Chapter 89
Number One smelled a strong smell of blood, Leyuan smelled it, and Jongin smelled it too, but the others were unaware of it, as if they were living in another world, or their noses were not affected.
Number One really doesn't want to be the one chosen by the danger, although this situation may be called the chosen one in literary works, but he is not interested in the protagonist. What's more, the dangers encountered by the protagonist are much more and greater than those of others. He doesn't want to die young, but there is nothing he can do now. He frowned and could only pretend to be calm, as if nothing happened.
It is said that if you know nothing, see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing, you will not be caught by ghosts on the paths at night.
Number One thought about this and tried to comfort himself with words he had heard someone say in the past, but he became more frightened and his face turned pale.
He walked in front as if he had nothing to live for.
The team moved little by little and finally arrived at a temporary residence.
The middle-aged man turned around and said to the people behind him, "Everyone, listen to me. I'm sorry, because when you arrived at my house, it was too late. I only had time to prepare a meal for each of you, but I didn't have time to notify the people here in advance to tell them that we would be there tonight. They don't know we are coming now."
Someone in the crowd grumbled, "We don't know? If we don't know, then why are we here? Are we going to sleep on the street? I don't plan to do that! It's too dangerous. The night is scary, and not being able to sleep is even worse. Now we don't even have a place to stay. Isn't this even more terrible? What are we going to do in the future? We might not even make it through tonight."
Leyuan thought for a moment and said to the middle-aged man, "If we catch a cold, we might not be able to get anything done tomorrow morning. You don't want your employees to take collective leave due to unexpected illness, which means you can't continue to progress and complete your work, right?"
The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, and a little red blush as if from anger appeared on his pale face. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to curse at Leyuan's face, but considering the possibility that the other party had said it, he felt that he was still at fault in this matter. If a quarrel really broke out, he would lose such a large number of people and would not be able to complete the work alone, so he endured it.
His face flushed as he said, "I know what you mean. I'm not saying that you have to sleep on the street tonight, and I don't want you all to catch a cold tonight. Don't misunderstand me. I'm not the kind of black-hearted boss who exploits workers."
Jongin smiled at the park, "You may not be our boss yet. After all, I don't remember you giving us money."
The middle-aged man seemed to be suddenly reminded. He glanced at Jongin and rummaged through his clothes as if trying to take something out. An ominous premonition struck Number One. He felt that something bad was going to happen. He took a step back and tried to refuse, but failed.
The middle-aged man successfully took out a large bag from his clothes. He opened the pocket and found a bright red red envelope inside, the kind that ordinary people would buy to put money in and give to the children in the family during the Chinese New Year. There were golden words "Congratulations on making a fortune" printed on the surface of the red envelope. At first glance, it looked very festive. However, upon closer inspection, under the moonlight, it was faintly white-green in color.
It looked like a box that had just been pulled out from under the water, with moldy cheese and sea salt milk cream residue and a rotten red and white box that had been soaked in water and was extremely wet and soft.
Some people couldn't help but vomit, while others looked away, staggered and held onto trees not far away, trying to steady themselves, and almost fell off the road. There was a commotion in the crowd, and the atmosphere became much more lively, which was quite unusual.
The middle-aged man glanced at Zhong Ren, walked up to him with a smile, and stretched out his hand. In his hand was a brand new bright red envelope. Judging from the thickness, it was filled with something, but he didn't know whether the things inside were currency.
Jongin didn't shy away from this. He took it and opened it right away. He found a pile of red hundred-dollar bills inside. However, when he pulled the bills out of the red envelope and examined them carefully, the bills in his hand were exposed to the bright moonlight outside. The bright red bills gradually turned grayish white, and even a little blue.
It felt a bit like thinking you had seen a peerless beauty, but upon closer inspection you realized you were mistaken. Opposite you was a ceramic pig covered in a rotten red and blue plastic bag with a dead, emaciated cat stuffed in its mouth. As people approached, the cat's body gradually moved and bounced, raising its head as if it had come alive again. In fact, it was because the maggots inside were moving.
The red normal usable currency turned into ghost money that could not be circulated among ordinary people, with Tiandi Bank marked on the bottom.
Jongin shook the banknote, and it moved automatically in mid-air without any wind, gradually catching fire. The flame was dark blue with a red tip. As the flame moved downwards, black ashes fell bit by bit and landed on his hand. It didn't feel hot, but rather cool, as if an ice cube had fallen into his hand, and there was an inexplicable wet feeling.
Jongin clapped his hands, and the banknote disappeared, but the red envelope was still in his hand. Jongin looked carefully, and there was nothing else inside, it was empty, and you could even see a shadow in the moonlight.
As expected, there are no accidents.
Jongin thought about it and put the red envelope away. Leyuan asked, "Aren't you going to throw it away?"
Jongin said, “Maybe it can be useful.”
Leyuan thought about it and said doubtfully: "It's up to you."
Jongin asked, "Are you going to throw it away?"
Leyuan shook his head: "If it's empty, it doesn't matter if you throw it away, but you didn't even throw away the empty one. If I got a full red envelope, why would I throw it away? There's no need. Even if there is danger, aren't you still by my side? I'm not afraid, I just think that maybe we can find something fun when we are bored."
Jongin smiled and said, “Okay.”
The middle-aged man was a little disappointed that he couldn't scare the two of them. He put away the other red envelopes in his hand, turned around, and found the crowd next to him. The team was lined up in a row, making it difficult to escape.
Moreover, even if they ran, they might not be able to get out. Even if they ran out, they might not be safe. It would be better for them to stay here. At least there are more people here and they can be braver. Even if they are extremely scared, just finding someone to be with them is better than being alone in the deep darkness and feeling very cold.
They thought so, reluctantly comforted themselves, and stood where they were. The middle-aged man walked over with a smile and handed out the things in his hands according to their standing positions and number order. They all received a big red envelope.
The middle-aged man looked very happy. The mood that had been lost in the amusement park and with Jongin had now risen. He felt compensated and seemed more amiable than before: "This is some advance salary I give you. After all, you have all followed me here, and this place has become my workplace. I am willing to give you some compensation in advance.
You must keep these things carefully. If you accidentally lose them, someone will pick them up and look for you. When they find you, they will return them to you. However, you must also give something to thank them. Otherwise, the people in Jiangbian Village will think that people from other places are so rude. They may get angry or even take something from you by force. Then you have no choice.
If something happens, you can also take money out of the red envelopes and give it to people around you. I'm not talking about your peers or companions, but those strangers who live nearby. If you need help from others, it is normal to give something. I think you are in a hurry to go out and don't have anything else to give away, so just give the money in the red envelopes away.
As for whether to send out part of it or all of it, it depends on whether you are eloquent or whether you care about the matter at that time.
I have given you these instructions. Do you remember them? If you do, let's get ready and go in to find a room."
After Leyuan and Jongin finished distributing the red envelopes, they looked at the middle-aged man and asked, "Didn't you say you didn't notify him in advance? If you go there now and wake him up from his sleep, he might be in a bad mood, right?"
The middle-aged man didn't take it seriously and answered with a smile: "Bad temper? That's nothing! We can't really sleep on the street. I'm not a beggar, and I didn't invite you to come here to act. Isn't it bumpy enough? I thought you guys couldn't wait to get into the room. You can take a shower, wash your hair, change clothes, turn on the air conditioner, and there are tables, chairs, stools and a TV in the room.
Is it a bad place? No, it isn't! I like it very much. You can choose to go in or not. If you want to go in, just follow me. If you don't want to go in, then you can wait outside until dawn and I will come out and take you around the village! Anyway, I will not let you rest outside.
Think carefully among yourselves, I am leaving now."
As he spoke, he actually walked forward until he reached a door and knocked on it. After a while, a yawning sound was heard from inside, followed by the creaking of the bed, and then footsteps, which led to the door.
The footsteps stopped at the door, and through the crack in the door I could vaguely hear the person inside rustling around in his clothes, with his shoes not properly on. This feeling was especially noticeable when he was walking, but there was a door between the two sides, so I had no idea what the situation was, and the person inside was also a little wary.
"Who's outside?"
The person inside asked.
"We have already agreed on this. I am here with my people today. I am a horror video recorder. I called you in advance and said I would stay here tonight. Do you remember? If you do, open the door and let me in."
The middle-aged man shouted inside.
"It's not that I don't want you to come in. What evidence do you have to prove that you are normal people? Who would knock on someone else's door in the middle of the night? There are so many of you. I'm alone here. I dare not let you in casually. What if you come in to cause trouble? I will be in trouble! I dare not. What do you say?"
The proprietress asked tentatively.
"Let me call you. I know your phone number, and I also know the public phone number of this residence. I'll call you and let you know when the call goes through, and you'll open the door for me, okay? The people behind me are my team, they're helping me shoot the video. Without them, I can't move around freely. Please understand what I've said before."
The middle-aged man pleaded sincerely, as if he was really a poor man who was stopped outside the door while trying to find a place to stay at night.
Lok Won and Jongin looked at each other, and both of their expressions became strange, almost like the same face.
The middle-aged man lowered his head, fumbled inside his clothes, found his cell phone, and quickly called the boss lady. The call went through quickly, and the boss lady answered: "Hello? Who is this?"
"I am the person at your door! Please open it!"
The middle-aged man said.
The proprietress was skeptical and opened the door. The middle-aged man walked in. It was pitch black inside. He frowned and asked in confusion, "Why don't you turn on the lights?"
The proprietress walked to the side, felt around on the wall, and said with a smile, "I'm sorry, my shop is small and not very busy, so I close early at night. I didn't expect you to come today and encounter something like this. I never turn on the lights when I go to bed at night, not even the door, because the door is closed and generally no customers knock on the door at night."
She smiled and said, "Someone wanted to come in at night before, but he didn't have an appointment and didn't have much money. After some hesitation, I didn't open the door. The man left swearing, and I didn't want to open the door to welcome guests at night anymore. The gossip in the village has decreased a lot because of this. I think it's a blessing that I earned in my previous life."
The middle-aged man nodded casually, not wanting to listen to her irrelevant nonsense. After looking around, he went upstairs and said to the proprietress, "Everyone who comes in from now on is my team, and everyone in my team is my staff. You should arrange a room for them and let them rest for a night. I'll tell you about other things tomorrow morning. Okay?"
The lady boss laughed and said, "How is that possible? What if you get up in the middle of your sleep and don't pay me? I can't catch up with you. There are so many of you, I can't use force. If I call the police, I don't know when the police will arrive at the door, how can I dare? Please have mercy on me, I am also forced to make a living, and I have no choice but to ask you to pay first. You can't live here without money!"
As she spoke, her smile gradually turned sinister. Her originally rosy face turned a little iron blue, and her cheeks went from plump and soft to stiff and dry, as if they were peeling, layer by layer, looking like a layer of rough rice paste that was half-dried. She stood in the shadows, her eyes devoid of smile, and she was wearing a long rose-red silk pajamas that was very conspicuous and terrifying.
"If you don't give me money, get out of here and don't take advantage of me!"
The proprietress shouted.
The people who followed the middle-aged man into the hotel were startled by the look on the proprietress's face and tried to retreat quickly, but there was no room left, so they could only squeeze forward. The group of people was so crowded that there was no space at all, like sardines in a tin can. The small corner was so dark that it seemed like mushrooms could grow there, and it also emitted a strange stench.
I couldn't tell whether it was the smell of the sewer or coming from the crowd, but it didn't smell very good.
Some people's faces were extremely pale with a subtle hint of green, their eyes were lifeless, and they could hardly stand steadily. If they hadn't been squeezed together by other people, they would have almost fainted as soon as they closed their eyes.
Anyway, the ground here feels a little cleaner than outside, so it doesn't matter if I lie on the ground.
The people further behind did not have the chance to see the proprietress' face, but they were also startled when they heard her voice, and immediately dared not move forward. However, the people behind felt that there were too few people outside, and it was dark, strange, and cold, and they really didn't want to be outside, so they rushed forward, squeezing the people inside so that they had no choice but to come in. After coming in, their bodies became stiff, like a stiff salted fish.
Lok Won and Jongin were still standing on the other side of the crowd, seemingly at the front but at a different angle.
Jongin covered Lok Yuen's ears, and after the boss lady's voice disappeared, he whispered in Lok Yuen's ear, "They are disgusting."
Leyuan agreed and nodded.
Jongin said, "Why don't we move to another place?"
Leyuan said, "It's too late. I'm afraid we won't be able to find it. It's very troublesome. We're tired after coming all the way here. Let's just forget it."
Jongin nodded, “Okay then.”
The lady boss asked, "Who pays you?"
The crowd pushed and shoved each other, and no one came out. The proprietress looked at the two people next to her and felt that they were alone and powerless. Either they were good-tempered and easy to bully, or they were not good at dealing with people and were not likable. Choosing them to ask for money would probably not be a good choice to catch the troublemakers.
The proprietress came to the front of the park, spread her arms, stared at him, and said sinisterly: "If you don't give me money, I will break your arm and kick it like a ball. Once you kick it out, you will never get it back again."
Zhong Ren frowned and thought, damn.
Leyuan said with a smile, "If you dare to attack me, I will overturn the tablets and graves of your eight generations of ancestors and even grind their bodies to dust. Do you think that's a good idea? Oh, maybe you don't need me. Your entire family has been grinded to dust long ago. It's not surprising. Now, what's going on? Be polite. It's good for everyone."
The proprietress's face turned green, she gritted her teeth and cursed: "You are so unreasonable, how dare you? You said that to me! I will kill you sooner or later! Remember, this matter can't end like this. It doesn't count, nothing you say counts! I won't give you that chance. Even if you live here, I won't protect you."
Leyuan waited until she finished scolding him, then nodded: "Got it."
Looks like I've read it.
The proprietress's iron-blue face turned red, and she looked very angry. Her nails were very sharp, and it seemed that they could poke into other people's scalps and mess up their brains. She raised her hand, pointed directly at the amusement park, and said angrily: "If I don't show you a little color, do you really think I'm a sick cat? Fine! I'll let you see who is the master here!"
As the proprietress spoke, she rushed over, and with a bang, she flew out.
The crowd thought that the person flying out was Paradise. They were terrified and their faces turned pale. They hid in the corner, shivering, hugging a body they didn't know who it was. They were sweating profusely and dared not make a sound for fear of being noticed. They blinked their eyes but dared not look. They could only move their necks stiffly and turn their heads away, trying to avoid the horrible and tragic scene so as not to accidentally see the corpse's brain bursting.
"We told him to stop talking nonsense, but he didn't listen. Now what should we do?"
"We shouldn't have let them be the leaders in the first place! How can they be the leaders? They are not fit to be captains!"
"It's over, it's over, we are going to die too. We have angered the master. How could such a thing happen? I am so miserable, wuwuwu——"
Amid the noise, someone saw the surprised expression on the face of the middle-aged man on the high ground. Puzzled, he looked in the direction he was looking and saw the ragged lady boss lying on the ground. She was horrified and shouted, "Look! We are not at the end of our rope! We don't need to die yet! Hahaha! Look! We won. We don't need to die. That's great!"
The crowd began to celebrate.
"I knew it was a good idea to choose them as captains. They are so strong that they can protect us even if they stand there."
"Luckily we have them as captains, otherwise we would have died countless times."
"I'm so happy, I'm so lucky, I've never been so happy in my life. I've been reborn today. From now on, they will be my adoptive parents, my elder brothers. Whoever makes things difficult for my elder brother will make things difficult for me! Wuwuwu——"
The proprietress Sen Wan* got up from the ground with great difficulty. She turned her head angrily and glared at the chattering crowd nearby who were watching a show. The crowd immediately quieted down.
The proprietress was glad that she still posed a little threat. She stood up and tried to walk to the front of the park. It would have been fine if she hadn't walked. As soon as she walked, she found that she had no strength in one leg and she walked with a limp. She was immediately furious and her face flushed. She rushed to the front of the park and said angrily, "What did you do to me? Make me better soon! I tell you, I'm not someone you can easily mess with.
If you continue to be so ungrateful, I will, I will, make you and your companions pay for it! Did you hear me? "
If she had said this before she flew out, it might have had some force, but it sounded a bit pretentious when she said it after she flew out. Moreover, no matter how fast she ran, she still limped, which looked quite funny, as if a cat with one leg missing was wagging its tail wildly to prove that its claws were very sharp. Someone next to her almost laughed out loud, but fortunately she covered her mouth in time and no one noticed.
[It's bad, it's up to me]
[The boss lady is so beautiful, so cute, so pitiful, and so funny]
[Boss lady, would you like to be my wife? Boss lady, wuwuwu——]
[I will die without the boss lady, boss lady, I am your dog~]
[Don’t think this woman is good. Let me tell you, she abandoned her pet. I am the abandoned pet. Woof woof woof]
[It's really disgusting that you can get horny at this time.]
[I never thought that there would be people doing pornography during such a dangerous time]
[I thought it was a scene where God blocks and kills God, but that’s it? Nothing more than that.]
[Why don't we consider why the people who disappeared before died? ]
[I know this. I didn’t listen and I wasn’t strong enough, so I died. I refused to get off the bus when I was told to, and refused to eat when I was told to.]
The boss lady yelled, "Get out if you don't pay me!"
Because the sound is so loud, it seems more like a show of force.
Leyuan took out a red envelope and handed it to her: "Do you want it? If not, I'll take it back. It's yours to take. Don't regret it later and ask me for it again."
The proprietress rushed over and snatched the red envelope from Leyuan's hand. She glanced at Leyuan cautiously, but didn't see any smile of success. She carefully opened the red envelope. The middle-aged man who was watching everything from above had a bad expression. Leyuan raised the corner of his lips, and the middle-aged man stood on the second floor stairs with a gloomy face, holding the railing, looking down at this place.
He really looked like the mastermind standing there.
But he failed to manipulate the park and failed to control Jongin, which greatly reduced his control over others.
This was something he had not thought of before. He originally thought that Lok Won and Jongin were nothing special. They just mixed in with a bunch of ordinary people when they met, and looked a little bit stronger, but there was nothing particularly outstanding about them. They must be too weak and could only stand with ordinary people. They seemed to be stronger than everyone else, but in fact they were the weakest among the weak. But it seems that is not the case.
He was wrong.
One wrong step leads to another, and this is the consequence.
He suddenly felt like he was about to be finished. His face looked even uglier than before, pale with a hint of green. The green surface seemed to be covered with a layer of black ash from the bottom of a pot, which made people feel uncomfortable and wanted to laugh.
Leyuan glanced at him, realized that he seemed unhappy, then she looked away and stopped smiling, as if nothing had happened.
But when the lady boss opened the red envelope and saw the money inside, she was very happy and quickly put the whole red envelope away, as if she would never give it back to you. She put her hands behind her back, looked towards the park, and shouted, "Forget it this time. If you provoke me like this again next time, I will not be polite to you. I just gave in to you, don't be complacent. There are many more powerful people here than me."
Leyuan nodded perfunctorily. He didn't think the other party was very powerful, nor did he think there were many particularly powerful people here, and he certainly didn't think the most powerful person here could compare to Jongin.
He is not afraid, otherwise, he would not have come out.
Others didn't know how confident he was, but they thought he looked calm and composed, which was very admirable. The crowd felt that they had nothing to do and began to whisper to each other: "It's great that he is so calm."
"Is this what it means to remain calm when a mountain collapses in front of you? I wish I could be like that."
"Will you not be bullied if you do this outside? I've learned it. I'll try it out next time I run into danger when I go out."
[This is not a good idea]
【Try and you will die】
[I advise you not to]
[But, he's really handsome~ wuwuwu——Why isn't someone like him around me? Why didn't I realize before that he's super juicy even without looking at his face~]
[Strange, why can't I see that face? No, I can hardly see the person, it's so strange, it's like there's no one there]
[What are you talking about? Wasn't that place empty? How could there be anyone there? It must be a ghost. If you don't sleep in the middle of the night, you will see a ghost.]
[What? What happened just now? I don’t know, who can give me a lesson? ]
The proprietress ruffled her hair, walked to the crowd with a smile, stretched out her hand and said to them: "Give me your room money now! If you don't have money, get out. If you have money, give me the money and you can go upstairs and find a room to stay in. I don't have any special locks here. After you move into the room, remember to lock the door from the inside. Don't blame me for not reminding you.
It's not very safe here at night, so I rested with the door closed. You live upstairs, so you have to be careful too, especially when you sleep. Be careful not to get up and open the door when you hear someone knocking on it, or answer when you hear someone calling your name. Don't look around when you go to the bathroom, especially don't stare at the mirror.
The quality of the mirror here is not very good. It starts to have problems at night. It's okay when the lights are on, but if the lights are dim, the mirror will look weird, like the big and small funhouse mirrors in the amusement park. You will see yourself in the mirror in a weird way. Don't be afraid, that's normal. The mirror here is like that.
Is there anything else you want to ask? Since you all gave me money, I can say a few more words. "
The proprietress counted the money happily, checking the red envelopes while counting the money. After taking out the money, she returned the red envelope shells, as if an empty red envelope shell still had some use.
Number One put away the red envelope and asked, "What should I do if I smell something strange?"
The proprietress raised her head, looked at him, and said with a smile in an expected tone: "Close your eyes, and you will be fine after one night. But when you sleep, you must not open your eyes casually, and you must not hear anything. It is also best not to leave your bed, otherwise, if an accident occurs, you can't blame others. I'll stop here, and you can figure out the rest yourself."
She said this, nodded, and walked away happily with the money in her hand.
Leyuan and Jongin were together, looking at a deck of blood-stained poker cards that they had found from somewhere.
After the crowd had been talking about this, they walked up to them and reminded them, "Should we go upstairs and find a room to stay in?"
Le Yuan stood up and said, "That's right, let's go up now."
A group of people went upstairs in a mighty stream.
The middle-aged man, with a gloomy face, walked to the first room upstairs, which was at the corner of the stairs. The location was very delicate. If anyone wanted to go downstairs from here, they had to pass through the door of that room. The door and the stairs were not far apart. If the person in the room was awake, he could hear footsteps outside with his eyes closed.
But one thing is that it seems that it is not easy to escape from this location. When you open the door and rush out, you will be blocked by the corner of the handrail of the stairs. You have to go around a corner to walk out normally.
The crowd was divided into rooms, entered and rested.
Number One was lying on the bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. Number Two sat beside him, looked at him and said, "If you are so worried about your safety, I advise you to go find the leader. The captain and his men will definitely be able to protect you from getting hurt tonight. If you stay here like this for the whole night, not only you will feel unsafe, I will feel unsafe too. If you lie next to them, you may get in trouble for me."
Number One thought about it and nodded, then stood up and said, "Then I'll go find them. What are you going to do?"
Number Two smiled and said, "I live alone. Anyway, doesn't the middle-aged man who asked us to come here also live alone?"
Number One stood at the door and said, "But, his room seems to be a single-bed single room, and ours is a double-bed double room, which is a little more expensive than his. If you live alone, isn't it... maybe... not so good?"
Number Two's smile paused, he looked a little unhappy, and stood up and said, "You'd better hurry over! If you're a little later, others will have gone to bed, and you'll be driven back if you knock on the door. I don't want to hear your bed creaking at night. I won't be able to sleep. I like quietness at night, and it's better to live alone. I like it very much. Go ahead! Don't worry about me."
He was probably irritated by the worried look on Number One's face. Although Number One didn't mean to say that he was weak and couldn't do it alone, he inexplicably felt despised and was very unhappy. He couldn't smile much, but he couldn't just turn his face away from Number One. He could only put on an awkward smile and urged Number One to hurry out so that he could vent his emotions after he left and close the door.
Number One saw that Number Two didn't want him to be here, so he hesitated, nodded, opened the door and walked out. Number Two suddenly became happy, and this time he was really happy, much more genuinely than pretending.
Number One took a look and decided that there was really no need for him to worry, so he walked away without looking back. He walked to Lok Won and Jongin's residence and knocked on the door.
"Excuse me, could you open the door, please?"
Number One asked nervously, standing at the door.
Leyuan asked: "What do you want? It's too late, you should go back and rest. Go to bed early, we still have to go out to work tomorrow morning."
Number One lowered his head and fiddled with his fingers, saying, "I smelled a little blood on the road, and I don't think I can sleep well in other rooms. Excuse me, can I rest in your room for a night? After tonight, maybe it will be safe. Others are not as good as you, so I don't dare to go."
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