A creeping fear lingered in the stairwells, tightening around the residents like a noose. Whether they had been asleep or not before, now nearly everyone was wide awake. Some were pressing themselves against their doors, others strained their ears to listen. In short, everyone was reacting like normal people would — the exact opposite of Lan Jin, who had done something decidedly less normal.
At last, the long night passed.
The worker on night shift quickly handed off the report to the incoming team. "It was at Building 12. I checked the unit numbers from the chat logs. Almost the entire building heard the noise. Must have been loud, but I couldn't see anything clearly in the dark, so I didn't go over."
He hadn't been the only one on duty that night, but he had been the one who spoke up in the chat, so he gave the update that morning.
The daytime staffer nodded. "Good call not going over. Who knows what was thrown out. If it hit someone, it'd be a disaster." He paused, then added, "You were watching the group messages, right? Any follow-up sounds?"
"Nothing. I kept an eye on the chat all night. No one reported hearing anything else fall."
"Alright. Stay a little longer before clocking out. We'll make it up to you with supplies. Since it happened during your shift, you probably have a clearer picture than the rest of us."
"Sure. I'll come with you."
With that, five staff members suited up in full protective gear and gas masks, then set off toward Building 12.
The route was clear, no obstacles. Once they arrived, they didn't enter the building right away. The noise had come from outside, so they started investigating the perimeter instead.
Although they hadn't read every single message in the group chat, they were aware of key points. They had mentally prepared themselves before coming, but even so, once they reached the scene, the screams erupted one after another.
The community office had a high ratio of female workers due to the nature of the job. Of the five people on site, only the man from the night shift was male. The other four were all women, and their terrified screams quickly drew attention from the building's residents.
"What's happening out there? I heard screaming!"
"Me too! It scared me half to death. Woke the baby up. Does anyone know what's going on?"
"I finally managed to nod off after staying up all night, and now this? What the hell happened?"
"How should I know? The screaming just started. But it's about the time staff would be arriving... could it be the workers who are screaming?"
"What in the world is going on outside? What could make someone scream like that?"
"Could it really be that someone jumped last night? That sound was from way up high. Maybe the body's in terrible shape and that's what scared them?"
It had to be said, these guesses weren't far from the truth. Lan Jin's apartment was on the 32nd floor. Even if someone in perfect condition had jumped from that height, the results would've been gruesome — let alone when the victims were already... dismantled.
And they'd spent the whole night outside in the poisonous fog. Their skin had turned red, swollen, ulcerated, and frightening to behold. The scene was horrific enough to make anyone scream.
Naturally, after something like this, the only thing to do was call the authorities.
This marked the first time the police had been summoned during the poisonous fog crisis.
Barely ten minutes after the staff made the call, a team of officers arrived at Building 12. When they laid eyes on the bodies of the man and woman, their expressions tightened. The corpses were gruesome.
"Did you find them this morning? Do you know who they are?"
One of the community workers stepped forward. "Yes, we discovered them this morning. Residents reported a loud bang around midnight, loud enough to wake most people. No one really slept after that, and they chatted in the group all night."
"Because it was dark and visibility was bad, the night shift just made a note of it and waited until morning. Once we saw the situation here, we contacted you right away."
"I recognize them. The man lived in unit 701 on the 7th floor, the woman in 1404 on the 14th. Neither lived alone. Both had families. After the earthquake, we did two rounds of household registration, and I personally handled theirs. I remember them clearly."
The officer gave a nod, then turned to examine the bodies more carefully. After a moment, he asked the staff, "Is there anything else you can tell us?"
"We weren't here last night either. Most of what we know comes from the group chat. Honestly, the residents might know more than we do."
The officer glanced toward the building entrance. "Let's head inside. You said 701 and 1404? Lead the way."
The staffer didn't hesitate. The group entered the building together.
They passed through two layers of decontamination curtains to remove any lingering poisonous fog, then took the elevator and pressed the button for the 7th floor.
As they ascended, the staffer added awkwardly, "Last night, someone in the chat guessed that someone had jumped. The stairwell has been sealed shut, so they figured it must have been through a window. Once we saw the bodies, we checked the entire stairwell — top to bottom. No trace of poisonous fog inside."
"You didn't have anyone stationed at the door?"
"No. No one here has protective suits. We couldn't send anyone outside, so we didn't post a guard."
Which meant they had no idea how the two ended up outside. If they had jumped, and their windows hadn't been sealed properly, poisonous fog should have entered the stairwell. But it hadn't. Not even a trace. The staffer found that suspicious too.
The police officer nodded, and the group arrived at the door to unit 701.
The staff member knocked. "This is community staff. Please open the door."
Inside, a middle-aged woman heard the noise and called back, "Is it safe? Is there poisonous fog in the hallway? Can I open the door?"
"It's safe. No fog in the hall. Our team already checked. Please open up — we need to ask you a few questions."
The woman sounded uncertain but didn't object. "Okay, just a moment. I stuffed clothes in the door cracks. Let me move them first."
Last night's loud crash had everyone fearing poisonous fog might seep in, so many residents had used clothes to block the gaps. Her comment didn't surprise anyone.
Once she cleared the makeshift seal and opened the door, she saw a whole group of people waiting outside. Her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
"Who are you all?"