Chapter 3: The Locked Room

His mind felt foggy and heavy, as if a thick veil covered everything in his vision; the sound of traffic from the main road in the distance seemed hazy and wavering, sometimes near, sometimes far, unreal as if he were dreaming.

After walking for an unknown duration in this uncomfortable daze, his mind finally regained some ability to think. Yu Sheng hesitated, stopped, and turned to look at the path he had come from.

The sky had almost turned completely dark; streetlights along the way had lit up early. He was walking on 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" privately converted by residents on the first floor radiated warm light outward, dispelling a trace of cold that had settled in his heart.

Cold?

Suddenly, Yu Sheng seemed to feel that coldness piercing his lungs and marrow again, felt the freezing rain like blades falling on his skin, and felt those two cold, slippery gazes—the gaze of a frog staring at him.

He gasped for air, choking, and only after ten or so seconds did he seem to suddenly remember how to breathe. While panting heavily, he quickly looked down at his chest.

In that moment, he had a fleeting illusion that there was still a huge hole in his chest, that his heart was gone, and that his chest was as silent and cold as an extinguished stove. But the next second, he felt his heartbeat again; even beside his ears, he seemed to hear an exceptionally clear "thump" sound... Yes, living people have heartbeats.

He was still alive; he had not had his heart eaten by a bizarre giant frog.

But those frantic, surging fragments of memory washed over his mind like a tsunami. No matter how he tried to ignore them, he could not push his own memories away. Yu Sheng remembered that rain, the door painted on the wall, and that giant frog... He tried to tell himself it was just an illusion, but this thought was rapidly wavering as the memories washed over repeatedly and became clearer.

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

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

A gaze came from nearby. Yu Sheng noticed that his abnormal behavior at this moment seemed to have attracted the attention of passersby; someone nearby was hesitating to approach, perhaps wanting to ask if he needed help. He hurriedly waved his hand, did not exchange too many words with the passerby, and then quickened his pace to leave the place.

He did not know what had happened to him, but obviously, stopping on the road and falling into thought clearly offered no help in resolving his confusion.

He hurriedly crossed the small path, left the last street near the old residential area, and walked toward his "home" in this city.

Although only two intersections had passed, the surrounding environment clearly appeared even more desolate and cold—as if he had walked into a corner of the city forgotten by people. Pedestrians on the road became fewer and fewer, until finally, the only thing accompanying Yu Sheng was the cold streetlights. After walking for a while longer, he saw that old large house standing in the night, seeming to maintain a slight barrier with the surrounding buildings.

It was an ordinary large house, a three-story old mansion with peeling plaster and a sloped roof. The old doors and windows, though worn, were still relatively clean and intact. Such a house looked like a "self-built small building" illegally added in an urban village decades ago when management was not strict, which had become a historical relic stuck in a bug of urban construction management as time passed...

Yu Sheng did not quite understand what kind of urban construction management system this "Boundary City," which differed greatly from his memory, possessed. After all, he had only been here for two months. Excluding the time wasted at the beginning due to caution and staying indoors, he had only just adapted to his new life here and figured out the situation in the surrounding areas—that was all. But one thing he was clear about.

This large house was the only relatively safe place for him to stay in this dangerous and discordant city—at least while inside the house, he had not seen those sinister shadows.

Although this large house itself also had many places that seemed bizarre to him.

Yu Sheng took a light breath, holding the supermarket shopping bag that was still in his hand, stepped through the cold light cast by the streetlights, and arrived at the door to take out his key and unlock it.

The old door creaked open. Yu Sheng entered the house and turned on the electric light. Although this house was almost completely different from the "home" in his memory, the moment the light turned on, he still genuinely felt a certain sense of... stability.

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

Afterwards, he casually threw the things he had bought from the supermarket onto the shelf at the entrance of the kitchen to the right, then hurriedly crossed the somewhat empty living room, arrived in front of the mirror in the bathroom, and yanked open the clothes on his chest.

The scene in his memory was so clear and profound that he could not help but want to confirm it repeatedly.

There were no scars on his chest, nor any blood, as if the event of "death" had never happened.

Yu Sheng frowned, checked the integrity of his clothes again, and pressed the spot in his memory where the frog had scooped out his heart and lungs. Only then did he truly confirm that he was not currently a person with an open heart.

"This is truly bizarre..."

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

Behind him, cracks silently appeared on the surface of the mirror above the sink, then quickly and silently closed again...

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Yu Sheng sorted through his messy thoughts. He did not know how much time had passed before his extremely exhausted mind finally quieted down in a daze. Sleep enveloped him.

The daze lasted for a very long time, until a sudden "thud" sound exploded in his mind. The sound sounded like someone hitting a stone with a shovel on his head, instantly waking Yu Sheng from his deep sleep.

He opened his eyes in the darkness, paused for a moment, and then realized—the living room lights had been turned off at some point.

He clearly remembered that he had left the lights on before sleeping!

A sense of danger suddenly rose in his heart. Yu Sheng almost instinctively reached for the collapsible baton beside him. After arriving in this strange and bizarre city, the first thing he did was prepare this self-defense tool for himself. Although it seemed to have been of no use so far, as a terrifying upright ape, holding a stick in hand could at least bring a little psychological comfort. Only then did he cautiously get up slowly, while paying attention to every movement in the darkness.

In such a desolate and remote place, having a thief break into the house did not seem like an unimaginable thing. In fact, Yu Sheng would prefer it if a thief had broken in; at least a thief could be knocked dead by the baton, but a frog over a meter tall could not.

But the living room was silent; there were no signs of anyone breaking in, nor could he hear the movements of any thief.

The good news was that he also could not hear the movements of a frog.

Relying on the faint light of the streetlights filtering in through the window, Yu Sheng moved while keeping his body low, identifying his surroundings, slowly felt his way to the switch on the wall, raised his hand, and turned on the electric light.

His eyes instantly emitted a bright light, sweeping across the living room in the darkness.

Yu Sheng blinked, feeling that something was strange in his field of vision, but he could not say where the abnormality was. However, no matter what, at least the surroundings had lit up, and he could now see the situation in the living room clearly.

!.

He bent his waist slightly, held the collapsible baton, and began to check every place in the house.

The first floor only had the living room, kitchen, and dining room, plus an empty room that was temporarily unused. Everything was normal.

He hesitated for a moment at the entrance to the stairs leading to the second floor, then stepped up.

The second floor had three rooms. One was his current bedroom, one was used for storing miscellaneous items, and the last one, located at the end, was locked.

When Yu Sheng arrived here, that room was already locked. He had searched the entire large house but still had not found the key.

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

As usual, the main door was tightly closed.

In fact, Yu Sheng had not failed to try using some technical means to solve this lock. These technical means included, but were not limited to, impact drills and handheld electric saws. But all attempts failed—the impact drill and electric saw sparked wildly in front of that seemingly fragile wooden door; the drill bit and saw teeth were worn down, yet they could not cut out even a trace.

Of course, he also tried seeking higher-level technical means, such as finding a lock-picking master. He had found three in succession. The first two got lost in the old city district and wandered for a long time without finding where No. 66 Wutong Road was. The third one was hit by a motorcycle just after crossing the intersection and was only discharged from the hospital last week...

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

Yes, although this large house was the only relatively safe place for him to stay in this city, even the large house itself actually had many... "abnormal" places.

Yu Sheng reached out, grasped the door handle in front of him, and tried to turn it. Sure enough, it did not move an inch.

Nothing unexpected happened as anticipated; it was still locked.

But whether it was an illusion or not, while he was futilely turning that handle... he seemed to hear a faint, soft laugh.

The laughter came from the other side of the door. It sounded like a young female voice, as if mocking his helplessness against a door.

Yu Sheng's hair stood on end instantly!

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

... How come she didn't starve to death?

(End of this chapter)