chapter_025 : New Aftermath of the Horror

Ashley Tyler habitually opened the calendar again today.

It had been a hundred days since that fateful day.

She now worked at a well - known advertising planning company in town. She was part of the creative department, and this firm was responsible for many big - name brand advertisements.

However, her reason for working here wasn't because of the company's reputation. She left her previous job and changed her environment out of necessity. The horrifying scene she witnessed that day was etched deeply in her memory, and she couldn't forget it. In the end, she not only moved to a new house but also had to change her job.

She didn't exactly know what she was afraid of, but she instinctively felt a sense of danger.

The new apartment she moved into was far from ideal. It was in a poor location, but the neighborhood was relatively safe. Since the rent was very low, wealthy people wouldn't choose to live here. Without high - income targets, thieves and robbers rarely visited.

Even so, she wasn't at ease and locked her door three times. When her parents from another state called to check on her and learned about her situation, they thought she was being overly sensitive. But only she knew that it wasn't just paranoia. In fact, she had always had a strong premonition of danger since she was a child. Once when she was young, a friend invited her to watch a much - anticipated American blockbuster, but for some unknown reason, she declined due to an ominous feeling. That day, the cinema caught fire, and all her friends were killed; none of them survived.

There were many similar incidents in her life. She began to trust her premonition more and more, but this time, she wished it was just paranoia.

However, the letter in her hand now made her realize that her unease was not without cause.

The letter was from Peter Williams, a former colleague from her previous company.

The letter was short, conveying only one piece of news.

Cindy Lee was dead.

Her closest colleague and best friend was dead.

Moreover, she was murdered. Her body was found on the rooftop of her apartment building, and Peter was the first to discover it. The cause of death was a cut throat and excessive blood loss. Cindy's memorial service would be held at seven o'clock tomorrow, and Peter specifically wrote to invite her.

Perhaps he thought a letter was a more formal way, rather than a phone call or an email. It was truly in line with Peter's character.

Maybe it was strange to say, but Ashley didn't want to go.

This was the second time. She didn't feel sorrow. All she felt was fear. She crumpled the letter into a ball, hugged her shoulders with both hands, and leaned her head against the wall.

She had known Cindy for three years. They first met when applying for jobs at the same company. Initially, they were fierce competitors, but after becoming colleagues in the same department, they gradually became good friends. In today's cut - throat workplace, it was really rare to develop a deep friendship with a colleague, and their bond remained strong.

But now she was gone...

The letter also mentioned that although the fatal wound was the cut throat, there were numerous stab wounds all over her body before that. The killer's methods were extremely cruel and terrifying.

During this period, she had deliberately avoided reading newspapers and watching the news, so she knew nothing about this case.

She knew who had killed Cindy, though there was no evidence. She knew that this nightmare wouldn't end.

The next day, as if in tune with the sorrowful mood, it poured heavily outside.

At the memorial service hall, everyone was dressed in black. In front of Cindy's portrait, her parents were sobbing uncontrollably. In the corner of the hall, a man crouched down, opened the lid of his lighter with a trembling hand, and lit a cigarette.

His hair was messy, his eyes were haggard, his shirt buttons were undone, and his tie was askew.

"Your appearance is really a mess, Peter?" Ashley put down her bag and crouched in front of him. "Tell me. What on earth happened?"

Peter exhaled a puff of smoke, looking blank in the eyes. "Maybe I could have stopped it. Today is exactly a hundred days since then."

"Why do you say that? You say you could have stopped it?"

"After you quit, Cindy, Bruce, and I still worked at the company as usual. But gradually, I noticed something was wrong with Cindy."

"What? Something wrong? What do you mean?"

"Her complexion got worse and worse. She often suddenly screamed for no reason. Her mother said that in the days before she was killed, she could hardly eat anything, and she wouldn't say a word even when asked. On the day of the incident, I was at her place, trying to persuade her and find out what was bothering her. But suddenly, she started to scream hysterically and then rushed out. Then I saw her get on the elevator and go to the top floor. Worried about her, I ran up the stairs to the top... And then I heard her screams. When I reached the rooftop, I found her lying in a pool of blood..."

Hearing his words, Ashley's face grew paler and paler.

"What... What do you mean?"

"I think you should understand now. What this implies."

If he rushed to the rooftop right after hearing the screams and then found the body, then... there was a huge contradiction.

Why didn't Peter see the killer? "I can't figure it out either. I had reached the top floor when I suddenly heard a few extremely terrifying screams. When I realized they were coming from the rooftop and was about to go up, the screams just stopped. During that time, not to mention the killer, I didn't see anyone in the corridor."

"By the time you got to the rooftop, was Cindy already dead?"

"Yes... When I saw the amount of blood, anyone could tell that she was definitely dead. It can be said that the killer must have been covered in blood, but the police couldn't find a single witness around the apartment who saw someone like that."

Wasn't it... wasn't it similar to that time?

The only difference was...

Ashley looked at Cindy's mother in the middle of the hall, crying so hard that she was almost fainting. She didn't know how to comfort her.

"I couldn't do anything. If it weren't for the fact that I had no motive to kill Cindy, the police would probably suspect me. Ashley, do you think the person who killed Cindy is the same one who killed Tina?"

"This..."

"Look at this!"

Violet angrily threw the newspaper in front of Jane. "Such a young girl is dead. It's all because you said not to interfere with the premonition for the time being! She was about my age, with a bright future ahead of her. And she died so horribly..."

Jane picked up the newspaper and glanced through it quickly. She sighed. "There was nothing we could do. Even if we had interfered, she might not have survived." "But she might have survived! At least you and your brother should have notified her! By any means possible! The woman named Tina before was killed by a ghost, right? These two girls worked in the same company and died on the dates I foresaw. Don't tell me it's a coincidence!"

"I wondered how you knew Cindy's death wasn't caused by a human. I thought Orion had told you. So it was your speculation."

"That's not the point... Also, you and your brother still haven't found any clues about that spiritual medium? If this keeps going on, who knows how many more people will die!"

Jane's long nails moved gracefully on the table. She calmly replied, "It's okay. I have my own way to find her. People with that kind of constitution will definitely have a large number of people around them die, no less than my father's situation back then. So, we can filter through a large amount of criminal case data over the years."

"Hmm?" Violet asked blankly. "Come to think of it, why do people with spiritual constitutions have people around them keep dying?"

"You don't need to know that." Suddenly, Violet seemed to understand something. She quickly grabbed Jane's hand. "Is this the real reason why our parents told us to run away and stop contacting our relatives? Because people who have relationships with us will die? Did our parents die because of this? I always felt strange before. Even though there were notes left in our parents' diary about the three claw marks, Orion made his decision so resolutely, without any hesitation to leave our hometown... Did Orion tear out the page in the diary that recorded that part?"

"Go ask your brother. How would I know?"

"Tell me! Did our parents' deaths have anything to do with our spiritual constitutions?"

"Of course not."

Jane shook off Violet's hand and rubbed it. "It hurts... I didn't expect you to be so strong. You two haven't even had your pupils change color yet. Your spiritual abilities are still in a latent state, so before you reach adulthood, it wouldn't cause the people around you to die... I suppose your parents' deaths were because one of them had a spiritual constitution. Like you, because their spiritual abilities were at a low level, their pupils didn't change color. However, even for those with a spiritual constitution whose pupils haven't changed, after reaching adulthood, their spiritual abilities will gradually wake up under certain external stimuli. Your parents probably attracted those things right after their abilities had just awakened." "Attracted? Do people with spiritual constitutions really bring disasters?"

"Well... You don't need to think too deeply... It's also a matter of probability. First of all, I can assure you that your parents' deaths have nothing to do with you or your brother..."

However, Violet still looked extremely painful.

"But... Can you be completely certain? Although we were not adults when our parents died, we were about to enter adulthood. What if our abilities had started to awaken at that time? Didn't we gain the ability to have premonitions soon after our parents' deaths? Isn't that the case?"

"What on earth are you trying to prove?" Jane's face showed signs of annoyance.

"Hmm?"

Jane folded the newspaper on the table and said, "Your thoughts are meaningless. No matter what the reason for your parents' deaths was, it can't be changed. The important thing is the future!"

Violet couldn't hold back her tears.

"If so, then can I no longer make friends with anyone? And I can't fall in love with anyone in the future, or else I'll kill them? Will the spiritual ability in me bring disasters?"

"I don't know. You have to figure out your own future. Whether to do something or not is up to you. Instead of wasting time thinking about these things, it's better to look for more information and find Wendy Murphy as soon as possible to improve Orion's spiritual ability."

"Is this your new home?"

"Yeah. Since it's a second - hand house and the location isn't great, the price isn't too high." After Peter drove Ashley home, she insisted on inviting him up. When they entered the living room, Peter couldn't help but sigh at the simple furniture and small space.

"You're scared, aren't you?"

Ashley didn't answer but avoided the topic. "You're the same, aren't you? That scene, the scene of Tina's death... Until now, I can still recall it clearly. I can remember what she was wearing, the temperature in the room at that time, and even..."

"Stop! Can you stop talking!"

Peter hugged his head. He was clearly extremely uncomfortable with this topic. He shouted hysterically, "It's that guy. We all know it. You, me, and Bruce. We saw it clearly at that time. He will kill us all, every single one of us!"

Yes... It was him.

Everything started from that day...