CH 130

(Haunted)

“I… Did I say something wrong?” Fang Qi couldn’t grasp what was going on. 

“No, it’s perfectly OK, no problem,” said Shen Dongqing with a brilliant smile.

At this point, the cook appeared with two bags of buns, which he handed to Fang Qi.

Fang Qi shoved the takeout into the box and hesitated for a second before asking, “Can I add you to my WeChat?” Fang Qi had a strong urge to hug the thighs of the person in front of him for some reason, and this urge was so intense that he even wanted to call him Dad.

Whatever the situation, the first priority was to add him to his friend list. Perhaps in the future he will be able to hug a thigh and so on. 

Shen Dongqing pulled out his phone.

He was self-taught when it came to modern technology. He skillfully launched WeChat and added Fang Qi as a friend.

Fang Qi was still in a hurry to deliver food after adding friends and added, “See you later when we have a chance—”

Shen Dongqing gave him a friendly wave.

Fang Qi rode away on his small electric scooter, and his figure faded around the corner.

Shen Dongqing turned his head after eating the buns in two or three bites and noticed Zhou Wenyan staring blankly at the spot where Fang Qi’s back had vanished.

He walked over silently, hands behind his back, intending to scare Zhou Wenyan.

It’s just that this prank didn’t go as planned. Zhou Wenyan looked away and grabbed Mr. Sneaky. 

“What are you thinking, so serious?” asked Shen Dongqing.

“I’m thinking of the second batch of people that entered this world,” Zhou Wenyan said as he stroked Shen Dongqing’s wrist.

They assumed the game’s problem had been resolved at the time, and they happened to have the controller to use as a plug-in. Naturally, they wouldn’t forget the players with whom they were on good terms and had cleared instances, so they saved them. Shen Dongqing and Zhou Wenyan later came to find Fang Qi and discovered that he had forgotten everything.

They didn’t give it much thought because, according to the game’s regulations, people who left the game world had their memories erased. 

But now that they understood this was a game-created world, what was going on with this player who had lost his memory? Did he truly lose his memory, or was he also a game-created NPC?

Shen Dongqing looked at the brat and questioned, “What did you see?”

The brat who had been ignored all this time was stunned for a second and exclaimed, “See what?”

Shen Dongqing: “See whether he’s a player?” 

A game boss’s general abilities could detect a player from a sea of players and accurately capture them.

But because Shen Dongqing had already transformed from a Boss Villain to a human being, he’d naturally lost this skill.

“It should be a player,” the brat concluded after some contemplation.

“What do you mean ‘should’?” Shen Dongqing demanded. 

“Time was too short, and I didn’t see it clearly,” confessed the brat.

Shen Dongqing: “You didn’t say so earlier!”

Brat: “You didn’t ask earlier.”

The two exchanged wide-eyed stares. 

Fang Qi had already left, and it was too late to call him back.

Shen Dongqing took out his phone, opened WeChat, and messaged Fang Qi, asking him to return immediately, but Fang Qi was too busy delivering food to read the message, and he didn’t respond for a long time.

“We can go find someone else first,” Zhou Wenyan suggested, just as Shen Dongqing was heaving deep sighs.

Shen Dongqing perked up instantly. 

Eluta! Ktfgf jgf batfg qijsfgr lc atlr kbgiv yfrlvfr Mjcu Hl.

Ugfnlberis, Itbe Qfcsjc tjv bgvfgfv atf rfmgfajgs ab agjmx vbkc atf qijsfgr’ ktfgfjybear, yea joafg rfflcu Mjcu Hl jcv rfflcu atja tf vlvc’a gfwfwyfg ktja tjqqfcfv lc atf ujwf, atfs rabqqfv ybatfglcu batfg qfbqif.

Ktfs cbk rfjgmtfv atf jvvgfrrfr obecv ys atf rfmgfajgs jcv vlrmbnfgfv atja atfs kfgf jii lc atf nlmlclas, klat Qe Alj yflcu atf mibrfra.

Zhou Wenyan looked him up using the address provided by the secretary. 

Wu Jia lived in the neighborhood near the Lao Zhong Baozi Shop. He worked overtime every day till twelve o’clock at night as a programmer, exploited by capitalists.

Today happened to be a holiday. Wu Jia, who had been slogging all week, lay paralyzed at home since the morning, and it wasn’t until the afternoon that he put on his slippers and went out to look for food. As soon as he opened the door, he was met by a crowd of people ascending the stairs.

Wu Jia returned his gaze to the house number, then to the three people, with a clear purpose in mind: “Are you here to meet me?”

Shen Dongqing lowered his head and ordered the brat, “Take a good look.” 

The brat raised his head and fixed his gaze on Wu Jia. Although he appeared young, he was not childish when serious, and he did not resemble a child at all. A shiver ran down Wu Jia’s spine as he was gazed at by those pitch-black eyes.

“If…if it’s all right, I’ll leave first.” Wu Jia took a wary step back, wishing to retreat home and avoid these three oddballs.

“He’s a player,” the brat remarked exasperatingly slowly at this point.

A player is simple to manage. 

He was packed and carried away with a wave of Shen Dongqing’s hand.

Like this, Wu Jia was abducted from the apartment complex in a half-coercive and half-forced manner.

“I don’t have any savings.”

“I work every day till twelve o’clock at night but don’t get any overtime pay.” 

“I’m so poor that I don’t have any money for you to rob.”

Along the way, Wu Jia tried hard to persuade them to abandon their plan to kidnap him.

What a shame that Shen Dongqing’s resolve was steadfast and did not waver in the least.

After exiting the apartment complex, the party roamed around until they reached a distant location with only a few passers-by. Wu Jia suddenly remembered the corporation still owing him a month’s salary in arrears, then remembered that he didn’t even have a girlfriend, and his survival instinct immediately ignited. He yelled for assistance: “Help me! They kidnapped me—” 

Passers-by eyed him indifferently.

Wu Jia: “They are definitely going to sell my organs!”

Passers-by became nervous for a moment, then…amused.

Wu Jia sensed something was wrong and looked up. The signboard at the entrance of the place where the three men took him read “Chongqing Hotpot.” 

Wu Jia: ???

Kidnapping him for the purpose of eating hot pot? Is there such a good thing?

Wu Jia was taken to the hot pot restaurant with a bewildered expression.

Shen Dongqing deftly requested a spicy chili oil soup base hotpot. Wu Jia sat across from him, feeling a little unreal, and couldn’t help but remove his glasses and wiped them. 

He heard the person on the other side say, “We used to know each other,” as soon as he put on his spectacles.

Wu Jia: “Huh?”

Zhou Wenyan: “It’s a little hard to understand, but we used to play the same game.”

Wu Jia posed a series of questions, beginning with “League of Legends?” 

“PUBG?”

“Or Honor of Kings?”

Shen Dongqing: “I have played all three.”

Wu Jia: “I played in school, but I have no free time after graduation…” 

Super, the topic had been successfully diverted.

Zhou Wenyan placed a platter of little pork crackers in front of Shen Dongqing to prevent him from participating in the conversation for the time being.

Shen Dongqing totally fell for it. He bent his head and ate the crackers seriously.

Zhou Wenyan explained the current scenario succinctly, accompanied by crunching sounds. 

Wu Jia was perplexed after hearing it: “Although I understand every word you said, why can’t I grasp it when they’re combined?”

What game, what system, it was all identical to fiction.

Zhou Wenyan tsk-ed and changed his strategy: “You don’t have to grasp. Just know that we shall be watching you from now on.”

It would always materialize around the player, whether it was the paranormal or a riddle. 

At this point, Zhou Wenyan didn’t know if he and Shen Dongqing were still players, therefore he had no choice but to employ this dumb way.

Wu Jia: “Bu..but, I still have to go to work.”

Zhou Wenyan: “How much is your monthly salary?”

Wu Jia reported a number with some embarrassment: “Five thousand.” 

“It seems somewhat less,” Shen Dongqing observed, biting his chopsticks.

Wu Jia’s tears were about to fall.

Not just less, but too little.

Young Master Zhou, who had plenty of money, said: “One thousand dollars, I will pay you one thousand dollars per day. Quit your job.” 

To avoid raising Wu Jia’s suspicions, he immediately transferred $5,000 to him.

And this kind of prodigal… No, no, there’s something so wonderful?!

Wu Jia accepted the money without hesitation and promptly resigned, insulting his bonehead boss in the process, which made him feel refreshed.

Rejuvenated, he inquired: “What do you want me to do?” 

Zhou Wenyan: “See ghosts.”

Wu Jia almost thought his ears were not working: “Wh..what?”

“Take us to see ghosts,” Zhou Wenyan said airily as he dipped a piece of tripe into the broth to cook.

Wu Jia would have asked him if he was out of his mind if it hadn’t been for the fact that this boss had just transferred him $5,000. 

“See ghosts…” Wu Jia gave a hollow laugh, “It’s not like I can see them whenever I want.”

“It’s fine. Even if you can’t see them, I’ll pay you,” Zhou Wenyan stated.

Wu Jia immediately felt relieved.

It was just another boring game for the rich second generation. As if there really are ghosts in this world! 

He happily ate the hotpot, but he had no idea that these words would slap him in the face repeatedly in the near future.

Thud thud thud—

There was a flurry of strong knocks on the door, and the thin door panel shook as if it was about to be shattered in the next second.

Fang Qi shuddered as he hunched in a corner. At his feet, there were buns all over the floor. The original snow-white buns were dyed reddish brown. This color was thanks to the woman who collapsed on the sofa. A sharp weapon slashed her throat, leaving only a layer of tissue joining her torso and head. Her head hung in mid-air, wobbling, and her thick black hair swept the floor, leaving a trail of blood in its wake. 

Nonetheless, the woman did not close her eyes, instead staring at Fang Qi in the corner with soulless eyes.

Fang Qi was so terrified that he didn’t dare to open his eyes and could only hug himself tightly. He would shiver uncontrollably every time there was a knock on the door outside, practically shaking himself into Parkinson’s disease.

What should I do, what should I do…

On the outside, there was a killer, and on the inside, there was a corpse. He was just a male college student working part-time while studying; why should life treat him like this! 

Ding dong!

A melodic WeChat reminder rang in the pause between the knocks on the door.

Fang Qi was startled and opened his eyes a chink to take a look at his phone. Someone had sent him a message, and it was the person he’d added just now when he was at the bun shop.

His sluggish brain began to work after being prompted in this manner. 

You should… you should call the cops right away!

With shaky hands, he picked up the phone and unlocked the lock screen. He hadn’t even entered the emergency number when something provoked the person at the door and he started hacking at the door with an axe.

The door panel was already of low quality, and after being hacked in this manner, a crack emerged right away. It was evident that it wouldn’t be long until the murderer walked in and split him in half, just like the door panel.

Fang Qi was startled by the picture he had imagined. His hands trembled, and instead of clicking on the emergency call, he clicked on the WeChat dialog box. 

He yelled into the phone, “Help—” before he could think about it.

“Help—” Shen Dongqing tapped on the short voice chat, and a piercing cry erupted.

He wasn’t frightened, but Wu Jia next to him was shaken.

“This, this, this…” Wu Jia asked, “Is this a prank? Do you want to call the police?” 

Zhou Wenyan: “There is no need to call the police. We can handle it.”

Wu Jia hesitated for a moment, but chose to trust their words for the time being. After all, without any specifics, there was no way to call the cops based on a mere “Help!”

“Is there an address?” Zhou Wenyan wondered.

Shen Dongqing looked down, but there was no address. Fang Qi only had enough time to send a panicked voice message. 

“It’s okay; I’ll call him.” He made a WeChat call after speaking.

The WeChat call was answered almost simultaneously.

“Save me!” Fang Qi seemed to be on the verge of crying. “Please, save me! I’m being chased by a man with an axe; I’m about to be hacked to death, no, no, someone has already been hacked to death! Call the police, quickly call the police!” He spoke incoherently.

Shen Dongqing: “Oh, it’s fine. Where are you? We’ll be right there.” 

Fang Qi reported an address swiftly.

Zhou Wenyan looked at the GPS and saw that it was right next to Wu Jia’s residential area. It wasn’t far away, and it would only take ten minutes to walk there.

Wu Jia’s expression became a bit complicated when he heard the address: “I’ve heard that the neighborhood is haunted. Someone hacked his wife to death with an axe. It’s too much. Why don’t we call the police…”

Wu Jia’s original intention was to scare them and force them to back down on their own. He didn’t expect that Shen Dongqing was not only unafraid, but his eyes even lit up as he finished speaking. 

“It’s really haunted?”

Wu Jia was a little confused by this guy’s routine, but stated truthfully: “Yes, it’s haunted…”

Shen Dongqing: “Then why are you not hurrying up!”

Wu Jia: “Huh?” 

Shen Dongqing: “Any later, and I won’t be able to catch it!”

Wu Jia: Why does this person sound as if he won’t be able to catch the 8 o’clock premiere of a TV series?