When I saw this, my hair stood on end, because this place was just too eerie. It didn’t feel like a normal street at all—it felt as if I had stumbled onto the Yellow Springs Road of the underworld.

I’ve lived in this city for nearly a year, and I can say I’m very familiar with the surroundings, but I swear I’ve never been on this street before. And it’s only eleven at night—not that late—so even if there aren’t many pedestrians, there should at least be some lights on in the houses nearby, right? But here, it was completely desolate, lifeless, like a dead city.

Suddenly, I noticed a street sign a few meters ahead. Looking closely, I saw the words “黄泉路” (“Yellow Springs Road”) written in large, striking characters!

“黄泉路?”

What the hell is this place?

I couldn’t help but panic. If it were just an empty street, I wouldn’t be this scared, but not only were there lanterns with the character “冥” (“netherworld”) hanging on both sides, the street sign actually said Yellow Springs Road. What the hell is going on here?

I was both shocked and terrified, even a little frantic. When you’re down on your luck, even drinking cold water can get something stuck in your teeth. I never thought that just heading home, I’d run into something this freaky. I’ve never been that brave, and suddenly encountering something like this, I just fell apart.

Could I have run into a ghost wall? Or have I really ended up in the underworld?

Since I was a kid, I’d heard the elders in my hometown say that when you’re unlucky, you might run into a ghost wall—either wandering in circles in one place, or being lured to the Yellow Springs Road of the underworld. If you’re lucky, you’ll get out by dawn; if not, you might never come back.

Thinking of this, I totally lost it. A chill ran down my spine, and I screamed in fright, then turned and bolted back the way I came.

I ran for over ten minutes before I was too out of breath to keep going. When I looked up, I was so scared I almost cried—after running for so long, it seemed like I hadn’t moved at all. The creepy lanterns still hung on both sides of the street, and the same street sign stood ahead, reading: 黄泉路…

My legs went weak with fear. I knew I’d really run into a ghost wall—otherwise, how could I not get out? After I parted ways with that lunatic Michael Bolton on the overpass, I’d only walked for about ten minutes. Now, after running back for over ten minutes, I should have been back at the overpass, but I was still stuck in this haunted place.

The fear in my heart spread and grew rapidly, and finally, I started running forward again.

After another ten minutes or so, I was completely exhausted and finally stopped. But when I looked up, I was still in that same creepy place. Staring at the white lanterns and the street sign that read Yellow Springs Road, I collapsed to the ground, utterly hopeless…

“Eric Brooks… Eric Brooks…”

As I sat there slumped on the ground, I suddenly heard, faintly, someone behind me calling my name.

The voice was carried on the night wind, sometimes near, sometimes far, barely audible, but it sent a chill down my spine. Did I mishear?

“Eric Brooks… Er Gou…”

I frowned. This time, I was sure—they were calling my name. Not only that, but the voice sounded vaguely familiar.

Who could be calling me?

Back in my hometown, I often heard the elders say that if you hear someone calling your name in the middle of the night, you must never answer casually. They said it could be a ghost trying to lure your soul away, and whoever answers will have their soul taken.

Thinking of this, I didn’t dare respond right away. I just quickly turned to look in the direction of the voice—and what I saw nearly scared me to death. Two people were walking down the creepy street toward me, and they were none other than the deceased Old Smith and Little Clark!

Chapter 10: The Name Sounds Familiar

The moment I saw that the ones calling my name were Old Smith and Little Clark, I jumped up from the ground in terror, nearly losing my soul.

I’m not an idiot—they both died two days ago, so the Old Smith and Little Clark in front of me must be ghosts.

I was already scared out of my wits by this creepy street, and now, seeing the dead Old Smith and Little Clark, how could I not be scared half to death? I let out a scream, knowing they must have come to claim my life, and that the ghost wall I’d run into was their doing.

Last time, Little Clark almost dragged me down with him. If I hadn’t been lucky and gotten that call from Captain Smith at just the right moment, I would have died in a car accident and he would have succeeded. I never thought they’d come for me again today. If they caught me this time, how could I possibly survive?

Thinking of this, I tried to run, but I was so terrified that my legs had already gone weak and wouldn’t obey me.

I could only watch helplessly as Old Smith and Little Clark walked toward me, while I was paralyzed with fear, trembling all over, my legs shaking so badly I could barely stand.