"I had a dream."
It's nighttime again. Susan Li, sitting beside me, spoke. After locking me in here, that ghost left my body.
"What did you dream about?"
"I dreamed of my son. Ridiculous, isn't it?"
I gasped. I hadn’t known Susan Li had a son, but considering she’s in her thirties, it’s not that surprising.
Back then, I knew a rich kid. His family had money, so I got together with him. He really did help me a lot. Funny enough, his last name was Zhang, just like yours.
My heart skipped a beat—I thought of my cousin Howard Zhang. He's thirty-one this year. But I quickly shook my head. Even if the surname is Zhang, it's probably just a coincidence.
"Do you know that jerk?"
I sighed, thinking of my cousin. He'd always been a playboy, never taking life seriously, and had been with many women.
Thinking back, being with him was the happiest time of my life. Even though I knew he was just playing around, I was willing. Later, when I planned to have the twins alone, I happened to get a great opportunity, so I ended up aborting them.
"Did you say two?"
"Yes, a boy and a girl, twins."
My mouth hung open in shock.
The more Susan Li talked about that rich kid, the more he sounded like my cousin Howard Zhang. My cousin really does treat women well—as if they're the most important thing in his life.
"But that guy really was a bastard. Once he knew I was pregnant, he started seeing other women, said he was done with me. In that way, he's a real jerk. Maybe it's karma. I chose my business and aborted both kids. Last night, I dreamed of a cute little boy calling me 'Mom.'"
"So... was your ex-boyfriend named Howard Zhang?"
For a long moment, Susan Li said nothing. Then, suddenly, she laughed.
"Do you know that jerk?"
I sighed and answered.
That jerk is my cousin.
After that, Susan Li and I talked about my cousin and those two children—who had turned into baby spirits. We kept talking until dawn, but Susan Li wouldn't let up with her questions.
When I woke up again, it was night. My stomach wasn't hungry anymore—seems they'd fed me something. They wouldn't let me die, just kept torturing me.
"Believe it or not." Suddenly, something occurred to me: I hadn’t dreamed in days, always sleeping straight through to morning. I wondered, if I could dream of those ghosts in the courtyard, or Rachel Lan, maybe I could let them know what’s happening to me.
But then, I quickly told Susan Li about the idea of sending a message through a dream.
"Spend today thinking about that child you saw in your dream last night. His name is Mark Zhang, remember that. If you dream of him again, tell him about your situation here and ask him to help you."
After a long while, Susan Li stopped speaking. I struggled to sit up, staring out through the iron bars. The night outside was eerily quiet, and I felt a strange calm.
"There's nothing else I can do. I'm restrained right now—I can't get you out, and I can barely protect myself."
Suddenly, the door creaked open. I jumped in surprise. Someone was standing outside—it was Wang Sanlun. He stared at me silently.
"Hmph, you have no idea. If I wasn’t restrained, I wouldn’t be afraid no matter how many people came at me."
"He’s coming, Ethan Zhang, he’s coming." I gasped as Wang Sanlun freed me from the straitjacket, then grabbed a piece of wire and, with swift precision, unlocked my handcuffs and shackles.
"Wake that kid up." It sounded like someone giving an order.
Right after, the door to the room swung open. I stared as a man in a suit walked in, wearing a white mask and cold, piercing eyes.
The director treated him with great respect, then left and closed the door. The masked man acted superior, sitting right in front of me.
"Ethan Zhang, how have the last few days been?"
"Was this your doing?" I spat out, glaring at him.
"Hmph. Your situation must be pretty bad—murder, plus a confirmed diagnosis of mental illness." As he spoke, he pulled out a sheet of paper, showing my psychiatric evaluation results.
"You..."
"Enough. We really didn’t want to use such extreme measures, Ethan Zhang. Think carefully. Even though you’re surrounded by powerful ghosts, you’re still human. You need to survive in this society. This murder case is just a warning. If you’re convicted, surviving here will be nearly impossible."
"Damn it, you’re with the Immortality Society. Let me go! I didn’t kill anyone, and I’m not crazy!"
The man suddenly stood up and kicked me hard. I cried out, mouth open in shock, as his foot pressed down on my chest.
"That depends on your answer. Stop investigating, and tell your friends to back off too. If you keep digging, we won’t show any mercy."
The masked man spoke in a threatening tone. For a moment, I was stunned. Right now, I really was alone. Rachel Lan, Stone Jian, and the Ghost Burial Squad were all just people trying to survive in this society. And in my current situation, I couldn’t even find a foothold.
"Think it over, Ethan Zhang. You don’t have any choices left. I want your answer now. Otherwise, you know what’s coming."
I started laughing. I had no intention of agreeing to them. Deep down, I might have hesitated, but I never once thought about giving in.
"You’d better think it over too. No matter how much money or power you have, in the end, you’re still just human."
The masked man burst out laughing, shaking his head. He lifted his foot off my chest, then stomped hard on my face.
"We’re not human. Just remember that."
I laughed again.
"You’re nothing but evil spirits wearing human skin."
As soon as I finished speaking, the masked man kicked me in the face. Blood gushed from my nose.
"Enjoy the days ahead." The man laughed loudly, opened the door, and left.
"Do you know Chen Miaoqiang?"
I suddenly asked. Just as the man was about to leave, he stopped and turned back.
"Don’t even think about resisting, Ethan Zhang. You have no chance, even if you drag Yin Choujian in with you. Remember what happened to Chen Hongyan? Ha."
He said this, then closed the door. I glared at him with hatred.
My stomach was empty—I had no idea what time it was. The sun was gone outside, maybe it was almost night. My throat felt like it was on fire.
Just then, the door opened. Two staff members nervously dragged me up, then strapped a leather muzzle over my mouth. The director stood at the door, smiling wickedly.
"For someone as insane as you, we need to step up the treatment."
Then they lifted me by my arms and legs and carried me to the shock room, where I was strapped down.
"This time, I’ll handle the treatment myself."
The director smiled as the two staff members who brought me in quickly left, their faces pale with fear.
"Looks like you’re pretty sturdy." The director said, then attached the shock device to my forehead, fiddling with the controls.
They shoved a ball into my mouth so I couldn’t make a sound. All I could do was endure it again and again. After who knows how many rounds, I lost consciousness.
They shoved a ball into my mouth, muffling any sound. All I could do was endure it, again and again. After countless rounds, darkness swallowed me.
"Are you alright, Ethan Zhang?" Susan Li’s voice came, full of worry.
I gritted my teeth and answered.
"I’m still hanging in there. You need to sleep—try to reach my nephew in your dreams as soon as you can."
I gritted my teeth. "I’m still hanging in there. You need to sleep—try to reach my nephew in your dreams as soon as you can."
Suddenly, the door creaked open. I jumped in surprise. Someone was standing outside—it was Wang Sanlun. He stared at me silently.
After a long silence, Susan Li said nothing. I struggled to sit up, staring out through the iron bars. The night outside was eerily quiet, and I felt a strange calm.
As I stared in shock, I finally saw Wang Sanlun’s face clearly. I felt like I’d seen him before—recently, in fact. He looked just like Ouyang Yi’s brother. I realized this man calling himself Wang Sanlun closely resembled Ouyang Yi’s brother.
"He’s coming, Ethan Zhang, he’s coming." I gasped as Wang Sanlun freed me from the straitjacket, then grabbed a piece of wire and, with swift precision, unlocked my handcuffs and shackles.
"I saved you. Shouldn’t you save me once too, Ethan Zhang?"
I nodded in confusion.
"Tonight, you sleep here. I’ll sleep in your ward, alright?"
I was completely baffled.
"Aren’t you good at picking locks? Let’s escape!"
"No, absolutely not! The director will get angry, the director will get angry!" Wang Sanlun screamed. I saw his body start to swell, muscles bulging and tearing through his clothes. He completely changed, grabbed me, and shoved me into room 1042, slamming the door behind me.
I could barely breathe—he’d grabbed my neck so hard. I looked around. The ward was identical to the others, nothing unusual.
I rushed to the door. It was locked from the outside, with no handle or latch inside.
I was puzzled—how did Wang Sanlun get out? I quickly took off my clothes and touched my chest, where that hard, white thing was. The pain was so intense I nearly fainted, but I gritted my teeth and started digging at it with my fingers.
"Wang Sanlun, keep it down! It’s the middle of the night—don’t you want people to sleep?"
A voice came from next door, sounding perfectly normal.