May in the south is gentle and lingering.
In the supermarket, the cashier held a barcode scanner and pulled out a plastic bag from under the counter: "A total of 49 yuan."
After a slight sound of fabric rubbing against each other, a hand appeared in front of me. The skin was very white, and the joints were clear and beautiful.
There was a banknote between his fingers.
The cashier was a young girl. She had seen customers carry around mobile phones all the time, and rarely saw anyone carrying paper money. She looked up at the customer in front of her with a little surprise, and quickly took the money: "Wait a moment."
Even though it was indoors, the customer was very unique in wearing a sweatshirt hat. The shadow of the hat brim concealed his facial features. When he took his hand back, he picked up two candies from the counter next to him.
The candy was a very common brand, the kind you could use to exchange for change in supermarkets. One piece cost fifty cents, and two pieces plus the original forty-nine was exactly fifty yuan, so you didn't even need to give me change.
The cashier could naturally see that this was to reduce his own troubles, and after looking at the other party, he was happy to have some free time. He packed the things quickly, stuffed the receipt into the bag, and watched the customer pick up the things and leave. He thought in his heart inappropriately: This is really a benefit for hand control.
…before turning around, he was brought back to his senses by the next customer waiting to check out.
※
The heavy rain that had lasted for a week had just stopped not long ago, and it was a sunny day outside. The golden light filtered through the shadows of the trees and fell on the puddles, and the rippling water was so bright that it was dazzling.
Shi Yu was wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt with a hood on her head and holding a plastic bag in her hand. By the time she returned to Lanwan Community, she had finished the ice cream she had just bought from the supermarket, and the sweet aroma of chocolate was still lingering around.
He threw the stick into the trash can and passed by the shaded area outside the community where children gathered to build castles in the sand pool under the shade.
The child's sand castle was piled up like a dirt hill, and he was laughed at by his friends. He pouted and saw a stranger passing by. The stranger was wrapped tightly in black and white long clothes and trousers, and there was no warm color on his body.
He subconsciously took a half step back and pulled his companion's sleeve: "Look, is that the mute who lives in our community?"
His companion was concentrating on piling sand. Hearing this, he looked up and glanced at me, then lowered his head again and said, "Maybe."
"Isn't it hot wearing so many clothes in such a hot day?"
"Maybe."
"Do you think there's something wrong with this guy?" The child pointed at his temples and lowered his voice to hide his mistake.
"Maybe."
"My mother said he was a psychopath."
"I've made my sand castle."
“…You broke the rules!”
After passing the shade and going forward, there is a U-shaped patch of green shrubs.
Shi Yu stopped beside the green belt. After a moment, the shadow of the bushes shook and a figure emerged.
Soon the second one came out.
In a few seconds, five or six balls of fur of different colors emerged from the grass.
The fur balls were more or less stained with rain from the branches and leaves. They rubbed against his ankles one by one, and their voices were soft and milky as if to please him: "Meow."
Passersby who happened to pass by at this moment could not help but look over here, and those who were with them would even lower their voices and whisper.
Stray cats are usually timid and afraid of strangers. There are often playful children or elderly people who feed them when they feel like it, but no one has ever been seen who can make these cats so close.
Shi Yu half-knelt down, stretched out his fingers from the elastic cuffs, took out the only item left in the plastic bag, and tore open the cat food packaging bag with the LOGO printed on it.
While watching several cats fighting over food, he gently poked the nearest white-haired kitten.
The little kitten didn't hide. It just meowed and lay on the grass with its belly exposed.
No one heard it. The man who was called dumb by the children not long ago looked down at it for a while, and suddenly said: "I don't think I have seen you before."
The kitten's tail rested on his wrist.
Shi Yu: “New here?”
Kitten: "Meow."
Shi Yu blinked slowly and responded, "Come with me to the veterinary hospital next time."
Little kitten: “?”
Shi Yu: "Vaso ligation."
“…”
After that, no matter how the cat acted coquettishly and tried to get close to him, Shi Yu didn't say a word.
The other cats ate their cat food and pretended not to hear.
Dealing with stray animals has always been a troublesome matter. If left alone, they can easily hurt people, and if intentionally fed, they can easily breed more and more due to irregularities. But animals are naturally free to eat, and the country introduced a law years ago that requires relevant personnel to catch stray animals and send them to relevant institutions. Only animals with special official sterilization marks are allowed to run around outside.
If you want meal tickets, then let’s get sterilized together. Who is nobler than who?
A handful of cat food was divided up cleanly.
Shi Yu slowly poured them a second handful and fastened the built-in zipper with her fingers.
The accident happened at this time.
Across an intersection, a van suddenly turned black on the screen. The accelerator was pressed without release, and it drove through the red light with a collision posture. Like an arrow shot from a bow, the steering wheel turned sharply, from the middle of the road to the side of the road, and finally crashed into the green belt uncontrollably.
There was a violent friction sound between the rubber and the ground behind me, like a sharp blade scratching glass, sharp and piercing.
Human transportation becomes an irresistible force at uncontrolled high speeds, compressing the long time of life all the way to the end of death.
A sharp sound rang out beside my ears: "Meow——!!"
※
[Conditions met, new player identity information has been loaded]
[It is detected that the player's vital signs have dropped to the lowest point. You should enter the dungeon immediately. Please select the game dungeon]
[Since the player has not made a choice for a long time, the system will automatically select a copy of this game for you]
[Congratulations, you have won the copy "White Deer", teleport immediately]
Shi Yu was knocked unconscious by the huge impact of the out-of-control vehicle. His brain was dizzy and he seemed to hear these few words in a trance. Before he could react, everything in front of his eyes went completely dark.
※
It's raining outside.
It was the dog days of summer, and the air was extremely hot and muggy. The rain was pouring down, but it failed to lower the temperature. The mud was splashing on the mountain path, and the salty and wet smell of the mud stained the dead branches and leaves on the ground.
“Pah—”
A pair of feet stepped through the puddle, and the trouser legs were splashed with mud and water and turned a dark yellow.
Then comes the second pair of feet.
A team of about four or five people carried the brown-red coffin in the center and moved forward silently in the heavy rain.
The woman in the front left adjusted her hat that was knocked askew by the rain and frowned. Before she could even utter the word "damn" she seemed to remember something. She glanced at the coffin beside her and swallowed the curse words back.
The man with bangs covering his eyes behind her glanced at him, then lowered his head silently and continued walking forward.
The mountain path was very steep, and the only sound along the way was the splashing of water from rain boots.
I don't know how far I walked, but the view in front of me suddenly opened up. The heavy rain outlined a three-story brick house surrounded by a fence. The white flags under the eaves were blowing and fluttering.
At the moment the house appeared, there was a sudden tremor somewhere in the air, followed by a slight sound similar to that of turning on a TV.
[The God's Domain live broadcast room has been opened. I wish all players a happy game. 】
The prompt sounded strangely, but no one in the team spoke.
In a place invisible to the public, a small window appeared on countless screens at the same time, broadcasting the scene there in real time.
【Here we go! First one! 】
[Woo woo woo, Wuzi’s mother is here to see you! 】
[Why does the background look so dark this time? A forest? A deserted village? A haunted house?]
[The live broadcast room has opened, buy it and leave it alone! Let’s see who will die first this time! ]
[When I saw the new game push on the homepage, I knew that the opportunity to get some free stuff from God Realm had come. Of course, I bet on the new players. 】
[…I’ve been wanting to ask this for a long time. Has anyone seen where the newcomers in the list were sent? Why can’t I see any of them? ]
The leader of the team was a man in a long robe who looked to be over fifty years old. He ordered everyone to stop, gathered his wide linen sleeves, and knocked on the wooden gate in front of him.
The door of the house was not closed. The rain was so heavy that one could only vaguely see the neatly arranged furniture inside the house from the distance between the fence and the gate, but no one was seen.
After the door was knocked, a man holding a big black umbrella and with a white cloth tied on his head walked out of the house and hurried to the front of the team: "Excuse me, are you Taoist Priest Lingshan? Please come in quickly!"
The man in the robe bowed, pushed open the wooden fence, and waved behind him.
Several people lifted the coffin, followed it through the gate, and then into the mourning hall.
There was no more pouring rain in the house. The first thing everyone did was to take off their hats and raincoats. The raindrops dripped on the ground, forming puddles.
The man with a white cloth tied on his head, who was suspected to be the owner of the house, came out with a bunch of dry towels and distributed them to everyone, and then took out another stack of white towels.
There was a white banner hanging outside the house, and the owner was wearing white mourning clothes. It was obvious that he was asking everyone to tie white cloth around their bodies like him.
Everyone looked at each other, feeling silently awkward.
The man with his hair covering his eyes lowered his head, took a step forward, and was the first to take the white towel.
Someone took the lead, and the others did not delay and stepped forward to take the white cloth.
One after another, including the leading Taoist priest Lingshan, there were five people in total.
The owner of the house said, "The inner room has been cleaned up. Please stay here for a while tonight."
Taoist Priest Lingshan responded with a "OK".
The owner of the house said, "Just put the coffin here. I've hired someone to cook inside. I'll have to trouble the Taoist priests for the rest."
Taoist Priest Lingshan perked up a little, and stroked his sleeves mysteriously: "Of course."
The two of them walked to the next hall while talking, and whether intentionally or unintentionally, they lowered their voices. Anyway, the boy with a buzz cut in the team eavesdropped for a long time but couldn't hear a word clearly, and was a little worried.
Without the leader, there were only four people left in the mourning hall. They looked at each other. Apart from the woman holding the bamboo hat, the guy with a crew cut, and the man with hair covering his eyes, the last man in his prime looked quite ordinary among them - although only relatively speaking.
Looking at the ordinary man, he asked, "How many players did the game instructions you received say there were?"
The woman said, "Ten."
The boy asked, "There are only six left. Could it be that they are gone?"
Looking at the ordinary man, he asked again: "What will our identities be this time?"
The woman said, "Didn't I just say that, Taoist Priest?"
The boy asked, "Could it be that person who is performing shaman dances and chanting sutras to summon the souls of the dead?"
Looking at the ordinary one, he spoke for the third time: "There are white banners all over the outside. It looks like someone just died and there was a funeral. Who could it be?"
The woman said, "He is from this family."
The boy asked, "Is the coffin we brought here to hold the body? Will the body come back to life?"
Everyone: “…”
"My classmate," the ordinary man took a deep breath and said carefully, "could you please not speak in such a creepy way?"
The boy lowered his head silently.
But at this moment, the silence in the air was suddenly broken.
“Knock knock knock—”
There were exactly three knocks, the sound of human knuckles knocking on the door, like a reminder that someone was visiting.
The boy almost bit his tongue and quickly looked towards the gate, but he only saw an endless rain curtain.
Empty.
After a while, the boy opened his mouth and was about to say something.
“Knock knock knock—”
There were three more knocks on the door.
The man with his hair covering his eyes suddenly looked up, his gaze fell on the coffin in the middle of the hall, and he narrowed his eyes slightly.
[If the camera just now was not randomly turned, the sound came from the coffin? ]
[You're not really going to fake your death, are you?! ]
“Knock knock knock—”
There were still three voices.
This time, the remaining people present heard it clearly and turned their heads stiffly towards the coffin where the sound came from.
As if dissatisfied with the fact that no one outside responded for a long time, there was silence inside for a moment, and suddenly the sound of wood scratching was heard.
…The coffin lid is moving.
The rain was pounding down, and the light outside was so dim that it seemed as if it had been swallowed up by the sky. The draft blew up a corner of the tape on the portrait of the God of Wealth on the wall, and the thin plastic paper rustled.
One inch.
Two inches.
Three inches.
The gap between the coffin lid and the coffin box became larger and larger.
Finally, the coffin lid stopped moving.
A hand rested on the edge of the coffin.
Suddenly, with a loud "clang", an old wooden table flew from somewhere and hit the coffin lid hard, blocking the gap where the hand was stretched out, making a shocking sound, and even the door panel shook off a layer of dust.
The boy was startled and his heart almost jumped out of his chest. He stared in amazement at the wooden table that was turned upside down and smashed onto the coffin.
Cheng Wuye let go of the corner of the table and smashed the wooden chair with his backhand. The eyes under the messy hair gave him a glance, then he picked up his hat and rushed out of the hall first.
The remaining people stood there in a daze for half a second, then turned around in a panic: "What are you standing there for? Run!"
Men, women, and boys all left the hall, leaving only the live broadcast camera remaining there dutifully.
Oh, and an equally stunned audience.
【Really, a tank.】
[Just hearing the sound, I felt like my hand was going to be broken. ]
[…Didn’t you notice that the hand just retracted? ]
The hand did retract, a second before the table hit the gap.
Shi Yu leaned back in the coffin, silently looking at the table and chairs above his head. He hesitated for two seconds between staying in the coffin and going out. Finally, he reached out and pushed away the obstacle that was falling on his head.
It's quite heavy.
The audience in the live broadcast room looked on in confusion as the coffin was pushed open again, and then looked on in confusion as a pair of hands emerged from inside.
Then came a pure white mourning dress.
A flash of lightning suddenly split the dark sky, illuminating the room as bright as day, and even the figure in the coffin became clear for a moment.
【Ghost! ! ! ! 】
[…Are you serious about calling me a ghost? You are not a ghost yourself? ]
Shi Yu stepped out of the coffin, raised his head and glanced around the room. His gaze paused for a moment on the spirit tablet in the center, then moved away and fell on a certain point in the void.
That is the direction of the live broadcast room camera.
Inexplicably, at that moment, all the audience watching the screen had the same feeling.
The other party is looking at them.
But in fact, the other party did not even stay for half a second to give the spirit position, and directly withdrew his gaze.
It's still raining outside.
Shi Yu picked up the black umbrella that the previous owner had dropped in the corner, opened it, and walked directly into the rain.
The shroud he was wearing was very long, and thanks to his long legs he did not drag on the ground when he walked. However, the rain inevitably soaked his trouser legs after he walked a few steps.
It was as if he had come to this place inexplicably, and the shroud on his body seemed to have been put on simply and roughly by some force, and he was still wearing his own clothes underneath.
It's neither fish nor fowl, but it reminds him all the time what his true self is.
Of course, whether this place is real or fake, whether it is an idealistic dream or a materialistic secret land, is not the point now, so we will not discuss it here for now.
The point is, he wasn't here before; at least not before he was hit by the car that ran off the road.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
