Lu Ban quickly recalled the night of carnival when he first came to the abandoned city.

Of the few people who were traveling with him at that time, only the young boy named Shitou survived.

Lu Ban learned about the author Gu Du from Shi Tou. Now he met Shi Tou again while investigating the case of Gu Du’s disappearance. It can be said that this is a fateful connection.

"Do you know each other?"

Trist was a little surprised. After all, Lu Ban was obviously not from the foreign land of Feidu. The guy he knew should be the one he met during the mission.

In general, in the Silent Land mission, passers-by are either dead or injured. It always feels like something is wrong to see someone standing here intact.

"I guess we know each other."

Lu Ban answered. He looked Shitou up and down. The originally weak boy had now become handsome. Even in the ill-fitting old suit he was wearing, he still had a handsome temperament, which was completely different from the ferocious thugs next to him.

Is this a true portrayal of how reading changes one’s appearance?

Lu Ban couldn't help but think.

"You became a gangster?"

He blurted out, and you could see the thug next to him raise his eyelids and was about to raise his hand.

"It's not a gang, it's a company."

Shi Tou corrected him and raised his hand to stop the thugs. It seemed that he had a high status in this car rental place.

"Because I can read, I was assigned to work as an accountant here."

"oh."

Lu Ban didn't bother about the name of the gang. Whether it was the Mafia or a big company, they were all similar things.

"But that's great, Mr. Lu Ban. I haven't heard from you in the past few years. I thought you had already..."

When Shitou saw Lu Ban, he thought of the scene that night and couldn't help but feel a lingering fear.

But soon, the uneasiness was replaced by the joy that the familiar person was still alive.

After careful calculation, three years have passed since the last time I came to the abandoned capital. It is indeed a long time.

"No, I don't have any flaws, I just have a tough life."

Lu Ban waved his hand.

"By the way, are you still reading Gu Du's book?"

Lu Ban glanced at the novel in Shitou's hand.

“Well, I think he writes very well.”

Shi Tou picked up the book in his hand.

"Also, when I was little, my mother often read me stories from the Wasted City Old News to scare me into falling asleep, so I felt that he was very close to me."

"That's really your real mother."

Drizzt complained.

"Uh-huh."

It was unclear whether Shitou didn’t understand or really believed it. He nodded and took out the old book from his arms.

The pages of the book had long been worn out, obviously after years of flipping through the pages. Lu Ban took a look and found that the book was indeed very worn, and the author's signature page on the title page was missing.

"Are you going to leave the city?"

Shi Tou looked at the form filled out by Trist and confirmed it again.

"Yes, prepare to go to Hanxu."

Lu Ban nodded and suddenly thought of something.

"Has anyone here rented a car recently and left, and hasn't returned it yet?"

"That's not the case. What's the matter?"

Shi Tou thought about it and asked curiously.

"No, just asking."

Lu Ban thought for a moment and then spoke to Shi Tou.

"You should read less of Gu Du's books at your age, otherwise it will affect your life. I'll take it away for your own good."

He picked up both "The Mouse in the Painting" and "Old News from the Wasted City".

Shi Tou was a little confused, but when he thought about Lu Ban's appearance that night, he didn't dare to say anything.

"?"

Trist watched Lu Ban stuff the two books into his arms, and glanced at Shi Tou who dared not resist.

"How can you bully children and steal their books?"

He couldn't help but say.

"Stealing books doesn't count as stealing, and I'm doing it for his own good. If a teenager were to indulge in horror novels like this every day, it would be bad for society and himself, don't you think?"

Lu Ban spoke righteously.

Trist twitched his lips. Although he knew that Lu Ban was worried that the books in the ancient capital would have a bad influence on the young man, just like the mercenary, this method was still too simple and crude.

"Remember, at your age, you can only read these entertainment books between 8 and 9 o'clock on weekends. The rest of the time, work and study hard."

Lu Ban said again.

Shitou nodded ignorantly.

The two thugs standing by were stunned as they watched the conversation between Lu Ban and Shitou.

"Then let's go. I'll come back to see you when I have time."

Lu Ban picked up the keys, got in the car with Trist and Xia, and quickly drove out of the abandoned city.

The stone that was left behind, sitting on the chair, seemed to have not reacted yet.

"Boss, they just..."

A thug came over and asked Shi Tou.

"Don't worry, he's my friend."

Shitou looked in the direction where the three people's car left, as if thinking about something.

…

"Let's take up our oars and push the boat through the waves..."

Lu Ban sang while feeling the cool breeze blowing towards him.

He sat in the passenger seat, while Xia was in the back seat. She was very interested in cars. Perhaps because there were no cars in the Country of Darkness, the girl sat upright, her body swaying slightly with the movement of the car.

"You don't have to be so nervous."

Lu Ban said, the night outside was dark, but the road was paved very flat. If you didn't consider the cause and effect, it would be like driving on a country road.

Sporadic lights can be seen in the distance. It is indeed as Trist said, there are some scattered villages and towns along this road, so there is no need to worry about being attacked by monsters.

“Can you drive?”

Drizzt suddenly asked.

"No, what's wrong?"

Lu Ban answered decisively.

"Then we need to find a place to rest later. I can't drive all night."

"Oh, then I'll take this opportunity to get some sleep."

As Lu Ban spoke, he prepared to lie on his side and close his eyes to rest.

"Stop, what are you doing sleeping?"

Drizzt was puzzled.

"If you want to rest later, then you will definitely fall asleep. I can't sleep, so it makes sense to sleep now!"

Lu Ban was serious.

"It seems that..."

While Trist was mumbling, Lu Ban had already closed his eyes and seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.

"I feel a little, dizzy."

It was probably Xia's first time riding in a car, and she soon became carsick.

"You, don't vomit, you should close your eyes and take a rest. You can lie down for a while. No, you'd better not lie down. Just sit like this."

Drizzt was a little flustered.

Xia soon fell into a deep sleep.

The abandoned city is silent at night.

As Trist was driving, he gradually felt sleepy.

At this moment, he suddenly discovered that the lights that were originally faintly visible in the distance had disappeared.

The whole world fell into darkness.

This feeling is very similar to the feeling of being in the thick fog of the Kingdom of Night.

Instead of stopping the car, Trist continued along the road that he could see with his naked eyes.

He felt a chill down his spine.

Turning on the high beam, Trist suddenly saw that there seemed to be some living creature in front of him.

In just a moment, Trist was unable to react and the vehicle hit the thing directly.