Chapter 4, The Living Ghost

He did not know why the road ahead seemed particularly long, and Chen Zhi always felt a chilling wind blowing from behind. It was as if the corpse was following him closely, ready to pounce and grab him at any moment

Chen Zhi extinguished the cigarette in his hand, feeling that he was no longer so afraid. He often experienced this sensation; deep within his subconscious lay a hidden personality, one that was extremely calm and decisive, which would emerge at critical moments

It is terrifying; being hit by a car and dying is so horrifying. He immediately shook his head, casting aside these thoughts, constantly reminding himself: "Think of nothing, look at nothing, just take the watch and leave"

When Chen Zhi's hand first touched the wrist of the corpse, a chill ran through him, causing his hand to tremble slightly, and his heart felt as if it were about to leap out of his chest. Fortunately, the watch's strap had deteriorated, and with a tug, it came loose. Chen Zhi let out a sigh of relief and stuffed the watch into the pocket of his overcoat

Chen Zhi's mind completely collapsed, and he shouted wildly, running frantically towards the door, disregarding everything. His mind was blank as he ran outside the main gate

He first placed the handbag outside the warehouse to prevent it from being thrown inside in a state of excessive fright, as had just happened. If the police arrived and found the handbag, it would be troublesome. Then he looked down at the cellar entrance; the flashlight had fallen below. With the light from the flashlight, he could clearly see the ground below. He estimated the height to the ground, recalled the position of the body, and calculated the quickest steps to remove the watch, trying to minimize time-wasting actions to reduce the duration of fear.

In the car, Chen Zhicai felt that he had finally returned to the world of the living. He was trembling violently all over, while the taxi driver incessantly complained throughout the journey. However, Chen could hardly hear him anymore; he only felt that his entire worldview had completely collapsed.

Chen Zhi clearly remembers that when he entered this duty room just now, there were absolutely no lights inside, and it is impossible for a factory that has been abandoned for more than ten years to have any power supply

At that moment, Chen Zhi realized that the flashlight had rolled to the side at some point, and its beam was illuminating the corpse's face clearly. The corpse had its mouth wide open, with sunken eyeballs revealing hollow eye sockets, staring at him ominously.

No, I must go back

After Chen Zhibiao expressed his determination, he began to descend the ladder, following the bright light of the Wolf Eye flashlight that was thrown below, making his way towards the illumination.

The taxi was still there, and the driver was anxiously peering out the window. When he saw Chen Zhi running out, he was nearly scared to death.

Chen Zhi leaped into the car, shouting frantically: "Hurry up, hurry up!"

At this moment, Chen Zhi deeply wished to leave this cursed place immediately, regardless of the background or consequences, only wanting to return home as soon as possible

Hello, a call is coming in, quickly answer the phone. This once familiar ringtone has become quite eerie in this strange cellar. Chen Zhi knows without answering that it must be the taxi driver waiting outside. This guy is really dedicated, still waiting there. Chen Zhi has no time to waste with him, so he presses the button to end the call and goes to look for a flashlight

The taxi driver was also unaware of what was happening, but from Chen Zhi's pale complexion, he could tell that something was wrong, and hurriedly drove away.

Chen Zhi walked cautiously to the side of the corpse, avoiding looking at the head and searching for the hands. Once he found them, he squatted down beside the body and saw the arms, which were withered and purple, with the hands grotesquely outstretched as if they were reaching to grab him. At that moment, Chen Zhi's body had already stiffened in fear, his upper and lower teeth chattering, and he was silently reciting numbers in his mind to unfasten the watch strap.

Chen Zhi bit his lip, slightly regaining his composure, and quickly reminded himself not to think about anything and to leave this place as soon as possible. He dared not look at the face of the corpse again, biting the flashlight between his teeth, and climbed the iron ladder as fast as he could

Just as Chen Zhi was about to turn and leave, his phone suddenly rang, causing his heart to tighten and the flashlight to slip from his hand

Chen Zhi's mind was spinning rapidly, yet his feet involuntarily came to a stop. Chen Zhi could not comprehend what kind of damned psychology compelled him to stop and look at that window, but the sight he beheld was something he would never forget for the rest of his life

Chen Zhi stood there as if struck by lightning, his mind exploding with a loud bang. When he finally reacted and saw a corpse, he was instantly filled with terror. The only thought in his mind was "run" as he turned and scrambled towards the stairs. The back of Chen Zhi's head felt cold, as if the corpse behind him had already seen him, crawling towards him from the ground, trying to grab his foot with its withered hand. Like an arrow, Chen Zhi burst out of the cellar door, frantically running towards the exit, his leg muscles trembling violently from fear, but at that moment, he could not care about that. Just as he was about to run out, he suddenly tripped over a stone and fell heavily to the ground with a loud thud. At the same time, a chilling wind blew from behind, as if the corpse had chased after him, its face twisted in rage as it pounced on him, its nails digging into his flesh, causing him to scream in madness.

He did not look around elsewhere, but first picked up the flashlight and directly shone it at the location of the corpse

In the end, he decided to act while silently reciting numbers. This is because when a person is silently reciting, the thoughts in the brain become less sharp, there are fewer associations in the mind, and thus, one does not feel as fearful

What is terror? Is it the supernatural? Compared to his trembling hands, his elderly, paralyzed father has nowhere to find solace. Is the supernatural truly terrifying? Even if there are indeed ghosts waiting for him in that cellar, for the sake of his father, he would confront ghosts and slay gods.

Before entering the cellar, Chen Zhi bowed three times towards the inside of the cellar and whispered: "Teacher Guo, I am your student Chen Zhi. I am currently in a predicament and cannot find a way out. Please lend me your watch to help me in this urgent situation. I hope you will not blame me. You once said that the watch was meant for me. Rest assured, I will report to the police tomorrow to clear your name. Please do not frighten me. Once I have money, I will definitely offer you luxury cars and beautiful women."

Chen Zhi was greatly startled, sitting down heavily on the ground. He could not control his gaze fixed on the corpse, and at that moment, his legs lost all sensation.

A chilling human-shaped shadow was cast on the window, standing upright with its head hanging at an incredible angle to the side, lacking shoulders, its hands and face pressed firmly against the glass, staring intently at Chen Zhi. Under the dim yellow light of the duty room, it was unmistakably a ghostly face

However, Chen Zhi did not leave, and the reason is simple: he saw that Omega watch

When he ran out of the warehouse, he found himself completely soaked. In this cold winter weather, the sweat on his forehead dripped incessantly into his eyes. He picked up his handbag and hurriedly retraced his steps through the back door of the factory, wishing he could sprout wings and fly away from this cursed place.

Chen Zhi thought of his old father, who was bedridden due to a stroke and could hardly speak, and who would be kicked out of the nursing home next month. Chen Zhi desperately needed money, enough to overcome the inherent fears of humanity. That Omega watch should be worth something, at least enough to cover his father's nursing fees for next month. If he ran out of this cursed factory now, and the police were called tomorrow, they would take the watch along with the body, leaving Chen Zhi with no chance to retrieve it. If they did not report it, would he dare to come back to this cursed place a second time? If he ran out of this cursed factory now, and the police were called tomorrow, they would take the watch along with the body, leaving Chen Zhi with no chance to retrieve it. If they did not report it, would he dare to come back to this cursed place a second time?

A gust of north wind blew in, and Chen Zhi, shivering, lit a cigarette for himself, saying: "It seems that Teacher Guo really exists; he died in that cellar. So what did he see later? Teacher Guo's soul? A ghost?"

Chen Zhi's rational mind told him: "Don't overthink it, just keep walking." He hurried past the duty room he had encountered earlier, ready to continue on his way. Suddenly, a signal entered his mind, "Something is not right."

He remembered the clothes the corpse was wearing, just like the memory of the last time he saw Teacher Guo. It was a very fashionable dark blue coat at the time, adorned with the Jinli brand logo. He noticed many cracks on the head of the corpse, as if it had been slashed with a knife, and he immediately recognized the face of the corpse; it was indeed Teacher Guo.

When Chen Zhi saw the corpse once again, the fear he had just experienced surged back. The appearance of the corpse was too horrifying; it was bent backward in an unnatural twist, with both hands reaching forward as if grasping for something. Its mouth was wide open, as if it had endured extreme torture before death

When Chen Zhi's rationality returned, he realized that his throat had become hoarse. He tried to shout, and his voice carried far, sounding particularly terrifying. The biting cold wind of the northeastern winter pierced his face, and his nasal mucus had frozen into ice. Chen Zhi gradually calmed down, turned over, and sat up, gazing at the hazy moon in the sky. The surrounding factory area was eerily quiet, enveloped in darkness. There were no corpses chasing after him; it was merely an illusion born from fear.

He turned to look at the duty room, and a thunderclap sounded in his mind. When did the light in the duty room turn on? It was clearly off just a moment ago!