Nightmare Assault

At the corner of the stairwell in Block C, two figures, one thin and one fat, stood there. They stared at the ground not far away.

“Doctor,” Fatty felt something on his tongue, and his tone was uneven, “This is…” About two metres in front of them, a broken arm lay on the ground. From their perspective, they could see the shattered bones and twisted sinews at the spot where the arm was torn off.

“It’s Xu Wen.” Jiang Cheng nodded.

Fatty moved his eyes to look at the surrounding walls. There was a lot of blood splattered on the floor, walls and ceiling. Even though they didn’t see Xu Wen’s actual body, it was no longer important.

Once they turned this corner, they would reach the music classroom after walking for a while.

Fatty stretched his head and looked into the darkness. He said contemplatively, “So… Xu Wen was ambushed and killed on her way to the music classroom.”

Jiang Cheng studied the sides of the corridor. “No. She left the music classroom and was killed when she reached this place.”

Fatty frowned. Just as he was about to ask Jiang Cheng how he came to that conclusion, there was a ringing around them. It was the ringing of a phone.

They lowered their heads and realised the ringing came from the centre of the palm of the broken arm. It was a red phone. Since its colour was so close to blood, they didn’t notice it earlier.

Fatty was so scared that he almost fainted. Thankfully, Jiang Cheng was there. Jiang Cheng walked forward and pried off the stiff fingers. He picked up the phone, put it beside his ear and answered.

The air seemed to freeze. Due to the distance, Fatty could tell that it was a woman speaking in an unusual tone on the other end of the line.

“I’m not,” Jiang Cheng spoke after some time, “Xu Wen…” Jiang Cheng glanced at the broken arm and said calmly, “She’s beside me. She’s fine. Don’t worry. She’s too preoccupied to answer the phone.” Then, Jiang Cheng moved away for a few steps, covered his mouth with his hand and whispered in reply. Fatty wanted to follow him, but Jiang Cheng stopped him with his gaze.

Fatty came alive after they left Block C. He bombarded Jiang Cheng with questions.

“Doctor, who called earlier?”

Jiang Cheng placed the phone in his pocket. His pocket bulged. Who knew what was inside it?

“Feng Lan,” Jiang Cheng answered easily, “She said Xu Wen asked her out to discuss something important. She has been waiting for Xu Wen for two hours already, but she hasn’t shown up.” Of course, she didn’t show up. Xu Wen was already dead.

Suddenly realising something, Fatty became nervous, “Doctor,” He asked stutteringly, “Do you think it’s a ghost pretending to be Feng Lan to call us?”

Jiang Cheng scratched his chin. “Unlikely, but we can’t rule out that possibility.”

“Then, you better be careful,” Fatty said with concern. “Answering the call might be the ghost’s condition. You might be targeted already.”

Jiang Cheng turned around to tap Fatty on his shoulder. He said with tears in his eyes, “My good brother, you don’t need to worry about me. I’ve thought of that and came up with a solution in advance.”

Fatty was even more impressed by Jiang Cheng. He believed he was very lucky to run into Jiang Cheng in the nightmare realm. He also reached out his hand to pat Jiang Cheng’s shoulder, “Doctor, what did you do?”

“Feng Lan asked for my name in the end,” Jiang Cheng uttered slowly, “I said my name was Wang Fugui.”

Fatty aka Wang Fugui, “Doctor, how can you do that to me?!”

…

Under the old apartment building, the woman breathed into her cupped hands. She was not tall, but she had paid some attention to her appearance. Pink swarf wrapped around her neck. She looked very cute. Light blue jeans were paired with a pair of white leather shoes. The edges of her shoes were lined with small red hearts.

She had been waiting there for a long time already, but her target didn’t show up. The sky darkened, and the temperature dipped. She pulled her hand out of her pocket. Staring at her phone, her eyes blurred.

“Miss Xu…” She whispered to herself. “Why would a man have the phone I gifted you…”

Gripping the phone, her eyes chilled. She stared down the distance, and her lips were pressed into a tough line.

“Wang Fugui…”

…

“Fatty,” Jiang Cheng asked, “Do you feel better now?”

After Fatty and Jiang Cheng left Block C, they walked along the path with no streetlights to the Prop Centre. When they passed by the cafeteria, Jiang Cheng smelled the fragrance of meat. In the name of preparing a last meal for Fatty, he pulled Fatty towards the cafeteria. He even offered to foot the bill.

“This doesn’t feel right,” Fatty observed the empty cafeteria, and his face paled. There was no one there, but all the lights were on. Hot food was served at the counter.

The two walked into the kitchen. The door was not closed. A few chef uniforms were left on the back of the chairs. Everything was arranged neatly. It felt like everyone decided to leave moments before they arrived.

Jiang Cheng lifted the pot lid, and the meat stew bubbled inside. The fragrance wafted out. Jiang Cheng studied the stew and thought of something. He found a clean ladle from the nearby cupboard and gave the soup a taste. Fatty was shocked by Jiang Cheng’s action. He had no idea what he was doing.

Then…

“Hng…”

Jiang Cheng’s face grimaced.

“Doctor,” Fatty shouted, “What’s wrong?” He turned to the pot. Based on his years of experience watching horror movies, the soup was probably poisoned. But… why would the ghost resort to poison?

Just as Fatty pondered how to save Jiang Cheng, the latter suddenly spoke.

“Hot! Hot!” Jiang Cheng opened his mouth wide. He used his hand to fan his lips.

“Hot?” Fatty’s eyes widened.

After a while, Jiang Cheng took a bowl from the counter and poured himself a generous portion of stew. He asked Fatty, “I’ll serve it and let it cool for now.”

Fatty, “...”

He turned to Fatty. “Don’t you want one?”

Fatty was silent. Then, he said seriously, “Doctor, have you wondered… that it’s not a coincidence that you’re an orphan?”