The figure was oddly shaped. Although the light from the lighter was dim, it only illuminated a gray outline, making it hard to see its features completely. However, I could still discern that its neck looked a bit strange. To exaggerate, it gave me the impression that it could lean forward and bring its face right up to mine without even standing up.

It sat in the chair I had just occupied, its long, slender arms moving beside its head in a bizarre manner. I paused for a moment before realizing it was combing its hair, which sent a chill down my spine and made every pore on my body stand on end.

In a basement that had been abandoned for over a decade, suddenly seeing someone combing their hair in the dark was an action that, in this context, would likely scare an ordinary person to death on the spot. I was sweating cold beads and wondering, who is this person? When did they appear? From the moment I discovered the notebook to when I sat down, at most only twenty minutes had passed. When the hell did this bastard sit down across from me? How did I not notice at all? Moreover, this was a hidden basement in an abandoned building—how could anyone else be here?

Adding to the strangeness of the situation, this person was sitting in that chair, looking into the mirror where Huo Ling’s reflection should be, and was actually combing their hair. I couldn’t help but think, could it be that Huo Ling didn’t leave with anyone else… and this “person” is Huo Ling?

My cold sweat flowed like a waterfall, but thankfully my nerves were no longer what they used to be. Although I couldn’t comprehend what was happening in front of me, my body instinctively reacted. I reflexively took several steps back, my eyes fixed on the figure, fully alert.

If this were a TV drama, seeing me in such a panic, the person hiding in the dark would definitely laugh three times, and then the director would cut to a close-up, or pull out a small handgun and say something like, “Didn’t see this coming, did you, Mr. Bond?” But this wasn’t a TV show. As I stepped back, the figure remained completely still, continuing its mechanical combing motion. As I distanced myself, the flickering lighter grew dimmer, and the figure gradually faded into the darkness until it was almost invisible.

After retreating five or six steps, I felt a bit safer and stopped, mustering the courage to ask, “Who are you?”

Since entering the basement, I had hardly spoken. Now, as those words escaped my lips, my voice was hoarse, almost unrecognizable, and even I was startled by it. However, in the silence of the basement, where you could hear a pin drop, my raspy voice sounded remarkably clear.

Yet, after I asked, there was no response. No sound came from behind the writing desk, as if I were speaking to the air. Damn it, are you trying to scare me? I cursed under my breath, genuinely starting to feel frightened. Thinking about that person’s strange posture, I wondered if this thing wasn’t human after all.

Impossible, impossible, I told myself. If it were in an ancient tomb, it might be possible, but this is a modern building. There shouldn’t be anything like that here; there’s no coffin… wait, wait, no, that’s not right! Damn it, there is a coffin here!

My mind buzzed, and I thought, could this thing be something that came out of that coffin? I quickly shook my head and took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself down.

This is also impossible. How could there be a reason for zongzi to appear just by encountering a coffin? If that were the case, everyone in the funeral home would have to go to Maoshan to get a degree first.

At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind: could this person be the one who sent me the videotape? Waiting here for me?

From the notebook I saw earlier, the person who arranged for the videotape to be sent was Wen Jin. However, it cannot be confirmed that it was her personally; it’s possible she had someone else do it.

Thinking about this, I felt it was quite possible. In this basement, there shouldn’t be any ordinary people who know about it. Anyone who could come in must be someone in the know, possibly the person who has been waiting for me nearby. When they saw me crawl in, they came in with me. With that thought, I calmed down a bit. I gathered my courage and thought that if it was a living person, I wouldn’t be afraid, so I frowned and stretched the lighter forward to see who it was.

Cautiously, I took two or three steps forward, and I could vaguely see the situation across from the desk again, but when I looked, I was startled. The “person” sitting there had disappeared.

I squinted and looked closely; indeed, there was no one there, and the seat was empty. I felt puzzled and thought, could it be that I was mistaken just now? An illusion?

Impossible. The cold sweat was real; there’s no way I could have been wrong. I immediately became tense and quickly raised the lighter to shine it around.

But as I raised it, the movement was too abrupt, and the lighter suddenly lit up for a moment before going out.

Everything around me immediately plunged into darkness; I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. There was no light here at all; it was absolute darkness. My heart tightened at once, and without caring about the scalding hot lighter head, I shook it a few times and tried to strike it again.

However, after shaking it, I kept trying to strike it, but this thing just wouldn’t cooperate. No matter how I shook it, it wouldn’t ignite. I only saw sparks flying, which were particularly dazzling in the absolute darkness of the basement. I realized that it might be out of fuel.

I thought to myself that this was bad. Looking around at the pitch-black darkness where I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face, an extremely ominous feeling surged up. I put the notebook into my pocket and was just about to take a few steps back to feel my way to the entrance I came in through when suddenly I heard a “guggi” sound above my head, as if a woman was laughing.