The fighting sound ceased once Gao Ming left the security room. The supermarket was silent. The stillness unsettled Gao Ming. Perhaps it was because he had died many times, he felt connected to death. Gao Ming couldn’t tell what was wrong. He slowly bent down. His eyes got used to the darkness. He signalled Zhu Suisui and the bespectacled newbie to wait inside the security room.
Gao Ming perked up his ears and heard a strange sound. He adjusted his body and moved to look at the light. There was someone standing at the cashier. The wet hair stuck to her face. The hair covered her eyes and nose. It only revealed her purplish lips. She stared at the monitor and would occasionally tap a few buttons. The woman wore the shop uniform. Her body shivered from the cold. Her skin was abnormally white.
The scent of wine floated into Gao Ming’s nose. He slowly moved forward and moved his head. On the top of the shelf, an old man’s head was crushed under wine bottles. His body was stuck to the ladder. Gao Ming closed the security room door. Gao Ming knew the two would not be of help, so he wanted them to stay out of it.
The bottle rolled on the ground. An old lady with a black umbrella moved between the shelves. Across from her was an OL holding a food box and a drink.
The snacks were scattered to the ground. A fat kid’s head poked out. He wore a ship captain’s hat, and toy binoculars hung around his neck. He didn’t mind that the floor was dirty. He seemed to have no friends as he played with himself. Gao Ming felt everything was moving towards him. He heard the water gushing at him.
A customer near the supermarket entrance slammed into the shelf. A knife was stabbed into his shoulder. The shelf shook a few times. All the customers moved their heads slowly. The eyes soaked in water moved around as they stared at the entrance. As more dirty water dripped from their bodies, the drown customers slid towards the entrance. The sharp knife stabbed into the door. The supermarket’s two doors were shut. No one could escape this place. Everyone would die there.
The conflict resumed. Gao Ming held a death portrait and looked between the shelves.
Bai Xiao tried to open the way for the people behind him. The two seniors shielded a newbie without a black band. The four of them tried to open the supermarket door. They were targeted by the customers. The customers didn’t harm them. They just stopped them from opening the door. Normal knives couldn’t hurt the customers. Instead, the water that leaked out of the customers would hurt the investigators greatly.
“You should know why I can’t open the door, right?” A voice suddenly appeared behind Gao Ming. He was so spooked that he almost threw the death portrait on the person’s face.
Gao Ming turned around and saw a bloated clown’s face.
“Zhang Ding?” Gao Ming didn’t even know when the man approached him. Even the God of Flesh and Blood didn’t notice it.
“You saw everything that happened in the past. You should know why I can’t open the door.” Zhang Ding stood there. His eyes were clear. He was a simple person.
“The flood was ten years ago! You can’t be trapped here forever!” Gao Ming knew the customers and Zhang Ding were all good people, so he tried to reason with him.
“10 years might have passed but the rain never stopped.” Zhang Ding said mysteriously. He glanced at Bai Xiao. “No one is willing to trap themselves in a nightmare but sometimes, you can’t leave because you want to. There are not that many exits in this world.” “What do you mean?”
“We have our reasons for not leaving.” Zhang Ding waved at Gao Ming, “My favourite employee also had the surname Gao. He was kind and optimistic. Other than myself, Xiao Gao was the most loved by the nightmares. When we knew he wanted to pursue a girl, the whole street became his supporters.”
Zhang Ding slowed down. “You are the only one who saved everyone. Xiao Gao would want to become someone like you.” “I can save you once, and I can save you again. The flood is over. What is the reason you can’t leave?” Gao Ming didn’t feel like Zhang Ding was evil. He didn’t harm the investigators. The neighbours didn’t retaliate after being attacked by Bai Xiao.
“The flood might be over, but the wounds it left will take a long time to heal. Ten years are not enough…” Zhang Ding knelt down. He peeled back the floor tile. The smelly, dirty water started to rise. “Look. Xiao Gao and Jing Jing are still down there.”
Gao Ming inched forward to look. Many bloated bodies floated in the water. Their bodies radiated resentment and pain. Dirty water filled with mud oozed out of their bodies.
“10 years ago, Li Sui Dam burst. The people who died in the flood all gathered here. As long as their painful memories remain, the black water leaking out of their bodies will not disappear.” Zhang Ding reached his hand down. The corpses immediately tried to eat his hand. They were fully irrational. “If the doors were closed ten years ago, everyone could have escaped to the roof; Ten years later, if I open the door, the flood will once again sweep through Min Long Street.”
Zhang Ding looked down silently. He allowed the dead people to munch on his fingers. He couldn’t feel pain because he was a ghost too.
Different from monsters created by shadow, Zhang Ding was the real ghost mentioned by the blind man. He didn’t carry the presence of the shadow world but he radiated a powerful and frightening presence.
Seeing the scene underneath the supermarket, Gao Ming finally understood why Min Long Street in the shadow world was so peaceful.
The ghosts floated in their resentful past. Gao Ming saw Bai Qiao and other investigators down there. The investigators who failed to escape the nightmare were trapped underground. They were injected by shadow and soaked in death memories. They couldn’t leave the shadow world anymore.
“This world is eating people. We try to leave a vent open for you but that is all we can do.” Zhang Ding stood up and revealed a sad smile. “After all, we’ve been dead for a decade already.”