Someone Has Been Here?

It's been 3 days since the last death game ended.

On the first day, perhaps because Yimo wanted to vent, they streamed until 12 AM before going offline. The live stream reached a peak of over 4 million viewers, and the tips received that day were three times that of the second-place streamer on the kaki website.

Although they earned a lot of money, Yimo, who had been financially independent for two years, didn't feel particularly happy. They were tired and fell asleep as soon as they lay down on the bed.

They didn't groggily wake up until noon the next day.

Then, things got miserable.

Not only did they have a fever, but their throat hurt so much they could barely speak. Moving their throat felt like a fishbone was stuck there.

Yimo had been living alone for four years and rarely got sick, but they had plenty of medicine prepared.

Wearing pajamas, they struggled out of bed as if carrying a heavy load in a battle. Half-dead, they rummaged through the medicine box.

Cold medicine, fever reducers, anti-inflammatory drugs – they didn't check if any had expired, just grabbed a handful. They boiled some water themselves, prepared a bowl of instant noodles, and forced themselves to eat it. Because they didn't want to wait for the water to cool, they mixed it with cold water from a bottle, closed their eyes, swallowed everything, and rolled back into bed to sleep.

While sleeping, Yimo felt like they were having nightmares and kept waking up, sweating profusely. The blanket was a bit damp.

Because they were too tired, they were still groggy. By the time they fully woke up, it was already noon on the third day.

Perhaps the medicine had taken effect. Although their voice was still hoarse and their throat still hurt, their head was no longer foggy, and their body felt much lighter. They got dressed and went to the apartment complex's parcel locker to check if their new phone had arrived.

They lived in unit 502 of building 18, but they opened the locker for unit 501. Sure enough, the package had arrived. They subconsciously scanned their surroundings. Perhaps it was too hot, as no one was wandering outside at that hour. Feeling relieved, they went straight home.

They boiled some water and took a bowl of instant noodles from the small storage room, then hurried to unbox the phone.

After all, not having a phone was quite inconvenient.

It wasn't that anyone would contact them; it was simply that they felt uneasy without touching their phone, as if their wife had been lost.

The phone Yimo bought was the same model as before, and it wasn't cheap, costing over 8,000 yuan.

It wasn't that they couldn't afford a better one, but they were too lazy to study a new phone system and get used to it slowly.

Their mindset was like that of an old man, lacking novelty.

Charging, turning on, and setting up the system were all done in one go. They planned to quickly download all the software they needed.

But…

"..."

On the desktop, that app, which displayed "Girlfriend Included at Start," was sitting there abruptly. It seemed to be staring at him like an eye, mocking him, which instantly drained his energy and made his heart sink halfway…

"Ugh… my throat… hurts…"

Yimo tossed the new phone aside, thinking they must still have a cold and were hallucinating. They should get some more sleep.

But as soon as they lay down, they sat back up.

"Heh… face reality… then…"

"As expected… cough cough… not so easy to get rid of…"

After a self-deprecating laugh, they went to the bathroom to retrieve their old phone.

Compared to the newly bought phone, using the old one directly was more convenient.

But when Yimo reached the bathroom, they froze.

They looked at the old phone placed on the washing machine and then at the empty trash can. A chill ran down their spine, and they subconsciously looked back at the room, as if being stared at by a ghost.

They closed their eyes and tried hard to recall. Even after experiencing a death game and then streaming for 12 hours, which made them sick, their mind was still clear.

They were certain they had thrown the phone directly into the trash bag that had no trash in it at the time.

Definitely not placed on the washing machine!

Even if they remembered incorrectly, the SIM card must have been broken, right?

Thrown away together!

But now?

Besides the phone on the washing machine, there was no SIM card at all!

Thinking of this, Yimo quickly grabbed the phone on the washing machine, returned to the room to find a SIM ejector tool, and opened it. Sure enough, there was no SIM card, and their heart sank.

This too?

Did that app do this?

It was interfering too much!

Yimo felt it was unreasonable and was genuinely a little scared. They went to the bathroom to search thoroughly for the SIM card. After being unable to find it no matter what, they finally gave up, sat back on the bed, and stared blankly at the leftover instant noodles from yesterday.

Was the house haunted… or had someone broken in…

Yimo was a bit bewildered and couldn't figure it out. They picked up the old phone and decided to open that app first.

Upon entering, the most prominent thing was the friend list, with a notification of 44 new messages.

"Even the messages are sent in such numbers… you win!"

Yimo, with a dark expression, couldn't help but click on the girlfriend group.

As expected, a long string of messages, all sent by Twilight herself.

Starting with one message every few dozen seconds, then every few minutes.

Until the last one, which was yesterday at 11 AM.

Qin Muse: You can't escape, you liar!

Qin Muse: Going to find you (emoji) (emoji).

Honestly, in the Death Game, Yimo's impression of Twilight was that this girl was not only crazy but also quite cold and aloof.

But Yimo never expected that online, she was not only slow to send messages but also used the default emojis from her phone's input method.

How to put it, it was like...

Someone who never chatted with anyone suddenly had someone to chat with and was incredibly excited.

Sigh... Instead of being scared, Yimo inexplicably found it a bit of a charming contrast and cute.

"No, no, no, she's a lunatic, I can't be fooled by my own fantasies." Yimo quickly dismissed his absurd thoughts and muttered, "Heh, I don't believe you can actually find me through the internet cable... cough cough cough!"

Getting agitated, he choked and coughed a few times.

Then he honestly shut his mouth and stopped talking.

After doing all this, Yimo originally wanted to post a tweet on Kaki, but he suddenly remembered something and immediately stopped his hand from playing with his phone.

Wait...

The SIM card.

Where did it go?

Just now, while looking at Twilight's messages, he had completely forgotten about the SIM card!

Recalling it now, and looking at Twilight's messages in the girlfriend group chat, he felt increasingly panicked and uneasy, as if the other party could really find him through the internet cable.

As if she had been watching him the whole time.

He felt his body grow heavy and mechanically lifted his head to look at his apartment door.

Thump—!

His heart lurched violently, cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his hands felt numb.

The peephole on the security door...

It was black, but the moment he looked at it, it turned transparent white!!!

Hoo ha... Hoo ha...

Yimo rubbed his eyes, took two deep breaths, suspecting he might have seen wrong.

After all, although his eyesight was good, it wasn't so good that he could see the small hole of the peephole so clearly from several meters away.

But he still felt uneasy and cautiously got out of bed and walked over.

Of course, he walked over in a crouched position.

Thump... thump...

Yimo was too nervous at this moment, he could even hear his heart pounding. Crouching, he seized the moment and suddenly raised his head to look outside the peephole.

Because he still had a slight fever, Yimo sat up too quickly, and his brain felt very dizzy, but he still endured the uncomfortable feeling and looked outside.

And then... he saw...

Well, there was nothing in the hallway!

"Could it be... I really saw wrong?"

Yimo wondered, looking up and down, and indeed, there was nothing.

He lived in an old neighborhood, only five floors high, with very old cement stairs. The metal handrail was not only peeling paint but also rusty. The hallway light on his fifth floor turned on or off depending on its mood.

Looking through the peephole now, besides the few square meters of empty corridor and two closed doors, where was anyone?

Yimo thought for a moment, rubbed his temples, and his hand subconsciously grabbed the doorknob, intending to open the door and see.

But halfway through turning it, his hand stopped.

"Sigh... forget it."

"Just scaring myself!"

"Maybe it's that APP causing trouble!"

"How could that crazy woman... find her way here! ...Cough!"

Speaking so much at once made Yimo's throat hurt, and he coughed a few more times before rubbing his throat and walking back into the room.

As for why he didn't open the door to confirm, it was simply because he suddenly remembered a movie he had watched before.

The movie where, as soon as the door opened, a group of burly men suddenly burst in and manhandled the homeowner on the bed, and he was still a little scared.

So he didn't open it, relaxed his mindset, and went back to bed to study that APP.

Outside apartment 502, in the blind spot of the peephole.

A girl with a light blue dress and shoulder-length, flaxen-brown hair was squatting, leaning against the door, holding something wrapped in floral fabric.

Her arms were shielding her slightly lowered face, making her features unclear.

But through the gaps between her arms, one could seemingly see her gloomy expression and the slight downward curve of her lips.