I Am Truly a Brave, Fearless, Witty, and Handsome Author

The space under the bed was empty.

Gu Mian stared at the underside of the bed for a while before confirming there was truly nothing there, not even a single mouse.

When he looked up again, the expressions of the people outside were even more exaggerated.

"You... how can you..." Yuwen Hao stared intently at Gu Mian, swallowing hard. "Not be scared at all?"

Qing Huan tightly gripped the blanket in his hands. "Someone who can stick his head out the window at midnight and curse at a ghost, what do you expect him to be afraid of?"

Hearing this, Yuwen Hao's expression grew even more astonished.

Gu Mian looked up at the wall clock. It was 1:05 AM.

He then turned his head to look at the pale-faced group outside and asked a question: "Where's Lin Yue'er?"

Lin Yue'er was missing. Gu Mian had noticed this the moment he opened his eyes.

But the others seemed to only just realize it, their eyes widening.

"That's right! Where's Lin Yue'er?" Yuwen Hao suddenly stood up.

He and Qing Huan had been woken by Huang Yu, who was on watch. The moment they woke up, they were drawn to the strange noise from under the bed, completely failing to notice that someone was missing.

Huang Yu, his face deathly pale, spoke up. "I... I dozed off while on watch. When I opened my eyes, Lin Yue'er was gone. I was just about to tell you all when I heard the noise from Doctor Gu's bed..."

Everyone knew what happened next.

Huang Yu had woken the two of them, and none of them dared to speak during that time. It was only now that they realized Lin Yue'er had disappeared.

Lin Yue'er's disappearance must have been the work of the ghost under the bed. She had probably returned to the apartment she lived in before.

"What a bunch of useless teammates," Gu Mian muttered, patting his white coat and slinging the chainsaw from the bedside onto his back.

Huang Yu lowered his head, no longer speaking.

Yuwen Hao looked at Gu Mian, who had stood up. "Doctor Gu, what are you going to do?"

"What else? I'm going to catch... cough, save her, of course. What else would I do?"

Hearing this, Yuwen Hao hesitated. He glanced at Lin Yue'er's empty bed, then looked up at Gu Mian. "Lin Yue'er was taken by the ghost, right..."

So going after her is just suicide?

Of course, Yuwen Hao didn't say the last part, but everyone understood his meaning.

Gu Mian understood and said, "If you're scared, you don't have to go. I'll go alone."

Upon hearing this, Yuwen Hao silently sat back down on the sofa.

Gu Mian didn't delay and turned to leave.

But at this moment, Huang Yu suddenly stood up as well. "Doctor Gu, I'll go with you..."

As he said this, he looked down guiltily, his conscience clearly bothering him. After all, Lin Yue'er was in danger because of his negligence in watching her.

Gu Mian glanced at the head-bowed Huang Yu. "If you want to follow, then follow."

"Wait..." Qing Huan also walked over quickly. "Doctor, can I go with you?"

He didn't have any intention of actively saving anyone; he simply felt that following Gu Mian was more reliable.

Gu Mian nodded in agreement.

Seeing that everyone else was about to follow Gu Mian, Yuwen Hao anxiously stood up. "Then I'll go too."

If the three of them left, he would be all alone here. Being isolated at this moment was the most terrifying thing.

In the end, the four of them, in perfect unison, set off on the road to Lin Yue'er's apartment.

It was October, and the weather was no longer hot, having turned cool. It was a bit chilly at night.

The sky was pitch black, and the few streetlights lining the road cast a dim glow, flickering intermittently.

The dense greenery beside the streetlights blocked the light, making the already dim streetlights even fainter. The shadows of the leaves were cast onto the ground by the lamplight, resembling twisted hands.

The group walked quickly on the dimly lit road. The green belt beside them rustled from time to time, as if something alive was inside.

A cold wind blew, and Huang Yu, who was dressed most thinly, shivered.

"Hang in there," Gu Mian glanced at him. "Lin Yue'er's apartment is just ahead."

They couldn't get a taxi. Taxis were rare to begin with, and it was 2002, so there wasn't even a shadow of a car in the middle of the night.

Fortunately, Lin Yue'er's apartment wasn't far from the hotel they were staying at, and they could already see the silhouette of the apartment building.

Huang Yu hugged his arms and nodded.

Just then, a ringing sound suddenly came from Yuwen Hao's pocket.

He quickly pulled out his mobile phone. The small phone screen emitted a faint glow in the dark night. The caller ID showed it was the landline from Lin Yue'er's apartment.

"Hello?" Yuwen Hao answered immediately. "Yue'er?"

Lin Yue'er's voice, tinged with tears, came through the phone. "I... where are you guys? I'm in the apartment... I just woke up here..."

Because Yuwen Hao had put the call on speakerphone, everyone could hear Lin Yue'er's voice from the other end.

Yuwen Hao comforted her. "Don't be scared, we're on our way."

"You... you all came?"

"Mm..."

Just as Yuwen Hao was about to answer, Gu Mian suddenly pressed his hand down on him.

He looked at Gu Mian in surprise. The doctor didn't speak, only shook his head at him.

Seeing this, Yuwen Hao hesitated for a moment before speaking into the phone again, "No... Doctor Gu didn't come. How are you now?"

Gu Mian then withdrew his hand.

Qing Huan looked at Gu Mian strangely, but Gu Mian just shook his head, not intending to speak.

Lin Yue'er was still speaking on the other end, but her voice was very faint, "I... I don't know... As soon as I opened my eyes, I found myself in this bed. I didn't dare to move... so I called you immediately..."

"Is there a sound under your bed?"

Lin Yue'er paused for a moment on the other end, "No, I don't think so... No! That's not right! I heard it... there's..."

During the call, the four of them were still moving quickly and had already arrived downstairs from Lin Yue'er's apartment.

Her voice continued to come from the handset, "Hurry over... I'm scared, whimper..."

"Don't be afraid," Yuwen Hao gripped his mobile phone tightly, "We're almost there."

She lived on the fourth floor, and the four of them were already starting to go upstairs.

Lin Yue'er kept speaking, "I heard it... something is moving under my bed, the sound is getting louder, it's going to come out!"

Yuwen Hao strode upstairs and said, "Can you get out of bed and rush out?"

They were now approaching the fourth floor.

"No..." Lin Yue'er said with a sob, "I don't dare to move, I only dared to use the mobile phone on the bedside table to call you... Hurry over."

When he heard this, Qing Huan next to him suddenly stopped abruptly, a strange expression on his face.

The four of them had now completely reached the fourth floor, and Lin Yue'er's door was just a few steps away.

Qing Huan, however, stopped in his tracks, refusing to move forward.

Yuwen Hao looked at him in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Qing Huan paused for several seconds before looking towards Lin Yue'er's door not far away and hesitantly saying, "This morning, didn't Lin Yue'er say she dropped her mobile phone on the floor?"

And she said she didn't even dare to pick it up and just rushed out the door.

Lin Yue'er hadn't returned to the apartment all day. Who picked up the mobile phone from the floor and put it on the bedside table?

Unless it was a ghost.

Or... she was lying!

Qing Huan's voice wasn't quiet, and the person on the other end of the phone clearly heard it.

There was a moment of silence from the other end, followed by a somewhat piercing laugh, her voice completely changed.

At first, it was a muffled laugh, as if coming from under a quilt.

Then the laughter became shrill, as if squeezed directly from the throat, like a strange frog's croak.

The laughter was loud and shrill, scaring Yuwen Hao and the others pale, almost dropping the mobile phone.

What was going on! Qing Huan's face was also pale. The one who called wasn't Lin Yue'er?

Just as they were in a panic, Gu Mian snatched the mobile phone and, without warning, blurted out to the other side--

"I'm at your door."

The laughter stopped abruptly.