Late at night.
Looking exhausted, Li Hua yawned as he slowly walked from the New Yan City towards the dilapidated residential area on the city's outskirts.
Even the most bustling metropolises have poor, dilapidated places like this.
He sighed inwardly, realizing that big cities are never short of poor people, but rather more like him, who appear glamorous on the surface but are actually struggling financially, barely managing to look presentable on the surface.
He hurried home with his bag, exuding an unmistakable air of despair, his dejected demeanor tinged with numbness, utterly devoid of vitality.
As a corporate slave, working overtime until late at night or even all night has become the norm. His body is getting more and more tired, and he occasionally dozes off and slacks off at work. When he is criticized by his boss, he has gone from being flustered and uneasy at the beginning to having developed a thick skin and is immune to all criticism.
He was already used to his leader's meaningless lectures; they went in one ear and out the other.
The new leader who was recently parachuted into the company is a relative. He's younger than Li Hua, but he's incredibly meddlesome. He's always giving orders and talking about how to improve the workplace atmosphere. He's always nitpicking over trivial matters, but when it comes to important decisions, he can't offer anything useful. And when problems arise afterwards, he'll shift the blame to his subordinates.
Whenever Li Hua saw this junior manager, he couldn't help but exclaim, "My God, why are there such idiots in this world!"
Modern pregnancy preservation technology is indeed too good, allowing some idiots that should have been naturally eliminated to survive.
Li Hua cursed under his breath, venting his resentment. This was all he was capable of. No matter how difficult or arduous the work was, he couldn't quit his job to make a living.
Suddenly he shivered, feeling a bit cold. The air around him seemed to be filled with a chill, and even though it wasn't winter yet, it felt like the dead of winter.
He couldn't help but clutch his collar, feeling that he wasn't dressed warmly enough; it seemed he would have to wear more layers tomorrow morning.
A gust of cold wind blew by, and a piece of paper drifted over from a short distance away, startling Li Hua.
The paper landed squarely on his chest. He picked it up and saw that it was a missing person notice.
"The missing person poster for the Tian family downstairs," Li Hua muttered under his breath, casually tossing it aside. "I really don't know what all these surveillance cameras are for; they all fail at crucial moments."
Li Hua wasn't very familiar with the Tian family downstairs; they just lived in the same building and had only exchanged a few greetings occasionally. But the Tian family of three was considered good neighbors to him; they didn't make noise in the mornings or at night, didn't keep pets that disturbed the peace, and never littered.
Such genuinely good people are so rare!
Unfortunately, misfortune befell this ordinary yet kind family of three.
"I haven't seen the elderly couple from the Tian family for several days. I wonder if they've recovered from the shock of losing their daughter."
A cold wind blew in gusts, and the sound was like someone crying softly. Li Hua got goosebumps and felt a sudden sense of fear.
This was the first time he had ever been frightened by the darkness of night, as he often worked overtime and walked alone at night.
"Damn it, why are the streetlights nearby broken and no one's fixing them?! Where are all the taxes paid by ordinary people going?!"
To combat this inexplicable fear, Li Hua cursed aloud, transforming his fear into anger, and quickened his pace, heading home.
"Li Hua... Li Hua..."
As soon as Li Hua entered the residential area, he stopped in his tracks. He seemed to hear someone calling him from behind.
"Who, who is it!" Li Hua asked boldly, but immediately regretted it as soon as the words left his mouth. He suddenly remembered that in many folk tales, people walking at night should not respond casually when their names are called.
If it's a ghost calling your soul, responding to its call could lead to being haunted by evil spirits, causing anything from bad luck to death.
Thinking of this, Li Hua broke out in a cold sweat and almost screamed.
He heard faint footsteps approaching from behind. He turned his head stiffly and saw a somewhat familiar figure standing behind him, pale-faced and with lifeless eyes.
Seeing that familiar face, Li Hua was stunned. Wasn't this the father of Tian Tian, the female college student who had gone missing downstairs?
Li Hua shivered again, feeling the surroundings growing colder. He forced a smile that looked more like a grimace and asked in a trembling voice, "Oh, it's Lao Tian. What a coincidence! What are you doing here so late at night? What do you need?"
"Li Hua, Li Hua..."
Old Tian did not answer Li Hua's question, but instead called Li Hua's name repeatedly.
Li Hua realized something was wrong. He raised his phone and, by the dim light of the screen, he could see that Old Tian in front of him was emaciated beyond recognition. His facial skin was a strange color, his eyes were cloudy, his pupils were dilated, and his gaze was empty and lifeless, like a walking corpse, which was terrifying.
In an instant, Li Hua felt his scalp tingle and his hair stand on end. This wasn't a living person at all; it was a corpse!
"Old Tian, you, you, you..."
Li Hua was so frightened that he could barely speak. At that moment, he finally understood why the characters in horror movies always did some ridiculous and idiotic things that put themselves in even greater danger.
Because after experiencing a great shock, a person's intelligence is offline, and they may even be unable to think.
Li Hua retreated like a weakling. Seeing that Lao Tian didn't seem to react, he immediately turned and ran. He couldn't remember any of the folk taboos he had heard about in horror stories. He just wanted to get home as soon as possible and crawl into bed.
However, Li Hua had only taken two steps when he was once again greatly frightened.
He saw the missing Tian Tian suddenly appear in front of him, staring straight at him and slowly walking towards him. At the same time, Lao Tian behind him was also walking towards him.
"Don't come any closer!"
Caught between father and daughter, Li Hua finally broke down, collapsing to the ground. After letting out a shout, he could no longer withstand the mental shock, his head lolled to the side, and he lost consciousness, falling into a coma.
Li Hua's experience was not an isolated case; a chilling atmosphere permeated the entire neighborhood, with occasional screams followed by a rapid return to silence.
Above the apartment building where the Tian family lived, there seemed to be a haze, obscuring the stars and moon, and even making the sky appear gloomy.
Hu Jiu floated upside down in mid-air, the layout of the community clearly visible in his field of vision. Each building had become a chess piece in his hand. He reached out and tapped the void a few times, and with a series of Supernatural ripples, the community's eerie atmosphere intensified.
"Everything is ready, let... Bai Jingjing star in this great show!"