Chapter 002: Telephone

I did not know what I was thinking, and I blurted out: "Hey, Lin Cong."

I said it was nothing, but a relative's child has developed somnambulism and is seeking medical advice everywhere to see if it can be treated

I know he is well-informed, so I asked, "Damin, are you familiar with sleepwalking?"

I am completely baffled: "You really can talk a lot. It's neither sleep nor wakefulness, so what is it? Is there a third state for a person?"

I thought to myself: "I just called you, but you didn't answer. I was quite worried about you."

At this moment, she arrived at the back of the community, where there was a row of walls. She placed her hand on the wall, pushed off with both feet, and lightly ascended to the top of the wall. Her movements conveyed an unusual swiftness and rigidity. She crouched on the wall, paused briefly, and then jumped down to the outside.

They exist in a state of consciousness that has been scarcely studied, which lies between sleep and wakefulness

I experienced an indescribable feeling; in fact, there are people present, but I simply cannot see them

After watching for a while, she stood up, climbed onto the nearby abandoned table, and stood on it, her whole body on tiptoe, hiding something in the ceiling. After a moment, she got down from the table and then walked out like a wandering spirit, her hair disheveled.

In an instant, I found myself quite amusing; there was clearly no one in the pavilion, yet Wang Yue's earlier performance was so realistic that it led me to mistakenly believe there was something wrong with my eyesight. Now, having scanned the area up and down with my phone, especially the empty stone bench from earlier, I can confirm with absolute certainty that there is indeed no one present.

She exited the warehouse door. At that moment, the phone in my hand suddenly rang loudly, piercing the silence of the deep night. At that instant, my nerves were highly tense, and I was so startled that I shuddered, throwing the phone away, and it fell into the bushes, falling silent.

I lingered downstairs for a long time, and after some contemplation, I called Wang Yue. This time she answered, her voice languid: "Lin Cong, are you looking for me?"

Of course. Li Damin took a sip of coffee and said, "Do you know about hypnosis? It is the third state. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is said that human consciousness has four states: waking, dreaming, deep sleep, and transcendental awareness. Waking and dreaming are relatively common, while the realm of transcendental awareness is too high to discuss. Most of the time, sleepwalkers are in a state of deep sleep. It is said that they can connect to another world."

Wang Yue hung up the phone and walked back lightly. I followed behind her, feeling restless, my walk somewhat resembling that of a drunken person, as what happened tonight completely exceeded my understanding.

I am Lin Cong. Wang Yue said: "There is an urgent matter I need to discuss with you"

If Wang Yuezhen has been possessed by some filthy entity, then who did she just sign an agreement with, and why is my name on it? This matter cannot be pondered too deeply; the more I think about it, the colder I feel.

I murmured, "Not a bother"

I responded with a couple of "mm-hmms" and said that I understood

Our department head said that you need to revise the negotiation documents and make the changes overnight. Wang Yue said: Your phone is unreachable, hurry up and call your department leader.

She asked me if I had anything else to discuss; if not, she would hang up. Her voice was filled with indifference. After all, we had been through something together, and her tone made me feel a pang of bitterness

Wang Yue suddenly stopped, tilted his ear to listen, and then took out his mobile phone to make a call

Oh, it's nothing, I just dozed off. Thank you for thinking of me." She exchanged a few polite words and hung up the phone

Wang Yueshun returned the same way, and I followed her, climbing over the wall back to the community. I watched as she arrived at the residential building. When I reached the entrance of the building, I hesitated whether to go in. Who would have thought that the main door of the building required a password? She pressed a few buttons and entered. I kept a certain distance from her, and by the time I approached, the door had already closed.

Wang Yue has already walked far away, and I hesitated for a moment before following her. She walked lightly, her heels barely touching the ground. I had heard the elders say before that only those possessed by ghosts have their heels not touching the ground. Why is that? The ghost attaches itself to her, with its toes perfectly aligned with her heels. What the elders said seemed plausible, and now, the more I pondered, the more it appeared to be the case.

The scene was silent and still, and I did not dare to enter; I merely peeked in, my heart racing wildly.

The next day, I went to work with dark circles under my eyes, feeling exhausted and lacking energy, my mind in a state of chaos, and my work efficiency was very poor. I was reprimanded by our boss several times. My colleague Li Damin, who sat in the adjacent cubicle, quietly asked me: "Old Lin, what's wrong with you?"

I hurriedly hid to the side, my heart racing with fear

I thought to myself, what is going on, how did I get caught up in this. There was no other choice, I could only leap down and continue the pursuit

Li Damin is somewhat eccentric; he usually remains silent, but once he starts talking, he can traverse topics from the heavens to the earth and span across millennia. His voice and intonation are highly infectious, resembling that of a storyteller, and he has quite a few admirers in the company.

I felt a jolt in my heart; the fact that she could call me Lin Cong indicated that she had already awakened from her state of somnambulism

The world of dreams must be the world of dreams, right? At this moment, Wang Yue is living in her own dream. What has happened there? What has she experienced? It is completely beyond my imagination

I am somewhat confused. I am not sure whether I am dreaming or if Wang Yue is dreaming. Everything is so strange and inexplicable. Am I in her dream, or is she in my dream

Wang Yue signed an invisible agreement with an unseen person, and then stood up and left the pavilion

Wang Yue stood there and suddenly said something quite perplexing: "Lao Meng, what is the matter with you?" Then she made a couple of "mm-hmm" sounds, as if someone were truly speaking to her. She nodded and said: "Rest assured, I, Lin Cong, always keep my word"

I held back my words about what happened last night, partly because it was too strange, and partly because I am not very close to Li Damin; we cannot be considered friends. If this guy were to blurt it out without discretion, it would have a very negative impact in the company.

Before I could say anything, she said: "Are you here regarding the negotiation draft? Oh, I just got in touch with the leader. Let me communicate with him about this, thank you for your trouble"

I glanced at my phone, then at her not far away who was on the phone, feeling so nervous that I was almost out of breath. I adjusted my breathing, steeled myself, and said softly: "I am Wang Yue, who are you?"

Hello, is this Wang Yue? The voice of Wang Yue came through the phone

I stumbled and almost fell against the iron gate behind me. ... What ... is going on? It was originally my matter to find her, so why did she call me? How did she know about the document change ...? No one informed her, and she can't predict the future, so ... I am completely bewildered.

Li Damin sipped his coffee and, blowing out steam, said: "I am not very familiar with how to treat this; the child should see a doctor as soon as possible. However, even if it cannot be treated immediately, it is not a serious illness, just a bit unusual in appearance. There is a saying that patients with somnambulism are not actually in a state of sleep, meaning they are not truly asleep at all"

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing echoed from the nearby grass, ringing incessantly. I was stunned for a few seconds, and then I came to my senses, realizing what was happening; she was calling my phone

What is the matter

This thought spread like a swamp, and if I stayed in this haunted place any longer, I would be overwhelmed by fear. I hurriedly ran out of the pavilion, trembling all over as I emerged.

I peeked my head out the door; it was too dark inside, and the moonlight struggled to penetrate, casting a shadowy gloom. I could barely make out Wang Yue's silhouette. She was seated in a deep corner, her legs crossed, seemingly engrossed in a book that rested on her lap

I dashed forward in a single leap, following the sound of the ringtone to locate my phone, trembling as I answered: "Hello, hello..."

Wang Yue stopped, tilting her ear as if she too could hear the ringing. I crouched behind several electric bikes, feeling an extreme level of tension, unable to control my bodily functions, tightly clenching my legs together

Li Damin laughed: "How could I not know? However, I have never seen it with my own eyes. What's wrong? Did you sleepwalk?"

I widened my eyes, my throat made a gurgling sound, ready to run at any moment The situation became increasingly bizarre, as a person in a sleepwalking state was actually about to make a phone call

She did not hear and continued to walk forward

The phone is ringing in the grass, prompting me to throw it away

I was taken aback and thought, "What is that?"

After she finished speaking, she continued to walk ahead. I wiped my face, unable to hold on any longer, and crawled out from behind the electric bike, softly calling out: "Wang Yue."

When she walked out, I did not rush to follow her; instead, I quickly slipped into the pavilion, turned on the flashlight on my phone, and looked around.

She arrived at the entrance of the warehouse, where a large iron door was closed, covered in rust and appearing quite heavy. It seemed she did not exert much effort as she pulled on the door, which responded with a creak. The door, having aged over the years, emitted strange squeaking sounds from its hinges in the darkness. She stepped into the warehouse

I attempted to press a few numbers, and a woman's electronic voice responded: "Incorrect password, please try again." The sound was quite loud, and at night, it was rather jarring. After trying a few times, I no longer dared to continue, fearing that it might attract the security guard, who would then mistake me for a thief, making it difficult to explain.

I hurried to catch up. This wall is about two meters high, and it's not too difficult to climb, but it is very dirty, leaving me covered in dust. I managed to scramble up to the top of the wall, my clothes stained all over. By the light of the street lamp outside, I saw Wang Yue swaying as she walked towards a nearby warehouse.