Chapter 4 : He arrived.

　　I mustered all my strength to stand up, even though my body felt completely weak. I reached out my hand and slowly approached the window. With trembling steps, I could almost hear the rapid beating of my heart, as if it would jump out at any moment. I knew it couldn't, but I was truly terrified!

　　Each tiny movement challenged my mental endurance greatly. Finally, I managed to grab the edge of the curtain and pulled it tightly to the right, securely closing the window.

　　I collapsed onto the floor, completely drained of energy by my previous actions. Sitting on the ground, I took deep breaths, and the cold sweat made my oversized hospital gown stick to my body.

　　I brushed my bangs, which had been clinging to my face, behind my ears. A drop of sweat from my bangs fell onto the back of my hand, sending a chill down.

　　"Why haven't you come yet..." My voice choked with sobs, but despite that, I struggled to get up again, found my phone, and was about to make a call when someone knocked on my door!!!

　　Thud! Thud thud! My hand holding the phone trembled, and my heart raced to my throat!

　　But this time, the knocking was rather faint, not giving me much time to think. A man's voice came from outside the door.

　　"Xia Ning, are you asleep?"

　　"Why did you just get here..." I nervously asked, clutching the phone tightly to my chest.

　　"Oh, Xia Ning, you're still awake. Um... my car broke down on the way, so I rode a bike all the way here... I'm really sorry!"

　　Upon hearing his explanation, I felt somewhat relieved. I walked slowly towards him and finally opened the tightly closed door. Behind the door stood Zhang Yang, wearing a black casual outfit. He had a square face with short hair and wore a pair of glasses. He was about the same height as me, around 1.7 meters. He was slightly panting, and there was a hint of sweat on the tip of his nose, indicating that he had run over.

　　Suddenly, I felt his gaze was somewhat unusual. His eyes were fixed on my chest, his mouth slightly agape as he stood there in a daze.

　　I looked down and discovered that my collar had unknowingly opened up a hole.

　　I let out a soft gasp, turned around, and blushed as I buttoned it up. The atmosphere became somewhat ambiguous, even diluting some of the fear in my heart.

　　"Xia... Xia Ning, can I come in?" He pretended as if nothing had happened, but his trembling voice gave everything away.

　　Suddenly, I remembered the figure standing by the streetlight. I turned around nervously and asked, "Did you see someone standing there by the roadside?"

　　His response infuriated me, although I secretly enjoyed hearing it. But now was really not the time.

　　"Xia... Xia Ning, you look so beautiful!" He kept staring at my face, speaking softly.

　　"Just tell me, did you see anyone?" I said angrily, raising my voice a bit. It was then that I noticed the dim lighting in the corridor and the absence of any sound. My voice echoed back slightly. Perhaps this was how the hospital was in the middle of the night.

　　"Oh, um, I did see someone on the road earlier, but I didn't pay much attention," he nervously replied upon sensing my anger.

　　"Who was it? What did they look like?" I lowered my voice, feeling even more anxious!

　　"I didn't see her clearly, but she seemed like a woman, I'm pretty sure. She was wearing a dress!" he said, pointing towards the hospital entrance.

　　My heart skipped a beat, and I was about to let him in, but what I saw in front of me froze me on the spot! Yumeng's voice suddenly echoed slowly behind Zhang Yang, "Are you... looking for me?" Then, Yumeng tilted her head and looked at us from the side. There was a visible cut on her neck, oozing a trickle of blood, making it disturbingly clear!

　　"Ah..." My heart pounded violently. I screamed and fainted on the spot!

　　... ... "Xia Ning... Xia Ning, wake up!" A distant voice reached my ears, gradually becoming clearer as it approached.

　　"Xia Ning!"

　　That voice was Wu Jing's!

　　As my consciousness slowly returned, I realized that I was sitting on the cold ground. I slowly opened my eyes and the first thing I saw was the blackened floor in front of me, stained with dark blood. It had dried up, leaving that gruesome appearance!

　　Seeing this horrifying sight, I suddenly realized something!

　　"You're awake..." Wu Jing's weak voice came from in front of me.

　　As I looked up, the scene before me was hard to accept, or rather, impossible to accept...! Not far from me was Wu Jing, her face pale as paper. She lay on a nearby metal bed, and... there was a tube inserted into her thigh, with blood slowly dripping into a blood basin. Almost half a basin of blood had already accumulated... Her arm was also severed, with a clean cut. There was a rusty kitchen knife on the ground, stained with blood!

　　Moonlight seeped through the window, allowing me to see everything clearly.

　　I wanted to cover my mouth with my hand, but I realized that I was tied to the radiator pipe behind me. Suddenly, memories of the scene before I lost consciousness flooded back to me!!!!

　　I looked around in fear, my heart pounding with extreme terror. Finally, I found Zhang Yang, who was also bound to a radiator pipe in the deeper part of the room, unconscious but seemingly unharmed.

　　What terrified me was the horrifying figure next to him!!! Despite the darkness in the room, I could still make out that silhouette—it was Yumeng!!!

　　I widened my eyes, trembling, as if my blood had stopped flowing. I felt an icy chill all over my body.

　　The figure tilted its head and held something in its hand, smearing it on the floor.

　　"Xia Ning..."

　　Weakly, Wu Jing's voice reached me, but it only intensified my fear.

　　"Xia Ning..."

　　Wu Jing weakly called out again...

　　I didn't know what she was trying to say at this moment, but I forced myself to turn and look at Wu Jing.

　　To my surprise, Wu Jing actually smiled at me and said, "If you have the chance... you should kill yourself... if you have the chance..." As she spoke, blood trickled from the corner of her mouth, and her voice became unclear. She started coughing!

　　"Kill myself...!" The words echoed in my mind.

　　"Kill myself... kill myself!" I muttered.

　　Suddenly, footsteps approached from that direction, dragging on the floor as if lacking strength. Stiffly, I turned my head to look, and Yumeng's body was holding onto her own head. Normally, she would wear two twisted braids, but now her left hand was clutching one of the braids, and her head was upside down. In her other hand, she held Wu Jing's severed hand as she walked towards us!!!

　　I stared in horror, my scalp tingling. I wanted to faint right there, but I couldn't do it.

　　My body froze, and it seemed like I had forgotten everything around me—I forgot all ability to move, even to breathe! I could only stare blankly as that familiar yet unfamiliar horrifying figure became clearer.

　　"That monster is here... Hahaha... sob..." She started with a somewhat crazed, weak laughter, then after a few gasps, it slowly turned into sobbing.

　　I could finally see clearly! Her body had entered the range covered by moonlight, and the wound on her neck was no longer bleeding. There were some shreds of flesh hanging from it, and the protruding vertebrae were clearly visible!

　　The severed head in her hand was staring straight at me!!!

　　I wanted to scream, but it felt like I had lost all ability at this moment. Fear had taken over my entire body!