The Deliveryman

"Recently, a string of brutal murders has taken place in Tianfu Street. So far, there have been six cases and seven victims. All of the victims' kidneys were missing, and the crimes are suspected to have been committed by an organ-theft ring. Each murder took place around midnight. Residents are urged to stay in at night and watch out for suspicious people!"

"Several people have jumped to their deaths in different districts of Tianhai City. According to the Public Security Bureau's investigation, before their deaths, all of them bought large amounts of so-called 'welfare coupons' from an online website, which led to their bankruptcy. The Public Security Bureau urges all citizens to cherish life and stay away from gambling!"

"..."

"Honey, Tianhai City seems a little unsettled lately! Don't go running at night for the next few days."

"Don't worry. I'm not going alone—three of my best friends will be with me. What are you worried about?"

"Ah, all right!"

By the time Lu Siye returned from outside to Tongjiang Residential Complex, it was almost ten at night.

The family across the hall watched the evening news at the same time every night. Their apartment wasn't soundproof, either, so Lu Siye could often hear the news in the hallway. He was already used to it.

He took out his keys and unlocked the door. After changing into slippers in the entryway, he tossed his backpack onto the sofa and sank down, exhausted.

"Who knew that even after transmigrating, I still couldn't escape the fate of graduating straight into unemployment?" Lu Siye said self-mockingly, laying an arm over his eyes.

That was right. Lu Siye wasn't from this world. He was a transmigrator.

His previous life had been as Lu Siye, too. On his way to a job interview, he'd been hit by a supercar that ran a red light.

Lu Siye had thought he was done for, but instead, he'd transmigrated into the body of a first-year college student on Blue Star who shared his name.

At first, he'd been excited, thinking he was the chosen one. He'd even shouted, "Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west of the river..." on the university's commercial street.

That stunt had cost him four years of dating prospects, but he'd still been thrilled.

As it turned out, he'd celebrated too soon.

Less than half a year later, his new body's parents had both died in separate car accidents. Both had been hit by supercars, and he'd received two huge payouts.

Later, he'd used the money to invest in funds recommended by popular online finance influencers. He'd lost quite a bit.

After confirming he had no talent for managing money, he'd reluctantly sold all his funds and put everything in the bank to earn interest.

After graduating, he'd come to Tianhai City to look for work. He hadn't found a job, but he'd found a small room in Tongjiang Residential Complex that kept out the wind and rain.

After lying there for a while, he checked his phone and saw that it was already eleven. Lu Siye ordered some takeout from Meituan, then went to take a shower.

After his shower, he opened Tieba out of habit and began surfing the internet.

[The killer in Tianfu Street might not be human!!!]

He saw the title and clicked on it, first checking when it had been posted: three minutes ago.

The first thing he saw was a picture of a traditional Demon Suppression Talisman, complete with a watermark from some website.

I'm sure most of you have heard at least a little about the five murders that recently took place in Tianfu Street.

I live in Lianjiang Community. That's right, the very same complex where the fifth murder took place. The victim was my neighbor across the hall.

The neighbor across from me was one of two male college students who'd just graduated.

That night, one of them seemed to have something to do and went out, leaving the other one alone in the apartment.

Close to midnight, I heard someone knocking on a door in the hallway. Thump, thump, thump.

At first, I thought someone was knocking on my door, so I hurried over and looked through the peephole.

A deliveryman in a black raincoat was standing outside the two college students' apartment. He was the one knocking on their door.

I wondered why the deliveryman was wearing a raincoat when it wasn't even raining outside, but it was his business, so I didn't think much of it at the time.

Later, as I watched him through the peephole, I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something strange about the way he knocked.

He didn't bend his wrist and knock with his knuckles. Instead, he swung his whole arm back and forth, like one of those lucky cat figurines displayed in shops.

The college student inside seemed unusually short-tempered that night. He angrily shouted through the door, telling the person outside to stop knocking because he hadn't ordered any takeout.

But the deliveryman acted as if he couldn't hear him. He kept knocking, louder and louder.

Just as I was about to lose patience, the college student across the hall suddenly opened the door.

I saw his expression clearly. In the blink of an eye, his face went from furious to terrified. He seemed to have seen something truly horrifying.

He hurriedly tried to shut the door, but the deliveryman blocked him and forced his way into the student's apartment.

I waited for a while, but I didn't hear anything unusual from across the hall. And not long after, the college student escorted the deliveryman out.

At the time, I thought I'd been too stressed lately, so I didn't dwell on it. I deleted the report I'd typed out and went back to bed.

The next morning, the student's other roommate returned and called the police. An officer from the Public Security Bureau knocked on my door and woke me. I got out of bed and opened it.

The first thing I saw was the college student lying on the floor. It was spotless around him—not a drop of blood anywhere.

I also noticed that the college student's stomach had caved in. That's right, caved in. His belly was practically touching the floor.

It was as if... as if all his internal organs were gone, with nothing left to hold his belly up. That was why it had caved in.

That was when I found out the college student had been murdered.

And then came the strangest part.

I was terrified, so I hurriedly told the officer everything I'd seen the night before. But when the officer checked the surveillance footage, there was no sign of anyone entering or leaving the hallway.

After watching the footage, I could hardly believe it.

Could it all have been a hallucination?

No! Impossible!

That murder had to be connected to the deliveryman. He might not even be human. Otherwise, how could the cameras have failed to catch a grown man?

Only then did I remember that when the college student had escorted the deliveryman out, the student's face had been deathly pale. There had been something very wrong with him, in a way I couldn't quite put into words... just wrong.

I told the officers that, too, but they said the door across from mine hadn't opened at all that night. They thought I'd suffered a mental breakdown from the shock and sent me to a psychiatric hospital for treatment. I was only released today.

I posted this online to warn everyone: if you see a deliveryman in a black raincoat in the middle of the night, don't open the door.

There's nothing wrong with me. Please believe me. You have to believe me. Whatever you do, don't open the door... Don't...

After finishing the story, Lu Siye habitually swiped upward. He saw the second comment, which was also from the original poster.

He's here! He's here! He didn't spare me...

He's here? Who's here?

Lu Siye was completely confused. He glanced at the timestamp beneath the comment. It said yesterday at midnight.

That didn't make sense. The post had only gone up a few minutes ago, so why was the second comment supposedly posted yesterday at midnight?

Just as Lu Siye thought the website had glitched and swiped down to refresh, the page suddenly displayed a 404 error!

Even the internet's censorship god had stepped in. Could this actually be real?

"Knock... knock... knock..."

At the same time, a steady, unhurried knocking sounded from Lu Siye's front door.

Lu Siye froze and instinctively checked the time on his phone. It was exactly midnight.

The next words from outside sent a sudden chill racing from his tailbone to the crown of his head.