Funan County is an ordinary small county with a small population, average economy and a slow pace of life. On weekdays, when walking on the road, all the vehicles coming and going are local vehicles, and everyone is very casual.
But this time, Ji Mingxia clearly felt that the entire county seemed to be in a very tense state.
He and Yu Ning came here by using a taxi app. When getting in the car, Ji Mingxia only checked the license plate and got in after confirming that it was safe. It was not until they entered Funan County that their car was stopped and Ji Mingxia realized that the car he was riding in was from another province.
The entire urban area of Funan County is under martial law, and all incoming vehicles are checked very strictly.
Although there is no explicit ban on outsiders from entering, simply blocking their cars outside for procedures will discourage countless people from joining in the fun.
When their car stopped to line up, Ji Mingxia noticed that there were many vehicles parked around. Some people were impatient and got out of their cars, with some equipment in their hands. It was obvious that they were not ordinary residents, but probably journalists, photographers and the like.
Ke Chengxuan is a public figure, and an accident at the hotel where he was staying would easily attract public attention, especially media workers, who would definitely rush to the scene to report it as soon as possible.
It is understandable that Funan County controls the population entering the county for safety reasons, but it is inappropriate to intentionally or unintentionally block media workers from entering the county.
Nowadays, information on the Internet spreads at an extremely fast speed, which can offend people from any profession except journalists and the media.
Logically speaking, the public relations director of Funan County cannot fail to understand this...
While thinking this, the party happened to check the car of Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning.
When they saw Yu Ning's face, the staff was stunned for a moment and obviously recognized him at the first moment.
"Are you students returning from the New Year's Day holiday?" the staff asked directly.
Ji Mingxia nodded immediately.
After the staff conducted a simple registration, they did not make things difficult for them and let them pass quickly.
After finally entering Funan County, Ji Mingxia thought he could rush to the hotel as soon as possible, but as he got closer and closer to the county center, he suddenly realized that his idea was too naive.
"The road ahead is blocked, everyone please take a detour. My car can't reach your destination." The driver looked in the direction, then turned to Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia and said.
Upon hearing this, Ji Mingxia glanced in the direction.
The hotel where the incident occurred was very close to Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning’s high school and was located right in the center of the county.
Ji Mingxia originally thought that only the area near the hotel was blocked, but he didn't expect that the blockade area was much wider than expected.
We were blocked from passing before we even got close to the central area or even saw the hotel.
Because the center was blocked, it caused great inconvenience to residents' travel. Other roads were also extremely congested at this time, and people passing by all had anxious and unhappy looks on their faces.
Ji Mingxia said: "Then please stop by the roadside. Sorry for the trouble."
After all this trouble, it was already afternoon.
Ji Mingxia originally thought that he would just take a look at Ke Chengxuan's situation from a distance and then leave, but he didn't expect that he would be stuck all the way and couldn't even see the shadow of the hotel.
They were in a hurry to go out in the morning and only had breakfast. Thinking of this, Ji Mingxia immediately pulled Yu Ning to a nearby restaurant.
At this point in time, the peak dining time had already passed. Besides Ji Mingxia and Yu Ning, the only people left in the restaurant were the owner and his wife wiping the tables.
After Ji Mingxia ordered two bowls of noodles, he took the opportunity to start listening.
The proprietress looked at him warily at first, but after she found that Ji Mingxia could speak the local dialect, she gradually relaxed: "So you are local students."
This was the second time Ji Mingxia felt Funan County’s vigilance towards the outside world.
He immediately said obediently: "Yes, we used to study in that school. I thought only the hotel was blocked, but I didn't expect that even the school was not allowed to enter."
"School..." The proprietress shook her head and sighed, "I'm afraid I won't be able to get in in the short term."
Ji Mingxia was stunned: "Why?"
Wasn’t the incident at the hotel? Why aren’t we allowed to enter the school even
Ji Mingxia's surprised expression obviously made the proprietress feel very accomplished. She deliberately kept it a secret and said to Ji Mingxia in a low voice, "It was not easy for you to get in when you came in from outside just now, right?"
Ji Mingxia nodded.
The proprietress continued, "You were stopped before you even saw the hotel where the incident happened?"
Ji Mingxia nodded again.
"That's right, because this matter is very complicated and not simple," said the proprietress.
"Please tell me quickly, I'm so anxious." Ji Mingxia said hurriedly.
The proprietress glanced at him and said dimly, "Because it's haunted."
"Haunted?" Ji Mingxia frowned slightly and reflexively turned his head to look at Yu Ning.
According to the restaurant owner, everything was calm until January 1st.
It was not until the early morning of January 2 that the first person to discover something was wrong was a cleaner.
"The cleaner was a neighbor of my husband's relative. That morning, he entered the hotel as usual, but guess what happened. The entire first floor of the hotel was empty, without a single person. The cleaner didn't take it seriously at first, until he found that he couldn't get to the second floor of the hotel. No matter where he went, no matter what he tried, he would always end up back where he was... Tell me, if this isn't a ghost wall, then what is it?" said the proprietress.
Ji Mingxia said, "What happened next? Ghost walls usually occur in the middle of the night when there are few people around, but when the hotel incident happened, it was already daybreak."
"Yes, that's why the county sealed it off." The proprietress said, "In broad daylight, all the people in the hotel disappeared. The first floor was empty and there was no one on it, and the second floor was inaccessible. The county sent dozens of firefighters, a group of people, but no matter how they walked, they couldn't get to the second floor. After getting in from a high altitude, the people disappeared. Three days have passed, not only has no one been rescued, but several people have also died. Isn't it strange!"
When Ji Mingxia heard this, his expression finally changed.
To date, Ji Mingxia has dealt with ghosts countless times, and he and Yu Ning are already very familiar with the power of mysterious objects.
Basically, the places where accidents happen are dark, sparsely populated and remote.
This was the first time in such a long time that he had encountered such a large-scale haunted incident.
The entire hotel stood there in broad daylight, and hundreds of people wanted to get in, but were unable to do so.
Because it was so exaggerated, Ji Mingxia felt it was unreal.
Seeing Ji Mingxia's expression change, the lady boss quickly added, "And I heard that every midnight, you can hear people screaming from inside. They say that hungry ghosts are eating people!"
Ji Mingxia couldn't help but ask: "Are you sure it's haunted? Is it possible... there are other human factors..."
In Ji Mingxia's memory, the most powerful mysterious object in this world is the bronze mirror in Pei Yuan's hand. Because of its evolutionary function, it has infinite possibilities in the future.
But even the bronze mirror had never caused such a big fuss in the original book.
Although mysterious objects are very powerful, most of them have no intelligence and always use the resentment of the dead to cause trouble secretly.
The situation in the hotel at the moment is so bold and outrageous that it is really inconsistent with the past.
When the proprietress heard this, she immediately thought that Ji Mingxia didn’t believe it, and immediately lost interest. She waved her hand and said, “Ah, you young people don’t believe these things. You won’t understand even if I tell you. Forget it.”
Ji Mingxia quickly grabbed the proprietress and asked one last question: "Auntie, I am just too shocked. Can you tell me, what is the relationship between this hotel incident and our school?"
"The hotel is right next to the school, so the school has also been affected." The proprietress said, "It is said that the whole area, starting from the hotel, then the school, especially the dormitory building... is all inhabited by ghosts, and living people are not allowed to enter. That's why the government sealed off the entire area and no one is allowed to get close, in case anyone gets hurt again. We can't afford that."
As the lady boss was talking, the noodles were cooked and she said, "The noodles are here, hurry up and eat them. Go home early after you finish eating. Maybe you will be fine after the Chinese New Year."
Ji Mingxia had almost heard enough and immediately returned to his seat to eat.
After the proprietress went into the kitchen to get busy, he whispered to Yu Ning, "Yu Ning, do you think it's possible?"
Yu Ning did not answer Ji Mingxia's question and said, "I just made a few calls, but none of them went through. Pei Yuan and the others may have lost contact."
Ji Mingxia was stunned for a moment, and then he remembered that there was an organization like Pei Yuan in this world that was specifically responsible for such mysterious events.
But... Lost contact? At this critical moment, how could we not find him
Ji Mingxia murmured, "No wonder the incident in Funan County caused such a big stir. Three days have passed and it has not been resolved yet."
The area near the hotel was blocked off and no unrelated personnel were allowed to enter. However, the local residents believed in the supernatural rumors and no one dared to go there.
It was broad daylight, and although it was the county center, it was exceptionally empty, with no one coming and going.
Seeing this, Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia did not rush in to avoid attracting attention, but waited until after dark to find a chance to enter.
I thought the defense in the blockade area would relax at night, but I didn't expect it to become even stricter after nightfall.
Not only are there people patrolling back and forth, but there are also cameras filming continuously 24 hours a day.
In desperation, Yu Ning finally found a way to hide his body and took Ji Mingxia in with him.
The outer blockade of the area is very strict, but once you enter the inner area, it is empty and uninhabited.
Late at night, not only were the hotels, schools and other buildings pitch black, but even the street lights were dimmed.
In the darkness, the only source of light, apart from the lights of the mobile phones in Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia's hands, was the faint light from the sky.
It was January, and winter was already cold. The closer to the hotel and school, the fewer people there were. The cold wind whistled through the buildings, chilling you to the bone.
The area near the school should have been the most familiar place to Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia, but at this moment in the night, it was deserted, eerie and scary. The familiar and strange feelings blended together, adding an indescribable sense of weirdness.
Yu Ning walked in front, holding the ring. Ji Mingxia stood behind him timidly, pulling on the corner of his clothes and entering the hotel.
The name of this hotel is "Yihe Hotel". The front door is paved with large glass. The walls and floors inside are covered with tiles, and the ceiling is decorated with diamond-shaped mirrors that extend all the way to the end.
This design is to make the lobby look more transparent and spacious. On weekdays, with appropriate warm lighting, it will appear warm and comfortable.
But at this time, it was pitch black all around, with the remaining light from the sky shining in. When people walked on the first floor, the mirror on the ceiling reflected the people on the ground, and the footsteps echoed in the empty hallway. Even if nothing happened, people would be suspicious, let alone being in such a dangerous situation.
Yu Ning and Ji Mingxia were just about to find a way to go upstairs, when at this moment, a slight "click" sound came from the fire door.
Yu Ning reacted very quickly. He immediately pulled Ji Mingxia to the side, then raised his hand and covered the light from their cell phones.
Almost at the moment when the two of them had just stood up, the fire door was opened, and several figures came in from outside with a gust of cool wind.
"It's done, we're in!"
"I said it's no problem, I've tried it dozens of times!"
"So let's go to the second floor now?"
"No, no, we have to wait a little longer."
"Hurry up, every second you delay means your brother will suffer one more second!"
Several familiar female voices came from the fire door. Ji Mingxia looked carefully and found that it was none other than the female fans of Ke Chengxuan who they had met by chance a few days ago.