Lin Wanru

Chapter 11: Lin Wanru

With the flashlight in his hand, Shen Xing slowly stood up. He still hadn't turned it on.

Holding his breath, he tried to take a step forward. To reach the bedroom door, he would have to pass the foot of the bed first. Shen Xing moved cautiously and made no sound.

But after he'd taken just two steps, a pitch-black shape appeared at the foot of the bed. It was completely still, like a wooden carving, though he couldn't make it out clearly in the darkness.

After hesitating for a moment, Shen Xing felt a strange unease well up inside him. He knew that, in this situation, the best thing to do was stay quiet and keep the room dark. Yet it was as if something were driving him to see what that dark shape was.

He gritted his teeth and switched on the flashlight. A beam of light appeared, shining on the black shape.

In the flashlight's beam, he saw that the shape was wrapped in a mass of hair. It slowly lifted its head. It was a human head—a woman's.

The woman had long, loose hair. She had been crouching at the foot of the bed, but now, as the flashlight came on, she raised her head and slowly stood up.

Her face was deathly pale and gaunt, drained of all color. Her lips were slightly parted. Her right eye was half open, while her left was wide open and bloodshot.

It was Lin Wanru's face.

Now standing, Lin Wanru silently stared at Shen Xing without making any other move.

"A ghost?!"

The sight made Shen Xing's scalp crawl. He hurriedly stumbled back two steps, his spine pressed against the wall.

He'd seen this woman's corpse just that morning. Shen Xing couldn't believe that the Lin Wanru standing before him was still alive.

Lin Wanru was wearing the light blue short-sleeved shirt and matching pants from the morgue. The way she had stood up was bizarre. It didn't look as if she were pushing up with her legs; instead, she seemed like a marionette, her head pulled upright by some force.

Her arms swung limply as her body rose. Her head lolled to one side, her lips slightly parted. A darkened trickle of blood ran from the corner of her mouth.

But that wide-open, blood-red eye was still fixed on Shen Xing.

Anyone would have been shaken by such a sight in the pitch-black night. Shen Xing had never faced anything like this before. Pressed against the wall behind him, he stood rigid.

Someone who was definitely dead couldn't have made it into his room and moved around on their own!

Lin Wanru had most likely risen from the dead. Maybe she'd been murdered and couldn't rest in peace—but somehow, she'd found him!

Whatever had caused this bizarre situation, the urgent thing was to get out first.

He paused and saw that Lin Wanru hadn't moved again.

Tiptoeing, he immediately edged toward the bedroom door and switched off the flashlight. He kept his eyes on Lin Wanru at the foot of the bed, barely daring to breathe as he sidled along the wall toward the door like a crab.

Lin Wanru remained motionless throughout, standing there stiffly.

Still, Shen Xing suspected that her unmistakably bloodshot eye was following him.

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

[Blood Pupil, current understanding of its traits: 0%.]

Aside from the words "Blood Pupil" and the percentage, the message was exactly the same as the one that had appeared when Hong Bin was absorbed into that half-body sculpture.

The "Blood Pupil" that had appeared now was clearly a ghost like Hong Bin, except that his current understanding of its traits was at 0%.

He hadn't expected the dead Lin Wanru to transform into a ghost called "Blood Pupil"!

The atmosphere in the bedroom had turned unbearably eerie. In the dim space, the only sound was his breathing. To avoid giving himself away, Shen Xing deliberately breathed less often, leaving himself terribly uncomfortable.

He edged forward along the wall. Soon, his heart pounding, he was close to the bedroom door. By then, he was diagonally behind Lin Wanru, but she still stood there without moving.

Shen Xing's gaze suddenly locked in place. His expression stiffened as he stared straight at the back of Lin Wanru's head.

Only after he'd moved to this angle did he see the mess of blood and flesh on the back of her head. One spot was clearly caved in, probably from a heavy blow by some object.

The sight almost stopped him from breathing.

Under normal circumstances, he never would have believed that someone in this condition could stand motionless by his bed.

What the hell could she be if not a ghost?

So this world really was different from the one he'd known before!

His body went numb for a moment, but he soon started moving again. Reaching the bedroom door, he grabbed the handle and stepped out in one quick stride, then turned to shut the door behind him.

Just then, Lin Wanru, who had been completely still, suddenly turned around. As her lips parted, clots of blood spilled from her mouth, and she lunged at Shen Xing.

Her attack was just as bizarre. Her hands barely moved, as if her head were pulling her along. Her whole body shot toward the doorway, her face contorted!

Shen Xing was startled and yanked the bedroom door shut, but Lin Wanru's head had already reached it. With a smack, the door caught her head in its gap—the first time in his life he'd ever seen someone's head trapped in a door.

Then came a crack. Shen Xing's strength had increased dramatically, and he'd slammed the door too hard. It seemed the bones in her face had been crushed out of shape.

Lin Wanru was incredibly strong too, and acted as if nothing had happened. She bared her teeth and strained to squeeze through, head tilted as she tried to bite Shen Xing's left hand on the doorknob.

Shen Xing shuddered. He could match her strength, but still instinctively let go. He couldn't be sure whether he'd get infected with some kind of "corpse poison" if she bit through his skin.

The bedroom door flew open. Lin Wanru thrust her head forward, letting out a strange gurgling sound as she lunged at Shen Xing.

Shen Xing quickly backed away. He'd meant to open the living room door, but it was already too late. He could only dodge to the left and swing the flashlight at Lin Wanru's head with his other hand.

He swung with such force that the flashlight shattered on impact and fell to the floor, knocking Lin Wanru's lunging body off course and leaving her sprawled in front of the living room door.

Shen Xing had no time to look closely. He turned and rushed into the bathroom. Before he could turn around and shut the door, Lin Wanru had caught up. Her head struck the back of his shoulder, and she opened her mouth and bit down on the collar of his pajamas.

Shen Xing almost instinctively dropped into a crouch. Reaching back with both hands, he grabbed what seemed to be the woman's long hair. He thrust his hips backward and planted his feet. The bizarre strength he'd gained from absorbing Fake Hong Bin's traits surged through him, and he executed a perfect shoulder throw.

Unexpectedly, although Lin Wanru was also very strong, he still managed to throw her forward.

The bathroom was tiny to begin with. Lin Wanru crashed through the window frame and glass, her body flying straight out the window. About two seconds later, a dull thud came from downstairs, followed by the sound of a garbage can tipping over and rolling away.

"She... she fell!"

Still shaken, Shen Xing struggled to his feet and went to the window to look down.

An alley ran behind the building. Garbage was usually piled there, and a stench hung in the air. In the dim light, he could just make out Lin Wanru lying on the ground.