Those Years When I Was an Exorcist - Chapter 4

Brother Wei had been set up.

As soon as he stepped inside the roller shutter door, everything went black. A heavy blow to the head knocked him unconscious.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself in complete darkness. Reaching out, he discovered he was trapped inside a refrigerator.

No matter how hard he pushed, the door wouldn’t budge. It wasn’t until he heard me calling his name that he frantically began banging on the refrigerator door.

After hearing his story, I remained skeptical, though logically, he had no reason to lie to me. If he had intended to steal something, why go through such an elaborate scheme?

But the whole situation was so bizarre that I stared wide-eyed for a long moment, unable to process it.

Seeing my disbelief, he grew frantic, swearing vehemently, “Brother, I swear on my life! If I’m lying about even half a word…”

“Enough, enough,” I cut him off. “We have more urgent matters to attend to. Did you see Seventh Brother? Ding Qi?”

He shook his head blankly. Damn it, I thought. We found one only to lose the other.

Without wasting another moment, I said, “If you’re tired, go back to the duty room and rest. I need to find Seventh Brother!”

Hearing that Seventh Brother had disappeared while searching for him, he shook his head vigorously. “No, I’m not tired! I’ll come with you!”

Seventh Brother had gone missing on the -2 level, and his phone remained switched off.

The thought that the second basement level was a blind spot for surveillance brought only one memory to mind: the Taoist priest.

Reflecting on the day’s events, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was deeply amiss.

Though Seventh Brother, Brother Wei, and I were strangers who had met by chance, our paths crossing felt like fate.

For that reason alone, I felt compelled to investigate. After discussing it with Brother Wei, we decided to check the first-floor security office first to see if Seventh Brother had returned.

Perhaps he was simply avoiding calls for personal reasons.

We descended to the security office on the first floor, but the room was empty. Seventh Brother wasn’t there.

As we turned to leave, I noticed something odd: the surveillance monitors were off.

“Who turned off the monitors? Could he have been here?” Brother Wei asked.

That seemed the only logical explanation. I immediately tried calling Seventh Brother again, but he still didn’t answer.

I quickly reactivated the surveillance system and began cycling through the camera feeds, scanning from the first basement level to the seventh floor. Suddenly, a dark figure caught my eye on one of the adjacent screens.

I leaned in closer. The footage showed a man wandering around the unused shipping containers on the seventh floor.

The moment I saw his silhouette and clothing, I knew it was Seventh Brother.

Seventh Brother’s actions on the screen were utterly bizarre. He gestured wildly in the air, muttering to himself as if engaged in a conversation.

But he was facing rows of plastic mannequins lined up by the door.

A chill ran down my spine as I watched, and my hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Brother Wei beside me was in no better shape, frantically tugging at his hair. “Has this bastard been possessed?” he exclaimed.

Before the words had even left his mouth, an even more terrifying scene unfolded. As if Seventh Brother had heard us or had eyes in the back of his head, sensing we were watching him through the camera, he froze instantly, his hand suspended mid-air, completely motionless.

On the screen, Seventh Brother stood with his back to the camera, his posture mirroring that of the mannequins perfectly.

He remained frozen in this pose for a full five minutes.

During that time, Brother Wei and I barely dared to breathe.

On the screen, Seventh Brother looked indistinguishable from the plastic mannequins. Their poses were identical; without a closer look, you’d never guess he was a living person.

“Should I go check on him?” Brother Wei asked cautiously. “See if he’s gone mad or something?”

I considered the situation. We couldn’t just stand here. How could a lively, energetic man suddenly transform into a mannequin?

I was about to nod in agreement when Seventh Brother’s head on the screen twitched.

Brother Wei, standing beside me, erupted in anger, cursing, “That bastard’s definitely playing a prank! He scared the sh1t out of me…”

Before he could finish, I realized something was wrong.

Seventh Brother’s head was turning, but his body remained motionless, still facing forward. His head rotated more than ninety degrees, almost twisting behind his shoulder.

A normal person’s head could never twist that far. A chill shot up my spine, and I felt a wave of dread wash over me.

Looking closer, I saw Seventh Brother’s head seemed stuck at that extreme angle, unable to turn further.

He looked like a wind-up wooden puppet, repeatedly twisting his head, each attempt more violent than the last.

This couldn’t end well. I grabbed the microphone and shouted, “Seventh Brother, stop messing around! You’re going to hurt yourself!”

But he ignored me. After countless attempts, there was a sharp crack, and his head snapped around completely, collapsing limply onto his chest.

Brother Wei and I screamed in unison, our voices echoing through the building via the microphone.

Even if Seventh Brother had been alive, that final snap would have killed him instantly.

His neck was twisted at an unnatural angle, his head dangling almost against his chest.

“He’s dead, right? See? It’s not my fault. The idiot killed himself.”

Brother Wei’s words immediately rubbed me the wrong way.

If I hadn’t been looking for him, Seventh Brother might still be sitting safe and sound in the security booth.

I wanted to snap back at him, but I held my tongue.

Right now, my eyes were glued to the screen, and I was puzzled. If the man was truly dead, why was he still standing upright?

Just then, Seventh Brother’s head, hanging against his chest, twitched slightly.

I thought I was seeing things, but when I looked again, the head remained still.

A wave of sadness washed over me. Just a security guard, I thought. He killed himself on his first night shift. How could someone be so desperate?

I turned to Brother Wei. “We need to report this. Someone’s dead!”

Brother Wei sighed and was about to agree when his eyes suddenly locked onto the screen, transfixed.

Confused, I followed his gaze to the monitor and froze in shock.

Seventh Brother’s head was slowly lifting, his face tilting upward until his eyes met mine. In that instant, my mind went blank, as if my entire being had been struck by lightning.

Seventh Brother’s face transformed into a ghastly, plastic mask, his eyes now hollow black pits that stared fixedly at me, as if trying to suck me in.

Into that bottomless, pitch-black abyss.

Brother Wei and I didn’t dare breathe, clinging to a sliver of hope that he couldn’t possibly have noticed us watching him.

But the next moment, Seventh Brother began to laugh.

A rigid smile stretched across his plastic face, the corners of his mouth cracking toward his ears, fragments flaking off as the grin widened.

The laughter grew louder until, with a snap, his jaw detached, revealing only his stark white teeth.

Terrified, I frantically shut off the monitor.

The screen went dark, then flickered back on. Seventh Brother’s head shot up, his face looming closer, growing larger.

Now I could see it clearly: half of his plastic mask was pressed against the screen.

I slammed the power button again, but the monitor refused to turn off, remaining stubbornly lit.

This was truly a living nightmare.

Fortunately, Brother Wei yanked out the power cord. Without electricity, the monitor finally went dark.

Only then did I exhale, relief washing over me. It was then I realized I was drenched in cold sweat.

“What do we do? We’re cursed!” Brother Wei paced frantically back and forth across the floor. At that moment, I felt safer in the duty room than anywhere else.

To be honest, I’d never encountered anything this bizarre in my entire life. Despite my military training, I struggled to maintain a calm facade, my heart pounding in my chest.

“What do we do? What do we do? He’s definitely coming for us…” Brother Wei continued pacing and muttering, his words sending shivers down my spine.

“Didn’t you learn Iron Sand Palm? When he comes, you two can have a friendly spar!” I said, glancing around for a place to hide.

Just then, the monitor flickered back to life—even though the power cord had been unplugged. The screen showed Seventh Brother sprinting down from the seventh floor. His head flew ahead, while his headless body followed close behind, arms outstretched.

The sight was terrifyingly beautiful, sending a chill down my spine.

He didn’t take the elevator; the hallway cameras captured his descent clearly.

His head had already reached the fifth floor, while his body was still stumbling down the sixth. The stiff legs refused to bend, making his progress agonizingly slow. He finally crashed to the ground with a thud, then struggled for what seemed like an eternity to get back on his feet.

By the time his body reached the sixth floor, his head had already flown down to the fifth, then the fourth…

I couldn’t hold back any longer. Just as I was about to hide under the bed, Brother Wei yanked me away. I tried to squeeze past him, but he raised his thick Iron Sand Palm, threatening to strike me.

I was furious. I just saved your ass, and now you’re repaying kindness with malice?

Fine, take the VIP spot. I’m getting out of here.

As soon as I was out the door, I realized I couldn’t go upstairs. That left only one option: downstairs.

I was halfway down the stairs when I heard the shattering of glass, followed by a bloodcurdling scream.

I didn’t dare look back. It was definitely Brother Wei who’d met his end. I silently thanked my lucky stars I hadn’t hidden under the bed.

Panic made my steps clumsy. The dim lighting didn’t help. I missed a step and tumbled down the remaining stairs, sliding and crashing all the way.

The fall left me bruised and aching all over. I forced myself to stand, but when I looked ahead, all I saw was pitch darkness.

I fumbled for my flashlight, only to realize I’d forgotten it in my haste. Thankfully, I had my phone and quickly activated its flashlight mode.

The phone’s weak beam barely illuminated the path ahead, but I could just make out two dark figures standing motionless side by side.

There shouldn’t be anyone here, I thought. Who in their right mind would stand at the parking garage exit? That’s practically suicide!

I felt my hair standing on end. Summoning my courage, I asked, “Who’s there?”

The two figures remained motionless, offering no response.

A small breeze rustled them, making a papery sound. I quickly shone my phone’s light on them and nearly collapsed in terror.

Two paper figures—a red-clad man and a green-clad woman—stared back with stark white faces, nearly scaring my soul out of my body.

But as I stumbled backward and fell to the ground, I realized the figures looked strangely familiar.

Forcing myself to focus, I studied them closely and instantly recognized them.