Chapter 2

In the video, the woman whose head had just been separated from her body was now wearing bunny pajamas, leaning coyly against the balcony with a shy expression.

Apartment 303 continued sending messages, [See? I didn't lie to you guys. My girlfriend is still alive.]

I let out a deep sigh of relief and replied, [I admit, you really scared me earlier. From now on, no matter how much noise you two make, I won't message the group chat to tag you again.]

Apartment 303 sent a laughing emoji and said, [Don't worry, after your reminder this time, my girlfriend definitely won't be making any more noise.]

I rolled out of bed, intending to use the bathroom.

As I turned on the light, I suddenly felt a chill run down my spine.

It was already the middle of the night.

But in the video 303 sent, the background behind the woman leaning on the balcony showed the setting sun, not the pitch-black scene outside now.

This video must have been recorded before the woman's death!

Which means, the guy in 303 was lying to me!

My eyes widened as my heart began to race uncontrollably.

I knew for certain that this time, my neighbor was truly dead!

No longer caring about potential punishment from school administration, I had to call the police!

I dialed 911.

At that moment, there was a sudden knock at my dorm room door: "302, are you there?" "Just now, didn't my boyfriend and I disturb you with our argument? I'd like to offer you a cupcake to make amends."

I froze.

The voice coming from outside the door belonged to the girl from 303.

But wasn't she supposed to be dead?

I quietly stood up and peeked through the peephole.

On the other side, the woman's face appeared before my eyes.

Her complexion was somewhat pale, her eyes seemed a bit unfocused, and she murmured, "302, it's really cold out here. Please open the door quickly."

This woman was still alive.

I let out a long sigh of relief. The fact that she was alive was enough to dispel all my previous suspicions.

So, I quickly hung up the emergency call I had just dialed but hadn't connected yet.

I didn't want to be charged with intentionally wasting police resources.

As I was about to open the door and respond, my phone buzzed with another message from 402: "Whatever you do, don't open the door!"

402 sent me a picture.

The image, taken from above, showed a tall, skinny guy.

The guy had his head lowered and his body hunched, but his hands were stretched forward, as if he was forcefully pushing against something.

I was stunned.

This picture had been taken in real-time.

This guy was standing right outside my dorm room, with my blue thermal underwear I had washed yesterday hanging behind him. However, peering through the peephole, I didn't see a man's face, but a woman's instead.

This meant that the guy outside was hiding behind the girl, pressing his hand against her back to create the illusion that she was still alive.

His aim was to lure me out!

The knocking on the door grew more intense, accompanied by a strange, distorted voice: "What are you hiding in there for? You were acting all tough earlier in the group chat when you said I was moaning too loudly!"

The guy standing outside was a murderer!

This killer was pinching his voice, making weird sounds like a woman talking!

I was so terrified that tears were about to spill from my eyes.

But I didn't dare make a sound.

I sprinted towards the balcony, thinking I could climb down from there.

Looking at the dizzying height of several dozen floors, I feared falling to my death.

Should I call the police now?

I didn't dare!

I was afraid to make any noise, fearing it would anger the killer outside!

Damn it, at that moment, I truly regretted everything.

Why the hell did I have to stick my nose where it didn't belong and comment on how loud someone was moaning?!

As I was panicking, 402 sent me a message: [Climb out onto the balcony and use the air conditioning units to get to my dorm!]

I poked my head out.

The balcony window of room 402 on the upper floor was already open.