"Next, listen to the story I'm about to tell." The man in the tracksuit spoke, his voice rather high-pitched and unpleasant to hear.

"The name of this story..." the man paused, "let's call it 'The Ring'."

"There was a man named A-Qiang, an unlicensed taxi driver. He usually spent his days playing cards with friends and only went out to pick up fares at night."

"One day, business wasn't good, and it was raining, so he thought he'd go home early. Maybe he could get a card game going."

"But as he was driving down a rather deserted road, he saw someone standing by the roadside, waving for a ride."

"Few cars were willing to come to this area, especially in the rain. A-Qiang felt like his big break had come. After confirming the person's destination, A-Qiang demanded twice the usual fare."

"To his surprise, the person didn't haggle at all and agreed immediately, but asked A-Qiang to wait a moment. With that, the person walked back into the rain."

"About a minute later, the person returned, but with a suitcase."

"The suitcase looked very heavy. The person was carrying it with both hands and seemed to be struggling. A-Qiang thought that since he was charging so much, he should get out and help, but he was refused outright."

"The person asked A-Qiang to open the trunk, and then put the suitcase in himself."

"After that, he walked to the front of the car, opened the back door, and got in."

"The person was wearing all black, with a baseball cap pulled low, the brim dripping with water."

"A-Qiang glanced in the rearview mirror and realized he couldn't see his face at all."

"The journey was quite long, towards a certain urban village. On the way, A-Qiang stopped to use the restroom, but when he returned, he found the person was gone."

"He looked around outside the car but couldn't find him. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted the fare the person had left on the back seat."

"Looks like he had to leave in a hurry." A-Qiang collected the money, checked it, and found it was all there. He happily pocketed it and drove towards home.

"On the way, a friend called him, inviting him to a drinking session. He went and drank until about 2 a.m. before staggering home."

"He took his phone and keys from the car and prepared to go upstairs. Just then, he faintly heard a strange sound."

"It was as if something was guiding him. His gaze drifted aimlessly, finally landing on the trunk."

"The person should have taken the suitcase, right? Although A-Qiang thought so, he still walked over and opened the trunk. A suitcase lay quietly inside."

"A-Qiang lifted the suitcase with his hand, his eyes narrowed slightly. Just as he thought, it was indeed very heavy. There might be something valuable inside."

"Recently, he'd had bad luck playing cards and lost a lot. If there were some valuables inside..."

"No sooner said than done. Fueled by alcohol, he took out a few tools from the trunk, the ones he used for car repairs. They came in handy now."

"But the moment he pried open the suitcase, a stench assaulted his nostrils. At the same time, a female corpse, twisted into an unseemly shape, appeared before him."

"Her limbs were all broken, and her face was covered by messy, long hair, revealing only one wide, unblinking eye, coldly staring at A-Qiang."

"In the middle of the night, suddenly seeing this scene almost scared A-Qiang to death."

"But then, his gaze paused, and he noticed a glimmer of light on the female corpse's pale finger. It was a ring."

"The ring was inlaid with a large ruby, which looked very valuable."

"After the suitcase was opened, a red leather bag fell out. A-Qiang hesitated for a moment, then boldly grabbed the bag."

"After opening it, there were some receipts and a few keys inside. The rest... was money."

"Seeing the money, A-Qiang had other thoughts. At this hour, there was no one around, so no one would know he had found the suitcase."

"As for whether the passenger would report it to the police... A-Qiang thought he definitely wouldn't, because he was the murderer who killed the woman!"

"So... as long as he disposed of the female corpse properly and wasn't discovered, everything would pass unnoticed, and he could make a fortune."

"Thinking of this, A-Qiang, emboldened by the alcohol, immediately closed the trunk and then drove the car along a dark path to the edge of a wild lake."

"Just as he was about to throw the suitcase into the lake, he remembered the ring on the female corpse's finger."

"Might as well go all the way, he opened the suitcase again and, with trembling hands, tried to pull the ring off the female corpse's finger."

"But unexpectedly, the ring was incredibly tight. He tore the skin off the female corpse's finger, but still couldn't remove it."

"At this moment, he spotted a stone on the ground. One corner of the stone was sharp. He finally hardened his heart, smashed the female corpse's finger, and finally took off the ring."

"Then he stuffed a few large stones into the suitcase to ensure it wouldn't float, and then threw the suitcase containing the female corpse into the lake."

"Even after he sobered up, he was really worried for several days, paying attention to whether there was any news."

"But fortunately, everything was normal, as if everything before was just a dream."

"But... he stared at the ring in his hand, knowing it was definitely not a dream."

"The strange things started a few days later." The man in the tracksuit took a deep breath, emphasizing, "To be precise, it was on the seventh day."

"Because A-Qiang had plenty of money during this time, he didn't drive anymore, but instead gathered with friends every day to drink and play cards."

"That night, he drank too much again. After playing cards for a while, he was so tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. Around 2 a.m., he prepared to go home to sleep."

"He staggered along the road alone. At first, he didn't feel anything, but after walking for a while, A-Qiang felt something was wrong."

"His home wasn't far from his friend's house. Usually, it would only take about ten minutes to walk, but today, he seemed to have been walking for a long time, and the road ahead was still long, as if it had no end."

"Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shudder."

"Then, as if sensing something, A-Qiang slowly turned around, because there were no street lights, he could only vaguely see an outline."

"About 30 meters behind him, something seemed to be moving."

"Gulu..."

"Gulu..."

"..."

"Accompanied by a terrifying rolling sound, A-Qiang finally saw what was following him."

"It was... a suitcase!"

"The suitcase he threw into the lake!"

"In an instant, A-Qiang's mind went blank, and he sobered up instantly. Then he turned and ran towards home."

"While running, he shouted for help."