The World Below Surface

He couldn’t believe it.

The evil presence that had haunted his gaze had vanished.

Lu Yan had resigned himself to his fate. He knew that either the cost of wishes or the evil ghost in his gaze could doom him to a graveless death.

But now… what had become of the evil presence?

A shiver of dread ran through Lu Yan.

Had it gone after his future self?

God, no!

If the red ghost caught up with him, his future self would be doomed!

Lu Yan donned a mask and sprinted out.

He had to warn his future self. If he got caught, his future self, who had come back from May 1st, would perish, and none of them would make it past May 1st in their mission.

They had no way of contacting each other. Lu Yan had to rely on his own guesswork. But… by the time he reached him, it was too late.

His future self, who had come back from May 1st, had been slaughtered by the evil red ghost that had emerged from some unknown timeline.

In the small cabin, he stared at the mutilated body and the severed head that looked just like his own, lying on the table, his limbs growing numb.

What if his murdered future self turned into a vengeful ghost?

That was the risk he had taken when he wished to go back in time. Even with a malevolent spirit hiding in his eyes, he thought he could use the wish for resurrection to fight it off. That’s why he agreed to his future self’s scheme.

But now, something had gone horribly wrong. The red ghost in his eyes had escaped and slaughtered his future self.

So, this time… would they make it past May Day?

Lu Yan racked his brain, but finally made up his mind.

He stripped the coat from the decapitated corpse, covering the severed head with it, then slung the headless body over his shoulder and headed out.

The place was a crime scene, cordoned off by the police, and no ordinary people would venture here. He walked for a while, then dumped the body and the head in a phone booth by the roadside and dialled 911.

That day, the police station got a strange call.

“… Hello? What can I do for you?”

“Hello? Hello?” the operator repeated.

The line was filled with weird, chaotic sounds, like scraping and whispering. The operator, sensing trouble, stayed on the line. “Hello? Is everything okay?”

At last, a raspy voice of a young man broke through the phone.

“Can you guess… who I am?”

“What? Stop messing around.”

“Hahaha… You’re all so eager to catch me, aren’t you?” The man on the other side of the phone cackled. “How have you been holding up? Well, I felt sorry for you, so I decided to ease up on the explosions a bit.”

“You… You’re…” The bomber?!

The operator couldn’t finish his sentence, as the young man on the other side cut him off with a gleeful tone, “Now, I’ll give you one final opportunity to catch me. I’m in the third phone booth on XX Road. If you’re not here in ten minutes, I’m gone.”

“What the hell do you want?” The operator was seething with rage at the other’s smug attitude. He hastily alerted his colleagues, but the other guy caught the noise.

“It’s fine, go ahead and tell them. I’m here waiting for you, just ten minutes, my dear Mr. Police.” The young man chuckled even louder, humming a strange melody. “Oh, and by the way, you still haven’t figured out my name. Let me enlighten you, I’m Lu Yan.”

“So, you’re Lu Yan, huh? Why did you call?” The operator still tried to calm the other’s mood, hoping to keep him talking for a bit longer, but then there was a deafening “boom,” followed by silence.

“Hello? Hello?! Are you there?”

“Drip, drip…” Only the sound of liquid dripping.

Lu Yan was about to hang up the receiver, when he felt something wrong in his hand, cold and slick.

He glanced down in horror and realised that he was not holding a receiver, but the severed arm of a headless corpse!

He hurled the limb away and bolted out, leaving the door ajar. The bloodless body slumped against the inner wall, its hand still gripping the phone.

The weirdness was upon him once more.

The authorities reached the scene in less than ten minutes.

The town cherished its old-fashioned phone booths due to their charm. The opaque walls concealed whatever lay inside, causing the police to cautiously surround the booth, their guns at the ready. Fearing that any sudden movement could trigger another explosion, they were startled as the door swung open slightly, nudged by a gentle breeze.

The stench of blood was unmistakable.

What the hell?

They saw no signs of danger and found the door unlocked. Curiosity piqued, they cautiously entered the booth. What they discovered inside sent chills down their spines.

The caller was now slouched against the door, his severed head resting on top of the phone receiver. The corpse was fresh enough to reveal the face of the dead man—a perfect match for the suspect on the wanted poster.

“This can’t be. He was just on the phone, and now… he’s dead?”

Another twisted death.

Who could have done this to him in such a gruesome way? They didn’t want to think about it.

The officers looked at each other, then approached carefully, making sure it was safe before bagging the body.

They would have to verify his identity again.

The forensic analysis confirmed that the blood-soaked gauze at the crime scene belonged to the same person found in the telephone booth. But there was another mystery.

The autopsy report showed that the victim had been dead for at least four hours when the operator got the call. Yet, the fingerprints on the phone were his own.

So… who was on the line?

Who had murdered him?

After that, the explosions that used to rock the town seven or eight times a day stopped abruptly. To ease the public panic, the authorities declared that they had caught the bomber.

The suspect’s name was: Lu Yan.

“Lu Yan? He did it?” The original taskers were sceptical of this twist.

Their homes had been blown up, so they had talked about living apart, but somehow, the top brass still stuck together. Seeing this, those who had doubts grew more wary of leaving.

Lin Chu was different; she was held captive, trapped even if she wanted to go.

The police had Lu Yan in their custody, but they didn't know what they had caught. Should they strike now and finish the first task? They had to break into the station and kill him.

But Jiang Yu shook his head, his eyes cold and calculating. "No, not yet. We only need to confirm his identity for now. If we act too hastily, we might unleash something worse. And if he escapes, the whole town will know."

He turned his attention to the second task, the one that haunted them all. "The missing person." The words hung in the air like a curse, making them feel hopeless and frustrated.

They had searched every corner of the town, every database, every record. Nothing. No trace, no clue, no name. Who was this person? Why did they matter? How could they find them? The explosion case had wiped out half of the town's population, leaving behind a ghost town full of secrets and dangers. Their investigation had become a nightmare.

Ling Tong slammed his fist on the table, his face twisted with anger. "Damn it, this is impossible. There has to be something, anything. How can someone just vanish like that?"

Xi Men Yuan leaned back in his chair, his expression thoughtful. He glanced at Jiang Yu, who nodded slightly. They had noticed something odd about the newcomers in town. Something familiar. "I think we should focus on them. The ones who arrived after us. Don't you think they are too similar to us?"

They had claimed to be from different places, different backgrounds, different reasons. But he didn't buy it. He sensed they were taskers from another world just like them.

Di Ying frowned, her voice hesitant. "They must be taskers, like us. But..." She paused, then asked what they all wondered. "Why would a task bring people here in groups?"

Tan Xu chimed in, his tone bitter. "And why won't they tell us anything? Who they are, what they want, what they know. They are hiding something, I'm sure of it."

Jiang Yu nodded, his voice firm. "There's only one explanation. Their task requires secrecy. And it's very likely to be different from ours."

He looked at Xi Men Yuan, who smiled grimly. He remembered what he had said before, when they first met. "The task has changed. It's not following any pattern anymore. It's like when we started, remember? There were only thirty of us at first, then twenty more came later."

They all kept quiet, wondering what secrets and lies lurked behind the faces of the others. Who could they trust? Who was working against them?

Jiang Yu broke the silence, his voice calm and authoritative. "Let's talk about the cultural festival. We've done some research, and it seems the locals are going ahead with it." He looked around the room, meeting each pair of eyes. "We need to blend in with this town as much as we can. Otherwise, we'll be shunned and shut out."

They had discussed this before. They had to find jobs, but the newcomers had snatched all the normal ones. The only ones left were the odd ones, the ones that smelled of trouble and danger.

"I've secured a spot at a clinic," Jiang Yu said. He was a doctor in her real life, so working at a small clinic was easy for him.

"I'm going to the library in the south," Xi Men Yuan said.

Tan Xu scribbled down their choices, while the others shared theirs. Some would work as online editors, some as supermarket clerks, some as funeral directors, cremators, gravediggers, and so on.

"What about you, Lin Chu?" Tan Xu asked, when everyone else had spoken. Lin Chu was the last one.

"I heard that a theatre troupe is looking for people. I can sing, so I thought I'd give it a try," Lin Chu said, her voice shaky.

"A theatre troupe?" Xi Men Yuan remembered something. "Is it the same one we saw when we took Jiang Bai there?"

Lin Chu nodded, her cheeks reddening, but her eyes shining with affection for Jiang Bai.

"If you’re going, remember what to do and what not to do," Xi Men Yuan warned her.

Without delay, they assigned Qiu Zhi to go with her, as a watchdog and a witness.

Lin Chu was dangerous, unpredictable, and deadly. She had the ability to charm or kill anyone. On the other hand, Qiu Zhi was honest, loyal, and stubborn. He possessed a strong moral compass and would not lie, even if Lin Chu tried to trick him. By repeatedly asking Qiu Zhi about what happened, they could trust him to provide them with the truth.

**

"Jiang Bai, today I found five people, they all said they’ll come tomorrow to ask questions. I’ll trouble you then." Jin Fu Gui said, his voice a little better, but still raspy and weak, barely able to form words, much less sing.

Jiang Bai gave him a curt nod, accepting his request.

They wandered around the school grounds, looking for clues.

Lu Yan was curious about the origin of the green lights that had appeared in the night, but he knew it was too risky to explore in the dark, so he decided to investigate during the daylight hours.

Jin Fu Gui was terrified, but he had no choice but to follow Jiang Bai. He was his only hope of survival. Besides, he had a burning urge to see his children one last time and bury their corpses properly, so he tagged along.

It was a strange day, a day when nothing seemed right. The glass windows seemed to reflect a dull and dreary light, even though the sun was shining. The campus was shrouded in a gloomy atmosphere, punctuated by sporadic gusts of cold wind, that whipped up the dead leaves.

They reached the playground, slowly, cautiously.

Jin Fu Gui's body was rigid with fear, and Lu Yan's senses were on high alert, as they made their way through the rows of trees.

In the grove, the smell of wet earth filled the air, tainted with a faint rot.

Odd... Where were the green lights? Had they disappeared?

As they walked deeper into the gloom of the small wood that ringed the playground, feeling the air grow colder and heavier with each step. When they emerged on the other side, Jin Fu Gui gasped in horror.

Hanging from the branches of the trees that lined the playground, a row of corpses dangled like grotesque ornaments. They wore school uniforms, their faces frozen in agony. Some had blood dripping from their mouths or wounds. The wind rocked them gently, making a soft creaking sound.

"Are we really going there?" Jin Fu Gui whispered, his voice trembling.

The sky was overcast, as if a storm was brewing. The wind picked up, howling in their ears. The corpses swung more violently, their ropes straining under the pressure.

It looked like... any moment now, they would drop from the trees.

"We have to get out of here, now," Jiang Bai said in a hushed tone

They ran as fast as they could.

But then, a sudden gust of wind snapped one of the ropes. A body crashed to the ground with a thud.

Slowly, the corpse stirred, its purple face and bulging eyes twitching. Its limbs bent and twisted in unnatural ways, its long hair dragging on the ground. It crawled towards them, inch by inch.

Another lifeless body hit the ground behind them.

The two had just managed to escape through the gate before dusk. They proceeded to walk along the deserted and quiet road, searching for a secure hiding spot.

Jin Fu Gui sobbed as he wiped a tear from his cheek. “When can we go back in? I need to get back those two brats. I have to… I have to get them out.” He choked on his words, "Those two little rascals hate going to school the most. I have to... bring them back."

Lu Yan shook his head, his voice low and grim. “Don’t even think about going back. It’s too dangerous. We need to find somewhere else to stay.” He knew the town was no safer than the school, but he had to keep moving.

A faint sense of being watched crept over Lu Yan as he uttered his last words. He glanced over his shoulder, trying to act casual, and locked gazes with the silent figure that had been tailing him.

Jin Fu Gui was promptly knocked out with a blow to the head.

The scarred Lu Yan spoke, his voice harsh and urgent. “We’re in deep shit. Everything has gone wrong. The other version of us who came back from the future on May 1st is dead." He gestured to his eye, “The red ghost killed him, and then it escaped. God knows where it is now.”

Lu Yan was surprised, “But the police said they caught the bomber.”

The scarred Lu Yan shook his head, his expression bitter. “No, it was supposed to be me. But something happened. Something I don’t understand. The thing in my eye left me. It jumped to another host. It happened last night, around three o’clock. What were you doing then?”

“I was… I was listening to music.”

A heavy silence descended upon them, as they both contemplated the grim reality of their situation.

"So, this is it. I have to wrap everything up before May first."

Otherwise, according to this timeline, he would face his death on May 1st, then go back in time, experiencing an altered cycle of events, only to be killed once more by the red ghost. He would never be able to escape from this bizarre loop.

Scarred Lu Yan spoke in a low voice. "Time is running out for us." He gave him a brief nod, then turned on his heels and walked away.

He had to be careful not to reveal too much to his past self; just enough to help him survive the crucial moment, the moment that could change everything.

As he left, Jin Fu Gui stirred from his unconsciousness, groaning and holding his head.

**

In a dim corner of the town, a figure dressed in crimson emerged from the shadows.

By the school gate, a swarm of lifeless bodies in school uniforms dragged themselves out, scattering in various directions, their intentions shrouded in mystery.

Within the shopping mall, a worker was engrossed in her calculations. Unbeknownst to her, the face of a plastic mannequin behind her cracked and split.

Within the hospital, a peculiar sound of bouncing echoed from the depths of the morgue.

Once again, the town was awakening to the eerie!

(Author’s note: Four Lu brothers

In this timeline, the first brother, using the alias Jiang Bai, entered the town on March 1st.

Lu Yan, the second brother, who was dying at the cultural festival in the future, wished to go back to the past. In doing so, he was willing to sacrifice the lives of all the town's population, resulting in the explosions.

Lu Yan, the third brother, had experienced the second timeline until May 1st. He then went back to the past and prevented his second timeline self from killing the townspeople. He knew that this act would only bring greater disaster and result in his own death on May 1st.

The fourth brother became a vengeful ghost. Before the third Lu Yan died on May 1st, he used a jade pendant to create a copy of himself and summoned his future self who had already died. After wishing to go back in time again, he also accidently brought the vengeful ghost back with him.)