Translator: CinderTL
The last item on the shelf was a black-covered notebook. Opening the first page, they found the name "Tong Jianhui" written in delicate, elegant handwriting.
The name was familiar to everyone. The last missing girl had finally been identified.
According to Yuan Xiaoyi, Xiaohui had been a straight-A student with few interests beyond classes and club activities. "If you wanted to find her, the library was the surest bet," Yuan had said. "She practically lived there."
But when they opened the notebook to read its contents, they were shocked to find that the pages appeared to have been soaked in water, rendering the writing a blurry, illegible mess.
Their mission was accomplished. They had confirmed that the five missing girls were real, not merely figments of Yuan Xiaoyi's imagination.
The knife marks on the wall and the shards of broken mirror told them that something truly terrifying had happened here that night.
They had a feeling that this was the truth the person who cleaned up the scene had desperately tried to conceal.
"We shouldn't stay here any longer," Gao Yan said, glancing at the scattered clothes on the floor with an unnatural look in his eyes. "Now that we've gathered most of the clues, let's get out of here quickly."
The exploration had yielded significant results, but it also served as a stark warning.
"Wait," Jiang Cheng called out, quickly gathering the scattered items from the floor. He stuffed the clothes, shoes, and other belongings back into the bag.
Just as Jiang Cheng was about to repeat his familiar maneuver—steadying Shen Mengyun while she replaced the bag on the shelf—an accident occurred.
For reasons unknown, Shen Mengyun suddenly shuddered and plummeted straight down from the shelf. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng's reflexes were sharp; he caught her in his arms. Even so, the momentum sent them stumbling backward several steps before they collapsed in a tangled heap.
"How could you be so careless?" Gao Yan hurried over.
But when he saw Shen Mengyun's face, his expression shifted. Her face was etched with terror, and her shoulders trembled uncontrollably.
"What's wrong?" Jiang Cheng immediately sensed her distress. She clung to him like a frightened kitten, her lips pale.
"Someone..." Shen Mengyun whispered, her eyes wide with fear. "Someone's here!"
Gao Yan's vigilance sharpened instantly. He switched on his phone's flashlight and scanned the surroundings, his voice urgent. "Where? Show me!"
After calming down, Shen Mengyun stood up, took a deep breath, and pointed to a nearby shelf. "He's right there," she whispered, her voice still trembling. "He was standing behind that shelf. I saw him because I was up higher."
Everyone followed Shen Mengyun's gaze to the shelf. It was similar to the ones in front of them, with a dark area surrounding it and the lower shelves piled high with boxes. From their vantage point, they couldn't see what was behind it.
What's meant to be will be. Without a word, Jiang Cheng and Gao Yan slowly approached the shelf. Perhaps shaken by her earlier scare, Shen Mengyun chose to stay close behind Jiang Cheng this time.
The trio cautiously circled around to flank the back of the shelf.
"Whew..." Gao Yan exhaled heavily as he stood beside the shelf. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and turned to Shen Mengyun. "Miss Shen, there's no one here. Could you have been too tense and mistaken something?"
Up close, they could see the shelf held a bizarre assortment of items: boxes, deflated basketballs and volleyballs, and even a few flowerpots mixed in.
In the dim light, from a distance, it wouldn't be surprising if those objects resembled a human head.
"Did I really see it wrong?" Shen Mengyun wondered, doubting her own eyes after seeing the shelf.
The easiest way to confirm would be to return to the original spot, have Shen Mengyun climb back up, and take another look. But everyone instinctively rejected this option.
There was no doubt this place was eerie, and they felt it best not to tempt fate unless absolutely necessary.
Though impractical to have Shen Mengyun repeat the climb, Jiang Cheng wasn't ready to give up. After a moment's thought, he asked, "Where exactly did you see the figure?"
Shen Mengyun paused to recall, then pointed to the third shelf, near the side of a box. "Around here," she whispered.
Her tone was uncertain. "I only caught a blurry shadow. It looked like a human head hiding behind the box. I was so tense at the time, so..."
Jiang Cheng quickly estimated that, based on the height of the gap in the third shelf, anyone standing behind it would need to be around 1.6 meters tall for Shen Mengyun, positioned higher up, to see only their head.
That height... wasn't that a little too coincidental?
"Brother Jiang, let's get out of here quickly," Gao Yan urged, his anxiety palpable, as if he sensed something amiss.
Even Shen Mengyun was pale, her gaze darting nervously toward the gate, as if she feared another figure might suddenly appear behind it.
"Shine the light for me," Jiang Cheng said without hesitation, striding behind the shelves. The area was cluttered with haphazardly stacked boxes and discarded balls, leaving barely any room to maneuver.
Fortunately, the debris consisted mostly of easily movable cardboard boxes and worn-out sports equipment, none of which were tall enough to conceal a person. Hiding in this mess would be impractical.
Turning back to examine the shelf where Shen Mengyun had stood earlier, and combining her description of the figure's location with his own assessment, Jiang Cheng carefully navigated the obstacles to reach the approximate spot she had indicated.
Jiang Cheng scanned the area with his phone, then gently wiped a shelf, revealing a thick layer of dust. It was clear the area hadn't been touched in a long time.
Lowering his head, as if reluctant to give up, Jiang Cheng nudged a box on the floor with his foot. The sight that followed made his pupils shrink in shock.
A puddle of water had appeared beside the box.
At the same moment, Shen Mengyun's voice rang out, tinged with panic: "Yes, that's exactly it! The person I saw was standing right where you are!"
It took Jiang Cheng a few seconds to regain his composure. From Shen Mengyun and Gao Yan's positions, the puddle would have been invisible due to the angle.
After a moment's thought, Jiang Cheng decided to share his discovery, partly to gauge their reactions.
As expected, the instant they noticed the puddle, both Shen Mengyun, who claimed to have seen the figure, and Gao Yan turned deathly pale.
They desperately wanted to believe it was just a warehouse leak, but how could such a coincidence be possible?
"So... someone has been standing here the whole time, watching us?" Gao Yan's tongue trembled.
Suddenly, their fear of the surrounding darkness intensified tenfold.
After all, it had started as just a suspicion, but now it was confirmed.
The group fled the warehouse as if their lives depended on it, retracing their steps down the dimly lit corridor. Jiang Cheng switched on his phone, using its light to illuminate the path ahead, while Gao Yan kept a nervous watch over their backs.
(End of the Chapter)
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