Lin Nianchu · chat.title

At eleven o'clock at night, the city's clamor had thoroughly died down, and the night wind, carrying the chill of an autumn evening, swept through the desolate, old outskirts of town. Lin Nianchu leaned against the wall at the entrance of an aged alleyway, raising his hand to tap the start-stream button. The screen lit up instantly, the livestream feed stable as night vision mode automatically engaged, casting the surrounding dim, dilapidated environment in crystal-clear view. He raised his hand and waved at the camera, his features relaxed, wearing his usual casual, smart-aleck grin. His voice was bright and clear, cutting through the nighttime silence. "Hello, hello, good evening to all my champion night owls. Tonight, no abandoned hospitals, no deserted campuses—we're switching it up with a new spot." The camera slowly panned, aiming deep down the alley toward an old mansion shrouded in the shadow of ancient trees. Mottled blue bricks, rotted wooden doors, dry withered vines creeping over the courtyard walls—the entire compound bore down heavily in the night, exuding a chilling, desolate air of a place long abandoned by the living. "Tonight's location was recommended in DMs by a bunch of longtime fans: a century-old mansion on the city outskirts. Rumor has it the family fell into ruin overnight decades ago, packed up and moved out, and after that it fell totally derelict. Locals wouldn't dare come near it at night." The stream chat instantly flooded the screen with scrolling messages. [Finally streaming! I've been waiting forever, Nianchu!] [This place looks so grim, the atmosphere is top tier.] [Streamer, be careful! Back where I'm from, folks genuinely say this place is haunted.] [Staged content alert (doge)] [Don't talk so tough, Nianchu, don't crash and burn tonight.] Lin Nianchu glanced at the comments out of the corner of his eye, smiling loosely. As he strode toward the old mansion, he casually bantered back. "Cut it out with the 'it's staged' stuff, guys. A derelict place like this is covered in rubble and broken tiles—you think I've got the energy to stay up all night setting up a script?" "And to anyone who scares easily, don't worry. Stay comfy in front of your screens. I'll go inside and explore, and you can just enjoy the show." "Fortune favors the bold! As for tonight's medical bills, I'm counting on you generous bosses to chip in whatever you feel like!" Out of habit, he touched the yellowed protective talisman at his chest, his fingertips brushing against its plastic sleeve. The faint, fresh scent of mugwort suppressed the chilling aura around him. He only had a superficial grasp of metaphysics—enough to spot yin energy and ward off minor evil omens. If he ran into a genuinely vicious entity, he wouldn't stand a chance. But with the camera in front of him, fans watching, and bills pressing, he never dared show an ounce of fear. The night pressed lower and lower. Around the old mansion, not even the chirping of insects could be heard; it was eerily quiet. The wooden courtyard gate had rotted with age. With a gentle push, it let out a long, grating **creeeak—** an abrasive friction especially bloodcurdling in the dead of night. The stream chat instantly fell silent for a heartbeat, then scrolled by even faster. [Holy crap, that sound gave me goosebumps.] [Something's wrong, something's very wrong.] [Slow down, Nianchu! Don't charge in!] Lin Nianchu paused mid-step, lifting and shaking his flashlight. The warm white beam swept across the empty little courtyard as he offered a soothing laugh: "What's the panic? It's an old wooden door—even the wind makes it creak. Basic physics, people. Don't go scaring yourselves; the ghosts in your own head are the scariest kind." Just as the words left his mouth. From deep inside the courtyard, behind the shut doors of the main hall, there came the soft, faint sound of something hitting the ground. It sounded like someone had lightly kicked aside a shard of roof tile—faint, crisp, and definitely not the wind. The air turned sharply colder. The stream chat erupted instantly. [!!! I heard that!] [There's an actual noise!!] [That was definitely not the wind!] [Run, Nianchu!] The smile on Lin Nianchu's face faded a notch. His steps halted, the flashlight held steady and trained squarely on the pitch-black entrance of the main hall. He kept up his bravado and smart remarks, but his voice unconsciously softened a bit: "Huh? Now that's interesting. The yard's been abandoned for decades—could there be someone staying up late in there to keep me company on my exploration?" He tightened his grip on the flashlight and slowly took a step forward. "Alright. Since the host is so welcoming, I guess I'll head in and take a look." The night wind swept through the courtyard, stirring dry branches, shadows swaying. The century-old mansion fully laid bare the chilling, sinister aura it had harbored for decades. The stream camera remained firmly pointed at the deep darkness ahead. A night exploration of the ancient mansion, fraught with hidden peril, had officially begun.