Can You See Me?

Su Mo had always been a hard worker. From childhood onward, his grades had consistently ranked among the top five in his class.

He studied diligently and worked part-time in his spare time. Su Mo had no grand ambitions; he just wanted to join a good company after graduation and start earning money to ease his family's burden as soon as possible.

Although Su Mo had yet to graduate, he occasionally imagined what his future working life would be like...

"I asked you a question. What did you hear?"

Gao Ming's tone turned cold, making Su Mo shudder. Just moments ago, this innocent college student had actually seen his life flash before his eyes.

"Nothing." Su Mo immediately shook his head. "I didn't hear anything!"

"Don't get curious about things you shouldn't." Gao Ming blocked the doorway with his body. "This world is more complicated than you imagine. Go home early at night. Don't stay out working too late."

"Got it, got it." Su Mo grabbed his electric scooter helmet, turned, and ran even faster than last time.

He rushed into the elevator, panting, and frantically pressed the close-door button. Only when the silver-gray doors shut did he breathe a sigh of relief.

"The workplace is terrifying."

The building's air-conditioning was cranked up high. Su Mo wiped the sweat from his forehead and stood in a corner of the elevator. Beside him, two men, one tall and one short, were chatting quietly.

"A programmer on the eleventh floor died suddenly while working overtime the night before last. His coworkers thought he was asleep. They worked beside his corpse for quite a while before realizing something was wrong."

"That's terrifying. The game industry is way too cutthroat these days. The pittance we earn putting up with this crap wouldn't even cover our medical bills."

"You know what's even scarier?" The short man beckoned and lowered his voice. "My friend told me that when he left the office last night, he saw someone still working inside, so he left the lights on. Then that person spoke with his back to him—'It's fine. I can see without the lights.'"

"Holy shit! Was it the programmer who died? Did he come back?"

"I don't know! Anyway, my friend froze. Then he noticed the guy was sitting at the dead man's workstation, and the computer screen looked like it was packed with gibberish!"

The elevator jolted, and the two men stepped out, leaving Su Mo alone inside.

He stared at the numbers on the elevator display, feeling a little frightened. The story those two employees had told kept echoing in his ears.

The blood-red numbers kept changing until they reached 11.

The elevator doors slowly opened, but no one was outside. Cold air from the air-conditioning poured down his collar and over his neck. As Su Mo gazed at the deserted corridor, he felt as though several tiny hands were clawing at his heart. His unease kept growing.

A few seconds later, just as the elevator doors were about to close, a male employee carrying a laptop bag hurried inside.

Relieved to have some company, Su Mo hugged his helmet tight and took out his phone, ready to accept more delivery orders.

As he stared at his phone screen, Su Mo suddenly sensed something strange. He angled the screen and switched to selfie mode, only to discover that the employee had been watching him ever since entering the elevator.

His Adam's apple bobbed. Su Mo stole a glance at the employee, whose eyes were fixed squarely on him.

Su Mo shrank back against the elevator wall, but the employee's expression remained unchanged as his mouth slowly opened.

"So you really can see me."

Gao Ming did not chase after Su Mo. He stood guard outside the Storage Room, silently drinking his milk tea.

As the download count for To Our Love That Will Eventually Die continued to rise, Xuan Wen's condition grew increasingly dire. Her sense of self was rapidly strengthening, but devouring too many emotions was also driving her mad.

By nine thirty that evening, the lights in many rooms throughout the office building had been turned off, and the last employee shuttle bus had already departed.

Aside from Nightlight Studio, only Unicorn Game Studio, ranked fifth among Motu Technology's studios, was still working overtime.

Nightlight Studio had very few people. They were working overtime because they normally had no work at all, and now that they finally had a project, everyone was giving it their all.

Unicorn Game Studio had several times as many employees as Nightlight and occupied three entire floors. It was Motu Technology's most fiercely competitive studio, and every employee was an overtime champion. Nine at night was their regular quitting time.

"Are they risking their lives for money? Even the inmates at Henshan Maximum-Security Prison have finished their forced labor and returned to their cells by now." Worried that Xuan Wen might lose control and start killing, Gao Ming wanted everyone to leave quickly. But things went against his wishes: tonight, of all nights, everyone was pushing themselves harder.

"Gao Ming! Our demo has passed fifteen thousand downloads!" Wei Dayou was so excited that he came all the way to the Storage Room door just to share the good news with Gao Ming. "We haven't done any major promotion, but players are inviting their friends on their own. Our game could reach a much wider audience!"

"That's great."

"You were right to stick with it! This game should keep Nightlight alive!" Wei Dayou made himself a cup of coffee. "Our studio hasn't seen any revenue-sharing payouts in seven whole months. Now everyone's fired up again!"

"They don't say it, but they're actually pretty attached to Nightlight." Gao Ming himself had worked with Nightlight for a long time and knew the studio had once enjoyed its glory days.

"We're going to make a spectacular comeback this time!" Wei Dayou showed no intention of leaving, which gave Gao Ming a headache.

"Dayou, get everyone to clock out and go home to rest. It's too late."

"We're not going home tonight! Real men fight!" Wei Dayou took a sip of coffee and returned to his workstation with a macho swagger.

"You really do have a contrary streak." Gao Ming glanced at the demo's still-rising download count, then knocked on the Storage Room door. "Xuan Wen, are you feeling any better?"

No one answered. Worried, Gao Ming opened the door a crack.

The light was distorted. Not a single glimmer illuminated the Storage Room; only vast patches of shadow flickered like ghostly flames.

"Xuan Wen?"

The woman in business attire was wrapped in layers of shadow. Her eyes were tightly shut, and tiny black blood vessels emerged across her skin. One end of each vessel connected to the shadows, while the other converged and intertwined inside her body.

"These look a little like the chains between Zhao Xi and me."

Zhao Xi had been transformed into a malevolent ghost by an unknown world. All his eerie, terrifying powers came from that other world, while his own memories, regrets, and obsessions had become chainlike black blood vessels wrapped around his and Gao Ming's wrists.

Zhao Xi had been a real person, but Xuan Wen was someone Gao Ming had designed. She had no connection to the real world herself. Yet once more than ten thousand people learned of her existence through the game, those tiny black blood vessels had begun growing inside her too.

"Believe, and it exists. Don't believe, and it doesn't. Intense emotional stimulation might let a strange tale live forever in people's minds. No wonder those ghosts like spreading terror."

Gao Ming stepped into the shadows and stared at Xuan Wen's fair neck.

All the newly formed tiny blood vessels converged there, eventually forming something resembling a chain. This seemed to be the core of Xuan Wen's obsessions and memories.

"If I destroy the chain, Xuan Wen might be sent back to the shadow world while unconscious, or she might simply fall apart and lose control. If I connect the chain to myself, I might be able to steal her powers."

The opportunity to "kill" or "dominate" Xuan Wen lay right before him. Gao Ming slowly raised his hand, but in the end, he merely picked up the unopened cup of milk tea beside her.

"You finally gained a self of your own. To leave without experiencing anything good would really be too cruel." Gao Ming removed the lid and began gulping down the milk tea. "Room temperature. Tastes better without ice."

Gao Ming left the Storage Room with the milk tea. Only after he had shut the door and walked away did Xuan Wen slowly open her tightly closed eyes.

"Did I give you that chance just so you could drink milk tea?"

(End of chapter)