Send Failed?

The security guard sat alone in the duty room, watching helplessly as Gu Mo walked out.

For some reason, seeing the other man give up so decisively instead left him feeling somewhat disappointed, with a trace of tension deep inside that he himself had not even noticed.

Little Gu had been acting kind of weird tonight.

He consoled himself with that thought. At the same time, he felt that the late night was somewhat chilly. He subconsciously looked around and once again felt that the residential compound was far too quiet and empty at night. What had just happened also inevitably sent his thoughts running wild. Looking down at the frozen horror movie image still displayed on his phone, he hurriedly turned it off.

Meanwhile, Gu Mo, who had not gone very far, could not help turning back to look at the compound's duty room.

He hesitated and focused his attention slightly.

The interface labeled "Send Message" flickered faintly. Immediately afterward, a new page replaced the original frame and appeared before his eyes, like clicking a new link on a computer and having a new pop-up window appear.

Looking at the translucent input box before him and noticing the blinking vertical line in its upper-left corner, Gu Mo twitched his lips. It really looked exactly like the interface he saw when typing on a computer, especially the cursor in the input field...

It was so real, so clear. Why was it just his imagination? Why was he having such hallucinations?

With a deeply frustrated sigh, Gu Mo turned and headed across the road. He had not decided whether to try again, or whether he should tell Uncle Ding first and have him cooperate in a test.

But after giving it some thought, Gu Mo rejected the idea.

That security guard might look kind and approachable, but everyone in the compound knew how difficult that stubborn old man was. He was especially good at stirring things up, had an incredibly loud voice, and loved gossiping behind people's backs. If he learned even the slightest trivial detail about someone's family, the entire compound would know within half an hour...

—Usually after the old man had improvised and turned it into some embellished tall tale...

They had exchanged greetings just now, but that was mostly courtesy. They saw each other all the time, after all, and even if there were conflicts, it would not look good to show them openly. In truth, they were not that familiar. Not long after Gu Mo moved here last year, rumors had spread about him because he was rather reclusive.

It had not been a big deal, but it was still an unpleasant experience.

So he decided to forget it. If he went out for a late-night meal and came back to find the compound group chat already spreading news that he was mentally ill, that would be seriously aggravating.

He should just handle it himself.

Well, testing it out was still a good idea. At least he could confirm whether the problem was really with him... As for whether it would expose anything, Gu Mo thought about it and decided there was nothing much to worry about. Everyone knew Old Man Ding had a big mouth, and if anyone said something obviously absurd, nobody would believe it anyway.

Just because you said so, it had to be true? Why didn't you just fly to the moon while you were at it?

The idea that a few passersby discovering a tiny secret would immediately result in the government hunting him down and slicing him up was even more ridiculous—unless the entire country had a hive mind... Besides, as long as he stubbornly denied it, even Old Man Ding himself would start wondering if the problem was with his own head—

Gu Mo had plenty of experience with that.

"That Little Gu, trying to scare me half to death in the middle of the night... Sigh, young people these days really are getting worse with every generation..."

Unaware that the person he had been badmouthing was currently plotting something, the security guard remained alone in the duty room, muttering to himself as though trying to ease his tension a little.

What had just happened had really unsettled him. Although his rational mind refused to believe it, he could not help becoming distracted, all kinds of wild thoughts filling his head. The more he thought about it, the stranger it seemed, and he even found himself subconsciously associating it with some especially creepy possibilities.

"How could that be possible..." The security guard shook his head hard, driving away the increasingly outrageous thoughts in his mind. Why could he not stop himself from overthinking?

However...

Right at that moment...

"Ding Hongxuan..."

A somewhat familiar voice rang directly in the security guard's ears.

Huh? Hadn't Little Gu just left through the entrance passage in front of the duty room?

When had he entered the duty room and come to stand behind him?! And he was calling him by his full name too. How rude!

The security guard naturally froze for a moment. Then, just as he angrily prepared to turn around and scold him, his gaze swept past the surveillance monitor on the desk. It was as if an electric current had shot up his spine. Bone-chilling terror made him forcefully stop himself from turning around, nearly wrenching his neck.

Because the monitor showed that he was the only person in the duty room. Behind him was completely empty...

Then what had that voice been just now?

"...!!"

After realizing this, the security guard's pupils shrank to pinpoints, and his face turned ashen in an instant.

He felt waves of cold air rising from the soles of his feet to the top of his head. His scalp tingled, as if all the blood in his body had frozen solid, while his heart seemed ready to leap out of his chest.

It was like that day in his childhood when he had seen a vicious dog charging at him with a roar. His mind went blank, and he did not dare move at all.

His palms were sweating, his feet and scalp were numb, and his legs had gone weak. The security guard felt that something was standing behind him, waiting for him to turn around or respond—just like in those folk tales, where someone suddenly called your name at night, and if you turned around or answered, you were done for...

"Ding Hongxuan..."

The eerie voice sounded beside his ear again, so close it seemed someone was calling him from right next to him. If he could have explained the first time as mishearing it, then there was no way he could fool himself this time. Yet the surveillance monitor clearly showed that he was the only figure in the duty room.

Could it be that Little Gu had really seen something just now?

Was there really something in the duty room, now imitating Little Gu's voice and calling him from behind?

The security guard's face was bloodless, and his body trembled faintly. He remained completely still, determined not to turn around or answer.

"Of course. What was I even expecting?"

Under the shade of a landscaping tree on the sidewalk some distance away from the duty room, Gu Mo hid in the cover of the night and sighed in disappointment again.

He had clearly been overthinking it. Why could he not just let it go?

Look at the security guard over there. He was sitting in the duty room with his head lowered, staring at the desk in front of him. He was probably playing on his phone. He was so focused and motionless, completely unaffected. That proved the messages Gu Mo had sent had not appeared at all; this was not a real phenomenon.

He had sent two messages already. If they could really be seen, there was no way the man would have had absolutely no reaction, right?

Wait, could it be because they had not added each other as friends, so he could not send messages?

Should he try again?

Gu Mo stared at the "Add Friend" option for several seconds, but in the end, he still shook his head. Right on cue, his stomach let out another loud growl.

No, he needed to find somewhere to eat quickly. It felt like he was about to starve to death... Gu Mo swiftly gave up on the meaningless test, accepting the cruel reality that he was simply sick. Driven by hunger, he decisively turned and headed for the nearby night market.

Only the security guard in the duty room remained there, gritting his teeth and holding on, not daring to move as if he were a statue.

Don't move!

Don't turn around!

Absolutely don't make a sound!

About half a minute later, on the night market snack street.

"That bottomless pit is here again."

—Perhaps it was just his imagination, but Gu Mo always felt that many stall owners were looking at him with that same eager gaze. Thinking about it, though, it made sense. Over the past week, he had always appeared here on time, looking like a starving ghost.

After thinking it over, although Gu Mo was already extremely hungry, he did not follow his usual principle of eating at whichever stall was closest and work his way down the street. Everyone had some pride, and he was no exception. He did not want people looking at him as though he were some bottomless pit.

Once or twice was one thing, but if the same people saw him doing it too many times, that label would probably stick.

So he ignored the eager looks from the surrounding stall owners. Though the calls and invitations from both sides became noticeably more enthusiastic and forceful as he passed their stalls, he did not stop, ruthlessly continuing onward.

The snack street was bustling, especially at this hour.

Leaving the stretch of road in front of his compound that he knew best, Gu Mo looked around as he continued forward.

Perhaps because it was too lively, the snack shops and late-night food stalls on both sides were packed. Even though he wanted to find somewhere to eat as soon as possible, it looked like he would have to queue for quite a while. After hesitating, he gave up.

He would walk a little farther and find somewhere with fewer people.

Thinking that, he continued down the street. But after walking from one end to the other, he found that everywhere was equally crowded. It seemed there was no choice but to honestly line up and wait for his turn...

Just as the disappointed Gu Mo was about to continue on, he suddenly stopped and turned toward a small alley beside him. The alley was dim, with no streetlights. At the far end, he could vaguely make out what seemed to be another street lined with shops. It gave him an inexplicable sense of subtle wrongness. Since when had there been another commercial street beside the snack street?

But that was not the important part. The important part was the faint aroma drifting from that direction.

What was that smell?! It smelled amazing...

For a moment, Gu Mo could barely control himself. He had already been starving, and now that he suddenly caught this scent, he could no longer endure it. Almost dazedly, his body moved before his mind could react.

As he stepped into the dim alley, a buzzing sound suddenly filled his ears, mixed with static like an electrical current. Amid the crackling, there seemed to be fragmented bits of information. The piercing noise made him frown. What the hell? Why was something happening at a time other than on the hour? Were his auditory hallucinations starting to become irregular too?

This was not the time to investigate. There was no point stopping to think, since this had been going on for quite some time already. After the static-like noise faded, Gu Mo continued through the alley with a frown. Reaching the street on the other side, he followed the scent and stopped in front of a shop.

It seemed to be a Japanese-style restaurant. The smell was coming from inside.

Gu Mo subconsciously looked up, then froze for a moment. The sign was in Japanese, and he could not read it... Wait, had his eyes just played tricks on him? He blinked in confusion.

Once his vision became clear again, the words on the sign plainly and unmistakably told him that the restaurant was called "Yukihira Restaurant."

Had he really been so hungry that he was dizzy and seeing things? Had he seen a Japanese-style restaurant and subconsciously imagined that the sign was in Japanese he could not understand? Then, after concentrating a little and clearing his head, he realized that was not the case?

Probably... Knowing his own condition, Gu Mo did not think much of it. His visual hallucinations and imagined scenes were already this serious, so another episode was hardly surprising.

Still, the restaurant's name seemed somewhat familiar.

—Had he seen it somewhere before?

Unable to recall it for the moment, he did not dwell on it. Instead, he walked straight into the restaurant and quickly looked around. On the wall behind the counter hung neatly arranged wooden plaques, each bearing the name and price of a dish in simple, clear writing.

Gu Mo did not have trouble making choices, especially not when he was starving. His gaze swept over the options, immediately ruling out those that looked expensive or had strange names. Among the remaining choices, he preferred dishes he knew.

"Souma, once you're done cleaning up over there, go put out the charcoal stove."

The man behind the counter was washing dishes at the sink. As if remembering something, he called out without turning his head.

There was no response. He glanced sideways and found his son standing not far away, wiping the tea set he had just cleaned while absentmindedly muttering to himself.

"Today's fried rice... should have been stir-fried three more times in the wok..."

The man froze for a moment, then showed a gratified expression.

The next moment—

"Boss! One Egg Fried Rice! And one duck soba noodle soup..."

Without paying any attention to what the two behind the counter were doing, Gu Mo had already chosen his late-night meal. He patted the counter, pointed at the corresponding menu plaques, and began ordering in one breath.

"..."

"..."