Nightmare Onslaught - Chapter 15 - Time

He glanced out the window; the sunlight was slightly glaring, but he knew that according to previous calculations, the daylight would last no more than three hours, and half of that time had already passed.

Once night fell again, the world they were in would enter eternal darkness.

“We don’t have much time. Let’s split up and search,” Jiang Cheng turned his head to look around. “Fan Li, you’re on your own. Fatty, come with me. Move quickly, and pay special attention to things like keys. There might be clues behind the iron door on the third floor, but I’ve tried-without a key, we can’t open it with the tools we have.”

“Got it.”

Without further ado, the two groups scattered.

Since Jiang Cheng’s group had one more person, they took on the larger area of the first floor, while the second floor was left to Fan Li.

The search quickly yielded results. Jiang Cheng found a rope in an inconspicuous corner behind the staircase. The rope was tied to the corner of the corridor near the stairs on the second floor, with the other end hanging down to the ground.

Jiang Cheng ran up the stairs and found where the rope was tied on the second floor.

That spot was where he and Fatty had hidden last night, but there had been no rope there at the time.

Hearing the sound of the two coming upstairs, Fan Li also ran out of the study. “What’s going on?”

Jiang Cheng pointed to the rope.

After a while, they returned downstairs and followed the hanging rope to the other side of the living room. The door to the small room where firewood was stored was slightly ajar and opened with a push.

Fan Li’s expression suddenly changed. “Yesterday, I tied the door handle with a rope and nailed it to the wall next to the door. How is the rope gone?”

Fatty, sharp-eyed, walked in and picked up a rope from behind a stack of firewood.

The rope was cut in two, and the break was very clean.

Fan Li took it, felt it with his hand, and looked up with certainty. “It was cut by something like a dagger.”

Behind the small firewood storage room, there was another door. The firewood in front of it had been moved away, leaving an empty space.

Jiang Cheng walked over and pushed the door, but it didn’t open.

He looked through the glass on the door; this was the back of the villa.

There weren’t many fallen leaves on the ground, but because it had rained earlier, the water hadn’t dried yet, leaving the ground wet and muddy.

And on the muddy ground, there were clear tire tracks.

“It’s from that coach,” Fatty said in surprise.

But the strange thing was that the area was surrounded by forest, and there was no road for a coach to come through.

But that didn’t matter anymore. What mattered was that they now knew how Nuan-Jie and the other person had left.

Fatty followed Jiang Cheng’s lead and shook the door in front of him forcefully, but it showed no signs of opening.

“Stop shaking it,” Jiang Cheng said. “You won’t be able to open it.”

Fatty indeed stopped shaking the door but still asked, “If this door can’t be opened, how did they leave?”

Fan Li, standing behind them, suddenly spoke up. “It’s about time.”

“Time?”

“Right,” Fan Li looked at the confused Fatty and nodded. “The timing is off. Only at a specific time will that coach appear, and then the door can be opened.”

“3:07 a.m.,” Jiang Cheng said.

Fan Li looked at him with some surprise and nodded. “You figured it out too.”

“What are you guys talking about?” Fatty blinked. “What 3:07 a.m.?”

“Do you remember when Xie Yu died?” Jiang Cheng said. “I checked my watch at that time, and it showed 3:07 a.m.”

Fatty asked in astonishment, “But in this world, aren’t the watches inaccurate?”

Fan Li continued, “They are inaccurate, but at a specific moment, they become accurate. On the night Xie Yu died, when I heard that strange sound, I also checked the time.” He took out the pocket watch from his pocket and waved it in front of Fatty. “It also showed 3:07 a.m.”

“But not long ago, I just checked the time, and it showed 6:00 a.m. That means all timekeeping devices will suddenly synchronize to 3:07 a.m. at a certain moment.”

Fatty’s pupils suddenly contracted, and then, as if he had just realized something, he looked at Jiang Cheng. “So last night in the study, you were waiting for the watch to show 3:07 a.m.! Because that’s when the ghost would appear!”

Jiang Cheng’s face showed no reaction, but Fatty continued, “When the ghost didn’t come for us at that time, you went to test Nuan-Jie. And when you first saw that Nuan-Jie was still alive, that’s why you told her that Fan Li had already…”

He suddenly stopped there.

After all, Fan Li was still standing here, alive and well.

What followed was much simpler. The three returned to the living room. Jiang Cheng sat on the sofa, Fan Li stayed by the fireplace to warm himself, and Fatty took the time to cook a meal.

After eating, the three gathered together. Fan Li mentioned that he had counted six tire tracks on the ground behind the villa, meaning the coach had come three times, and they had just spent three nights in the villa.

The sky had completely darkened. Fan Li clutched the pocket watch, glancing at the time every now and then.

After what felt like an eternity, just as Fatty’s head was throbbing and he was on the verge of dozing off, Jiang Cheng suddenly said, “It’s time!”

Fan Li also stood up, tucking the pocket watch into his pocket.

Together, they made their way toward the storage room in the corner of the living room. Both Jiang Cheng and Fan Li moved cautiously, aware that they were in the final moments of their task. No one knew if the ghost might suddenly appear.

Just as they stepped into the firewood storage room, a light suddenly appeared on the open ground behind the villa.

A large coach drove over from a distance and slowly came to a stop about 20 meters away from the villa.

Fan Li took a deep breath, placed his hand on the door in front of him, and gave it a gentle push.

The door opened.

Fatty’s face was filled with excitement, and he almost burst into tears.

Fan Li stepped out first, followed by Fatty, and then Jiang Cheng.

Having been in the warmth of the villa, they were momentarily unaccustomed to the cold outside.

Fan Li turned up the collar of his leather jacket, Jiang Cheng tightened his coat, and Fatty could only hug himself tightly.

The coach door slowly opened, and the three walked over.

The same people were on the bus-the couple and the mother and child-all sitting quietly in their seats.

Guide Zheng stood on the bus, still as enthusiastic as ever. “Thank you for your patience, passengers! It’s time for us to head home now.”

“Home”-such an enticing word. Fatty couldn’t help but want to board immediately, but someone pulled him back from behind, and Fan Li stepped forward first.

Fatty turned his head and noticed Jiang Cheng calmly looking at the bus.

“What’s wrong?”

Jiang Cheng still didn’t speak.

“Passenger, don’t you want to go home?” Guide Zheng smiled warmly, slightly bowing her head. Her slender wrist revealed a beautiful rose tattoo. “If you’re late, you might not be able to go back.”