chapter 12

But in the next second.

She took the hair dryer from my hand.

“Oh, go ahead, but it’s a bit late. Be careful when you’re out, and buy me a box of medicated patches on the way. I had gua sha and cupping done these past two days, my whole body aches. Looks like my dampness is pretty serious.”

Huh? Gua sha? Cupping?

So the blood marks on her back were from cupping?

Even though she explained it like that, I still felt a vague unease in my heart.

Forget it, since she told me to go out, I didn’t waste a second. I grabbed my things and got ready to leave.

I planned to act first and report later. Her fall wasn’t serious, she could apply medicine tomorrow.

Once I got outside, I’d message her saying I ran into an old classmate and would be staying at their place tonight, not coming home.

Better safe than sorry; everything could wait until after tonight.

This time, I took nothing but my phone.

The moment I opened the door, I felt a gaze locked onto me, making my back tingle with chills.

But when I turned around, there was nothing behind me.

My mom was in the living room watching a variety show, clutching her stomach and laughing so hard she bent over.

As soon as I turned, that gaze swept over me again.

I didn’t dare think too much.

I quickly changed my shoes, opened the front door, and walked out.

I really left the house.

It was surprisingly easy to get out.

Could it be that I was just overthinking?

Checking the time, it was already half past ten. As long as I stayed out tonight, I’d be safe.

The lights in the hallway went out.

But the elevator hadn’t arrived yet.

In the empty elevator lobby, only the safety sign glowed with a faint green light.

Suddenly, the green light behind me dimmed, then dimmed again.

Was the power cord inside the sign loose?

A chill crept in, that tingling feeling on my spine returned.

I suddenly realized-it wasn’t the safety sign’s light flickering, but someone standing behind me. Their figure just happened to block the green glow.

I was terrified.

My whole body froze, I didn’t dare move, didn’t dare turn around.

Afraid that if I turned, a pale, eerie face would be right in front of me.

Luckily, the elevator arrived just then. With a ding, the doors opened and I rushed inside.

The moment I turned around, I saw the green sign.

A dark shadow was crouched on the ground.

I couldn’t tell what it was-human, yet not quite.

I pressed the close button as fast as I could.

Only then did I realize I was drenched in cold sweat.

My home is on the sixteenth floor, and the elevator in our complex isn’t very fast.

But usually, it doesn’t take long to get down to the first floor.

Tonight felt especially long.

I watched the elevator display, silently counting down: fifteen, fourteen, thirteen, twelve…

There’s no signal in the elevator, so my stream froze.

Now the whole screen was filled with “Streamer, run!”

The elevator kept going down.

But it stopped at the fourth floor.

I hadn’t pressed four, so someone on the fourth floor must have called the elevator.

It’s already so late.

Who would be going out at this hour?

I moved closer to the wall, waiting for whoever was outside to come in.

But when the doors opened, there was no one outside.

The fourth floor was silent, but the motion-sensor lights in the hallway were on.

If the lights were on, that meant someone had been there, but now, with the lights on, there was no one.

Maybe they got tired of waiting for the elevator and took the stairs instead?

The pale lights shone on the empty hallway, everything outside was deathly still.

The lights flickered now and then, making the scene look a bit eerie.

Seeing no one coming in, I quickly pressed the close button.

But just before the doors closed-

A hand reached in.