After taking a deep breath, Chen Ge decided to ignore this woman for now. He wanted to finish the nightmare mission first. When he made the 41th step, the sound of howling wind seemed to decrease, but it was unclear whether it was due to the ghosts that had congregated around Chen Ge or something else. The light from his phone started to twist, and the surroundings had become darker.
Chen Ge called out his name.
Three more steps left.
The woman on the left side of the tunnel was getting closer, and many other ghosts were before his eyes. Chen Ge kept his eyes on the end of the tunnel and made his 42nd step. Just as his foot landed on the ground, the flashlight on his phone went out.
It happened without warning, and no matter how hard Chen Ge tried to reopen it, the phone remained dead. The night fell to swamp Chen Ge, and even with the Yin Yang Vision, he could only see two to three meters further than a normal person. Without any light to guide him, Chen Ge stood where he was, afraid to move recklessly.
Suspended in perfect darkness, one's five senses would be eclipsed, and without any guidance, it was easy to get lost. He was afraid that he might trip and lose his sense of direction. If he got lost inside the tunnel, that was the end. He might end up wandering deeper into the tunnel instead of walking out.
The surroundings quieted down, and so did the woman in the red dress. However, the feeling was not good. He knew that ghosts surrounded him, but he could not see them. Chen Ge's breathing became difficult, and pressure came from all sides. I cannot stay here any longer.
Lifting his leg, Chen Ge made the 43rd step. The tunnel became even quieter, like all the ghosts had disappeared, and weirdly enough, there was a light coming from inside the tunnel. It was soft and unclear.
Is that the exit?
The light did not stop. It kept moving, like someone holding a lantern. Chen Ge did not lose his composure—he focused fully on that light. It felt like something was pushing down on his body, and he felt compressed. As the light wandered closer, the pressure on his body increased.
One last step. I'll make this step and see what happens!
He felt like his body was about to be torn apart. He picked up his foot and was ready to make the 44th step. The light neared, and the figure hidden behind the light also became clearer. Chen Ge's left leg hung in midair. His pupils narrowed, and he could not believe his eyes.
That is…
It was a boy behind the light. He was carrying a school bag, and the bag was half-opened to reveal a roughly-made rag doll. Someone was holding the boy's left hand, and his right hand was holding a phone. The phone was an old model, the kind that did not have an integrated flashlight function. He could only rely on the weak light of the display to slowly move forward step by step. The boy had a serious expression like he was looking for something.
His hand was lifted upward, so obviously, he was there with an adult. Probably because he had been holding the phone, he was tired. He put down his arm and moved another few steps before he stopped before Chen Ge. The boy did not seem to notice anyone before him, and he focused his gaze on the endless darkness.
The adult next to him seemed to converse with him, probably advising him to give up, but the boy did not agree and kept his eyes on the darkness. The boy seemed to have felt something. He raised his head and aimed the phone directly before him. Inside the dark tunnel, the light, so weak that it could be ignored, helped connect the gazes of the two people.
Chen Ge stood on the other end of the tunnel like a statue, and his eyes stared at the boy's face. The boy was him from the past!
His arms shaking, Chen Ge had a hard time describing it.
I once saw a red house on the eastern side of Jiujiang, and there were many children playing around the house. Then I fainted. When I woke up, I was already inside a car. As for what happened in between, even now, my memory is a blank.
Chen Ge looked at the boy, and the boy looked at him.
Under the faded light of the phone, the boy opened his lips. Chen Ge could not hear him clearly, but from the movement of the lips, the boy seemed to say—Found it!
The boy probably had other things to say, but the adult beside him did not give him the chance to continue. Chen Ge could see the boy's neck starting to twist, as if the adult who accompanied him into the tunnel was strangling the boy's neck. His body turned cold, and Chen Ge gasped greedily for air. He wanted to stop the adult, and he moved his leg, making the 44th step!
He stepped on air, and his body started to fall. Then, it felt like his soul was knocked out of his body, and it was sucked into something. The light started to drift away. He wanted to hold onto something, but no one was able to help him. An indescribable sense of despair suffocated his heart, and he slowly closed his eyes.
However, just as his eyes were about to close, a red shadow appeared at the end of the light. Blood covered everything, and the person was like a red sun. She banished the enveloping darkness, and everything in sight became blood red.
"Zhang Ya?"
There was a pain on the back of his arm, and Chen Ge's eyes flew open. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and Chen Ge's phone came back on. He was still standing inside the tunnel.
I saw myself from about a decade ago? That was the thing I've forgotten? Chen Ge's heart was chilled. So, someone has been trying to kill me since then.
In his memory, there was nothing about this killer, and none of the people around him had been sent into jail. This meant that this person who wanted to kill him was probably still in his social circle.
Now, I can only confirm that person is in the eastern part of Jiujiang. The problem is not big. There's still time to even things out. Chen Ge looked at the spot where the pain had originated. The white cat had bitten his skin until it bled. "Thankfully, I brought you with me."
Chen Ge touched the white cat's head, but he wanted to thank Zhang Ya even more. As he turned his head to look at his shadow, he suddenly realized that the woman in a red dress was standing just beside him.
Her body broken and her head caved in, she looked at Chen Ge and repeated her plea. "I'm here, help me. I'm here…"
"I almost forgot about you." Chen Ge could no longer avoid her since she was so close. He gritted his teeth, glanced at his shadow, and turned to face the woman. "How do you want me to help you?"