There was no clock in the room, so Hu Deping had no idea what time it was.
He sat on the bed with his shoes on, his back against the wall, as waves of drowsiness kept washing over him.
Everything he had experienced that night had been far too stimulating for him.
Once he was certain there probably wouldn't be any danger for the time being, he finally had a chance to relax. The exhaustion that had built up in both body and mind immediately overwhelmed him, and he wanted nothing more than to get some proper sleep. Yet his subconscious kept warning him that this was no place to sleep, and that he absolutely must not doze off.
And so.
Under this constant tug-of-war, his eyelids seemed to be fighting each other.
Opening and closing...
Opening and closing...
Opening and closing...
He remained in that head-nodding state for who knew how long.
Suddenly.
An abnormal sound came without warning, instantly jolting Hu Deping, who had been half asleep and half awake, fully awake. He instinctively reached out to turn on the light in the room, but his hand found nothing.
Only then did he remember that there were no electric lights or other such lighting fixtures installed in the room.
The room's only source of light was essentially the few rays from the streetlamps that filtered through the half-drawn curtains.
"That Mysterious Person said the bedroom and living room were safe. As long as I don't go into the other room or the basement, there shouldn't be a problem..." Hu Deping's whole body tensed as he slipped out of bed and quietly made his way to the door.
He first checked the lock. It was still firmly locked, with no sign that it had been opened.
Then.
He slowly