Lonelytree

  Millman97

  “Uncle Wong?” Gu Feiyu looked at his phone and replied without thinking. “I’m here, what’s wrong?”


  “There’s a tenant that said he saw someone suspicious sneak into the third building. You know we’re running low on staff, so if you’re still awake, do you mind coming to help?”


  “Someone suspicious? Okay, I’ll be there in a minute!” Since he was the reason Ol’ Wong got fined, Xiao Gu was ravaged by guilt. He had been hoping for a chance to make up for that, so he agreed readily.

  Grabbing his phone, Gu Feiyu ran to Fang Hwa Apartments. The third building was just adjacent to the backdoor. Gu Feiyu glanced inside the guard post. Ol’ Wong had left in such a hurry that he did not even close the door.

  “Did something happen already?” He called Ol’ Wong, but there was no answer. After he entered the third floor, there was another message on his WeChat. “The person who sneaked in appeared to be a thief. We have cornered him on the 23rd floor. When you come, remember to be careful.”


  “Okay.” Xiao Gu was worried about Ol’ Wong’s safety, so he rushed into the elevator and pressed the button for 23rd floor. The elevator doors slowly closed, and Xiao Gu started to frown, looking at his phone.

  He was confused, but Xiao Gu did not think this was a trap.

  The number shifted, and the elevator soon arrived on the 23rd floor. “Uncle, I’m already here. Where are you?”


  Xiao Gu slid out of the elevator silently. He hid around the corner and messaged Ol’ Wong to ask for his location.

  “The thief seems to have enter Room 3239. We’re hiding in the room across from it. When you come over, make sure not to make too much noise.”


  Raising his head to look down the darkened corridor, Xiao Gu memorized the room number that he had been given before advancing. The only source of light in the corridor was Xiao Gu’s phone. He looked at the closed doors that lined both sides of the corridor, and he slowed down.

  He moved further away from the elevator. When he was halfway there, Xiao Gu turned back to look. The number on the elevator shifted. It appeared like someone had called the elevator, or perhaps someone had entered the elevator. In any case, the elevator had returned to the first floor. If something dangerous happened then, it would be impossible to escape via the elevator. It would take at least one minute for the elevator to come back up again.

  Xiao Gu waited for a while and realized that the elevator was still at the first floor. He was suspicious, but before he could understand why, Ol’ Wong started to rush him through WeChat.

  This triggered an alarm in Xiao Gu.

  Xiao Gu had already suspected that before, but he had believed that there was nothing worth getting from him. There were so many contacts on Ol’ Wong’s WeChat, so why was he selected?

  Xiao Gu slowed down. He called Ol’ Wong again, and similarly, there was no answer. “Don’t want to pick up the phone but keep sending messages… is it because the real messenger wants to hide their voice?”


  Not long ago, Xiao Gu met the madwoman in the third building. He had almost been brutally murdered. The experience had left a deep scar in his heart, but it had also taught him a valuable lesson—one cannot be too careful. He did not dare move forward anymore but slowly nudged toward the elevator.

  Xiao Gu regretted rushing into the elevator. Just hours ago, Ol’ Wong had reminded him to not act so rashly. He stuck to the wall, and as he moved down the eerie corridor, he became more unsettled.

  In the silent corridor, Xiao Gu’s phone suddenly vibrated. It gave him quite a scare. He lowered his head to look. There was another message from Ol’ Wong. “Have you arrived?”


  For some reason, when Xiao Gu saw this message, he panicked. He increased the speed of his retreating footsteps. He moved several meters, and there was another message on his phone. “Are you there?”


  Xiao Gu stopped replying. He retreated to the elevator and pressed the button to call for it. The elevator that stopped at the first floor started to move. Xiao Gu stared at the number on display, and his heart raced. The person who sent him the message seemed to sense something because the frequency of messaging drastically increased. Xiao Gu’s phone kept vibrating, and the same message repeated itself.

  “Are you there?”


  “Are you there?”


  “Are you there?”


  Now Xiao Gu was certain it was definitely not Ol’ Wong on the other end of the line!

  The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. Seeing the messages that filled up his inbox, a chill ran through his body.

  When the elevator reached the 11th floor, Ol’ Wong suddenly stopped sending him messages. Xiao Gu sighed in relief. He swiped his sweating forehead and realized it was soaked in cold sweat.

  Xiao Gu pressed on the button rapidly. When the elevator reached the 14th floor, he turned over his shoulder to look. One of the room doors at the end of the corridor creaked open, and a pale figure holding Ol’ Wong’s phone was poking their head out.

  …


  “My parents taught me to be a law-abiding citizen from a young age. That filled me with a sense of justice and cultivated the habit of helping others whenever I can. Therefore, when I saw people ignoring the law and harming the innocent, I had to apprehend them. I admit I might have acted a little bit emotionally, but the situation didn’t allow me any other options. If I didn’t act, more people would have gotten injured.”


  Chen Ge wiggled the handcuffs and announced openly in front of the three officers and Captain Yan that sat across from him in the interrogation room.

  “That is the reason you used violence to knock them out?” The officer who sat next to Captain Yan frowned.

  “But I’m the victim here. After all, there are more of them than me.”


  “Have you seen a victim come to make a police report with two unconscious culprits?”


  “They attacked me first; I was only acting in self-defense.”


  Chen Ge stared at the four policemen, who stared back at him. In the end, it was Captain Yan who coughed and said, “Stop arguing. The officers who were sent out to verify the news should return shortly.”