The sound of children playing marbles drifted from upstairs in the dead of night.
Zhao Xueling jolted awake from her dream, casting a resentful glance at the ceiling.
She was frequently woken by the sound of marbles at night. Five years ago, she had gone upstairs to complain, only to discover that the elderly couple living there were the parents of her company's leader.
The couple, who had their children late in life, had twins. Sometimes, when the children couldn't sleep at night, they would play with marbles.
Because of her superior, Zhao Xueling had no outlet for her anger and could only endure it. What else could she do? Argue with the old man and woman?
Sometimes, she and her husband found it strange. Five years ago, the two children were seven or eight years old and acted foolishly, which was understandable. Now they were at least twelve or thirteen, so why were they still playing with marbles every night?
Enduring it, enduring it, she had grown accustomed to it. She even slept more soundly listening to the sound.
But tonight, after hearing the marbles, Zhao Xueling inexplicably felt uneasy, which caused her to wake up suddenly.
Just as she was about to go back to sleep, she heard a faint sobbing sound. The sound was coming from her son's room.
Without waking her husband, she got out of bed, pushed open her son's door, and turned on the light. She saw her son, Lele, tightly covering himself with his quilt, trembling uncontrollably.
"Lele, did you have a nightmare?" she asked softly, patting the quilt.
Lele peeked his head out and, trembling, said to Zhao Xueling, "Mom, there's something under my bed..."
Zhao Xueling didn't pay much attention, thinking it was a mouse or something. She grabbed a flashlight and crouched down, shining it under the bed.
Upon seeing what was under the bed, Zhao Xueling's face changed, her legs went weak, and she sat down on the floor.
There was indeed something under the bed. That something... was her son, Lele!
The Lele under the bed put a finger to his lips and said with a quiver, "Mom, don't make a sound. There's a monster on the bed!"
At that moment, Zhao Xueling's scalp tingled, and her heart felt like it was about to stop.
Two Leles. Which one was real?
She opened her mouth in terror but found herself unable to scream. Her legs were too weak to allow her to escape immediately. She could only lean against the wall to slowly stand up, then slowly shuffle out of the room.
Now, only her husband could provide her with a sliver of security.
But when she returned to the master bedroom, the scene she witnessed there completely broke her.
Her husband, Zhao Pan, wearing a white pajamas, stood by the bed, his heels lifted, something seemingly wrapped around his neck, pulling him upwards. He looked at the bedroom floor with a benevolent smile.
There were also two other people, acting exactly like Zhao Pan. They were the elderly couple from upstairs. They had entered Zhao Xueling's home at some point unknown to her!
And on the floor where all three were gazing, two young children, dressed in red cotton jackets with rosy cheeks and white teeth, were kneeling!
These two children were exactly the same as the two children Zhao Xueling had seen upstairs five years ago!
Despair washed over her, and she sank to her knees, tears streaming down her face, unsure of what to do.
Behind her, her two 'sons' kept calling her softly, urging her to drive away the monsters on or under the bed.
Meanwhile, the five people in the master bedroom, though appearing serene, filled her with even greater dread.
How had the four people from upstairs gotten in? And why was Zhao Pan in such a terrifying posture?
What she wished for most afterward was to faint. Even immediate death would be easier than enduring this torment.
"Knock, knock, knock! Knock, knock, knock!"
A knocking sound echoed. Her two 'sons' simultaneously ceased their calls to their mother. The two children over there stopped playing marbles, and the three figures standing by the bed all looked uniformly towards the door.
Their sclera... were entirely black!
After the knocking began, Zhao Xueling seemed to regain her strength instantly. She let out a thunderous scream and then rushed to the door, intending to open it.
But the door, which normally required only a gentle twist, now seemed to have become a solid, unified entity. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't move the handle.
"Uh, checking the water meter. Please open the door," a man's voice came from outside.
"I can't open this door..." Zhao Xueling stopped mid-sentence as a small, pale green hand quietly covered her mouth.
"Oh, the door is broken, is it? Then I'll just let myself in. If I can't check the water meter, they'll dock my pay."
*Swish!*
A black, sharp sword protruded from the door lock, narrowly missing Zhao Xueling's palm. Then, the security door was easily pulled open, revealing a man in a black trench coat standing at the entrance.
The man poked his head in and looked at Zhao Xueling, saying in surprise, "Whoa, looks like you've got a lively household. Xi Hong City should have notified you, right? You should be staying out less..."
Before he could finish speaking, a marble shot towards his eye. Judging by its force, if it hit that eye, it would likely be ruined.
The man seemed to have no reaction. He didn't even blink as the marble approached.
Then, the marble shattered.
Upon hitting the man's eye, the marble turned into powder. However, the man merely rubbed his eye as if some sand had gotten into it.
"What era are we in, still playing with marbles, something that's been obsolete? How about I teach you to play with a water gun, uncle?"
The man produced a seemingly very cartoonish water gun and pulled the trigger, aiming it directly at the child. A stream of water shot out, piercing the boy's head and slicing through a glass cup behind him.
"And you folks in the bedroom, stop striking poses. Come join the water fight. If we don't have a water fight, how can I check the water meter?"
The man swaggered into the bedroom and fired his water gun at everyone inside, including Zhao Pan. No one escaped the water gun's wrath.
"You guys are good at playing along. You just pretend to be dead after being hit by the water gun."
The man put away his water gun and walked towards Lele's room, his expression turning serious.
This man was, of course, Wen Wen. The earlier use of the water gun against the little ghosts was just child's play. However, the thing in Lele's room was not to be trifled with.
Wen Wen had trespassed into a private residence specifically for the entity in this room.
Since leaving the Hunter Association, he had been clearing out newly spawned small monsters and ghosts in the vicinity.
When he passed by Zhao Xueling's house and heard the faint sound of marbles, he initially thought it was just some lonely ghosts. However, upon careful investigation, he detected a familiar aura.
It was the same aura as the hair and stomach he had encountered before. This family contained something akin to those parts. Sudan Novel Network.
Upon discovering the clue, Wen Wen perched on the outside window and observed the family's situation.
To his surprise, he couldn't even tell which of the two Lele's was the real one and which was the fake.
That's why he had waited until the farce erupted, hoping to see if the fake Lele would reveal any flaws.