Chapter 58: Beyond the Peephole
When the sound rang out from outside, countless possibilities actually flashed through Bai Cha’s mind.
For example, was it possible that this was still a trick, and all those sounds were made by the person outside?
Just to trick her into opening the door.
Then it was indeed knocked on, by a female voice.
“Hello, we are police officers from the Old City District of City A. Are you alright now?”
It was noisy outside, and someone was saying “Don’t move,” as if they had caught someone.
Bai Cha finally trembled and slowly pulled open the curtains.
Her legs were weak, and she even accidentally twisted her ankle when she stood up to walk towards the door.
“Are you really the police?” she asked at the door, her voice trembling and filled with sobs.
“Yes, don’t worry, we’ve already caught someone at your door. Are you Gu Baixue?”
The female voice outside the door was very patient.
“You don’t have to be afraid. You can look through the peephole. Your peephole should allow you to see outside, right?”
Bai Cha instinctively looked at the peephole. Only, compared to before, she was even more afraid. After getting closer, she saw the shrunken scene outside. There were indeed several police officers standing there.
And a man being pressed to the ground.
She finally couldn’t help but cry out loud, her hands trembling as she opened the door.
As for why the outside looked pitch black when she looked through the peephole just now, she wouldn’t pursue it.
After all, she was Gu Baixue now.
The police were indeed outside the door.
Bai Cha directly threw herself into the arms of the female police officer at the door.
The other party was also very patient, gently comforting her and patting her back.
“Don’t be afraid anymore, it’s all over.”
Bai Cha was almost helped back to the living room, and several police officers came in as well.
The crystal ball on the ground was still shattered, and the red liquid looked quite unsettling.
Bai Cha’s eyes were swollen from crying, she was panting, and her body was still trembling.
The police found a kettle in the house and helped her boil some hot water.
Bai Cha’s hands were shaking so much when she took the cup that she needed both hands to barely hold it.
“Don’t be afraid, tell us what happened.”
Bai Cha nodded, her voice choked with sobs as she began to speak.
[Good heavens, calling the police is actually useful?]
[It’s actually real police, I thought the police wouldn’t make it in time]
[According to the usual tropes, people would indeed die before the police arrive]
[This is too scientific, not mysterious at all. Shouldn’t the police in horror games only come after the players die?]
[I casually told other streamers, I don’t know if calling the police will be useful for them]
[Actually, don’t think too much about it. I’ve seen streamers call the police before, it’s useless. They still die in the end]
Bai Cha recounted the whole situation. Because she was scared, her story was quite incoherent.
Several police officers nearby seriously recorded what she said and examined the crystal ball on the ground.
“We will take this thing away to check its composition. In the future, don’t accept any strange packages at your door. Delivery companies don’t randomly leave packages at people’s doors.”
Bai Cha opened her mouth, but in the end, she just lowered her head and nodded silently.
It was really hard to say whether Gu Baixue knew about this package or not. But in any case, she acted as if there were other circumstances, but she was hiding them.
The police officers didn’t pay too much attention, just assuming she was scared.
At this moment, another police officer came in from outside.
“The guy outside is from 704, across from 701. But he seems to be mentally ill. He said he saw a man in a raincoat inside 701 and that he wanted to save someone.”
The female police officer beside Bai Cha frowned.
“Save who? Would someone trying to save someone bang on the door like that? If there really was someone inside, his actions could have gotten them killed. Take him back for questioning!”
Clearly, no one believed what he said.
After all, it was strange in the first place. If he wanted to save someone, why just bang on the door frantically without saying anything?
It seemed more like he was trying to scare someone.
Bai Cha also looked very scared, her eyes flickering with some panic again.
“You don’t have to be afraid anymore. You should rest now. We’ll go and figure this out. Also, give us that crystal ball and the delivery box. We’ll at least call you tomorrow to explain the situation.”
The female police officer comforted her gently.
Bai Cha nodded, her lips moved a few times, but in the end, she didn’t mention the raincoat man.
But she was very uneasy, even biting her nails again with some anxiety.
Gu Baixue probably had a habit of biting her nails.
When she first entered the game and started typing, she noticed her nails were uneven.
That was definitely not something that could be done with nail clippers or scissors.
Bai Cha earnestly and immersively played the role of Gu Baixue, nervously seeing the police off.
After closing the door, Bai Cha locked it again.
As if possessed, she went back to the peephole and took another look.
[Holy crap, what are you doing?]
The comment section were startled by her actions, taken aback, and couldn’t help but look at the screen again.
Outside the small peephole, in the now-darkened doorway, it seemed like someone was standing there.
Wearing a black raincoat.
Bai Cha let out a short gasp of surprise, screaming and backing away.
She ran to the balcony to look at the police car downstairs. The police had just come out of the building entrance.
Bai Cha tried to open the window and kept banging on it, trying to attract the attention of the police below.
But the window seemed too old, and with the low outdoor temperature, the previous rain had frozen into a layer of ice on the windowsill, making it impossible to open for the time being.
The police car drove away again with its sirens blaring.
Bai Cha sat down on the balcony, her whole body cold, and nervously bit her nails again.
Her heart was pounding like thunder.
Suddenly, a trace of determination appeared in her eyes. She swallowed, got up from the ground, slowly walked to the kitchen, picked up the kitchen knife on the cutting board, and walked to the door again.
With a hesitant and fearful expression, she crawled on the peephole once more.
[Crap! She’s looking again!]
[I’m going back to reality to tape over my peephole, see you in a bit!]
Outside the peephole, the figure of the raincoat man was gone.
Bai Cha finally collapsed to the ground as if all her strength had been drained. The kitchen knife in her hand slipped to the floor, but she quickly picked it up again, holding it tightly.
The phone screen lit up.
[Darling Yuqi]: How is it?
[Darling Yuqi]: Did the police catch anyone? Is everything alright?
Bai Cha cried out loud, sending a voice message through sobs.
[gbx]: They caught someone, but that person said… said…
She paused with some fear, suddenly realizing she couldn’t say it out loud and covered her mouth. The voice message in her hand had already been sent.
She went back to the bedroom with the kitchen knife, this time turning on the light, closing the curtains tightly, and huddled on the bed.
[Darling Yuqi]: Said what? Don’t cry! Don’t be afraid, I’m here with you the whole time.
Bai Cha cried even harder looking at these words. It felt like a mixture of being touched and relieved, finding an outlet to pour out her feelings.
But at the same time, she was thinking about this sentence in her heart.
I’m here with you the whole time.
These words were truly interesting.
Author’s Note:
Logically speaking, I’m quite afraid of peepholes. If the rented house has a peephole, I definitely have to tape it over.
