(This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental.)
Cheng Zhao had been missing for over a year, without a trace.
Then, some time ago, Huo Yan, Lin Zhou, Cheng Yuan, and Su Wan all received a message from a familiar account.
The message contained no words, only a location. It pointed to Tongdao County.
A few days later, the four of them drove into the thick fog of western Hunan, taking Huo Yan’s girlfriend, Ye Yinsheng, with them.
At one in the morning, they passed through a long stretch of fog and entered Tongdao County.
It was a remote area inhabited by the Dong people. The village was lively but backward, with towering drum towers and covered bridges spanning the streams. The villagers were warm and welcoming, greeting them with smiles.
The villagers said they had never seen any outsiders.
But in a corner of the guesthouse, Su Wan found Cheng Zhao’s ID card, snapped in half.
One of the five began seeing things that shouldn’t be there.
In the mirror, Lin Zhou saw his own smile lagging half a beat behind.
Cheng Yuan captured the shadow of a sixth person in his camera.
Late at night, Su Wan heard tapping from inside the walls...
Then the road was wrong: the road they’d taken to get there had disappeared.
Then the signal was wrong: all five phones showed full bars, yet none could reach the outside world.
Finally, one of them was wrong: “Cheng Zhao” appeared.
At one in the morning, the location was marked as read.
You have accepted the invitation.
Don’t look back.
