A heavy fog filled Yu Sheng's mind, making everything around him appear hazy, as if he were wrapped in a thick layer of gauze.
The sounds of traffic from the main road seemed to waver and drift, coming and going, like a fleeting dream.
He walked in this suffocating state for an unknown length of time before his mind slowly began to regain its clarity.
Yu Sheng hesitated, stopping in his tracks as he turned to look back at the way he had come.
The sky had nearly turned completely dark.
The streetlights along the way flickered to life, illuminating the narrow street he was on, close to his home.
The low, old residential buildings on both sides loomed like beasts lying in wait in the night, while the warm glow spilling out from the “shops” on the first floor brightened the gloom, chasing away a touch of chill that clung to his heart.
Chill?
Suddenly, Yu Sheng was struck by the piercing cold that seemed to stab deep into his bones, as if icy rain were falling against his skin.
He recalled the two cold, slick gazes—looks like a frog was staring right at him.
He gasped, feeling as if he had momentarily forgotten how to breathe, before hastily looking down at his chest.
In that instant, he had a fleeting illusion that there was still a large wound in his chest, that he had lost his heart, and his ribcage felt as quiet and cold as an extinguished furnace.
But in the next moment, he felt his heartbeat again, even hearing a particularly clear “thump” by his ear… Yes, a living person has a heartbeat.
He was still alive and had not had his heart eaten by a strange, giant frog.
However, memories surged forth like a tsunami, crashing against his mind no matter how much he tried to ignore them.
Yu Sheng remembered the rain, the door painted on the wall, and that giant frog… He tried to convince himself that it was just an illusion, but that thought rapidly faltered as his memories grew clearer and more persistent.
He had died once, yet for some reason, he was now alive and walking home—almost there, just two intersections left.
This was undoubtedly the strangest of all the oddities he had encountered since arriving in this eerie city.
Nearby, he noticed that his unusual demeanor had caught the attention of passersby.
Someone hesitated nearby, perhaps intending to ask if he needed help.
He hurriedly waved his hand, wanting to avoid any unnecessary interaction before quickening his pace to leave.
He didn’t know what had happened, but clearly, standing there lost in thought wasn’t helping to resolve his confusion.
He rushed down the narrow paths, leaving behind the last street near the old neighborhood, heading towards what he called his “home” in this city.
Though he had only crossed two intersections, the surroundings appeared even more desolate—a forgotten corner of the city.
Fewer and fewer pedestrians were on the street until at last, only the cold streetlights accompanied him.
After a while, he finally saw the old, large house standing in the night, seemingly detached from its surroundings.
It was an unremarkable three-story old home, with its peeling walls and slanted rooftop.
The old door and windows were worn but still intact and clean—a house that looked like it had been built without proper permits decades ago, now a historical relic trapped by the passage of time.
Yu Sheng didn’t know much about the city’s building regulations, especially since he had only been here for two months.
Excluding the time he had spent being cautious and staying indoors, he was just beginning to adapt to his new life and understand the surrounding area—yet one thing was crystal clear.
This house was the only somewhat safe refuge in this dangerous and disjointed city—at least while inside, he had never seen those strange shadows.
Nonetheless, the old house also had its share of peculiarities in his eyes.
Taking a deep breath, Yu Sheng held onto the supermarket bag still in his hand, stepping through the cold light cast by the streetlamp as he reached the door and fumbled for the keys.
The old door creaked open, and Yu Sheng stepped inside, turning on the lights—though the house looked almost nothing like the “home” of his memories, at the moment the light turned on, he felt a sense of grounding wash over him.
He turned to close the door behind him, shutting out the night.
Then he tossed the groceries he had just bought onto a shelf just inside the kitchen door, quickly moving through the somewhat empty living room to the bathroom mirror, where he pulled at his shirt to check his chest.
The images from his memory were far too vivid, pushing him to confirm again and again.
There were no scars or blood—it's as if “death” had never happened at all.
Furrowing his brow, he checked the integrity of his shirt and pressed on the spot where the frog had supposedly dug into him, finally confirming that he was not one to wear his heart on his sleeve.
“Something strange is happening…,” he muttered softly, leaving the bathroom and returning to the living room.
Behind him, cracks silently appeared on the surface of the mirror above the sink, quickly sealing up without a sound…
Sitting on the living room sofa, Yu Sheng tried to gather his muddled thoughts.
He didn’t know how much time passed, but eventually, his exhausted mind quieted under a veil of sleep.
The drowsiness lingered on for a long while until a sudden “thump” echoed in his mind, sounding as if someone were striking stone with a shovel above his head, jolting Yu Sheng awake from his slumber.
He opened his eyes in the darkness, momentarily confused until he realized—the living room lights were off, and he distinctly remembered turning them on before he fell asleep!
A sense of alarm shot through him, and almost instinctively he reached for his baton—it was the first defensive tool he had prepared for himself upon arriving in this strange, eerie city.
Although it hadn’t proven useful so far, as a frightened human, having something in his hand brought a small measure of comfort.
Cautiously, he rose, attentive to the slightest sounds in the darkness.
In such a desolate and remote place, the idea of a break-in didn’t seem far-fetched.
In fact, at this moment, Yu Sheng would have preferred if a thief entered the house, at the very least, he could take them down with the baton—unlike the giant frog which stood more than a meter tall.
Yet only silence filled the living room, with no signs of intrusion or any sounds of intruders.
The good news was that he couldn’t hear any sounds of frogs either.
Using the dim light from the street outside, Yu Sheng crouched low as he moved, carefully navigating his way toward the wall switch, finally reaching up to turn the lights on.
His eyes instantly shone brightly, scanning the living room in the darkness.
Yu Sheng blinked, sensing something odd in his line of sight, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it—but at least, the area was now illuminated, and he could see the state of the living room.
He bent slightly, baton in hand, beginning to check every corner of the house.
On the first floor, there was only the living room, kitchen, and dining area, with an unused empty room—all appeared normal.
He hesitated for a moment at the stairway leading to the second floor before stepping up.
The second floor had three rooms, one being his current bedroom, another piled with clutter, and the last one at the end—a locked room.
That room had been locked since Yu Sheng’s arrival, and despite searching the large house thoroughly, he had never found the key.
He first checked his bedroom and the cluttered room across before standing before the locked room.
As usual, the front door was firmly shut.
In fact, Yu Sheng had tried a variety of methods to open that lock, including drills and portable saws, but every effort had failed—when drilling and sawing approached that seemingly fragile wooden door, sparks flew, and the drill bits dulled without leaving a mark.
Of course, he had also attempted more advanced methods, like calling a locksmith.
He tried three different ones; the first two got lost in the old city, wandering about without finding ‘66 Wutong Road’.
The third one was hit by a motorcycle right after he crossed an intersection, just recently discharged from the hospital last week…
It was as if some mysterious force was preventing Yu Sheng from opening the locked room in his own home.
Yes, although this large house was his only relatively safe refuge in this city, even the house itself contained many… unsettling aspects.
Yu Sheng reached out, grasping the doorknob and twisting it, but it didn’t budge.
Nothing unexpected happened—it remained locked.
But whether it was just his imagination, as he struggled with the knob, he thought he caught a faint, mocking laugh.
That laughter seemed to come from across the door, sounding like a young woman, almost mocking him for his impotence against a simple door.
Yu Sheng’s hair stood on end in an instant!
In his only safe haven in this city, where he had lived for two months, there was a person hidden inside that persistently locked room…
How had she not starved to death?
(End of Chapter)