Resurgence of the Unknown

Chapter 8: The Strange Tree

Yang Jian quickened his pace, moving swiftly through the darkness.

Thud, thud, thud...

But the footsteps behind him remained steady, neither quickening nor slowing, keeping a constant distance. No matter how fast he ran, he couldn't shake the sound. Worse still, the footsteps seemed to be getting closer.

At first, the footsteps sounded like they were five or six meters behind him. Then they seemed to close in, only three meters away. Soon, they were just one meter behind him.

Yang Jian gripped his phone tightly, not daring to let the screen go dark. He was ready at any moment to play the audio file—the only thing he had that might keep the ghost at bay if it attacked again.

Every muscle in his body was tense, prepared to fight off the ghost at a moment's notice.

But contrary to what he expected, the footsteps never drew closer than one meter. They stayed at that exact distance, never moving farther away, but also never closing in for an attack.

Yang Jian's mind raced. "Is it waiting for my phone's battery to die?"

His face paled as he glanced at his phone, which now showed less than 10% battery remaining. Anxiety gnawed at him.

If the ghost was indeed waiting for his phone to die, then his death was only a matter of time. There would be no escaping it.

He checked the battery again: 7%.

"Once it drops below 5%, it could shut off at any moment."

Yang Jian cursed his earlier carelessness. Wasting his phone battery during the day was now coming back to haunt him.

"But now's not the time to dwell on that. If I don't want to die here, I have to find a way out before the battery dies. Otherwise..."

Steeling himself, Yang Jian broke into a run, heading toward the sound of dripping water that had been guiding him.

Thud, thud, thud...

The footsteps followed closely behind, relentless and unshakable. Yang Jian could almost feel the cold, oppressive air and the faint scent of decay emanating from behind him.

The ghost was like a shadow, pursuing him tirelessly.

As he sprinted with all his might, the sound of dripping water grew closer.

But then his phone screen lit up automatically.

Battery: 5%.

The screen displayed a warning: "To prevent automatic shutdown, please recharge immediately."

"Damn it," Yang Jian panted, sweat pouring down his face. He glanced at the screen, feeling his panic rising.

He was exhausted, but he couldn't afford to stop. Stopping meant certain death.

He forced himself to keep running.

Suddenly, a faint red light appeared in the distance, cutting through the darkness like a tiny ember in the night. It was weak but unmistakably there, standing out starkly against the black void.

"What... is that?"

Yang Jian's eyes widened in surprise and hope. It felt like he had just glimpsed a lifeline.

But at that very moment, his phone vibrated and the screen lit up again.

The message read: "Shutting down automatically."

Although there was still some battery left, the phone was beginning to shut down.

And as the screen went dark, Yang Jian felt a chilling presence close in behind him. The footsteps that had been trailing him suddenly drew near, almost as if the ghost was now right on top of him.