The World Below Surface

Teacher Li abruptly ceased the lesson during class and ascended the stairs to the principal's office. Upon arrival, Teacher Li addressed the principal, a figure sitting behind a desk, "Principal, another inquiry has come our way. One of them is a journalist, and the other is unknown. They are likely here to reveal something."

The unmoved principal responded, "Do I need to explain what to do in situations like this? But as a new teacher, you may not have experience. Simply ask the other teachers in the office."

Teacher Li agreed, "I understand."

The principal added, "Oh, and if any students go to that place in the future, you know what to do, right?"

"I understand. Students experience a lot of academic pressure, so it's natural for them to seek relaxation. I don't need to intervene too much as a teacher," replied Teacher Li.

The principal smiled, "Is that so? That's correct."

Hearing the principal's satisfaction, Teacher Li felt the same. After complimenting the principal, he left the office and shut the door.

The principal extinguished his cigarette inside the office, stood up, and approached the bookshelf. He opened a door that revealed a hidden shrine. The bright red deity within the shrine appeared otherworldly and indescribable, its impression twisted, eerie, and bizarre, causing shivers to run down one's spine.

The principal worshipped the deity with fanaticism and reverence, lost in his world.

Shortly after, a man entered the room and announced, "Principal, I've checked. This Lu Yan is indeed a journalist. He has strong abilities and has previously exposed the trading of human organs in a private hospital."

The principal's smile widened, "Since that's the case, you don't need me to explain what to do, right?"

The man nodded, "Okay, I'll make the arrangements now. Let the students go home early today."

Later that afternoon, Chu Xiu and Lu Yan met and exchanged information.

Chu Xiu gazed intently at the building at a restaurant table opposite the school gates. "I always feel that there is something unusual about this school," he remarked his senses on high alert.

Although the school was quiet and seemingly ordinary, Chu Xiu had an ominous feeling that something was amiss, like a dark creature lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike.

Lu Yan added, "I inquired about 'that place' today, but the teachers' reactions were peculiar. It was as if they knew something but were hesitant to reveal it." He proceeded to share his experience with Chu Xiu.

Upon hearing this, Chu Xiu's brow furrowed. "If the teachers know it, what about the students and the principal? Perhaps even the leaders behind the school? Could they also be involved?" His tone was uncertain yet resolute.

The task at hand was peculiar and seemed to have the shadow of an all-knowing deity looming over it. Previous games had caused temporal disturbances, and Chu Xiu wondered if this one would lead to similar turbulence.

Without realizing it, he had posed his question aloud. Ghosts within the game possessed uncanny abilities, even capable of transporting people through time and space... Chu Xiu shook his head to clear his mind of any stray thoughts.

Lu Yan was lost in deep contemplation. He needed to compare the experiences of all the task executors. Each task was unique and perplexing, but it became easier to solve once they uncovered the underlying pattern.

Reflecting on past tasks, Lu Yan's brow furrowed unconsciously. In previous tasks, it became easy to solve as soon as they found the pattern concealed beneath the eerie facade. For example, in the last Red River Village incident, they needed the village chief to confirm that they had lived there for a month to escape. But what about this time?

Temporal disturbances and karmic loops made it impossible to predict whether their actions would affect the future or the past. Nevertheless, there was one thing that they were sure of - an invisible hand was controlling everything from behind the scenes.

Lu Yan's intuition from past near-death experiences had often guided him to safety. He knew they needed to walk along the path away from Wen Qing, but the task returned them to her. He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Tasks used to be small in scale, but now they were growing, involving more people and expanding in scope. Would it eventually consume the entire country, the world? When that day arrived, would there be any difference between the task world and his 'ordinary' world?

Moreover, what of the so-called omniscient god? How could he have overlooked such anomalies, and why had he turned a blind eye to them till now?

Chu Xiu's voice brought Lu Yan back to the present. "What are you thinking?" he asked.

Shaken from his thoughts, Lu Yan replied, "I'm curious; why do you guys play this game? Are you being forced?"

As the number of tasks increased, Chu Xiu became accustomed to them. Initially, he had wanted to discover the truth behind these tasks. Still, as time passed, he realized that uncovering their secrets would be impossible. The secrets behind the tasks were far beyond their control, and even ghosts and monsters posed little resistance to whoever controlled them. When Lu Yan asked about the task, Chu Xiu shrugged, "I can't say."

Some kind-hearted taskers had attempted to reveal the secrets of the task to the world's residents, but without fail, they met their demise. After answering Lu Yan's question, Chu Xiu sensed something amiss. Lu Yan was an intelligent person, and his question seemed pointless. Suddenly, Chu Xiu realized that Lu Yan was hinting at something. Was there a relationship between the task and the omniscient god?

He feared he wouldn't be able to hold on if he overthought Lu Yan's words. He needed to focus on the present without letting his mind wander.

After a prolonged silence, Lu Yan asked, "Should we go in now or wait until tonight?"

As the afternoon wore on, Lu Yan knew that he didn't have much time left before the evening self-study classes started. He was aware of the risk of going to school, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he might miss out on something important if he didn't take the chance. The foreboding sense of danger emanating from the school's leaders only added to his apprehension.

Suddenly, his phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. It was an unknown number, but he decided to answer after a moment of hesitation. The homeroom teacher, Li, explained in detail that his students had no connection to religion. He then invited him for an interview and offered to let him observe the evening self-study classes.

Li put his phone on speaker inside the teacher's office for all the other teachers to hear.

"If you want to interview us, our school's evening self-study is also a feature. You can come and take a look," Li said.

The other teachers in the office perked up their ears to listen as the other party seemed to hesitate momentarily before asking, "What time is better for me to come?"

"Nine o'clock is fine. The students will be in their third self-study session by then. If you come, you can call me, and I'll meet you two at the school gate," Li replied.

After hanging up, the teachers in the office exchanged knowing glances, revealing a tacit smile.

With the school day almost over and enrollment season not yet in sight, the sudden arrival of two reporters was like a timely rain. It was a chance for them to make their mark and gain recognition.

Li couldn't suppress his excitement. "Hey, Lao Zhang, have you prepared the tools?" He had only recently joined the school, and now he finally felt part of a collective activity.

Lao Zhang replied, "They are ready. I will send them to everyone now. Oh, Li, you may not have much experience. Just take a smaller knife."

Li protested, "Are you underestimating me? I remember there's also a small chainsaw."

"That works, too," Lao Zhang said. He pulled out a small chainsaw from the box in the office and handed it to Li. "Be careful not to leave too many marks. Otherwise, our class will lose points again in tomorrow's sanitation inspection."

The other teachers also joked and laughed, each taking their tools and preparing for the collective teacher activity at night.

"Hey, do you reckon they'll bolt?" the teacher inquired.

"Unlikely. The owner of the establishment is kin of Professor Wang. They're keeping tabs on them," the other retorted.

"It's still risky. We should have a student on duty stationed outside the school later to be safe."

"Sure."

Lu Yan ended the call in the cafe and maintained his easygoing smile. However, his tone shifted as he talked about his own wanderlust. His digits scribbled onto the notepad. He gently passed it towards Chu Xiu, signalling him to be cautious when perusing it.

[We've been found out. Watch yourself. They might be monitoring us from the cafe.]

Chu Xiu's pupils dilated with alarm, but he kept his composure, tapping smoothly on Lu Yan's phone screen with his fingertips.

"That place? I've been there too. Beautiful scenery," Chu Xiu said.

[How'd you know?]

"The prices were too steep. I only stayed for a few days..." Lu Yan replied.

[Earlier on the phone, Teacher Li said he would pick us two at the school gate.]

Lu Yan acted solo, so why did Teacher Li say "two"?

Chu Xiu didn't want to arouse suspicion by passing the phone back and forth, so he avoided the question, instead asking, "I'm heading there too. What time did you buy your tickets? Any advice?"

"Nine o'clock. Brought gear for hiking, just in case," Lu Yan answered.

"Is it packed with people?"

Lu Yan hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Very busy. There are many people," he said, pausing for a moment before asking, "It's the high season for tourists. Are you sure you want to go?"

Chu Xiu nodded with a solemn expression.

After a brief while, they got up and left.

Outside the school gate, many students were in uniform with red armbands, evenly distributed on both sides of the street. It appeared they were on duty. As they emerged, numerous students instantly looked towards them. As they realized something was off, they quickly looked away, their gazes evasive, coming from various directions.

Chu Xiu still had a wound on his leg, so he needed Lu Yan's support to move; he spoke in hushed tones, "Seems like we can't wait until midnight. Do we need to go now?"

A chilling surprise awaited them as they arrived at their parking spot - their car tire had been slashed. Chu Xiu chuckled bitterly, "Looks like we can't leave now."

It wasn't entirely unexpected. They were being watched, and someone had been anticipating their move. Lu Yan didn't seem too concerned and scanned their surroundings before saying, "Let's take a break."

Their appointment was for after nine o'clock in the evening. As long as they didn't display any intention to flee, their adversaries probably wouldn't act beforehand. The waiter who had just served them could have doped them up with enough drugs to make their escape impossible. Four hours were left until their appointment.

The teachers in the office were puzzled upon hearing the report, "They've been in the car the whole time? They haven't left?"

"Yes, they've been resting in the car. A student went to sweep the floor and saw the one with the limp sleeping in the back seat while the other was playing games in the front row," the informant responded.

"Weird..." mumbled one of the teachers.

"Let's wait until the students finish school in the evening; they got an early dismissal today. Make sure those students bring something with them, so they won't run away," said the senior teacher as he held an axe and practised his swing.

"Remember, everything must be taken care of before midnight," emphasized the principal, "After midnight, absolutely no sound should be made."

"Understood," the teachers responded in unison.

Chu Xiu lay on the back seat, his coat covering his face, pretending to slumber, while he communicated with Lu Yan while texting.

[I've just looked, and this school has more issues than National Geographic. The Chairman also happens to be the Principal, and he's got some significant political backup. In short, he had bagged several construction projects in other places, but none came through. Somehow, he managed to land the contract for Fourth Middle School. I came across some reports on his corrupt practices, but they were all hushed up. Every journalist who wrote about him vanished without a trace.]

The word was that they had vanished, but both Chu Xiu and Lu Yan knew that they were more than likely murdered.

By coincidence, Lu Yan was pretending to be a journalist for an interview. [So, what's the dirty little secret that this school is hiding? Is the principal so ruthless that he would stoop to violence? And what's his story? Why didn't the disappearance of those journalists cause a ruckus?]

Chu Xiu had no desire to deal with any of this. All he wanted was to finish the mission. But if he left Lu Yan behind, could he handle himself? Chu Xiu had always been the kind of guy who didn't turn a blind eye to death. However, something had happened, and now, for Lu Yan's sake or for some other reason, Chu Xiu needed him to survive.

The worlds he was sent to were never the same, and he had no idea when he'd be back. Nevertheless, he hoped that he would find Lu Yan again. Lu Yan had a secret, and maybe, just maybe, this secret was precisely what he needed to explore.

Lu Yan replied, [It's not just the school that's got problems; the annual financial statements are suspicious too.]

As they had observed when they entered the school earlier, many teaching buildings were archaic and hadn't been renovated. Many classrooms still use chalkboards and chalk for teaching. Yet the school's hardware investment data that was published annually showed that they had spent a considerable amount of money. They just didn't know where the money had gone.

[The salaries and bonuses of many teachers in the school are peculiar, and there is a vast disparity between the new and old teachers who don't have much background; the former receives meagre wages.]

In other words, experienced senior teachers can earn quite a lot.

[The culture of this school is rotten to the core.] Chu Xiu perused the school forum, taken aback by the intense malevolence festering within the student body. The most alarming thing was how adept they were at concealing it. Today, when he entered the school, many students even voluntarily helped out.

The sky gradually dimmed, suffusing the surroundings with an eerie ambience.

Chu Xiu continued his research and gradually comprehended the extent of the principal's misdeeds. He sat up and raised his coat, only to freeze at sight before him.

Students crowded around both sides of the car, smearing the glass with their palms and peering inside. Chu Xiu came face to face with the pallid visage of a student, illuminated by the flickering streetlights and the handprints imprinted on the glass. He turned his gaze to the driver's seat, where Lu Yan lay motionless, more terrifying than the throng outside.

When he came, the students scattered, and Chu Xiu called out his name. But there was no reply. He reached out and gave him a shove.

After several attempts, Lu Yan finally raised his head. His face, reflected in the rearview mirror, was ashen, a trickle of blood oozing from the corner of his eye and dribbling down his cheek as if he wept blood.

"What's wrong with you?" Chu Xiu cried.

Lu Yan seemed indifferent to the state he was in. He noticed the blood and used a tissue to clean it off, his expression icy as ever. "Nothing. I just made another wish."

"What did you offer up this time?"

Lu Yan gestured to his eyes, shook his head, and said nothing.

"We're almost out of time. Let's go." Lu Yan opened the car door and stepped out. Chu Xiu wanted to probe further but bit his tongue and followed him.

The biting wind stung their faces, and the school's silhouette was nearly indiscernible in the darkness. They crossed the zebra crossing and headed towards the school gates.

Teacher Li awaited them at the entrance, his previous hostile demeanour replaced with exaggerated warmth, insisting they visit his office for a chat.

"We don't need it; we just want to take a look around the school," said Lu Yan, his face a mask of stoic determination as he gazed out into the dark and empty expanse of the school grounds. "The scenery of the school is outstanding."

"Good to hear that, Mr Lu. Please feel free to give us your valuable feedback on the school," replied Teacher Li, a genial smile on his lips. Noticing Chu Xiu's laboured steps, he stepped forward to lend a helping hand. "If this gentleman has trouble walking, why don't you come to our office? It's cold outside. Have a cup of hot tea."

Lu Yan gazed at the brightly-lit teaching building looming before them and hesitated momentarily. "Excuse me, which floor is your office on?"

"The fifth floor," replied Teacher Li, sensing the hesitation in Lu Yan's voice. "But don't worry, we have a teacher's office on the first floor too. Why don't you come and sit there?"

Chu Xiu and Lu Yan nodded their assent, supporting each other as they entered the office. Teacher Li bustled about, pouring water into disposable cups and brewing two cups of steaming hot tea.

"Since this gentleman has difficulty walking, how about this? You rest here, and Mr Lu and I will go upstairs to take a look?" suggested Teacher Li.

Chu Xiu and Lu Yan exchanged a quick glance, and Chu Xiu nodded almost imperceptibly. He was more than capable of protecting himself. Lu Yan agreed, and he followed Teacher Li out of the room.

As soon as they left, Chu Xiu's eyes darted around the room, his paranoia and anxiety mounting. He shivered, feeling a sudden chill seeping into his bones. With practised ease, he pushed the desks in front of the door, locking it as securely as he could. The windows were fitted with anti-theft screens, but he still didn't feel safe. He planned to push the bookshelves against the door, creating a makeshift barricade.

But then he stumbled upon a problem. He expected to see a plain white wall when he moved the bookshelves. Instead, there was a closet that looked like a shrine adorned with a bright red statue that seemed to pulse with eerie energy.

Chu Xiu's mind reeled, and he heard a loud buzzing. With trembling hands, he pushed the bookshelves back to their original position. His wounded leg protested, and he gritted his teeth in pain. After catching his breath, Chu Xiu searched the entire office for any usable tools.

With only a handful of bullets left, Chu Xiu handed one of his guns to Lu Yan, keeping the other for himself. His metal knife was short, not suitable for long-range attacks. After scouring the room, he spotted an office desk and promptly turned its leg into a weapon. With a few expert swings, he gauged its potential and was pleased. Then, dragging a chair over, he sat down, his gaze fixed on the door.

"Knock, knock, knock." Three loud knocks echoed through the room.

Meanwhile, Lu Yan and Teacher Li approached the end of the corridor leading to the teaching building's staircase. As they ascended, Lu Yan noticed although the classroom's lights were on, there wasn't a single student's voice to be heard. The silence unsettled him, and he halted in his tracks.

The evening's self-study time was far too silent. Lu Yan halted in his tracks.

Teacher Li loomed over him and smirked. "Mr Lu, why did you stop? The second-year students are still studying."

Lu Yan responded calmly, "Which grade is this? I'll have a look around."

Teacher Li's countenance morphed into a scowl. "That's the junior high school section; they've already dismissed," he tried to restrain him. But Lu Yan whirled around and dashed down the stairs. He was exceedingly swift and vanished in seconds.

A few heads popped out from the floor above.

"What's going on? Did he spot something?"

"Why are you idling about? Let's hurry and catch him."

"Teacher Wang and Teacher Liu are on the second floor. They should be able to intercept him."

As a precaution, they sent the students home early today, citing the excuse that the school's main gate was under renovation. All the pupils were asked to exit through the back door. They had even instructed the classrooms to leave the lights on. But they never foresaw that Lu Yan wouldn't be deceived and would immediately run for it.

Around ten individuals raced down the stairs, brandishing various prohibited weapons.

Mr Li seethed with rage, his first group activity ruined by his failure. "Where did they go?" he barked, snatching a small electric saw from a fellow teacher and sprinting after the rest of the group. But as they rounded the stairwell on the second floor, two teachers lay writhing on the ground, moaning in agony.

A moment before, without hesitation, Lu Yan charged down the stairs, only to be met with a vicious wooden stick. He dodged the blow with catlike reflexes, elbowing his assailant in the face with a savage force. The attacker howled in pain, but Lu Yan was already on the offensive, slamming the man's wrist with a small knife until he dropped the stick.

With his attacker stunned, Lu Yan snatched up the wooden weapon and delivered a swift, punishing blow to knock him out cold. In the space of a single minute, Lu Yan had silenced two opponents and fled the scene, leaving the rest of the group in his wake.

"He must be looking for his accomplice. After him!" the group cried, darting down the stairs in pursuit.

"I instructed the security guards to stand guard at the entrance. No one will get away," said another teacher.

But even as they closed in, they found that Lu Yan had ignored the accomplice altogether. Da Zhang had gone to search for the man named Chu on the first floor, but he had locked himself inside an office.

"He's locked himself in and piled something against the door. I can't budge it."

Two men hurled themselves at the door with brute force while the other teachers clamoured for Chu Xiu to open up.

Inside the room, as they kicked and pounded on the door, Chu Xiu had barricaded himself behind the door with heaps of clutter. His leg throbbed with excruciating pain, but he gritted his teeth and remained silent. The windows were firmly shut, and the curtains were drawn, so no one could see inside. He huddled against the wall, straining to eavesdrop on their conversation, knowing full well that Lu Yan had slipped away.

What was his next move? Suddenly, a mechanical whirr echoed in the room. Why on earth did they even have a chainsaw?

After dispatching the two guards at the stairs with a swift blow, Lu Yan pretended to go down. Instead, he hurled himself out of the window on the second floor and landed with the grace of a panther on the lawn beneath. He had purposely worn the dark clothes he had kept in his car, which helped him blend into the shadows as he lay in wait, biding his time in a flower bed.

Downstairs, a group of people had congregated around the office on the first floor, struggling to gain entry. Chu Xiu had concocted some sort of barrier that prevented them from getting in. They'd attempted to force their way through the door with a battering ram to no avail. Li, the teacher with the chainsaw, had descended the stairs to lend a hand, brandishing the lethal tool in an attempt to open the door.

Lu Yan considered whether he should help but decided to bide his time and continue surveillance. With a deafening roar, the chainsaw carved a gaping hole in the wooden door, and if Chu Xiu had been standing there, he would have been diced to pieces instantly.

"Someone must have ratted us out; otherwise, how else would he have been able to block the door?" one of the agitated voices exclaimed.

"My desk! The principal should reimburse me for this!" lamented another.

"What now? The door is open, but we still can't get in. The desks are blocking the way."

"Then let's try the windows!" The towering PE teacher grabbed the chainsaw and began slicing through the metal security bars.

With no obstacle to impede them, the group made swift progress and soon climbed into the office. Lu Yan faintly heard their cries of disbelief.

"Where is he? Where could he have fled to?"

"It's impossible! I've been guarding the door the whole time, and no one came out."

"Search for him immediately, everyone! We cannot let him escape!"

Lu Yan also found it odd. Where could Chu Xiu have gone? Was there a secret passage in the office? It didn't add up. He kept a watchful eye for a while, then felt a sudden shiver run down his spine. He swiftly pivoted his head.

The building behind him emanated a glimmer of light, casting a faint halo on the rooftop, where a figure stood by the window. Although the pitch-black night obscured people's vision, Lu Yan could feel the weight of their gaze burning into him. He knew they were watching him. Without a moment's hesitation, he bolted from his position.

As he fled, the other teachers soon caught on and pursued him without mercy. Their voices echoed through the silent night air.

"Don't run! Stop right there!"

"You can't escape!"

"If you tell us who sent you, we won't chase you!"

"Where did your accomplice go? Confess!"

The word "accomplice" resonated in Lu Yan's mind, and he thought of something. He continued running inside the campus, with the other teachers hot on his heels. Suddenly, a gunshot shattered the quiet.

Lu Yan holstered his gun and charged forward, ignoring the moans of a teacher clutching his leg a hundred meters behind him.

"He actually brought a gun." The teachers were all taken aback.

"Do you know that carrying a gun is illegal?"

"How dare you kill someone?! Stop right now!"

Lu Yan paid them no heed.

After a day of reconnaissance, he had become familiar with the campus layout, which was decidedly peculiar with curved paths, irregular buildings, and no straight lines. Now, it worked in his favour as he made his escape.

He turned around and fired another shot, hitting another male teacher in the leg.

The screams and curses of the pursuing teachers fell on deaf ears as he circled around a few times, then suddenly accelerated and broke free of their grasp. He returned to the teaching building, where he had noticed someone spying on him, taking the stairs two at a time.

Who was the person who saw him? Lu Yan's intuition growled, the question reverberating in his mind like a peal of thunder. He knew the answer held immense importance.

Chu Xiu crouched in the dark, stifling a gasp. Yet, it wasn't the looming presence of the search party, who combed the area mere inches away, that had him shaking. It was the vermilion statue beside him that made his skin crawl. He inched away, careful not to touch it.

Outside, the searchers scurried with fervour but then halted abruptly. Were they chasing Lu Yan? Chu Xiu raised a brow, doubt gnawing at him, but what other explanation could there be?

Soon after, a gunshot rang out, then another. Chu Xiu's suspicions were confirmed. He hoped it was a calculated ploy to distract their pursuers, not a last-ditch effort.

As the silence grew thicker, Chu Xiu gingerly shifted his weight, careful not to disturb the frigid statue. He cautiously pushed the bookshelf, and a sliver of light streamed in. A face leered back at him, grinning from ear to ear.

"I found you!"

As it turned out, Teacher Li was lurking in the office all along. He caught wind of the noise from the bookcase and sensed something was amiss. Armed with a chainsaw, he bided his time, hoping to contribute to the Fourth Middle School's faculty without calling for backup.

The sound of a gunshot echoed through the room. Teacher Li's excited expression morphed into disbelief as the bullet pierced his thigh, sending him tumbling to the ground. As the gunpowder smoke cleared, Chu Xiu could hear the footsteps of his pursuers closing in on him. He didn't hesitate to push with all his might, sending a towering bookshelf toppling down onto Mr Li, crushing his lower body in a sickening crunch.

As the gunfire revealed his location, Chu Xiu acted quickly, his mind working at lightning speed. Snatching the electric saw, Chu Xiu leapt out the window, his body moving with lightning speed.

"What happened? Did that person come back?" a group of people asked in a hurry.

Shortly after he escaped, a group of people ran in, their faces filled with shock and horror.

"Oh my god! This, this is..." they gasped, staring at the shrine behind the fallen bookshelf. The statue was bright red, like blood. They immediately knelt down in respect before preparing to save Mr Li.

Weakly, Mr Li spoke, "That guy was hiding behind the bookshelf the whole time, and he took the chainsaw. Be careful."

"We understand. Don't worry about it now," someone replied, trying to soothe him.

"We will avenge you for this despicable thing."

"They both had guns. What should we do?"

The head teacher pondered momentarily and said, "Old Luo, you take him to the hospital, and I'll ask the principal. The rest can carry on with the search."

Mr Luo nodded in agreement and hoisted Mr Li onto his back, heading towards the door to take him to the hospital. The rest of the group dispersed, continuing their search for the culprit.

As Chu Xiu, gritting his teeth through the agony, hid and clutched the chainsaw, Lu Yan eventually ascended to the top floor, standing outside the door to the headmaster's office. It appeared that the one spying was likely the headmaster himself.

He knocked on the door.

The occupant inside probably didn't anticipate someone to come knocking directly at the door, and there was a long period of silence.

Lu Yan persisted in rapping his knuckles against the door, a monotonous thudding that echoed through the night. The frosty air invigorated his feverish mind, which had been whirring incessantly. He clutched the gunstock tightly in one hand and the wooden stick in the other, continuing his assault on the door.

"Is someone there?" Lu Yan enquired his voice a whisper in the darkness.

He retreated his firearm and, placing his palm on the doorknob, rotated it with the utmost care. The door creaked open.

With a sudden lunge, Lu Yan hurled the door open and leapt back, brandishing the gun, ready to confront his foe.

But no one was there.

The room was aglow, with warm light streaming from within. On the desk lay a cup of tea, hot steam curling upwards. The curtains were drawn, and the windows open. Whoever spied on him was standing here but now had vanished.

Lu Yan entered the office, his pace measured and cautious. Yet, as soon as he had stepped over the threshold, a shiver ran down his spine. It felt like the temperature had plummeted all of a sudden. The source of this cold was unknown, yet it invaded his flesh and plunged deep into his soul.

Where was the person? Lu Yan surveyed the room, scrutinizing every nook and cranny, but found nothing.

His eyes rested upon the wide-open window, and his heart missed a beat. Without hesitation, he raced to the window, looked down, and saw...