Aoba Office

The biting wind blew on my face, and the hot breath quickly turned cold. The inside of the mask was damp and covered with a layer of ice scum.

Vehicles passed by, their headlights illuminating the snow. The warm-colored streetlights dimmed. The rime on the street trees was dyed orange.

My feet stepped on a layer of snow, I walked quickly and entered a coffee shop.

The warm air rushed towards my face, slowly relaxing my frozen and stiff body.

The manager greeted me from behind the bar.

That sentence did not enter my consciousness.

I heard a strange ringing sound, like the crunch of ice cubes colliding.

I turned around and saw the street tree in front of the store.

Rime fell from the tree and hit the ground with the branches broken in two.

When the cold wind blew, the snowflakes flew, and the debris on the ground also flew up and hit the glass windows.

I withdrew my gaze and was about to walk to the bar when I heard another strange noise.

The faint sound seemed to be the sound of human voices.

I turned my head and saw the sofa chair by the door. There was a man sitting there, staring straight at the laptop screen in front of him without moving. He has no companions and does not appear to be in the habit of talking to himself.

I looked away.

At that moment, my body stiffened again.

I seemed to see that man transform into a woman at that moment. His face could not be seen clearly, and he was wearing blue clothes.

I moved my eyes little by little and looked at the man.

Still a man, wearing a beige sweater.

I didn't relax.

The store manager greeted again, "Hello, would you like something to drink?"

I wanted to nod, but my feet seemed to be nailed and I couldn't move. I couldn't nod because of my stiff neck.

Behind the store manager, various pictures and photos are posted on a small decorative board.

I saw a door up there with the sign "6013" hanging on it.

That is, the dormitory room number of my university dormitory.

That's a past I can't forget.

I took a step back.

When I came here the day before yesterday, I had never seen such a photo.

Just as I stared at the photo with wide eyes, the door in the photo opened a crack.

Unable to suppress it, I let out a scream, turned around and ran outside.

The snow almost made me fall.

I managed to steady my body, not daring to look back, and continued running forward.

The cold wind blew on my face, causing me severe pain. But none of this could conceal my violently beating heart.

I was out of breath from running, and cold air entered my lungs, which hurt like being pricked by needles.

I finally saw the small building where the company was located.

I rushed over and pressed the code on the electronic lock in a panic.

There was a beep sound, and the door lock opened.

I pushed the door open, looked up, and saw the glass inlaid on the door.

My face is reflected in it.

That childish face looks like that of a college student.

I let go, the door closed again, the electronic lock sounded a beep, and it was locked again.

I looked at the reflection and saw something approaching behind the reflection.

In the middle of winter, the road was covered with snow, but I heard footsteps coming from behind. It was like leather shoes falling on the marble floor, like... the footsteps I heard every night when I was in college.

I didn't dare to look back, and I didn't have the strength to run, so I just watched the figure become clear on the glass.

It was a woman, a woman in blue.

She had a face I had never seen before, but I knew immediately who she was.

She shouldn't be here!

She should be dead! It should be eliminated!

All those things...those nightmares should be over!

No……

The woman and I looked at each other and thought about recent events.

Rumors on the Internet, singing that everyone can hear, and the video of the person claiming to be a superpower...

not end yet.

They're back with a vengeance.

They probably never disappeared.

I shivered, not from the cold, but from fear.

"Shiba Sakura!"

A call brought me back to my senses.

All reflections on the glass disappeared.

My colleague came up to me and asked in confusion: "What's wrong with you? What are you doing?"

I stiffened again.

On her shoulder, there was a hand with sharp nails. It was not a human hand. The skin of that hand was green.

I followed the hand and saw its owner.

The green, monster body has a human head on it.

"Chai Ying. Chai Ying, Chai Ying..." The person's head made a sound and smiled at me.

"Wu... Wu Mingle..." I remembered her name.

She was my classmate in college and I haven’t had any contact with her since graduation. I heard her name again because of a phone call from China. She is dead. Killed by a monster.

The kind of monsters whose footsteps I heard at my graduation ceremony.

I felt something extra on my shoulder.

Sharp nails dug into my shoulder blades.

I lowered my eyes and saw the claws sticking out from behind.

I heard myself scream, but I felt no sound coming from my throat.

I threw the paws off my shoulders and ran as hard as I could.

My ankle suddenly tightened and I fell to the ground.

Looking back, I saw green claws stretching out from the snow and latching onto my ankles.

I screamed, kicking my legs.

The legs of his trousers were scratched and his shoes were ripped off. It also left a burning, sore feeling on my skin.

I finally got free and wanted to escape, but then I heard the sound of dense footsteps.

Those sounds were the footsteps of monsters.

The footprints of the cyan monster appeared on the snow.

They surrounded me and kept coming.

"No, don't... no..." I started to cry, tears welling up in my eyes and seeming to freeze on my face.

My heartbeat suddenly stopped.

The world seemed to be quiet.

The monster's footsteps also disappeared.

In the silence, I heard breathing.

A slight snoring sound, some distance away from me.

In the darkness, light comes.

My heartbeat resumed, my heart hammering against my chest.

I felt fear, but I didn't know what I was afraid of.

Until, I heard footsteps.

In the distance, there was the sound of footsteps. Feet wearing leather shoes walked down the long corridor.

The footsteps got closer and closer, and finally stopped in front of my head.

I wanted to grab something, so I grabbed the soft quilt.

I dragged the quilt, trying to hide myself.

The other end of the quilt seemed to be grabbed by someone.

My heart seemed to be paralyzed.

I told myself not to look, but I slowly straightened up and looked at the foot of the bed.

A woman stood there.

The light from the corridor came in through the ventilation window and shone on the woman's face.

It was the face of a green-skinned monster.

Chaotic sounds broke the silence.

I couldn't come to my senses for a long time. The crowds of people running in front of me and shouting for help couldn't make me pay attention.

I looked at the woman lying on the ground.

Her eyes widened, a look of fear remaining on her face.

In her eyes, the black pupils were engraved with the last scene she saw before her death.

I raised my head in a daze and looked at the snow-white street.

His eyes turned and landed on the door of the cafe not far away.

A man walked out of the coffee shop carrying a computer bag. He seemed to glance here casually.

I saw a black yin energy in him.