While waiting, Jiang Lin flipped through his phone.
In WeChat, Shen Jie had sent him over a dozen messages.
Sometimes it was a link to the Underworld Live Stream, sometimes some good product recommendations.
And things like cutting prices on Pinduoduo.
The latest message was from yesterday.
[Programmer Can't Go Bald (Shen Jie): Brother Jiang, how's your work over there, has it stabilized?]
Seeing this message, Jiang Lin remembered.
When he returned to the underworld before, he had told Shen Jie he was going to work.
[Jiang Lin: Yes, it's stabilized. During work, I can't check my phone often.]
*Click,*
As soon as Jiang Lin replied,
A faint sound came from the door.
It sounded like...
Someone was trying to pick the lock.
...
*Click,*
*Click,*
The faint sound of lock picking was as clear and unignorable to Jiang Lin as if someone were shouting into his ear with a megaphone.
He probed with his senses.
He saw a short man in black clothes and black pants, wearing a baseball cap.
On the same floor,
Someone opened their door, carrying trash to throw in the hallway.
The man in the baseball cap mumbled somewhat convincingly:
"Why won't it open... Did I grab the wrong key?"
The person throwing the trash glanced at him, paid no mind, and returned to their room.
*Click,*
The door opened.
The man in the baseball cap, holding the key, entered the room openly, turned on the light.
He looked around.
Then he threw off his hat, revealing a head of dyed yellow hair.
He slouched onto the sofa.
Looking around the living room as if it were his own.
This apartment had been on the yellow-haired man's radar for a month.
He was sure that the person living here hadn't moved out.
And,
They had likely gone on a long trip, not returning for some time.
Just before entering the building, he had squatted outside all night.
No one had entered, and the apartment lights were off.
And...
He touched the coffee table in front of him, which was covered in a layer of dust.
"What should I take..."
The yellow-haired man stood up and walked around the living room.
He found the apartment to be exceptionally 'clean'.
Apart from the original furniture like the TV and sofa, there was nothing valuable.
At first glance, it was impossible to tell that anyone lived there.
The only things that were light and easy to take were the few half-dead potted plants on the balcony.
The yellow-haired man scoffed and spat.
He decided to check the inner rooms.
From his stakeouts, he had observed that the owner of the apartment always bought things in large bags.
They looked quite wealthy.
Plus, they lived alone, had no job, and a decent appearance.
Just like some rich second-generation heirs who had left home that he had encountered before.
A watch or a phone from such a person could easily provide him with several months of living expenses after selling it.
...
In the bedroom,
Jiang Lin raised an eyebrow at the spit on the floor.
He hadn't been back for a while, and the apartment was already being targeted?
He moved his fingers, turning off his phone.
The screen went dark, and his entire body instantly merged into the darkness.
An eerie, cold aura permeated the bedroom.
...
*Click—*
The bedroom door opened.
Slices of light poured in.
As the yellow-haired man had expected, there was no sign of anyone living in the room.
He directly turned on the bedroom light and began to rummage around.
Under the bed, the headboard, the cabinets...
These were the places he searched for things.
"Damn it, did this guy leave nothing behind?"
From the head of the bed to the foot, the yellow-haired man's patience was wearing thin.
He couldn't help but curse.
If there was truly nothing, then he had been watching this month for nothing?
Thinking of this, his temper flared.
*Sizzle—*
The overhead light flickered.
The yellow-haired man glanced up, then continued searching the bedside table.
*Sizzle—*
The light flickered again.
A pair of feet appeared in the yellow-haired man's field of vision.
White, as if made of paper.
The yellow-haired man's searching motion froze.
He slowly looked up.
He saw a paper effigy, like those sold in funeral shops.
It had eyes, a nose, and a mouth.
There were two blushes on its cheeks, and its eyes were curved, looking at him.
"Holy crap!"
The yellow-haired man lurched backward, falling onto the floor.
The blood in his body seemed to freeze instantly.
His heart pounded.
*Sizzle—*
The light flickered.
The room darkened, and when the light came back on.
The terrifying paper effigy had disappeared.
The yellow-haired man stared blankly for two seconds, then quickly moved.
He turned the room upside down, inside and out, checking the curtains and cabinets.
He couldn't find the paper effigy anywhere.
As if it had never appeared.
A hallucination?
The yellow-haired man's eyes darted to the only place he hadn't searched yet.
—Under the bed.
He quietly backed away two steps, then suddenly leaned down to look.
Under the bed, a paper effigy with blush was smiling at him.
It made a strange sound: "Hee hee hee... Hee hee hee hee..."
Their eyes met, and the yellow-haired man's hair stood on end.
From head to toe, he felt a chill.
"Ahhhh—"
The yellow-haired man couldn't help but yell at the space under the bed.
As he yelled, he scrambled up and ran towards the door.
As if as long as he yelled loud enough, fear wouldn't catch up to him.
And someone would come to save him.
Completely forgetting his original purpose, and forgetting that he was a thief.
"Ahhhh!!!"
He ran out the door and to the elevator.
He frantically pressed the down button.
"Stop, stop, stop!"
The next second, the elevator actually stopped.
Without thinking, the yellow-haired man ran inside and quickly pressed the close door button.
He reflexively pressed the button for the first floor.
As the elevator slowly descended,
He finally caught his breath and gradually recovered.
His heart was still pounding.
"What was that just now?"
Had he really encountered something unclean?
No, no, no, he was just stealing something, not killing anyone.
Why would a ghost come looking for him?
The yellow-haired man tried to comfort himself.
After a while, he gradually calmed down.
His gaze fell on the elevator floor indicator, and he suddenly felt something was wrong.
10...
9...
Why was this elevator so slow?
*Ding~*
The elevator opened on the fourth floor.
The yellow-haired man thought someone was coming up.
But when the elevator door opened, there was no one outside.
His nerves tensed again.
A moment later, the elevator door closed automatically.
It slowly descended to the first floor.
"Hoo~" The yellow-haired man exhaled.
*Hoo~*
A gust of cold air landed on the back of his neck.
"!!!"
*Bang!*
The yellow-haired man leaped back, his back slamming against the cold elevator door.
*Sizzle—*
The lights in the elevator flickered.
A white figure with disheveled hair appeared on the elevator door in front.
"Ahhhh— Don't come any closer!"
The yellow-haired man kept pressing himself backward, watching the red elevator numbers.
"Hee hee hee... Why aren't you coming closer?"
A sweet laugh sounded from behind him.
A pair of hands slowly reached out from the elevator wall and touched his face.
3,
2,
1.
*Ding~*
The elevator door opened.
The yellow-haired man ran out like a madman.
"Ahhhh, there's a ghost, ahhh—"
...