"Hello? Hey! Where are you right now? I can help you, I can help you!"
Chen Ge shouted into the phone, but the only answer was the sound of flames crackling.
"Calm down, just stay calm!"
He gripped the phone tightly, kicked open the haunted house door, and sprinted toward the tallest office building in the amusement park.
Pushing himself to the limit, he made it to the rooftop and stood at the highest point of the park, overlooking Jiujiang.
Neon lights glittered, traffic flowed, but there wasn't a single hint of firelight anywhere.
Yet from the other end of the line, flames were clearly roaring, with a relentless crackling and popping.
The fire had already spread.
"Listen, I don't know if you can hear this, but I just want to tell you — I can help you. There's still someone in this world willing to help you."
Static hissed and crackled, as though the fire had reached the telephone line. Without any further message, the call cut off.
Listening to the busy signal on the other end, Chen Ge felt a weight settle in his chest.
What the author had written in that final passage — it must have been his own fantasy. All these years of persistence had gone unrewarded, and after his dreams collapsed, his mind had likely broken down.
Leaning against the railing at the edge of the building, Chen Ge gazed into the distance.
A few minutes later, clinging to a sliver of hope, he dialed that number again. He knew the chances were slim, but he wanted to try one more time.
The busy signal droned in his ear. He had no idea how long it went on.
Chen Ge let out a soft sigh and was about to hang up when the call suddenly connected.
"Hello."
A completely unfamiliar voice came through the receiver.
Wrong number?
Chen Ge instinctively checked the number — every digit was correct. But the crackling of flames on the other end had vanished, replaced by a silence so deep it was suffocating.
Same number, different voice. Chen Ge steadied himself and recalled what the Black Phone had said about this number — police had discovered that every victim had dialed this number in the final moments of their lives.
It wasn't just one victim!
The realization hit him hard. Chen Ge quickly gathered his emotions and adjusted his voice and tone: "Hello, is there anything I can help you with?"
Without knowing the situation or what the other person had been through, those were the only words he could offer.
"Help me? No need, thank you." The voice on the other end sounded weak, as if the person was on the verge of falling asleep.
"You don't sound well." Chen Ge felt a sudden surge of unease. The person was unnervingly calm, which reminded him of the writer from before. "Could you tell me where you are right now? If you'd like someone to talk to, I can get there immediately."
"There's no time." The man spoke slowly. "If you really want to help me, could you do one thing before we hang up — tell my landlord that the water, electricity, and gas bills are sitting on top of the suitcase."
"Landlord? How do I get in touch with him?" From the man's tone, it sounded like he was putting his affairs in order. Chen Ge wanted to know the man's location, and the landlord could be a crucial lead.
"She lives in the residential area to the left of Fairy Tale Kingdom Park, first floor of Building Six." The man's voice was feeble, as though even speaking was an enormous effort for him now.
"Fairy Tale Kingdom?" The park's location flashed through Chen Ge's mind — it was built in the southern suburbs of Jiujiang, a theme park designed specifically for children that had later been shut down for reasons unknown. "Do you have her phone number? I'm afraid I won't be able to find the place."
Chen Ge decisively headed downstairs, planning to go to the southern suburbs himself.
A life was at stake. He didn't hang up and tried every way to keep the man talking. "Judging by your voice, you sound very tired. Did you not sleep well last night?"
"I haven't slept well in a very long time." The man gave a faint laugh. "I don't know why. During the day I seem carefree, but once night comes, my thoughts spiral out of control, tossing and turning, completely unable to fall asleep."
"I understand that kind of pain. I have trouble sleeping too — I'm often out walking alone at three or four in the morning." Chen Ge spoke with genuine empathy, and what he said was the truth.
The man seemed to find a thread of connection in Chen Ge's sincerity. "Do you have insomnia too?"
"Yes. My parents went missing over half a year ago, and there hasn't been a single clue since. I live every day in pain and anxiety, and the only way I can find any comfort for my soul is by helping others." At that, Chen Ge shifted his tone. "But I'll keep looking. Once I find them, I'm going to let out all my anger and worry, and then I'm going to run over and hug them tight."
"I hope you find them soon." The man's voice softened slightly, but his condition was clearly worsening — he could lose consciousness at any moment.
"Could you tell me about your situation? Just think of me as a stranger passing by." Seeing that the man was opening up, Chen Ge gently probed.
"My life has been pretty meaningless." The man thought for a moment, then said those words.
"Life is meaningless on its own — it's the meaning that different people give it that keeps it from being boring." Chen Ge had already burst out of the office building and was running toward the park's exit.
"Maybe. My birth was an accident. My father raised me by himself. He worked hard for a meager wage — he was just like any person you might pass on the street. Completely ordinary." The man's voice gradually dropped lower, though his speaking pace remained steady.
"I was always frail as a child and caused him a lot of trouble. Once I started school, I was completely out of place. I always felt I was stupid, that I couldn't do anything right, that I couldn't focus, and nobody wanted to be my friend." The man took a breath, hesitated, then continued: "At first the teachers just thought I had a personality issue, and I thought so too. Until one day, they called my father in and recommended that I see a doctor."
"A doctor?"
"Yes. The diagnosis was Nobita-Gian Syndrome — quite a funny name. When I first heard it, I actually thought it was amusing." The man laughed, but there was no trace of happiness in his voice.
It was the first time Chen Ge had heard of this condition. Nobita and Gian — weren't those characters from a manga? "What are the specific symptoms?"
"It's a general term used abroad for a group of neurodevelopmental disorders including hyperactivity and attention deficit. Nobita represents attention deficit disorder — which is what I have."
"I knew nothing about the condition at the time. When I went back to school, the other kids just knew I was sick but never bothered to learn what it actually was. Really, sometimes all people need is a reason to isolate you, and having a sick brain happens to be a perfect excuse."
The man spoke about all of this in a flat tone, as though compared to what came later, this was nothing at all.
"After finishing high school, I dropped out. I felt terrible about letting my father down. I tried finding all kinds of jobs, but I was fired from every one because of my personality. I started becoming afraid of seeing people, my condition worsened, and eventually it spiraled into severe depression. I was sent to a psychiatric correction center."
"I was in my early twenties. Not only could I offer my father no help whatsoever, I was like a blood-sucking leech dragging him down."
"Under those circumstances, I thought about it for a long time and decided to leave."
"I posted my final words to my father online and set them to publish automatically." The man let out a deep sigh. "If I had left that day, maybe it wouldn't have mattered."
"Don't ever think like that! As long as you're alive, anything is possible!" Chen Ge had already jumped into a taxi and told the driver to head to the southern suburbs as fast as possible.