196 Bad Copy
◎Helpless◎
"The man just said he was planning to commit suicide, which is why he jumped off the tracks in front of everyone." Qi Qiuxue took the tissue from Li Yiqing and carefully wiped the liquid off her fingertips. Then she said, "We don't know whether what he said is true or not, but regardless of whether he committed suicide or was murdered, the result is the same."
"That means the paper man has successfully taken over his body, but the effect isn't very good. The remaining characteristics of the paper man are still quite obvious."
"Combining the clues I've obtained so far, I can probably draw some conclusions. The 27th day of the twelfth lunar month, when the fire occurred ten years ago, was a crucial moment. On that day, every group of returnees who remained unaware of the truth would be doomed. The paper figurines would successfully possess their bodies and merge perfectly with them."
"This is the outcome the paper figures desire most. To achieve this day, they will do everything they can to lure those returning home, appease everyone, and play their roles until they achieve their ultimate goal."
"But nothing in the world is perfect. Unexpected events are inevitable before achieving the goal. Some of the returnees may commit suicide, be murdered, die of illness, or die in accidents. Because the timing is wrong, the result of forced possession is not perfect. However, in order to possess a human body as quickly as possible, the paper man will still choose to do this without hesitation."
"That's why we see two different types of villagers, but no matter what kind of villagers they are, they are not human."
"Very strange." After saying that, Li Yiqing opened his lips to continue.
Qi Qiuxue looked at her and calmly gestured for her to continue, "What's so strange about that?"
Li Yiqing raised three fingers in response. "Why did all the returnees return to the village just as the paper figurine had predicted? Even those with suicidal tendencies seemed to be manipulated, packing their bags, checking their tickets, and almost getting on the train?"
"2. The paper man's influence seems even greater than we imagined. So much so that even though the man didn't return to the village, he was still successfully possessed by the paper man."
"I originally thought that Chigu Village was the most important medium, and that all of the Paper Man's tricks could only be accomplished within a specific medium. But now it seems that's not the case. The Paper Man's influence has permeated every corner. No matter where the Returnee is, it can occupy their body. It's just a matter of perfection or imperfection."
"But this conclusion quickly led to a third strange point. 3. If the paper figures were truly so powerful, then why would they have to endure for so many years? Wouldn't it have been much better to simply take over all the displaced villagers in an instant?"
"Ahhh." As soon as she finished speaking, Su Wen beside her immediately scratched her head in frustration. There were too many doubts in this copy, and the clues were collected sporadically. Every day when she opened her eyes, she had to think about it, thinking about it so much that her brain was about to split. "It's so troublesome."
"Calm down." Qi Qiuxue raised her hand and patted her shoulder.
"I've thought about everything you said." She looked at Li Yiqing again and expressed her opinion, "So I tried to come to this conclusion."
"Perhaps every villager who has lived in Chigu Village carries a curse," Qi Qiuxue said. "These curses remain within everyone's body like chains, and they won't fade away with the passage of time. At some point, they will be reawakened by a specific medium. Under the power of the curse, the wandering villagers will eventually return to their homeland."
"The one who cast the curse was the so-called 'god' mentioned by the paper people. The fire ten years ago consumed too much of its power. As a result, in the next ten years, it can only gather its strength, recovering it bit by bit, and gradually recalling the remaining villagers."
"Only the curse within the person who senses the summons will be successfully awakened. At this point, the paper figures are reconnected with them. They can control the life and death of those who return home, and can also seize their bodies. However, in order to achieve perfection, it is better to proceed step by step and wait for the right time rather than rushing into action."
"As for the medium that evoked the curse—" Qi Qiuxue suddenly remembered the package from a few days ago, "Maybe it was that anonymous package, maybe it was the file bag, maybe it was the envelope..."
"Or perhaps, it's any paper product or any piece of paper that the returnees have touched."
"I think the gods of the paper people must be related to paper."
“…”
-
At noon, Qi Qiuxue and others finally found the "homeless man" who was accidentally photographed by the camera.
As shown in the photo, he was wearing the clothes that seemed to have appeared next to the fire site ten years ago, sitting on a tattered chair and sleeping soundly. Unlike what the players guessed, he was not homeless. The house with a large area behind him seemed to be his residence.
When they were a little far away, Qi Qiuxue could only see the other person's clothes and his messy hair, but when she got closer, the homeless man who was originally snoring suddenly stopped dozing.
As if sensing the approaching danger, he suddenly sat up straight, took a defensive stance, and muttered loudly: "Get out, get out, don't catch me, don't catch me!!!"
The moment he raised his eyes, Qi Qiuxue quickly frowned.
In the photo, the man who looked like a homeless person kept his head down, so she couldn't see his face at all. But now, Qi Qiuxue finally saw his face clearly.
From the outside, he seemed much younger than he had imagined, but his face was so dirty and covered with mud that it was impossible to tell his age.
In addition, under the thick soil, Qi Qiuxue saw two bright red spots hanging on his cheeks.
“…”
Before finding him, Qi Qiuxue had not given up on hoping for a lucky break. She had personally witnessed the second and third groups of returnees to Chigu Village. Although she did not know who were among the first group of returnees, she could roughly recognize them.
In order to find the whereabouts of the homeless man, she had been trying to ask other returnees earlier. Everyone said they couldn't figure it out, didn't know, or had never seen him. But even so, she still held on to a glimmer of hope. Maybe there was another group before this, or maybe the homeless man didn't return in Wang Shan's car.
Most importantly, she hoped that the homeless man had not yet been successfully possessed by the paper man, and that the players could get some clues from him, but now it seemed that everything was too late.
"We have no ill intentions, don't be afraid." After a pause, Qi Qiuxue still chose to step forward. She tried to make her tone as soft as possible and soothe the other person's emotions with an extremely gentle tone.
Unfortunately, it was useless. The homeless man didn't allow any of them to get close. Without even waiting for Qi Qiuxue to say anything, he suddenly started shouting, which immediately attracted a group of villagers around and quickly gathered here.
"Hold them back." Fortunately, the door behind the homeless man was not locked. Qi Qiuxue glanced sideways and saw several paper people standing quietly in the carport on the east side of the yard.
So before the villagers got too close, she quickly entered the yard and checked the paper figures. Sure enough, among all the paper figures, she found one with its birth date written on the back.
I took several photos with my camera and checked, nothing happened.
Apart from this, there was nothing else worth noting in the yard, and the light in the main room was too dim, and there were so many things that it was impossible to find out.
Qi Qiuxue had no choice but to take a few photos and quickly turn back before the villagers became suspicious.
"Don't bully him." When they returned to the courtyard, the villagers were scolding Li Yiqing and others, and even looked at Qi Qiuxue suspiciously, "What on earth are you doing?"
"Nothing, I just wanted to chat with him." Qi Qiuxue shook her head. "It's been ten years since I last saw him. I can't recognize him anymore. I was a little curious, so I came over to ask."
"Him, he's Zhang Yu," a villager replied. "It's normal not to recognize him. Who could possibly remember him with his character? And who could tell he's only 29 years old?"
"Alas, fate plays tricks on us. This child used to be considered a prodigy in our village, not to mention how smart he was. Who would have thought that after being away for so many years, he would come back like a madman."
Twenty-nine.
Judging from the year of birth, it does match the date written on the back of the paper figure.
"Then he..." Qi Qiuxue opened her mouth, trying to get more information, but before she could ask, Zhang Yu beside her suddenly burst into tears.
"What are you doing?" The villagers nearby were annoyed by his noise, frowned in displeasure, and patted him with their hands. "What on earth has wronged you? Come on, tell me."
"He's unfamiliar with you and might be a little scared." He waved at Qi Qiuxue and the others, intending to send them away. "Go back, what's the point of chatting with a lunatic?"
"But..." Wu Shanyue opened his lips, trying to say something else.
The man stopped talking and looked at her with a serious and resisting look, staring at her face.
The atmosphere became tense in an instant.
After a while, Qi Qiuxue had no choice but to say goodbye: "Okay, then we'll go first."
"Axue." Wu Shanyue frowned.
"We'll come back later." Qi Qiuxue said softly.
But...accidents always happen one after another.
After waiting for a while, when they returned here again, the homeless man suddenly disappeared. It was not just tonight. From then on, it was as if he had evaporated from the face of the earth. Qi Qiuxue never saw him again.
What's worse is that in the next few days, apart from a complete list of villagers obtained from the village party secretary, they didn't get any other information. The days passed one by one, and the 27th day of the twelfth lunar month was getting closer and closer.
This is the worst copy ever.
For the first time, Qi Qiuxue experienced what it meant to be helpless.
【Author’s words】
Here we come!
Thank you for your overlord tickets and nutrient solution, thank you for your comments and reading. The weather has changed a lot recently and it is easy to get sick. Everyone must take care of their health QAQ
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
