Resurgence of the Unknown

Chapter 36: Growing Pains

From the moment Wang Bin hung up the phone, he felt as though each passing second was an eternity. He could hear the sound of the front door opening and had the unsettling sense that something had entered the living room. The occasional noise of objects being disturbed only heightened his anxiety.

It was as if a mischievous child was playing in the living room, curiously toying with the objects inside. But each sound sent a jolt of fear through Wang Bin's heart. Knowing that the little figure from before might be in the living room, separated by just one wall, filled him with a deep, inexplicable terror.

He didn't dare open the door, nor did he even want to approach it, fearing that the child would suddenly appear outside his room.

But staying passive forever wasn't an option. Eventually, they would have to confront whatever was out there. As the noises in the living room ceased, it seemed the child had grown bored with the toys and knick-knacks and was now moving closer, its footsteps becoming more pronounced until they stopped just outside the bedroom door.

"It's here. It's coming in. Dad, Mom, you need to leave! It's here for me; I can feel it. You have to go, please!" Wang Shanshan's voice trembled with emotion as she sensed the ghostly infant drawing near.

"Sweetie, what are you saying? How could your mom leave you behind?" Wang Haiyan wiped away her tears, her voice thick with emotion. "Honey, what's outside? If it comes in, we'll fight it together!"

Wang Bin snapped out of his fear at his wife's words. He suppressed his terror and began searching for something he could use, finally settling on a coat rack. He braced himself, ready to swing at whatever came through the door, determined to protect his family at all costs.

"No, Dad, don't! The officer said you can't kill a ghost. We need Yang Jian—he's the only one who can help us, the only one who can save us," Wang Shanshan pleaded, trying to stop Wang Bin's actions.

But Wang Haiyan held her tightly. "I've already called Yang Jian. I agreed to pay him 500,000 yuan to help us. He should be on his way... Don't worry, everything will be okay," Wang Bin said, his voice trembling with tension.

At that moment, the door lock clicked. The safety latch was undone, and the doorknob slowly began to turn. With a soft creak, the door opened just a crack.

The gap widened... and then a child's head poked through. A pair of eerie, black eyes without pupils peered into the room, fixating on Wang Shanshan with a malevolent, unnatural gaze.

"Ahhh!" Wang Haiyan and Wang Shanshan screamed in terror.

"Damn it, get away!" Wang Bin, driven by his duty as a husband and father, summoned all his courage and shouted as he swung the coat rack at the ghostly child.

But the ghost baby ignored Wang Bin entirely. Moving with an unnervingly fast and unnatural speed, it skittered along the wall and then lunged at Wang Shanshan, its mouth opening impossibly wide.

Its gaping maw was devoid of a tongue or any recognizable anatomy—just a black void, as if anything swallowed by it would disappear forever.

It intended to swallow Wang Shanshan whole.

Wang Bin's eyes widened with fear and rage, helpless to stop what was happening.

Wang Shanshan and her mother clung to each other, screaming in horror.

But just then, the room's light flickered, turning blood red. The light bulb seemed to transform into a glowing red eye, and the room was suddenly filled with an ominous atmosphere.

"Bang!" The ghost infant was sent flying, crashing heavily against the wardrobe.

Yang Jian stepped out of the corner of the bedroom, holding his phone. His body glowed with a red light, and on his face and the back of his hand were several crimson eyes, each one rotating slightly, all focused on the ghost infant that had been knocked back.