007, Trigger
The dim light in the room flickered uncertainly.
Most of it was shrouded in shadow, with the dark corners being particularly gloomy.
In the restroom.
The image in the mirror froze on the moment Du Wei lowered his head to look at the sink.
He maintained this posture for nearly a minute.
At the bottom of the basin.
There was a wrinkled woman's face, so pale that it seemed to have been painted with a layer of lacquer, her eyes wide open as if straining with great effort, so much so that they were filled with blood vessels.
But at this time, these blood vessels were a dark brown color, having congealed long ago.
While Du Wei was looking at this face, it was also looking at Du Wei.
Yet in the mirror, there was only himself.
Then.
Du Wei reached out towards the face and pressed down.
The feeling from his fingertips.
Nothing there.
His fingers went straight through the water's surface, pressing on the plug at the bottom of the basin.
A gentle push!
All the water in the basin instantly flowed away, and what was eerie was that the face, although it had no physical entity, seemed to merge with the water, twisting into a vortex shape, carried by the water into the drainpipe.
...
"No physical entity? Or is it that the manifestation of the Evil Spirit is not what I imagined, merely an illusion..."
This is what Du Wei said to himself in his heart before he walked up to the bedroom on the second floor, pushed open the door, and went in.
Click...
He closed the door behind him.
However, just then.
Knocking sounds began from outside the door...
Thud thud thud...
Thud thud thud...
Thud thud thud...
Du Wei's body instantly stiffened, he twisted his head to face the bedroom door directly, his dark pupils slightly dilated, and his breathing became a bit rushed.
He could hardly keep calm!
"How can this be?"
Du Wei struggled to calm himself down.
In front of him.
As if there was someone behind the bedroom door, they were really knocking forcefully, very regularly, causing the wooden bedroom door to tremble slightly.
Something wanted to come in...
Previously, there were only the sounds of knocking, with no other abnormal changes, but this time was completely different.
It's as though it jumped from lv1 to lv5 in an instant.
Everything was safe yesterday, despite the strange occurrences; they did not affect him that much.
But today was completely different; it was like he was under some kind of stimulation.
Moreover, Du Wei racked his brains but couldn't figure out why the Evil Spirit would suddenly enter the inside of his house.
Du Wei took a deep breath.
According to his guess, last night Aisha and Conan Doyle died or disappeared under the attack of the Evil Spirit, while he himself remained unharmed, probably because the two Evil Spirits were fighting and counterbalancing each other.
The first Evil Spirit was brought by Aisha; it was the first one that set its sights on him.
The second Evil Spirit was attracted by the post's photo he had seen inadvertently.
Two invisible hunters had set their sights on him as prey, leading to some kind of balance, which is why he was able to survive safely.
But now...
The idea of balance should be correct, after all, Father Tony, a relatively professional person in this area, had made a similar explanation when selling the silver crucifix dagger to him.
Du Wei's mind was frantically thinking and spinning.
"Where did the problem lie?"
Wait a minute...
There was something wrong with Conan Doyle's plea for help...
Du Wei felt a slight chill in his heart, but the greater the pressure, the more serene he became.
He even took out the medical report he had made for himself and wrote a note in the bottom column.
[The Evil Spirit has multiple targets, but a singular purpose. To achieve its goal, it employs means beyond the common person's imagination.]
There wasn't a single reply from the person who posted the thread from beginning to end, only curses from the readers. As a result, both Conan Doyle and himself were targeted by the Evil Spirit, and now anyone who saw the photo might be a target as well.
Who could guarantee that the first post was really made by a human and not by the Evil Spirit itself?
When he was at home that afternoon and found Conan Doyle's plea for help, was it genuinely posted by him?
The same kind of post, the same photo!
Why hadn't he considered that it could all be the doing of the Evil Spirit?
The train of thought in Du Wei's mind was crystal clear. There must be some form of checks and balances among the Evil Spirits; otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how he had survived the first day.
The current situation, however, was different, yet upon careful analysis, one could find an answer.
He had triggered some condition and personally let the Evil Spirit into his home.
"It was that photo, the eyes behind the peephole..."
[I saw it at the same time it saw me]
Du Wei wrote down this sentence on the paper.
It was somewhat ridiculous how some mechanisms of the Evil Spirit seemed to be somewhat similar to the logical calculations of a computer.
Thinking this, Du Wei took a deep breath.
If he could restore that balance, perhaps every problem would be solved effortlessly.
But he didn't have that capability now.
Unless he was targeted by another Evil Spirit and joined another group of hunters, but under the current circumstances, that was simply impossible.
Du Wei told himself to stay calm in his heart. He even used hypnotism and suggestion to temporarily forget the emotion of fear.
Because fear and dread are the nourishment that fuels the growth of Evil Spirits.
[I am attempting to use a silver cross dagger in an attempt to fight the Evil Spirit]
Then, he reached into his clothes and pulled out the silver cross dagger he had bought from Father Tony.
If this thing worked, he promised himself to pray at Father Tony's place every week, but if it didn't work, he hoped to become an Evil Spirit after death and have a talk with him!
Du Wei held the silver cross dagger in one hand and pressed it directly against the door.
At this moment, the door was still being banged on.
And as Du Wei pressed the cross dagger against the door, it seemed to have provoked the displeasure of the Evil Spirit on the other side, making the knocking sounds even more intense.
It even became utterly irregular.
Previously it was knocking, but now it sounded like pounding.
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang!
Bang bang bang!
The door was nearly broken down, and Du Wei even saw that the screws of the door lock were showing signs of coming loose, and the doorknob was turning.
[Effectiveness: Invalid]
This was something Du Wei said in his mind, and he didn't write it on the paper.
Because the bedroom door wasn't made of very sturdy material, a crack had now appeared, and he had to brace against the door with all his strength.
Through the crack, Du Wei saw that the light outside had become very dim and somber, as if there were many grey, dusty particles, like smog, making everything blurry and unclear.
As those lights flickered madly, an eye, through the gap, stared intently at Du Wei.
Then...
With a snap, all the lights, as if unable to bear it, went out in an instant...
The whole house was plunged into darkness.
The sound was deathly still, and a chilling breath from outside the door could be felt entering the bedroom.