Basement 4 of the Fifteenth Floor

Things that defy the laws of the world cannot exist, just as a flame without fuel cannot continue to burn.

My Firefly, while a creation that defies the laws of the world, is by no means a rootless duckweed.

The reason it can continue to exist is because there is a spiritual connection between it and me, with my spiritual power continuously adding fuel to its existence along that connection.

However, the hole before us seems to be covered by an invisible, intangible barrier. When the Firefly descended, although the invisible barrier did not forcibly block it, it ruthlessly severed the spiritual connection between us. It was as if it were saying that "real space" and "space that should not exist in reality" are as distinct as yin and yang, and those of the living world cannot defy the laws of nature or attempt to overstep the decrees of heaven to establish a free channel with the underworld.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Chang'an did not notice the anomaly on my end.

He first asked for my opinion, then revealed a look of unease: "I think we should hurry up and cover it back up. What if there's some filthy thing hiding down there..."

"Don't be in such a hurry." After some thought, I asked, "Do you have a Bluetooth camera or something at home?"

"You're going to throw a Bluetooth camera down there to replace your own eyes?" He reacted immediately, then shook his head regretfully, "But I don't have one here."

"It doesn't matter if you don't have one. Give me your phone."

He obediently handed his phone to me, and I took out my own phone, opened WeChat, and initiated a video call request to Chang'an's phone.

After the call connected, I went to the kitchen to get a broom, then took out the rubber bands that came with his previous barbecue takeout, and fixed both my phone and a flashlight to the end of the broom. Using it as a glowing selfie stick, I squatted on the floor and probed down into the hole.

"So there's a way to do that!"

Chang'an's eyes lit up, and he leaned in to look at his phone, wanting to see the video feed being transmitted from below.

Immediately, he let out a sound of confusion and disappointment: "...Huh?"

Unfortunately, no image was transmitted back at all.

Because the moment my phone entered the hole, the network signal was automatically cut off.

I first retrieved my phone, changed the network connection to a data hotspot shared from Chang'an's phone, and tried sending my phone into the hole again, but it still didn't work. The network seemed to have been severed by an invisible barrier.

It seems that not only the spiritual connection but also the electronic signal connection is ineffective.

I retracted my phone once more, took a deep breath, and prepared myself mentally.

This time, I reached out my own arm and probed it into the hole!

Chang'an couldn't stop me in time and could only exclaim: "What are you doing!"

I turned a deaf ear to his voice, focusing all my attention on sensing my own arm.

Human perception and control of one's own body ultimately rely on electronic signals as well. If this hole is one that blocks even electronic signals, I should be unable to control my arm right now.

But this time, the signal was not blocked; I could clearly sense my arm and move my hand fluidly.

"Spiritual connections" and "electronic signal connections" are, after all, both "wireless connections." Given the current situation, since the brain's physiological connection to the arm works, does that mean other forms of "wired connections" would also work?

Or is it that living flesh possesses some kind of mysterious quality—much like how space-storage items in many fantasy stories are the only things that cannot store living beings—and this hole is the only thing that cannot block the signals of life?

If it is the latter, then my only option is to enter it myself.

Wait, I think I was led astray by the initial disappearance of the Firefly.

If I just want to understand the situation inside the hole, there's actually no need to worry about whether it's a wired or wireless connection. Can't I just set the phone to recording mode and repeat what I just did?

I understand why I didn't think of such a simple method at first; it was because I was too eager to investigate the phenomenon of this hole being cut off from the outside world. Encountering such an incredible thing for the first time, I couldn't help but focus entirely on exploring its specific mechanisms.

Seeing that I was safe and sound, Chang'an breathed a sigh of relief, then hurriedly pulled me away, wanting me to stay away from the hole.

"You're being too reckless! Didn't you think about the possibility of something happening to you!?" he said, still shaken.

"Chang'an, let's try one more time." I turned to him and told him my plan.

After hearing it, his first reaction was: "You really just want to use your phone to record what's down there, and you aren't planning to go down yourself, right? You should be satisfied after seeing it, right?"

"..."

"Why are you turning your head away?" He glared at me.

Chang'an's intuition was correct; I couldn't possibly be satisfied just by taking a look inside. Even if there really were some "filthy things" down there, I would eventually insist on going down.

I began to think about how to convince him or send him away.

Although it wouldn't be impossible to just break into the hole, he might follow me in if I did. What if there is danger inside? While the reason he encounters strange events might be due to his connection to me, I have no intention of involving him.

The best approach might be to pretend to agree for now and return to investigate on my own later. He doesn't even live in this house anymore, anyway.

It seems I cannot investigate any further for the time being.

"Chang'an, I..."

Before I could even finish my sentence, a sudden situation interrupted our conversation.

Knock, knock, knock.

There was a knock at the entrance from an uninvited guest.

I had no choice but to shut my mouth. Why does it feel like I keep running into people knocking on doors today? This is already the third time, isn't it? Although this time, it wasn't my door being knocked on.

"Who is it?" Chang'an shouted.

But the person outside the door didn't respond, just kept knocking.

I simply stood up and walked toward the entrance, while Chang'an picked up the black plush rug rolled up nearby and used it to cover the hole for the time being. Although it wasn't some dark secret, for a supernatural object that might contain unknown dangers, it probably shouldn't be exposed to random passersby.

However, the person who appeared outside the door this time, regardless of whether they were relevant or not, was at least not a complete stranger.

As I opened the door, the person outside saw me as well.

"Hmm?" The man was first puzzled and surprised, but a moment later, he finally recognized my face. "...Do you live here? That doesn't seem right, does it?"

This person was none other than the police officer who had knocked on my door not long ago, canvassing for leads on the Serial Killer.

He had actually canvassed all the way to this place?

"No, my friend lives here." I suppressed my surprise, turned back into the room, and called Chang'an over.

Chang'an hurried over immediately and introduced himself to the officer.

The officer looked at me with suspicion, but eventually spoke to Chang'an first: "It's you, the one who made the false report the night before last."

"I didn't make a false report," Chang'an insisted, stiffening his neck.

"Our department looked into it later. A very serious homicide occurred in this house in the past, and the killer has yet to be brought to justice," the officer asked sternly. "You said there were ghosts here—is it really just ghosts? Tell me about the anomalies you discovered again."

So, this officer was here to investigate the homicide from eight months ago.

I had heard that official authorities took murder cases very seriously, to the point of having a "solve every murder" slogan, but that was a case from eight months ago. Did the authorities really pursue murder cases with such tenacity?

I remembered hearing rumors online about wanted criminals who, after the heat died down, went to see a Jay Chou concert, only to be plucked out of the sea of people and arrested on the spot by the authorities. Comparing it to that, it didn't seem so strange that the authorities would keep such a close eye on a major criminal who had remained at large until now.

But I remembered this officer had been focused on the recent Serial Killer case earlier; was it common for them to juggle inquiries into different cases like this? Or perhaps...

"There really are ghosts!"

Chang'an, anxious to prove himself, let the officer into the room, walked up to the black plush rug, and flipped it over.

"Look!" He pointed at the Magic Circle on the floor. "Look, it's really... there really is..."

As he spoke, his voice trailed off.

The floor was completely bare; where had the hole gone? Only the Magic Circle drawn in black pigment remained, and even the wooden cover was nowhere to be found.

Not just Chang'an, but I was also shocked. The hole had actually disappeared?

What was going on? The night before last, when Chang'an called the police, the hole vanished after they arrived; today, the police arrived again, and the hole had once again disappeared without a trace.

Could it be that the officer possessed a righteous, masculine aura, and the hole was some kind of sinister, evil thing, so it trembled in fear and hastily concealed itself the moment he arrived? How absurd!

With the facts before me, I could only tell myself not to panic. This wasn't the first time the hole had appeared and disappeared; perhaps this was part of the strange phenomenon, something I needed to explore.

"Where is the ghost?" the officer asked expressionlessly. "Make it come out."

"Ghost... ghost..." Chang'an stammered, unable to speak.

The officer sighed, then seemed to notice something. He immediately walked over to the Magic Circle, crouched down, and touched the pigment of the edge lines with his finger.

He rubbed his fingers together in thought, his expression growing increasingly serious. A moment later, he muttered to himself: "...Blood?"

Although he hadn't seen the strange hole with his own eyes, the officer's attitude changed significantly after touching the Magic Circle; his already stern, mature face became even more grave.

He brought us downstairs and asked Chang'an, "Do you have anywhere else to stay?"

"What?" Chang'an hadn't reacted yet.

"The house you rented must be cordoned off as a crime scene again starting now. You cannot go back to live there, at least for today and tomorrow," the officer said in an unquestionable tone.

"Ah? But..." Chang'an seemed to want to say something.

But he suddenly shut his mouth, turned to look at me, and then said to the officer with a firm tone: "No problem, I wasn't planning on living in a place like that anyway. Please, you must protect the scene well—don't even let a mouse inside!"

Calling me a mouse was really going too far.

He must have said that to prevent me from entering that hole. What a waste of effort. If I were determined to enter that hole, it wouldn't matter how many ordinary people came or how tight the security was.

"Come to think of it, why protect that house?" Chang'an asked then. "Is it for the homicide from eight months ago? But that was eight months ago; the killer might have already fled to another city."

"You can't say that. This is a murder case. A murder case with extremely cruel methods and very serious circumstances. The department has always attached great importance to this major case. And..." The officer seemed to be weighing whether to reveal what came next.

After a long silence, he looked at Chang'an, then at me, and finally said it: "And, the killer is still roaming within Xianshui City, and is even continuing to wreak havoc."

"What?" Chang'an was horrified.

As for me, I made a connection through the look in his eyes and, combined with my previous suspicions, arrived at a deduction.

"The Serial Killer who has been operating in the city for the past two months is the same killer who murdered the previous tenant in that house eight months ago?"

Maza's face surfaced in my mind as well.