The cicadas stopped chirping.
Chen Yang stopped peeling the milk slices for Chao Jian.
"Both of them died in there?" Fengli next to him gasped, "Is the second wave more dangerous than the first?"
Xiangdong coughed and said, "One died, and one survived."
Pineapple looked in the direction the boss was looking at, and saw a slender figure walking out of the residential building. The ruffled collar of her floral dress swept across her pale chin and cheeks. She walked steadily, had an ordinary appearance, and clear eyes. She was like a handful of snow in a broken jar in winter, easily overlooked, cool and quiet.
The moment Xiaoxiang came out, the cicadas started chirping.
The first express delivery in the second round caused the team to lose a member, Wu Qing died.
Xiaoxiang briefly told the information of the residents of Room 301, took off her sneakers and gave them back to Ayuan: "Thank you."
Ah Yuan didn't put it on immediately. She asked, "How did the uncle die?"
Xiao Xiang stuffed her feet into her shoes: "He was shouting in the building, which attracted evil spirits and he couldn't escape."
Ah Yuan was puzzled: "But this is the second time the uncle has gone in to deliver a package. He also knows that he should be gentle when going up and down the stairs and not make a lot of noise. Why is he still shouting..."
"People are not machines." Xiao Xiang interrupted, "Sometimes the less you think about something, the easier it is to do it. Especially in the world of highly stressful tasks, such situations are very common."
"That's right." Ayuan's neat short hair was messed up by the hot wind. Her eyes were dark and sharp. She looked at Xiaoxiang quietly for a while, "You are in the same group. Go upstairs together to deliver the express, and then go downstairs together. Stay together all the time. When the uncle dies, you should be by his side."
Xiao Xiang's expression was calm and calm: "I closed my eyes and tiptoed away. I didn't see it."
Ah Yuan took out a water cup from the bag on the side of the tennis bag and drank all the remaining water. She still felt dry mouth and throat. She admired Xiao Xiang's rationality, but also feared him.
Only the dead uncle and the living Xiaoxiang know the exact situation at that time. Ayuan is not the type of person who would speculate on other people's thoughts, but her intuition keeps screaming and pulling at her thoughts.
—Be careful with this woman, be careful with her!
Ah Yuan stood up, raised her athletic wheat-colored arm, and threw the empty mineral water bottle into a trash can in the distance. She wiped her mouth casually and said, "You didn't see what the evil spirit looked like?"
"A black shadow came out of the wall." Xiao Xiang said.
Ah Yuan exchanged a glance with Chen Yang who was looking over, and heard him say, "Is it a boy or a girl? What's their body shape?"
"He's a man, tall and thin." Xiao Xiang put on her shoes, fixed her hair that she had just done today and the skirt her mother bought for her, "I can't tell anything else."
Chen Yang asked again: "Which floor's wall?"
"Between the first and second floors." Xiao Xiang expressed his guess, "Maybe his body is built into that wall and sealed with cement."
A layer of small particles appeared on the back of Fengli's neck, and her entire back felt cold. "Then we must be more careful when we pass by there! Don't alarm the ghost in the wall!"
Chen Yang seemed to be thinking about something.
"This is the last wave. Xiaoxiang is safe in this mission." Fengli's pale face was filled with envy. "I didn't leave until the remaining three packages were delivered."
"The last wave? Who told you that?" Xiangdong pinched his face.
Fengli was stunned: "Is there a third wave?" He cried, "No way? No way!"
"What are you howling for!" Xiangdong kicked him, "Save your energy, sort out the clues yourself and see if you can figure out the idea."
"Organize clues and sort out ideas? Isn't it just delivering a package?" Pineapple looked confused.
Xiangdong covered half of his face as if he had a toothache. If it weren't for his head injury, which prevented him from making big movements or getting overly emotional, he would have jumped up in frustration.
Being a teacher is really fucking hard. Chao Fengpi has better patience than him. Of course, Chen Yang is also a smart student. Just a little reminder and hint will do. There is no need to chew it up and feed it mouth to mouth.
And the pear in front of him...
Fengli saw disdain and powerlessness in the boss's glare, and he curled his lips. Even though he grew up fighting in East Street, all he faced were injuries and bleeding, not death and corpses.
Three people died in just over an hour after entering here. It was too unreal, just like a game player suddenly going offline. This made Fengli, who was not stupid but not smart, completely confused. How could he calm down and think? All he could do was to hold on to his survival consciousness and not give up.
"Brother Yang, isn't the task to deliver a courier?" Fengli asked Chen Yang.
"Based on the current clues, not all of them." Chen Yang said something that didn't make sense. "If we're in a group of two, can we divide into groups first?"
"How about this?" Lin Shuwei put one hand to his mouth and chewed it, while pointing the other hand at Ayuan. His cheeks puffed up, and his thin face gave people a chubby and weird feeling. "Then I want to be in a group with Sister Cool!"
"Don't worry, let me analyze it first. Apart from us, there are four men and one woman left. Two of the four men are injured. If we rule them out, the remaining one is Xiaobai and the other is a family member of the injured..."
Lin Shuwei's female voice was quite loud, and the word "family member" was carried to Chen Yang's ears by the hot air. His heartbeat accelerated due to the heat, and he stole a glance at the person next to him.
Chao Jian was eating milk slices in an environment with a strong smell of blood. The shadow of the old locust tree swayed lightly on his pale face. He felt an incongruous yet strange sense of peace.
Chen Yang's eyes moved to the blood-soaked gauze, and he stood up and said, "You sit here, I'll go and test it."
There was a force on his trouser legs, but Chen Yang did not panic. He had long been accustomed to having a hand pulling him from behind when he walked forward. Just like other habits, they were formed unconsciously, like a gentle influence.
"Let's go together." Chao Jian reached out to Chen Yang, "Pull me."
When Chen Yang tested the middle-aged courier to see if he could find a companion in advance, the courier responded with a "pa pa" sound.
The bill was printed on a large cardboard box, and the smell of ink wafted out.
Chen Yang smelled the smell, and something flashed through his mind. Without leaving any trace, he stared at the middle-aged courier: "Can't you confirm your companions in advance?"
The middle-aged courier stood upright, his pale lips moving slightly but no syllables came out.
Chen Yang didn't find out anything and looked unhappy.
"The original method is fine. I suggest keeping it." Xiao Xiang's voice sounded slowly. "Temporary changes may cause unexpected changes."
Fengli muttered quietly: "She has a point. Why don't we stick to the old way and not change the way of selecting team members."
Chen Yang didn't say anything. He secretly hoped to be in a group with Chao Jian. Chao Jian's right hand was badly rotten and kept bleeding. It would be very inconvenient to carry large express parcels. Moreover, Chao Jian's emotions and mental illness were also a time bomb. Only he could prevent it from exploding.
"What about you?" Chen Yang asked the others for their opinions.
Xiangdong was lying on the ground smoking. He had a head injury and was in poor physical condition. It would be best if he could be in a group with someone he could trust. Otherwise, it would be bad for him.
However, there are only two people who can be trusted.
Before Xiangdong expressed his opinion, Fengli said before him: "I agree to form a team first!"
"Didn't we just say that we should do it the old way?" Xiangdong propped himself up and sat down with his legs apart, facing Pineapple, with smoke lingering in front of his eyes.
Pineapple chuckled: "I changed my mind again."
Xiangdong looked at the little brat for a few seconds, then roughly pulled his hair with his big hand: "One moment this, the next moment that, so naive."
"Boss, you can say whatever you want, but don't pull my hair. Every strand of my hair is precious." Fengli hugged her head and dodged, laughing heartlessly. The boss was not in good condition, he needed teammates who would not stab him in the back, and there were only two candidates. Yang Ge had a future boyfriend to take care of, so he was the only one left, and he was willing to take risks for the boss's safety.
Lin Shuwei had a heated discussion and concluded that, considering all factors comprehensively, Ayuan became their choice.
Only Ayuan didn't speak. She was immersed in her own world. Even a fool knew that the best teammate was Chen Yang.
But if it was designated in advance, Chen Yang would not choose her. If they drew lots the old way, the possibility of them being together was only a few percent. She also had a chance to team up with the atypical schizophrenic Lin Shuwei, the silly newcomer Pineapple, and the two very unstable injured players.
Relatively speaking, Lin Shuwei is more suitable for her than Xiangdong, Chao Jian and Fengli.
Ah Yuan thought about it again and again, then raised his heroic eyes and said, "Okay, I agree."
Chen Yang felt much more relaxed: "Since we all agree, we should share the risk together, is that ok?"
No one had any objection.
So the six people were divided into three groups, one group with Chen Yangchaojian, one group with Xiangdong Fengli, and one group with Lin Shuwei and Ayuan.
This is only for the second wave of express delivery. Whether there will be more express delivery later is another matter.
The second piece was very large, and the outside of the cardboard box was framed with staggered wooden strips and fixed tightly.
Chen Yang and Fengli took the package off the tricycle. Fengli almost twisted his hand, and he gasped, "What is this?"
"It looks like a refrigerator." Chen Yang grabbed the wooden bar and felt the weight, his facial lines slightly tense.
Normally, such large items are placed on a push-pull cart, slowly pushed into an elevator and delivered to the customer, or carried up the stairs by several people.
Now we are in the mission world. There are evil spirits in the building. The couriers have to move carefully. There are only two of them and the parcels are heavy, which is very disadvantageous for them.
Chen Yang flipped through the express mail and found the order. He was relieved when he saw the customer's address. It was 202. Great, he only had to climb two flights of stairs.
The next step was drawing lots. Xiao Xiang, who had just delivered the package, prepared three slips of paper. Each of the three groups sent one person to draw the lot.
Chen Yang got the order number and crumpled the note between his fingers: "Who delivered 202 before?" Chen Yang looked at Lin Shuwei, "Was it you?"
Lin Shuwei raised his head and reiterated the situation in Room 202 with a stern face. His words were full of generalities, and he would never use two words if possible.
Chen Yang did some reading comprehension and then looked at the time. He frowned and said, "Chao Jian, we have to set off."
Chao Jian bit the milk tablet in his mouth and said, "Hmm."
Chen Yang stopped Chao Jian from touching the express: "I'll move it, you follow me."
"If two people are delivering it together, then two people must move it together." Chao Jian said.
"Okay then." Chen Yang said, "I'll go in front and you'll go behind." He held onto the wooden bar, and when Chao Jiandan put his hand on it, he lifted the package up and walked backwards towards the residential building. "Don't push too hard, I'm here for you."
Chao Jian stopped and looked at him. In his eyes there seemed to be a lake on a summer night, with clear water and twinkling stars.
Chen Yang felt as if he was trapped in the lake. He felt dizzy. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Chao Jian lowered his eyes and raised his lips, "Let's go."
Xiao Xiang brushed away the hair stuck to her neck, a gloomy look flashed across her face. She thought that others would not agree to be grouped in advance, and that the probability of Chen Yang and Chao Jian being in the same group was very low. Unexpectedly, they reached an agreement.
He is just a temporary teammate, but he can do this.
Xiao Xiang shook her head again. To put it bluntly, she was still considering herself or someone more important than herself.
Fengli put her hand to her mouth and yelled, "Brother Yang, be careful!"
"Yeah." Chen Yang walked backwards while looking back at the stairs. He heard Xiangdong yelling, "When you climb the stairs, you must always use all your strength to hold on to the package. You can't relax for even a second. Don't fucking expect your partner to hold on when you relax. He has one hand broken and can't do it. You have to carry it yourself! Otherwise, if such a big package falls to the ground, the sound will be so loud that the whole building will echo. Then you will be waiting to die... cough!"
Xiangdong's brain was deprived of oxygen due to yelling, his nose was bleeding, and he coughed up a little blood in his throat. He took a deep puff of cigarette and coughed out a cloud of white mist with a fishy and sweet smell.
"Brother Dong, the remaining two pieces are of sufficient size. When it's our turn, I'll do the same. I'll carry them and you just need to put your hands on them to pretend to do it." Pineapple said seriously.
Xiangdong's left temple was badly injured, and it looked extremely horrifying, but he rubbed it casually, his face twisted in pain: "Look at what you can do."
"Why are you rubbing the wound!" Fengli stretched out her hand and then retracted it, not daring to touch it. "Boss, you don't want to give up on yourself and throw away everything, do you? This won't do. I really can't do this. Your younger brothers are still waiting for you to protect them." As she spoke, her eyes turned red and there were small tears in her eyes.
It is common to break an arm or a leg during a fight, but this was a mission and the boss's injury was in the head. He was vomiting and coughing up blood, and he could faint at any time.
Pineapple sighed in his heart. The eldest brother had no parents, no wife, and no children. His only first love had ended eight hundred years ago. He was worried that the other party had no concerns and no fighting spirit, and was too lazy to keep going.
Xiangdong saw Chen Yang and Chao Jian carrying the express mail into the building, and patted Fengli on the back: "Stop crying, who the hell said a few seconds ago that I should carry it?"
"I'm carrying physical strength, not mental strength." Fengli looked at the boss's expression and said, "Brother Dong, you are only 28, you are still young."
Xiangdong said sarcastically: "Didn't you always say that I'm almost 30 and old?"
"I was ignorant." Fengli said seriously, "What's wrong with turning 30? Turning 30 is the prime of life. At night, I can have sex seven times a night. At dawn, I can kill a cow with one punch..."
"That's enough," Xiangdong felt a headache after hearing this, "This injury is nothing. We have survived more serious ones."
Fengli said "Oh" blankly, and glanced at the residential building: "Brother Dong, the order and method of forming a team have changed. What kind of butterfly effect will there be? Will the difficulty of the task increase?"
"It's possible to increase or speed up, but who knows the details." Xiangdong lay in a place where the sun couldn't shine, and his handsome three-dimensional outline restrained most of his wildness. "I'll pray for you, Brother Yang."
"Got it!" Pineapple recited the prayer in a serious manner.
Chen Yang and Chao Jian walked through the first floor and turned up the stairs. He walked backwards while looking back at the steps, his hands tightly clasping the wooden bars outside the cardboard box.
Chao Jian was holding the express package underneath. The gauze on his right hand was all red. Drops of blood fell down, creating bloodstains of varying sizes on the steps.
"Put your right hand down and don't hold the express." Chen Yang said in a low voice.
"It's okay." Chao Jian's breathing was even, not disordered at all, "Watch the stairs."
Chen Yang paid attention to Chao Jian's complexion as he walked up one floor at a time. Suddenly he saw something and his pupils shrank.
There is a pair of black high heels neatly placed on the stairs!
The shoes are from Cao Guifang, 301. Why are they here? Chen Yang began to sweat coldly on his back. He actually had a trauma from the high heels of female ghosts. The clacking sound in the ghost stories left a deep impression on him.
Luckily it's not bright red.
Chen Yang swallowed his saliva. The high heels were going to follow them? He climbed up two floors and found that the shoes were still there.
"I want to put the box down." Chen Yang stopped in the corridor from the first floor to the second floor and said to Chao Jian in a low voice.
Chao Jian glanced at him and said, "Okay."
"I'll count to three, and you cooperate with me." Chen Yang counted softly, his arm muscles tensed, and he slowly put the box on the ground.
Chao Jian cooperated with him throughout the process.
The big box landed with almost no sound, like a light feather.
The light in the corridor was dim, and the air was filled with a damp and moldy smell. Chen Yang looked down at the pair of high heels, placing them on the stairs to provide clues to the courier
Chen Yang went downstairs and stopped beside the high heels. He seemed to smell something and moved his nose uncertainly.
"Paint?" Chen Yang uttered the two words strangely.
Chao Jian stood beside him and watched him bend down to touch the high heels. He stopped when he was about to touch them, curled his fingertips for a moment, then stretched out a little bit and picked up the shoes.
—This is the sign of his growth, clear and firm.
Following the smell, Chen Yang turned the shoes over and found paint on the soles. He wiped it with his hand and rubbed it with his fingertips.
"It's not dry yet." Chen Yang said, "I stepped on it not long ago."
Chao Jian didn't respond and just listened to his analysis.
"In this building, only 402 is being renovated, but 402 is just at the stage of laying floor tiles and building walls. Where else would there be paint?" Chen Yang whispered to Chao Jian, "The top floor? The rooftop? These are the only two places we haven't been to."
He looked at Chao Jian and asked, "What do you think?"
Chao Jian leaned close to Chen Yang's ear, his warm breath brushing over the hair on his ear, his voice was low and hoarse, with a hint of an ambiguous smile: "Brother, you don't need me anymore."
Chen Yang's eyelids twitched: "What are you talking about?"
"You said you have adapted to the mission world." Chao Jian asked him to put his high heels back, "Let's go, let's go upstairs."