A gust of wind blew through the dark night, and I didn't know where to go.

I sat under the crooked-neck tree at the village entrance.

I took out my phone and opened the group chat with my buddies.

Me: "I just came out of the movie theater."

Leader: "?"

Third Brother: "Who are you?"

Fourth Brother: "Did someone buy Second Brother's phone number?"

Just like my mom, they had their memories tampered with and thought I was already dead.

Me: "I'm Gangzi."

Leader: "Is this a ghost? Two years ago, we personally attended Gangzi's funeral!"

Third Brother: "I left the group! It's terrifying in the middle of the night!"

Fourth Brother: "Let's create a new group with just the three of us. This impostor intentionally stole Gangzi's account."

Leader: "Making money through deceit, not afraid of retribution."

I looked at my four closest brothers, and now there was only me left.

I opened their profile pictures, took a screenshot of the morning's group messages, and sent it.

A red exclamation mark indicated: "Message sent, but rejected by the recipient."

It seemed that all traces of my existence had been completely erased.

I finally understood what the movie theater owner said—

"Staying in the movie is the best choice."

He wasn't afraid of me exposing him.

Because in this world, I was already dead.

The return of the dead would only cause panic among the living, let alone trust.

The movie theater destroyed my home and overturned my life.

Hatred spread rampantly within me.

Since I was heading towards death.

Then, I would bury the movie theater with me.

I tightly gripped the lighter in my pocket.

A thought emerged in my mind.

I walked to the entrance of the movie theater.

The festive red lanterns of the daytime once again turned into white paper lanterns.

A certain evil curse lingered around the movie theater.

The door was slightly ajar.

I walked inside.

Bang—

The door closed tightly, just like that night when I was searching for my dad.

I didn't scream, didn't shout, didn't feel fear.

With a conviction of certain death, I found the entrance to the basement at the end of the corridor.

I was going to uncover the movie theater's secret.

I walked down the narrow staircase.

The smell of burnt corpses grew stronger.

No thick smoke, no flames.

In the basement, I saw a gigantic monster as black as charcoal.

It sat in the middle of a circular altar.

Its body emitted a burnt smell mixed with the stench of decay.

Its head was covered in blood-red eyes, blinking in unison and staring at me.

My consciousness dispersed as I was pulled into an abyss devoid of light.