Park Ge was still lounging on that patchwork folding sofa that looked like it was picked up from somewhere. The spicy strip bag was empty, and the oil stains smeared on the knee of his five - point pants that had been washed so many times they had become stiff. He placed the computer on his stomach, and the sunken bones of his abdomen just pressed against the edge of the cooling fan. The rhythmic vibrations made his stomach feel a bit queasy, but he was too lazy to move.
The room seemed to weigh heavily on him.
The ceiling fan was still turning sluggishly, like a dying old man struggling to breathe. The wind it blew was neither cool nor refreshing, but carried a sultry heat mixed with the smell of rust. The air was like a moldy wet towel, sticking to his face.
"Damn it! Who would believe such crap? Staying up at night making up stories instead of sleeping. You might as well go check out your school's wall to fill the void in your imagination," he mumbled to himself. His left fingernails were tapping the mouse rapidly, and the squeaking plastic sound was as annoying as a mosquito.
On the screen, the comment on that supernatural story finally scrolled into his view.
It wasn't one of those obvious click - bait titles that were clearly just trying to sensationalize, nor was it some fragmented daydreams full of affected literary language. It was like an unadorned shorthand, coldly laid out there, yet exuding an indescribable sense of disharmony.
"I'm not lying. That night, I walked into a small alley... It was supposed to be a shortcut, but I walked for more than twenty minutes and still couldn't get out."
The beginning of the comment was very simple. There was no tone meant to scare people, no bloody and terrifying rhetoric, just like an office worker talking about a strange thing that happened on their way home late.
But precisely because of this, that plain tone made Park Ge's heart skip a beat.
He continued reading, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.
——"Every streetlight I saw was the same. The light was white, but it wasn't warm at all, like the fluorescent lights hanging in a cold storage. The ground was wet, but it hadn't rained that day. There was an advertisement on the wall that said 'If your back hurts, buy Shenbao. It's good for you, good for me, good for everyone.' I counted it three times. Every time I walked around, it was still there, and even the number of cigarette butts by the wall didn't change."
"...A loop? Is this getting caught in a ghost - wall?" Park Ge muttered, the corners of his mouth lifting, ready to start scolding.
But his finger hovered over the keyboard and didn't press down.
The comment continued:
"I tried to go back, even walked close to the wall and used my phone's map. According to the map, I hadn't moved from a single spot. The signal was gone, and I couldn't even make an emergency call."
"Damn it! I'm a man who grew up under socialism. This is the first time I've encountered such a strange thing. I'm not afraid of ghosts, but I'm afraid I won't be able to get out."
This sentence was like a thin needle, quietly piercing into Park Ge's heart.
As if suddenly remembering something, he fished out his phone and casually checked the location. Seeing the blue arrow on the small map still moving, he let out a sigh of relief.
"Who are you trying to scare?" He sneered, forcefully suppressing that bit of inexplicable unease.
However, this ID, "Red Shadow at the Street Corner," was making him feel more and more uncomfortable. It was an indescribable feeling. The profile picture was a blurry black cat, as if it had been pixelated. The cat's eyes were dark red, long and narrow, and hollow. He stared at those eyes for a while, then suddenly felt a wave of irritation in his heart and quickly scrolled down the comment.
——"Later, when I was really scared, I blinked, and I bet no one could guess what happened. I saw a building, guys. It was an office building! Our town really has come up in the world. I didn't even know when they built a building, and it's in such a remote place. Ahem! Ahem! Sorry for getting off - topic. I'm sure that building wasn't there before. Only the third floor had a light, flickering, as if it was reminding me 'Come this way.' That light was so alluring, and my mind was in a mess. It's like when you're playing a game and walking through a maze, and suddenly you see a lit - up passage. Would you go in or not?"
This sentence actually struck a chord with Park Ge. He had played countless all - night games and knew exactly that feeling. Trapped on a repetitive route, the moment you see the light, instead of wanting to escape, you subconsciously rush towards it.
——"I didn't really want to go in at first. After all, I thought I wasn't lucky enough to witness a miracle like a building rising out of nowhere. So I thought it was really strange and decided to walk around again to see if I could get out. Damn it! I found that the streetlights around here started to dim so much that I could barely see the road, and I also had a feeling that something was trying to get close to me from behind. My buttocks were so tight that I could probably twist a steel bar. It seemed like the heavens were going to kill me! In the end, I still went in. The building was empty. Only the first floor was finished, and the stairs were still rough cement. When I stepped on them, they made a dull sound. I didn't look back and rushed up in one go."
"There was light up there, and I wanted to get close to the light."
As Park Ge read this passage, he suddenly felt that the brightness in the room seemed to have decreased a bit. He looked up and saw that the light bulb of the ceiling fan also started to flicker, emitting a faint crackling sound of electric current.
Zhi——Zhi——Zi——
The room seemed to hold its breath, and even the air paused for a moment.
He took a breath, quickly turned back to the screen, and wanted to type, but found that the mouse pointer seemed to be stuck and wouldn't move.
"Hmm?"
He tried to move it a few times, but there was no response. The keyboard also seemed to be broken, and nothing he typed showed up. He clicked the refresh button several times in a row, and finally, the browser started to move jerkily, but the whole page became laggy.