Chapter 30: Despair

“Qiao Yunxue, are you still there? Qiao Yunxue!”

Shen Yao ran back for a while, but there was no sign of the red-haired girl at all.

He grabbed his hair in agitation, his mind racing.

But whatever was lurking in the darkness would never give him time to think.

“Shen Yao, I’ve come to find you~”

It wasn’t Qiao Yunxue’s voice.

It was a deep, magnetic male voice—that was Zhong Wen’s voice.

No, it was Zhong Wen’s voice imagined by the Strangeness.

So unnaturally stiff, only now did Shen Yao realize how off it sounded; even Zhong Wen himself would never speak like this, with that sickly, low murmur as if questioning a lover.

Shen Yao’s hair stood on end.

Perhaps there was something he’d been overlooking all along.

Strangeness was born from intense emotion.

But not necessarily from just one person’s emotions.

Xu Jia was filled with hatred for the murderer—what about the murderer? What state of mind drove him to dismember a young girl like that?

The one searching was a Strangeness.

The one who set him searching was also a Strangeness.

No one ever said there was only one Strangeness in the Phone Urban Legend.

“Last time I let you get away, but not this time~”

That voice drifted from somewhere neither near nor far.

It seemed to be following the path Shen Yao had taken.

“I know what you’re looking for, but you won’t find her. She’s very obedient, I’ve already hidden her~”

“Shen Yao, are you ahead of me?”

It no longer needed the phone as a medium.

Damn it!

He had to find the last suitcase, and fast!

Shen Yao glanced down at his watch, but the pair of hands that were supposed to have vanished appeared again, covering his watch!

At the same time, that broken, shuffling footstep echoed in his ears.

They were all here!

All of them—damn it, every last one!

Shen Yao couldn’t help but curse.

The two Strangeness had chosen to appear together, which could only mean the Hunting was nearly over!

“Shen Yao, are you to my left?”

The Strangeness’s voice was now separated from him by only a wall.

Shen Yao had no choice but to grab his suitcase, using his memory to avoid the places where he’d heard footsteps and flee deeper inside.

The Strangeness born from Xu Jia’s emotions was less aggressive, but far more disruptive.

The one shaped by Zhong Wen’s feelings brimmed with pure aggression—he could imagine what would happen if it caught him.

Both Strangeness were born from the same urban legend, so they had to share the same Rule.

Fifteen minutes.

Gather all of Xu Jia’s remains, and the Nightmare would end!

His watch was already covered, and by his estimate he had less than three minutes left.

Three minutes.

No way to check his watch, Strangeness closing in on all sides—could he really find the final hidden suitcase in time?

Shen Yao, Shen Yao, calm down, you can’t make a single mistake—not a single one!

He retraced the path he’d just walked in his mind, remembering the very last glimpse he’d had of his watch.

The moonlight outside finally vanished, plunging the Cargo Area into eternal darkness.

Shen Yao was forced to use the faint glow from his color-screen phone to light the way.

He followed the right-hand rule to weave through the Maze, avoiding doubling back and being caught by the Strangeness.

In the cramped, pitch-black space, Shen Yao’s life hung by a thread.

The Hand of the Dead gripped his left wrist tighter and tighter, the pain growing stronger.

Everything was exactly as the Strangeness had described: a cramped, dark place filled with pain and unease.

It—they—had always wanted the victim to experience their pain.

Her despair.

His hysteria.

All those emotions, pointing straight to the darkest corners of the human heart.

“Shen Yao, are you to my right?”

It was getting closer.

Time was almost up!

All of this—it was so familiar!

Last time, Qiao Yunxue had rushed in to save him.

But would there be a chance this time?

Last time, fifteen minutes hadn’t been nearly enough to hide the body.

This time, fifteen minutes wouldn’t be enough to find it!

Every Rule was just another part of the Strangeness’s hunt.

From the beginning, it was a death trap.

At last, Shen Yao stopped walking.

It wasn’t that he’d given up hope of survival.

He had reached the end.

The very end of the Cargo Area, formed of reinforced concrete.

He looked back—the towering stacks of cargo seemed like monstrous beasts, waiting to devour him whole.

“Shen Yao, are you right in front of me?”

Its voice echoed again.

This time, it was less than thirty meters from Shen Yao.

He saw a staggering figure emerge into the narrow corridor.

With no moonlight, he couldn’t see its face.

He only knew it was unnaturally tall, with long arms and legs.

That bizarre silhouette grew larger with each step—drawing closer and closer.

“Shen Yao, are you fifteen meters in front of me?”

True terror was the unknown.

He didn’t know what form the Strangeness took.

He didn’t know what hell awaited him.

It hunted him down the whole way, but he never understood its true nature.

He thought he had escaped, never realizing he’d already fallen into its new trap.

It never gave up, only lurked in the shadows, secretly watching him with those dangerous, sickly eyes.

“Shen Yao, are you ten meters in front of me?”

Watching his every move.

Watching him eat, drink, go to the bathroom.

Watching him go to school, come home, interact with others.

All because of that phone call Shen Yao made in defiance that night.

The moment he answered, his fate was sealed—there would be no resting place for him.

Capturing Strangeness—how ridiculous.

Could humans really capture entities born of extreme emotion?

No wonder… only those in utter despair can see Strangeness, only they encounter it.

Qiao Yunxue couldn’t see it, because she was filled with hope and passion for life.

Shen Yao could, because his heart was already completely disillusioned.

It wasn’t Qiao Yunxue who pulled him into this, but he who leapt into the abyss himself.

Without Qiao Yunxue, this day would have come all the same!

“Shen Yao, are you five meters in front of me?”

Closer, closer.

Shen Yao’s gaze passed through the black silhouette, landing behind it.

The final suitcase—it had always been dragging it behind itself.

He was doomed never to gather all the remains.

How ironic… Shen Yao, you thought you could predict everything, thought you were different from the rest, but did you really succeed?

Your so-called love at first sight for Qiao Yunxue—was it really as noble as you claimed?

Your lies to Cheng Orange—did you truly believe they were white lies?

With Aunt—did you really want to be a hardworking child?

And with yourself… since that day, did you ever truly want to go on living?

All lies.

Nonsense.

Utter nonsense.

That Fire consumed everything.

It should have burned you—burned Shen Yao to ashes!

If not for you, they would still be alive!

If not for you, none of this would have happened!

Shen Yao collapsed to the ground, powerless, hands trembling.

The Strangeness finally stood before him, its sharp fingernails scratching his scalp.

“…Shen Yao, I’ve found you~”