Lily stayed in her room, clutching her handkerchief, nervous and anxious. The nails on her thumbs were a little uneven, which were the marks left by biting her nails when she was nervous. She never had such a habit before and didn't know when she developed it.

She is terrified now.

Lily was originally just a maid in the house. As a girl under 20 years old, her job was simple, which was to clean and take care of Mr. Browning.

Surprisingly, unlike the head maid who had guided her and warned her that old people were difficult to deal with, the old man, who was nearly sixty years old, was in good spirits and looked like a middle-aged man. Lily even often mistook his age, thinking that she was taking care of not an old man but an uncle who was only a dozen years older than her.

Then, just like what was written in many stories, Lily was thrown into a brothel by Browning one night. This kind of thing was very common in the waste city. Those beautiful maids were easily favored by the masters and sons of wealthy families. If they were lucky, they could become lovers and earn a considerable income within a period of time. If they were unlucky, they might be kicked out of the house and become prostitutes.

People like Lily are extremely rare.

She was originally regarded as Browning's lover, because Browning was a widower and there was no mistress to persecute her. Under normal circumstances, Lily might have been made his permanent wife because of her pregnancy, or at least she would have been well taken care of along with her child.

But Browning's sudden death made everything confusing.

If time had passed a little longer and Browning had acknowledged her in front of his family, then Lily could have stayed at home or been sent away by Browning's children with money.

But now, Browning's children, those shrewd guys, will definitely not acknowledge Lily's existence, and may even slander her in various ways and drive her out of the house.

What's more, Lily heard that in some gangster families, such women who are in the way might be dealt with, or thrown into red dance halls to sell their bodies for money.

The only person she can rely on now is Detective Stone.

Since the other party was commissioned by Browning, then perhaps she could get protection from him and at least save her life...

Thinking of this, Lily felt a little dizzy, and her throat felt as if something was about to come out. She went to the bathroom and dry-heaved twice, but the cramping and burning sensation in her stomach made her give up struggling. She turned on the faucet, washed her face with clean water, and raised her head.

In the mirror, Lily looked at her haggard face, with water droplets on her young and delicate skin. She had not had a good rest since Browning's death, and her eye bags became deep and her eye whites were bloodshot.

Clang——

Suddenly, there was a sound of metal collision behind her. She turned around hurriedly and found that something had fallen from the shelf in the bathroom.

After picking up the bottle and putting it back, Lily felt as if something was floating past behind her.

Turning back, Lily only saw herself reflected in the mirror.

At this moment, Lily suddenly felt something was wrong.

She carefully looked at her pale face in the mirror, and then she was shocked to find that Lily in the mirror was slowly raising the corners of her mouth, revealing a weird smile.

Seeing this scene, Lily's mouth opened slightly, her heartbeat suddenly accelerated, her whole body tensed, and she watched Lily in the mirror with that cruel and gloomy smile, raising both hands, reaching towards her smooth neck, grabbing her neck tightly, and gradually exerting force.

Lily glanced at her hands and saw that they were not raised as she had seen in the mirror.

But the next moment, two handprints appeared on Lily's neck. The handprints became deeper and bound her neck deeply, making it impossible for Lily to breathe.

She suffocated.

Lily raised her hand and tried to struggle, but found that she could not grab the hand in the mirror. She looked at the person in the mirror who looked exactly like herself and showed a cruel smile. Her fear grew, and soon, Lily felt that she was being lifted up.

The two invisible hands lifted her feet off the ground. Lily kicked continuously but it was no use. She only felt darkness in front of her eyes and was about to faint.

At this moment, perhaps it was a coincidence, or perhaps it was some kind of mysterious will to survive, Lily felt the hand that was holding her neck loosen a little, and taking advantage of this moment, Lily shouted out with all her strength.

Even Lily herself felt that the volume of the scream was a little loud. The next moment, the feeling of restraint on her neck became stronger, and her throat could only make a slight whimper, like the cry of a dying animal.

Lily didn't know how much time had passed. Just as this short life began to appear before her eyes, a loud noise came from outside the door, and she suddenly felt the hand that was pinching her throat loosen.

thump--

Lily knelt on the ground, her eyes still blurry. She saw that the person who came was not the detective, but one of the man and woman invited by Browning. The lack of oxygen in the brain caused Lily's consciousness to fade away, and she soon fainted.

Lu Ban first used [True Vision] to look around and found no trace of monsters.

He squatted down and felt Lily's breath, which was weak but still there.

Two hand prints can be seen on the woman's neck. The hand was pressed so hard that it almost broke her slender neck. Her hand had just been released from her neck.

She almost strangled herself to death!

Lifting Lily's eyelids, Lu Ban saw that her pupils were slightly dilated and she did not react to the light at all.

Although he didn't die, he probably suffered some damage to his brain.

Looking around, Lu Ban's eyes fell on the mirror.

He moved closer and saw his serious expression in the mirror.

After knocking on the mirror, Lu Ban confirmed that the back of the mirror was solid.

"What's wrong...Oh my God!"

After Stone and Xia, the next person to arrive was Ms. Emma. The lady holding a fan saw Lily fall down and immediately took a deep breath.

"What's wrong with her?"

The next person to arrive was Browning's son Rum. He heard the scream and came over. He saw several people in Lily's room and asked in panic.

"She must have been under the influence of some kind of curse or spell and almost killed herself."

Stone said it in a way that was easy to understand and did not require much explanation.

For the people in the Wasted City, this statement applies to most situations. Stone will not explain anything about pollution and foreign lands anyway, and monsters are too far-fetched.

"There may be a curse from Taoist Heming in this mansion. It is best for everyone to stay together and not act alone."

"Curse, curse?"

Looking at the unconscious Lily, Ms. Emma covered her mouth with a fan.