Lin Wanru

Chapter 11 Lin Wanru

Gripping the flashlight, he slowly stood up, but Shen Xing didn't turn it on yet.

Holding his breath, he tried to take a step forward, but to reach the bedroom door, he'd have to pass the foot of the bed first. Moving with extreme caution, he made no sound now.

But after just two steps, a dark, lumpy shape appeared at the foot of the bed. It didn't move, like a piece of wooden carving, but in the darkness, he couldn't make it out clearly.

Hesitating a moment, a bizarre feeling crept up in Shen Xing's mind. He knew full well that staying quiet and keeping the room dark was the best move here, but something seemed to drive him—he had to see what that thing in the darkness was.

Biting his lip lightly, he flicked on the flashlight, a beam of light cutting through the dark toward the black shape.

Under the flashlight, the black thing was wrapped in a tangle of hair. It slowly tilted upward—it was a head, a woman's head.

Her long hair was disheveled. She'd been crouching at the foot of the bed, and now, as the light flared, she lifted her head and rose slowly to her feet.

Her face was pale and gaunt, bloodless, lips slightly parted. Her right eye was half-open, half-closed, while her left eye was wide open, shot through with blood vessels.

That face belonged to Lin Wanru.

And now, Lin Wanru stood there, silently staring at Shen Xing, making no other move.

"A ghost?!"

Seeing this, Shen Xing's nerves exploded. His scalp tingled as he stumbled back two steps, pressing his spine against the wall.

He'd seen her corpse just this morning—there was no way the Lin Wanru before him was still alive.

She wore the morgue's pale blue short-sleeve shirt and matching pants. The way she'd stood up was strange, not like she was using her legs, but like a puppet on strings, yanked upright by her head.

Her arms swung limply as her body rose, head tilted, lips slightly open, a trickle of blackened blood oozing from the corner of her mouth.

But that wide, bloodshot eye kept staring at Shen Xing.

No one could face this in the pitch-black night and come out fine. Shen Xing had never encountered anything like this. He pressed against the wall, body rigid.

A confirmed dead person couldn't possibly run to his room, couldn't move on her own!

This Lin Wanru had likely risen from the dead—maybe because she was murdered and couldn't swallow her anger. But how had she found him?

Never mind why this bizarre thing was happening—his priority was to get out first.

He paused, noticing Lin Wanru wasn't moving anymore.

Tiptoeing, he edged toward the bedroom door, switching off the flashlight. His eyes locked on Lin Wanru at the foot of the bed, he barely dared to breathe, sidling along the wall like a crab, inching toward the door.

Throughout this, Lin Wanru remained still, standing there stiffly.

But Shen Xing guessed that bloodshot eye was still fixed on him.

Just then, he froze. A line of text flashed in his mind.

[Blood Pupil, current trait understanding 0%.]

Aside from the words "Blood Pupil" and the percentage, the prompt was identical to the one when Hong Bin was absorbed into the half-body sculpture.

This "Blood Pupil" that appeared now was clearly a ghost just like Hong Bin—only his understanding of it was at 0%.

So the dead Lin Wanru had turned into a ghost called Blood Pupil!

The atmosphere in the bedroom was now eerily tense. In the dim space, he could hear nothing but his own breathing. To avoid giving himself away, he deliberately slowed his breaths, feeling suffocated.

He crept forward bit by bit along the wall. Soon, trembling with fear, he neared the bedroom door. His position had shifted to Lin Wanru's diagonal rear, but she still stood there, motionless.

From behind her, Shen Xing's gaze froze. His expression stiffened as he stared at the back of her head.

Only now did he see that the back of her skull was a bloody mess, with a clear dent—likely from a heavy blow.

This sight nearly stopped his breath.

In normal times, he'd never believe a person in this state could stand stock-still in front of his bed.

If this wasn't a ghost, what was it?

So this world really was different from his old one!

His body went numb for a moment, then he started moving again. He grabbed the doorknob, stepped out of the bedroom, and reached back to slam the door shut.

At that instant, the motionless Lin Wanru suddenly turned. Her lips parted, and clumps of nearly solid blood spilled from her mouth as she lunged at Shen Xing.

Her lunge was strange too—her arms barely moved, as if her head was pulling her whole body forward at breakneck speed, face twisted in fury.

Startled, Shen Xing yanked the bedroom door shut, but Lin Wanru's head was already in the gap. Thud—for the first time in his life, he saw a person's head caught in a door crack.

Then crack. With his greatly increased arm strength, he'd slammed the door too hard, and it seemed her facial bones were crushed and deformed.

But Lin Wanru's strength was monstrous too. Unfazed, she bared her teeth, struggling to squeeze through, head twisted, snapping at Shen Xing's left hand gripping the doorknob.

Shen Xing flinched hard. Though he could match her in strength, he instinctively let go—he couldn't risk her breaking his skin and infecting him with some "corpse poison" or something.

The bedroom door flew open. Lin Wanru's head shot forward, a gurgling sound from her throat, and she lunged at Shen Xing.

He scrambled back, intending to open the living room door, but it was too late. He sidestepped left and swung the flashlight at her head.

With his full force, the flashlight shattered on impact, clattering to the floor. It knocked Lin Wanru's forward charge off balance, blocking the living room door.

Shen Xing didn't stop to look. He spun and dove into the bathroom, but before he could turn and shut the door, Lin Wanru was right behind him. Her head slammed into his shoulder from behind, and she opened her mouth, biting down on the collar of his pajamas.

Almost on reflex, Shen Xing ducked, reached back with both hands, and grabbed her long hair. He thrust his hips back, planted his feet, and the eerie strength from absorbing Fake Hong Bin's trait surged through him, executing a perfect back throw.

Unexpectedly, Lin Wanru's strength was also formidable, but he still managed to fling her forward.

The bathroom was already cramped to begin with, and Lin Wanru, thrown out, smashed through the window frame and glass. Her body flew straight out the window. About two seconds later, a dull thud came from downstairs, followed by the clatter of a trash can tipping and rolling.

"Fell... she fell!"

Shen Xing, still shaken, barely managed to stand up. He walked to the window and glanced down.

Below the back of the building was an alley, where garbage was usually piled up, giving off a stench. The lighting was dim, but he could faintly make out Lin Wanru lying on the ground.

Thanks to the readers and patrons for the tips—I won't list them one by one, but I'm quietly jotting them down in a little notebook! mua! (*╯3╰)