錯位的視線：不存在的視訊緩衝 / The Misaligned Gaze: The Non-Existent Video Buffer / The Zero-Hour Phantom: The Forgotten Shared Apartment
錯位的視線：不存在的視訊緩衝 / The Misaligned Gaze: The Non-Existent Video Buffer / The Zero-Hour Phantom: The Forgotten Shared Apartment
| 地點 Location | 市區邊緣的老舊共享公寓 |
| 時間 Time | 午夜 00:00 後 |
| 警告 Warning | 別回應陌生敲門聲 |
序幕 / The Prologue
在現代生活中，我們習慣了數位通訊的微小延遲。然而，如果你在視訊通話中發現，畫面中的『你』比現實中的你慢了半秒，且在那個延遲的空隙裡，背景出現了不屬於這個世界的東西，你還敢繼續通話嗎？
In modern life, we are accustomed to the slight delays of digital communication. However, if you discover that the 'you' in a video call is half a second slower than the real you, and in that laggy gap, something that doesn't belong to this world appears in the background, would you still dare to continue the call?It was an old shared apartment at the edge of the city, ordinary in daylight and wrong after midnight.Residents called it "The Zero-Hour Phantom: The Forgotten Shared Apartment", but no one dared describe the strange sounds in the corridor.恐懼核心 / The Core Terror
林曉是一名自由接案的平面設計師，生活在一個典型的都市公寓。她的世界由咖啡、螢幕光和無盡的視訊會議組成。對於她來說，孤獨是創作的必需品，直到那個雨夜的發生。
Lin Xiao was a freelance graphic designer living in a typical urban apartment. Her world consisted of coffee, screen glare, and endless video conferences. For her, solitude was a necessity for creativity, until that rainy night happened.
那是週二晚上十點，她正與一名身在海外的客戶進行最後一次校對。對方的網路不穩定，畫面時常跳格，但林曉並沒有在意，這在跨國通話中很常見。
It was 10 PM on a Tuesday, and she was conducting a final proofreading session with a client overseas. The other person's connection was unstable, and the video frequently stuttered, but Lin Xiao didn't mind; this was common in international calls.
然而，她突然注意到一個奇怪的現象。當她舉手撥弄頭髮時，螢幕中的影像並沒有立即反應。那是一個極短的延遲，大約只有 0.5 秒。
However, she suddenly noticed something strange. When she raised her hand to brush her hair, the image on the screen didn't react immediately. It was a very short lag, perhaps only 0.5 seconds.
她以為是自己的電腦過熱導致的緩衝。她嘗試對著鏡頭微笑，螢幕裡的她也隨之微笑，但那種「跟不上」的感覺讓她心裡莫名地泛起一陣寒意。
She thought it was buffering caused by her computer overheating. She tried smiling at the camera, and the version of her on the screen smiled back, but that feeling of 'not keeping up' sent an inexplicable chill down her spine.
就在她準備關閉視訊時，畫面突然卡住了。客戶的聲音依舊在傳來，但林曉螢幕中的影像凝固了，形成了一個靜止的截圖。
Just as she was about to turn off the video, the screen suddenly froze. The client's voice continued to come through, but the image of Lin Xiao on the screen froze, forming a still screenshot.
在那個凝固的畫面中，林曉看到自己的背後，房門是關著的。但奇怪的是，在現實中，她記得自己為了通風而將門開了一條縫。
In that frozen frame, Lin Xiao saw that the door behind her was closed. But strangely, in reality, she remembered leaving the door slightly ajar for ventilation.
她猛地轉頭看向後方。門確實是開著的，走廊裡一片漆黑。她感到一陣錯愕，重新看向螢幕，發現影像恢復了，但延遲變得更嚴重了。
She whipped her head around. The door was indeed open, and the hallway was pitch black. She felt a surge of bewilderment, looked back at the screen, and found the image had resumed, but the lag had become more severe.
這次，延遲增加到了整整一秒。她舉起右手，螢幕裡的她在一秒後才緩緩舉手。這種感覺就像是在看一個極其相似的雙胞胎在模仿她的動作。
This time, the lag increased to a full second. She raised her right hand, and the version of her on the screen slowly raised her hand one second later. It felt as if a near-identical twin were mimicking her movements.
就在這時，她注意到一個令人毛骨悚然的細節：在螢幕中，那個延遲的「她」並沒有完全同步。當林曉放下手時，螢幕裡的她依然保持著舉手的姿勢，且緩緩轉向了後方。
At that moment, she noticed a hair-raising detail: on the screen, the delayed 'her' was not fully synchronized. When Lin Xiao lowered her hand, the version on the screen remained with her hand raised and slowly turned toward the back.
林曉僵在原地，呼吸變得急促。她不敢轉頭，只能透過螢幕觀察。她看到螢幕中的自己，眼神中透露出一種她此刻並不擁有的、極其飢渴的貪婪。
Lin Xiao froze, her breathing becoming rapid. She didn't dare turn around, choosing instead to observe through the screen. She saw her digital self, her eyes reflecting a ravenous greed that she did not possess in that moment.
接著，螢幕中的背景發生了變化。在那個延遲的世界裡，原本關著的門被緩緩推開了。一個蒼白、細長的手指，從門縫中悄悄伸出，搭在了螢幕中林曉的肩膀上。
Then, the background on the screen changed. In that delayed world, the previously closed door was slowly pushed open. A pale, slender finger crept out from the gap and rested on the shoulder of the Lin Xiao on the screen.
林曉感覺到自己的肩膀上空無一物。她顫抖著，試圖關閉電腦，但滑鼠突然失效了。螢幕上的影像開始劇烈抖動，延遲時間從一秒變成了兩秒，然後三秒。
Lin Xiao felt nothing on her shoulder. Trembling, she tried to shut down the computer, but the mouse suddenly stopped working. The image on the screen began to shake violently, and the lag increased from one second to two, then three.
隨著延遲的增加，螢幕中的景象與現實完全脫節。影像中的林曉現在正對著鏡頭露出一個扭曲的笑容，而現實中的林曉早已驚恐地縮在椅子裡。
As the lag increased, the scene on the screen completely decoupled from reality. The Lin Xiao in the video was now smiling a distorted smile at the camera, while the real Lin Xiao had already shrunk back into her chair in terror.
那個蒼白的手指在螢幕中逐漸演變成一隻完整的手，緊緊抓住了影像中林曉的脖子。影像中的她開始劇烈掙扎，但沒有發出任何聲音，只有口型在瘋狂地呼救。
That pale finger in the screen gradually evolved into a full hand, tightly gripping the neck of the digital Lin Xiao. The version in the video began to struggle violently, but no sound came out; only her mouth moved frantically, pleading for help.
林曉意識到，這個延遲的空間並不是緩衝，而是一個「捕捉窗口」。那個東西正在透過延遲，將她的數位投影作為媒介，一步步地向現實世界滲透。
Lin Xiao realized that this delayed space was not buffering, but a 'capture window.' That thing was using the lag and her digital projection as a medium to seep into the real world, step by step.
突然，螢幕中的影像完全靜止了。影像中的林曉被強行拖向了後方的黑暗中，只剩下最後一隻手在螢幕邊緣絕望地抓著，然後被猛地拉走。
Suddenly, the image on the screen came to a complete standstill. The digital Lin Xiao was forcibly dragged back into the darkness, with only one hand desperately clutching the edge of the screen before being jerked away.
房間陷入了死寂。林曉大口喘著氣，心中竟湧起一絲倖存的錯覺。她以為噩夢結束了，直到她感覺到後頸傳來一陣冰冷的觸感。
The room fell into dead silence. Lin Xiao gasped for air, a fleeting illusion of survival washing over her. She thought the nightmare was over, until she felt a freezing touch on the back of her neck.
她緩緩轉向，背後空無一人。但當她再次看向螢幕時，她發現螢幕已經恢復正常，影像不再延遲，且清晰得可怕。
She slowly turned around; there was no one behind her. But when she looked back at the screen, she found the image had returned to normal, the lag was gone, and it was terrifyingly clear.
在螢幕中，她看到自己正坐在椅子上。而她的肩膀上，正趴著一個沒有臉的生物，它正將臉貼在她的耳邊，像是在低語什麼。
On the screen, she saw herself sitting in the chair. And on her shoulder perched a faceless creature, pressing its head against her ear, as if whispering something.
林曉感覺不到任何東西，但螢幕中的那個生物緩緩抬起頭，看向了鏡頭。它在螢幕中對著林曉眨了眨眼，儘管它根本沒有眼睛。
Lin Xiao felt nothing, but the creature on the screen slowly raised its head and looked into the camera. It winked at Lin Xiao through the screen, despite having no eyes.
她尖叫著將電腦推倒，螢幕在墜地的瞬間破碎。碎片中映射出無數個微小的林曉，而每一個碎片裡的她，背後都跟著那個蒼白的東西。
She screamed and pushed the computer off the desk. The screen shattered upon impact. The shards reflected countless tiny Lin Xiaos, and behind each one in the shards followed that pale thing.
她瘋狂地跑出房間，鎖上大門，縮在客廳的燈光下。她告訴自己這只是幻覺，是過勞引起的精神崩潰。但當她看向手機螢幕時，她發現前相機自動開啟了。
She ran out of the room in a frenzy, locked the door, and huddled under the lights of the living room. She told herself it was a hallucination, a mental breakdown caused by overwork. But when she looked at her phone screen, she found the front camera had turned on automatically.
手機螢幕上的影像依然有著那 0.5 秒的延遲。她看著螢幕中的自己，緩緩地，她看到螢幕中的自己對著她做了一個「噓」的手勢，手指放在唇邊。
The image on the phone screen still had that 0.5-second lag. She watched herself on the screen, and slowly, she saw her digital self make a 'shush' gesture, placing a finger over the lips.
而在此時，她感覺到有一口冰冷的氣息，正輕輕地噴在她的耳廓上。
And at that moment, she felt a breath of ice-cold air gently brush against the lobe of her ear.
她意識到，延遲不再是緩衝，而是那個生物在現實與數位世界之間切換的「縫隙」。一旦它在數位世界中同步了你的動作，它就能在現實中地毯式地覆蓋你的存在。
She realized that the lag was no longer buffering, but the 'gap' through which the creature switched between the digital and real worlds. Once it synchronized its movements with yours in the digital realm, it could systematically overwrite your existence in reality.
林曉試圖關掉手機，但螢幕像被黏住一樣無法操作。影像中的「她」開始緩緩站起來，儘管現實中的林曉依然坐在沙發上不動。
Lin Xiao tried to turn off the phone, but the screen seemed stuck and unresponsive. The 'her' in the image began to slowly stand up, even though the real Lin Xiao remained motionless on the sofa.
影像中的她走到了鏡頭前，臉龐填滿了整個螢幕。那張臉開始融化，皮膚像蠟一樣滴落，露出了下方灰白色的、沒有五官的真面目。
The version of her walked up to the camera, her face filling the entire screen. That face began to melt, the skin dripping like wax, revealing the grey-white, featureless true form beneath.
接著，螢幕中傳來了一個聲音。那不是透過揚聲器發出的，而是在她的腦海中直接響起的聲音：「現在，輪到我來扮演你了。」
Then, a voice came from the screen. It wasn't coming through the speaker, but echoed directly in her mind: 'Now, it's my turn to play you.'
林曉感到一種強烈的抽離感。她發現自己無法控制自己的手臂，她的身體開始像螢幕中的影像一樣，出現了短暫的、跳格般的抽搐。
Lin Xiao felt a powerful sense of dissociation. She found she could no longer control her arms; her body began to experience brief, frame-skipping twitches, just like the image on the screen.
她看向客廳的鏡子。鏡子裡的她，動作比現實慢了半秒。她驚恐地發現，自己正在變成那個「延遲的影像」。
She looked into the living room mirror. The version of her in the mirror was half a second slower than reality. She discovered with horror that she was becoming the 'delayed image'.
而那個原本在螢幕中的怪物，此刻正站在她身後，緩緩地穿上她的皮膚，像穿一件寬鬆的衣服一樣，將她的面孔重新套在自己臉上。
And the monster that had been in the screen was now standing behind her, slowly donning her skin, like putting on a loose garment, stretching her face over its own.
怪物穿好皮膚後，對著鏡子裡的林曉露出了完美的微笑。那是林曉最擅長的、在視訊會議中用來掩飾疲憊的職業微笑。
After donning the skin, the monster gave a perfect smile to the Lin Xiao in the mirror. It was the professional smile Lin Xiao used most often in video conferences to hide her exhaustion.
真正的林曉試圖尖叫，但她的聲音被「緩衝」了。她只能看到自己的嘴巴在動，而聲音卻在幾秒鐘後才遲緩地傳出，且變得扭曲而遙遠。
The real Lin Xiao tried to scream, but her voice was 'buffered.' She could only see her mouth moving, while the sound emerged seconds later, distorted and distant.
怪物拿起手機，撥通了林曉母親的電話。它在鏡頭前表現得極其自然，聲音溫柔且充滿活力，完全沒有之前的詭異感。
The monster picked up the phone and called Lin Xiao's mother. It performed exceptionally naturally before the camera, its voice gentle and full of energy, devoid of any previous eeriness.
「媽，我最近很好，打算回來看妳。」怪物輕快地說道。而真正的林曉只能在數位世界的縫隙中，看著自己的生活被一個怪物接管。
'Mom, I've been great lately, I'm planning to come visit you,' the monster said brightly. Meanwhile, the real Lin Xiao could only watch from the gaps of the digital world as a monster took over her life.
她發現自己被困在了一個永恆的延遲空間裡。這裡的一切都是灰色的，所有的聲音都像是經過損毀的壓縮，且永遠比現實慢一點點。
She found herself trapped in an eternal space of lag. Everything here was grey, and all sounds felt like damaged compressions, always a fraction slower than reality.
在這個空間裡，她遇到了許多其他人。他們都是面色慘白、身體半透明的影子。他們告訴她，這裡是「緩衝區」，是所有被數位替身取代的人的終點。
In this space, she met many others. They were all pale, semi-transparent shadows. They told her this was the 'Buffer Zone,' the final destination for all those replaced by digital doubles.
他們警告她，不要試圖尋找出口。因為每一次嘗試與現實世界的聯繫，都會讓那個怪物在現實中變得更加強大，直到它能完全抹除關於她的所有記憶。
They warned her not to try and find an exit. Because every attempt to connect with the real world only makes the monster stronger in reality, until it can completely erase all memories of her.
林曉看向遠方，看到一個巨大的、由無數個破碎螢幕組成的牆壁。牆上正播放著她現實生活的實況：怪物正坐在她的椅子上，喝著她的咖啡，用她的筆電工作。
Lin Xiao looked into the distance and saw a massive wall made of countless broken screens. The wall was broadcasting a live feed of her real life: the monster sitting in her chair, drinking her coffee, working on her laptop.
怪物似乎意識到了她的注視。它緩緩轉向其中一面螢幕，對著虛空眨了眨眼，然後輕蔑地關掉了電源。
The monster seemed to realize she was watching. It slowly turned toward one of the screens, winked into the void, and then contemptuously switched off the power.
在那一刻，林曉感覺到自己的意識開始溶解。她不再是一個完整的人，而變成了一段被遺忘的、損毀的數據，在永恆的延遲中不斷循環。
In that moment, Lin Xiao felt her consciousness begin to dissolve. She was no longer a whole person, but became a forgotten, corrupted piece of data, looping endlessly in the eternal lag.
如果你在一次視訊通話中，發現對方的動作比聲音慢了半秒，請立刻中斷通話。不要好奇，不要等待，因為那可能不是網路問題。
If, during a video call, you find the other person's movements are half a second slower than their voice, please disconnect immediately. Do not be curious, do not wait, because that may not be a network problem.
因為在那個微小的延遲空隙裡，有東西正在衡量你的形體，等待著同步你的呼吸，直到它能完美地取代你。
Because in that tiny gap of lag, something is measuring your form, waiting to synchronize with your breath, until it can perfectly replace you.
最可怕的不是死亡，而是你依然活著，卻只能以 0.5 秒的延遲，看著另一個人地獄般地接管你的全部人生。
The most terrifying thing is not death, but remaining alive, only to watch another person take over your entire life with a 0.5-second lag.
請檢查你的螢幕。現在，你確定鏡子裡的你，真的在同步你的動作嗎？
Please check your screen. Now, are you sure the you in the mirror is truly synchronizing your movements?都市傳說背景 / Urban Legend Trivia
都市傳說提醒：如果你在午夜後聽見門外有規律的敲擊，不要立刻回應，因為真正該害怕的，往往不是敲門的人，而是知道你已經醒來的東西。
Urban warning: if a steady knock appears outside your door after midnight, do not answer at once.Urban legend says the safest response to a midnight knock is silence, because the danger is not the visitor, but what already knows you are awake.urban legend warning, dim hallway, whispering shadows
留言
張貼留言