Realm of the Night God

The game that nobody wanted to continue, naturally, quickly came to an end. After Song Laoyao left the gaming table, he grumbled all the way.

The other three listened, not saying much, but each feeling quite uncomfortable. The reason for their silence wasn't that they didn't want to provoke Song Laoyao, a lunatic. They were well aware of the kind of person he was. They had no intention of playing cards with him, but couldn't resist his repeated invitations. They didn't expect to win much money from Song Laoyao, just wanted to take the opportunity to fleece the other three, but in the end, only Song Laoyao ended up losing.

Although the debts were settled, Song Laoyao's mood remained sour. After all, he had lost all the money he brought with him.

This sum of money was his deceased wife's one-month salary. Due to his wife's death, he went to her employer to collect her salary and managed to extract a bit extra.

His late wife's salary wasn't high, and the extra amount he squeezed from her employer was just a few hundred yuan. When combined with his own earnings, it wasn't a substantial sum.

However, if he managed it wisely, saved some, it could have been enough to sustain him and his child in the slums for a month. Unfortunately, he didn't do that. Instead, he lost it all in a single day.

The slums were quiet in the late night; those who needed to wake up early had already entered the realm of dreams.

People who played cards all night were indoors, not disturbing the peace of the slums.

Those who finished work late were already exhausted; their steps were light and silent, devoid of the energy for any commotion.

Only the heavily intoxicated drunks might occasionally create a ruckus, shattering the quiet of the slums in the late night.

"Damn, today is really unlucky. I've never been so unlucky playing mahjong. Could it be that damn woman is causing trouble behind my back? Is she back looking for me?"

Song Laoyao swayed as he walked, his body swaying, muttering to himself.

When he spoke these words, there was no trace of fear on his face. Instead, a mocking expression appeared.

Even though it was the seventh day since his wife's death, according to superstition, tonight was supposed to be her soul-returning night. However, he never believed in ghosts and deities. So, naturally, he didn't believe his wife would come back to find him.

The reason he muttered these words to himself was solely because he was in a bad mood after losing money. Whatever came to his mind, he felt like venting against it, like mocking it.

But what struck him as strange was that after uttering these words, he suddenly felt a chill behind him, causing him to involuntarily shiver.

"Damn, what season is it? It's still so cold at night."

Cursing, Song Laoyao tightened his clothes. At this moment, he suddenly noticed that the slums tonight were unusually quiet.

"It's really damn strange. Usually, at this time, you can still see one or two drunks. What's going on today? Did all the drunks die?"

After muttering, Song Laoyao somehow felt even colder. This inexplicable chill made him puzzled, and as a person who didn't believe in ghosts and deities, it also sent a shiver down his spine.

He instinctively stopped walking, looked around, but everything was pitch-black. The slums had no streetlights. People living here at night either had their own lights or relied entirely on fate. If there was moonlight, they used it; if not, they went by feel.

Song Laoyao never carried a lamp when walking the night roads. According to him, he was so familiar with this place that he could walk home even with his eyes closed.

However, tonight he found that his eyes weren't as effective as usual. Even though he could usually navigate in the dark without moonlight or lights, tonight he almost stumbled several times.

It didn't seem like he was tripping over something. Instead, it felt like... like someone was grabbing his feet!

A creepy feeling crawled over him. Song Laoyao took out a box of cigarettes from his pocket. These were good quality cigarettes, and their price was not low. Even white-collar workers with decent salaries would hesitate to smoke such expensive cigarettes, let alone the impoverished. However, to conceal his poverty and incompetence, Song Laoyao would rather pretend to be well-off and smoke these cigarettes. He had been doing this for many years.

This pack of cigarettes could cover his family's expenses for a day. While it might not include lavish meals, it was definitely better than most people in the slums.

Moreover, Song Laoyao needed two packs of these cigarettes a day. One pack was simply not enough. During card games, he might even buy three or four packs!

He lit the last cigarette from the pack, took a deep drag, but the creepy feeling in his heart not only didn't dissipate, it intensified.

"For heaven's sake! What's going on tonight? Everything feels strange everywhere!"

After cursing to boost his own courage, Song Laoyao quickly took out his mobile phone and turned on the flashlight.

The illumination from the flashlight made the road clear under his feet. However, this action didn't enhance his sense of security; instead, it made him feel more uncertain!

He always felt like someone was watching him from behind!

But whenever he turned around to look, there was nothing behind him except for pitch darkness.

Increasing his pace, Song Laoyao, due to his lack of stamina, gradually began to pant. In the silent night, apart from his breathing, there was no other sound. Even the usual nightly insect chirping was absent.

The bugs that usually kept people awake with their incessant noise seemed to have collectively disappeared tonight, not making the slightest sound!

The house Song Laoyao rented was in the most remote corner of the slums. He chose this place because the rent here was much cheaper than anywhere else in the slums. So, he decisively chose this location.

As for whether it was far or secluded, he never cared. In his mind, he didn't care about these two points at all. After all, it wasn't him going to work, so a bit of distance didn't matter. Besides, there was nothing valuable in his home to steal, so he wasn't worried about burglary due to the remote location.

Describing his home as "four walls and nothing more" would be appropriate. Even the most skillful thief entering his home would leave empty-handed.

Because the rented house was too remote, Song Laoyao walked for quite a while and still hadn't reached home. Moreover, as he got closer to his rented house, the surrounding buildings gradually diminished.

In the end, he couldn't see any houses around him. In the dark night, only Song Laoyao was walking alone, using the flashlight on his mobile phone to hurry along the road!

Somehow, the fearless Song Laoyao, at this moment, felt an indescribable fear in his heart!