Chapter 59: Transmission

Chapter 59: Transmission

After a simple breakfast, everyone left the dining hall.

This time Wang Tianxin didnt have the intention to go out, after having lost his companion. Embarrassed, he told the others that he wanted to return to his room.

Someone asked him in a tone devoid of all courtesy, Wang Tianxin, thinking of hiding in your room and not coming out?

Upon being abruptly interrogated, Although Wang Tianxin felt a little embarrassed, he firmly replied, Yeah, I dont feel very well, so Im not going out today.

The person who had questioned him sneered, I assume that you wont be feeling very well for the following days as well?

Humiliation drove him into fury as Wang Tianxin rebuked, What does that have to do with you? So what if I dont feel well? Try feeling sick with me if youre capable of it!

This reply of his was extremely shameless. The gazes that fell upon him were filled with contempt.

With the exception of two first-timers, most of the group were those who had experienced many doors and had come across people who are uselessly passive like Wang Tianxin before.

These people wont take the initiative to find information and are only concerned with their own survival. These people do nothing as part of the team and are entirely a burden on others.

Ruan Nanzhu glanced at Wang Tianxin. Having no comment, he left with Lin Qiushi.

After leaving the inn, Ruan Nanzhu passively commented, Considering my former temperament, somebody like Wang Tianxin shouldnt even think of leaving this place alive.

Lin Qiushi, I thought you couldnt kill people within the world of the doors?

With half a smile, Ruan Nanzhu replied, How would a law-abiding citizen like myself commit murder? There are so many ways to let someone die, its not necessary to taint my own hands.

It was indeed so. The worlds inside the doors were so full of danger in the first place that it seemed like human life held no value at all.

Ruan Nanzhu, If two or three people who are like him appear, then theres a high chance of total annihilation.

Lin Qiushi, What do you mean?

Ruan Nanzhu, Think about it. Humans all like to compare themselves with one another. If youre working hard, risking your life to find information while somebody else is doing nothing but hide in their own room, can you really feel at peace?

Lin Qiushi, Thats true

Ruan Nanzhu didnt continue on this topic but his expression was very clear. If Wang Tianxin causes troubleagain, then he really wouldnt be able to leave this door. This chapter is updated by nov(e)(l)biin.com

Their plan today was to visit and inspect all the families with children in the town again. Although Dong Tianwei said that the families were determined to keep their children hidden from them, Lin Qiushi felt that these children may be key to making a breakthrough. He and Ruan Nanzhu walked across the town to a row of dilapidated two-story buildings.

The paint on the walls of these buildings have mostly fallen off. There are faint signs of erosion caused by rain on the corners of the building. The doors were locked and small yards were sectioned out by barbed wires. The insides of the yards were overgrown with densely packed weeds; to be honest, if it werent for the light shining from inside the windows, this place really didnt look like a place where people lived.

However, the architectural designs of these rows of buildings were very similar, and they all give off a feeling of strangers are prohibited

In the morning, Lin Qiushi had asked Dong Tianwei in detail about the situations of these families. Dong Tianweis answer was that although they were able to get inside the homes with no problem, they didnt see any children. The attitudes of the parents were also very cold and they refused to answer any questions.

Lin Qiushi had asked, Then did you search their rooms?

Dong Tianwei, We did but we gained nothing from it because the children werent inside.

Lin Qiushi got the point.

As Lin Qiushi was buried in his thoughts, Ruan Nanzhu had rung the doorbell.

After the doorbell had rung, a quiet, creaking noise came from inside the old door. An old lady poked her head out from behind the door, muddy eyes searching around before settling at the entrance, where Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu were standing.

Lin Qiushi had originally thought that she would ask them why they were here, but instead, she walked to where they were, opened the door, and turned around to go back inside the building, as if telling them I wont tell you anything but do as you please.

Ruan Nanzhu called out, Old lady. The old lady did not acknowledge him, and as if she couldnt hear them, she retreated back into the building.

Since she wasnt willing to speak to them, Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu didnt make any more moves to force her.

Before going in, they checked around the small yard in front of them, but found nothing useful.

Ruan Nanzhu said to Lin Qiushi, The information we got from the mayor says that this family has a daughter, seven years old. At present, there isnt a missing person poster for her. If the information from the mayor is correct, there definitely is a child in this house, but shes being hidden by her family.

Lin Qiushi nodded. Dong Tianwei had said the same thing.

Ruan Nanzhu opened the wooden door in front of them and the two entered the house.

So, lets see if we can find her.

The room was very messy, random objects filled the entire place. The old lady who opened the door for them was sitting on a rocking chair and looked as if she had fallen asleep. The only lighting for the entire room was a single, small lightbulb hanging from the ceiling, making the place look dark and worn down.

Lets search separately. If you come across something, call out, Ruan Nanzhu said quietly to Lin Qiushi. At critical moments, there isnt a need to worry about too much. After all, this role is meant for deceiving people. Whats the point in deception if youre not alive?

Lin Qiushi nodded. Pointing to the second floor, he then typed: [Ill go check out the second floor.]

Ruan Nanzhu hummed in agreement.

When Lin Qiushi expressed that he was going to the second floor, the old lady had glanced up at him. Although the movement was very subtle, Lin Qiushi still caught it. He understood then that the child should have been hidden somewhere on the second floor.

Climbing up the long staircase, Lin Qiushi arrived upstairs.

On the second floor was likely the owners bedroom and study. It was as worn down as everything else, but it was missing the mess of the first floor.

Lin Qiushi examined this place room by room, but found no trace of the child in any of them. He even checked inside the closets and under the beds, but still did not make any discoveries.

This place wasnt very big, so where else could they hide a whole living person?

Lin Qiushi could not understand.

Just as Lin Qiushi sank into a state of perplexion, his sharp ears had captured an irregular noise.

It sounded like nails scratching on wood. It was very quiet, but Lin Qiushi knew that he had heard it. He examined his surroundings and quickly located the source of the noise a corner of the room.

Lin Qiushi walked over and saw in the corner, a wooden trunk, about half a metre large. Considering the size of the trunk, it would not be capable of containing an entire person, but there was indeed a noise coming from inside of it.

Lin Qiushi thought about it and bent down to examine it. He confirmed that the trunk was the source of the noise but it was locked by a copper lock. Lin Qiushi considered this for a moment and then decided to call Ruan Nanzhu upstairs and get him to unlock it.

Ruan Nanzhu asked him. The sound is coming from here?

Lin Qiushi typed on his phone: [Yes, it should be connected to a hidden room.]

Ruan Nanzhu, Alright. He bent into a half-squat and began to pick the lock.

It was not a complicated lock and Ruan Nanzhu had it unlocked in mere seconds. But the moment the lock clicked open, Lin Qiushis eyes widened; he saw what was inside the trunk.

Ah.. ah.. The child whose body had been broken into a distorted shape in order to fit inside the box let out a faint groan. Her body was almost completely twisted around, stuffed into a snug fit inside the trunk in front of them. It was hard to ascertain if she was alive or not just by looking at her.

Ruan Nanzhu frowned at the sight of this.

The original slender man began to become shorter. And as if having all the water sucked out of its body, as it became shorter and shorter, it became more and more shriveled up.

In the end, it turned into a pile of something like human skin with all its flesh and blood having evaporated away.

Liu Ya herself had turned completely into the slenderman. Her clothes had been ripped apart in her transformation, so she bent down, picked up the suit that had fallen onto the ground and put it on piece by piece. She stroked the tophat and after making a strange laugh, then she reached down to pick up the piece of shrunken human skin.

Lin Qiushi watched the newborn slenderman stuff that shriveled up piece of human skin in its mouth, swallowing it in one mouthful.

It was a scene that was supposed to disgust and terrify, but Lin Qiushis attention was fixed onto something else: he saw clearly that a metallic object was wrapped within the human skin. Although Lin Qiushi wanted to lie to himself, he was certain that he saw what that metallic object was thats right, it was the key needed to leave this door.

The key to this door is actually in the body of the slenderman (scarecrow).

For a while, the atmosphere between Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu was heavy.

Liu Ya, having eaten the skin (ashes) of her predecessor, showed a satisfied expression. She then turned and disappeared into the thick fog. Having watched the figure disappear, Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzheng in unspoken agreement, remained silent and turned around to leave. It was not until they had returned to town that they were able to relax.

Beside him Ruan Nanzhus expression was very solemn, Did you see it?

Lin Qiushi, I saw it.

Ruan Nanzhu, Its very long huh

Lin Qiushis expression froze, Whats long?

Ruan Nanzhu smiled and did not speak.

Lin Qiushi caught a trace of mockery in his smile. Finally realizing what Ruan Nanzhus very long huh referred to, his expression twisted, you were watching that attentively?

Ruan Nanzhu, The truth is I didnt want to either; my sense of sight is just too sharp.

Lin Qiushi, So? Have you suffered?

Ruan Nanzhu, Not really.

Very good. Very amazing. Through their stalkerish behaviour, they have finally determined that the slenderman was male, and a male whose certain bodily part was quite long at that. Truly, this information that theyve obtained is quite valuable Lin Qiushi sorrowfully thought.

It seems that there is a uniformed template for transforming into a slenderman. After making a joke, Ruan Nanzhu returned to the task at hand. The tophat is the object of transmission.

Lin Qiushi, What about the key?

Ruan Nanzhu, There are two options: One, beat the slendermandown and cut the key out of its stomach.

Lin Qiushi, Id better choose option two then. He didnt think his fighting ability was sufficient to beat that thing down. Even adding on Ruan Nanzhu, he thought that it would be risky.

Ruan Nanzhu, Option two, act while they are in the middle of transmission.

Lin Qiushi fell into contemplation.

Ruan Nanzhu, My guess is that the hat is very important, so we have to act when the first slenderman is taking off its hat and interrupt the transmission.

Lin Qiushi, That makes sense.

The reasoning made sense but how exactly how to execute and interrupt was the real issue. What was worse is that if they fail, theyd mostly die on the spot. The slendermanis not something with a good temperament.

This task is not necessarily just up to the two of us. Ruan Nanzhu said, Although information is important, our lives are even more important. We can tell these matters to everyone else, and then when the time comes, we act together.

Lin Qiushi thought that what Ruan Nanzhu said made sense. In any case, the more people, the more manpower; one more person means one more option. However, an issue remains, What if theyre not willing?

Ruan Nanzhu,Not willing He sneered, If theyre not willing, then let them sit and wait for death to claim them. He smiled and looked at Lin Qiushi with a very serious expression, I promise, they will die before us.

Lin Qiushi felt that Ruan Nanzhu was truly not joking around.

The two of them had been running around all day. At this moment, they were a little tired. They planned to go back to the inn and rest.

As they passed by the plaza, Lin Qiushi found that the posters that had been removed by him had not only appeared once again on the notice board, but this time there was one more.

Lin Qiushi looked at the picture on the additional poster: it was the girl who had been stuffed into the trunk by her guardians

I keep thinking that we are like a star of bad omen, Lin Qiushi said casually. The children we talked to all meet with misfortune.

Hearing what he had said, Ruan Nanzhu replied, Maybe that really is the case.

Lin Qiushi, En? What do you mean?

Ruan Nanzhu: I meant that in actuality, we are the accomplices of the slenderman. Not only do we have to eventually become those monsters, we also have to track down the children for it.

Lin Qiushi, He actually thought that Ruan Nanzhu had said something very reasonable.

But Lin Qiushi still felt like he had forgotten something, something he couldnt remember. He pressed his lips together, looking worried.

Whats wrong? Ruan Nanzhu asked him.

Lin Qiushi, I feel like Ive overlooked something. It was a strange feeling; it was as if even if his brain couldnt remember it, his intuition was continuously reminding him.

Ruan Nanzhu, Theres no rush, you can take your time and think.

Lin Qiushi nodded.

The two returned to the inn and casually ate something.

Lin Qiushi originally thought that Ruan Nanzhu would straightaway tell everyone about the matter at hand, Ruan Nanzhu didnt mention it at all.

At Lin Qiushis puzzled expression, Ruan Nanzhu gave a logical explanation. He said, Lets wait until when we go in for the key. After all, there may be people here who will become that thing. Lets not give the enemy information.

Lin Qiushi, Thats true.

He sat by the window, looking towards the distant scenery. Suddenly, in a stroke of luck, it hit him I remembered it!!

Ruan Nanzhu, What?

Lin Qiushi, I remembered what I overlookeddo you still remember how I said that I have seen the slenderman a few times before?

Ruan Nanzhu nodded to indicate that he remembered.

Lin Qiushi said, But the ones that I saw werent wearing hats.

Ruan Nanzhu frowned.

Lin Qiushi said, as if not believing his own words, Unless, in this town, there are actually two slendermen?

Ruan Nanzhus gaze was heavy and in a low voice, Thats very likely.

If this was really the case, then things were even more terrible than they had thought.