"Shut the door!"
The instant the corridor lights went out, darkness swallowed the entire hallway. Barely a second later, Xu Rui, whom Xiang Feiyu had placed on a nearby chair, urgently called out those words in a hushed voice.
Though quiet, his voice rang out distinctly in the silent ward, carrying the almost instinctive vigilance born of surviving multiple nightmare games.
Xiang Feiyu's mind was still momentarily blank, but his body moved faster than his thoughts. He lunged toward the ward door, his hurried footsteps stirring a rush of air, and slammed it shut almost instantly. The lock clicked into place, and without the slightest hesitation, he pressed his entire back firmly against the door, his hands clenched tight from the effort.
Only after completing all of this did he belatedly realize that he had actually obeyed Xu Rui without a moment's hesitation.
Why had he been so obedient?
Bang!
A second later, something outside slammed hard against the ward door, jolting even Xiang Feiyu as he braced against it.
Everyone held their breath, not only to avoid being detected by whatever was outside, but also to quiet themselves and listen to what was happening beyond the door. Although Xie Ying could not hear, the movement on Xiang Feiyu's side and the others' expressions told her that something had happened when the lights went out.
Bang!
A second impact sounded. With no viewing window in the ward door, they could not see what was striking it.
Yet, besides the impacts, they also heard an extremely strange scraping sound.
The sound dragged slowly across the floor, as though something were crawling flat against it. But it was definitely not the wet, cold slithering of a snake-there was none of that slick quality. Instead, it was a rough, dry scrape, like... like