It seemed that a young couple who once lived here had been sitting at the dining table, eating soup noodles delivered as takeout. Midway through their meal, something suddenly happened, terrifying them so much that they rushed out frantically, knocking over one of the soup containers and spilling it across the table. In their panic, they kicked over the trash can beside them, didn’t bother changing into their usual leather shoes or heels, and dashed out in slippers.
Su Li gazed at the living room before him, his mind vaguely conjuring the chaotic, terrified scene of the young couple fleeing. But what had they encountered that made them rush out in such fear, even spilling the soup noodles on the table and knocking over the trash can?
“Could it be… a sudden flood last night? The couple noticed it and bolted out without a second thought, moving so fast that the soup spilled, they didn’t have time to change shoes, and they didn’t even close the door.” Su Li clenched his hands tightly, his palms slowly sweating. “And I, drunk and passed out, knew nothing. Could it be that I’m the only one left in this entire building? Did everyone else escape?”
This thought sent a chill through his entire body, the cold dread in his heart deepening.
“No, that doesn’t make sense. What kind of sudden flood could submerge an entire city in half a day? That’s completely illogical.” Though Su Li had blacked out from drinking the night before, he still had some memory of it—he’d been eating a late-night snack until around one in the morning, and it hadn’t even rained then. Even if the flood started at one, it’s only been seven hours. What flood could drown a modern city in less than seven hours?
Looking at the living room, Su Li didn’t rush in. Instead, he felt an indescribable eeriness, as if the room hid some terrifying monster, waiting for him to enter before lunging out to tear him apart. When his eyes landed on the phone on the coffee table, he jolted, cursing himself for being foolish. In his panic over this bizarre scene, he’d only thought to run into the hallway to call for help, forgetting he could use the phone.
Su Li didn’t have his phone on him. He quickly returned to his own apartment, found his phone on the nightstand, and tried to call his girlfriend, Wang Lan. Wang Lan was two years younger than him, a local, and worked at the same company. Though they’d known each other for over half a year, they’d only been in a relationship for less than two months. She hadn’t told her parents yet and still went home every night, not living with Su Li.
He dialed Wang Lan’s number but found there was no signal—the call wouldn’t go through. Only then did he realize that with the flood reaching the thirtieth floor, cell towers and power plants were likely submerged, cutting off all signals. But Su Li refused to give up, dialing several more numbers—his parents, his best friend Li Yongsheng—all of them unreachable.
“Is there really no signal at all?” Clinging to a faint hope, Su Li tried calling emergency services, but there was no response either. Sweat began to bead on his forehead. The situation was getting worse by the minute. Not only was his phone signal dead, but the Wi-Fi he’d connected to was also out, and apps like WeChat and QQ were all offline. He tested the light switch—sure enough, the power was out.
Then Su Li remembered the landline phone he’d seen in the living room of the young couple’s apartment. If his cell phone had no signal, what about that landline? He didn’t have one himself, so to use it, he’d have to go back to their place.
Su Li returned to the open door of the young couple’s apartment. The security door was still ajar. His eyes fixed on the landline on the coffee table, knowing it might be as useless as his phone, but he stepped inside anyway. Though he didn’t hold out much hope, he couldn’t afford to ignore any chance to reach the outside world—like a drowning man grasping at any straw that might save him.
Once inside, Su Li caught a strange smell and looked over at the trash can. From the spilled garbage, he detected a foul, rotting odor. He approached and saw leftover food inside, already moldy and giving off a stench. On the dining table, the spilled noodles were dotted with mold spots. He reached out and touched the table, feeling a layer of dust.
“If they really sensed something wrong last night and fled, it’s only been half a day. How could there be such a thick layer of dust on the table? And the food wouldn’t have rotted this fast. Could they have been gone for days?”
“Something’s very off… this apartment…” A vague, nameless fear crept into Su Li’s heart, making him wary of the silent room. But he didn’t leave. Staring at the landline on the coffee table, he forced down his unease and picked up the dust-covered receiver, only to find it dead silent. His heart sank, but he still tried dialing the emergency number. No response. The landline was dead too.
His last shred of hope vanished, and the apartment’s eerie feeling grew stronger. Su Li couldn’t take it anymore. He dropped the receiver and bolted out. Once back in the hallway, he let out a deep breath, his fear easing slightly, but the sense of panic and helplessness only intensified.
“What do I do now? Could everyone really have evacuated, leaving me behind? But even if the whole city left, why is there no signal at all? Why? Where’s Wang Lan now? Did she get out safely?”
His mind churned with confusion. It took a while before he forced himself to calm down. He looked up and saw the elevator at the end of the hallway. With the flood submerging everything below the thirtieth floor, even if the elevator worked, he couldn’t take it down. Still, he walked over and pressed the button. Nothing happened—the power was out, and the elevator was dead.
Su Li then pushed open the two wooden doors on one side of the hallway, revealing a stairwell. He stepped inside and saw that the stairs down to the twenty-ninth floor were completely flooded, the water level just four or five centimeters below the thirtieth floor’s surface. The water looked murky, with floating debris—plastic basins, towels, trash bags, and even a dead rat bobbing in it.
Su Li crouched down, hesitated, then gently touched the water with his hand before pulling it back. He watched the droplets drip from his fingers, hitting the surface and creating tiny ripples. Then, he took a deep breath.