O Contaminador
Zhou Huaixia nunca sonha. Ela apenas passa pelos sonhos dos outros. Esse é o segredo que ela esconde há muitos anos. Talvez por ter mudado de ambiente ao entrar na universidade, Zhou Huaixia começou a vagar noite após noite pelos sonhos alheios. Colegas desconhecidos sonhavam que eram devorados por porcos, sonhavam que se enforcavam... Ela já presenciou todo tipo de sonho estranho e surreal. Esses sonhos caóticos acabaram exaurindo Zhou Huaixia. — Ela quase desejava poder arrancar o próprio cérebro. Até que, certa noite, ao voltar para a escola, ela sonhou que sua colega de quarto, toda ensanguentada, estendia a mão para ela e gritava: Huaixia, me salva!
O Contaminador
A faint scent of decay, mingled with the fresh breath of the wilderness, drifted into her nose.
Beside her ear, there seemed to be the murmur of running water.
Three uneven stones were stacked atop a mound of soft, brown, withered leaves. A pair of black Chelsea boots stood on them, a scrape marking the leather uppers and yellow-gray mud caking the edges of the soles. Beside blue denim trouser legs, the hem of an open black overcoat fluttered in the air.
She lifted her gaze.
Dense branches and leaves above let shafts of molten gold spill through their gaps. The warmth bathed her face. A hand slowly rose to shield her slightly narrowed eyes, and her vision sharpened bit by bit. A maple leaf slipped free from a branch, drifting down through the air and brushing past a length of frayed hemp rope hanging from the trunk.
Rope?
Her hands moved forward of their own accord. Rough fibers scraped her palms, then her elbows drew back, pulling her closer and closer to the rope. At once, a prickling pain and abrasive sting spread across her neck.
...What was this?
The next instant, her calves kicked hard, and beneath her feet came the dull crash of stones striking the ground.
The coarse rope had looped around her throat as if it had bitten into flesh. Her airway was seized shut. Suffocation surged violently. Her heartbeat pounded so hard it throbbed in her ears. Her face burned hot and tight. Both hands clawed frantically at the rope biting into her neck while her feet thrashed wildly in the air.
"Cough, cough, cough!&q
