"Ah!" A piercing scream shattered the midnight sky.
Wang Qiang suddenly bounced up from the sofa, instinctively reaching for the kitchen knife on the tea table, holding it defensively across his chest.
"Hey~" With a long sigh, Tang Xiaoquan slowly extinguished the cigarette in his hand, walked with measured steps to Wang Qiang's side, and anxiously patted the latter's shoulder, saying with concern, "It's okay, Qiang, everything is fine, don't be nervous."
Wang Qiang, speechless, stared blankly at the blood-stained, shriveled corpse at the doorway, sweat droplets as large as beans trickling down his cheeks, his chest rising and falling like a bellows, breathing heavily.
About six hours ago, a bizarre disturbance occurred in the neighborhood where he lived; a young man, for reasons unknown, suddenly started dragging and biting people frantically throughout the area.
At the time, Wang Qiang didn't pay much attention because after living there for nearly a month, he had grown accustomed to the chaotic security of this cheap rental district. After all, in the current situation with such high prices, you couldn't expect a rental house for 500 a month to have any safety measures.
Moreover, it was precisely this affordable rent and lenient rental procedures that made this neighborhood a haunt for people from all walks of life. Fights, quarrels, and insults were more common than meals.
However, this disturbance seemed far more complicated than Wang Qiang had imagined, even later... it exceeded his realm of understanding.
Trembling, he pulled out a wrinkled cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and after taking several puffs, his anxious heart slowly calmed down.
In no time, wisps of smoke enveloped Wang Qiang's face, his dumbfounded eyes gradually turning dazed, as if he was once again back in that unsettling moment...
The frenzied young man was quickly subdued by the police who arrived at the scene, and most of the attacked residents, suffering minor injuries, returned home.
However, no one could have foreseen that this seemingly inconspicuous incident would invisibly open Pandora's box, and thus the nightmare began...
"Thud thud thud," the dull sound of someone crashing against the door.
About half an hour after the young man was captured, the wooden door of Wang Qiang's rented room was suddenly slammed hard from the outside.
Wang Qiang merely frowned in response. Having lived here for nearly a month, he was well aware of the tenants' brazen nature and knew that in such an environment, showing weakness would undoubtedly lead to being bullied. So he immediately snapped, "Who the hell are you?"
However...
Just as his harsh words fell, the other party didn't respond but instead intensified their banging on the wooden door.
The saying goes, 'have no intention to harm others but be on guard against those who might harm you,' especially in this mixed neighborhood. Wang Qiang, from the first day he moved in, had bought two baseball bats online for self-defense.
Exchanging glances with Tang Xiaoquan, each holding a bat, they approached the battered wooden door.
Peering through the small gaps of the old wooden door, Wang Qiang looked out; a Black Shadow was vaguely visible, relentlessly pounding the door, seemingly... a human head, with its slightly pale eyes appearing particularly horrifying in the dark corridor!
Swallowing hard, truthfully, it was impossible not to be scared in such a situation. However, fortunately, they had two people and each held a bat, so Wang Qiang bravely asked again, "Who are you? Who are you looking for?"
"Bang!" A violent crash startled Wang Qiang, almost making him lose balance and fall.
"Hey, what the hell are you doing? If you don't speak, I'll call the police!"
He thought he could intimidate the other party by threatening to call the police. After all, this tactic had worked well for Wang Qiang many times before. However, this time...
The thug outside seemed oblivious, their door-banging grew fiercer, evidently intending to break in.
Helplessly exchanging a glance with Tang Xiaoquan, at this critical moment, for two young men new to society and away from home, the only recourse left was the police.
Quickly, they pulled out their phones, deftly dialing the well-memorized emergency number, but...
"Busy busy busy..." The line was engaged.
Redial, again "Busy busy busy..." The line was engaged.
Redialed, still "Busy busy busy..." The line was engaged.
After dialing the emergency number dozens of times to no avail, the door under outside pressure showed signs of cracking.
Terror, astonishment, bewilderment; staring blankly at the still "busy" phone in their hands, Wang Qiang and Tang Xiaoquan felt a bad omen flash through their minds.
Undoubtedly, relying on the police was no longer possible, even if they managed to reach the police station. The door would unlikely hold until their arrival.
So...
He was a 180-pound young man, and the opponent was only one person, nothing to fear!
Tightening his grip on the bat, Wang Qiang bolstered himself internally, nodded resolutely towards Tang Xiaoquan, and then yanked open the door.
"Damn you, you..."
Before he could finish, Wang Qiang felt a gust of chilly wind hit him head-on, and then he briefly lost focus as a Black Shadow knocked him down.
No time to react, Wang Qiang hadn't yet felt the intense pain from the collision on his back when a pair of blackened arms lunged toward his face, accompanied by an overpowering stench.
Seeing the ghastly pale face inching closer, Wang Qiang instinctively raised his arm and grabbed the opponent's throat, flinging the Black Shadow off his body. Then he jumped up, grabbed the fallen bat, and smashed it down onto the Black Shadow's back with anger.
"Thwack thwack thwack!" He swung the bat several times until Tang Xiaoquan stepped forward and shouted to stop him. Only then did Wang Qiang regain his composure from the stunned frenzy. But...
It was too late; the Black Shadow now lay lifeless, sprawled on the ground.
Murder, he actually committed murder; Wang Qiang couldn't accept the fact.
Yet, reality was reality; although it was self-defense, the law didn't account for such circumstances.
Tang Xiaoquan immediately called 120 for emergency assistance, hoping to remedy the situation. But today, fate seemed determined to challenge these young men, and the emergency services, which never had connectivity issues, were continually busy.
In the tiny room, silence enveloped them. Two people and a corpse remained unchanged, unmoving, as if paralyzed.
The two young men had no idea how to handle the situation, but while they were lost in confusion, the corpse that had been checked countless times, confirmed dead without pulse or breath, inexplicably stood up...
The dead had actually revived!!