After reading the current manuscript of "In the Mouth of a Madman", Trist felt a little dizzy.

The story begins with the disappearance of a novelist, a famous horror novelist. He left behind the beginning of his new novel and disappeared. People were talking about it, and the detective in charge of the investigation and his two assistants were attacked in a teahouse. They defeated the attackers and came to the publishing house to look for clues about the novelist. The beginning is stuck here.

Anyone with a discerning eye could see that the content of this novel was almost identical to what Lu Ban and his companions had experienced so far, except that the novel contained some additional plots, mentioning that the detectives, through investigating clues provided by the publishing house, discovered that the novelist might have gone to a small town not far from the city.

It is obvious that Gudu gave the manuscript to the editorial department two weeks ago, and it must have been written even earlier.

If the story was simply about the detective in charge of the investigation being attacked, it could be said to be a fixed plot in this type of novel, but the detective has two assistants, a man and a woman, who correspond exactly to Lu Ban and Xia, and when they were attacked, the two used almost identical miraculous methods to defeat the attackers.

More importantly, when the three of them returned to the detective's office, Lu Ban's action of hugging the orange cat was also described in the manuscript.

"The power of prophecy?"

Xia first thought of the corresponding magic, but the prophecy itself was not accurate. After all, it was just a display of possibilities. No one relied on that thing to make decisions. Moreover, in the abandoned city, it was obviously not reasonable for a writer to have such ability. If Gu Du could really predict, then why did he disappear?

"This is a perfect beginning, isn't it? It makes people look forward to the sequel."

Editor Qian carefully put away the manuscript.

"really."

Drizzt took over his words and asked again.

"Besides that, do you have any clues?"

"Gudu has been missing for several days since a while ago. He said he went to Beihan Town to collect materials, but I don't know where Beihan Town is. Do you know?"

Editor Qian looked bitter.

“I don’t know.”

Lu Ban shook his head.

"According to the description in the novel, the novelist in this story went to a small town in the north. In this case, Beihan Town should be north of the abandoned city?"

Xia pondered.

"There is a city two days' journey north of the abandoned city. It is not called Beihan Town, but Hanxu, and it is a mining city."

Drizzt explained casually.

"Then the ancient capital might have gone to Hanxu?"

Lu Ban asked.

"It's possible. Novels always have prototypes. The Beihan Town and Hanxu described in this novel have certain similarities. Perhaps the answer can be found there."

Drizzt nodded.

He had just finished speaking when he suddenly felt dazed again.

If you think about it carefully, in the story of "From the Mouth of a Madman", the detectives got the clues from the editorial department and decided to go to Beihan Town.

At that time and moment, just like this moment.

"What's wrong?"

Xia saw that Trist's face looked strange, and then asked.

"No, nothing..."

He adjusted his mood and asked more details about the communication between Editor Qian and Gu Du before leaving the publishing house.

"We are now conducting the investigation exactly according to the pace of the novel. How is this novel written?"

Coming to the street and looking at the passers-by coming and going, Trist sighed.

"Is it possible that we are in a novel now?"

Lu Ban suddenly had an idea.

“…”

Trist didn't want to bother with Lu Ban.

"Should we still go to Gudu's house?"

Xia didn't quite agree with what Lu Ban said.

"Let's go and have a look."

The three of them continued to head towards the Third Ring Road. Although they were divided into rings, there were actually no real walls to separate these urban areas, only streets.

When we reached the Third Ring Road, the road suddenly became clean, as if someone was cleaning it at any time. The stench mixed with excrement disappeared, and instead there was the sound of birdsong and the fragrance of flowers.

There are rickshaw pullers here as well, but both their rickshaws and their clothes are newer and cleaner than those outside, and even their mental outlook is different.

Even when these coachmen looked at Trist, Lu Ban and Xia, whose coats were covered with dust, as they walked over from the streets of the Fourth Ring Road, they could still see some contempt in their expressions.

Lu Ban was somewhat surprised at the attitude these people showed here, but when he thought about it carefully, it made sense.

In certain eras, slaves were proud of their masters and even sold out their compatriots for their masters, as if history had always been like this.

The houses here are all single-family villas. The rich people in the abandoned city are not only unwilling to share houses with others, but also because they often hold parties, a spacious hall and an elegant garden are indispensable.

Compared to other places, this place is more secluded.

"It's very quiet here, and there are not many people on the street..."

Xia couldn't help but sigh.

"Yes, they may have gone to work or inspect their own properties..."

Just as Trist was about to say something, Lu Ban interrupted them.

"Let's talk about something else."

Trist and Xia looked at Lu Ban strangely, not knowing what the meaning was.

The three of them walked along the road until they came to the villa at the end of the slope. The garden of the villa was obviously poorly maintained and in a mess. Wild weeds had long since taken away the growth space for normal flowers and plants. They grew wildly and spread to the walls, making the whole house look eerie. It was impossible to see the condition inside the house from here, so Trist first took a walk outside the yard.

"I discovered something."

Lu Ban looked at Trist who had come back and said seriously.

"Why, are there any traces of the ancient capital?"

"You looked like a thief just now."

Lu Ban answered.

"...get out of the way."

Trist used the key to open the iron gate of the yard, and the seemingly rusty gate made a creaking sound, just like the ones often seen in horror movies.

Trist walked in front and Lu Ban walked at the end, and the three of them came to the door.

When he opened the door, the first thing Trist smelled was a foul odor.

"A body?"

He quickly denied this guess because a mass of yellow and green stuff was swelling and flowing out of the kitchen sink. It was moldy food, and the foul smell came from there.

Turning on the lights, Lu Ban saw that the entire room looked depressing, dull and uncoordinated. He could see that the cabinets and tables were not placed diagonally, which would definitely drive people with obsessive-compulsive disorder crazy. There were photos on the cupboard, but there was only one photo of Gu Du.

It can be seen that this is a very handsome young man with a melancholy trait between his eyebrows and eyes. He is truly a role model for literary and artistic youth.

After searching the first floor and finding no clues, Trist was about to go up to the second floor to check.

At this moment, Xia suddenly raised her hand.

"Hush."

She motioned for the other two to be quiet, then spoke in a low voice.

"There's movement upstairs."

Crunch——

At the same time, from above the three people's heads, the sound of something stepping on the wooden floor was heard.