Her Weakness

Jiang Mingran felt all the blood in his body turn cold.

He tried to spring up, but a hand instantly clamped over his mouth.

It was Shao Lan.

Shao Lan had been following right behind the woman.

She couldn't hear his footsteps because every step he took fell exactly in time with hers.

Shao Lan gestured for Jiang Mingran to stay quiet.

The woman had reached the apartment across the hall. She reached out and pulled open the door-

Now!

Shao Lan yanked Jiang Mingran up, and the two turned and ran back!

Across the hall, the woman lifted her foot and stomped down on the source of the incessant noise-

With a crack, the alarm clock shattered beneath her foot, and the noise stopped.

That made the running footsteps in the hallway all the clearer.

The woman's sightless eyes blinked, then flew wide open!

She realized she'd been tricked!

Jiang Mingran heard a shriek behind him, followed by the rapid, heavy pounding of footsteps.

The woman was chasing them!

"Don't look back!"

Shao Lan gave Jiang Mingran a hard shove.

Gritting his teeth, Jiang Mingran dashed through the security door with everything he had. Shao Lan followed close behind.

The woman lunged at them with a shriek. Shao Lan and Jiang Mingran turned together, yanked the door shut, and hooked the Security Chain into place.

The woman slammed into the door, shaking plaster dust loose from the walls.

Jiang Mingran and Shao Lan braced themselves against the door with all their strength.

Bang!

Bang!

Just as they both began to wonder whether she would batter the security door open, everything outside suddenly went quiet.

Jiang Mingran gasped for breath and looked at Shao Lan, bewildered and afraid.

Shao Lan leaned toward the peephole and looked outside.

The dim hallway was empty.

The woman had left.

"Did she go across the hall?" Jiang Mingran asked between gasps.

Shao Lan shook his head. He wasn't sure either.

They looked back into the living room. Pancake Uncle stood clutching the telephone, trembling all over, but he still gave them an emphatic nod.

Shao Lan let out a small breath-the call to the police had gone through.

This was the first time the three of them had worked together. Shao Lan had devised the plan.

Jiang Mingran would throw the alarm clock into the apartment across the hall, lure the woman over, then hurry back.

Shao Lan would cover his retreat, and together they would shut the security door to keep the woman outside.

Pancake Uncle would use that time to call the police.

Based on what they had learned in the previous round, the police would take time to arrive. Pancake Uncle estimated roughly ten minutes, and they had to stay alive until then.

"This security door should hold for a while." Shao Lan inspected it carefully. The woman's two blows had slightly bent the metal bolt, but it was still usable.

Even so, anything that could deform metal with just two blows possessed the strength of an outright monster.

"Search the rooms and gather anything we can use as a weapon," Shao Lan said. They had no idea how long the security door would hold. They needed a backup plan.

Jiang Mingran found a mop in the bathroom and a pointed knife in the kitchen. Tied to the end of the handle, it could serve as a spear.

"Remember the rule: don't fight her head-on. Focus on buying time," Shao Lan said. "Her strength is terrifying, but she isn't that fast. We only need to hold out until the police arrive."

"How about heating a pot of oil?" Pancake Uncle suggested quietly. "If she breaks through the door, we can splash it on her."

The older generation had its own practical wisdom. Shao Lan nodded and lifted the lid off the pot on the stove.

A pot of medicinal herbs simmered inside, bubbling away and giving off an indescribably foul smell.

Pancake Uncle followed behind him and happened to see a severed human finger bob to the surface of the dark brown broth. He swayed in fright and nearly fell, but Jiang Mingran caught him just in time.

"Pancake Uncle, go keep an eye on the hallway," Jiang Mingran said. "Shao Lan and I can handle things here."

Knowing he would only get in their way if he stayed, Pancake Uncle nodded and left the kitchen.

Shao Lan began heating a pot of oil, while Jiang Mingran tied the Boning Knife to the mop handle.

The flame hissed softly, and white smoke rose from the oil.

Shao Lan suddenly asked, "Did you hear something?"

"No," Jiang Mingran said.

Shao Lan frowned. Perhaps his nerves were playing tricks on him, but he was certain he had just heard the faint sound of a door opening.

"Don't get so worked up, Shao Lan," Jiang Mingran said. "We locked the security door from the inside. Even a key won't open it. If she tries to smash it down, it'll make so much noise we're bound to hear it. Besides, Pancake Uncle's out there keeping watch."

Shao Lan's expression didn't ease. He picked up the pot of oil with one hand and walked out of the kitchen. "Bring the knife."

Jiang Mingran didn't understand, but he picked up his newly improvised weapon and followed.

They were already familiar with the old apartment's layout. The kitchen and security door stood at opposite ends, with the living room between them. Walking through the living room from the kitchen toward the security door took them past two bedrooms and a bathroom.

Shao Lan and Jiang Mingran hurried to the security door and found it securely locked.

"See, Shao Lan? I told you you were getting too worked up." Jiang Mingran sighed in relief.

But Shao Lan's face only grew paler.

Something was wrong.

An instinct was screaming inside him, telling him something was wrong.

"Pancake Uncle?" Shao Lan called softly.

There was no answer.

Jiang Mingran frowned too. Hadn't they told Pancake Uncle to watch the hallway? He should have been stationed right beside the security door.

Had the earlier fright made him feel ill, sending him back to a bedroom to lie down?

Jiang Mingran glanced around. Both bedroom doors were closed, and the entire apartment was quiet.

But listening carefully, he realized it wasn't quite so quiet after all. A faint, easily overlooked sound had actually grown much louder than before.

Shao Lan's eyes flew wide open!

He realized what was wrong!

The rain! The rain sounded much clearer than before!

"Run!"

Shao Lan grabbed Jiang Mingran, opened the security door, and rushed outside.

At the same moment, the curtains stirred, and a tall, grotesque black shadow lunged out.

Jiang Mingran felt as though all the blood in his body had reversed its flow.

The rain sounded clearer because... the window had been opened.

The woman hadn't used the security door. She had climbed out of the window across the hall and crawled over along the building's exterior wall.

The sound Shao Lan had heard wasn't a door opening. It was the window!

Shao Lan dragged Jiang Mingran along as they charged toward the apartment across the hall.

The woman lunged after them.

She spread her arms wide, her hands spanning the entire hallway as she raced forward.

"Aaaah!" Jiang Mingran turned and jabbed wildly with his spear.

But the woman didn't even try to dodge. She charged straight into the blade.

At the critical moment, Shao Lan suddenly shouted, "Her belly!"

He raised the iron pot and flung the hot oil at the woman's bulging abdomen.

This time, the woman dodged. She shielded her belly with one hand and shoved Shao Lan away with the other.

Shao Lan went flying, but the half-pot of hot oil in his hand also splashed over the woman.

Her tall, gaunt body lost its balance, and she tumbled down the stairs.

Seizing that opening, Shao Lan and Jiang Mingran hurried into the apartment across the hall.

It had an iron door and a wooden door. To his despair, Jiang Mingran discovered that the iron door's lock was broken.

He could only lock the wooden door for now.

"Go... guard the window..." Shao Lan said through clenched teeth.

Only then did Jiang Mingran notice that the entire right side of Shao Lan's body was soaked in blood, his right arm dangling limply at an unnatural angle.

The woman had merely shoved Shao Lan while retreating, but it had felt as though a solid lead shot had flown into his shoulder.

His right shoulder was clearly broken. The pain was excruciating, and he couldn't lift his arm at all.

"Go to the window." Shao Lan gritted his teeth. "Her weakness is her abdomen. If she climbs through the window again, stab her in the lower belly."

Jiang Mingran nodded and started toward the window with his spear, but a sudden knock came from the door.

Shao Lan tried to check it, but blood loss made his vision go black the moment he stood.

Jiang Mingran hurried over instead.

The wooden door had no peephole, but fortunately there was a pane of glass at the very top. Though filthy, it still offered a hazy view outside.

Jiang Mingran jumped up and peered through the glass.

The person outside was Pancake Uncle. From his angle, Jiang Mingran could see his graying hair.

"It's Pancake Uncle." Jiang Mingran looked at Shao Lan. "Let's let him in, okay?"

Shao Lan stared hard at the doorway, then shook his head after a moment.

Jiang Mingran grew frantic.

"Shao Lan, I know you're cautious, but the killer isn't here right now. We can let Pancake Uncle in and lock the door immediately. There's time!"

Shao Lan didn't have the strength to speak. He lowered a finger and pointed at the floor.

Jiang Mingran followed his gaze downward.

In an instant, goosebumps erupted all over Jiang Mingran's body.

Beneath the wooden door was a pair of red embroidered shoes.