Li Cu took a look around with his phone and noticed that there were still no footprints leading back; Liang Wan should be right here. He listened carefully, but due to the climbing and his nervousness, he was breathing heavily and couldn’t hear much. He could only call out softly. The room was quite empty, but it wasn’t echoing yet; it should have been audible as long as there was someone present, but there was no response.

Li Cu called out a few more times and suddenly felt something strange. The footprints indicated that Liang Wan was in this room, yet there was no sense of anyone being present at all.

Following the footprints, he moved forward, wondering if there might be some hidden doors here. However, judging by the outlines illuminated by his phone’s light, there shouldn’t be any passages leading elsewhere.

He walked to the edge of the room, and the footprints continued extending into that corner. Li Cu felt puzzled; why would Liang Wan go to that corner? Moreover, the footprints were so straight, showing no hesitation, as if she had walked directly there.

After thinking for a moment, Li Cu slowed his pace and walked over slowly, keeping the lit phone aimed at the corner. After taking three more steps, the light from his phone finally illuminated the situation in the corner. He saw Liang Wan standing there, facing the corner, pressed tightly against the wall, seemingly doing something.

Li Cu took a moment to calm down; he could hardly believe his eyes or the situation he was facing. He stood silently for two or three seconds, reflecting on what had just happened.

This was a dilapidated farmer’s house in a small town in Zhejiang, which had been abandoned for a long time. At night, in this third-floor room, no light came in, and it was completely dark. He had come here to find a person standing in the corner, facing the wall.

In such a situation, anyone’s first reaction would likely be to flee, but perhaps because Li Cu was not afraid of these things to begin with, or perhaps due to his experiences in the desert that had toughened him up, he managed to suppress the urge to turn and run immediately. Instead, he kept his distance and watched the person in the corner. He was even calm enough to shine his phone’s light around to see if there were others forcing Liang Wan to do this.

Once he confirmed that there was no one else in the room, he softly asked, “What are you doing?”

Liang Wan showed no reaction, still standing there facing the wall.

Cold sweat began to seep out from Li Cu’s back, and the hair all over his body stood on end. He took a step forward, a step he had calculated precisely so that he wouldn’t feel like the person in front of him could turn around and bite him.

After taking that first step, he asked again softly, “What are you really doing?”

Liang Wan still did not respond.

Li Cu took a deep breath and, using the light from his phone, carefully observed Liang Wan’s silhouette. She stood very straight; she was a woman full of charm, always maintaining her curves while walking, but he had never seen her standing so stiffly. Moreover, if she were wearing high heels, this posture would be particularly tiring.

But Liang Wan was standing completely still, which was already very abnormal.

Li Cuoxin thought to himself: I’ve encountered enough strange things in the past month. If what’s in front of me is truly an incomprehensible situation, and if it develops in a terrifying direction as I expect, I will not let it go easily. It needs to come to an end; either you kill me, or I kill you.

Li Cuoxin took a step forward, dark thoughts swirling in his mind. Just as he was contemplating whatever might happen, his backpack suddenly vibrated. His phone, set to vibrate and tucked inside the bag, startled him nearly to death with the sudden buzzing. He quickly pulled out his phone. He originally didn’t have a phone; this one was given to him by the man in the black glasses. Upon opening it, he saw a number flashing on the screen, with the name Liang Wan above it, which he had saved earlier on the plane.

But wasn’t Liang Wan’s phone in his hand? Did he accidentally dial her? He quickly checked the phone and saw that he hadn’t made any outgoing calls. Hmm, could it be that Liang Wan has another phone using the same number? But Liang Wan was right in front of him, standing against the wall.

Could this woman be calling him in a way he couldn’t see? Both her hands were hanging down; that’s impossible!

Li Cuoxin was terrified. He glanced at the person in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and then answered the phone. He heard a hurried female voice say, “Where are you?”

Li Cuoxin replied, “I’m in that house.”

Liang Wan exclaimed, “What did you say? You’re in that house? Which house?”

Li Cuoxin said, “The address we’re supposed to go to. I came back to find you.”

Liang Wan responded, “Didn’t I tell you to meet me in the morning? I’m also in that house! Didn’t you see me?”

Li Cuoxin looked at the person in front of him, who wasn’t speaking at all. He glanced around and said into the phone, “Actually, I can see you. I’m on the third floor. Logically, I should be right behind you, but things are a bit strange.”

Liang Wan said, “What? Impossible! I’m in the alley; the police haven’t left yet. I can’t even get in!”

Li Cuoxin scratched his head and looked at Liang Wan, who was still standing against the wall. He said, “You’re not trying to scare me… No, you must be messing with me.”

Liang Wan replied, “Why would I be so bored to mess with you? It’s you who’s talking so strangely! Where exactly are you? If you don’t tell me, I’ll be angry!”

Li Cuoxin looked at his phone again and then at the person standing in front of him. Suddenly, a surge of anger filled him. He felt that Liang Wan was definitely messing with him, although he had no idea how she was doing it—was it a recording or some kind of superpower? Even if it wasn’t, he didn’t want to remain in this deadlock.

He took a deep breath, ignoring Liang Wan’s questions on the phone, and moved forward. He suddenly pressed down on the shoulder of the person in front of him and turned her around.

Li Cu believed that although Liang Wan was older than him, she was still a woman with a frail body, and with a little pull, he could definitely turn her around. However, when he exerted force, that person’s shoulder didn’t budge at all, clearly showing immense strength and rigidity. To put it bluntly, Li Cu knew what Liang Wan felt like to the touch, but despite pulling with all his might, he couldn’t manage to turn her. His confidence vanished, and he took a few steps back, beginning to feel afraid.

On the phone, Liang Wan was still speaking in a flustered manner, but Li Cu had no interest in listening anymore. He looked at the strange figure before him, slowly turning around in the darkness.

Liang Wan was not wrong; when he saw her face, even his calves began to tremble. He had harbored a glimmer of hope that he might see another person, thinking that even if they wore the same clothes, at least their faces would be different.

But what he saw was indeed Liang Wan’s face. In the corner, Liang Wan looked back at him with an eerie posture, while another Liang Wan on the phone continued to curse incessantly.

Li Cu decided to run. He couldn’t comprehend what was happening, but the cold, expressionless face of Liang Wan in the dark corner staring at him was anything but human.

Just as Li Cu was about to turn and leave, the Liang Wan in front of him suddenly spoke. However, he did not hear the expected voice; instead, he heard a man’s voice.

“Hang up the phone,” the Liang Wan in front of him said, her voice soft, but it was unmistakably a man’s voice.