Lin continued walking forward.

　　The light grew stronger and stronger, stinging his eyes until he could hardly keep them open.

　　Fortunately, the road beneath his feet was flat enough that he didn’t trip.

　　As Lin wondered how much longer he had to walk, he felt a sudden wave of dizziness.

　　He instinctively closed his eyes and reached out to steady himself against the wall.

　　To his surprise, his hand met with a cold, solid surface.

　　The chill jolted him fully awake.

　　An ordinary hallway, ordinary apartment doors, a pale light spilling from the small lampshade overhead—it was all so familiar.

　　He was back in the hallway of his own apartment building.

　　He was back?

　　Lin stood there for a moment, disoriented, unsure of what to do next.

　　He thought for a moment and then pulled out his phone.

　　July 17th, Friday, 8:00 PM. He had returned to the exact point in time when he’d left this world.

　　Lin remembered it clearly.

　　On the evening of the 17th, he made plans to have a late-night snack with a friend.

　　Just as he was about to head out, he had opened his door to an indescribable sight.

　　The familiar apartment doors in his hallway had been replaced by twelve black iron doors.

　　The sight had terrified Lin at the time.

　　He stood frozen in the hallway for a long time, thinking he was hallucinating.

　　But the chilling touch of the iron doors had told him this was no hallucination.

　　He had looked around and noticed that all other exits from the hallway, including his own apartment door, had vanished.

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　　The dark hallway stretched endlessly before him, silence pressing down like a suffocating weight.

　　Lin had tentatively tried to open the iron doors, one after another, but they wouldn’t budge.

　　Just as he was about to give up, he pulled on the very last door…and it swung open easily.

　　The moment the door opened, Lin had felt himself being pulled by an irresistible force.

　　He tumbled forward, falling through the doorway.

　　And in the next instant, he had found himself in that terrifying little mountain village.

　　And now, Lin was back, back in the corridor of his own home.

　　 He stood there for a long time, wondering if he had just had a bizarre dream.

　　He suddenly remembered something and reached up to touch his earlobe and pocket... There, he found a small earring and a white paper strip.

　　At that moment, the realization hit Lin with full force: He had not been dreaming.

　　He had experienced something far more terrifying than any nightmare.

　　His phone suddenly rang.

　　Lin picked it up and saw it was a call from his friend.

　　“Hello, Lin, what are you doing?” His friend’s name was Wu, and they were colleagues. “Why aren't you downstairs yet?”

　　Lin was stunned for a moment before he remembered.

　　Wu was waiting for him downstairs.

　　They were going to have dinner together.

　　He glanced at their chat history and saw that only fifteen minutes had passed – which meant he had only spent fifteen minutes in that village.

　　“Lin?” Wu sounded puzzled. “Why aren't you saying anything?"

　　"Oh, nothing." Lin said, "Something came up just now, I'll be right down."

　　"Okay," Wu said and hung up the phone.

　　Lin hurriedly went downstairs.

　　It was the height of summer, and the air was hot and stifling.

　　Although it was already eight o'clock, the sun hadn't set yet.

　　The fiery glow painted the horizon in hues of red.

　　Pedestrians ambled by, some fanning themselves leisurely.

　　Everything was full of life.

　　Lin felt the tension ease out of his body.

　　Wu, who was waiting at the entrance of the complex, spotted him and waved, “What took you so long? I thought you were getting a makeover or something!”

　　Lin just smiled without replying.

　　They chatted as they walked toward a barbecue restaurant near their apartment complex.

　　Wu complained about the mosquitos being unbearable and showed off his legs, covered in bites from waiting for Lin.

　　Lin glanced at him. "Too much leg hair, can't see the bites."

　　"What the hell, you're complaining about my leg hair? You know I only waited this long because I’m a good friend.”

　　“ …Yeah, yeah, you suffered enough, alright? I'll treat you tonight.”

　　“Sounds good.”

　　The barbecue restaurant was bustling.

　　The two ordered some skewers and a case of beer and started chatting as they ate.

　　"Are you really going to quit your job and go back to your hometown?" Wu asked.

　　"Huh?" Lin looked at him blankly.

　　"What's with you tonight? You're totally out of it." Wu looked at him, confused, "Didn’t you ask me out to talk about this?"

　　Lin took a sip of his beer, "It's nothing, just a bad dream this afternoon. I haven't quite recovered yet."

　　His mind was still replaying the events in the village.

　　He had a nagging feeling that things weren’t over.

　　"Oh," Wu said, "You haven't been yourself lately. Did you see a doctor?"

　　"Yes," Lin replied, "The results aren't back yet."