May 10, Year X023, 3:18 a.m., Art Building Gallery.
The dim yellow light of the Old Kerosene Lamp flickered in the cramped Gallery, as though it might go out at any moment.
The surroundings were terrifyingly quiet. Occasionally, the sound of fog moving in a wind that came from nowhere drifted over, like ghosts whispering in the dark.
A spine-chilling sensation gripped Lin Yi's heart. An icy chill shot up and down his spine like a drop tower ride.
His heartbeat suddenly quickened, and his breathing grew ragged. He caught sight of Little Girl out of the corner of his eye, but he dared not react. His body seemed frozen in place, unable to move.
Cold sweat seeped from his forehead, slid down his cheeks, and dripped onto the cold floor.
"Gulp..."
He swallowed, keeping his head lowered and his eyes fixed on the watch on his wrist, though he had no attention to spare for it.
But even distracted as he was, he now noticed something-the hands were moving perfectly normally, going "tick... tick... tick..." That faint sound was amplified endlessly in the deathly silence, making it especially eerie.
Wait... time is normal?
It wasn't passing at the speed it should during Dreambuilding. It was actually flowing normally...?!
How could it be normal?
Little Girl didn't move, and Lin Yi didn't dare move either. The air around them seemed to congeal, and the chill grew stronger, wrapping around his entire body like icy tentacles.
Little Girl simply stood there quietly, her little mouth opening and closing woodenly. Then that dark nursery rhyme rang out from every direction, like leaves drifting on the wind.
Little Girl's attention remained fixed on his watch, without the slightest change.
She's looking at my watch?
A strange thought rose in his mind-take off the