"A Zhi's diary began in 2013—five years ago when I first bought her this computer. The early entries were normal: what books she read each day, which restaurant's desserts she liked. She always went alone… But from mid-last year, her writing turned chaotic and dark, like the antisocial rantings of a world-weary criminal."
"Starting at the Mid-Autumn Festival of 2017, A Zhi began repeatedly dreaming the same nightmare: twisted, oppressive scenes like her horror games. Each time she dreamed it, her mental state worsened, and her diary grew more disordered—enough to break me out in cold sweat."
"I worried about her, but feared if I spoke, she'd resent me for invading her privacy. So I copied those nightmare entries and sent them to a psychiatrist at Qinzhou City Hospital."
"The doctor diagnosed possible delusions and hysteria from lack of normal social and family bonds and immersion in grisly virtual media. He recommended mindset adjustment and outdoor activity, and offered to visit for in-person therapy."
"But I knew it wasn't that simple!" Feng Yushu's voice rose. "Because her dream… that horrifying dream from her diary!"
"The dream took place in a village where everyone's face was covered by yellow paper bearing their own name, and all worshipped a snake-headed evil god. That village was… Hejia Village."
Ning Zhe's face darkened. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"
Feng Yushu, seemingly unhearing, continued frantically: "I can't die here, Ning Zhe—I must live to see my daughter. She's been ensnared by Hejia Village's strangeness… I have to help her, I must help her—"
"Do you know? I don't care about myself—I'll do anything you ask! I just want to know how A Zhi is. She's so young with her whole life ahead. If anything happens to her… I don't know how I'd go on…"
Watching her hysterical, rambling, Ning Zhe felt a headache coming. "Auntie, your mental state isn't great either…"
Functionally insane. Yet she endured longer than anyone else—proof that maternal love can sustain even broken spirits.
When Feng Yushu's calm finally settled, Ning Zhe stopped and asked, "Your daughter… Bai Zhi, right? What horror games did she play? Which odd comics did she read? Tell me—maybe her dreams draw from one of them."
She listed: "Games: Extreme Panic; Possession; Insane Asylum; Silent Hill; Twin Souls; Red Silk Ties; Paper Man; Hong Kong Ghost Stories… Comics I mostly can't read—they're foreign. Only one Chinese teen manga, Extreme Schism, but it's urban supernatural, not rural."
Ning Zhe considered each title—none matched Hejia Village's reality. This was no videogame invade-the-real-world trope; they faced true inexplicability.
"So Bai Zhi's recurring dream of Hejia Village is intriguing," he said. "Does her diary describe the dream's details?"
"She didn't coherently record it—just fragmented sentences and mismatched imagery, giving a very… uncanny feeling."
Just like her first days in Hejia Village.
"All right." Ning Zhe chose not to probe further. Bai Zhi's dream might illuminate this place's link to reality, but he, a man perched on death's brink, needed to secure his own survival first. His immediate priority: keeping Feng Yushu ignorant of the morning's "Lin Zhiyuan" call's truth.
He must never allow her to correct her misbelief—or his entire plan would collapse.
"Auntie, do you want to live?" he asked without warning.
"Of course," she replied, puzzled. "What are you getting at?"
"Nothing…" He released her hand, stretched, and said, "I want to leave here alive too—but I need your help. Understand?"
She nodded. "How can I help?"
"I've devised a plan to break these rules. It's underway, but the ghost sees it and will try to destroy it…"
"The good news: the plan works. The ghost's frantic identity-swapping and calls prove my logic. I may truly be able to kill it."
"The bad news: the plan is fragile; the ghost can wreck it in a moment, and we lose everything."
"And you're the keystone. To kill me, the ghost must first go through you. So Auntie, I need you."
She half-understood. "What must I do?"
"Nothing." His tone was firm. "Go hide somewhere now. Don't listen to or believe a word anyone says or does. Just bury your head in the sand till it's over. I'll handle everything else."
"Listen, Feng Yushu—I will get you back to your daughter alive. I promise." His eyes were cold and detached, like a hunter assessing prey. "But can you guarantee you'll ignore all outside interference and blindly trust me?"
"If yes, then…"
Ning Zhe turned his gaze upon her, hunter's eyes unwavering: "I can go kill that ghost right now."