Wu Qing lost his ability to think and speak.
“Impossible…” The middle-aged man covered his face with his hands, his fingers open, and his bloodshot eyes looked over through his fingers.
At that moment, Wu Qing's heart stopped beating.
"How could this happen?" The middle-aged man stared at Wu Qing and muttered to himself, repeating those words over and over again, as if he had suffered a huge blow, "How could this happen? How could this happen? How could this happen..."
He shook his head with a blank look in his eyes, and suddenly ran downstairs like a madman.
The slippers made a loud noise when running, and the "clacking" sound continued in the corridor for a while, and then it stopped. It stopped abruptly, which was creepy.
The upstairs and downstairs were as quiet as an empty building. Wu Qing pinched himself hard a few times, and the pain made him regain some consciousness. He rushed to the fifth floor without caring about anything else, rushed to the door of 502 in a panic, and knocked on the door.
Hurry up... open the door quickly, please, hurry up!
Wu Qing's hair stood up suddenly, as if there was someone behind him... a pair of eyes looking at him. He trembled and slowly turned his neck to look back.
There was no one there, only the gate of 501 in sight.
There were tattered couplets and a few small advertisements pasted on the door. There were several plastic bags on the ground next to it. They looked like they had been there for a long time. The yellow and black liquid leaking out gave off a foul odor. There were a bunch of mosquitoes and their feces lying on the bags.
This is what happens to garbage left for a long time in the summer. It's very common, but Wu Qing didn't let this sense of reality stop him from panicking. His back, soaked in cold sweat, pressed tightly against the door of Room 502. His slightly bulging eyes kept scanning up and down the stairs, and he knocked on the door from behind.
A voice suddenly rang out from the door behind him: "Who is it?"
It was a young girl, and her voice sounded clear and energetic, which was out of tune with the gloom outside the door.
Wu Qing seemed to have seen a savior, and he hurriedly shouted, "The courier!"
This is a delivery mission, so I have to play the role of a courier well, he said silently in his heart, "I am a courier."
"Come on!" The door opened, and a little girl in a pink nightgown poked her head out. She looked like she had just taken a bath, and her body was filled with fragrant moisture. Her wet hair was wrapped in a bath towel, and the fine hair stuck to her white neck. She looked very pretty.
Wu Qing had never delivered a package before, but he had received many and had seen couriers before. He tried his best to forget his previous panic and handed over the package.
"This is your express delivery." Wu Qing said in a proper manner.
The little girl smiled and said, "Thank you, uncle."
Wu Qing came alive in such friendly words and actions. He moved his stiff facial muscles, smiled back, pointed to the list on the package and said, "Sign your name here."
"Oh, oh, oh." The little girl took the package, "Where's the pen?"
Wu Qing touched his pocket and then he remembered that the NPC downstairs didn't give him a pen.
"Wait for me a moment." The little girl put the package on the shoe cabinet and trotted into the bedroom. The hem of her pink skirt swung between her long white legs, creating a youthful and energetic arc.
There are only women's shoes at the entrance, which reveals to outsiders that there is no man in the house.
The girl was open-minded and simple-minded. With the door left open, she was not afraid that the courier might come in and steal things or have bad intentions.
However, Wu Qing's focus and attention were not on the customers. He was very afraid that the ghost would come.
Wu Qing looked behind him warily.
Downstairs, nine taskers sat quietly on the ground. When the cicadas chirped, their eyes were all focused on it.
The sound came from the branches of an old locust tree.
The sound will feel real at first, but gradually it will become monotonous and harsh.
Yang Pei threw a stone. A few leaves fell, and the cicadas were still chirping.
Chen Yang screwed on the cap of the mineral water bottle, stood up and walked towards the old locust tree. Xiangdong asked Fengli to follow.
Fengli chased after Chen Yang while looking back at Chao Jian who was still sitting there. Why didn't he follow? This was not his style.
They were inseparable before coming here.
Xiangdong was also looking at Chao Jian. The level he explored was deeper than that of Fengli, and Chao Jian's painful struggle was all taken in by him.
I wanted to follow, but I restrained myself.
As for why Chao Jian had to endure it, Xiangdong was too lazy to think about it. It was none of his business.
"Did you see that?" Xiangdong gestured to Chao Jian to look at Chen Yang who was striding forward. "He can still walk without you. He doesn't need you to escort him."
Chao Jian's breathing did not fluctuate.
"He can do very well on his own, better than you think." Xiangdong said sarcastically, "Your role to him is getting smaller and smaller now. You will soon be dispensable. In the end, you will just be a hindrance."
Chao Jian stared at the figure moving farther and farther away from him. He would soon be away for a while, but he was not sure how long, so he had to start trying to let go.
—-Release the shackles on him and let him grow freely.
Chao Jian has taught everything he can. The rest cannot be taught. Only the person can understand and summarize it by himself. He will grow up well and go far. Chao Jian knows this better than anyone else.
Because that person has a galaxy in his heart, beautiful and vast, and nothing should stop him.
It shouldn't have happened before, and it won't happen again.
Chao Jian looked at the receding figure expressionlessly, his fingers pinched so hard that they hurt.
The figure suddenly stopped, turned around, pointed at the old locust tree not far away, and said to him with his eyes: I'll go and take a look, and will be back soon.
Chao Jian loosened his grip on his fingers.
"I'll be back in a while" is full of casualness and spontaneity, but how long a while is? The person saying it is not sure.
Chao Jianfan's words disgusted him to the extreme. Every time he heard them, a twisted and violent emotion would surge in his heart, but at the same time he couldn't help but hope that the person who said it would fulfill his promise. He said he would be back in a while, and it really was just a while.
"You hate Chen Yang." Xiangdong suddenly spoke.
Chao Jian looked indifferent.
Xiangdong's eyes narrowed. This was unbelievable. Chao Lucha treated Chen Baicai like a treasure, but she actually hated him. Where did the hatred come from? What was the cause
It seems that there is not only hatred, but also resentment.
The more impure the love is, the more ups and downs the relationship will be. Xiangdong's expression was weird and unhappy. He accidentally discovered this secret. Damn it, it seems that I can't get in any more.
Chen Yang walked under the old locust tree and looked up.
Pineapple scratched her head through Little Red Riding Hood. Did Brother Dong ask him to come over to protect Chen Yang
That shouldn’t be the case. They are not far from the main group. If anything happens, others will be able to see it.
Besides, he can't protect Chen Yang.
So Brother Dong wanted him to... learn from Chen Yang? Fengli figured this out and immediately looked at the tree the same way Chen Yang did.
Upon seeing this, Pineapple discovered something strange: "Where's the cicada?"
"No." said Chen Yang.
The pineapple's face, which was hot from the sun, suddenly cooled down a lot. Without cicadas, where did the chirping sound come from
The cicadas continued to chirp, and Fengli was terrified: "Could the cicadas be announcing a death? Uncle Wu, who came into the building to deliver a package, is dead?"
Chen Yang's gaze shifted from the treetop to the pineapple: "Uncle Wu?"
Fengli said: "Wu Qing."
Chen Yang rubbed his fingertips. Pineapple's name just now gave him an indescribable subtle feeling.
Originally, he had no impression of Wu Qing, even though he was of the same sex as Uncle Wu's family. Now that he thought about it carefully, he felt that Wu Qing's eyebrows and eyes were a bit like Uncle Wu's, and he didn't know if it was an illusion.
Chen Yang took out his cell phone, took a picture of the cicada's approximate location based on its call, then stepped back from under the tree and took a picture of the entire old locust tree.
Fengli also took photos and recorded videos, and like Chen Yang, extended his vision along the direction of the tree.
This place is diagonally opposite the entrance to the residential building.
"He's coming out!" Fengli suddenly grabbed Chen Yang's clothes, "Uncle Wu is coming out—"
The taskers had different thoughts about the fact that Wu Qing, the first deliveryman, was able to walk out of the building alive.
Some are indifferent, some are curious, and some are envious.
"Four minutes." A Yuan calculated the time.
"Good, very fast." Zhou Yuanfei stuttered. His personality was completely opposite to his name, lacking tension and being slow and tepid.
Wu Qing didn't say hello to his teammates. He quickly ran to the NPC and handed him the order with sweaty hands. His pale face was covered with sweat. "The customer has signed for it."
She didn’t write her full name, just Ms. Wang.
This is okay, right? Some people don’t like to leave their real names when buying things online, Wu Qing thought anxiously.
The middle-aged courier took the order, looked at it, and then picked it up with a clip, and threw a package from the back of the tricycle. Wu Qing sat down on the ground. It was okay. He had completed the task. It was okay.
The other taskers all gathered around. The second package was from 201. It was a paper bag, very flat, and it seemed to contain summer clothes.
Still drawing lots, this time the one who got the package was Yang Pei. The customer was on the second floor, very close, so he was not in a hurry.
"Uncle, can you tell me about the situation in the building?" Yang Pei tried to get closer.
Wu Qing was about to speak when he suddenly froze, thinking of something: "Didn't I finish delivering the package? Why am I still here?"
There was an uproar in the team.
The task is to deliver a courier. The customer has signed and the NPC has received the order, so isn’t it completed
Wu Qing didn't leave, which means that the mission is either more than this, or... not this
Whether it is the former or the latter, the situation will be dangerous.
The atmosphere of despair spread out in the sunlight, enveloping the taskers.
Wu Qing broke down and choked with sobs. Even after the client found the pen and signed, he did not feel relieved because he still had a terrifying road ahead of him.
There was a ghost in the corridor, but he had to go in. What supported him to rush down the stairs was the belief that "I can go home after delivering the order to the NPC".
Now that belief has collapsed.
Ah Yuan walked over, bent down like a man and patted Wu Qing's shoulder. Her yellow tennis outfit made her look lively. "Uncle, think positively. At least you're okay this time."
Wu Qing stopped sobbing. Yes, he was safe this time. The others hadn't been sent yet. He was luckier than them.
"So uncle, could you please speak faster? I have to wait for you to finish before delivering the package." Yang Pei looked at his phone, "I'm the second one in line. I'm not in a hurry. It's hard to say for the people behind me."
Wu Qing had no intention of harming anyone. He wiped his face, adjusted his state and said, "The windows in the corridor have all been bricked up."
Chen Yang, who was at the back of the team, frowned. The light in the building was dim, and his fear level rose again. He asked, "Do I need a flashlight to see clearly?"
"That's not necessary. It's just a little dark, but you can still see clearly." Wu Qing said.
"Is there a ghost?" Yang Pei asked an idiotic question.
"Yes," Wu Qing's rough black hands trembled, and he looked towards the residential building, "There is a ghost."
Wu Qing talked about the ghost and his scalp has been numb ever since. The only thing that made him thankful was that ghosts were no different from humans. If it was like in the movies, he would have been scared to death.
The team was silent. Since it was a mission, there would definitely be danger. The residential building was gloomy and everyone guessed that there were unclean things inside.
But when they really learned this information, they were still panicked to varying degrees.
Fengli wanted to cry: "If I had known, I would have learned how to draw talismans." He had wanted to become a monk and practice in a Taoist temple, but now he really regretted it. It's always good to learn a new skill.
Xiangdong said: "Your brother Dong once did a mission at a mass grave, and saw with his own eyes a Taoist priest throwing a handful of talismans at the ghosts."
Fengli held onto her nail clippers tightly and entered the mood of listening to a ghost story: "And then?"
Xiangdong took a few sips of water and said, "It was eaten."
Fengli shrank her neck and said, "Then the ghosts in the mission world are invincible, right?"
"People are three parts afraid of ghosts, and ghosts are seven parts afraid of people." Xiangdong reasoned with Fengli, "The more afraid you are, the weaker your Yang energy will be." He threw aside a small half bottle of water, "Ghosts like to attack those with weak minds, whether it's creating illusions, possessing people, or inducing..."
Fengli broke out in a cold sweat after hearing this. He couldn't be afraid and couldn't retreat!
Glancing at the Buddhist beads in Ayuan's hand, Fengli hesitated for a few seconds before leaning over to ask, "Beautiful sister, have your Buddhist beads been consecrated?"
Ah Yuan nodded: "It's open."
A little idea arose in Fengli's mind that if he could go back alive this time, he would get one and wear it, even if it could just have some psychological effect.
The boss said that the ID number cannot be untied unless you die.
If he doesn’t want to untie it, then don’t do it. Pineapple doesn’t want to die, so he put the white card and nail clippers in a pocket.
Chen Yang has been paying attention to the reactions of the unfamiliar taskers. They treat the information revealed by Wu Qing differently.
Chen Shuwei only spoke twice, once to introduce himself and once to answer, and he never made a sound after that. His spiritual world seemed to be very rich, and he stayed alone.
Xiaoxiang is always quiet.
Although Ayuan was afraid, he was also wise. Chen Yang was very familiar with Zhou Yuanfei's state. He had seen it in Sun Yixing. He was weak but also had a tenacity.
Yang Pei was the most reckless and had very poor emotional management. He was more panicked than anyone else because he was about to enter the building.
Chen Yang looked at Wu Qing: "Didn't you say that he was very strange when he encountered the ghost for the second time? How strange was he?"
"He looked even more scared than I was," Wu Qing recalled. "It was as if seeing me again was something difficult for him to accept. He was completely different from the first time I saw him. He kept mumbling to himself, as if he was crazy."
Chen Yang asked: "What did he say?"
Wu Qing's mind went blank: "Let me think..."
Time passed by, and Chen Yang glanced at Yang Pei. He was obviously waiting for Wu Qing's answer. He would not enter the building if he didn't understand.
Not only is Yang Pei not in a hurry, he also enjoys other people's anxiety.
Anyway, the total time for delivering ten packages is one hour, and less than ten minutes have passed. It won't affect him if he takes his time. The ones who are panicking are the people behind him. It has nothing to do with him. He just cares about himself.
Although his client was on the second floor, just one flight of stairs away, he had to find out about the ghost just in case.
Who knows if he will encounter it when he goes up to the second floor.
"It seems so," Wu Qing thought, "Why is it you again? How can this be? It's impossible or something like that."
Xiao Xiang, who hadn't said much, said, "Why are you here again?"
Wu Qing nodded hurriedly, the creepy feeling came back again, he was shivering all over under the sun.
Yang Pei's expression changed: "What do you mean, did you go up from the second floor to the third floor twice?"
"Impossible!" Wu Qing denied, "I counted the floors when I went upstairs." He stood up and looked at his teammates one by one, trying to gain their trust, "I'm sure I didn't climb more than once."
"I am older than all of you, but I am not yet confused. I am absolutely not wrong!" Wu Qing emphasized excitedly.
Yang Pei grabbed Wu Qing's arm and asked, "So what do you think is going on?"
Wu Qing said he didn't know.
Fengli interrupted: "Does the ghost not know that he is dead and has become a ground-bound spirit in the residential building, wandering around in the corridor?"
"That wouldn't use the words 'you again' either," a voice responded to him.
Fengli looked in the direction of the voice and saw the girl named Xiaoxiang. She looked very powerful, he sighed in his heart.
The three words "you again" are the key points. Combined with the state of the person speaking, there will be an indescribable sense of disharmony and weirdness.
Chen Yang was about to have a conversation with Chao Jian, and found that his thoughts were connected and not blocked, so he asked Wu Qing directly: "The footsteps of people walking in slippers are very loud, and there will be an echo in the corridor. Did you notice where the ghost stopped? On the first floor?"
"It seems that we haven't reached the first floor yet." Wu Qing said hesitantly.
Chen Yang's heartbeat quickened: "It disappeared before reaching the first floor, right?"
Wu Qing confirmed: "That's what I heard."
"That is to say..." Chen Yang analyzed slowly under the gazes of many people, "The reason why the ghost was so scared of seeing the uncle again is because he didn't know that he was in a cycle."
"He thought he was going down all the time," said Chen Yang.
If I had continued walking down, I should have only seen Wu Qing once. I shouldn't have seen him again, so he had such a big reaction.
"That's nonsense. What do you mean you think you're going down and you don't even know which floor you're on?" Yang Pei didn't believe Chen Yang's words. Experienced old taskers are also human. Everyone makes mistakes and is careless sometimes.
"Maybe in his world, there is no second floor or third floor, there are only stairs," Chen Yang looked at Chao Jian, "the stairs all lead down."
Chao Jian: “Yeah.”
"That's a very correct idea." Chao Jian said something extra, which was rare.
Chen Yang felt like his teacher had given him a check.
Fengli couldn't understand: "But I can't figure it out. Aren't there other residents living in there? He usually walks around the corridor, so he must have seen other people. Logically, he should often encounter that kind of situation. Why is he so scared?"
Chen Yang turned his head to look at the residential building. He had a guess in his mind that needed to be verified.
And he also wanted to know why the ghost couldn't reach the first floor. His intuition told him that it couldn't be a simple earthbound spirit.
Yang Pei picked up the package and spat on the ground: "The customer is a human, right?"
"It's a person." Wu Qing told the client's personal information. She was a girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing a pink nightgown, who had just taken a shower. She was very simple and friendly, and there was no man in her house.
Yang Pei didn't care about that, as long as the customer was a human being, he asked again: "By the way, where is the first floor?"
"When I went in, I saw a stove in the corner outside the door of 101, and Chinese medicine was being boiled inside it." Wu Qing said whatever he thought and didn't want to hide anything. It's not easy for everyone, and he would definitely help if he could.
Yang Pei walked towards the residential building holding the package.
Chen Yang called out to Yang Pei: "That ghost doesn't harm people, which means there is more than one ghost in the building." He said, "The one who will kill the tasker is the one who hasn't appeared yet."
Yang Pei felt a chill down his spine. This meant there were at least two ghosts in the building, one of which was a fierce ghost. He couldn't even lift his feet. He might as well stop delivering packages and wait until the mission was over. If everyone violated the rules collectively, they would all die together.
No, he couldn't do that. He could see that if he wasn't inside the building in two minutes, the man with the ring in his ear would beat him to death.
Yang Pei grabbed the troublemaker hard. It would be fine if Wu Qing was sent to the fifth floor. He was on the second floor, so the risk was much smaller. As long as he was quick, he would be able to come out in a while.
Yang Pei prepared himself mentally and continued walking towards the residential building. He had the illusion that he was walking into the gates of hell.
Ah Yuan chewed his gum and blew a bubble, then said in a loud voice: "Dude, you may run into that ghost again. If the situation allows, you can try to get some information from him."
Yang Pei replied: "Don't worry!"
This is a personal task, not a group task, so who is in charge of you
"That guy won't investigate." Xiangdong said firmly.
Chen Yang said: "I didn't place my hopes on him either."
"You want to investigate when it's your turn to deliver the package?" Xiang Dong said meaningfully, "You'll be entering the haunted building alone by then, aren't you afraid?"
"I'm scared." Chen Yang sighed, "Even if I'm scared, I still have to look for clues. As for doing the mission alone..." He pursed his lips, "You'll get used to it."
Xiangdong stretched out his voice: "Yeah, you'll get used to it. You'll get used to it eventually."
Chen Yang sensed something was wrong: "Why are you being so sarcastic?"
"I've finished my cigarette, give me one." Xiangdong smiled lazily.
Chen Yang threw the pack of cigarettes in his backpack over and accidentally saw Wu Qing. He didn't know if it was a psychological suggestion, but the more he looked at him, the more he felt that he looked like Uncle Wu.
"Uncle, where are you from?" Chen Yang asked casually.
"From Longbao Town," Wu Qing said. "In the countryside of Qingcheng, it's very remote."
Chen Yang had never heard of that town: "Do you have any relatives in Sanlianqiao?" He explained in the other party's puzzled eyes, "I live over there, and there is a neighbor who looks a bit like you."
Wu Qing exclaimed in disbelief: "I don't have any relatives in Sansheqiao!"
"It's probably just a coincidence that they look alike," he thought for a moment, "I remember there was that kind of news, where two strangers looked like twins."
"That's right." Chen Yang nudged Chao Jian and whispered, "What do you think?"
Chao Jian said: "I don't know."
I don't know what this means? Chen Yang turned to look at him.
"I've told you more than once that I don't pay attention to irrelevant people, but you haven't been able to remember it once." Chao Jian said coldly.
Chen Yang suddenly came closer: "Why are your eyes so red?"
The coldness on Chao Jian's face condensed, and then shattered into pieces in an instant. He said lightly: "It's in the dust."
Chen Yang blurted out: "Then let me blow it for you?"
After saying this, he was embarrassed and his eyes wandered around. How did he say this? And so naturally? ?
When Chen Yang was doubting his life, he heard Chao Jian say, "No need."
He breathed a sigh of relief and changed the subject: "Shall we go under the locust tree? It's quite shady there."
Chao Jian glanced at him and said, "Okay."
Chen Yang mentioned the matter of the cicada, speaking at a volume that all the task participants could hear.
Everyone was puzzled and horrified. There were no cicadas, but there were chirping sounds.
What does the cicada's chirping represent
Chen Yang did not get any imagination or guesses from any of the taskers, but only dead silence.
"Maybe this is just misleading." Chen Yang said as he sat under the old locust tree.
Chao Jian said nothing. He listened to the cicadas chirping and closed his eyes to rest.
Chen Yang leaned against a rough old tree and observed the middle-aged courier, who was rummaging through the things in his hands.
They were all bills, clamped together with iron clips, in a thick stack. Only one was from Wu Qing, the rest were his own.
Chen Yang focused his attention on the pile of orders, which revealed that the middle-aged man was very diligent in delivering orders and was a serious courier.
"There are eight packages left." Chen Yang picked up the feather-like locust leaves and played with them between his fingers.
Chao Jian held his hand: "Throw away the leaves."
Chen Yang did as he was told subconsciously, and then asked Chao Jian the reason.
Chao Jian didn't open his eyes: "It's so dirty."
“Didn’t you also…” Chen Yang realized his hand was being grabbed. He paused and tried to break free.
Chao Jian did not loosen his grip.
Xiangdong cursed when he saw that scene, "Fuck, how the hell are they going to hold hands?"
Fengli stopped him and said, "Brother Dong, don't be a light bulb when you are doing the mission. Look, I don't even eat dog food."
Xiangdong bared his teeth: "Light bulb?"
Pineapple really wants to say, isn’t this an obvious thing, don’t you even have this awareness
Dong Ge obviously didn't.
In the residential building, Yang Pei was overwhelmed by the smell of Chinese medicine. He suppressed the feeling of nausea and cursed.
Wu Qing only said that there was Chinese medicine, but he didn’t say that it really smelled bad! ”
Yang Pei was about to go to the second floor when the door of 101 opened. He reflexively turned his head to look.
An old lady came out, with grey hair and wrinkled face, looking like she was in her seventies or eighties.
The old lady squatted down tremblingly and stretched out her dry hands.
Push the iron sheet of the stove inward, leaving only a smaller gap, so that the Chinese medicine in the casserole can slowly boil.
Yang Pei reacted and cursed himself for being crazy. He didn't hurry up to deliver the express and leave as soon as he was done, but instead stood there and watched for a long time.
Just as Yang Pei was walking up to the second floor, an old voice came from behind him: "Young man, are you delivering a package?"
Yang Pei ignored him. He took a few big steps up the stairs and quickly reached the second floor.