The cold and real "hissing" sound from the recorder was like a key, opening another door to my cognitive world. Behind the door was a real horror beyond my comprehension. Although this discovery temporarily freed me from the quagmire of self-doubt, it was followed by a deeper and unshakable fear and confusion. That "thing". maybe it was the existence of "Grandma White Snake", like a heavy mountain pressing down on my heart, making me breathless.

  I was exhausted and in a trance. It was only with the last bit of willpower that I managed to pack up the recorder and save the horrifying audio again. I needed to talk to someone, to make sure I was not completely alone. Although Xiao Zhang and Meiling were on the verge of collapse, they were the only ones who could face this horrific reality with me at this moment.

  I dragged my legs, which felt like they were filled with lead, out of my gloomy base and headed towards the abandoned house where they hid yesterday.

  The thick fog in the early morning was still everywhere, but it seemed to be a little lighter than the day before, revealing more dilapidated and twisted building outlines. The air was still cold, damp and dead silent. Walking in this village that was like a huge tomb, every step felt heavy and difficult.

  Before I even got close to the house, I could sense a different atmosphere than yesterday. Even though they were also scared yesterday, there was still a hint of youthful energy (even if it was anxious energy) in the house. But today, the house seemed to be completely assimilated by the dead silence of the village. There was no quarreling or crying, only a palpitating silence shrouding the place.

  My heart sank suddenly, and an ominous thought flashed through my mind. Will something happen to them?

  I quickened my pace and almost trotted to the crooked wooden door. The door was still pressed against it from the inside, but there was a tiny gap.

  "Xiao Zhang? Meiling?" I lowered my voice and called tentatively.

  No response.

  The room was dead silent.

  My heartbeat started to speed up and my palms were sweating. I pushed the door hard. It didn't budge.

  "Xiao Zhang! Meiling! Are you in there?!" I raised my voice, which trembled a little due to nervousness.

  After a few seconds of suffocating silence, there was finally some movement in the room. It was Xiao Zhang's voice with a heavy nasal tone and extreme fatigue: "Who. who?"

  "It's me! Li Xue!" I answered quickly.

  After a while, the object that was against the door was moved away. The wooden door creaked open and a larger gap appeared. Xiao Zhang's haggard face was revealed.

  Just one glance and I was shocked by his appearance.

  In just one night, the young man who was still energetic yesterday seemed to have been drained of his energy. His eye sockets were sunken and dark. His hair was messy like a bird's nest, and a few strands of dyed flaxen hair drooped weakly in front of his forehead. His face was sallow, his lips were chapped, and there was blue stubble on his chin. His eyes were empty and distracted. He had lost the forced calmness of yesterday, and was replaced by extreme fatigue and. numb fear.

  "Xue. Sister Xue." When he saw it was me, his eyes moved and he managed to pull up the corners of his mouth, revealing a smile that was uglier than crying, "You. You're here."

  His voice was hoarse and weak, as if it was difficult for him to speak.

  "Are you. okay?" I asked with a frown and squeezed in sideways.

  The scene in the house was even worse than yesterday. There was more trash scattered on the floor—empty food packaging bags, crumpled paper towels, and even a few empty wine bottles (did they bring wine?). The air was filled with a stronger smell of mold, sweat, and a kind of.desperation.

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  Meiling was still curled up in the corner of the dusty wooden bed, wrapped tightly in a blanket that looked clean, revealing only her pale face. Her eyes were tightly closed, with tears still hanging on her long eyelashes. Her body was trembling slightly as if she was trapped in some horrible nightmare and didn't want to wake up. Even when I came in, she didn't react at all.

  "She.what's wrong with her?" I pointed at Meiling and asked Xiao Zhang in a low voice.

  Xiao Zhang leaned against the wall dejectedly, rubbed his temples vigorously, and smiled bitterly: "What else can I do? I'm scared. I've been like this since the second half of last night. I don't talk, I don't eat, I just shiver in the blanket, and occasionally I'll suddenly scream."

  His voice was full of helplessness and a hint of. boredom? Fear is indeed the best weapon to destroy interpersonal relationships.

  "What happened last night?" I asked, my heart tightening.

  Xiao Zhang's body trembled violently, and extreme fear appeared in his eyes again. He swallowed and said in a dry voice: "The sound. those strange sounds. are worse than the night before last! It's like. it's like there are countless things walking around outside! Knocking on the door! Scratching the wall! And. there is another sound."

  He paused, his face becoming even uglier, as if he was recalling something extremely terrifying: "A sound. like a child's laughter. giggling. but that laughter. was ice-cold, and it made one's scalp tingle! It was. just outside the window!"

  The sound of a child laughing? A cold laugh? This seemed different from the weird nursery rhymes I had heard before, but equally creepy.

  "And." Xiao Zhang continued, lowering his voice even lower, as if afraid of being heard by something, "In the middle of the night, I. I felt. I felt like someone was watching us outside the window!"

  "Looking at you?" My heart sank.

  "Yes!" Xiao Zhang nodded vigorously with a terrified look in his eyes, "I. I didn't dare to get close to the window, but I could feel it! Just outside that broken window, there was a dark shadow standing there! Not moving! Just staring at the room! I. I was so scared that I didn't dare to move the whole night!"

  A shadow? Standing at the window?

  My mind flashed back to the moment when I caught a glimpse of a white figure passing by in the thick fog at dusk. Could it be that. it wasn't an illusion? Was there really something watching us at night?

  "Then.what about Meiling? Did she see it too?" I asked.

  "She.she probably didn't see it." Xiao Zhang shook his head. "She was crying the whole time, and then.then she seemed to have fainted from fright? Anyway, she is like this now."

  I looked at Meiling, who was curled up in the corner of the bed and shivering, and then looked at Xiao Zhang, who was in a trance and almost collapsed. My heart was chilled.

  After just two nights, the young couple who were once excited to seek excitement were completely crushed by the horror here. What they once thought of as an "adventure" had already turned into a real test of life and death. And they were obviously not prepared for anything.

  "Sister Xue.we.we have to leave here!" Xiao Zhang suddenly grabbed my arm with a pleading look in his eyes, "If we stay any longer, we will really go crazy! Or.or we will die here! You.you have a way, right? You are a reporter, you are well-informed, you must have a way to get us out!"

  He placed his hopes on me, but his words were like cold needles piercing my heart.

  What can I do?

  I myself was in deep fear and confusion. How could I lead them away if I couldn't even guarantee my own safety?

  "I." I opened my mouth with difficulty, wanting to say something comforting, but found that my throat was so dry that I couldn't make a sound.

  "Please! Sister Xue!" Xiao Zhang was so emotional that he kept grabbing my arm and exerting more force. "We don't want to die here! I'm still young! Meiling is still young too! We.we're just curious, we shouldn't have come here! We were wrong! We were really wrong!"

  His voice was filled with tears and his eyes were red. The irritable young man who was pretending to be calm yesterday now completely took off his disguise and revealed the fear and vulnerability deep in his heart.

  Seeing him almost collapse, I felt a pang of pain in my heart. Yes, they were just curious, ignorant and fearless. They made mistakes, but they were not guilty of death.

  "Calm down first." I struggled to free myself from his hand and tried to keep my tone steady. "Panic won't solve any problems. We must stay awake."

  "Awake?!" Xiao Zhang laughed miserably. "How can I be awake in this kind of hellhole?! I feel like I'm going crazy every second! Listen! Listen outside! Is there. is there another sound?!"

  He suddenly pointed out the window nervously, his eyes full of fear.

  I held my breath and listened carefully.

  Outside the window, it was still deathly silent, with only thick fog moving slowly.

  "No sound." I said, "Xiao Zhang, you are too nervous."

  "No! Yes! I heard it!" He shook his head stubbornly and covered his ears. "It was that kind of laughter. cold laughter. it. it came again."

  His condition.has he already started to hallucinate?

  I looked at his frightened and distorted face, and my heart went cold.

  The seeds of fear have taken root deeply in their hearts and.began to sprout and grow wildly.

  I don’t know how long I can stay “awake”. Maybe it won’t be long before I become like them?