Chapter 001 begins

Colin stood up; it was getting late and he needed to go to bed

The stretcher plane tilted, and the body bag fell to the ground with a heavy thud

That kind of blood red

An unusually gloomy spring, with long days that are dull and silent

Da ... ...

While entering the elevator, a criminal investigator, perhaps due to excessive nervousness, accidentally bumped into the handle of a medical trolley

Colin drove back after having a slight buzz at the tavern

Is it because the blood supply to the head is insufficient after squatting for too long

In the narrow and cramped cubicle, Colin placed his hands on the keyboard, the chaotic intertwining of the stock index lines causing him to feel disoriented, as images from last night floated through his mind

What happened here

Colin's expression was devoid of emotion, and a few strands of hair that had been slicked back appeared somewhat disheveled. Even though the Vacheron Constantin on his wrist barely upheld the situation, the suit, stained with water, completely undermined his image

Inside the upright lamp post lies a pile of moths and strange insects' corpses, with the emitted light being exceptionally dim

They set up a cordon and repeatedly warned people not to gather around, otherwise they would be arrested on the charge of disturbing public order

Colin pressed hard against the warning line, but the adjacent door was only slightly ajar, making it impossible to see the situation inside

Colin cleared his throat

While taking the elevator, the electronic billboard played promotional advertisements with nearly nonsensical phrases repeated over and over. For some reason, Colin always felt that the atmosphere was somewhat off.

The sound of dripping water came from that tiny narrow gap, again and again, like a faucet valve that had not been completely closed

At that moment, a busybody said to Colin: "Just now, when the door was open, I took a glance, and the female corpse was kneeling in the corner, with her hands propped against the wall, as if she were searching for something"

All onlookers, including Colin, focused their gaze on the body bag, as corpses are quite rare for modern individuals

The dense, dark mold on the furniture makes this room slightly damp

He lit a cigarette and turned his back, in front of a heavy office desk shaped like a black horse's hoof, only the slicked-back hair and the back of the high-end tailored suit were visible, along with the looming dark clouds outside the floor-to-ceiling window

He slowly crouched down, and the sound became even clearer

Several cockroaches scurried across the cracked, low-quality wooden table

The sound of the water droplets is not crisp, carrying a slowly spreading stickiness, resembling the saliva that drips from the mouthparts of some insect

Colin was startled by this reaction, his eyes moved away from the small hole, and he quickly shifted his body.

The rain relentlessly strikes against the glass of the floor-to-ceiling windows, filling the spacious office adorned in cool tones with a cacophony of shattering sounds

Colin still felt a chill spreading from his spine, permeating every inch of his skin, causing all his pores to tighten.

It has nothing to do with you, there are other people, leave quickly, otherwise I will really have to arrest you.

Since that all-day eclipse, Colin could feel that the weather was becoming increasingly cold and gloomy, even in April, the chill was piercing.

Colin's expression froze, he shook his head, and emotions surged within him

The well-meaning person trembles slightly

A tall woman dressed in a black dress is sitting on an iron bench, combing her hair in front of a mirror

However, there seems to be a certain magic about that place; if it were merely an ordinary household next door, it would not evoke any interest at all

to be identical

Strange noises always emanate from next door

The lack of a source of income left Colin somewhat distressed, but fortunately, the company provided a substantial severance package. After the reputation of Colin's poor management spread, the wealthy individuals within the industry would never hire him again, which in a sense, was a form of severance from his career.

He seems to have anticipated this long ago. For some reason, he has recently been feeling disoriented, perhaps due to severe neurasthenia

The brown rust on the stool has congealed into deformed lumps

The high-rise office building with a fully glass exterior reflects the overcast sky and the torrent of vehicles on the ground

The biting cold wind penetrated to the bone, and upon returning to the apartment, Colin felt even colder. His gaze involuntarily turned towards the hole in the wall.

Colin wanted to erase this thought from his mind, but he found it impossible; that terrifying black silhouette lingered on.

The leading sheriff roared loudly, his sharp gaze seemingly capable of tearing the offending officer apart.

Even in broad daylight, surrounded by people.

The following day

Colin's forehead was beaded with fine sweat, as the area marked by the raised warning line was unmistakably his neighbor's.

They seemed to have been struck by some immense shock, leaving them in a state of distraction.

At the same time, the officers pushed aside unrelated individuals to ensure the smooth passage of the cart

The woman who was combing her hair has unexpectedly passed away

It was an extremely terrifying face, one eye swollen and covered with necrotic tissue, while the other eye was wide open, with the retina severely congested

Ever since witnessing that room, I have been in a state of unease, and on one occasion, that woman even appeared in my dreams

He just wants to understand the source of the sound, to know what that crazy woman is up to, in order to prevent that freak from disturbing his rest

Mingming harbors an extreme aversion towards that place

The woman's hand, which was combing her hair, suddenly came to a halt

However, when he arrived at the community, he found it particularly lively, with seven or eight police cars parked at the entrance and many onlookers engaged in heated discussions.

I live next door, and I believe I have the right to know

The criminal police officer swallowed hard, his expression one of utter astonishment

What are you doing, how could you be so careless

Even a seductive woman may feel guilt from being spied upon, leading her to disdain the vulgarity and inferiority of such behavior

The three detectives pushing the cart all had faces as pale as paper, with their hands and sleeves stained with colorful liquid tissue, resembling the coagulated oil floating on the surface of a ditch. There were signs of having been cleaned, yet the stains had still seeped into the fabric of their clothing

This is indeed an unethical behavior, but that thirst for knowledge and curiosity cannot be easily suppressed

Colin let out a sigh of relief, feeling a great weight lifted from his heart, as it seemed the other party had also noticed this gap and had thus blocked it.

Are there any other questions

High-rise office buildings in the Central Business District of Los Angeles

Colin walked towards the pit, and after his body stiffened for a moment, he could not restrain that innate human instinct to explore the source

Tick tock

I accept this result

Either the dense sound of chewing and grinding, or the rustling sound of small reptiles piling and rolling.

As the sun sets in the west, the sky takes on a murky hue of red and yellow, creating an extreme sense of discomfort

A prolonged and piercing sense of detachment, as if fishing line and iron hooks were embedded in his brain, pulling outward.

The place that can be seen through a small hole

The eerie and grotesque space, along with the woman combing her hair, becomes increasingly horrifying the more one delves into it

Should we go find her to discuss it? Although this pit is quite small, its depth is sufficient. If we are to fill it, it will create quite a commotion and may disturb her

But that strange and mysterious blend of madness and chaotic curiosity was driving Colin to the brink of insanity

Do you know the deceased

The position of this pit is relatively low, only about 20 centimeters from the ground, and one can only see the opposite side by lying down or half-kneeling and craning their neck.

This strange behavior drew the attention of everyone in the office, with pairs of emotionless, vacant, and cold gazes resembling those of robots.

He kept shaking his leg, and the tormenting anxiety drove him to the brink of irritation, finally causing him to stand up abruptly in a fit of uncontrollable agitation

The body bag that had fallen to the ground had a corner of its zipper torn open, revealing the head of the corpse

He got up and tidied his shirt and suit in the washroom, as well as freshened up

For some unknown reason, a hole the size of two fingers suddenly appeared on the bedroom wall

Bang bang

What was seen through the hole that night with Colin

Three detectives carried a medical stretcher out of the room, on which lay a body wrapped in a black composite material body bag.

Upon hearing that Colin lived next door to a woman, the older detective's pupils constricted, and he looked at Colin in utter shock

Colin's tone was resolute; this room is too perplexing

Mr. Colin, you are fired

Colin felt uncomfortable all over and got up to go to the fire escape to smoke

However, the other party cannot be viewed through the lens of common sense, as they are likely somewhat deranged, and Colin is extremely reluctant to engage in conversation with her

When he arrived at his floor, the corridor on the fourteenth floor, the alcohol had completely worn off, and he was no longer intoxicated

Make way, make way

Colin stood frozen in place, staring at that head

She is truly a peculiar woman, Colin furrowed his brow

This may be the drawback of a one-bedroom apartment layout

Colin was not concerned about such matters, but when he found his building, his slightly tipsy state became a bit clearer

Colin no longer fussed and fell into a deep sleep after the bath

However, every time I went to check upon hearing a noise, there was nothing unusual, and the occupant of the room did not seem to care about living in such an environment

The corridor was crowded with police officers in uniforms and caps, not auxiliary police, but criminal investigators

As a stockbroker, his advice led investors to incur continuous losses, resulting in a significant decline in the firm's performance due to the successive loss of clients. Furthermore, his series of poor decisions tarnished his reputation, forcing him to bid farewell to this profession forever

He simply chose not to think about it anymore, perhaps due to the recent busyness at work, and he felt intermittent throbbing pain in his temples

At the moment the body bag was brought out, the door was instantly closed by the police, who then locked it with a key and affixed a notice and paper indicating it was sealed off

An elderly detective, his face ashen, had just stepped into the room and taken a glance. In his over twenty years of service, he had never encountered anything like this; it was too horrifying. Now, his fingers were still trembling slightly.

The office illuminated by the cold white fluorescent lights felt somewhat eerie, with faces displaying a sense of numbness and the faint hum of the printer causing Colin's thoughts to wander

Colin peered through the small hole in the wall to witness this scene, not because he had the sordid habit of voyeurism

I never expected that the neighbor in the apartment I bought less than six months ago would be such an oddball

A significant event has occurred in the building where I reside, attracting a crowd of good Samaritans. The police have had to maintain order by keeping unrelated individuals at bay.

After staring for a while without discovering anything, Colin felt a bit of a headache, accompanied by a prolonged and sharp tinnitus, and the scene before him was filled with changing and distorted abstract ripples

Colin inexplicably felt a sense of unease, as even a garbage dump could not describe that place, resembling the slaughterhouse of a psychopathic killer

Night

His hair was meticulously styled, and he had no choice but to work at the securities office, as credit card debts and large loans left him no room for complacency

Colin unhurriedly unfastened the top button of his collar, his tone indifferent

Yet, the nature of the general public to watch the spectacle remains unyielding, as they stand outside the caution line, straining to look inside

Lightning flickered among the dark clouds, and with a sudden loud crash, a torrential downpour descended violently.

What was seen was only a dark red expanse, very blurred, with some black specks of dust.

Colin was also stopped until he proved that he was a resident of the building, after which he was allowed to enter

Three days later

The wall is covered with filthy spots resembling insect eggs

deceased

His eyes pressed against the pit, and his gaze penetrated through the wall