Clang! Clang! Clang!
It was past midnight when the clock suddenly began to chime.
Fang Cheng and Isis were hardly startled. They turned toward the sound and saw that it was coming from the old-fashioned clock that had been hanging on the living room wall.
There was nothing strange about a clock chiming, except that this one was half a century old, the kind that had to be wound by hand, and it had rotted almost beyond recognition.
The chimes immediately lent the room an eerie atmosphere, like the opening of a supernatural horror film. The already stifling air turned bitterly cold.
Beyond the chimes, all kinds of faint noises came from outside. Through the window, they could make out a glow.
Fang Cheng and Isis exchanged a glance, then hurried out of the living room and opened the front door.
The town outside had completely changed.
The poisonous fog floating in the air had vanished, and the thick layer of ash covering the ground like volcanic dust was gone too, revealing an even, cobbled road.
The dilapidated, rotting houses had all been restored. Faint lamplight shone through the windows, and now and then, figures moved behind them.
Only then did Fang Cheng and Isis finally show their surprise.
What was going on?
Fang Cheng's blood had been spread throughout the town the whole time. He was certain that nothing unusual had happened before midnight.
The moment the clock hands passed twelve, his blood vanished, and the entire town changed completely.
It was as if they had returned to the town as it had been half a century ago, before the fire.
Fang Cheng and Isis turned around at the same time. The ruined house behind them had also been restored, and the door that had been open a moment