It all started a year ago.
Looking back now, it feels like a nightmare.
After graduating from university, Li, against his parents' wishes, resolutely became an online novelist.
Of course, it wasn't for any reasons like dreams or ideals.
He simply did it because he could make money from it.
Very few people made online novel writing their full-time job.
Li was one of them.
His royalty income wasn't very high, barely enough to make ends meet.
Besides, his new work might not continue to be popular.
In this era, there were more readers who loved the new and hated the old.
Especially for online novels, which were just fast food literature, simply a means of entertainment.
Li was once very lost.
He always felt that his future was directionless.
He rented a house in Shi city and lived alone.
Every day, he would get up and open his computer to write and upload novels.
He basically did all his daily shopping online.
He had practically become a "homebody."
He mostly wrote war-themed novels, even though he didn't really understand war.
His novels were becoming less and less popular online.
This month, fewer and fewer people subscribed to his novel chapters.
His monthly income was less than eight hundred yuan.
It wasn't enough for his daily expenses, let alone rent.
He felt like he had reached a very difficult point in his life.
That day…
Li was strolling through a commercial street in Shi city.
Usually, he would be updating his novel at home at this time.
But now…he was considering his future.
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He realized that he was still too naive.
Although he had expected this day to come, he thought that once he had saved some money, he could invest in stocks.
Maybe he could even start his own business in the future.
But reality wasn't that simple.
Should he find a job?
He didn't have any work experience.
What company wouldn't value experience these days?
There were countless college graduates entering society, they wouldn't be taken seriously.
Holding a job-seeking weekly magazine in his hand, Li's frown deepened.
As he walked, he had unknowingly entered a community and walked into an alley.
“I should…find a job first,” Li couldn’t bring himself to go back home and ask his parents for help.
He had to get through this hurdle, even if it meant fighting for it.
After all…if he delayed paying his rent for another month, the landlord would have no choice but to kick him out.
He had moved out to live on his own because he disagreed with his parents.
He wanted to go back home when he had achieved something.
But…now he was in this situation.
As he walked, he suddenly felt a chill down his spine.
He lowered the job-seeking weekly magazine in front of him.
In the sunlight, his shadow was projected on the ground…
But he was still holding the job-seeking weekly magazine in front of him!
Then, he saw a terrifying change in his shadow.
Li was standing still, but his shadow started to move!
His shadow detached from his feet and moved towards the corner of the alley in front of him!
Li was stunned.
It took him a few seconds to react!
He didn’t have a shadow anymore!
He didn’t think, his mind went blank, and he ran away, following the direction his shadow was running!
The shadow moved very fast in this winding alley, and Li had to exert a lot of effort to catch up with it.
Finally, after passing through another alley, Li saw his shadow enter a very open area.
In the center of this area…was a very tall apartment building.
The apartment building, at a rough glance, looked at least twenty stories high.
The building also had a large area, about two hundred square meters, with white walls and rows of orderly balconies on the exterior.
But this apartment building had an extremely eerie feature.
It was noon, and the sun was shining directly down.
But this huge apartment building…didn't have a shadow on the ground!
How was that possible?
Li rubbed his eyes frantically.
He strongly suspected he was dreaming.
But the scene before him was undeniably real.
At the entrance to the apartment building on the first floor was a revolving door.
His shadow moved on the ground towards the revolving door and automatically went through it.
At this moment, all the ghost stories he had heard as a child came rushing back to him.
He was only about thirty meters away from this apartment building.
This seemingly ordinary apartment building seemed to be a monster that wanted to eat him, ready to swallow him whole at any moment.
But somehow, he still walked towards this apartment building.
As if something was calling to him.
He reached the revolving door, stretched out his hand, pushed it open, and walked in.
What met his eyes was a spacious hall.
The floor was made of polished marble, the ceiling was hung with crystal chandeliers, and to the left of the hall, he could see a staircase, while to the right, there were three elevators.
His shadow floated on the ground towards one of the elevators, and then the elevator door opened.
The shadow floated in, and the elevator door closed.
Li immediately ran to the elevator door and nervously watched the elevator floor display.
The elevator stopped on the fourth floor.
Li immediately ran to another elevator, pressed the button, and the elevator door slowly opened.
He dashed inside and pressed the button for the fourth floor.
As the floor number went up, Li's heart also went up.
My shadow…my shadow…
Li strongly felt that losing his shadow meant something terrible.
Finally, he reached the fourth floor.