As the heavy rain poured down, floodwater rushed into the underground parking garage. I dialed the number of the rescue team leader’s wife. “Help me… Rachel, I’m trapped in the garage. The emergency exit is locked!” Rachel’s impatient voice came through the phone: “Enough, Jack! Ethan’s cat is stuck up a tree and can’t get down. We’re busy right now!” She hung up despite my pleas, taking all the nearby rescue personnel with her to save a cat, cutting off all my chances of survival. … The water in the garage rose quickly. With the emergency exit locked, I climbed onto the roof of a car. My phone battery was down to its last bar. After Rachel hung up, my phone went dead. In despair, I shouted at the top of my lungs, “Help! Someone save me!” Looking up at the security camera, I waved frantically, hoping to catch the attention of the monitoring staff. But no one noticed. The flood surged in, gradually submerging everything until it swallowed me whole. As my chest filled with suffocation and pain, I looked at the necklace around my neck, yanked it off, and then lost consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, I was floating near the ceiling of the garage. Outside, I heard shouts: “Is anyone there? Is anyone there?” “Mr. Carter!” The property manager and his team waded through the water and mud. When they saw the emergency exit, they froze. “Who locked this?!” “I don’t know! It’s always been open, and that’s not even our lock!” Floating above, I watched the manager’s face turn ashen. My heart sank. Someone wanted me dead. “Quick, find him!” “Jack!” “Jack!” They knew I was trapped in the garage? Curious, I followed them as a spirit. The community I lived in was a new development with diligent property management. During the heavy rain, the property staff had warned me that water was entering the garage and asked me to move my car out. I remembered last year when the garage had also flooded, damaging many cars. My little car was newly bought this year. Hearing the news, I hurried down, only to find water already up to my calves when I entered. I went to drive the car out, but suddenly a surge of water rushed in. I immediately turned to run. But the emergency exit had somehow been closed by the wind. I couldn’t open it no matter how hard I tried. Now I realized someone had maliciously locked the door. Who could it be? Who wanted me dead? My spirit followed them out, where I saw many rescue workers had already arrived. Their bright orange uniforms stood out. I searched for Rachel among them. She was the leader of the local rescue team, conveniently assigned to patrol nearby for emergencies. But today, by such bad luck, she had taken all seven or eight team members away with her. An ambulance had also arrived. Learning I was down there, they immediately started the rescue operation. However, the underground garage was flooded with over three meters of water. The property manager and his team had to use boats to enter. The bottom was covered in silt that sucked in their feet with each step. The rescue was difficult, and no one knew where my body was. At this moment, Rachel finally arrived late with her team. Ethan followed behind her. “Rachel, could he be in trouble? It’s all my fault for delaying the rescue.” “It’s fine. He always bothers me over little things. They’ve issued a stay-at-home notice for the heavy rain. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to go out at this time!” Rachel replied without a second thought, only to be confronted by her superior, Captain Chen. Seeing her, Captain Chen’s face darkened. “You were the closest, yet you’re half an hour late. Where were you?!” “Captain, it’s my fault. My cat ran out and got stuck up a tree. Rachel helped me find it,” Ethan explained innocently, carefully staying behind Rachel. Captain Chen was even more furious. “Rachel! Do you realize someone has died?! No matter the reason, I will definitely discipline you this time!” Rachel’s face turned extremely ugly. She hadn’t expected anyone to come out in this weather, let alone get trapped in the underground garage.
“Stop dawdling! Team Three, all members enter! The missing person is confirmed to be male, 24 years old, exact location unknown!” At Captain Chen’s order, all rescue personnel entered the garage fully equipped. At this point, Ethan held Rachel back. “Rachel, it’s dangerous inside. Let them go in.” “How can I not go? I’m the team leader. Be good and wait for me out here.” As soon as she finished speaking, Captain Chen pulled Ethan aside. “Civilians should not interfere with the rescue. Please stay behind the police line!” Faced with the captain, Ethan stomped his foot but had no choice but to stand aside. I laughed. Ethan, only a fool like Rachel would fall for your act. Anyone else wouldn’t give you the time of day. I followed behind Rachel as she entered the garage. By now the silt reached their thighs. Even the professional rescue workers had difficulty moving, let alone me when I was alive. Unfortunately, they didn’t know my exact location. I also learned that the garage’s security cameras had broken down. The property manager and his team only knew I had come down because they saw my plea for help on SnapChat. My car was parked in Area D, the innermost part of the garage. A team member next to Rachel pulled out one leg, panting, “Rachel, doesn’t your husband also live in this community?” “Could he have…” “No way. Jack is always busy with work. He wouldn’t come out.” “But didn’t he call saying he was trapped?” Rachel pressed her lips tightly. “It can’t be. He probably just said that because he knew I was with Ethan.” “He’s always such a bother!” Hearing this, her team members remained silent. I smiled bitterly on the side. Me, a bother? In all my life, this was the first time I’d been called a bother. Right, I’m not as good as Ethan at playing the victim, but I’ve always been independent. The first time I asked her for help, after being rejected, I never bothered her again. Until today, when I really couldn’t handle it myself, I called her. And she saw it as a bother. Rachel, if you knew that hanging up on me caused my death, would you regret it? With over forty rescue team members and property staff working together, after 10 hours, the property manager finally found me. By then my body was swollen, with mud filling my nose and mouth. He trembled as he pointed at the human-shaped object in the mud: “It’s… it’s him!” I had been caught on a car emblem, which kept me from sinking completely, though my body was already covered in mud. Hearing his voice, the rescue workers got excited. They trudged through the mud with a stretcher and pulled me out. After placing me on the stretcher, everyone lowered their heads seeing my tragic state. Especially Captain Chen, who took a deep breath, observed a moment of silence, then waved his hand. Everyone lifted me out together. By now Rachel’s team had also arrived, and they all helped carry me out. Rachel shook her head. “Who would come to the underground garage at this time? Anyone with common sense wouldn’t come out now. What a pity.” As they carried me out, a gust of wind blew by. Somehow, my hand suddenly drooped, and the necklace in my hand came into view. Rachel happened to turn away at that moment. I smiled bitterly. Rachel, there’s really no chemistry between us. If you had turned around, you would have seen that the dead person was me. This necklace was the birthday gift you gave me. In our two years together, it was the only gift you ever gave me. When I died, I was already completely disappointed in you. I didn’t want anything to bind me anymore, so I yanked it off. From now on, I won’t cling to you anymore. Unfortunately, Rachel didn’t see it. But Ethan on the other side shuddered and quickly rushed over. “Rachel, you must be tired.” He took out a tissue to wipe Rachel’s sweat. Rachel’s face was covered in mud. “It’s not tiring. This is what we should do.” Ethan continued, “I wonder what he was thinking, coming to the underground garage at a time like this.” “You can’t talk sense into someone bent on dying. We did everything we could. It’s his own…” Captain Chen overheard as he passed by and angrily interrupted, “Shut up! Rachel, watch your mouth! As a rescue worker, never say such things in front of the deceased. I shouldn’t have to remind you of this!” “Also, you will definitely be disciplined this time. Go write a self-criticism report when we get back!” “Why should she be disciplined?” Ethan was unhappy. “Rachel was late because she was helping me.” “This is a matter of life and death. Rachel, we’ll settle accounts back at headquarters!” Captain Chen glared at Ethan. “I also hope Mr. White won’t waste public resources next time. If your cat got lost, that’s due to your negligence as its guardian. Don’t expect everyone to revolve around you for your cat!” Captain Chen had never liked Ethan. He also couldn’t stand how Ethan always called other people’s wives “sister”. So whenever he saw me being bullied, he would remind Rachel to scold her. But after all, he wasn’t a relative, just the captain. After speaking up a few times and Rachel not listening, Captain Chen stopped saying much. But this time Captain Chen really couldn’t hold back anymore. Ethan got angry at being spoken to like this. “Rachel, how dare he talk to me like that?” “Enough, Ethan. He’s the captain. Don’t say anymore here. I have to go back to the team, you should head home too!” She patted Ethan, but he grabbed her hand. “Come to my place. I made some soup to help you recover. It’s also to thank you for saving Mimi.” Mimi was his Ragdoll cat. Rachel thought for a moment and nodded, then turned to call me. But my phone was dead and powered off. A flash of displeasure crossed Rachel’s face. “Still playing these games with me. I’m telling you, if you don’t want to answer, then don’t ever answer again!” I sighed, “Indeed, I’ll never answer again. Rachel, are you happy now?” She angrily hung up and returned to her team. When she got to the office, Captain Chen immediately started scolding her. Learning that she had delayed half an hour to save a cat, Captain Chen couldn’t hold back anymore. “Rachel, separate your public and private affairs! Don’t treat all the personnel as your personal property! If you had come half an hour earlier, that kid wouldn’t have died!” “I’m going to report this. You wait for your disciplinary action!” “Isn’t that too severe?!” Rachel was shocked. “I just had another task!” “Who assigned you that task? Is there a record?” Rachel was immediately speechless. There was no record of Ethan calling her for help. It was just a phone call. But for me, after the property management learned of my situation and contacted them, Rachel was half an hour late. If she had been even five minutes earlier, I wouldn’t have died. After being scolded by Captain Chen, Rachel hurried back to write her self-criticism report. Four hours later, my body had been cleaned up. The property management confirmed my identity and sent over the relevant information. When Captain Chen received the information, he was stunned. He quickly ran to the office. He saw Rachel hurriedly leaving. “Rachel! Where are you going? Jack…” “Don’t mention it, Captain. Jack is throwing a tantrum. He lied about being trapped, then turned off his phone. I don’t know what he’s upset about!” Before she finished speaking, Captain Chen handed over a document. “This is the deceased’s information. Take a look.” “Why should I look at this? It’s not like he’s anyone to me…” Rachel’s words trailed off as she froze. She looked at the text on the document, her hands shaking and eyes wide. After a long moment, she said, “No… it can’t be!” “This isn’t him!” “Whether it is or not, go see for yourself.” 4 My body had already been cleaned and sent to the funeral home’s morgue. Rachel stumbled over, showed her ID, and when she saw me being pulled out, she immediately covered her mouth, tears in her eyes. “Jack…” She wanted to reach out and touch me, but in the end didn’t have the courage. A staff member on the side took out a box. “These are the deceased’s belongings. Please take a look.” She took it and saw the necklace, immediately bursting into tears. Captain Chen had also followed. He patted her shoulder. “Rachel, I don’t want to say much about this, but you said he called you saying he was trapped, right? Where were you at that time?” Rachel immediately crumpled in pain, wailing as she fell to her knees. Captain Chen sighed heavily. “If I had known he called you, I should have beaten you to death when we were there!” Captain Chen pointed at her nose and berated her, “Rachel, you’re not fit to be a rescue worker at all! Starting today, you’re suspended pending investigation. We’ll deal with this after the incident is handled!” The staff then asked about my family. Captain Chen shook his head. “This kid was an orphan. He has no family. This is my number, contact me if anything comes up.” Captain Chen left his phone number. After the staff member took it down, he looked at Rachel again. She said in a low voice, “I’ll stay here with him for a while.” But regulations wouldn’t allow her to stay with a cold corpse. The staff pushed me back into the freezer. Rachel rushed over wanting to grab me, but was held tightly by Captain Chen. “Are you crazy? Calm down! Do you want to disturb him even in death?!” “Jack is gone, dead! Rachel, get a hold of yourself!” “No, he’s not dead. He’s just being a little dramatic. How could he possibly die? Captain, let me go. I have to ask him why!” “Ask my ass!” Captain Chen slapped her across the face! “What did you say when he asked you for help? Now you’re putting on this act!” Watching Rachel’s hysterical state from the side, I felt extremely satisfied. Well done, Captain! If you’re going to hit her, hit her harder! She clearly killed me, and now she’s playing innocent. She should be beaten to death! I stood to the side grinning from ear to ear. Captain Chen’s slap seemed to wake her up. Rachel stumbled and fell to the ground. In the end, Captain Chen had to drag her away. “Rachel, I’m telling you, you’re handling the funeral arrangements!” Rachel was like a soulless zombie, not knowing how she got back. Until her phone lit up – it was Ethan calling. “Rachel, why haven’t you come yet? The soup is ready. If you’re too busy to come over, how about I bring it to you?” Hearing this, Rachel suddenly came to her senses and refused. “I have to work overtime tonight. Don’t bring it over. I’m not in the mood to drink it.” “What’s wrong, Rachel? Did I do something wrong?” “No, you did very well. I’m just not in the mood right now.” She hung up immediately. Rachel ran her hands through her hair, finding it hard to believe I was really gone. She hid in her office, looking at my death report over and over again. Death by drowning. She knew that if she had come just a bit earlier, I wouldn’t have died. Now Rachel was consumed by guilt. She raised her hand and slapped herself hard several times, leaving her face swollen and red. 5 Watching from the side, I shook my head. “Now you know you were wrong, but what’s the point? I’m already dead. This won’t bring me back. Just forget it!” “But you’re in charge of my funeral arrangements. Please make me look handsome… Never mind, don’t let you handle it. Even though I have no family, I don’t want you to touch me again!” I took a deep breath, wanting to leave, but found I couldn’t. At this moment, Rachel suddenly thought of something.
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