An Unusual Life Beginning with Evil Spirits-Chapter 141 : I’m Behind You

Volume 4: High School Arc - “I” Come to Find You~
"Looking for me... Fck! If you dare come for me, I’ll kill you!"
Maybe it was because I was too scared, I flew into a rage and cursed viciously.
Only then did I carry my briefcase and head toward the old building.
The building was very old, probably around fifteen to twenty years, and it didn’t have an elevator.
Unfortunately, I had rented a unit on the fifth floor.
But it wasn’t a big problem.
I was young, after all, so it wasn’t a big deal.
I went upstairs, took out my key, opened the old security door, and pushed open the inner door.
Looking at this familiar yet unfamiliar apartment, I took a deep breath.
"Better take some medicine quickly. I’m really sick today, or else I wouldn’t be feeling all this sense of wrongness."
Back at home, I finally relaxed a lot.
I had been forcing myself to hold on, and once I let go, I immediately felt that my body was extremely heavy.
I took off my clothes and tossed them onto the washing machine.
I didn’t have the energy to deal with any of that.
I’d wait until I got better.
I rushed through a shower, took some medicine, and lay down on the bed.
My already relaxed mind, combined with this heavy body, and the cold... had drained me completely.
As soon as I lay down and closed my eyes, the world instantly drifted away...
Just as I was sleeping comfortably, I was rudely disturbed by a burst of ringing.
Instinctively, I reached out and groped around, but after fumbling for a while, I still couldn’t find my phone.
That irritated me enough to open my eyes.
"It’s dark?"
As I opened my eyes, I couldn’t help but mutter, then instinctively looked up at the clock on the wall.
"Twelve... o’clock?"
Why did it feel like it was this exact time yesterday...
Ah, right!
I got a call at midnight yesterday.
Right!!!
The phone!
I suddenly jolted awake, all drowsiness vanished, and goosebumps crawled all over my body.
This old neighborhood wasn’t exactly a bustling area, and at this time of night, it was eerily quiet.
I turned to glance at the building outside the window.
All the lights had long since been turned off.
It was pitch black, completely lifeless.
The phone was still ringing, and I couldn’t help but start feeling afraid.
I looked up at the clock on the wall again.
It was definitely midnight.
The phone...
Right!
I left the phone in the living room.
Through the open door, I looked toward the living room.
It was... dim, like an abyss, dark enough to make one’s skin crawl.
And... for some reason, I felt like something in that endless darkness was watching me.
I took a deep breath and reached out to turn on the desk lamp.
But... it didn’t light up.
That made me freeze for a moment.
I instinctively looked out the window and only then realized that even the street lights were out.
"So there’s a power outage?"
I thought to myself and got out of bed.
Though fear lingered in my heart, I kept trying to calm myself down.
"There’s no such thing as monsters or ghosts in this world. It’s all just people scaring themselves."
Trying to soothe myself, I stood up, pretending to be calm, and walked toward the door with anxious determination.
Nothing happened.
I made it to the living room smoothly.
The moment I stepped into the living room, I saw my phone glowing on the table.
The ringtone was coming from there.
Gathering my courage, gritting my teeth, I stepped forward.
"Could it be that same guy from last night again? Damn it! Who the hell is it?"
Muttering to boost my courage, I walked over to the table.
In the living room, this was the only source of light, but it didn’t illuminate much.
As my eyes moved, I gradually saw the number on the screen clearly.
"Supervisor?"
Seeing the contact name on the phone, I hurried to pick it up.
I couldn’t ignore a call from the supervisor!
As soon as I answered, my supervisor’s voice came through.
"Hey, Little Zhang? Why did you take so long to answer?"
"Eh eh eh, Supervisor, did you need something?"
"Ah, not much. Just wanted to check if you’ll need to take a day off tomorrow. I heard you were pretty sick. If you can’t make it, I’ll arrange for a day off for you."
A day off?
I frowned slightly and assessed my condition.
My body felt fine, and my energy level was decent.
It seemed the cold medicine had kicked in.
After thinking it over, I agreed to take a sick day.
"Alright then. Sorry for the trouble, Supervisor."
Although I felt much better, my nose was still stuffed, and my throat was a little sore.
"Eh, good then. Take a proper rest tomorrow, and come back to work the day after."
"Eh eh, sorry to trouble you."
"Alright, hang up now."
As the words were spoken, the call was ended.
After hanging up, I no longer felt much fear.
Sure enough, that call from last night had to be a prank!
"I don’t even know which bastard was so bored to make random calls!"
Grumbling, I took my phone and returned to the bedroom.
I didn’t head to bed right away but went to the water dispenser first to pour a cup of water.
While walking toward the bed, I lifted my head and took a sip.
And that glance—if I hadn’t looked up, it would’ve been fine.
But as soon as I did, my gaze instinctively landed on the clock hanging on the wall.
What the...
It was still twelve o'clock!!!
No matter how short that call was, some time should’ve passed already!!
But... but why was it still twelve o'clock on the clock!?
Instinctively, I thought maybe the clock's battery had died.
But when I focused and squinted at the clock, I suddenly noticed—the second hand was still moving!!
And the time... was actually...
11:59!?
Watching the second hand tick... tick toward twelve, I stood there frozen.
"Could it be... was that just an illusion?"
Just as I thought that, the phone in my hand suddenly vibrated, and the ringtone blared once more.
Instinctively, I looked down at the phone—and to my shock—it was that same number again!!
14444444444!!
In an instant, the air around me turned icy cold.
I shivered involuntarily.
As the fear surged through me, a sudden burst of rage flared up in my chest!
I grabbed the phone!
Immediately answered the call, held it to my face, and roared.
"Who the hell are you!! Are you out of your damn mind!! Calling in the middle of the goddamn night!! If you keep this up! I swear I’ll call the cops!!"
The moment the call connected, I just let loose a furious tirade.
Whoever was calling had to be nuts!
Using a virtual number just to prank people!
Definitely some punks pulling a prank.
Along the way, I also threw in a threat to call the police—see if that scared them.
However... when I stopped yelling, the other end of the line was completely silent.
So silent... not even a trace of background noise could be heard.
"Why aren’t you talking now!! Say something, damn it!"
Though I cursed out loud, deep down, I started to feel a little uneasy.
Just then, while I was feeling confused, suddenly—a voice came through from the other side of the call.
"I found you."
In that instant!
A wave of cold shot up my spine and spread through my whole body.
Goosebumps burst out everywhere!
My eyes went wide!
Not just... because of those four simple words, but because...
That voice had a double echo!!
Most importantly!
The source of the echo... was right behind me!!!
In that moment, my whole body went rigid.
Something was behind me... something... was behind me!
Gulp.
My throat moved on its own, and wave after wave of chill crept over me from behind.
Just as the fear made my scalp tingle, the voice on the phone spoke again.
The sound from the phone was in my left ear.
But that raspy echoing voice... was in my right ear...
"I’m... behind you."