My Roommate Can Hear the Last Words of the Dead

At 4:15 the next afternoon, I stood by the basketball court. Zhou Ye said the voice had repeated itself all night: at 4:17, the ball would bounce three times, and I would be sent flying. I had planned to stay home, but at noon I received a text from an unknown number: If you don't go, you'll die. At exactly 4:17, a three-pointer went wide and flew toward the area outside the court. At the same time, a van came barreling down the slope. The ball bounced once; the van was ten meters away. It bounced a second time; five meters. As it bounced a third time, I saw a note stuck to the ball: Get out of the way. I dove left. The van scraped past me and slammed into the guardrail, scattering glass everywhere. The ball bounced a fourth time. When Zhou Ye came back that evening, his face was pale. “The voice has changed. It said, ‘Lin Zhao dodged it. This isn't fun anymore.’ It knows your name now.” My phone lit up. Another message from an unknown number: See you tomorrow. This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.