"The silence by the lake gave me a rare kind of fear. You know, for people who often explore haunted places, this kind of fear is not common."
"I wanted to go back directly, but the companion I had agreed to meet was still inside, so I sent her a message, trying to find out her location."
"But there was no reply to the message I sent. I kept staring at the last message she sent on the page, feeling a little panicky, so I called her directly."
Seeing this, Yu Yao silently reached out and picked up the cup beside her to pour herself a glass of water. She stared at the words on the page, gulped down two gulps, and became a little nervous.
"I called, but no one answered for a long time."
"My anxiety grew even worse. I frantically took my phone and walked along the lake, trying to find him, but I didn't see a single person along the way, not even the patrolling security guards."
"I was so scared at the time. I shouldn't have abandoned my companions like that, but I was so scared that I started walking back and wanted to leave as soon as possible."
"But as I started walking back, a new message suddenly came on my phone."
"It's from my companion. The message says 'Don't leave.'"
"I shuddered, and then she called me. Before I could answer the phone, she had already hung up."
"I was scared, but I had to bite the bullet and call back. I thought it would be the same as before, but unexpectedly, the moment I dialed, I heard my companion's phone ringing."
"It rang right behind me."
Yu Yao paused, feeling as if she were browsing ghost posts again. She gulped down two mouthfuls of water and continued reading.
"I don't know how to describe my feelings at the time, but I was really scared by the ringing of the bell. However, when I turned around, I didn't see my companions behind me, and the bell kept ringing."
"I followed the sound and slowly made my way closer to the lake. I found my companion's phone by the fence on one side of the lake, but there was no one there."
"I only had one thought in my mind at the time."
"The phone is here, but there's no one there. If there's no one there... who called me just now?"
Seeing this line of words, Yu Yao shuddered and put down the cup in her hand.
The last paragraph of this self-narration was from the client, Ms. Wu, who said that she started running back frantically with her cell phone in her hand. She was so scared that she only recovered after running back home. She did not see her companion again the next day, so she called the police. To date, there is still no trace of her companion.
"I think it must be because I suggested we go to Yelai River together that she disappeared. No matter what, I want to know what happened in Yelai River. Is there really such a strange thing happening? Please help me find out. I'm willing to pay any price."
At the bottom of the document was a report on Yelai River posted by Shu Wen. Indeed, many people had disappeared there recently, from the earliest security guards, to explorers, and finally to the staff who went to do the cleanup work at dusk. As the number of disappearances increased, the police also began to investigate.
The Yelai River lake is very large, and the entire area around it is actually under surveillance, but the surveillance always fails in the middle of the night on the day of the incident, which is as strange as the Yelai River incident itself.
Yu Yao quickly glanced at the recent events about Yelai River, and flipped through the page. There was also a floor plan of the Yelai River Park. Due to the recent events and rumors, there were no patrolling guards. What needed to be noted was that the entrances and exits of Yelai River were blocked by cordons, and there were probably guards on duty.
She stared at the floor plan on the page for a long time, then switched to the urban legend page next to it.
Normally, she is quite concerned about these urban legends. After all, she might see an urban legend similar to her own one day, so she has always been interested in them.
She probably saw this post when it first became popular, and was immediately attracted to Baifang.
But I didn't expect that in just a few days, this sudden urban legend has developed to this extent.
"A lake that eats people?" Yu Yao tapped her chin thoughtfully and turned to look at other things in the room. "Do you think it's possible?"
"How is it possible that it exists? Even water can't communicate, let alone lakes and seas. Let alone eating people, it can't even make a sound." The other objects in the room immediately denied it with a smile, basically treating this matter as nonsense.
Yu Yao would always ask about these objects in her usual cases. After all, they knew much more about strange things than Yu Yao did.
If these objects deny this possibility, then the man-eating lake is just a rumor, and the real reason for the disappearances must be other factors.
"I really have to go and take a look to find out what's going on." Yu Yao stared at the page and thought for a long time.
"Are you going to a dangerous place alone again?" The things in the house began to ask.
"Yeah, I plan to go check it out."
"You always go to dangerous places to investigate alone, either abandoned old houses or dangerous alleys. You're obviously weak, but you're quite brave."
Yu Yao chuckled twice. "I'm curious about these things. Besides, I've been exposed to talking things like you since I was a kid. If you want to talk about horror, you're the ones who are scary."
"But what if there really is danger?" The bracelet on the table was worried. "My previous previous previous master loved mountaineering adventures and died unexpectedly."
"Don't worry." Yu Yao searched for the park near Yelai River. "I believe that in this world, only people are the most dangerous. No matter if it's a talking object or a soul, it's not as dangerous as a person. If it's an object or a soul, I'm not that scared. But if it's a human, Yelai River is guarded by guards."
"If there is real danger, you might not even have time to run away." Everything in the house started to clamor in worry.
"There are quite a few missing persons cases this time, more dangerous than anything you've investigated before. What if something really happens?"
"That's right, why don't we just leave it alone?"
Faced with the noise all over the room, Yu Yao calmly tapped on the keyboard, browsing the people involved in the Ye Laihe incident.
"Be quiet, you're disturbing my work."
"We're worried about you too. If anything were to happen to you, we'd all be sent to the scrapyard!"
With that said, some of the things I didn't care about that much also started to worry.
Yu Yao smiled helplessly, turned around in her chair, and glanced at everything in the room.
"Do you think this is caused by ghosts or humans?"
"This... I heard that there's a ghost that's lived on the other side of Yelai River for a long time and is very unkind to people. Maybe this incident is related to it."
"I've heard about it too. I remember seeing the creatures that were taken by their owners to spend the night on the river. They all saw that fierce spirit. They all said it was not someone to be trifled with and was particularly disgusted with humans."
"It seems like I've been in Yelai River for a long time. I was in that area when Yelai River was first established. I don't know how many years have passed. If it's a vengeful spirit, I guess it would be difficult to deal with it now."
Yu Yao scratched her head in confusion. "Really? There's such a spirit? I've been to Yelai River before, but why didn't I see one?"
"The soul will not easily appear in front of outsiders. If that thing is quiet, you can't hear or see it, and you will definitely not notice it." The thing in the house explained.
"Oh, that's right." Yu Yao nodded and tilted her head, as if thinking about something. "So you all think it's more likely to be a ghost?"
"We... almost all think so." The things in the room responded one by one.
Yu Yao turned her head and glanced at the document open on the computer. "I actually think the opposite of what you guys think. I don't doubt whether the soul you're talking about is fake, but my personal intuition is that it's more likely to be man-made. That's just my thought."
"But the ghost you mentioned isn't impossible. To reassure you, I'll find someone I've just met to go with me. She's much more professional at dealing with ghosts than I am." Yu Yao smiled and turned towards the computer. "So don't worry about me. I know what I'm doing."
"Then you'd better be careful." The objects in the house reminded him again and again.
"I know." Yu Yao nodded and followed the message to find Liang Yubai's contact information.
I met Liang Yubai before and left my contact information, but we haven't had any contact since we separated yesterday. I don't know how Liang Wan is doing now.
Yu Yao quickly added Liang Yubai's contact and continued to search for posts about the urban legend of Ye Laihe.
A quick search in the entire forum will reveal that there are still many different versions of urban legends about the ancient and famous Yelai River in this city.
Most of the posts were fabricated rumors that were too outrageous. Yu Yao took a quick look and found that among the false rumors there were some true ones, such as posts about people hearing strange voices and dark ghosts by the river at night.
Yu Yao checked the time of the posts. They appeared from a long time ago to not long ago, but this kind of news was like a stone thrown into the ocean and did not cause much reaction.
After all, when Yu Yao came to live in this city, Yelai River Park had already been built for some time.
Yelai River is the name of a park. It is a paid park with attractions, restaurants, an amusement park, and an artificial lake where you can take a boat ride. The artificial lake is also called Yelai River, which is also the name of the park.
Some people were once curious about why an artificial lake was named after a river, but no one is quite sure. Someone broke the news without any confirmation that the lake was once intended to be connected to a real river to create a circular river channel. Later, due to internal problems, the plan was cancelled, but the original name of Yelai River remained unchanged.
By the way, someone also mentioned that someone drowned in the Yelai River at that time and the body has never been recovered.
In addition, there are many different opinions about the ghosts of the Yelai River, or the guardian gods of the Yelai River, and about the soul living in the Yelai River.
Some people said it was very dangerous and they were almost pulled into the water, while others said they were rescued and felt like someone was holding them up when they fell into the water.
Yu Yao has always been aware of these supernatural rumors, and can only believe half of them. The explanations often differ, and are quite outrageous.
She roughly browsed through all the posts about Ye Laihe before switching back to the chat box and found that Liang Yubai had agreed to her friend request.
"Who are you?" Liang Yubai sent a puzzled inquiry message.
Yu Yao quickly tapped on the keyboard, "It's me! Yu Yao! Do you remember me?"
There was silence on the other end for a long time before the call came back slowly. "It's you, what's up?"
"I just happened to be looking for you for something, so I wanted to ask you about Liang Wan's situation."
"I have separated the soul from Miss Liang. Her obsession is the black cat she raised. She hoped someone would adopt it. I did, and now she has left with peace of mind."
"What do you want?"
Yu Yao briefly told Liang Yubai about her request, the place she was going to, and what had happened recently.
"I'll pay you well! Just consider it as me hiring you to solve a problem, how about that?"
There was silence on the other end for a long time. Just when Yu Yao thought she was going to refuse, new information came in, "Going at night? And bypassing the guards?"
"Ah, yes."
"...You're really bold to go to a place like this so late at night. Even I rarely go there."
"Are you going or not?"
"Okay, after listening to you tell the whole story, I'm also curious. Such a dangerous thing happened where I live. If it really is related to the soul, I have to step forward to solve it." Liang Yubai responded quickly, "Set a time and we'll go together."
"Then let's do it tonight!"
"..." Liang Yubai thought for a moment, "That's fine. I'll bring the cat over there tonight. The black cat can be useful in this regard."
"Great! I'll just take another look at the pine flowers!"
"...Songhua?" Liang Yubai stared at the words on the screen and fell into deep thought. "I think the original name was Songhua."
She turned to stare at the dark mass lying on the floor not far away, basking in the sun. "No wonder he completely ignored me when I called his new name these past two days."
"Songhua?" Liang Yubai called out, and the black ball lying on the floor basking in the sun turned its head, revealing two eyes, staring at her.
"There really is a reaction." Liang Yubai's face showed a hint of happiness. She moved closer to the black cat and said, "Come with me to work somewhere tonight."
As soon as she moved closer, the black cat suddenly jumped up from the floor, jumped a few steps away, stared at Liang Yubai and made a breathing sound.
"Even you're just like an ordinary cat, and you don't get close to me." Liang Yubai frowned, turned his head in annoyance, picked up the fan and waved it, "Anyway, come out with me tonight. Last time, the person who could hear your voice had something to do, you should go and help, right?"
When the black cat saw that Liang Yubai was not looking at it, it slowly lay back on the floor and leisurely shook its black tail.
"Did you hear that? Just say so if you agree." Liang Yubai stared at the computer screen angrily. As soon as he turned his head, the black cat got angry again.
"Meow!" The black cat lay on the ground and called out, which could be considered as a response to Liang Yubai.
"...I'll take it that you agree." Liang Yubai responded while setting a detailed time for the evening with Yu Yao, and then began to search for the incident in Yelai River.
After Yu Yao agreed on a time, she turned around and started packing the things she would need in the evening in her room.
"I must bring a flashlight, a rope, a knife, wire, and, oh, canned food for the kitten." Yu Yao picked and chose in her cupboard and stuffed some things into her small shoulder bag.
"I have to tell Shu Wen." She turned back to the computer and sent a message to Shu Wen, but Shu Wen seemed very busy and had not replied yet.
Yu Yao spent the entire afternoon at home searching for information related to Yelai River. Considering that she still had to go for an investigation in the evening, she set an alarm and lay down on the bed for a nap.
At about the same time in the evening, I got up, had a meal, kept in touch with Liang Yubai, and then went out.
"I'll be back early, don't worry." Yu Yao smiled and waved at the door.
All the objects in the room expressed various concerns, and after giving Yu Yao many instructions, they watched her leave the room.
It was 11 o'clock in the evening when she went out. She carried a small backpack and walked towards Yelai River. In order to prevent the same dangerous situation from happening to the client, she kept in touch with Liang Yubai along the way to confirm that no one should go in first and they must go into the park together.
There are very few people at this time of night, and most of those still hanging around are those who are out for fun. Although there are far fewer people hanging around than during the day, the streets are still bright with lights and wine.
Yu Yao quickly arrived near Yelai River Park.
She had been here to play several times before, so she was very familiar with the roads here. From a distance, she saw a cordon at the entrance of the park and two guards standing at the door.
Maybe because the news about this place has spread recently, many people know how dangerous this place is, so fewer people come here, and they have become a lot more relaxed.
Yu Yao stood not far away waiting for Liang Yubai, while observing the two guards.
They lived inside the park ticket office. Two people took turns to guard the place. One of them rested inside, while the one outside sat on a small stool, looking around from time to time, then looking down at his phone. They just needed to make sure that no one entered the park.
"What are you looking at?" Liang Yubai appeared silently behind Yu Yao, scaring her so much that she shivered.
"You're here." Yu Yao quickly calmed down after realizing it was Liang Yubai. She smiled and looked around. "Where's Songhua? Where's the black cat?"
When mentioning the black cat, Liang Yubai pursed his lips and snorted, "It's in the back."
"He just refused to walk with me and followed me at a distance."
While talking, Yu Yao had already caught a glimpse of the black cat slowly following not far away. She quickly rushed over, picked up the black cat, and rubbed its soft ears. Her face was full of excitement. "Little cat, long time no see. I heard that you are living at Liang Yubai's house now. Are you getting used to it?"
The black cat responded lazily.
Yu Yao held it and turned to walk towards Liang Yubai. As soon as it got close to Liang Yubai, the black cat seemed a little uneasy, with its fur slightly standing on end, but it didn't make any extreme reactions. It just stared at Liang Yubai, as if it was ready to jump and run away at any time.
"Why is it so scared of you?" Yu Yao touched the black cat's head in confusion. "It seemed like it was also scared the last time it saw you?"
Liang Yubai was quite calm, humming slightly unhappily, "All the cats I've seen have been like this to me. It seems they've been like this since they were little. This cat is pretty good at staying near me. If it were any other wild cat, it would have run away screaming."
Yu Yao looked at her in confusion. Is this a cat-shy physique?
Liang Yubai didn't want to talk about the cat anymore. He turned and looked towards the park entrance. "Those two guards?"
"Yeah." Yu Yao nodded. "I was just thinking about how to lure them away."
Liang Yubai looked over there thoughtfully. "There's a police cordon at the entrance, but the people sitting inside aren't police officers. They're park security guards, right? They should be easy to lure away."
"How do you plan to attract them?" Yu Yao glanced at her. Before Liang Yubai came, she had actually thought of various ways to sneak in, but none of them seemed very reliable.
"If we divert people's attention, we can go in more easily. Just wait." Liang Yubai took out his phone and started typing a message. Then he raised his chin towards the park entrance and said, "Let's watch the show."
Yu Yao turned her head in confusion and saw a person staggering towards them from the opposite direction. He walked in an unsteady manner and looked like he was about to fall at any moment.
At first the guard at the gate didn't notice, but after a while the staggering man walked towards the park entrance.
"Hey, who are you? You are not allowed to enter here." The man immediately stood up and rushed over to block the staggering person.
"Go, go to the bathroom... I want to go... to the bathroom." The shaking man burped and yelled incoherently.
"Don't even come here to use the toilet! Do you think this is a public toilet?" the guard yelled and tried to push him out, but he didn't expect that the man was very strong and refused to push him out.
"What's wrong?" The guard sitting inside was also attracted by the situation and he stuck his head out to ask.
"It's okay, it's okay." The guard outside waved his hands quickly. "It's just a drunk who thought this was the toilet. I'll take him to the toilet over there and be back soon."
"Okay, then come back soon." The guard inside nodded and watched the guard outside push the man to the road over there.
The guard sitting in the lounge glanced outside, and probably didn't see anyone else, so he retracted his head.
Liang Yubai quickly patted Yu Yao's shoulder and pulled her over quickly, "Let's go, now is the time."
The two of them quickly crouched down and ran to the ticket office at the entrance.
The window of the ticket office is not big, and it is blocked at the top and bottom, with only the transparent glass for tickets. The guard inside is watching TV on his mobile phone and doesn't pay much attention to the situation outside.
The two men bent down and sneaked in from the bottom. Once they entered, they immediately hid in the tour bus near the entrance.
"I actually got in smoothly." Yu Yao breathed a sigh of relief. She was nervous when she sneaked in just now, afraid of being caught.
"Shh, keep your voice down." Liang Yubai made a gesture to keep quiet.
The park was very quiet at the moment, with no one in sight. Because it was closed, all the equipment in the park was turned off, there was not even a light on the road, and the light was very dim.
After calming down and observing the entire park, I found that it was really quiet here. Even the noise from the streets in the distance seemed to be separated by a layer and could not be heard clearly.
The two squatted in the tour bus, and could only hear the rustling of the wind through the leaves. The moon was hazy, and everything in the park was plunged into deathly silence.
It was in stark contrast to the bustling park that Yu Yao had visited last time.
This strange silence made her alert.
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