Beijing at three in the morning resembled a tomb sealed in dust.
I stood before an old building in Nanxiang District, my breath condensing into white mist in the cold air. The building's outline blurred, like the shadowy form of a corpse drifting through the fog.
Last night, I "saw" him here for the first time.
Lucas Yuan—deceased in an unsolved case two years prior.
Now, he is the only "living soul" in my mind capable of conversing with me.
> ["You've returned again."]
His low, steady voice surfaced once more—devoid of emotion, yet more tangible than the wind itself.
"I must return," I replied. "Last night, I saw only fragments. I require the complete truth."
I looked up at the kitchen window on the second floor. The glass was shattered, its edges still bearing scorched marks. A faint metallic scent lingered in the air—the odour of oxidised blood.
I slipped on gloves and stepped over the police tape. The broken glass beneath my boots made a soft crunching sound, as if warning me each step might cross the line.
The stairwell was so dark I could barely see.
I switched on my torch, its beam sweeping across the mould stains and graffiti on the concrete walls. Rats scurried from the corners, but my attention was drawn to the trail of handprints by the door—long and twisted, as if left by someone being dragged.
> ["Don't go in."]
Lucas's voice dropped a notch.
["That isn't the 'present' room."]
"What do you mean?"
> ["Some places remain 'yesterday' for me."]
I froze for a few seconds. The flash of clairvoyance stabbed my mind again.
Before I could react, the scene abruptly shifted—I was pulled into another time.
The air froze, the lights vanished.
The kitchen reconstructed before my eyes: leftover plates, grease stains, newspapers, blood on the table.
And a man—
Lucas.
He wore a white shirt, his chest stained crimson, his right hand clutching a camera.
I could hear his ragged breaths.
The camera lens was trained on a shadow at the doorway—a writhing mass of black vapour. Shaped like a human, yet more like a flayed 'will', faceless, voiceless.
The instant Lucas pressed the shutter, the shadow lunged at him.
Glass shattered, lights flashed.
He was dragged into the shadows, his voice cut off abruptly.
I jolted awake from the hallucination, collapsing onto the floor.
The voice recorder rolled into the corner, the light flickering.
> ["That wasn't human."]
His voice echoed in my mind once more.
["It acts through borrowed vessels. It seeks living containers."]
"Vessel?" I murmured.
A cold draught swept through the broken window, sending a shiver down my spine.
Then I noticed something glinting on the floor.
Crouching down, I shone my torch upon it—a police badge.
Engraved upon the metal: L.Y.01027.
Lucas Yuan.
I froze for a few seconds, my fingers hesitating to touch it.
> ["That's mine."] he murmured.
["When I died, it fell from my chest."]
The instant I picked up the badge, my vision trembled again.
—Images flickered.
—The kitchen plunged into darkness.
—A voice whispered in my ear:
> "What you saw wasn't his death, but your future."
I stumbled backwards, crashing into the wall. The torch fell, its beam illuminating the ceiling—
where a rope hung suspended.
I held my breath.
At the other end of the rope hung Lucas's body.
His head drooped, expression blank, lips trembling slightly.
> ["Evelyn... find the Forbidden City File."]
> ["It lies between us." ]
The next instant, the lights went out.
I was plunged into utter darkness.
---
"Evelyn!"
Someone called my name from downstairs. It was Zhang Ming, the head of the forensic team.
He burst into the building, pushing open the door breathlessly, and found me standing in the middle of the kitchen, looking terrified.
"Why did you come up here alone? Did you know the communicator was down? We thought something'd happened to you!"
I forced myself to steady my breathing, tucking my badge into my pocket. "I… just heard a noise."
Zhang Ming frowned, staring at me. "You've been off lately. You look like you're talking to thin air."
I didn't respond.
Truthfully, I knew—to them, I probably did look mad.
But I also knew it wasn't an illusion.
As I descended the stairs, Lucas's voice still echoed in my mind:
> ["He suspects you."]
> ["They won't understand. The police system has been compromised."]
I forced myself to ignore him.
But when I crossed the cordon, a police car's spotlight flickered in the distance. I saw Lucas's reflection in the glass—
he was walking behind me.
---
Back at the station, I headed straight for the archives.
The pre-dawn corridor was deserted, only the faint hum of fluorescent lights breaking the silence.
I plugged the recorder into the computer and imported the audio.
The waveform displayed on the screen was chaotic, but in one section, I heard a new voice.
Not Lucas, nor any of the team members.
It was a deep, synthetic tone:
> "Access: Forbidden City File — Unauthorised Entry Detected."
I froze in place.
The computer screen flickered suddenly, automatically popping up an old file:
[Case Number: FCF-01]
[File Name: The Second Layer]
[Record Status: Sealed]
Lucas's voice grew muffled.
> ["That is its entrance."]
["If you open it... you will witness my final minute before death."]
I hesitated.
My mouse hovered over "Open", my finger trembling slightly.
Just as I was about to click, the office lights abruptly cut out.
In the darkness, the monitor lit up of its own accord.
A blurred face appeared on the screen.
It was Lucas—
but not the gentle soul I had known.
It was a face twisted in a deranged grin.
He spoke to me:
> "You're connected now, Evelyn. The Ghost Line is active."
---
I jerked back, the computer emitting a high-pitched whine.
Text scrolled rapidly across the screen:
> [Warning: Spirit entity data intrusion.]
> [Warning: Host synchronisation in progress.]
I yanked the power cord, plunging the room into dead silence.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
In my pocket, the police badge grew faintly warm.
When I pulled it out, I saw new words etched on the reverse—
> [YOU ARE NEXT.]
I stared at the inscription, almost able to hear my own breath falter.
Then, a whisper emanated from the badge, sounding like Lucas's voice, yet not quite.
> ["Don't be afraid... this is only the beginning."]