Chapter 3: The Locked Room

My head felt heavy and muddled, as if everything in my field of vision were covered by a thick, heavy veil. The sound of traffic from the main road in the distance seemed erratic—now far, now near—unreal, as if I were dreaming.

I walked in this uncomfortable, dazed state for I don’t know how long before my mind finally regained a sliver of its ability to think. Yu Sheng hesitated, stopped in his tracks, and looked back at the path he had taken.

The sky had turned almost completely dark, and the streetlights along the way had been lit for some time. He was walking down a narrow street near his home. The low, old residential buildings on both sides of the road looked like two rows of beasts crouching in the night, while the "ground-floor shops" that residents had illegally converted from their homes radiated warm light, dispelling the lingering chill that had taken root in his heart.

Chill?

Suddenly, Yu Sheng felt that coldness piercing his lungs and marrow once more. He felt the blade-like freezing rain hitting his skin, and he felt those two cold, slick gazes—the gaze of a frog staring at him.

He gasped, suffocating, and it took over ten seconds before he suddenly remembered how to breathe. He panted heavily while quickly looking down at his chest.

For a fleeting moment, he had the illusion that there was still a gaping hole in his chest, that his heart was gone, and that his ribcage was as silent and cold as an extinguished furnace. But the next second, he felt his heartbeat again; he even seemed to hear a distinct "thump" in his ears... Yes, living people have heartbeats.

He was still alive. He hadn't had his heart eaten by a bizarre, giant frog.

But the fragments of memories surging madly through his mind washed over him like a tsunami. No matter how much he tried to ignore them, he couldn't push them out. Yu Sheng remembered that rain, he remembered the door drawn on the wall, and he remembered that giant frog... He tried to tell himself it was just a hallucination, but that thought was rapidly wavering as his memories washed over him again and again, becoming clearer.

He had died once, but for some reason, he was still alive, and he was walking home—he was almost there, just two intersections away.

This was the most bizarre thing among all the bizarre events he had encountered since arriving in this wicked city.

Gaze from nearby caught his attention. Yu Sheng noticed that his unusual behavior had attracted the notice of passersby. Someone nearby was hesitating, perhaps wanting to approach and ask if he needed help. He hurriedly waved his hand, avoided further interaction with the passersby, and quickened his pace to leave the area.

He didn't know what had happened to him, but clearly, standing in the street lost in thought wouldn't help resolve his confusion.

He hurried through the small path, left the last street near the old residential area, and headed toward his "home" in this city.

Although it was only two intersections away, the surrounding environment was noticeably more desolate and cold—as if he had walked into a forgotten corner of the city. There were fewer and fewer pedestrians on the road, and eventually, the only things accompanying Yu Sheng were the cold streetlights. After walking a bit further, he saw that old house standing in the night, which seemed to maintain a sense of detachment from the surrounding buildings.

It was an unremarkable house, a three-story old building with mottled walls and a sloped roof. The old doors and windows, though aged, were clean and intact. Such a house looked like one of those "self-built small buildings" added privately in urban villages decades ago when management wasn't strict, a historical relic that had become a bug in urban planning as time passed.

Yu Sheng didn't know much about the urban management system of this "Boundary City," which was vastly different from his memories. After all, he had only been here for two months. Excluding the time he wasted staying indoors out of caution when he first arrived, he had only just adapted to his new life here and figured out the situation in the surrounding area—but one thing he was very clear about.

This big house was the only relatively safe place for him to stay in this dangerous and incongruous city—at least while he was inside, he hadn't seen those wicked shadows.

Although the house itself had many things that he found strange.

Yu Sheng took a light breath, carrying the supermarket shopping bag still in his hand, stepped through the cold light cast by the streetlights, and reached the door to take out his keys.

The old door creaked open, and Yu Sheng entered the house and turned on the light. Even though this house was almost completely different from the "home" in his memories, the moment the light came on, he felt a genuine sense of... stability.

He turned and closed the door, shutting the city's night outside.

He then tossed the things he bought from the supermarket onto the shelf at the entrance of the kitchen, hurried through the somewhat empty living room, and went to the mirror in the bathroom, pulling open his clothes at the chest.

The images in his memory were too clear and profound, making him unable to resist checking repeatedly.

There were no scars on his chest, no bloodstains, as if the "death" had never happened.

Yu Sheng frowned, checked his clothes for damage, and pressed on the spot where the frog had supposedly ripped out his heart and lungs in his memory, only then truly confirming that he was not, in fact, a person with an open heart.

"That's wicked..."

He muttered softly, left the bathroom, and turned back to the living room.

Behind him, the surface of the mirror above the sink silently cracked into fissures, then quickly and soundlessly closed back up...

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Yu Sheng sorted through his chaotic thoughts. He didn't know how much time had passed, but his exhausted mind finally quieted down into a daze.

Sleep enveloped him.

The dazed feeling lasted for a long, long time, until an abrupt "thud" exploded in his mind. The sound was like someone hitting a stone with a shovel right above his head, jolting Yu Sheng awake from his slumber.

He opened his eyes in the darkness, stunned for a moment before realizing—the living room light had been turned off.

He clearly remembered leaving the light on before he fell asleep!

A sense of alarm rose in his heart. Yu Sheng almost instinctively reached for the telescopic baton nearby. After arriving in this strange and eerie city, the first thing he did was prepare this self-defense tool. Although it hadn't been of much use so far, as a terrifying upright ape, holding a stick at least provided a bit of psychological comfort. He then cautiously stood up, keeping an eye on every movement in the darkness.

In such a desolate and remote place, a burglar breaking into the house didn't seem unimaginable. In fact, Yu Sheng would rather a burglar have broken in; at least a burglar could be beaten to death with a baton, whereas a meter-tall frog could not.

But the living room was silent. There were no signs of an intruder, nor could he hear any movement from a thief.

The good news was that he couldn't hear the frog either.

Using the faint light of the streetlamps filtering in from outside, Yu Sheng moved while keeping his body low, identifying his surroundings, and slowly felt his way to the wall switch, raising his hand to turn on the light.

His eyes instantly emitted a bright glow, scanning the living room in the darkness.

Yu Sheng blinked, feeling that something was strange in his field of vision, though he couldn't say exactly what was abnormal. Regardless, at least the surroundings were lit up, and he could now see the situation in the living room.

He hunched his back slightly, holding the baton, and began to check every corner of the house.

The first floor only had the living room, kitchen, dining room, and a spare room that wasn't currently in use. Everything was normal.

He hesitated at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor, then stepped up.

There were three rooms on the second floor: one was his current bedroom, one was used for storage, and the last one at the end of the hallway was locked.

When Yu Sheng arrived here, that room was already locked. He had searched the entire house but never found the key.

He checked his bedroom and the storage room opposite it first, then came to the locked room.

As usual, the door was tightly shut.

In fact, it wasn't that Yu Sheng hadn't tried technical means to deal with the lock. These methods included, but were not limited to, an impact drill and a handheld chainsaw. But all attempts had failed. At the time, the drill and chainsaw had sparked wildly against the seemingly fragile wooden door, and the drill bit and saw teeth had been worn smooth without leaving a single mark.

Of course, he had also tried seeking more advanced technical means, such as finding a locksmith. He had found three in succession; the first two got lost on the way to the old city and couldn't find where 66 Wutong Road was after wandering for a long time, and the third one was hit by a motorcycle just after crossing an intersection and had only been discharged from the hospital last week...

It was as if some mysterious force was preventing Yu Sheng from opening this locked room in his own home.

Yes, although this big house was the only relatively safe place for him to stay in this city, even the house itself had many... "wrong" things about it.

Yu Sheng reached out and gripped the doorknob, trying to turn it. As expected, it didn't budge.

No unexpected "accidents" occurred; it was still locked.

But perhaps it wasn't an illusion—as he futilely turned the handle... he seemed to hear a faint, soft giggle.

The laughter came from the other side of the door. It sounded like a young woman's voice, as if she were mocking his inability to do anything about a door.

Yu Sheng's hair stood on end instantly!

His only safe place in this city, the house he had lived in for two months, right here in his home, this room that had always been locked... there was someone hiding inside!

...Why hadn't she starved to death?

(End of chapter)