Chapter 38: Ghost on the Set
"There's a ghost on the set?" Dazai Osamu laughed a little when he heard the rumor. "Who saw it?"
Assistant: "It was the prop manager who said that there was a scene last night. After filming, he went to organize the props and found a black shadow floating in the air."
"Could I have been so busy that I was confused and saw it wrong?" If it was about a person with supernatural powers, Dazai Osamu could still believe it, but the system never said that there were supernatural elements in this world.
"That's possible." The assistant said hesitantly, "Anyway, the guy from the props team fell ill today after seeing it. Maybe he was too tired and got scared when he saw the wrong thing and fell ill."
"What time did you see it last night?" Dazai Osamu asked curiously.
"Well, around nine."
Dazai Osamu nodded and said nothing more.
It's a dark and windy night, a time for murder and arson.
It was nine o'clock in the evening. The crew finished work early today. The small warehouse where the props were stored was quiet, with only the accumulated dust swirling in the cold white light.
The silence did not last long. At the top of the warehouse there was a ventilation window, neither too big nor too small, just enough for a thin child to squeeze in.
First, the black cloth pierced into the wall like a spike, causing the owner of the cloth to slowly crawl in, and then fell silently to the floor of the warehouse. After only doing these actions, the intruder's face had already turned slightly red and a layer of fine cold sweat appeared. At this moment, he clenched his teeth tightly to endure the itch in his throat.
He walked carefully towards the warehouse door.
Fortunately, the door of the warehouse was only loosely locked, not really locked. After peeking out through the crack and making sure that no one was guarding outside, the skinny child used his fingers to grope for the loose lock and successfully opened the door of the warehouse.
Perhaps because they were one step closer to their goal, the child's ugly expression looked much better now.
"What are you looking for?"
The sudden young man's voice echoed in the warehouse. The boy quickly turned around and stepped back. At the same time, the soft cloth on his body turned into a sharp weapon under the effect of his supernatural power and stabbed forward.
A circle of red cloth was wrapped around the beam of the warehouse, and the two ends of the hanging cloth were tied into a strong knot. Two long legs were hooked on the knotted cloth, hanging upside down in the air.
When the attack came, he used his powerful waist strength to swing backwards like a light reed, and the attack missed.
"Why did you hit me?"
Moonlight poured into the warehouse, and shadows could be seen on the pale floor, indicating that the thing in front of him was not a ghost.
The boy barely managed to calm his pounding heart when he saw a familiar face.
Although he was hanging upside down, thanks to his excellent looks and the fact that he was not making any faces at the time, his hair fell naturally due to gravity and the thin moonlight shone on his superior bone structure, making him look like he was shooting some artistic film.
This face is so recognizable that even just a glance at it on a roadside poster can make people yearn for it in their dreams.
Osamu Dazai.
The boy remembered the name. When he was hiding in the warehouse, the props team often discussed him.
I can't go back empty-handed this time.
Knock him out first.
Dazai Osamu looked at the skinny little guy in front of him without saying a word, and the black cloth came towards him.
"Eh! No, don't you even make a pre-war declaration?"
As soon as his hooked legs loosened, Dazai Osamu landed nimbly. In his eyes, the black beast's supernatural attacks were just slowed-down left and right hooks, with no technical content at all. It was obvious that he was a wild artist.
He didn't knock the man down right away, but slowly approached him in a manic attack, creating psychological pressure. The alienated cloth was of no use other than fanning him.
The boy with white highlights on the ends of his hair stepped back unconsciously. He realized that he was being teased and anger rose between his brows. He became more and more unorganized when controlling his supernatural powers to attack.
Dazai Osamu was tired of teasing the child, so he tapped his toes and jumped into the air on the fabric.
The boy's pupils constricted. He thought he was going to be kicked and had already prepared his hands for defense, but the man landed behind him and grabbed the back of his neck with a slightly cold hand. The cloth, which had been baring its fangs and claws, suddenly wilted and returned to its original shape.
"What did you do?!"
Having lost his most advantageous weapon, the boy inevitably panicked and almost subconsciously attacked the person behind him with his hands and feet. Dazai Osamu easily subdued him, pressing his knee against his back to the ground, making him unable to move.
"You don't even beg for mercy in this situation, you just keep fighting, are you a stubborn person?"
Those who are suppressed do not speak.
Dazai Osamu clicked his tongue and said, "I have asked you so many questions from the beginning till now, and you didn't answer any of them, you little brat."
Quiet.
"I'll ask you a few more questions. If you don't tell me, I'll take you to the police station, and then you won't be able to do what you want to do."
The man lying on the ground clenched his fists.
Dazai Osamu: "Let me ask you, what is your name?"
"...Akutagawa Ryunosuke." The lying child replied in a hoarse voice.
"It's a nice name." Dazai Osamu then asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Clothes, medicine, and food."
Dazai Osamu: "Are you from Leibo Street?"
The filming location of the crew was indeed close to Leibo Street, but because the crew had someone to protect them and there were people guarding the perimeter of the crew, basically no one would come to steal things from the crew. In addition, there was nothing particularly valuable in the crew except for some filming equipment.
"yes."
"I'm letting go now, and you're not allowed to attack me again, or you won't be able to find everything on your own for a while. Do you understand?"
"clear."
Dazai Osamu let go of the person, dusted himself off and stood up.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke also stood up. Because his face had just touched the ground, there was a gray mark left. His lips were tightly pursed, and you could tell from his expression that he was a guy who refused to admit defeat.
"It's dirty." Dazai Osamu said disdainfully, "Come on, I'll take you to get your things."
The crew always has a medicine box on hand to prevent emergencies. The food usually consists of bread, milk, mineral water, etc., but it is enough for Akutagawa Ryunosuke. As for clothes, Dazai Osamu gave him a few rarely used extras' clothes.
I'll ask my assistant to buy some more later, and no one on the crew will notice.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke held the things and finally felt relieved.
Dazai Osamu looked at him carefully: "I helped you, won't you repay me?"
Akutagawa Ryunosuke was alert: "I don't have anything valuable."
"Of course I know." Dazai said, "Take your things back first. I'll wait for you outside Leibo Street around 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Don't break your promise. I can find you."
Akutagawa Ryunosuke: "I haven't agreed yet..."
"Hmm?" Dazai Osamu raised his eyebrows.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke was frustrated, "What exactly do you want me to do?"
"Don't worry, it won't hurt your family or friends, nor will it cause any damage to your body. Just come to my house and do some housework."
Akutagawa Ryunosuke didn't think it would be that simple, but given the current situation, he might not be able to leave unless he agreed.
"Okay." He agreed.
With a curved eyebrow, Dazai Osamu made way and said, "Go ahead."
Akutagawa Ryunosuke ran away without looking back.
After watching the man run away, Dazai Osamu walked out leisurely. His assistant parked the car in the corner.
Leibo Street.
Ryunosuke Akutagawa sneaked back to the dilapidated container where he lived with a large bag of things. After running quickly, the taste of rust lingered in his throat.
Suppressing two light coughs, Akutagawa Ryunosuke opened the door.
The container was not big, but he had only robbed it after learning to use his supernatural powers. Four children lived inside. In the corner were neatly stacked books that he had picked up. On top of the books was a gray-blue sewing kit with two rusty needles and three bundles of thread that were almost used up. In the cardboard box next to it were the remaining little food and simple cooking tools. The light bulb above his head had been broken for a long time. Ang, one of his companions, had read a reference book and was thinking about whether to repair it.
My sister Yin was lying on a bed made of two old mattresses, and my companions Ju and Ang were sitting beside the bed, looking a little dazed from waiting.
I heard the door open.
"Ryunosuke!" His companion Ang stood up in surprise, and staggered twice before standing firm.
"How's Silver?"
"He has a severe fever." His companion looked worried, "He hasn't woken up yet."
Akutagawa Ryunosuke took out the medicine and said, "It's okay. I got the medicine back. You'll be well soon."
Akutagawa Ryunosuke and his two companions were busy feeding the medicine to Akutagawa Gin and cooking hot food.
The girl Kiku held the bowl and sat next to Akutagawa Gin, looking at the sleeping Akutagawa Gin from time to time. They did not ask where the supplies came from, but urged Akutagawa Ryunosuke to rest quickly after eating.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke lay down with his clothes on and his eyes closed, but his thoughts could not calm down.
It's not that there are no drugs in Leibo Street, but they are generally in the hands of various organizations. He was envied because he refused to be recruited by a small organization nearby, and he was targeted from time to time. If it was just him, it would be fine, but he also has a sister and two other companions.
Yin got sick and needed medicine, so he had to go through those organizations. Small organizations were unwilling to give him medicine, and the black doctors who were somewhat famous in Leibo Street were unwilling to take his money to avoid trouble. He could only find other channels.
People from Leibo Street would occasionally go out, and he only knew from hearing people talking about there was a film crew outside. He didn't have to walk too far to get the supplies he wanted, so he couldn't help but be tempted.
He had chosen to do it at night, avoiding other people, to create the illusion that he was still in the camp, otherwise those idiots would have come to provoke him the moment he went out.
On the first day, I found only a little bit of stuff, didn’t find the right medicine, and was almost discovered. When I came back the next day, I met the star.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke lay on his side, the quilt wrapped tightly around his body, the tingling sensation in his throat crawling out, he arched his back, covered his mouth to suppress his cough, his fingers almost sinking into the bones of his face.
The muffled sound between fingers and the rustling sound of fabric in the quiet night both made him a little annoyed.
Kiku carefully placed a glass of water in front of his pillow and then lay back down.
Akutagawa Ryunosuke drank half a cup and suppressed the itch.
After tossing and turning in the middle of the night, my consciousness finally became blurred.
Forget it... I'll arrange for Yin and the others to go to another place tomorrow, and then go find that person...
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