Chapter 41: Torn

Lin Han's neck was stiff, and he didn't dare to look back.

Hot and humid breath blew past his ears, and goose bumps appeared on the back of his neck as if due to stress, and his scalp was numb.

The "whoosh" sound was light and fast. He rushed forward almost the moment he heard it, completely forgetting the dark shadow in the corridor that terrified him. Just as he was about to escape, another hand reached out from behind and stopped him at the waist. He was forced to take a step back, then another step, as if to drag him into the endless darkness.

The corridor lights went out again.

Darkness will magnify people's senses other than vision. Lin Han stopped struggling after being dragged back two steps. He even cooperated with the other party's movements and retreated quickly, hiding behind the door together.

He heard his own breathing, and also heard another breathing behind him.

The hand covering his mouth was hot. Lin Han struggled and grabbed the other person's arm that was across his waist. The long sleeves, the exposed wrists and hands were all warm, the fingers were dry, and the nails were round.

The movement stopped at this moment, and Lin Han could feel the regular heartbeat of another person coming from his back. The pounding heartbeat of Lin Han also calmed down a little.

Suddenly, a figure appeared behind him, a man who was tall and much stronger than him.

Lin Han used almost all his strength to pry the other person's fingers apart, but he couldn't budge them at all. They were as tight as an iron clamp around him, making his internal organs wail.

It was too painful, but being in danger, Lin Han knew that she couldn't make a sound at this time, and felt that she could still bear it.

"Shhh."

The man spoke again, this time even softer than the first time, almost the sound of breath beside the ear. If Lin Han hadn't been close enough, he probably wouldn't have heard a thing.

Lin Han didn't try to speak, but nodded to show that he understood. The other party still didn't let go, but changed his posture so that Lin Han, whose toes were just touching the ground, could stand firmly on the ground.

Before he could recover, the lights came on again. Lin Han gasped at the scene in front of him. The hand covering his face even covered his nose without any resistance.

The door of the room they were in was half open. Lin Han was hiding behind the door against the wall, right in the shadow created by the door panel. There was no light source in the room, so when the lights in the corridor were on, if there was anyone standing at the door, the shadow would fall on the floor inside the room.

Although the light was dim and it was difficult to see clearly, the general outline could be seen.

At this moment, something stopped at the door of Lin Han's room and was slowly turning towards the room.

It was a human figure, the dark shadow that Lin Han had just seen at the corner of the corridor.

Lin Han didn't hear any footsteps or any sound of movement. He only knew that the figure did appear at his original location after the lights came on.

He suddenly realized that if the person behind him had not pulled him back into the house and covered his mouth and nose to prevent him from making any sound, perhaps at the moment the light came on, he would be face to face with the black shadow, and it goes without saying what would happen then.

The black shadow maintained the posture of turning around without moving. It seemed to be a little hunched, with its hands falling at its sides. It could be seen that it was not holding anything, but drops of liquid dripped from its fingertips and melted into the darkness on the ground.

At first Lin Han just saw it, but then he seemed to hear the "tick-tick" sound, which clearly dripped into his ears.

Lin Han wasn't sure if this was an illusion caused by excessive nervousness.

The black shadow walked into the room. The room was so small that the whole view could be seen after walking two steps inside, so the black shadow stopped on the other side of the door.

It floated in and didn't land, so there was no sound of footsteps.

The lights in the corridor went out again. Lin Han tensed up and dared not move. The sound of dripping water was still in his ears. The danger was so close to him.

It was also at this time, in the extreme darkness, that he heard a slight movement, as if extremely rotten flesh was squirming and squeezing, small bubbles pushing the skin and flesh aside and surging upwards "gurgling", accompanied by a rotten stench mixed with the unignorable smell of mold.

This is not normal.

His mouth and nose were covered, making it difficult for him to breathe. He should have smelled the scent of the other person's skin on the palm of his hand, but at this moment, the rotten smell penetrated the gaps between his fingers and entered Lin Han's nasal cavity, causing his throat to itch.

After ten or twenty seconds, this time the lights were dark for an especially long time, and when they came on again it seemed as if a different world had passed.

The black shadow was still there, but it had turned its head and was no longer looking inside the door. Lin Han saw it turn around and go out in the light of the shadow. The shadow gradually disappeared behind the door. There was still no sound of footsteps, and the sound of dripping water became farther and farther away, and gradually could no longer be heard.

But neither Lin Han nor the unknown person who saved him moved.

At times like this, being alert to the danger that may come back again is something that every sensible person will not forget.

After a long silence, the lights in the corridor flickered several times. Although Lin Han still felt that the surrounding environment was unsafe, he really put his mind at ease. This meant that the danger just now was really far away.

He began to focus on the person behind him.

Lin Han put his hand on the man's hand that was covering his mouth and pulled it a little harder. The other person let go of his hand, and he took a deep breath.

The person who rescued him loosened his right hand and retracted his left hand at the same time, just letting go of Lin Han. Only then could he take two steps out freely.

Because he was too nervous just now, Lin Han tried to hold his breath. Now he was almost on the verge of suffocation. He took a few deep breaths in a somewhat embarrassed manner to calm down.

The lower half of his face was covered with water condensed from his exhaled breath, and it felt a little wet to the touch. He couldn't help but raise his hand to rub it, wiping away the water, and couldn't help but coughing slightly.

While the lights were on, Lin Han avoided the debris on the ground and turned to look back. Without making any sound, the lights in the corridor flickered out again. Before his vision returned to complete darkness, Lin Han only vaguely saw the figure of this person.

He was very tall, probably half a head taller than him. At that height, he probably had to bend down when talking to Lin Han. He was also wearing a dark coat, so his figure couldn't be seen, but he was definitely a strong man, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to control Lin Han so easily just now. He didn't even have the ability to resist.

Even if Lin Han didn't react and continued to struggle, the other party could have grabbed him and dragged him back like a chicken with a little force. As for calling for help, with his hands covering his mouth and nose, Lin Han might have been suffocated to death without even making a sound.

If Lin Han hadn't been sensible, what this man would have held in his arms a few minutes ago would have been a fresh corpse still warm from body temperature.

This was the difference in strength between the two sides that Lin Han could tell at a glance during the flashing lights.

Fortunately, he is a relatively smart man, which is why he can still stand here safely.

But... Lin Han didn't remember that there were other people in this room when he appeared.

He was indeed shocked by the requirements for passing the "Haunted House" copy at that time. His mind was full of anger for being "cheated" again. He stood up and rushed to the door as soon as possible. He did not check the surrounding environment at the first time. It may be that he did not notice the other party's existence, but he did not hear the approaching footsteps of this person.

At that time, he was so close to Lin Han, so close that he was almost sticking to his back. If Lin Han took another step back, he might have bumped into him first.

Lin Han imagined a scene where a "Xiao Hei" was following closely behind him, and he couldn't help swallowing his saliva. His rationality allowed him to quickly find a reasonable explanation for himself.

He is an ordinary person, but if the other people in the copy are not ordinary people, and they have some special means like Alfred, Su Fu, or even Shen Qiuqiu, then it is not impossible to approach him quietly.

After all, with his strength, there is almost no other possibility for him to discover the other party first unless he suddenly turns his head as if with divine help.

In just a few seconds, Lin Han thought about so much.

He even couldn't help but imagine a more terrifying possibility, and he thought of Silver Moon.

Even though Jiang Xuchen had said before that he would never meet Yin Yue again and would never see him again, Lin Han was still unable to control his thoughts from spreading in the darkness. After all, Jiang Xuchen also said that this copy would be very simple, but in fact it was not easy at all. Who knew whether that was true or not.

But Yin Yue was not as tall as this man, nor did he seem to be that strong. He didn't even seem like the type to use such ordinary means to avoid conflict. Standing at the door and facing the shadow head-on was what he would do.

Moreover, in the darkness, as long as there is a glimmer of light, Yin Yue's eyes will flash with an unignorable silver light, like the moon penetrating the clouds in the night sky.

Not Silver Moon.

When he came to this conclusion, Lin Han didn't even know whether he was disappointed or happy.

Whether Lin Han was willing to admit it or not, he had some special feelings for Yin Yue. He clearly remembered the other party's unhesitating and cruelty when he tried to kill him, but he would not forget his previous protection. He even couldn't help but imagine how he would deal with new dangers if he was there.

This wasn't really Stockholm syndrome. Lin Han felt that he was just a little immersed in the role and couldn't forget it easily.

He shook his head, trying to forget about Yin Yue and focus on the present. At least the person in front of him had no ill will towards him and had just saved his life.

Since they are all his saviors, he should not be biased and should be grateful to everyone.

Lin Han stood quietly, waiting for the lights in the corridor to come on again. The other party didn't speak, and he didn't speak either.

After a long time, the lights came on again, and Lin Han finally saw the person in front of him and understood why he had been silent for so long.

He was indeed a rather tall man. With only the light coming in through the crack in the door and the light behind him, Lin Han couldn't see his appearance clearly. His eyes were caught by the lower half of his face and couldn't be moved away - his lips were sewn shut with thread, crisscrossing up and down, with more than a dozen lines.

Lin Han thought he was seeing things, but he blinked hard, not even bothering to cover himself. He stared for a long time in the dim light before he was sure that he was not seeing things. The ends of the black lines that crisscrossed like a centipede were stuck in the flesh, stretched tight, and really connected the lips of the man in front of him, as if they would tear apart if they were slightly opened.

And it did tear.