Cold.
Damp.
Oppressive.
A faint stench of decay lingered in the air, as if the entire apartment had been wrapped in shadow.
That familiar suffocating sensation returned.
Gavin Moore knew he had once again stepped into a place where two worlds overlapped.
"Vivian was right," he murmured.
"This method really does allow you to trigger an urban legend game proactively."
Avoiding the corpse's gaze downstairs, Gavin turned back toward the living room.
The four candles placed in the corners had already gone out.
The room seemed frozen in the exact moment of the victim's suicide.
"Where's Vivian?"
The dilapidated apartment contained only Gavin.
The psychological serial killer who had wanted to enter the game with him was nowhere to be seen.
"Did she already leave… or was she never here to begin with?"
Sticky shadows surged like black seawater, threatening to drown him.
Gavin forced himself to stay calm—he needed to identify which game had become reality.
"The corpse appeared downstairs. Judging by the scale, this game is much larger than the ones I cleared before."
"At minimum, it covers the entire Building Two."
"Brother Zhao and I talked many times. I even planned to design a small emotional-support game for him… I drafted several concepts back then…"
His thoughts were interrupted by a vibrating sound.
Gavin slowly pushed open the bedroom door and found a cheap, off-brand phone on the nightstand.
The yellowed casing was grimy.
The charging port was clogged with dirt and stray hairs.
There was no lock screen.
New messages kept popping up.
"I've seen Brother Zhao use this phone before."
He touched the screen.
The phone opened a chat group titled:
Neighbors Are Better Than Distant Relatives
It was the owners' group for Lijing Apartments, Building Two.
Just moments ago, Walter Wang (2101) had tagged everyone and uploaded three videos.
Standing on his balcony, he had filmed Zack Zhao's corpse at close range.
The body had landed headfirst.
The face was completely crushed.
The neck snapped and stretched.
Limbs twisted grotesquely.
Shattered bones pierced through the skin.
2101 – Walter Wang:
"I SAW ZACK ZHAO GET DRAGGED AWAY WITH MY OWN EYES!
WHY IS HIS BODY BACK HERE AGAIN?!
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
The group chat exploded.
Some tried calling the police.
Others talked about leaving their apartments to check.
Then—silence.
2203 – Autumn Qiu:
"Something's wrong with your videos, Brother Wang!
In the first and third videos, Zack Zhao isn't in the same position!
He looks like he's… moving!"
Including Gavin, everyone replayed the clips.
She was right.
Zack Zhao's position had clearly changed.
2101 – Walter Wang:
"How can a corpse move?!
Dead people don't move!
It must be the camera angle—
I'm going back to the balcony to film again!"
The first-floor resident was clearly panicking.
He seemed ready to record another video.
Sensing danger, Gavin grabbed the phone and rushed to the balcony.
Rain washed away the bloodstains.
The corpse that had been lying by the stairwell entrance was gone.
"He already crawled inside?"
Walter Wang never sent another message.
Lijing Apartments was an old, isolated complex in the Old City.
Many units were vacant.
Building Two barely had any residents.
With Wang gone, fear spread fast.
Those who had earlier boasted about going outside now hid inside their homes.
2203 – Autumn Qiu:
"It's over! What do we do?!
None of the phones work!
Nothing sends except this group chat!
WHY IS THIS HAPPENING?!"
2304 – Lily Li:
"Is it because Zack Zhao was in this group…
that the chat still works?"
Lily Li was Zack Zhao's sister-in-law.
She lived on the third floor with his adoptive mother.
2409 – Frank Fang:
"Why did Zack Zhao's corpse come back?
Did your family do something awful?
I hear you yelling and hitting him all the time upstairs!"
"You sucked him dry and thought it was normal—
now this is karma!"
2304 – Lily Li:
"Bullshit!
His death has NOTHING to do with me!"
2203 – Autumn Qiu:
"STOP ARGUING!
I HEAR SOMETHING!
Something is crawling up the stairwell!"
Terrified, Autumn sent a voice message.
"It's real—something is crawling upward!
It's right outside my door!"
2409 – Frank Fang:
"Let's start a group video call.
If we can see each other, we'll know what's happening."
The fourth-floor resident seemed to want proof.
He added everyone—including Zack Zhao—to the group video call.
When Zack Zhao's camera feed activated, everyone inhaled sharply—
Then they saw Gavin Moore, standing inside Zack Zhao's apartment.
2304 – Lily Li:
"Who are you?!
Why do you have Zack Zhao's phone?!
Why are you in his apartment?!
Did YOU bring his body back?!"
Before Gavin could respond—
Knocking echoed from Autumn Qiu's video.
Every two seconds.
As if someone were smashing their head against her door.
Her face had gone deathly pale.
She kept the video on while pushing the couch against the door.
The knocking only grew louder.
The door began to tremble.
Clutching her phone, Autumn trembled.
"I—I don't know what to do!
Please help me!
We're neighbors!
It'll come for you too!"
She curled up on her bed, begging the screen.
No one moved.
Her eyes filled with tears.
Just as she was about to break down—
The lights flickered.
Then went out.
Darkness swallowed Apartment 2203.
Only the phone's dim glow illuminated Autumn's face.
She was frozen.
Staring at the living room.
A creaking sound echoed from the darkness.
She held her breath and covered her mouth.
Something heavy dragged across the floor.
The door slowly pushed open.
Broken fingernails scraped against tile.
A crawling silhouette took shape.
Her heart pounded violently.
Hands shaking, Autumn turned on the flashlight.
Light flashed—
She screamed.
Panicking, she threw open the bedroom window and kicked at the security bars, trying to jump.
Rain soaked her pajamas.
Her phone slipped from her hands onto the windowsill.
She forgot the video call.
Kicking wildly.
Through the camera, everyone could see the ceiling and window—
But Autumn didn't notice the pale face climbing upward from the lower left outside.
Neighbors shouted warnings through the chat.
Autumn turned back.
Her features twisted in terror.
She opened her mouth—
And was dragged into the darkness.
Apartment 2203 fell silent.
So did the group call.
Holding the phone, Gavin stared at every neighbor's face on screen, memorizing every subtle expression.
Then he rushed to the apartment door.
The corpse was climbing upstairs.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Earlier, Gavin had seen a face outside the window.
It didn't belong to Zack Zhao.
It looked like Walter Wang.
Lowering the phone, Gavin felt a chill.
He hadn't seen the neighbors get killed—
But remembering the replaced parents before, his greatest fear was this:
Everyone else in the building had already been replaced.
Everyone except him… was already dead.