Translator: Shewee
Chapter 1: Room 1303 (Part 1)
“How… how could this be… Impossible! Impossible!!” The man’s eyes were bloodshot, his face twisted with madness as he muttered to himself. One of his hands pounded heavily on the table before him, while the veins in his other hand bulged as he repeatedly slammed objects onto the tabletop.
Two dice slipped from his palm, clattering and spinning a few times before coming to a stop on the table. Both dice showed nine pips, their red dots like a noose tightening around the man’s neck. His eyes bulged, and his clenched teeth ground together as he spat out three words: “Not… possible…”
Again and again, he threw the dice, but no matter how many times he tried, they would always show nine.
The clock behind him began to chime sharply, freezing the man in place like a statue. Slowly, he turned his head and saw a hand—painted with blood-red nail polish and skin pale as paper—resting on his shoulder.
—
Lin Banxia and Ji Leshui had been living in this apartment for about a week.
This apartment was on the thirteenth floor, third unit, with door number 1303. Lin Banxia had bought it with a down payment of 160,000 yuan, and now paid 3,000 yuan monthly, with a thirty-year term. For the location near the city center, the price was highly cost-effective. The only downside was the mediocre neighborhood environment, but for such a low price, those flaws seemed trivial.
Ji Leshui was Lin Banxia’s college friend. They had always gotten along well and continued to share a rental even after graduation. When Lin Banxia bought this new place, he invited Ji Leshui to move in, and Ji gladly agreed.
“Banxia, what time will you be back tonight?”
Since Lin Banxia was on a night shift today, he had prepared dinner for Ji before leaving. As he was tying his shoes, he heard Ji’s small voice ask.
“Around five or six in the morning,” Lin replied. “Why?”
“I… I… never mind, it’s nothing.” Ji Leshui hesitated, but in the end was unable to voice what was on his mind.
“Are you feeling unwell?” Lin looked at his roommate with concern. Ji had seemed a bit nervous for the past few days, saying he heard coughing sounds from next door, though Lin hadn’t heard anything.
“Maybe I just caught a cold.” Ji forced a smile, his expression slightly strained.
Lin’s worry deepened. “Are you sure you’re okay? I’ll try to come back early.”
“Okay,” Ji said, “Please… come back soon.”
The door clicked shut as Lin left.
Ji sat on the couch, and an unsettling silence filled the room. The TV was on, but its sound only seemed to amplify the stillness of the entire apartment. Ji had been unable to pinpoint what was wrong until last night, when he went outside for a walk to shake off the unease.
As he wandered around, Ji noticed that the neighborhood was eerily quiet—no insect sounds, no voices. Dim streetlights cast strange, jagged shadows on the dense bushes. When he looked up at the building where he lived, a chill ran down his spine. The entire building was pitch black, not a single light on. Towering in the night, the structure looked like a solitary mountain, exuding a cold, ominous presence.
Ji shivered, staring at the building as he realized that hardly anyone seemed to live in the complex. Only three buildings stood in the neighborhood, and hardly any lights were on. His eyes scanned the darkened towers until he finally spotted one illuminated window, and he felt a bit of relief.
“See? People do live here,” Ji muttered to himself in a small, comforting voice. “Maybe it’s just a bit out of the way, so not many people have moved in yet…”
But before he could finish, a black silhouette appeared in the window. Backlit, Ji could barely make out any details, only that it was a woman standing by the window, looking out.
Ji had planned to walk past the building, but for some reason, his steps halted. Some primal instinct stopped him from moving forward, urging him to stay still.
It was too dark to see the woman’s features, but he could vaguely see her pale arms extending as she gently pushed open the window in front of her.
Why open the window? The wind tonight was strong… and cold, Ji thought, puzzled.
The next moment, his question was answered. The woman paused briefly at the open window, then, in one swift motion, leapt out.
Thud! With a sickening crash, Ji watched in horror as the woman’s body shattered upon impact, her lifeless form sprawled out before him. Blood, dark as ink under the night sky, splattered across him.
“Ahhh!!” Ji screamed, his voice echoing as he spun around to run. But as he turned, he felt something clutch at his shirt, and he stumbled, crashing to the ground.
“Aaah! Aaah!” Never before had he been this close to death; Ji’s mind teetered on the brink of collapse. He scrambled backward, stopping only when his back hit a tree along the path.
“Someone’s dead! Someone’s dead!!” Ji Leshui screamed hoarsely, trying to call for help from those around him. Yet, in the pitch-black apartment complex that resembled a cemetery of the living dead, he was alone.
“Leshui? Are you alright, Leshui?” A familiar voice cut through the haze, dispelling the chill enveloping him. Curled up on the ground, Ji Leshui looked up blankly and recognized a familiar face—it was his friend, Lin Banxia.
Lin Banxia seemed to have just returned from a night shift and looked no different from when they’d parted that afternoon. He held Ji Leshui’s shoulder, worriedly asking what had happened.
“Someone…someone jumped off a building.” Ji Leshui grabbed Lin Banxia’s arm, pointing shakily ahead. “They’re dead, right there.”
“Jumped off a building?” Lin Banxia looked puzzled and hesitated. “Just up ahead?”
“Yes, yes.” Ji Leshui nodded hurriedly.
Lin Banxia looked up and observed the pathway ahead for a moment, then shook his head. “I don’t see anything.”
Hearing this, Ji Leshui panicked. He tried to stand up on his shaking legs but still felt weak, so Lin Banxia helped him walk forward a few steps.
The dim pathway stretched into the distance, winding and shadowy. Although it was hard to see, it was clear there were no bloodstains, let alone a body.
“Gone? It’s gone?” Ji Leshui asked in a daze, more to himself than to Lin Banxia.
“Gone? What’s gone?” Lin Banxia reached out and touched Ji Leshui’s forehead. “Are you alright?”
Ji Leshui shook his head heavily, trying to snap himself out of it. He looked up at the building next to him, only to find that the lit window he’d seen earlier was now dark. It was as if everything that had happened moments ago was just an illusion.
“How could this be?” Ji Leshui murmured in confusion.
“What did you see?” Lin Banxia asked.
“I saw someone jump off the building.” Ji Leshui said, “Right there…they jumped right in front of me…their blood…their blood even splattered on me.”
Afraid Lin Banxia wouldn’t believe him, he tugged at his shirt hem to show him. “It was here, right here.”
But under the dim streetlight, he saw that his white jacket was spotless. The bloodstains he’d seen were nowhere to be found.
A silence settled between them.
At that moment, Lin Banxia gently pressed Ji Leshui’s shoulder and said soothingly, “It’s alright. Let’s head back. I bought a lot of pork; let’s go eat something.”
Ji Leshui nodded silently.
The two of them walked back slowly. When they reached the building, Ji Leshui remembered to ask why Lin Banxia had returned early.
“A call came in for work, so I finished and came back right after.” Lin Banxia replied. “Stopped by the supermarket, too, and picked up some discounted pork.”
“Oh.” Ji Leshui responded quietly.
“Pork’s getting more expensive these days.” Lin Banxia sighed. “Didn’t you say yesterday that you wanted some? Did you already have dinner tonight?”
“Yes, I ate.” Ji Leshui’s voice was still dull.
Seeing his friend’s dazed state, Lin Banxia figured he’d been badly frightened, so he kept bringing up random topics to chat about as they walked. By the time they reached home, Ji Leshui’s body had finally relaxed a bit.
Wiping his forehead, Ji Leshui felt a cold patch of sweat. He sighed softly. “I was really scared just now. I thought someone had actually jumped in front of me.”
“Maybe someone just dropped something,” Lin Banxia said. “You must’ve seen it wrong.”
“Really?” Ji Leshui forced a smile. “Banxia, we’ve been here a week now, but this complex…you barely see anyone around.”
“The previous owner said it’s a new complex, not many people have moved in yet.”
“But there are too few people.”
“Yes, it’s a bit deserted.”
As they stepped out of the elevator and into the corridor, they saw the door of the apartment next to theirs slam shut.
“Huh? We have a new neighbor?” Ji Leshui asked curiously. “When did they move in?”
“Maybe…just these past few days?” Lin Banxia also looked puzzled.
“Having a neighbor isn’t so bad.” Ji Leshui wiped the last of the cold sweat off his forehead and exhaled. “Otherwise, with just the two of us in this whole building, it’s a little too creepy.”
Lin Banxia smiled warmly, nodding gently.
