Chapter 40: Thirty-ninth Chapter: Spectral Touch, When Parallel Worlds Merge
The driver was roughly fifty years old. A peaked cap covered most of his face, revealing only the corners of his mouth which were turned slightly downward. His rough palms gripped the steering wheel tightly, yet his gaze frequently flickered to the rearview mirror, landing on the two young men in the back.
One had a grim face, as if someone owed him a multi-million dollar debt.
The other had a tight frown, looking at his companion with worry, fearing he might do something drastic in the next second. Even stranger was that both were injured, their clothes rumpled and stained with dust, looking like they had just escaped a fight in some corner.
Especially the grim-faced one; there was a shocking, distinct bloody gash on his arm.
The other one was holding his hand tightly, whispering words of comfort.
The driver couldn’t help but shake his head. Young people nowadays… they start swinging at the slightest disagreement. Truly too impulsive. Lu Jingheng felt the warmth coming from his hand and turned to look at Gu Yunsheng.
Gu Yunsheng, however, was staring out the window in a daze, his gaze vacant. The things that had happened over these past two days were getting weirder by the minute.
First, there was Dr. Li in the hospital who looked exactly like Xue Chenxi; then there was Qin Feng, who confessed his love at the bar right after they met; now there was this manās nonsensical confession, that eerie phone call, and the little Husky suddenly going mad… Everything felt suspicious! Could it be that the “Pet Love for Life” hospital really had some fishy business?
“Master, why is this road getting weirder the further we go? The navigation isn’t wrong, is it? Is the pet hospital really in such a desolate place?” Gu Yunsheng felt increasingly creeped out and couldn’t help but ask. Outside, let alone neon lights, there weren’t even streetlamps. Only the carās headlights illuminated the bumpy gravel road ahead. Both sides were lined with pitch-black woods, their silhouettes looking ominous and frightening.
“Did the navigation take us to some middle-of-nowhere wilderness?” he muttered to himself, looking up at Lu Jingheng with unease.
Lu Jingheng also noticed the atmosphere was wrong. The road was frighteningly quiet. Aside from the crunch of tires on gravel, there was almost no soundānot even the chirping of insects.
He instinctively tightened his grip on Gu Yunshengās hand, wanting to say something to comfort him, but not knowing what to say.
After a long while, he finally asked, “Master, why is this road different from the one I took when I brought the Husky for shots last time? Did we take a wrong turn?”
The driver glanced at Lu Jingheng through the rearview mirror and said dismissively, “Young man, when was the last time you were here? This road is constantly under repair. I drive this route every day; how could I possibly go the wrong way?”
Lu Jingheng explained, “About half a year ago. Back then, it didn’t seem like the road was being fixed.”
The driver cast a look at them through the mirror as if they were fools, clicking his tongue and shaking his head as if to say young people today have seen nothing of the world.
“Half a year? That was ages ago! They only started messing with this road recently.”
He then added in a teasing tone, “What? Are you worried Iām going to drive you into a ditch?”
Gu Yunsheng quickly waved his hands and explained, “No, no, Master, don’t misunderstand. Itās just our first time here and we aren’t familiar with the way.” As he spoke, he looked out the window uneasily. This road was truly too remote, and he couldn’t help but feel a bit apprehensive.
Ten minutes later, the driver hit the brakes. The car jolted sharply. Gu Yunsheng, already on edge, almost slid off his seat from the sudden stop.
He hurriedly reached out to brace himself against the front seat to steady himself.
The driver said impatiently, “We’re here. Get out!”
Gu Yunsheng and Lu Jingheng exchanged an uneasy glance, pushed the door open, and stepped out.
“Thanks, Master.”
Though they were suspicious, the driver had at least brought them to their destination, so they managed to squeeze out a word of thanks.
The driver didn’t leave immediately. He stared at the two with some unease, then looked back at the empty surroundings. The sky was terrifyingly dark.
“Go up and take a look, then come down quickly. I don’t dare stay long in this ghost of a place… I’ll wait for you to come down… There are no cars here, how will you get back?”
“Master, are there really no other cars around here? How about you…” Gu Yunsheng wanted to persuade him further. In this wilderness, he felt bad making the driver wait out here.
Besides, the driver didn’t seem like a bad person; he was actually quite helpful, a classic case of a sharp tongue but a soft heart.
“Fine, stop talking. Just hurry up. Once you’re done, come back down so I can go home early. This place is eerie as hell; I don’t want to stay a moment longer.”
The driver waved his hand impatiently, interrupting Gu Yunsheng. His gaze made it seem like Gu Yunsheng and Lu Jingheng were entering a dragonās den rather than a pet hospital.
“Ah, alright then. Sorry for the trouble, Master.” Gu Yunsheng had no choice but to head up the small hillside with Lu Jingheng, bracing himself.
“This place… it didn’t seem this desolate the last time I came.” Lu Jingheng looked around as he walked, his brow furrowing slightly. This road, this hillsideāhe should be very familiar with them, but now they gave him a feeling of utter strangeness. It was as if… someone had tampered with it and secretly swapped it for something else.
“When was the last time you came?” Gu Yunsheng asked, keenly picking up on the abnormality in Lu Jinghengās tone.
“Half a year ago, when I brought Er Gouzi for his shots. I remember very clearly. That day…”
Lu Jingheng stopped mid-sentence because he remembered something even stranger. “That day, I think we also came at night. And the navigation seemed to have issues too, taking us in circles for a long time…”
“No way, itās that spooky?” Gu Yunshengās heart skipped a beat. Could it really be such a coincidence?
The two quickened their pace and soon arrived in front of the building on the hillside. Dim light flickered through the windows. Gu Yunshengās heart jumped; that light was frighteningly pale, reminding him of that nightmare world and the black-hearted hospital where Selo was imprisoned. A cold sense of dread climbed up his spine.
The building was still the same buildingāpeeling walls and that faded sign at the door: “Pet Love for Life.” It swayed in the night wind, making a tooth-aching creak as if it were weeping in a low voice.
Everything looked exactly as it was in Lu Jinghengās memory, yet the strange feeling in his heart grew stronger and stronger. It was as if… something was watching them from the shadows, making the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
“Letās go, letās go in and see.” Lu Jingheng took a deep breath, suppressing the unease in his heart, and pushed open the door of the pet hospital.
Creeaaaakā
Accompanied by a piercing sound, the door slowly opened. A strong smell of disinfectant hit their noses, mixed with an indescribable sickly sweetnessālike blood, or perhaps the scent of something rotting. It made Gu Yunshengās stomach churn, and he nearly vomited.
The lobby of the pet hospital was empty. Cold lights shone on the snow-white walls and floor, reflecting a hair-raising glare.
Right in the center of the room stood a massive surgical table. Dark red bloodstains remained on the metal surface, looking even more shocking under the pale lights.
Several thick iron chains extended from the sides of the table, anchored to the cold walls, as if hinting at some terrifying events that had once occurred here.
Gu Yunshengās breathing became rapid. He felt as if he could see Selo tied to that cold surgical table, struggling in pain, howling in despair, while he stood by helplessly, watching him be tortured by those people… Those images, those sounds, those scentsāthey were like nightmares, echoing in his mind over and over again, making it nearly impossible to breathe.
“Yunsheng? What’s wrong? You look terrible.” Noticing Gu Yunshengās state, Lu Jingheng reached out to steady his shoulder, asking with concern.
Gu Yunsheng snapped back to his senses and shook his head vigorously, forcing himself to calm down. “No… itās nothing. I just feel like this place is… a bit cold. And the smell… it’s too much.”
“Cold? Maybe the AC is set too low. I’ll go look for someone.” As Lu Jingheng spoke, he turned and walked deeper into the room.
Gu Yunsheng stood where he was, scanning his surroundings. In the empty room, besides that shocking surgical table, there were only some pet photos hanging on the walls. But the pets in those photos looked as if they had lost their soulsātheir eyes were hollow and devoid of life, making oneās skin crawl.
Drip… drip…
A faint sound of dripping water echoed in the silent room. Gu Yunshengās heart jumped. He followed the sound and saw a small cage in the corner of the room. Beside the cage was a rusty faucet. Water was dripping down one drop at a time, splashing into the metal sink.
Inside the cage was an entirely black cat. It was staring at Gu Yunsheng with a cold gaze. That look didn’t belong to an animal; it was more like… a human! It was full of malice and calculation, making Gu Yunsheng shudder.
Right then, without any warning, the lobby lights went out. The entire pet hospital was instantly plunged into darkness!
“Ahā!”
In the darkness, Gu Yunshengās cry rang out, followed by the sound of panicked footsteps.
“Yunsheng, where are you?” Lu Jinghengās voice trembled in the darkness, sounding as if he were being strangled by invisible fear. He fumbled for his phone, trying to find the flashlight mode, his heart drumming against his chest. “Don’t be afraid, I’m coming!”
“I’m here! Jingheng, be careful!” Gu Yunshengās voice came from deep in the darkness, sounding as if it were being deliberately lowered, carrying a ghostly chill.
“I think I… touched something… be careful…”
However, at that moment, Lu Jingheng felt something cold, with a slimy texture, coil around his ankle…
“Argh…!”
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