Chapter 106.

Chapter 106.

"Well, creepy enough for you just hearing this far?" Zhu Yikun paused in his narrative, pouring himself a cup of tea to moisten his throat.

Xie Yinxue remarked, "It's not that unsettling, actually."

Liu Buhua, who found the paranormal story rather ordinary, commented, "Mr. Zhu, you've ventured through the 'Lock of Longevity.' Surely, a tale like this shouldn't faze you?"

"It's not about me being frightened. It's my childhood friend who's scared," Zhu Yikun lowered his voice, adding an air of mystery, "and what's even creepier comes next—"

From that point on, every night at precisely midnight, Lun Jianxian received a call with no caller ID.

Initially, Lun Jianxian missed the calls as he went to bed early. But later, he decided to stay awake, waiting by his phone. When the call came, he'd quickly swipe to answer. Though the call connected, there was no response.

"Hello? Hello?"

Lun Jianxian shouted into the speaker, yet all he could hear was faint and jumbled electronic noise, as if the caller was in a location with poor signal.

"Why isn't anyone speaking?"

As Lun Jianxian murmured in confusion, a loud thud echoed from the phone, resembling the sound of something dropping. At that moment, the call duration displayed 14 seconds. After the sound, the call abruptly ended.

Regardless of whether he answered or missed the call, there would never be any call records on his phone regarding that particular number.

Lun Jianxian sought advice from mobile technicians. They suggested it could be a phone virus or someone playing a prank.

After hearing their explanations, he started to believe it was likely a prank, perhaps by the family of the worker who fell from the 18th floor, given their dissatisfaction with the compensation and their emotional confrontation at his office.

If it were merely this, Lun Jianxian could have dismissed it as a mere prank. After all, there was no voice on the other end, and the calls were infrequent.

However, something else troubled him more deeply, something he couldn't brush off as a mere prank: the dream that woke him up the night he first received the anonymous call.

In the dream, someone whispered a phone number into his ear. It felt as if he was answering a call, but the voice was raspy, harsh, and eerily sinister.

Each time Lun Jianxian closed his eyes to sleep, he'd have the same dream. The nightmares had taken such a toll on him that in just a few days, dark circles formed under his eyes and he looked utterly worn out. The midnight call seemed trivial compared to these nightmares.

Hearing this, Xie Yinxue's grip on her teacup tightened. She looked up at Zhu Yikun and inquired, "Mr. Zhu, your friend didn’t try calling that number from his dream, did he?"

Zhu Yikun, hearing Xie Yinxue's question, gave an awkward chuckle.

From Zhu Yikun's expression alone, even before he replied, Xie Yinxue knew the answer.

As expected, two seconds later, Zhu Yikun whispered, "He did call..."

Liu Buhua exclaimed in astonishment, "Wow, he's brave."

"One should never call a number they dreamt of, especially if it's not just an ordinary number. If it's—" Xie Yinxue frowned, pausing before finishing his thought, "In your friend's case, it's evident that it wasn't ordinary. Why would he be so rash to call it?"

"Exactly. That's what I told him. He couldn't explain, saying he felt an irresistible urge, like some unseen force compelled him," Zhu Yikun said, slapping his thigh in frustration. "If it were me, I'd first investigate the number from the dream. He went as far as consulting about his phone but never thought of researching the dreamt number before directly calling it. It's mind-boggling."

Xie Yinxue softly inquired, "And what happened after he called?"

Liu Buhua quickly followed up, "Was the number for a crematorium?"

Just as Zhu Yikun was about to answer Xie Yinxue, he turned his attention to Liu Buhua upon hearing his question.

Misunderstanding Zhu's silence as confirmation, Liu Buhua explained, "It's a common trope in horror novels and movies."

"Indeed, it is," Zhu Yikun sighed deeply. "However, my friend's situation turned out even more unfortunate. The number was for the security office at Anfu Garden."

"Anfu Garden?" Liu Buhua questioned with a hint of surprise, "The name sounds rather auspicious."

"Not only is it auspicious, but it's also well-situated, making it the most expensive cemetery in our city," Zhu Yikun continued, "I plan to be buried there myself."

Realization dawned on Liu Buhua, "That number was for a cemetery?"

"Has Zhu boss already chosen his plot? Do tell," Xie Yinxue asked with a playful grin, "When I have some free time, I'll ensure the feng shui is right for you."

"Mr. Xie, please don't tease," Zhu Yikun pleaded, joining his hands in supplication, "My friend really needs your help. Ever since he made that call, it's as if he's unleashed some curse; the horrifying incidents have multiplied—"

For instance, the silent calls he received precisely at midnight had now started to speak.

That day, driven by memory, Lin Jianxian dialed the number and waited with bated breath. But before the call could connect, he hastily ended it upon hearing the ringback tone: "Hello, this is Anfu Garden Cemetery..."

What the ringback tone said after, Lin Jianxian had no idea. Hearing the word "cemetery" made him end the call in sheer panic. The disbelief and terror in his eyes were palpable—how could the number he kept hearing in his dream belong to a cemetery?

And this wasn't just any number; it was repeatedly whispered in his dreams by a faceless man, so often that he could recite it backward.

But why was he having such dreams?

Could it be the deceased worker coming back for revenge?

Whether it was the shocking origin of the phone number in his dream or his terrifying self-doubt, Lin Jianxian felt disoriented all day. Eventually, fatigue took over, and he fell asleep on the sofa.

In this dream, however, he did not hear the repetitive whispers of the Anfu Cemetery's phone number.

Instead, he dreamt of... himself sleeping on the villa's sofa.

It was an odd perspective. Although it was his dream, he saw himself from a third-person view. He couldn’t control the actions of his dream-self. Slowly, he drifted closer to the body on the sofa, eventually stopping right by his own ear...

And began reciting the all-too-familiar phone number.

This eerie scenario sent chills down Lin Jianxian's spine. Most people would have awoken in terror from such a nightmare, but not him.

He tried to scream, hoping to wake himself up, but all that came out were the individual digits of the phone number.

No matter how terrified he became, he couldn’t stop himself from continuously reciting the number beside his own ear. The voice grew deeper and more hoarse, eventually merging with the mysterious voice from his previous dreams!

He didn't know how long it lasted, but just as it felt like a night giving way to dawn, Lin Jianxian realized he couldn’t hear himself repeating the phone number anymore, for there was a louder noise in the room.

It was his cellphone ringing.

Awakened by the jarring ringtone, Lin Jianxian bolted upright, finding himself exactly as in his dream, lying on the sofa. A dim night light shone in the living room, enveloping the room in a sepulchral silence. The vibrating phone continued to shriek.

Trembling, he answered the call. This time, someone spoke:

"Hello? Hello?"

The voice sounded incredibly familiar, but Lin Jianxian couldn't quite place it. As he brought the cold screen of the phone to his ear, ready to converse, he heard the caller mutter in confusion, "Why isn't anyone speaking?"

In shock, Lin Jianxian's grip loosened, and the phone dropped with a thud, disconnecting the call. The call duration displayed 14 seconds.

He swallowed hard, his gaze fixed on the phone in disbelief — this midnight call now had a call log, but the incoming number was his own.

And the voice on the other end of the call was his own too, from the first time he answered the mysterious call!