thump--
thump--
thump--
In the darkness, all sounds became exceptionally clear.
Lu Ban could hear the howling of wild cats downstairs, the noisy sounds from somewhere, and the chirping of insects that were covered up by the noise during the day.
The clearest sound is the heartbeat.
The normal human heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Five hundred heartbeats takes less than ten minutes, which is neither short nor long.
Lu Ban counted his own heartbeats carefully and concentrated his attention. Gradually, he found that the sounds around him disappeared.
thump--
thump--
thump--
Everything is quiet, and only the sound of my heartbeat proves that I am alive.
Suddenly, Lu Ban discovered that his heartbeat seemed to slow down. He had just counted to one hundred, but it felt like several minutes had passed.
It is normal for the heartbeat to slow down as the body relaxes, Lu Ban tried to convince himself.
thump--
As his heartbeat slowed down, Lu Ban felt his consciousness becoming blurred.
squeak--
At this moment, the cabinet on the wall seemed to make a noise, as if something had crashed out of the cabinet door, accompanied by a slight opening and closing sound.
What is it?
Lu Ban was suddenly startled, his consciousness leaned towards the cabinet, and he almost opened his eyes to check.
But after the opening and closing sound, the world fell silent again, as if what just happened was just an unnecessary illusion of Lu Ban.
He clenched his grip on the crowbar, expecting a possible attack, but felt nothing.
In the huge space, the only sound was Lu Ban's heartbeat, which was slowing down.
thump--
Is your heartbeat so slow?
How much time has passed?
If my heartbeat continues to slow down, will I die?
It seemed that as his heartbeat slowed down, Lu Ban's brain also began to lose function.
Sizzle——
At this moment, a sharp, high-pitched, heart-wrenching scratching sound came from the head of the bed above Lu Ban's head.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle——
The scratching sound continued, right next to Lu Ban's ear, getting closer and closer. Finally, the sound was intertwined with the almost disappeared heartbeat, as if scratching Lu Ban's scalp!
It seemed to want to scratch open Lu Ban's head and pull out the things inside!
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle——
"Never mind!"
Lu Ban was no longer prepared to continue this mission. If he continued like this, he was afraid that he would not even see tomorrow's sunrise.
Holding the crowbar tightly, Lu Ban prepared to open his eyes and find a way to hit the thing that was surrounding him.
But it was not until this time that Lu Ban realized that he was unable to open his eyelids at all.
Not only his eyelids, but even his hands, legs, and body were unable to move. He seemed as if something was holding him down and he couldn't make any movement at all.
"!!!"
The scratching noises grew louder and faster.
Lu Ban tried to struggle but remained in the same position. He felt something scratching the wooden board behind him, under the bed, over and over again, without end.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle——
In this extremely strange and tense situation, Lu Ban suddenly felt that his left hand could move slightly.
He moved his fingers, trying to ease the tension in his body.
The next moment, he felt a warm, soft, and delicate hand.
Lu Ban suddenly felt his tension disappear, his whole body relaxed, and he seemed to be able to wake up from this nightmare-like reality at any time.
The scratching sounds around seemed to disappear as well.
Lu Ban breathed a sigh of relief.
The next moment, a terrifying thought swirled up from the bottom of his heart.
"I live alone...whose hand...is it?!!"
A greater sense of disobedience rose from the place where the hand touched him, and Lu Ban felt his whole body trembling. As the fingertips of the hand gently brushed across his forearm, upper arm, neck, and cheek, the trembling became more and more obvious.
In this state, what impressed Lu Ban himself was that even now, he was still counting his heartbeats accurately.
"Four hundred and ninety-six, four hundred and ninety-seven... five hundred!"
The moment he counted to five hundred, Lu Ban felt that all the pressure on him suddenly disappeared.
The next moment, Lu Ban woke up.
He opened his eyes and found himself lying on the bed, with the crowbar lying beside him, not in his hand.
Lu Ban sat up.
Everything was normal in the room.
The cabinet door was closed, the bedside was clean, and there was nothing strange around him.
Lu Ban felt his own heartbeat, which was fast, just like he had just run a hundred meters.
"Just now I was... asleep?"
How could I fall asleep during such a dangerous and strange mission?
Lu Ban has always thought of himself as a cautious person who plans before taking action.
I didn't expect he was so bold.
"Well, counting heartbeats in the dark might be very hypnotic...right."
Lu Ban thought of the mission. He picked up the flashlight, turned it on, and got out of bed.
The shadows under the bed grew thicker and thicker, and in the deep darkness that even the light of a flashlight could not dispel, it seemed that something unusual was brewing.
It was very quiet all around, without any sound.
Lu Ban leaned over. The ground was cold and the bed board was squeezed, making a creaking sound.
He peered under the bed.
Under the empty bed, there was only accumulated dust and...
That ridiculously dressed Blue Road doll!
The moment he saw those heavily made-up eyes, the scratching sound started again. This time, it came from inside Lu Ban's skull, crushing his brain, erasing his sanity, and reaching the end of the abyss.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle——
Something strange is about to break out of Lu Ban's brain!
"!"
The moment that thing burst out, Lu Ban opened his eyes.
He heard the chirping of insects outside the window, the loud howling of a cat, and the sound of water dripping from the untightened faucet in the bathroom hitting the sink.
He returned to reality.
At least this is a world he is familiar with.
Lu Ban didn’t know what had just happened, what was the source of those sounds, and why he had another dream within his dream.
He turned on the light.
Curiosity drove Lu Ban to the bed. He bent down, took a deep breath, and prepared to look under the bed again.
It is true that seeking death is addictive, and curiosity is also impossible to get rid of. Now Lu Ban just wants to see what is under the bed.
He shone his flashlight over there.
Garlic, a cross, a hundred dollar bill, and lots of salt.
Other than that, there was just thick dust.
However, on the dust, there seemed to be traces of some creature crawling unsteadily.
The traces seemed to be struggling from outside the bed towards the place where they were supposed to belong, or trying to break free from the shackles of darkness and wriggle outward. Following the traces, Lu Ban found that they disappeared in the lighted area, and no one knew the final destination of the traces.
Is it a cockroach? A mouse? Or... that puppet with a funny smile?
Lu Ban's rationality of up to 80 points told him that he should explore the area ahead later.
He sat up and checked his phone. It was twelve-thirty.
The experience just now actually lasted for thirty minutes?
He felt incredible.
Five hundred heartbeats in thirty minutes. If there is nothing wrong with my heart rate, then this frequency is too low.
After such a long time of lack of oxygen, he should have died long ago... Lu Ban didn't dare to think about it.
All demons and monsters are idealistic things.
One's own cognitive consciousness is also idealistic.
So, as long as you don’t care, ghosts can’t hurt you!
It’s me indeed.
As he thought of this, he saw that the font on the phone screen was distorted and turned into cold system text.
【Congratulations on completing the task】
【Start settlement now】
[Task Exploration Degree: 30%]
[Task completion: mediocre]
[With your eyes closed, you are unable to see the reality of this room, but no matter what, after saying hello, you are now friends. ]
[Silence Points Obtained: 100 points]
[Get the novice guidance task reward: inherent skills: Go for broke]
[Obtain career reward: a video that cannot be opened at night]
【Settlement completed】
【After receiving inspiration, do you feel a strong urge to create? 】
[Choose to complete career development tasks and receive advanced rewards]
【Welcome to the quiet place again】
The words gradually faded away, and Lu Ban subconsciously looked at the dark shadow under the bed.
At this moment, his cell phone suddenly rang.
Lu Ban opened it hurriedly and saw that there was suddenly a video file in his mobile phone memory.
The file name is: [A video that cannot be opened at night].