L'affaire du messager fantôme - Le récit d'une âme qui quitte son corps

Chapitre 18

741111＝＝ Hell Whether out of fear or excitement, Ye Xiao felt beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He quickly opened Kingsoft PowerWord on his computer and typed in the word "hell". Besides "hell", the English word "hell" also has meanings such as "suffering, the underworld, people in hell, scolding, excessive drinking, speeding, and damn it".

The room was as quiet as a tomb, save for the continuous night rain outside the window, which surged into his heart like a tide. Ye Xiao slowly picked up his pen and once again wrote down the same set of numbers on the paper—"741111".

This number not only comes from hell, but in fact, it means "hell" itself.

Hell SMS?

Midnight, a quiet girls' dormitory.

Outside the dark window, a cold winter rain was falling. Spring Rain listened quietly to the sound against the glass. Her name contained the character "rain," because she was born in the spring drizzle. So, from a young age, she loved listening to the sound of rain through the window, its rhythm sometimes sparse, sometimes dense, like a whisper from heaven.

Chunyu sat alone on the upper bunk. She had just replaced the battery in her phone, listening to the rain outside the window while her eyes were fixed on the blue screen of her phone.

Date added: 2005-02-18 12:38:28

It's exactly twelve o'clock.

The text message ringtone went off right on time.

It was that mysterious number again, and that text message again—"You have entered the 6th level of hell. After leaving Jamaica Inn, you will choose: 1. Pet Cemetery; 2. Lanruo Temple; 3. Dracula's Castle; 4. Hell Cafe."

Chunyu immediately noticed "Pet Cemetery," a place she hadn't seen before, and the name was quite unique. So, without hesitation, she chose "1: Pet Cemetery."

In the following text messages, Chunyu moved into a house by the roadside. Behind the road was a dense, shady forest, and within that forest was a special cemetery where the pets of nearby residents were buried. Chunyu had a beautiful cat, which was tragically hit and killed by a car one day. She buried the cat in the soil behind the pet cemetery. However, the next morning, the cat knocked on her door…

What happened next completely exceeded Chunyu's expectations, ultimately turning into an extremely terrifying story, which she was unaware of.

The original author of this story is Stephen King.

After Chunyu narrowly escaped death in the "pet cemetery," she realized her back was completely soaked with cold sweat. Still shaken, she looked out the window; the sound of rain in the dark night seemed to be a mournful lament, as if the corpse of some animal or person was buried downstairs.

But she didn't stop there. Instead, she went back to the initial text message and selected "4: Hell Cafe". Sure enough, Chunyu entered the hell chat room again and discovered a series of strange nicknames.

Then a new text message came in—"Mazzolini wants to talk to you. You will choose 1: Agree; 2: Disagree."

She immediately thought of the name "Mazzolini," wasn't that the Italian painter? Chunyu felt a little curious and replied "1: Agreed."

A few seconds later, she received a reply—Mazzolini: Hello, Twig, do you know where you are?

Xiaozhi? Spring Rain was no longer unfamiliar to her; that was her nickname. She immediately replied, "I think I'll be passing the sixth level of hell soon."

Mazzolini: Aren't you scared?

Spring Rain: And you? Are you scared?

Mazzolini: Please don't talk to me like that, I am the guardian of hell.

Spring Rain: The Guardian of Hell? Do you know what the 19th level of hell is?

Mazzolini: Of course I know.

Spring Rain: Then tell me quickly.

Mazzolini: The ultimate secret will only be revealed when you pass through the first 18 levels of hell and enter the 19th level.

Spring Rain: What if I don't get through the previous layers of hell?

Mazzolini: Then all you'll see is the phrase "". Chunyu immediately thought of the night Qingyou had her accident. Then, trembling, she typed out a sentence with her thumb: "Qingyou did this because she didn't pass through hell?"

However, after Chunyu sent the text message, she didn't receive a reply from Mazzolini, but rather the last text message of the night—"You have passed through the 6th level of hell and entered the 7th level."

The rain continued.

Chunyu got up before seven o'clock.

Although the mysterious chat in the middle of the night kept her up almost all night, she still tried to stay awake. She dressed up in front of the mirror and chose a more formal outfit from her wardrobe, making her look quite mature and charming.

Because she's going for a job interview today.

It's the information service company I saw in the newspaper yesterday, mainly engaged in SMS and MMS services, what the industry calls "...". If I can get the job this time, it will not only be a successful social practice, but also very helpful for completing my graduation thesis, and it will also be a good work experience in the future. Chunyu has prepared all the application materials, and in order to prepare for her graduation thesis, she has also conducted research on the current SMS business in the industry. These are all advantages for her application.

In the morning, Chunyu finished all her preparations and, for the first time in days of gloom, regained some of her confidence. In the cold winter rain, she walked out of the university gates, holding an umbrella, and entered the subway station leading to the city center.

The strange love story circulating in the subway about the abandoned apartment made Chunyu feel a chill as she walked on the platform. Clutching the documents to her chest, she kept glancing around, as if she could truly see the ghost that haunted the place.

Chunyu boarded a subway train, crowded and noisy, with wet umbrellas constantly brushing against her, forcing her to carefully protect her clothes. She stood facing the window, where a blonde girl in front of her was engrossed in her phone, surrounded by the incessant ringing of text message notifications.

Suddenly, Chunyu's phone rang with a text message. In the swaying, crowded carriage, she finally managed to pull out her phone and saw it was a message from Gao Xuan: "Are you free this afternoon?"

Chunyu's heart raced again. She hesitated for a moment, then pressed her thumb: "I'm free." After waiting for a minute, she received Gao Xuan's reply: "I'll text you again when I get to your dorm at 3 p.m.

Looking at the somewhat impulsive text message, Chunyu pouted. Just then, they arrived at their stop, and she desperately squeezed through the crowd, rushing out before the train doors closed.

Chunyu took a few breaths, straightened her clothes and hair, and walked out of the subway station. Her destination was an office building several dozen stories high, just across from the station exit.

She folded her umbrella, took the elevator to the 19th floor, and found the information service company.

The place was smaller than she had imagined. In the cramped entryway, several girls around her age sat on chairs; they were also there for job interviews. Chunyu seemed to be late; she could only stand at the door, waiting for the people in line ahead of her.

Chunyu was truly surprised by this situation. Could they possibly be college students? Thinking of her senior classmates who hadn't found jobs since graduation, Chunyu couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

The interviews seemed to be going by quickly, with applicants constantly emerging from the small rooms, most looking disappointed. Chunyu waited quietly at the door as several girls with strong perfumes walked past her, making her instinctively cover her nose.

Finally, it's spring rain's turn.

She tidied her hair, smiled, and walked into the room. It was a small room with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a view of the towering skyscrapers outside. There was only a desk facing her, where a man of about thirty sat. He was wearing a sharp suit, his skin was slightly dark, and his demeanor resembled that of a "returned student" (someone who had studied abroad).