Apartment

Chapter 44: The Apartment

The wind in Ye City was fierce today; the sun that had been visible in the morning had now vanished completely.

Ink-black clouds pressed down upon the sky, heavy and suffocating as if they were about to collapse, casting a massive shadow over all of Ye City.

A cold, biting wind wove through the streets and alleys, and a sense of unease seemed to be spreading everywhere.

"Bai Yanliang, this shouldn't be the student's home, right?" Feng Xiuxue looked up at the building and asked, puzzled.

This was clearly a bachelor apartment complex.

Bai Yanliang didn't even turn his head at her question, already pushing open the glass door.

"If you want to go to Hao Bowen's house, turn left and take the No. 6 bus, then get off at Haiming Residential District station."

Feng Xiuxue glared at his back and hurriedly followed him inside.

After their brief time together, she felt that Bai Yanliang was an utterly heartless guy.

"Then whose house is this?" Feng Xiuxue watched Bai Yanliang press the button for the thirteenth floor and asked, turning her head.

"Li Degang."

"Li Degang?" Feng Xiuxue was confused. "Who is Li Degang?"

"The deceased." Bai Yanliang glanced at her; this woman knew nothing about the case, and her presence was likely just a nuisance.

"Ding—"

The elevator arrived.

The two stepped out, and Bai Yanliang stared quietly at the tightly shut door.

He had obtained Li Degang's personal information from the police; naturally, his residence had already been thoroughly searched by them as well.

As a bachelor nearing forty, Li Degang's private life was actually quite dull.

"The door is locked. What now?" Feng Xiuxue looked at Bai Yanliang; although she was asking a question, there was more of a sense of mockery in her tone.

Who told him to have such a sharp tongue?

"Move aside."

Bai Yanliang didn't think much of it and pushed Feng Xiuxue to the side.

Feng Xiuxue swatted his hand away and snorted coldly, "What are you doing? Do you know how to pick a lock..."

"Bang!"

Before Feng Xiuxue could finish her sentence, a loud crash echoed as Bai Yanliang kicked the door wide open.

"What did you say?" Bai Yanliang looked at Feng Xiuxue, puzzled; he thought he had heard her say something just now.

Feng Xiuxue kept a straight face and said flatly, "Nothing."

This bastard is practically a monster; he looks so thin, yet his strength is so great...

Bai Yanliang glanced at her but said nothing.

The two entered Li Degang's room one after the other.

The room was small, and there were very few belongings.

The police had already searched the place, so even if there had been any clues, they likely no longer existed.

Feng Xiuxue followed behind Bai Yanliang, and just as she was about to close the door, she suddenly heard footsteps outside.

Could the commotion have attracted other residents on the thirteenth floor?

As Feng Xiuxue wondered, the footsteps outside grew closer and closer.

That person... seemed about to appear at any moment.

"Tap... tap."

Two soft sounds signaled that the footsteps had stopped.

Someone had stopped outside the door, right beside the entrance!

Feng Xiuxue's expression shifted slightly. She looked at Bai Yanliang and saw that he was staring fixedly at the door, shaking his head at her slightly.

Bai Yanliang had also realized that something was wrong.

Or rather... it had been wrong from the very beginning.

Quiet, or even... deathly silent!

From the moment the two of them stepped into this apartment building, they hadn't seen a single person, not even a security guard.

And even more bizarrely, there wasn't a sound to be heard in this entire building.

This apartment was in the city center; even if everyone in the building was quiet, at the very least, one should be able to hear the traffic from outside, right?

But... there was absolutely nothing.

By the time Bai Yanliang finally realized something was wrong, the strangeness had already closed in.

He had been careless.

Perhaps it was the bizarre experiences in Mist Gathering that had given Bai Yanliang a false impression.

That was... perhaps nothing too outlandish would happen in reality?

But everything currently unfolding had completely refuted his conjecture.

Feng Xiuxue was not a newcomer to Mist Gathering; she was already among the top-ranked names there, but... this did not mean she had grown accustomed to such grotesque and horrific events.

As long as one was human—a human without any supernatural power—facing the unknown, the unspeakable, and the indescribable would always trigger a fear from the depths of the soul; there was no such thing as being "used to it."

Perhaps only someone like Bai Yanliang, who was born with a deficiency in emotional response, could remain calm under such circumstances.

"Huu--"

The thing beside the doorway seemed to be panting.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on Feng Xiuxue's fair forehead.

It was not that she hadn't encountered situations more bizarre than this, but... those were in Mist Gathering, while here... this was the real world!

An intense sense of dread welled up from the bottom of her heart; this world, which should have been familiar, suddenly became so alien in this instant.

Just then, the thing outside the door moved!

"Tap..."

It took a step!

Something was about to appear! Bai Yanliang and Feng Xiuxue stared fixedly at the doorway...

However, at that very moment!

Bai Yanliang and Feng Xiuxue snapped their eyes open!

What... was going on?

The two of them were standing at the entrance of the apartment building; they hadn't gone inside, hadn't taken the elevator, and hadn't even opened the door!

"You just..." Feng Xiuxue started to speak, only to be startled by her own voice.

The hoarse, dry sound was completely unlike her.

Bai Yanliang nodded, even though Feng Xiuxue hadn't finished her sentence.

"Did we actually go in just now?" Feng Xiuxue subconsciously clenched her fists, only to find her palms drenched in sweat.

Bai Yanliang did not answer her question this time.

The pitch-black glass door looked like a giant, gaping maw, ready to swallow anyone who entered.

"Hey, Bai Yanliang, I'm asking you..."

Before Feng Xiuxue could finish, her eyes suddenly widened.

Bai Yanliang turned his head to look at her and asked calmly, "What's wrong?"

Feng Xiuxue stumbled backward several steps! She didn't stop until she was several meters away from Bai Yanliang.

Because the "person" beside her, who was currently making Bai Yanliang's voice, did not have Bai Yanliang's face at all!

It was the face of a strange, eerie man, looking at her with a peculiar smile, asking her, "What's wrong?"

An intense sense of terror surged into her heart once more.

A ghost!

This time, she had definitely run into a ghost!

Feng Xiuxue stared at him blankly, her pupils dilating and contracting, too terrified to speak a word.

Although she wasn't in Mist Gathering, this was the first time she felt her life was under such extreme threat!

However, at this very moment, in Bai Yanliang's eyes, the situation was entirely different.

Feng Xiuxue had suddenly stumbled away from him, and the look in her eyes as she stared at him was filled with terror.

But... behind Feng Xiuxue, only three or four meters away, stood a thin, tall monster covered from head to toe in facial features!

"Don't move!"

Bai Yanliang shouted.