The darkness behind them did not move.
Yet the presence—cold, damp, and suffocating—only grew heavier, clinging to the back of their necks like soaked cotton, tightening with every second until breathing itself became difficult.
Something was standing right behind them.
So close it felt as if its icy breath could brush against their skin.
One step.
Half a step.
Lin Wan's fingers curled tightly, knuckles turning pale. She did not turn around.
Captain Zhang stood rigid, his back tense like a drawn bowstring. He didn't turn either.
Both of them knew—
In a place like Nanling Sanatorium, turning back meant handing your life over to the dark.
The air had long solidified into something thick and frozen, pressing against their skin. Cold seeped through every pore, sliding deep into their bones. Even breathing had to be controlled—too loud, and it might awaken whatever stood behind them.
"Don't move," Lin Wan whispered.
Her voice was barely audible, nearly swallowed by the darkness, yet it carried absolute certainty.
Time stretched unbearably long.
A second felt like a century.
No footsteps.
No growls.
No attack.
That thing simply stayed there.
Waiting.
Waiting for them to break first.
Waiting for them to make a mistake.
Then—
"…help me."
A thin, fragile voice drifted out from the far end of the corridor.
Not from behind.
From ahead.
Lin Wan's eyes sharpened instantly, a chill shooting through her chest.
Captain Zhang reacted fast, switching on his flashlight. A harsh beam of light cut through the darkness, trembling as it swept toward the end of the hallway.
The corridor stretched unnaturally long, swallowed in pitch-black gloom.
At the very edge where light met shadow—
A figure stood there.
A woman.
A faded hospital gown hung loosely over her body, the hem brushing her ankles. She was barefoot, her feet coated in thick dust—yet there was no blood.
Her wet black hair clung to her pale face, obscuring most of her features.
She stood perfectly still.
As if she had been waiting there for years.
"There's someone," Zhang whispered instinctively.
Lin Wan said nothing.
Because one thought screamed in her mind—
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Nanling Sanatorium had been sealed for three years.
No water.
No electricity.
No food.
No way out.
Even birds avoided this place.
There was no way a living person could survive here.
The woman slowly raised her head.
Too slowly.
Her movements were stiff, unnatural, like rusted machinery struggling to function.
Her face was deathly pale, devoid of all color, with a faint grayish tint beneath the skin. Her eyes were wide open—but unfocused.
She looked at them.
And yet—
It felt like she was looking past them.
At something behind them.
"You… finally came," she said softly.
Her voice carried a damp, moldy echo, like something drifting up from underwater.
Zhang frowned. "Who are you? How did you end up here?"
The woman didn't answer.
She tilted her head slightly, her neck bending at an unnatural angle, as if trying to recall something long forgotten.
"I don't know."
Her voice was lighter now.
"I woke up here… and I couldn't leave."
Lin Wan's gaze darkened. "You woke up here?"
The woman nodded.
"It's very quiet here. So quiet I can hear my own heartbeat… but at night…"
Her body began to tremble violently.
"…there are footsteps upstairs."
Zhang's expression changed instantly. "Upstairs? This building only has one floor."
The woman ignored him.
"I don't dare go out. The door is always locked. I can't open it… but even if I hide…"
She slowly raised her arm and pointed deeper into the darkness of the corridor.
"…they still come."
"They're all down there."
The temperature dropped instantly.
Even the flashlight seemed dimmer.
Lin Wan didn't follow her finger.
Her gaze was fixed on the woman's feet.
And then—
She saw it.
A faint shadow trailed beneath the woman.
But it was wrong.
It lagged behind her movements by a full second.
When she stopped—the shadow still moved.
When she lifted her hand—the shadow only caught up after.
They were not one.
They were separate.
Lin Wan's pupils contracted sharply.
"How long have you been here?" she asked quietly.
The woman tilted her head, thinking for a long time.
"I don't remember."
"I can't tell day from night."
"But I remember one thing."
She lifted her head again.
This time—
Her eyes focused.
Directly on Lin Wan.
Sharp. Precise.
No confusion.
Only cold certainty.
"I wasn't the first to wake up here."
Lin Wan's heart skipped a beat.
The woman stepped forward.
Her footsteps made almost no sound.
And the dust beneath her feet barely shifted—
As if she had no weight at all.
"Before me… there were six others."
Zhang tensed immediately. "Six? Who are they? Where are they?"
The woman smiled faintly.
Cold.
Empty.
"They're all below."
"In the basement."
Silence swallowed the corridor whole.
Lin Wan stared at her.
"How do you know?"
The woman paused.
Then—
She smiled.
A slow, chilling smile.
"Because—"
She raised a thin finger and pressed it lightly against her chest.
"I am the sixth one."
The moment those words fell—
Zhang's flashlight flickered violently.
Buzz—
The light died.
Darkness swallowed everything.
The presence behind them surged, colder, closer.
One second.
Then—
The light came back.
Steady.
And the scene before them made their scalps go numb—
The woman had moved.
She now stood less than three meters away.
Close enough to see every detail of her bloodless face.
For the first time, her expression changed.
No fear.
No pain.
No desperation.
Only calm.
A terrifying, ritual-like calm.
She stared at them.
And spoke softly—
"You… finally made it here."
"Then… he should wake up now."