A series of horror incidents occurred at Xin Lu many years ago. The influence took a decade to lighten. According to rumours, more than ten million people had to undergo brain realm surgery to forget certain things.
The cheaters mentioned by Director Lee participated in those taboo events. Some of them managed to escape the detection and the brain surgery, thus retaining some of their confidential memories.
“He shouldn’t be a cheater.” Tang Qing pulled up Gao Ming’s files. “He is a teacher from Xin Lu First High. He almost died trying to save his students. While he was comatose, the hospital used our latest technology to save his life.”
“He used our latest technology?!” Director Lee frowned. The way he looked at Gao Ming was different from before.
“Yes. That is why he was selected for this test. Normally, he’d need to wait for another month before he can participate in any tests.” Tang Qing smiled bitterly, “But I didn’t expect this to happen. I didn’t know what happened to him. I believe his brain might have more research values than the criminal’s.”
“Heavy coma, close-death experience and a miraculous recovery,” Director Lee had his people get into the car to move the devices, “Keep an eye on this tester’s conditions at all times. He might have entered the middle layer before.”
Gao Ming’s various data appeared on the screens. He looked very healthy, unlike someone who had been unconscious for months.
“Tang Qing, you’ll stay here to protect him!”
The light was torn apart by the darkness. They melted like snow.
The building was sunken into darkness. Gao Ming stood alone in the guest room. He felt no tinge of fear. If anything, he felt the shadow’s caress.
When his body was almost enveloped by the shadow, the ghosts looked at him like he was already dead. He felt his body falling. He looked around and felt like the whole world was falling. The shadow seeped into his skin. Gao Ming had the sensation of falling into an endless well. The well was hidden underneath the ground of this old house, and no one knew about it except the owner.
The fat old man and his wife lunged at Gao Ming. The testers they killed before this merely had their consciousness flung back to the real world, but things had changed.
The ‘ghosts’ that were connected to the girl strangled Gao Ming. They wrung his body tightly until he could barely breathe. The shadow surged into his skin. His life force leaked out. As Gao Ming’s eyes slowly closed, the girl in the bed appeared to want to open her eyes.
“Little Sister! Are you home?” The silly man’s voice came from outside the room. He crawled towards the bed, ignoring all the danger. The bed was the centre of the darkness, but he didn’t care. He willingly fell into the abyss with his sister.
The thick shadow was like a swamp. The silly man was fully submerged in it. He called after his sister. His body was bitten by the two dogs. The ghosts didn’t really want to hurt him. They simply didn’t want him to get close to the girl. He had never gotten so close to the girl. This time, it was because Gao Ming had distracted most of the ghosts for him.
The man smacked away the dogs. He reached for the girl. When he tried to move her, the girl opened her eyes. The moment she did, the ghosts revealed horrified expressions. All the areas in the building that were infected by the shadow lost their colours. Everything, including the girl, was enveloped by a layer of shadow. They appeared inside the same building but existed in different planes.
The burnt smell disappeared. All the scorch marks faded away. The building reverted to how it was several decades ago. The yard was filled with flowers. The fruits overflowed on the dining table. A comedy played on the television. The scene was cosy. However, everything in the girl’s eyes was bound by dark threads. Once she touched them, she’d be pierced by them.
The ghastly ghosts were sucked into the girl’s heart, mind and eyes.
“Little Sister!” The silly man’s voice shook. In his embrace, the girl appeared smaller and more vulnerable.
“Big brother…” The girl opened her eyes blurrily. Her body was shattered. Her clothes were sewn into her skin. She looked like a doll from a distance, but upon closer inspection, one would realise her limbs were bound by many small threads to the building. “You shouldn’t have come here.”
The silly man sobbed. The girl touched his head. She looked a lot more mature than he did.
“Brother, you should let go after guarding outside my nightmare for so many years,” The girl reached out her hand to rub her brother’s dirty face. When he calmed down, she turned to Gao Ming, “Who are you? Why are you here?”
“I lost something very important.” Gao Ming walked to the girl, “I want to find it. Your home gives me a very familiar feeling.”
“This is not my home,” The girl’s voice dripped with disgust. “The thing you’re looking for is not here. There are only pain, despair and hatred here.”
“No. I can sense my heart beating. This is the first time I’ve ever been so excited since I woke up.” This was very rude to Liu Yi. When Gao Ming lay by her side, he never felt .
Gao Ming silenced the girl. After a long time, she said, “The thing you’re looking for is definitely not here. This is a nightmare I can’t escape from.” The girl’s body was soaked in the darkness. Her eyes filled with despair and pain. They’d only change when she regarded her own brother.
“I was in a nightmare too. I died many times in that city. Perhaps I can find that city again through your dream.” Gao Ming moved to the window. It was dark outside. Then, he returned to the first floor to face the unknown darkness. He took a step out. However, as his feet landed, he found himself back inside the girl’s room. Many thin strands of lines were added to his arms and legs.
“Once you touch something in this building, you’d be bound to it. The more you interact with it, the lower your chance of leaving. In the end, you’d be assimilated into the nightmare.” The threads on the girl had carried over to her brother. “Like me.”
The girl sighed since she saw Gao Ming was still unwilling to give up. “Each nightmare is special and is based on the person’s life experience. After being adopted into this cage, I wanted to escape every day. However, my two elder brothers were like two evil dogs and watched me daily. Furthermore, there was a devil haunting me. I thought there was an angel to help me, but the angel’s wings were black in colour too. Once you’re in this home, you won’t be able to leave.”