Chapter 15 Silence Before the Storm

"What's going on?" Standing beneath an old residential building, Lin Wan'er turned her face, looking at Jiang Cheng and asking.

Jiang Cheng held his cell phone alone, a strange expression in his eyes.

His gaze darted around, scanning the surroundings, before returning to her, and he finally said, "It's been too quiet on the way here."

They had taken a taxi, using the money Huai Yi had given them. Jiang Cheng had been very vigilant throughout the ride, but until they got out of the car and the taxi turned around to leave, nothing had happened.

Lin Wan'er seemed to have thought of something. "Are you talking about... Xiang Nan?"

"Yes." Jiang Cheng nodded, his voice becoming low and grave. "Coming here is a crucial part of our mission, yet Xiang Nan hasn't appeared at all."

"It doesn't make sense. I want to know where she is right now. Is there anything more important than stopping us from getting the clues?" Jiang Cheng asked.

Lin Wan'er pondered for a moment before saying, "Could she have gone to find Director Qi?"

Killing Director Qi would solve the problem at its source.

This seemed like a reasonable assumption, but Jiang Cheng shook his head. "I don't think so."

"Don't think too much. Let's go up and find the clues first," Lin Wan'er suggested.

"Mm."

Based on the address provided by Huai Yi, they arrived at the 13th floor of the residential building. Before them was a black iron door.

Apartment 1302, Unit 1, was Zhang Zhaowei's residence.

He had no children, and his wife had passed away long ago. The iron door had the flavor of bygone years, as if it hadn't been opened in a long time.

There shouldn't be anyone inside the room.

Lin Wan'er naturally reached out, removed her hairpin, and in a few moments, opened the door that likely held the secrets they sought.

It was very dark inside. Jiang Cheng and Lin Wan'er took out their phones for illumination.

Just as Lin Wan'er was walking towards the bedroom, a hand grabbed her arm. "Stay behind me. Don't touch anything without my permission." Jiang Cheng looked around warily and said in a low voice, "Be careful. I have a bad feeling about this place."

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say."

The layout of the room was very simple. From here, they could see the bedroom, which contained a bed.

Everything matched Zhang Zhaowei's description.

They went straight to the bedroom. Jiang Cheng glanced back at the door, estimated the position where Zhang Zhaowei had squatted, and then squatted down himself.

It was obvious that Zhang Zhaowei's life was simple. Although he was well-off, the room's furnishings were no different from those of an ordinary old man.

The mattress was an ordinary sponge mattress, very light. Jiang Cheng easily lifted the mattress, but to his surprise, there was nothing between the mattress and the bed frame.

Could it be... under the bed?

Jiang Cheng changed his position and lowered his body again to look under the bed.

The space under the bed was very clean, with no extra clutter.

He couldn't see anything stuck to the bottom of the old bed frame either.

Nothing...

How could this be?

Just as Jiang Cheng was wondering where the problem was, Lin Wan'er came over from behind and touched an inconspicuous spot on the mattress.

After a few seconds, she suddenly said, "Here."

Jiang Cheng immediately reached out to feel it. Sure enough, there was a special bulge inside. Upon closer inspection, there were traces of stitches near the bulge.

Zhang Zhaowei had sewn this thing into the mattress.

Finding a fruit knife in the kitchen, he cut open the mattress. Between the two layers of yellowed sponge, there was an envelope.

Jiang Cheng squeezed it and felt a hard object inside, a rectangular shape.

Opening the envelope, he found an old-fashioned cassette tape and a folded, handwritten letter underneath.

For some reason, most of the words on the letter were blurred, and he could only make out the last paragraph.

He could feel the fear and remorse in Zhang Zhaowei's words. He described bringing Xiang Nan to the hospital as the most regrettable thing he had ever done in his life.

It was because of her.

Those doctors had died.

The following was another vague sentence.

"When the date arrives, after the real 'it' descends, even more people will die."

"No one can stop her anymore."

"She's back..."

Jiang Cheng frowned at the words that sounded like something out of a Western missionary's sermon.

He could understand the four words, "She's back."

This should be referring to Xiang Nan. The crazy nurse had said something similar when she was driven mad in the elevator.

But "after the real 'it' descends"...

Jiang Cheng had difficulty understanding this sentence. What exactly was this "it"?

Why did Zhang Zhaowei seem to be even more afraid of this thing than of a ghost?

While Jiang Cheng was pondering over the letter, Lin Wan'er handed him a box-sized radio.

He didn't see a cord, so it must have been battery-powered. Jiang Cheng tried it, and it worked.

After inserting the tape, there was first a period of meaningless static.

Then, a man's voice appeared.

But it didn't sound like Zhang Zhaowei. This was a younger man.

About 30 years old, probably not over 35.

What caught Jiang Cheng's attention even more was the man's tone. His voice was trembling, and he seemed to be hiding in a very small space. There was an echo nearby.

"She did it... she did it all..."

"Xuanxuan wasn't... wasn't killed by wild dogs. I investigated. She used to be married and had a child."

"But that child also died. I checked the child's file, and it turned out that he was also killed by wild dogs."

*crackling sound*

"I saw the photos. It was exactly the same as when Xuanxuan died!"

"Their necks were bitten off, and their heads were gone. Those idiots actually said that Xuanxuan's head was carried away by wild dogs."

*crackling sound*

*crackling sound*

The man's trembling voice was interspersed with static, causing Jiang Cheng to frown.

This gave him a sense of déjà vu, and it was not a good feeling.

"There's something wrong with her. I once woke up suddenly in the middle of the night and realized she wasn't next to me."

"I heard a sound outside, so I went to investigate and found that the sound was coming from the bathroom."

"As I got closer, the sound became clearer. It was her, Xiang Nan's voice."

"Just as I was about to ask her why she wasn't asleep so late, I suddenly heard another voice!"

"There was someone else in the bathroom besides Xiang Nan!"

"That person's voice was very strange, indescribably strange. The voice was very low, as if their throat had been cut with a knife."

"I vaguely heard them saying, 'body... let go... door...'"

"Xiang Nan seemed very afraid of it, maybe it had some hold over her. She kept begging it in a low voice to let her go or something."

"I couldn't tell that person's age, and I couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman."

"I was furious at the time and didn't think too much. I was about to rush in when I heard the sound of a toilet flushing. Then, a few seconds later, the bathroom door was pushed open, and Xiang Nan came out."