After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, I returned to the desolate ancient continent.

The bedroom was so quiet that the only sound was the buzzing of a cell phone.

The two characters "Chen Ye" on the screen lit up intermittently, the cold white light reflecting off the white porcelain bowl on the table, casting a gloomy reflection on the edge of the black fragment.

Gu Qingxuan stared at the caller ID, his fingers stiffening slightly.

If this phone call is real—

At least Chen Ye is still alive.

If it's fake—

That means that what's outside the door is more troublesome than they thought, and may even be able to bypass the previous test and continue to lure people in other ways.

The bell was still ringing.

Xia Zhiwei stared at the screen, her eyes cold and calm.

A few seconds later, she suddenly reached out, flipped the phone over, and placed it face down on the table.

The bell was immediately muffled by the wooden table, becoming low and dull.

"Don't answer it yet," she said.

Gu Qingxuan's Adam's apple bobbed: "If it really is Chen Ye..."

"If it's true, the thing he should be doing right now isn't calling you over and over again," Xia Zhiwei interrupted him, "but rather trying to find a place with lots of people, or calling the police directly."

This wasn't a mild statement, but Gu Qingxuan couldn't refute it after hearing it.

Because it makes sense.

"Moreover," Xia Zhiwei glanced at the white porcelain bowl, "it just so happened to break in right when this thing started to make a sound, it's too coincidental."

Gu Qingxuan fell silent.

The phone on the table stopped vibrating.

one second.

two seconds.

three seconds.

Then it lit up again.

It's still "Chen Ye".

It was as if the person on the other end of the phone wasn't going to give them a chance to breathe.

Gu Qingxuan's brows furrowed slightly: "We can't keep ignoring it."

"I can accept it," Xia Zhiwei said.

She paused, then looked up at him.

"But it can't be answered the way you usually do."

Gu Qingxuan was taken aback: "What do you mean?"

"You come to pick me up, but don't speak first," Xia Zhiwei said. "Listen first."

"If they speak first, don't reply immediately."

"If he asks you who you are, where you are, whether you are alone, or tells you to open the door, go downstairs, or find him—don't answer a single word he says."

She spoke slowly, as if she were setting rules for him one by one.

"There's one more thing."

"What?"

"Don't call him by his name."

Gu Qingxuan felt a chill run down his spine.

Why?

"Sometimes names are easier to guess than you think," Xia Zhiwei said, "especially when the other party has already set their sights on you."

Gu Qingxuan felt a chill run down his spine.

He had only heard of such things in ghost stories before, but everything that happened tonight was enough for him to understand that some things are not just rumors to scare people.

My phone is still vibrating.

If you don't answer soon, the call will be automatically disconnected.

Xia Zhiwei turned her phone over again and pushed it in front of him.

"Turn on speakerphone," she said.

Gu Qingxuan nodded, hovered his fingertip over the screen for half a second, and finally pressed the answer button.

The call was connected.

The bedroom became even quieter instantly.

No one speaks.

There was no one on the other end of the phone.

Only a very faint electrical noise came from the speaker intermittently, like someone standing in the wind or placing the phone in a place with poor signal.

Gu Qingxuan remained silent.

Xia Zhiwei also stood still, her gaze fixed on her phone, as if listening to the subtle changes in the noise.

About three seconds later, a very soft breathing sound came from the other end of the phone.

It's urgent.

It's a mess.

It's like someone is trying their best to hold their breath, but they still can't.

Gu Qingxuan's fingers tightened slightly.

This time, the feeling was quite different from those imitations outside the door.

It's too messy.

It was so chaotic, it looked like they were really running, or had just desperately struggled to escape from somewhere.

Two seconds later, a hoarse voice finally came from the speaker:

"...Old Gu?"

It's Chen Ye.

At least that's what it sounds like.

Gu Qingxuan instinctively wanted to respond, but as soon as he moved his lips, he saw out of the corner of his eye that Xia Zhiwei shook her head very slightly at him.

He swallowed the "um" back down.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, as if they hadn't expected him to stay silent.

"Old Gu?" the voice called again, lowered even further. "Can you hear me?"

This time, Gu Qingxuan finally spoke.

"I can hear you."

He only said three words.

He kept his voice as calm as possible, without any extra emotion.

There was a visibly pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a sigh of relief.

"Damn, it's finally connected..."

A jumble of wind whistling in the background, along with the faint creaking of an iron gate, suggested he was in a spacious, dilapidated place where the wind was blowing in.

"Where are you now?" Chen Ye's voice was still a little hoarse. "I've called you several times—"

She had only spoken halfway when Xia Zhiwei suddenly raised her hand and tapped lightly in the air.

Gu Qingxuan didn't understand the meaning behind her action, but the next second, he understood.

There was an unsettling echo mixed in with the sound of wind on the other end of the phone.

When a normal person speaks in an open space, their voice will diffuse.

But every word Chen Ye spoke at that moment had a slight tug at the end, as if something had gently swung it around.

It doesn't resemble a natural echo.

It's more like... there's another, almost inaudible voice, whispering behind you as you learn.

Gu Qingxuan got goosebumps all over his back.

Xia Zhiwei looked at him, her lips barely moving, only making a mouth shape:

Ask him for details.

Gu Qingxuan's Adam's apple bobbed as he forced himself to remain calm.

"Tell me first, where are you?"

There was a brief silence on the other end of the phone.

"I don't know either." Chen Ye spoke quickly, as if he was really anxious. "I just came out of the library, and halfway there I felt something was wrong. It felt like someone was following me, but when I turned around I didn't see anyone. And then... and then I don't remember much."

Gu Qingxuan frowned.

This sounds fine.

But precisely because things went so smoothly, it's hard for people to believe it immediately.

"Can't remember what?" he asked.

"I can't remember how I got here." Chen Ye took a breath. "When I came to, I was in a very old place, like an abandoned building or an underground parking garage. Anyway, there were no lights, and the cell phone signal was intermittent."

As he spoke, his voice suddenly lowered a little.

"I think I just heard someone calling me."

Gu Qingxuan's expression changed slightly.

"Who?"

"...I don't know." The voice on the other end of the phone lowered even further, as if recalling it was unpleasant. "It's like you, yet not quite like you."

Gu Qingxuan's heart sank suddenly.

Xia Zhiwei's gaze also darkened.

This is no longer a simple case of "disconnection".

If it really was Chen Ye on the other end of the phone, then he had clearly encountered something similar.

Gu Qingxuan paused for two seconds, then asked a more detailed question: "Who was the last person you saw at the library before you went out last night?"

The person on the other end of the phone didn't answer as quickly as before.

"...Zhang Zihao."

Which Zhang Zihao?

"The one in our class, the one who sits in the last row, the one who always wears a black jacket." Chen Ye seemed a little confused. "Why are you asking about that?"

Gu Qingxuan did not answer, but only exchanged a glance with Xia Zhiwei.

This answer is detailed enough.

Unlike those things outside the door that only repeated names and emotions.

Even so, it still doesn't prove that what's on the other end of the phone is definitely true.

The more realistic it looks, the more dangerous it becomes.

Xia Zhiwei suddenly reached out and gently pushed the phone closer to her, then spoke.

What sounds are around you right now?

The person on the other end of the phone was clearly taken aback.

"Who?"

"Answer the question." Xia Zhiwei's tone was cold.

There was a two-second silence on Chen Ye's end, as if he finally realized who she was, and his tone suddenly became strange: "...Xia Zhiwei?"

Gu Qingxuan frowned.

He didn't mention her on the phone tonight.

But then I thought about it again. It's not surprising that someone knows Xia Zhiwei at school, and it's not entirely impossible that Chen Ye knows the name.

But Xia Zhiwei's gaze did not relax.

"What sounds are around you?" she asked again.

This time, the person on the other end of the phone didn't beat around the bush, but said in a low voice, "The sound of wind. And... the sound of dripping water."

"Which direction?"

"left."

"How many times?"

Chen Ye seemed stunned: "What, how many times?"

"The sound of dripping water, followed by a pause."

There was a full three seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

Then, a very soft "tick" came from the speaker.

Gu Qingxuan tensed up.

Then, another one.

Tick.

About two seconds later, the third shot rang out.

Tick.

The voice on the other end of the phone immediately said, "Three times."

Xia Zhiwei stared at the screen, her gaze showing a very subtle change for the first time.

It's not about relaxing.

It's more like finally finding a place to temporarily settle down amidst the chaos.

She asked in a low voice, "What's under your feet?"

"Cement floor."

"Dry or wet?"

"...Wet."

How much battery does your phone have left?

"Twenty-one."

After a series of questions, Gu Qingxuan gradually realized it.

Xia Zhiwei wasn't chatting with him.

She was confirming whether the person on the other end of the phone was truly in a stable, continuous, and specific reality.

Because fake things can learn voices, tones, and emotions.

However, it may not be possible to match all the details in a real scene.

The person on the other end of the phone took a breath and finally couldn't hold back any longer: "What are you guys doing? Am I in trouble?"

When he said that, Chen Ye's voice, filled with genuine frustration and bewilderment, suddenly sounded more like that of a living person than before.

Gu Qingxuan's heart sank slightly.

He's starting to think that the person on the other end of the phone is most likely Chen Ye.

But the problem is—

How do we get them back?

Xia Zhiwei didn't answer directly, but only asked, "Can you leave now?"

"able."

"Take three steps forward."

Immediately, the sound of shoes scraping the ground came from the other end of the phone.

step.

Two steps.

As soon as the third step was completed, a sharp, screeching sound suddenly burst from the speaker, like the phone being violently rubbed by something.

Immediately afterwards, Chen Ye's voice changed tone:

"Who?!"

Gu Qingxuan's heart clenched suddenly.

Chaos erupted on the other end of the phone.

The steady sounds of wind and dripping water were suddenly shattered, replaced by hurried footsteps, heavy breathing, and the faint sound of something skimming across the ground.

"Don't come any closer!" Chen Ye shouted suddenly, his voice cracking, "Get out of my way!"

Gu Qingxuan's expression changed drastically, and his body almost lurched forward before his mind could react.

"List--"

He had barely uttered a single word when Xia Zhiwei suddenly raised her hand and pressed down on his wrist.

Very hard.

The force was so strong that Gu Qingxuan immediately regained consciousness.

You can't call people by their names randomly.

Suddenly, a muffled thud came from the other end of the phone, like someone had slammed into an iron gate.

Then, an extremely suppressed voice, almost squeezed out from between clenched teeth, rang out:

"It's mimicking me..."

Gu Qingxuan was startled.

"What?"

"It's mimicking my voice!" Chen Ye practically roared, his breathing ragged. "It's right ahead! It—"

The words came to an abrupt halt.

The next second, there was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

It wasn't the kind of quiet where the signal was cut off.

Instead, all the noise was abruptly silenced in an instant, leaving only a chilling blank space.

Immediately afterwards, another sound slowly came from the speaker.

Exactly the same as Chen Ye.

Even the panting he was breathing after the panic just now was imitated perfectly.

"Old Gu."

The voice spoke softly.

"Guess, was it me or it that just spoke to you?"

Gu Qingxuan broke out in a cold sweat.

Xia Zhiwei's eyes suddenly turned cold, and she raised her hand to hang up.

But the moment her finger touched the screen, the black fragment in the white porcelain bowl suddenly vibrated with a "buzz".

The faint red that had faded suddenly brightened up!