoyu to faintly hear his own heartbeat. The legs under the bed had also vanished. He didn’t know if they were still in the room. For some reason, he suddenly missed his fearless self from six months ago. If he had encountered something like this six months ago, he probably would have just said, “Your legs are so white, sis.” Sigh… things have changed. Liu Haoyu sighed. “Has it left?” Qiu Leling slowly opened her eyes, looking around. She still seemed a bit scared. Although Liu Haoyu didn’t know if it had left, to somewhat reassure Qiu Leling, who was already terrified, he said with certainty, “It should have.” Liu Haoyu slowly sat up, relieved after confirming it was safe. Seeing that Liu Haoyu was fine, Qiu Leling quickly let go of his hand. Even after calming down, the young girl’s face still showed no color. Just as she was about to say something, a “thump” sounded from the ceiling. And then another, each one heavier than the last. Only after three thuds did the ceiling fall completely silent. Qiu Leling was a bit puzzled by the sound, but Liu Haoyu immediately recognized it. Judging by the force of the impacts, these were definitely the dull sounds of people falling to the ground. Three thuds meant… three people upstairs had died. Who? Liu Haoyu didn’t know. Time continued to tick by in the apartment. Tonight, neither of them dared to sleep. They remained sleepless, welcoming the dawn of the third day. The sunlight shining into the room through the cracks, and the crowing of roosters outside, meant it was now a safe time. “Let’s go.” Liu Haoyu looked at Qiu Leling. The young girl had been tense all night, making her look a bit weak now. However, to say it was all night, in this accelerated passage of time, who knew how much real time had passed. “Mhm…” The two of them left the bedroom and went to the entryway. It was similar to what they encountered last night, but this time, the entryway was not covered in bloody handprints, but footprints. The footprints led forward, out of the room. The lock had been removed by something. This room was unusable tonight. The number of safe houses had further decreased. How many were still usable? After dawn, the hallway outside was once again crowded. Xu Wenbing was among them. He smiled politely and nodded at Liu Haoyu, but the smile couldn’t hide the cunning of a businessman. The survivors returned to the lobby on the first floor. Xu Wenbing looked at the more than twenty people present and said with a smile, “Congratulations to everyone for surviving another night.” Hearing this, Liu Haoyu’s gaze swept across the people in the hall. The more he looked, the more his brow furrowed. The three heavy thuds from the ceiling last night meant someone had definitely died on the third floor. But the problem was, not a single person was missing from the hall now. Did this mean that there were more ghosts hidden among the crowd?
