Mysterious Awakening

Wei Qun, the owner of a local mobile phone store, is a seasoned practitioner of deception. Over time, he’s cleverly misled many unsuspecting customers with his crafty sales tactics. Yet recently, Wei Qun has begun distancing himself from such manipulative techniques.

His shift in approach was not due to physical ailments like hemorrhoids or constipation from prolonged sitting as one might assume. Rather, it’s prompted by a recurring melody that only he could hear.

One particular afternoon… while engaged in a phone repair, Wei Qun’s brow furrowed in thought. He asked his apprentice, Xiao Zheng, “Can you hear that sound?”

Xiao Zheng responded in bafflement, “Boss, I don’t hear anything. What sound are you referring to?”

“There’s a melody in my head,” Wei Qun explained, his tone laced with perplexity. “It feels strangely familiar.”

Recognizing Wei Qun’s distress, Xiao Zheng suggested, “Perhaps your recent issue is acting up, Boss. It might be wise to see a doctor.”

“I already did,” Wei Qun responded, “They reassured me it’s psychological and nothing serious. They advised me to stay relaxed, keep a positive mindset, eat and drink regularly, and indulge myself occasionally.”

With a far-off look in his eyes, he added, “And yet, there it is again…”

Shutting his eyes to better concentrate on the elusive tune, Wei Qun began to hum along softly.

Xiao Zheng remained confused by his boss’s actions. “Boss, I still don’t hear anything,” he said.

Suddenly, the humming of a nearby song broke into their conversation. Startled, Wei Qun exclaimed, “Listen! The melody is becoming louder!”

However, Xiao Zheng, still trying to understand, pointed out, “Boss, it’s not the melody. It’s a customer who’s singing.”

The customer, Miles, had casually taken a seat at the counter, playing a song from his phone titled “Cool.” Sporting a playful smile, he asked, “Do you appreciate music, boss?”

Realization lit up Wei Qun’s face. “Yes, that’s it! That’s the tune I’ve been hearing! But how did you know?”

Surprised to see Miles, Wei Qun sprang to his feet, gesturing wildly, then fell to his knees, “I… I was wrong big brother, please have mercy!”

But Miles simply responded with a reassuring smile, “You’ve done nothing wrong,” he told Wei Qun. Despite his reassurances, Wei Qun insisted on his error, to which Miles calmly replied, “You’re not guilty.”

Cornered, Wei Qun eventually admitted, “I am the worst of the worst.”

“Actually, I’m the real culprit here,” Miles retorted, his voice heavy with regret. “I shouldn’t have hurt you. I’m trying to make things right now.”

“No, it’s me who’s to blame. Your reprimand was justified,” Wei Qun held firm.

“Well, if you insist,” Miles conceded. “You indeed fit the description of a wrongdoer.”

“. . .”

Miles continued, “I didn’t come here to upset you, boss. Our previous collaboration worked well, and I’m hoping this one will too. I need to crack a phone and gain access to its contact list.”

He presented a phone previously owned by a person named Writing.

The sight of the device widened Wei Qun’s eyes in fear. “No, take it away, take all the phones! Just spare me,” he stammered, waving his arms in frantic rejection.

Clearly, their previous encounter had left an indelible mark.

Unruffled, Miles asked, “Can the password be cracked within an hour?”

“That depends on the phone model,” Xiao Zheng, the apprentice, interjected from the sidelines.

“And this one?” Miles inquired, nonchalantly tossing the phone to him.

“This phone is encrypted. But I can extract the data directly from its storage by dismantling it. However, the phone may not work afterwards,” Xiao Zheng clarified.

“That’s fine. I don’t need the phone; I only need the contact list. How long will that take?”

“Roughly half an hour,” Xiao Zheng answered.

“Good. If you can do it within that time, there’s a thousand dollars for you,” Miles proposed.

“No problem,” Xiao Zheng agreed readily.

Miles then turned his attention back to Wei Qun, knocking on the counter. “Boss, there’s no need to be scared. I have a question.”

Wei Qun responded with a shaky voice, “Y-Yes, big brother, what is it?”

Miles asked, “Is there a way to dial a number without the recipient hearing a ringtone?”

“Yes, you could transfer the phone number to a computer, dial the call from there, and remotely control it,” Wei Qun suggested, his voice quivering slightly.

“Smart solution. You clearly know your stuff. I knew I came to the right person. Do you have a computer here I could use?” Miles inquired.

Hesitant to refuse, Wei Qun quickly assured, “I have a computer at home. I can upload the data from here to it and remotely execute the task for you.”

“That’s an agreeable plan. I trust this won’t cause too much of a disturbance. By the way, your home is empty, correct?” Miles inquired casually.

“Y-Yes, it’s unoccupied. I live alone in a rental,” Wei Qun affirmed.

“Perfect,” Miles replied, content with the arrangements.

In due course, the phone was successfully unlocked, and its contact list now visible on the computer screen beside Xiao Zheng.

“Boss, shall I initiate the upload?” Xiao Zheng asked.

“Yes, proceed,” Wei Qun directed, although he was unsure about Miles’s intentions. However, he didn’t dare to object.

When dealing with someone like Miles, compliance was paramount. Fulfill his strange requests, ensure his satisfaction, and expedite his exit.

“May I handle the operation?” Miles asked, moving towards the shop’s interior.

“Absolutely, feel free to proceed,” Wei Qun responded, subtly gesturing to Xiao Zheng for affirmation.

Pointing to a program on the screen, Xiao Zheng guided, “Click here to dial the call and here to modify the numbers.”

“Excellent. And there won’t be any sound output here, correct?” Miles confirmed.

“Correct, there’s no attached speaker, so it won’t produce any audio,” Xiao Zheng assured.

“Great. Step outside for a bit, both of you. Come back when I’m done,” Miles instructed.

Caught off guard, Xiao Zheng barely had time to react before Wei Qun had already shepherded him out.

“Take all the time you need, big brother,” Wei Qun called, eager to keep a distance between them and Miles.

Meanwhile, Miles tried to revisit the online forum but found it blocked. It seemed his previous conversation with Rain had drawn unwanted scrutiny, and the national authorities had responded to the curse-spreading post.

But this didn’t concern him.

He had saved the audio file on his phone and knew how to replicate and upload it. Within moments, the audio file was transferred to another computer.

And then… the first call was placed.

Although Miles couldn’t hear it, as soon as the software signaled a successful connection, he activated the audio file.

“Thud, thud-thud~!”

A low, eerie knocking sound echoed in a nearby apartment building. It wasn’t loud and went unnoticed by everyone except the call recipient.

After playing the sound several times, Miles disconnected the call and proceeded to the next number.

The operation was simple, devoid of any technical complexity.

But, unbeknownst to most, it was the beginning of a terrifying curse’s spread.

As Miles made his way through the contact list, residents across Dachang City started to receive strange calls.

During a meeting, a company executive’s private phone buzzed.

“Hello, Writing, what can I do for you?” he answered.

But the other end was silent, save for a peculiar noise resonating from his device.

“Thud, thud-thud~!”

It was a knocking sound, yet heavy and ominous, as though beating directly onto his heart, taking his breath away.

After the noise replayed a couple of times, the call disconnected.

“Huh?”

Puzzled, the executive was at a loss for the reason behind Writing’s call.

He shrugged it off, set his phone aside, and continued with the meeting.

At a swimming pool…

A burly, bald man was leisurely backstroking.

Suddenly, an assistant approached with a phone, “Boss, you have a call.”

“Hand it over.”

The man spat out some water, accepted the phone, and greeted, “Hello, Writing. I heard you landed a big deal. Everything going smoothly? Need any help from your bro? You know, I wouldn’t hesitate. Of course, we’d have to discuss the cost.”

“Thud, thud-thud~!”

But the reply wasn’t from Writing. Instead, it was the strange knocking sound.

“Hmm?”

The bald man paused, visibly stunned. Sensing something amiss, he quickly hung up, instructing, “Dispose of this phone. Don’t use it again and find out if Writing’s still alive.”

“Understood, boss,” the assistant responded.

“Could he have run into a ghost?” The bald man furrowed his brow in contemplation.

Despite his cautious measures, the knocking sound lingered.

The invisible curse had already started affecting him.

Against this sort of personalized, human-orchestrated dissemination, no one was safe.

Meanwhile, within an opulent villa…

A wealthy young man had just wrapped up a round of golf. As he settled down to hydrate, his phone rang.

“Writing?”

He picked up, asking, “Hello, how are things? Was the operation successful?”

“Thud, thud-thud~!” The knocking sound echoed in response, immediately altering his countenance.

Instead of Writing’s voice, an eerie knocking sound filled the line. It didn’t sound human, but more like… a ghost.

“What the…” His face took on a thoughtful expression, which quickly turned ferocious. He crushed the phone in his hand, musing, “Could it be the recently classified A-level vengeful spirit… codenamed Knocking Ghost?”

“Is it intentional or an accident?”