I created the myth of the Great Old Ones.

After thinking for a moment, Lu Ban decided to throw the thing downstairs into the garbage station.

Once the garbage collection time has passed, even the King of Heaven can't crawl out of the garbage can!

Holding the doll, Lu Ban rushed downstairs and, taking advantage of the last moment, threw it into the dry waste bin. Only after watching the garbage collector close the bin did he return upstairs.

Lu Ban lay down again to check, but he didn't see the doll under the bed.

He relaxed and carefree watched a mukbang video on a video website until he finished eating Shaxian shredded pork and egg fried rice. He also drank a can of iced soda, slacking off and killing time. He even watched a horror movie about this world to bolster his courage. Finally, it was 11:50.

Lu Ban placed the crowbar and flashlight on the bed, turned off the light, and, using the light from his phone, crept onto the bed, lay down, and quietly tightened his grip on the crowbar.

Timing the stopwatch, Lu Ban waited until the second hand turned exactly twelve o'clock before putting down his phone and closing his eyes.

Start counting heartbeats.

Chapter 003 Counting Heartbeats

thump--

thump--

thump--

In the darkness, all sounds became exceptionally clear.

Lu Ban could hear the howling of stray cats in heat downstairs, the noise from who-knows-whose house was making a commotion, and the faint chirping of insects that had been drowned out by the daytime clamor.

The clearest sound was the heartbeat.

The normal human heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute. Five hundred heartbeats take less than ten minutes, which is neither short nor long.

Lu Ban carefully counted his heartbeats, concentrating intently. Gradually, he noticed that all the sounds around him had disappeared.

thump--

thump--

thump--

In the stillness of the night, only the sound of my own heartbeat proved that I was alive.

Suddenly, Lu Ban realized that his heartbeat seemed to have slowed down. He had only counted to one hundred, but it felt like several minutes had passed.

Lu Ban tried to reassure himself that his heartbeat would slow down as his body relaxed.

thump--

As his heartbeat slowed, Lu Ban felt his consciousness becoming blurred.

squeak--

Just then, the cabinet by the wall seemed to make a sound, as if something had been knocked out of the cabinet door, accompanied by a slight opening and closing sound.

What is it?

Lu Ban was suddenly startled, his consciousness leaning towards the cabinet, almost opening his eyes to check.

But after the opening and closing sound, the world fell silent again, as if what had just happened was merely an unnecessary illusion for Lu Ban.

He gripped the crowbar tightly, awaiting a possible attack, but felt nothing.

In the vast space, only Lu Ban's heartbeat could be heard, gradually slowing down.

thump--

Is my heartbeat really that slow?

How much time has passed?

Will I die if my heart rate keeps slowing down?

It seemed that along with the slowing of his heartbeat, Lu Ban's brain also began to malfunction.

stab-

At that moment, a sharp, high-pitched, heart-wrenching scratching sound rang out from the headboard above Lu Ban's head.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

The scratching sound was continuous, right next to Lu Ban's ear, getting closer and closer. Finally, the sound intertwined with the almost disappearing heartbeat, as if it were scratching Lu Ban's scalp!

It seemed to be trying to scratch open Lu Ban's head and pull out what was inside!

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

"do not care!"

Lu Ban was no longer planning to continue this mission; if things continued like this, he feared he wouldn't see the sun rise tomorrow.

Gripping the crowbar tightly, Lu Ban prepared to open his eyes and figure out how to give the thing surrounding him a good whack.

But it was only then that Lu Ban realized he couldn't open his eyelids at all.

Not only his eyelids, but also his hands, legs, and body were immobilized. It was as if something was pressing him down, making it impossible for him to make any movement.

"!!!"

The scratching sounds grew louder and faster.

Lu Ban tried to struggle, but remained in the same position. He felt something scratching at the wooden board behind him and under the bed. The sharp thing scratched at the board again and again, endlessly.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

In this extremely strange and tense situation, Lu Ban suddenly felt that he could move his left hand slightly.

He moved his fingers, trying to ease the tension in his body.

The next moment, he touched a warm, soft, and delicate hand.

Lu Ban immediately felt his tension disappear, his whole body relaxed, and he felt as if he could wake up from this nightmarish reality at any moment.

The scratching sounds around seemed to disappear as well.

Lu Ban took a slight breath.

The next moment, a chilling thought rose from the depths of his mind.

"I live alone... Whose hand is this?!"

An even greater sense of unease rose from where that hand touched him. Lu Ban felt a shiver run through his body, and as the fingertips of that hand gently brushed across his forearm, upper arm, neck, and cheek, the shiver became more and more pronounced.

In this state, what Lu Ban himself admires is that even now, he is still accurately counting his heartbeats.

"Four hundred and ninety-six, four hundred and ninety-seven... five hundred!"

The moment he counted to five hundred, Lu Ban felt all the pressure he had been under suddenly disappear.

The next moment, Lu Ban woke up.

He opened his eyes and found himself lying in bed, the crowbar lying there, not in his hand.

Lu Ban sat up.

Everything in the room was as usual.

The cabinet door was tightly closed, the bedside was clean, and there was nothing strange around me.

Lu Ban felt his heartbeat; it was very fast, as if he had just run 100 meters.

"I was... asleep just now?"

How could I have fallen asleep during such a dangerous and bizarre mission?

Lu Ban had always considered himself a cautious and meticulous person who planned things out before acting.

I never expected him to be so carefree.

"Well, counting heartbeats in the dark might actually be quite hypnotic... By the way."

Lu Ban thought of the mission, picked up the flashlight, turned it on, and got out of bed.

The shadows under the bed grew thicker, and even the light from a flashlight couldn't dispel the deep darkness, as if something unusual was brewing within.

It was very quiet all around; there was no sound.

Lu Ban bent down; the ground was cold, and the bed creaked as it was pressed against the floor.

He peered under the bed.

Underneath 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 rang out again. This time, it came from inside Lu Ban's skull, shattering his brain, obliterating his reason, and reaching the very end of the abyss.

Sizzle sizzle sizzle—

Something strange is about to burst out of Lu Ban's brain!

"!"

The moment that thing burst forth, Lu Ban opened his eyes.

He heard the chirping of insects outside the window, the high-pitched howling of a cat, and the sound of water droplets dripping from a loose faucet in the bathroom hitting the sink.

He returned to reality.

At least this is the world he is familiar with.

Lu Ban had no idea what had just happened, what the source of those sounds was, or why he had another dream within a dream.

He turned on the light.

Curiosity drove Lu Ban to the bedside. He bent down, took a deep breath, and prepared to look under the bed again.

Challenging oneself can indeed be addictive, and curiosity is equally impossible to shake off. Right now, Lu Ban just wants to see what's under the bed.

He shone his flashlight over there.

Garlic, a cross, a hundred-dollar bill, and lots of salt.

Apart from that, there was only a thick layer of dust.

However, on the dust, there seemed to be traces of some creature stumbling and crawling.

The marks seemed to be struggling from outside the bed toward where they should belong, or like they were trying to break free of the darkness and wriggle outwards. Following these marks, Lu Ban found that they disappeared into the area illuminated by the light, and no one knew the final destination of these marks.