His head felt heavy and muddled, as if everything in his vision was shrouded by a thick veil. The sound of traffic coming from the main road in the distance seemed to drift in and out, sometimes near, sometimes far, as if in a dream.

He walked in this dizzy, uncomfortable state for what felt like an eternity before his mind finally managed to clear a bit. Hesitantly, Yu Sheng came to a stop and glanced back at the path he had taken.

The sky had almost entirely darkened by now, and the streetlights had long since flickered on. He found himself on a narrow street near his home, flanked by rows of old, low-rise residential buildings that crouched like beasts lurking in the night. The small businesses, haphazardly renovated by the residents on the ground floors, emitted a warm glow that chased away the chill nestled deep in his heart.

Chill?

Suddenly, Yu Sheng felt that piercing, bone-chilling cold again, like a blade cutting into his lungs and marrow. He could feel the icy raindrops on his skin and sensed those two cold, slippery eyes staring at him—the gaze of a frog.

He gasped, momentarily unable to breathe. It took him nearly ten seconds to remember how to inhale again. Panting heavily, he looked down at his chest.

For a brief moment, he had the illusion that there was still a gaping hole in his chest, that his heart was gone, and that his chest was as silent and cold as an extinguished furnace. But in the next second, he felt his heartbeat once more, even hearing the clear “thump” in his ears... Yes, a living person has a heartbeat.

He was still alive. His heart hadn’t been devoured by that bizarre, giant frog.

But those chaotic, surging memories crashed over him like a tidal wave, impossible to ignore or push away. Yu Sheng remembered the rain, the door painted on the wall, and the enormous frog... He tried to convince himself that it was just a hallucination, but this thought quickly wavered as the memories resurfaced with increasing clarity.

He had died once, yet, for some reason, he was alive now, walking on the road back home—and he was almost there, just two more intersections away.

This was the strangest thing he'd encountered since arriving in this bizarre city—by far the strangest of all the strange happenings.

Yu Sheng sensed eyes on him. His unusual behavior seemed to have attracted the attention of passersby, and someone nearby appeared hesitant, perhaps debating whether to approach and ask if he needed help. Quickly, he waved them off, avoiding further interaction, and hastened his pace to leave the area.

He had no idea what had just happened to him, but standing there lost in thought wasn’t going to provide any answers.

He hurried through the narrow streets, leaving the final alley near the old residential district, heading toward what he called “home” in this city.

Though he’d only passed two more intersections, the surroundings grew noticeably more desolate and isolated—it was as if he’d stepped into a forgotten corner of the city. The number of pedestrians dwindled until, in the end, the only thing accompanying him was the cold glow of the streetlights. Walking a bit further, he finally saw the old house standing in the darkness, a building that seemed to be somehow separated from its surroundings.

It was an unremarkable three-story house with a slanted roof and peeling walls. Though aged, the doors and windows were intact and clean. It looked like one of those “self-built” homes people added to rural parts of the city decades ago when building regulations were still lax—a relic that had slipped through the cracks of urban development over the years.

Yu Sheng wasn’t entirely sure how urban planning worked in this version of “Border Town,” a city so different from the one in his memories. After all, he had only been here for two months. Discounting the time he spent hiding indoors out of caution at first, he had just begun to adapt to his new life and get a sense of the surrounding area. But one thing he knew for sure:

This house was the only place that felt relatively safe in this strange and dangerous city—at least, while he was inside, he hadn’t seen any of those eerie shadows.

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Though the house itself had its own peculiarities.

Taking a deep breath, Yu Sheng tightened his grip on the supermarket shopping bag still in his hand and stepped through the cold glow of the streetlight, fishing out his key as he reached the front door.

The old door creaked open, and Yu Sheng stepped inside, flicking on the light. Even though this house looked nothing like the “home” he remembered, the moment the light illuminated the space, he felt a sense of... grounding.

He turned and shut the door, sealing the city's night outside.

He then casually tossed the groceries he'd bought onto the storage rack at the entrance of the kitchen to his right, hurriedly crossed the somewhat empty living room, and stood before the mirror in the bathroom, yanking his shirt open.

The images in his mind were so vivid, so deeply etched, that he couldn't help but check again and again.

There was no wound on his chest, no blood—nothing to suggest that “death” had ever touched him.

Frowning, Yu Sheng examined the condition of his shirt and pressed the spot where the frog had supposedly ripped out his heart. Only then did he confirm that he wasn't, in fact, someone with an “open heart.”

“This is seriously messed up…”

He muttered under his breath as he left the bathroom and turned back to the living room.

Behind him, the mirror above the sink silently cracked, lines spreading across its surface, only to seal themselves up just as quickly and quietly...

Sitting on the couch in the living room, Yu Sheng tried to piece together his chaotic thoughts. He didn’t know how much time had passed before his exhausted mind finally drifted into a hazy calm.

Sleep enveloped him.

The drowsiness lingered for a long time until a sudden “thud” exploded in his mind, sounding as if someone was hammering stone with a shovel right above his head. The noise jolted Yu Sheng awake.

He opened his eyes in the darkness, momentarily stunned—realizing that, at some point, the living room light had turned off.

But he distinctly remembered leaving it on before he fell asleep!

An alarm bell went off in his mind, and Yu Sheng instinctively reached for the baton next to him. After arriving in this strange and eerie city, the very first thing he did was get himself this self-defense tool. Though it hadn't seen much use yet, as a nervous upright ape, having a stick in hand offered at least some psychological comfort. He carefully stood up, all the while staying alert to any movements in the darkness.

In such a desolate and isolated place, a burglar breaking in wasn’t unimaginable. In fact, Yu Sheng almost hoped it was a thief—at least a thief could be dealt with using a baton, unlike a frog over a meter tall.

But the living room remained silent, showing no signs of intrusion and no noises from any potential burglar.

The good news was that there were no sounds of a frog either.

Using the faint glow from the streetlights outside, Yu Sheng crouched low and moved cautiously, feeling his way toward the light switch on the wall. He reached up and flicked it on.

Light flooded the room, and his eyes scanned the living room, sharp and alert in the brightness.

Yu Sheng blinked, feeling that something about his field of vision seemed off, though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was wrong. Nonetheless, at least the surroundings were lit up now, and he could clearly see the state of the living room.

Hunched slightly, Yu Sheng gripped his baton and began to check every corner of his home.

The first floor contained only the living room, kitchen, dining area, and an unused empty room—all appeared to be in order.

He paused at the foot of the stairs leading to the second floor, hesitating for a moment, then took a step up.

The second floor had three rooms: one served as his current bedroom, another as a storage room, and the last, located at the far end of the hallway, was locked.

When Yu Sheng first arrived, that door had already been locked, and despite thoroughly searching the entire house, he never found a key.

He started by checking his bedroom and the storage room across from it, then walked over to the locked door.

As always, it was tightly shut.

It wasn’t as if Yu Sheng hadn’t tried using some technical means to open this lock. His efforts included, but weren’t limited to, a hammer drill and a handheld electric saw, yet none of them worked—the drill and saw blades sparked wildly but didn’t leave a single mark on what appeared to be a flimsy wooden door.

He had even sought more advanced solutions, like hiring locksmiths. He had tried three in total: the first two got lost in the Old Town District and wandered around endlessly, unable to find 66 Wutong Street, and the third one barely made it past the intersection before getting hit by a motorcycle and had just been discharged from the hospital last week...

It was as if some mysterious force was preventing Yu Sheng from unlocking this door in his own house.

Yes, even though this large house was the only relatively safe refuge for him in the city, it had its own... "peculiarities."

Yu Sheng reached out and grabbed the doorknob, trying to turn it. As expected, it didn’t budge.

Nothing unexpected happened—it remained locked.

But then, whether it was just his imagination or not, as he futilely twisted the handle... he thought he heard a faint, almost inaudible, soft giggle.

The laugh came from the other side of the door, sounding like a young woman’s voice, as if mocking his inability to handle a mere door.

Yu Sheng's hair stood on end!

In this city, in what was supposed to be his only safe refuge, in the house he had lived in for two months—there was someone inside this perpetually locked room!

…How hadn’t she starved to death?