Eve of the Storm 94: Ninety-four.
Eve of the Storm Drip—
The phone had been hung up, the recording pen had stopped recording, and documents were being rustled through.
“Sounds like we finally have a genuine supernatural event,” muttered Yang Chunxue, hands propping up her chin across the desk.
“I thought you’d be scared,” Lu Li closed the file, slotting it into folder number 3.
Never!” Yang Chunxue rolled her eyes, feeling underestimated, and sat up straight to protest, “Besides, if a ghost kills me, I’d kill it right back the moment I die.
Don’t underestimate me!”
Lu Li didn’t respond, remaining noncommittal.
A hoarse voice spoke up as the figure of the Black Charcoal Ghost appeared in the doorway.
Ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling—
The phone suddenly started to ring at that moment.
“If I need you, I’ll call you,”
Lu Li responded, picking up the phone again.
While Lu Li was silent, Wei Heping’s altered voice came from the other end, “I’m heading out.
Does the Detective Agency have mirrors?”
I don’t want to see mirrors.”
“Please stay calm, it’s daytime, they won’t affect you.
If they would— you’d have already run into trouble the moment you stepped out.”
I’m sorry, I’m just too scared.
Can I keep the line open in case something happens…”
“If your phone’s battery and plan can handle it,”
Lu Li replied, and the next moment, the phone rang again.
Another call was coming in.
“Sorry, I have another call coming.
I need to take this.”
“But I…” Wei Heping started to say something but was interrupted by Lu Li, “I’ll give you my cell number, and you can call me there.”
Handing her cell phone to Yang Chunxue, Lu Li placed the receiver back on the phone, then picked it up again a few seconds later and held it to her ear.
There was no sound coming from the other end of the line.
Several seconds, fifteen seconds, half a minute, it continued .
[Towards countless next stops, draw a long straight line—]
The cell phone suddenly rang.
Lu Li glanced over, Yang Chunxue signaled, quickly picked up Wei Heping’s call, and drifted to a corner of the living room.
His attention returned to the phone, the other side was still silent.
Lu Li slightly furrowed his brow, wondering whether to speak first or hang up.
All at once, faint sounds began to come through the receiver, growing noisier.
The indistinct noises were hard to identify; they seemed like running water or perhaps a continuous applause.
Lu Li instinctively pulled the receiver away from his ear—he had certainly dealt with screaming over the phone or crazy doorbell ringing with no one at the door before.
For the former, he would note down the opposing number and let Shen Qian bombard the contact with messages; for the latter, Lu Li had connected the doorbell to a socket.
Both strategies were exceptionally effective.
Lu Li was mistaken; there was no sudden burst of noise from the other end of the receiver, just the continuing ruckus, but now clearer, sounding like rushing water.
Very turbulent water.
Was the caller by a river?
Or playing a video of running water?
A thought suddenly popped into Lu Li’s mind, seemingly unrelated.
The door was in the underground pipelines, and now, the pipelines were filled with surging water.
Just then, Yang Chunxue suddenly uttered a light exclamation, floated back to the desk, and showed Lu Li the phone screen, “Someone sent you a message, and it’s a bit strange…”
The message contained three repeated sentences.
Staring at these three lines, the sound of water still ringing in his ears seemed to transform into an indescribable malice, enticing Lu Li to respond.
Lu Li temporarily hung up the phone.
The warning came a bit late, but not too late, as Lu Li had not yet spoken.
“Call Wei Heping with your phone,” Lu Li instructed Yang Chunxue, then hung up the mobile communication and typed content on his cellphone.
Lu Li hesitated at the final step of sending.
The message still existed on the mobile screen.
What if this “Do not answer” text…
applied to this message as well?
Lu Li deleted the drafted message and instead dialed this phone number.
[Sorry, the number you have dialed is currently unavailable.
Please try again later.
The communication was rejected by the other end.
Seconds later, a new message appeared.
[For personal safety, we reject any calls.
Even sending you this message is taking a great risk.]
Lu Li caught the keyword.
Were they an organization?
This time, Lu Li no longer hesitated and sent a message, “Who are you?
Why do you want me not to answer?”
[I cannot tell you the answer to the first question, the second is a warning.]
The message arrived quickly, followed immediately by a second text.
[When you hear it, it can see you.
When you see it, it can touch you.
Never let it touch you, for once you’re touched by it, it can contaminate you.]
This phrase seemed familiar.
And it made a deep impression.
Liu Zhen’s diary had recorded this text, and what it described…
was that Taoist Sect door.
Lu Li responded, “Are you referring to that Taoist Sect door?”
[…You know more than we imagined, but that’s not good news.
The more you know, the faster you die.]
Lu Li replied, “Don’t worry, if you’re referring to that door, it’s already doing so.”
[Has it heard you yet!?]
“What does ‘hearing’ mean?”
[Any response from you—a returned letter, an answer, a conversation, even an interaction.
Consider it a ‘confirmation’ mechanism.
It’s confirming it’s really you.]
“If that’s the case, I think not yet.”
Perhaps it was an illusion, but the message from the other side carried a relieved tone.
remember, never let it hear you.
then it can see you.]
[It will find you relentlessly, just as it tried to hear you.
I think you’re already aware of its methods.]
“Yes, I want to know how I can avoid it.
Its ways leave no traces.”
[I can’t quite explain the feeling…
In any case, when it tries to find you, if your perception is sharp enough, you’ll feel that indescribable malice, believe me, it’s a unique sensation…
assuming you can detect it.
If not, I must cut off contact with you soon.]
[Useless, don’t you understand?
From the moment you touched the door, it had already found you, and now it’s trying to hear you.]
They knew he had come in contact with the door.
Was the other side a “hand”?
After a brief silence, Lu Li replied, “How can I avoid it?”
The wait this time was unusually long, five minutes later the message arrived belatedly.
[Here’s a harsh reality for you.
Those who are noticed by it will eventually be heard by it.
And those who are heard by it will eventually be seen by it, no one is exempt.]
“So, what’s the point in explaining all this to me?”