Chapter 2: Trapped

It seemed that the young couple who once lived here had been sitting at the dining table eating the takeout noodle soup when, halfway through their meal, something suddenly happened that terrified them, causing them to rush out regardless of the consequences, which resulted in one bowl of soup splashing onto the table.

In their extreme panic, they knocked over the trash can on the side, and rushed out wearing only their slippers, not bothering to change into the leather shoes and high heels they usually wore outside.

Su Li looked at the living room before him, and the scene of the couple rushing out in chaotic fear seemed to faintly appear in his mind.

But what had they encountered that made them so terrified that they rushed out, even spilling their noodle soup on the table and knocking over the trash can?

“Could it be… that a sudden flood really occurred last night? The couple discovered it and rushed out regardless of the danger. Because they rushed too quickly, the noodle soup was spilled, they didn’t have time to change their shoes, and they didn’t even close the door.”

Su Li clenched his hands tightly, his palms slowly sweating: “And because I was drunk and sleeping so deeply, I didn’t know anything. Could it be that I’m the only one left in this entire building? Everyone else has escaped?”

This thought sent a chill throughout his body, and the coldness in his heart deepened.

“No, what kind of sudden flood could submerge an entire city in half a day? That makes no sense at all.”

Although Su Li had blacked out last night, he still vaguely remembered that he had been having a late-night snack until around 1:00 AM. At that time, it wasn’t even raining. Even if he calculated from 1:00 AM, only about seven hours had passed until now. What kind of flood could submerge a modern city in less than seven hours?

Looking at the living room, Su Li did not rush in immediately. Instead, he felt an indescribable sense of eeriness, as if some terrifying monster was hiding in the living room, waiting for him to enter before suddenly rushing out to tear him to shreds.

When his eyes fell on the landline telephone on the coffee table in the living room, he jolted and cursed himself inwardly. In his panic, faced with this incredible situation, he had only thought of rushing out into the hallway to call for people, forgetting that he could also make a phone call.

Su Li didn’t have his phone on him, so he immediately returned to his own apartment, found his phone on the bedside table, and tried to contact his girlfriend, Wang Lan.

Wang Lan was two years younger than him, a local, and worked at the same company as him. Although they had known each other for over half a year, their romantic relationship had been established for less than two months. Wang Lan had not yet told her parents, so she still had to go home every night and did not live with Su Li.

He called Wang Lan’s number, but found that his phone had no signal and the call couldn’t be made at all.

It was then that he realized that with the flood reaching the 30th floor, base stations and power plants might have been submerged. It was likely that there was no signal at all.

However, Su Li was unwilling to give up and repeatedly called several numbers, including his parents’ and his best friend Li Yongsheng’s, but none of them connected.

“Is there really no signal at all?” Su Li clung to a faint hope and immediately called the emergency number, but still got no response. Cold sweat slowly broke out on his forehead. The current situation was becoming more and more troublesome.

Not only did his phone have no signal, but the wireless network connected to his phone also had no signal. WeChat and QQ on his phone were all disconnected.

He tried the light switch, and sure enough, the power was out.

Su Li then remembered the landline phone he had seen in the living room of the couple’s apartment.

His mobile phone had no signal, so what about the landline?

He did not have a landline installed, so to use one, he would have to go to the young couple’s apartment.

Su Li once again arrived at the door of the young couple’s apartment.

The security door was still open. Su Li stared at the landline phone on the living room coffee table, knowing in his heart that this phone might be as useless as his mobile phone, but he still walked inside.

Although he didn’t hold out much hope, he couldn’t pass up any possibility of contacting the outside world.

It was like a drowning person not letting go of any straw that might save their life.

Upon entering the door, Su Li smelled a peculiar odor, and his eyes fell on the trash can on the side.

He smelled a rotten odor coming from the overturned trash can.

Walking closer to the trash can, he saw some leftover food, but it was already moldy and emitting a putrid smell. Looking at the dining table, the noodles spilled on the table also had many mold spots.

Su Li stretched out his hand and felt a layer of dust on the dining table.

“If they really sensed something was wrong in the middle of the night and escaped, how could there be such a thick layer of dust on the table in just half a day, and the food wouldn’t have molded and rotted. Could it be that they have been away from home for many days?”

“Everything about this seems very wrong… this apartment…” A strange, inexplicable sense of dread slowly emerged in Su Li’s heart. He felt a fear toward the dead silent apartment, but he did not leave. Looking at the landline on the coffee table, Su Li suppressed his unease, picked up the phone, which was also covered in dust, only to find there was no dial tone.

Su Li’s heart sank, but he still pressed the emergency number, unwilling to give up.

Sure enough, there was no reaction at all.

The landline was dead.

His last sliver of hope was gone, and the strange feeling the apartment gave him grew stronger and stronger. Su Li finally couldn’t take it anymore. He threw the receiver down and rushed out.

Only when he was back in the hallway did Su Li let out a long breath. The fear in his heart diminished slightly, but the feeling of panic and helplessness grew more intense.

“What should I do now? Did everyone really evacuate? Am I the only one left here? But even if everyone left the city, why is there no signal at all? Why is this happening? What about Wang Lan? Is she safe?”

Su Li felt utterly confused. After a while, he forced himself to calm down, looked up, and saw the elevator at the end of the hallway.

The flood had completely submerged everything below the 30th floor of the building. Even if the elevator could run, he wouldn’t be able to take it down. But Su Li thought for a moment and walked over to try the elevator button. There was no reaction; clearly, the power was out, and the elevator had stopped running.

Su Li then pushed open the two wooden doors on one side of the hallway, which led to a stairwell.

He walked in and saw that the staircase leading down to the 29th floor was already submerged in water. The water surface was only about 4-5 centimeters from the 30th floor.

The water looked murky. Su Li saw plastic basins, towels, garbage bags, and other debris floating in it, and even a dead rat floating among the items.

Su Li squatted down, hesitated, and then gently touched the water in front of him with his hand. Then he drew it back, watched the drops of water drip from his fingers and fall onto the water surface, creating small ripples. Then, he took a deep breath.

(End of Chapter)