Wang Hai’s surprise was obviously exaggerated, so Kuang Feifan and Feng Tian paid him no mind, instead focusing on Zhao Hongcheng, carefully observing his condition.

A fever caused by excessive shock was different from a fever brought on by a virus, and Feng Tian was quite experienced in such matters; his remedy quickly brought Zhao Hongcheng back to consciousness.

However, the continuous two-day high fever had left his body severely weakened.

Thus, although his eyes were open now, he couldn't muster any strength at all, unwilling to move an inch.

He merely rolled his eyes to survey the three people by the bedside.

Upon seeing Wang Hai, his eyes visibly lit up—it seemed he recognized him.

Seeing Zhao Hongcheng awaken, Wang Hai lost the inclination to press Feng Tian for details on how he managed it.

He leaned in close to Zhao Hongcheng, speaking in a low voice, “Hey, buddy, you’re up.

Thirsty?” Fumbling awkwardly, Wang Hai managed to pour half a cup of water down Zhao Hongcheng’s throat.

His spirits seemed slightly better, though his neck kept twitching—probably related to the fact that nearly half the water had ended up drenching his neck.

Wang Hai pondered whether he should call a nurse to check things over, but Feng Tian held him back, murmuring, “Let’s wait until we find out what happened.” “Damn, do you think he can even speak in this state?” Wang Hai tilted his head to examine Zhao Hongcheng.

Unexpectedly, after a moment of silence, Zhao Hongcheng painfully squeezed out a faint, hoarse sound: “Brother Hai…” After resting a while longer, he could finally speak in more complete sentences.

Under Kuang Feifan’s gentle prompting, he haltingly recounted the events of that night.

Originally, Luo Jingjing was not scheduled for the night shift the evening before last; it was supposed to be Zhao Hongcheng and another gas station attendant.

However, just as the shift was nearing its end, Luo Jingjing volunteered to take over.

A gas station in a small town saw little traffic at night, so the night shift was rarely busy; in fact, it was often quite slow.

That night started out no differently.

Zhao Hongcheng settled behind the counter of the station’s small convenience store, resting his head on the counter to feign sleep.

Conversely, Luo Jingjing seemed preoccupied, constantly glancing outside, appearing as if she were waiting for someone.

Zhao Hongcheng asked her a few times, but she never gave a direct answer, so he soon gave up pursuing the matter.

Before he knew it, as far as Zhao Hongcheng could recall, it was past midnight when the headlights of a car suddenly flashed outside, signaling a vehicle pulling into the station, presumably for gas.

By then, Zhao Hongcheng was already in a half-asleep state.

He groggily lifted his head to glance outside, intending to get up, but found he simply lacked the energy to move.

In his hazy state, he heard Luo Jingjing’s voice by the door, “I’ll get it, you keep resting.” Hearing this, Zhao Hongcheng felt as if celestial music was playing in his ears.

His head dropped, and he returned to chasing dreams.

Truthfully, he slept soundly until he abruptly snapped his eyes open, startled as if someone had given him a hard shove.

After a moment of disorientation, he finally snapped back to reality, his mind instantly clearing.

He suddenly realized the surroundings were utterly silent; not a sound could be heard.

Whether it was his imagination or not, he felt a chilling coldness creeping through the convenience store, as if invisible currents of frost were circulating in the air.

“Jingjing… Jingjing…” Zhao Hongcheng called out a few times, but received no reply.

Frowning, he turned from behind the counter, walked to the door, pulled it open, and peered out, calling louder, “Luo Jingjing…” Aside from his own voice, there was still no response.

Hesitating slightly, he stepped outside and looked around.

The area was deserted; not a single person was in sight.

Casually, he noticed a dark, spreading stain near one of the fuel pumps in the first lane.

Zhao Hongcheng walked over for a closer look.

It was a huge puddle of gasoline, roughly enough to fill half a small car’s tank.

This struck him as very odd.

With gas prices soaring these days, who would be so wasteful as to spill this much? Could Luo Jingjing have done it? After ensuring Luo Jingjing was nowhere around, he returned to the store and entered the back room, where the main monitoring system for the entire station was housed.

Zhao Hongcheng sat down at the computer and began reviewing the security footage.

Then, he remembered a car had pulled in earlier, which Luo Jingjing had gone out to serve.

He rewound the time to that segment and started watching.

He first viewed the interior surveillance feed.

He saw Luo Jingjing say something before pulling the door open and leaving.

After a considerable wait, she returned, opened the cash register on the counter, and placed a few bills inside.

Then she wandered around inside the store again, seeming restless.

In a short while, he watched her pick up a digital camera from the convenience store windowsill.

Zhao Hongcheng found this strange; he hadn't noticed Luo Jingjing placing a digital camera on the sill before.

Judging by its appearance, it didn't resemble any of the models sold in the store; it was likely her own.

Suddenly, he saw the Luo Jingjing in the recording jerk violently while flipping through the camera, her face twisting into an expression of sheer horror.

She then rushed to the cash register, opened it, and glanced inside.

At this moment, the computer screen in front of Zhao Hongcheng displayed four camera angles.

Two of them were indoor shots, one of which was pointed directly at the register, allowing a clear view of the expression on Luo Jingjing’s face.

He watched Luo Jingjing’s face instantly turn deathly pale, her expression terrified as she stared fixedly into the cash register, her mouth slightly agape, as if she had gasped aloud.

A strange thought suddenly struck Zhao Hongcheng: Luo Jingjing had been moving around inside for quite a while, which should have created noise, yet he had slept so deeply—because in the recording, he could see himself slumped over the counter, completely motionless, like a dead pig.

Looking at Luo Jingjing again, not only was her expression bizarre, but her entire body was trembling slightly.

She raised her hand toward the register as if to retrieve something, hesitated, and then slammed it shut forcefully.

She then stood there blankly for a long moment, swallowed hard, and as if gathering immense courage, suddenly spun around, strode to the door, pulled it open, and ran out.

Zhao Hongcheng fast-forwarded the surveillance footage until the moment he watched his recorded self suddenly wake up as if startled.

Luo Jingjing never reappeared.

Although he realized something was deeply wrong at that point, he couldn't figure out what had made Luo Jingjing leave and not return.

He considered checking the cash register, but after a moment of hesitation, he pulled up the recordings from the other indoor cameras.

The angles were different, but he managed to find the feed covering the first lane’s fuel pump.

It was normal at first; the blinding headlights made the screen a mass of white.

But after the vehicle stopped, the recording became clear.

The car model, however, was peculiar, and though every camera angle showed the side of the front hood, the license plate was invisible.

At first, he assumed it was a brand-new car without plates, but upon closer inspection, something still felt wrong.

While it looked like a black sedan, there were no visible emblems—he couldn’t tell the make.

Similarly, no occupants could be seen inside the car in the recording.

Then, he saw Luo Jingjing approach.

The car window rolled down a crack, she leaned in, exchanged a few words with the person inside, took some money through the gap, and began pumping gas.

Once the tank was full, Luo Jingjing hung up the nozzle and appeared to speak a few more words with the occupant before turning back toward the convenience store without waiting for the car to leave.

The moment her figure vanished from the camera’s view, the car started up swiftly and drove away.

At that instant, Zhao Hongcheng felt a distinct, unsettling sensation.

He immediately rewound the footage and deliberately slowed down the playback speed.

Finally, the bizarre scene emerged.