Chapter 217: Snake Swamp Ghost City Part (Middle) Darkness

This "person" had a strange physique. Although the lighter's flame was very dim, only casting a gray silhouette without showing the full face, I could still see that its neck was a bit oddly long. The feeling—to exaggerate—made me think it could bring its face right up to mine without even standing up.

It was sitting on the chair I had just been sitting on, its two slender arms sliding by the side of its head, moving with eerie strangeness. I froze for a moment before realizing it was combing its hair. Instantly I felt a chill, and every pore on my body prickled.

In such a basement that had been abandoned for over ten years, suddenly seeing a person combing their hair in the dark—this action, combined with the setting, would probably scare an ordinary person to death on the spot.

Breaking out in a cold sweat, I wondered: who was this person? When had they appeared? From the time I discovered the notebook to when I sat down to read it, at most twenty minutes had passed. When the hell had it sat down across from me? How had I not noticed at all... And this was a hidden basement in an abandoned building—how could anyone else be here?

Plus, with that eerie action—sitting on that chair, looking at Huo Ling's mirror, actually combing its hair—I couldn't help but think: could it be that Huo Ling hadn't left with the others... was this "person" Huo Ling?

Cold sweat poured down like a waterfall. Fortunately, my nerves were not what they used to be. Although I couldn't comprehend what was happening before me, my body involuntarily reacted. I reflexively stepped back several paces, eyes fixed on the other, on full alert.

If this were a TV drama, seeing me so flustered, the person hiding in the dark would surely laugh "hahaha" three times, then the director would cut to a close-up, or they'd pull out a small pistol and say, "Didn't expect this, Mr. Bond Xie?" But this wasn't a TV drama. As I backed away, that person remained completely still, still mechanically combing their hair. With each step I moved back, the flickering lighter grew dimmer, the distance increased, and the person faded into the darkness, almost invisible.

After retreating five or six steps, I felt a bit safer and stopped. I mustered my courage and asked, "Who are you?"

Since entering the basement, I had hardly spoken. Now when I spoke, my voice was hoarse, hardly sounding like my own. Even I was startled by it. Yet in this basement so quiet you could hear a pin drop, that hoarse voice was very clear.

However, after I asked, there was no response from the other side. No sound came from behind the desk. It was as if I was talking to air.

Damn it, trying to scare me? I cursed inwardly, really starting to get scared now. Thinking about the strange body shape I had seen earlier, I wondered: could this thing not be human?

Impossible, impossible, I told myself. It might be possible in an ancient tomb, but this is a modern building—such things wouldn't appear here. There are no coffins here... Wait, wait, that's not right! Damn, there is a coffin here.

My head buzzed. I thought, could this thing be a zombie from that coffin? I quickly shook my head and forced myself to take a few deep breaths to calm down.

That's also impossible. It's not like a zombie appears every time you encounter a coffin. If that were the case, funeral home workers would all need to go get a bachelor's degree from Maoshan.

At that moment, a thought suddenly flashed through my mind: Could this person be the one who sent me the videotape? Waiting for me here? From the notebook I had just seen, the person who arranged to send the videotape was Wenjin. But in fact, it couldn't be confirmed that she herself sent it; it could have been someone else she arranged.

Thinking this, I felt it was very possible. Ordinary people wouldn't know about this kind of basement. Anyone who could get in must be an insider. Maybe it was the sender who had been waiting nearby and followed me in when I crawled inside. With this thought, I calmed down a bit. I mustered my courage, thinking if it's a living person then there's nothing to fear. So I frowned, extended the lighter forward, to see who it really was.

Carefully I moved forward two or three steps. I could vaguely see the scene across the desk again. But when I looked, I got another shock. The "person" sitting there was gone.

I squinted and looked carefully. It was indeed gone; no one was in the seat. I grew puzzled, thinking: had I just seen wrong? An illusion? Impossible. I had broken out in a cold sweat—there was absolutely no way I had misseen. I immediately tensed up and quickly raised the lighter to shine it around.

But just as I lifted it, the movement was too abrupt. The lighter flared up briefly and then went out.

Immediately everything around was pitch black—I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. There was no light at all, an absolute darkness. My heart clenched. Ignoring the scorching hot lighter head, I quickly shook it a few times and tried to light it again.

But I flicked it, shook it, and flicked again—the damn thing just wouldn't cooperate. No matter how I shook it, it wouldn't light. I only saw sparks flying, especially dazzling in the absolute darkness of the basement. I realized it might be out of fluid.