Fairytale City at Night
At three in the morning, game time, a sudden, urgent knocking sounded without warning.
Xu Huo lay still in bed, opening his eyes and looking toward the door.
"Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock, knock... Bang, bang, bang! Bang, bang, bang!"
The urgent knocking gradually turned into pounding, growing louder with each successive blow.
Xu Huo simply sat up and listened to the sounds at the door. He didn't answer or intend to open it.
The knocking continued for a while, then abruptly stopped. After that, he heard footsteps retreating.
A few seconds later, another set of footsteps, lighter and heavier in turn, passed by his door.
Afterward, everything stayed quiet for about a minute. Then footsteps returned from the direction they'd gone, and someone pounded on his door. "Help! Save me! Someone's trying to kill me! Please open the door..."
"He's almost here. If he finds me, I'm done for!"
"Please, open the door! If you don't, I'll die!"
"I have lots of valuable things. I'll give you anything if you just open the door!"
"Open up! Open the door!"
The pounding and shouting grew louder with each cry. Xu Huo pressed the service button by his bed, but when the line connected, it wasn't the Server speaking. It was the woman outside his door.
"Please, save me, or I'll die here..."
Xu Huo hung up immediately. But the voice outside the door vanished, replaced by a knock at the window.
He got up and walked over to the window, then casually pulled the curtains aside. He took out his lighter, lit a cigarette, and said to the woman hanging outside, her hair disheveled and her face covered in blood, "It's the middle of the night. Go back to bed."
The woman's face twisted for an