Chapter 56 Cannery
Next, they went to the homes of two other missing children.
After some questioning, they quickly found something in common among the three children - before they disappeared, they had all said they were being followed, although their parents did not take their children's words seriously.
The mother of one of the missing children sobbed and lamented, "I regret it so much! If I had believed her, she wouldn't have disappeared. It's all my fault. It's all my fault... I'm not a good enough mother..."
Ruan Nanzhu offered a few words of comfort in a gentle voice, then said, "Do you have any clues about her disappearance? If so, could you please tell us? Perhaps we can use these clues to find your child sooner."
The mother was silent for a moment, then whispered, "There's a clue... There's a rumor that there's a monster hiding in the suburbs of our town... Of course, it's just a rumor, no one has ever seen one."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Monster? What kind of monster?"
"I don't know," said the mother. "We don't know what the monster looks like. There are only rumors that it seems to be very tall..."
That was all the news the mother knew.
However, after questioning by Ruan Nanzhu, they learned that the child loved to play near the cannery, and despite her parents' repeated warnings, she still went there secretly. The place where she disappeared this time seemed to be the sealed cannery...
It seems that the cannery is indeed an important location.
Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu reached an agreement and decided to have a simple lunch and visit the cannery in the afternoon.
Lunch still tasted terrible. Several dishes on the table were fish-related, giving off a strong fishy smell. There were also a few opened cans of fish in the middle of the table, which looked quite delicious among the food.
Because of this, many people tried the canned fish and said it tasted very good.
Because of the results of the morning's investigation, Lin Qiushi was not interested in these canned foods. He ate some food casually, then picked up his phone and began to organize his thoughts. Fortunately, he was a mute girl in this world, so few people came to talk to him and ignored him.
Lin Qiushi was also happy to have some free time.
It was the second day after entering the door, and there were still people trying to team up with Ruan Nanzhu, and their words were full of disdain for Lin Qiushi.
Some people spoke tactfully, while others were very blunt, saying that the girl was a mute and couldn't even shout out when something happened, so why waste time on her and it would be better to find someone else to team up with.
After hearing this, Lin Qiushi almost stood up and scolded the man for his inferiority, but he finally managed to hold it back and imitated Ruan Nanzhu's previous acting and acted pitiful.
So Ruan Nanzhu seemed to be moved by his fragility and rejected the invitations from others.
However, Ruan Nanzhu seemed a little annoyed by the harassment and quickly left the restaurant while grabbing Lin Qiushi.
"Why do they like looking for you so much? Is it because you are pretty?" Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu felt a little strange as they walked towards the cannery.
"People tend to seek benefits and avoid harm," Ruan Nanzhu said. "In a place where one could lose their life if they weren't careful, if they meet someone stronger than themselves, they will always try to get close to them."
When they got close enough to the cannery, they smelled a strong fishy odor.
The fishy smell makes people feel very uncomfortable. If someone doesn't like eating fish, he or she will probably feel like vomiting after smelling it twice.
The cannery is at the very edge of the town. There seems to be no signs of human habitation here. There are no buildings along the road, only some sparse trees and dense bushes. Behind the trees is thick fog, reminding them not to cross the line.
According to the mayor, the cannery had ceased production several years ago and was now shrouded in silence. Ruan Nanzhu pulled out his tools and easily opened the rusted door at the cannery's entrance. The two of them filed in.
"This cannery is quite large." Lin Qiushi looked around. The first thing he saw was a huge courtyard, surrounded by meter-high weeds. It was obvious that no one had been there for a long time. There were also several tall, dead trees in the yard. Above them were birds with black feathers. At first glance, they looked like crows, but upon closer inspection, they seemed much larger than crows...
"Yeah." Ruan Nanzhu walked in front.
Lin Qiushi asked, "Could they have all disappeared here? Or perhaps, they were brought here after disappearing."
Ruan Nanzhu: "I don't know. Let's look around first to see if there are any clues."
Lin Qiushi nodded.
The two of them walked forward, and just as they were about to enter the factory, Lin Qiushi suddenly made a discovery.
This discovery was an accident. Lin Qiushi tripped over a stone and stumbled several steps. He lowered his head reflexively and saw the stone that tripped him, but he also saw something else.
"What is this?" Lin Qiushi exclaimed. He bent down and squatted to carefully examine the dirt surface. "...Is this a fingerprint?"
Ruan Nanzhu heard Lin Qiushi's voice and looked in the direction he was looking.
The soil was covered with dense handprints. At first glance, these handprints seemed to be printed roughly without any pattern, but after careful observation, it was found that the handprints were more like a signal for help - someone was dragged out of the soil, and while being dragged away, he tried to grab something around him, so he grabbed the soil under him in panic, leaving marks on the map.
Lin Qiushi walked forward cautiously along the mark, and Ruan Nanzhu followed behind him, observing the situation nearby.
Soon, Lin Qiushi discovered what was at the end of the handprint. It was a huge dead tree, at least two meters in diameter. It looked like it had been dead for a long time. Lin Qiushi knocked on the trunk and frowned, "It's empty inside. Could there be something inside?"
Ruan Nanzhu looked at the dead tree: "It's possible." After all, the handprint disappeared in front of this tree.
Ruan Nanzhu took out a small knife from his pocket and began to slowly chisel the tree trunk. The tree was already a little rotten, and the sharp knife easily inserted into it.
However, when Ruan Nanzhu pulled out the knife, Lin Qiushi gasped.
There was actually a trace of red blood on Ruan Nanzhu's blade.
"Fuck." Lin Qiushi couldn't help but curse, his expression a little embarrassed. "...You didn't kill the clue, did you?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "..." He was silent for a moment, then said calmly, "I didn't mean it."
Lin Qiushi: “…”
Ruan Nanzhu: "But if a normal person stuck it in, it would definitely make a sound. Besides, there's no hole in this tree, so how could a normal person possibly get in?"
That's true. Lin Qiushi licked his dry lips and said, "Then let's chisel it open and see."
Ruan Nanzhu nodded. This time he didn't dare to insert the knife too deep. Instead, he started to push the knife around and soon chiseled a gap in the trunk, revealing the things inside.
After seeing what was inside the tree trunk, Lin Qiushi involuntarily took a step back with an ugly expression.
Embedded within the trunk was a child, seemingly fused with the ancient tree, its entire body almost completely embedded within it. But the most striking thing was the massive gash in its abdomen. Although there was no visible blood, Lin Qiushi knew it was definitely not alive.
Ruan Nanzhu tilted his head: "There seems to be a plastic bag behind him."
If someone hadn't seen the clues, they would definitely not know what was going on, but Lin Qiushi had already understood the clues about this door before he came in, so he almost instantly understood the meaning of the plastic bag - the child's internal organs were hollowed out and placed in that plastic bag.
This is exactly what Slender Man likes to do.
"I think the remaining children are in great danger." Lin Qiushi sighed.
Ruan Nanzhu: "High probability." He was already accustomed to death. At this moment, he was observing the corpse in the tree trunk in front of him with a cold expression, trying to find more clues.
Lin Qiushi looked around. He had a feeling that the two remaining lost children were also in the cannery, but he didn't know where they were hidden.
Just as Lin Qiushi was thinking this, Ruan Nanzhu suddenly took a step back, his steps a little hurriedly, as if he had seen something strange.
"What?" Lin Qiushi was stunned.
Ruan Nanzhu was silent for a moment, without saying anything, and pointed at the corpse in front of him.
Lin Qiushi looked up and reacted the same way as Ruan Nanzhu—the child's eyes had opened at some point, and he was now looking at them coldly with a heavy, dead look.
Lin Qiushi got goosebumps all over his body. He laughed dryly and said, "He's not pretending to be dead, is he?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "That's hard to say." He looked up at the sky, "It's getting dark. Let's not look for it anymore. Let's talk about it tomorrow. Let's go back today."
"Yeah." Lin Qiushi agreed with Ruan Nanzhu's proposal. After all, the world inside the gate is very dangerous at night.
"Let's go. Let's tell the people in town about this kid tomorrow," Ruan Nanzhu said. "I want to see how they react."
The cannery was actually quite far from where they lived, so Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu hurried back to the hotel before dark.
Everyone gathered in the restaurant, eating dinner in silence, occasionally someone talked about the clues they got today.
Lin Qiushi was eating in a haphazard manner when suddenly there was a commotion in the crowd. He looked up and saw a man bleeding from his nose.
"Oh, why is your nose bleeding suddenly?" the man's companion said, "Hurry up and wipe it with paper."
"I don't know what happened." The man said, "It started leaking while I was eating..."
He got up and went to the bathroom. Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu looked at each other and saw certain emotions in each other's eyes.
When the Slender Man sets his sights on an adult target, some signs will appear, such as nightmares, hallucinations, and one of them is nosebleeds or coughing up blood.
The man in front of me suddenly started bleeding from the nose, and I didn’t know if it was an accident or a sign.
The man left quickly and came back quickly. When he came back, his nosebleed had stopped. He was now cursing about the terrible food in the hotel.
Seeing that nothing happened, Lin Qiushi stood up and prepared to leave. Ruan Nanzhu followed him back to the room.
After returning to the room, Lin Qiushi lay on the bed with his cell phone in hand, thinking about clues.
Ruan Nanzhu sat next to him and read Lauren's diary again.
"It seems there's nothing left. We don't have enough clues yet." After dark, Lin Qiushi felt a little sleepy. He said, "Let's go to bed."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "Okay."
After washing up, Lin Qiushi climbed into bed and watched the fog outside the window begin to thicken.
Ruan Nanzhu lay next to Lin Qiushi. After a while of silence, he began to breathe steadily...it seemed as if he had fallen asleep.
Lin Qiushi also closed his eyes, but in the silent night, even the slightest sound seemed extremely harsh. Lin Qiushi had sharp hearing, and while lying in bed, he caught a sound that did not belong here.
That was the sound of someone moving through the grass. The person seemed to be dragging something heavy, and occasionally stepped on one or two branches.
Lin Qiushi immediately thought of the child he saw in the tree trunk during the day, and his lifeless pupils covered with a layer of pale and terrifying light.
He felt a little cold, so he slowly turned over.
Ruan Nanzhu, who should have been soundly asleep, opened her eyes and looked at him with burning eyes: "Little mute girl, can't you sleep?"
Lin Qiushi's eyes widened. Before he could say anything, Ruan Nanzhu stood up, then naturally moved to lie down next to him and put his arms around his waist.
Lin Qiushi was about to say something when Ruan Nanzhu gently pressed his lips with his thumb: "Shh, be good."
Lin Qiushi: “…”
While Lin Qiushi was dazed, the two men had already slept in the same bed. Fortunately, the bed was large enough that it wasn't too crowded for two men to sleep together. Lin Qiushi had wanted to refuse, but before he did, he thought of Ruan Nanzhu's identity as the sleeping pill master. He hesitated and ultimately said nothing.
Something in the grass outside the house was still moving around, as if looking for an opportunity.
Lin Qiushi listened nervously at first, but later he was infected by Ruan Nanzhu's calm atmosphere. He closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep.
I slept till the next day.
The next morning, nothing happened.
Fourteen people showed up in the restaurant as usual.
It's been two days, and no one's died yet. This is quite rare. Lin Qiushi was thinking this when he saw someone walk past him. This person looked like the one who had a sudden nosebleed during dinner yesterday. He had an ordinary appearance, and there shouldn't be anything eye-catching about him, but Lin Qiushi frowned after taking one look at him.
Compared to yesterday, this man had a black top hat on his head.
The hat was totally out of place with his casual attire, but no one else seemed to notice and didn't even mention it.
"What are you looking at?" Ruan Nanzhu suddenly asked him.
"That hat on his head looks weird," Lin Qiushi replied. "Didn't you see it yesterday?"
Ruan Nanzhu frowned slightly when he heard this. His eyes moved to the man and stared at him for a moment: "It is indeed very strange."
"But everyone thinks it's normal," said Lin Qiushi.
"To be honest," Ruan Nanzhu put down the cup of milk in his hand. "Before you mentioned this, I also thought it was normal."
Lin Qiushi: "Hmm?"
Ruan Nanzhu: "How can I describe that feeling to you? It's like he was meant to be wearing a hat like this." He propped up his chin and studied the man calmly from the corner of his eye. "It wasn't awkward, nor was it strange."
Lin Qiushi: “…”
But in fact, this is indeed a very strange hat.
Obviously, a black hat like this would only be worn when wearing formal attire. But the man was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and he seemed to be the only one in the room who noticed something was wrong.
Ruan Nanzhu said softly, "I think he's going to die."
Lin Qiushi: “…I think so too.”
The two of them reached a consensus on this matter.
The man seemed to have no idea that he had any problem and ate breakfast happily with others. During the meal, he told his companions that he had a dream the previous day.
With Lin Qiushi's hearing ability, he easily caught what he said.
"In my dream, someone gave me a hat and told me to wear it," he said with a smile. "I thought it was just a dream, but the next day I actually found a hat hanging on a branch outside my window."
"That's a nice hat," his companion actually said. "It suits you very well."
Under normal circumstances, these words would have sounded perfunctory, but the speaker's tone was sincere, and Lin Qiushi could tell he was serious. He genuinely thought the hat was beautiful and suited his companion well, and he even wanted to try it on himself.
Lin Qiushi glanced at Ruan Nanzhu.
Ruan Nanzhu seemed to understand what he meant. He nodded, stood up and walked towards the man in the hat.
"Is there something wrong with your hat?" Ruan Nanzhu said, "Is it something cursed?"
The words were obvious, but the man showed a wary expression after hearing them. He said, "I don't think so. What if the clue to the key is in the hat?"
Ruan Nanzhu spread his hands: "What if he's not here?"
The man said, "It doesn't matter if he's not here. It's just a hat."
Ruan Nanzhu stopped talking and turned to leave. If it weren't for Lin Qiushi, he wouldn't have said such a superfluous word. Since this person was stubborn and refused to listen, he had already done his best.
Lin Qiushi looked helpless and carefully typed on his phone: If I am possessed by this thing, you must wake me up.
Ruan Nanzhu smiled faintly: "Don't worry, I will definitely wake you up in a way that won't hurt you."
Lin Qiushi: "..." Why does your smile look weird?
The man in the black hat went out with his companions after breakfast. Ruan Nanzhu looked quite regretful.
Lin Qiushi initially thought that Ruan Nanzhu was regretting that this person might die just like him, but later he discovered that Ruan Nanzhu was actually regretting that he didn't see how he died.
"Seeing it will help you gain more experience." Ruan Nanzhu took out a candy from his pocket, ate one himself, and gave one to Lin Qiushi.
"What kind of candy is this?" This was the first time Lin Qiushi tasted candy of this flavor.
"Cheng Yixie made this, who knows what it tastes like." Ruan Nanzhu handed a handful to Lin Qiushi, "Eat it, little mute girl."
Lin Qiushi took it and put it in his pocket.
The two had seen the body yesterday and were planning to talk to the mayor. However, as they passed by the square, they noticed there was another missing person notice. After carefully reading the notice, they discovered that another child had gone missing in the town yesterday. They knew this child, Lauren's sister.
"How could the child be lost again?" Lin Qiushi frowned.
Ruan Nanzhu: “I don’t feel very good. There are only eight children in the town.
Lin Qiushi: "...So, there's actually a death limit?"
Ruan Nanzhu nodded.
At first glance, the task given to them by the NPC this time did not have a time limit, but this sudden missing person notice gave them a bad feeling.
What would happen if all the children in the town disappeared? Lin Qiushi felt that he didn't want to know the answer to this question.
Ruan Nanzhu said, "Let's go and find the mayor first."
They crossed the square and found the mayor in a row of old buildings at the back, and briefly told him about the body found yesterday.
The mayor's expression was very serious after hearing this, but Lin Qiushi could see a hint of panic in his serious expression... as if he knew what was going on.
"Oh, thank you. We'll take someone over to take a look," the mayor said. "It's inside the cannery, right?"
"Yes, under a dead tree in the cannery," Ruan Nanzhu said. "Mr. Mayor, we really want to help you find the child, but if you know any clues but are unwilling to share them with us, it will make our work much more difficult." He pointed in the direction of the square. "We see another child missing."
The mayor frowned and remained silent.
"Are you going to wait until all the children are gone before you are willing to tell us more information?" Ruan Nanzhu said.
The mayor rubbed his hands and still refused to speak.
Ruan Nanzhu narrowed his eyes slightly. Based on Lin Qiushi's understanding of him, he knew that this expression showed his impatience.
Ruan Nanzhu had a bad temper to begin with, and he had probably endured the mayor's gentle words for a long time.
"Actually, we can't really say for sure." Perhaps Ruan Nanzhu's gaze put pressure on the mayor, but he finally spoke. "Actually, things like this happen several times every year..."
Ruan Nanzhu instantly restrained his expression and smiled gently again: "Oh? What do you mean it happens several times a year?"
"It means there are strange things in our town that always seem to want to take our children away," the mayor said. "So we have a holiday every year at this time and let the children stay at home."
Ruan Nanzhu: "Do the townspeople know about this?"
The mayor shook his head awkwardly.
"They don't know?" Ruan Nanzhu was a little surprised. "Then what excuse did you use to keep the children at home?"
The mayor said: "There will always be excuses, but that's not the point. The point is that something unexpected happened this year."
Before he could say anything, Ruan Nanzhu interrupted him: "What's surprising is that even though the children stayed at home, they still disappeared?"
The mayor nodded, his tone sounding very dull: "Among the four missing children, two disappeared at home, and the other two ran away for unknown reasons..."
Lin Qiushi thought of the corpse in the cannery. It seemed that the child was caught by that thing in the cannery.
"So, we don't know what the problem is," the mayor said. "Is it the children being disobedient, or is it that thing..."
Ruan Nanzhu said, "Or maybe that thing has become more powerful."
The mayor nodded somewhat painfully.
After hearing his words, Lin Qiushi immediately remembered the black top hat he saw this morning... This top hat was obviously related to what the mayor mentioned, but he didn't know whether it was related to the disappearance of the children.
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