Chapter 96: Someone in the Living Room
Dragging her exhausted body, Fang Xiaocao returned to Xintiandi Residential Complex.
The moment she pushed open the door, she felt an overwhelming sense of disconnection, as if she had stepped into another world.
Physical exhaustion was just a minor inconvenience.
But the constant scheming, suspicion, and deductions along the way had drained her emotionally to the point of tears.
She changed out of her tactical jacket, quickly took a shower, and threw herself onto the bed, falling into a deep sleep.
In Her Dream…
She seemed to have returned to the orphanage.
But instead of the kind director or the ever-cool Zhi Qi, she was greeted by that scar-faced man called Gemini.
“Are you afraid?”
His deep, hoarse voice echoed in her ears, sending her spiraling into a surreal abyss.
“Betrayal and setbacks are just seasonings of life. Do you think anyone truly lives in peace and quiet?”
The scar-faced man rasped.
“You…”
Fang Xiaocao opened her mouth to speak, but before she could finish, the man waved his hand to cut her off.
“Go back and uncover the truth!”
In the next second, a dizzying sensation overwhelmed her, as if she were plummeting from a great height.
Startled, she woke up with a gasp.
“Hu… hu…”
She panted heavily, cold sweat drenching her smooth forehead, making her feel as if she had just been doused in ice water.
“Why would Gemini appear in my dream?”
She stared wide-eyed, muttering in shock.
“Something’s… not right…”
She mumbled to herself as she picked up her phone.
The screen displayed the time: 00:00!
Seeing this, Fang Xiaocao felt an unsettling chill crawl up her spine.
Wasn’t this the kind of ominous timing that horror movies always used?
“Are you asleep?”
Her fingers trembled as she unlocked her phone and sent a message to Hot Noodles.
Just then—
A strange breathing sound echoed near her ear.
Her body stiffened.
Slowly, she turned her head.
A pale, ghastly face came into view.
“AHHH—!”
She screamed instinctively.
The next moment—
She jolted upright in bed.
“Was… that… a dream?”
She sat there in a daze, mumbling to herself.
She quickly turned her head to check beside her.
No pale face.
“Hu…”
She exhaled deeply.
“A dream within a dream?”
She blinked in confusion.
Looking down at her phone, she saw that the screen was still on.
And the time—00:00—was exactly the same as in her dream.
“What the hell?”
She blurted out.
Grabbing her phone, she unlocked it and opened her chat with Hot Noodles.
There was no sign of the message she had sent in her dream.
She let out a sigh of relief.
“A dream within a dream is one thing, but why did it feel so real? Even the time matched…”
She muttered.
“Could I have been hypnotized?”
She frowned.
Advanced hypnotists were capable of this.
All it took was planting a seed in someone’s subconscious, and under the right conditions, the hypnotic effect would trigger automatically.
Fang Xiaocao knew this technique herself.
“Could Gemini have hypnotized me before he died?”
She searched her memory, recalling every detail of his final moments, analyzing his every move and expression.
“But… there was nothing unusual!”
She murmured in frustration.
[Ribbit, ribbit!]
Her phone’s frog ringtone suddenly startled her.
“So late… who the heck is messaging me?”
She grumbled.
Lighting up the screen, she saw that it was from Hot Noodles.
She froze.
“Why would she message me at this hour?”
Frowning, she tapped on the chat.
[Hot Noodles: Someone’s in your house!]
[Hot Noodles: He’s right outside your door!]
Fang Xiaocao’s scalp went numb instantly.
Her eyes widened in horror as she slowly turned to stare at her bedroom door.
Click, click…
At that moment, the lock rattled.
The next second—
The doorknob began to turn violently!
As if someone outside was frantically twisting it.
Every hair on Fang Xiaocao’s body stood on end.
She stared in terror at the shaking doorknob.
She lived alone.
So how could there be someone… in her living room?
And why were they trying to get into her bedroom?
“Am I being robbed?”
“Did my scream scare them, so now they want to silence me?”
That was her first thought.
At this moment, she felt fortunate that she had a habit of locking her bedroom door before sleeping.
“What… what should I do?”
Panicking, she sent a message to Hot Noodles.
[Hot Noodles: Call the police!]
[Hot Noodles: Call Wang Qiang!]
Without hesitation, she opened her contacts and dialed Wang Qiang’s number.
“Hello?”
“Xiaocao?”
The voice of Officer Wang Qiang came through.
“Officer Wang, help! Someone’s in my house!”
She shouted anxiously.
Bang, bang, bang!
The person outside started pounding on the door.
As if they had heard her calling for help.
The banging grew fiercer, and the wooden door groaned under the strain.
“Where are you?”
Wang Qiang’s deep voice asked.
“Xintiandi Residential Complex!”
She answered while hurriedly getting dressed.
“Ten minutes!”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“Stay put and do not open the door!”
He warned her.
“Okay, got it.”
She responded firmly.
Beep, beep, beep…
The call ended.
Fang Xiaocao shoved her phone into her pocket.
She quickly pulled out two throwing knives, gripping them tightly.
These were a parting gift from Qian Xia.
Her gun and dagger had been confiscated by the police.
But Qian Xia’s throwing knives had not.
That was the privilege of the Ye family in Beijing.
Their bodyguards were legally permitted to carry self-defense weapons.
Under Qian Xia’s patient training, Fang Xiaocao had learned how to throw them properly, using wrist strength to launch them.
Her accuracy?
Nine out of ten hits…
One miss.
Bang, bang, bang!
The violent pounding continued.
Each hit sent shockwaves through her nerves.
Seconds ticked by.
The solid wooden door wobbled precariously.
Fang Xiaocao knew she had to do something.
If she let this continue, the door wouldn’t last long.
“I’ve already called the police! You should leave now!”
She shouted.
She hoped to scare the intruder away.
After all, they were just a thief.
They should be afraid of the cops.
Or so she thought.
Sure enough, the banging stopped.
But then—
“Heh…”
A chilling laugh came from outside.
“No more fun, huh…”
The man’s hoarse voice rasped like sandpaper scraping together.
(End of Chapter 96)
