Under Xi Tu's cold gaze, Lin Chu knocked on Lu Yanli's door.
"Jiang Bai, is Jiang Bai here?"
Lu Yanli opened the door. He looked even more haggard, as if he had not rested well. He said to Lin Chu: "Hello, what's the matter?"
Everything seemed normal, but Tu still felt something was wrong.
The sound of two people talking came from the headset, and after a while, the picture began to appear on the mobile phone screen.
Under his coercion, Lin Chu installed a pinhole camera in the living room while Lu Yanli went into the kitchen to make tea.
After a while, Lu Yanli came out of the kitchen and brought a cup of tea. Lin Chu thanked him and continued to look at him with that infatuated look.
These can be seen clearly on the monitor.
Lin Chu started to make small talk: "Jiang Bai, you came to this small town to collect folk songs, right?"
Jiang Bai nodded.
"I heard you can draw. What can you draw? Can you draw a portrait for me? I will pay you..."
Tu became impatient and reminded him, and then Lin Chu turned the topic to the Wenhua Festival.
Jiang Bai thought for a while and said, "To be honest, I don't know much about this cultural festival. I didn't intend to participate at first. But when I visited the museum a few days ago, a little girl at the entrance of the museum forced a flyer into my hand."
"What's even weirder is that I can't throw away or destroy this flyer." Jiang Bai's eyes were solemn.
Lin Chu: “Can you show me the flyer?”
Lu Yanli handed it to her.
He was not lying. Besides, this group of taskers were the highest quality he had ever seen. If they could analyze something, it would not be bad.
It looked like an ordinary flyer with traces of folding. After Lin Chu looked it over several times, he tried to tear it apart and asked, "Would you like to try it?"
Lu Yanli nodded, and she tried to tear it apart... but it didn't tear.
Just a thin piece of paper.
She tried to scratch it with the knife she brought with her, but there was no cut. Seeing her try, Lu Yanli handed her a lighter to burn it, but again, there was no sign of burns at all.
"It's weird." Lin Chu held the flyer, "So..."
"Yes, so I have to come. Otherwise, I will probably die."
Lin Chu smiled at him and asked, "Can you lend us this flyer?"
"So, I just hope you can return it to me tomorrow."
"Yes."
There was another explosion outside the window, and I didn't know where the explosion happened.
"By the way, is the man on the wanted warrant really not him?" Lin Chu looked directly at him, asking both for the person who was monitoring him and for himself.
"Jiang Bai" shook his head: "It's not me. I'm also curious, why does he look so much like me." He paused, revealing a gentle expression, "Could it be that I have a twin brother that I don't even know about?"
He did not let these people know about his plan for the Pisces Jade Pendant.
The function of the jade pendant is to make a wish to the god, as long as he knows it himself.
"Please don't let me out. You can monitor me or do whatever you want. I believe I can prove my innocence." The young man pleaded, "I'm just here for tourism. I don't want to be taken away by the police."
Lin Chu understood his hint and said that he understood. After sitting for a while, Lin Chu followed Xi Tu's instructions and talked about other matters before leaving.
"Guys... Is what Jiang Bai said real?"
"The man on the wanted poster looks exactly like him, except for one thing: the man who calls himself Jiang Bai has no scars on his face."
"Who can prove that the scars on the face of the man wanted by the police are not fake?"
This was the third day since they arrived in the town.
The peaceful impression of the town after the first day was broken. What happened in the past few days made them deeply aware of the weirdness of the psychic town. Now, they agreed that every morning, everyone would hold a short meeting in the lobby downstairs.
Now, people in the hall are arguing.
"Hey, where's Shen Zhu?" Ling Tong looked around and didn't see anyone, so he immediately asked, "Who saw Shen Zhu yesterday?" He thought he didn't attend the short meeting last night because he was tired, and he didn't show up in the morning, so he was a little suspicious.
Di Ying: "I, I saw her go back to her room and sleep normally last night, nothing unusual."
"I saw it too. She even said hello to me and then went back to rest." said a tasker.
Is Shen Zhu staying in bed
It's good to say this out loud.
"Quick, everyone, go to Shen Zhu's room first! Something might have happened to her." Jiang Yu made the decision, and the people who were near the stairs immediately ran upstairs and opened the door. After a while, they came out of the room and shouted downstairs: "I can't find her! She's not here—"
"Could he have gone out secretly?"
Jiang Yu denied this guess: "Something must have happened to her. Everyone remember, if you see Shen Zhu, don't talk rashly or stare at her."
Everyone was in an uproar, but no one was surprised.
It's only the third day... So many people have died. Not only them, there are hundreds of people in the town who have died.
After all, when will it end
The gauze that was previously applied fell off due to the car crash. Lu Yanli endured the pain and re-applied it. He packed up his things and prepared to go to another place.
At this time, he was very familiar with the layout of the town. He walked through the alleys, avoiding numerous surveillance cameras, first took the axe he had hidden, and then slowly came to the crowded area.
He obviously didn't plan to make another wish to that "god", but when death came, it seemed that only this method could save him. So, even if the price of resurrection was to kill everyone in the town, it didn't matter.
What's more, he died in the cultural festival in the future. If everyone can be eliminated before the cultural festival, the cultural festival will naturally not be held.
only…
The streets were covered with wanted posters with his portrait on them. Although there were no words on them, the portrait on the poster was very similar to his own, so there was no guarantee that he would not be noticed.
At the end of the alley, he tore off a wanted poster and planted a new bomb. Just as he was about to turn around, he felt a sense of danger and turned his head sharply to look back.
At the end of the alley, stood a tall and thin figure.
The figure was the same as him, carrying a long-handled axe, wearing the same clothes, and also had a large burn on his face.
That's him.
Lu Yanli in the alley was a little uncertain.
From the looks of it, they were injured at the same time. So, who was he at the alley entrance
Lu Yanli at the entrance of the alley did not go in.
He knew that at this moment, he was loaded with explosives. He also knew that even if the person in front of him was himself, he would never be willing to give up his life because of a few words from his future self.
I failed to kill him last night, so it would be even harder today. And if I let him join forces with other people in the town, including the tasker, to kill his past self, it would most likely plant hidden dangers for his future.
So he just stood there and said something.
"Our actions now will kill us in the future."
The man in the alley asked, "What do you mean by that?" The man at the entrance of the alley didn't answer, and he went on to say, "Killing the people in this town is the price I have to pay. I have to do it."
"The cultural festival must be held." Lu Yanli at the entrance of the alley said, "Also, if I'm not mistaken, there should be more than one reward for making a wish, right?"
"Yes, but I can't tell you." Lu Yanli, who was standing deep in the alley, said.
Another price he paid was to travel to the future and kill his future self, which was the condition for him to return to the present. As for the other condition, to kill everyone in the town, it was the reward offered by "God" for allowing him to change the past.
Therefore, he will not tell this matter to his future self. If his future self takes precautions, he may not be able to trace it back to the present.
Lu Yanli, who was standing at the entrance of the alley, said, "I understand." He looked outside and suddenly said, "I came on May 1st."
It is now March 3rd, the third day since the tasker entered and the second day since Lu Yanli entered the town.
Lu Yanli inside the alley: "I understand." But he didn't know from which time point in the future he was traced back.
Lu Yanli at the entrance of the alley continued: "Although I came back successfully, I made a mistake."
"What?"
"I brought it with me. It is hidden in the eyes of Lu Yanli now." Lu Yanli at the entrance of the alley continued, "That it is me who died on the time line after me. I don't know when it was. Anyway, if we want to survive, we must get through that time node. I have already told you that you must participate in the cultural festival."
Lu Yanli, who was deep in the alley, indicated that he understood.
He was deeply troubled.
Because he was on the verge of death at the cultural festival and was reborn by making a wish. He did not tell this news to his future self. If he happened to be the self in the timeline where he was reborn after his death, then he did not need to remind himself. If he was not, it proved that his route was not necessarily wrong.
But how should he get through this time
After Lu Yanli finished speaking at the entrance of the alley, he was about to turn around and leave when his other self called him back.
", last question. Who is the missing person they are looking for?"
Hearing this question, Lu Yanli at the entrance of the alley glanced at the person opposite him with an ambiguous expression and shook his head: "I can't tell you."
It's not "I don't know", it's "I can't tell".
After that, he turned and left, leaving his past self alone in deep thought.
Soon, people in the town discovered him.
Exactly the same man as the wanted poster!
He actually walked onto the street with an axe on his back!
After Lu Yanli traced back from the time node of May 1 and determined that he had attracted enough attention, he immediately turned and ran into the alley.
He could already hear the police car.
"Don't run! Stop!!"
"What the hell are you yelling about? Stop and don't run!"
Some enthusiastic people also came to hunt him down.
It was no use. As soon as he passed a street corner, an explosion occurred on that street. The heat wave engulfed the crowd who were trying to catch up with him. Soon, another chain explosion occurred.
Lu Yanli took the opportunity to leave.
You know yourself best, there is no need to worry, they are all fighting for space for your present self.
He was now under suspicion from the taskers. If they showed their faces, his suspicion would be greatly reduced.
"Another explosion? A suspect has appeared?"
Ximen Yuan couldn't believe his eyes.
They hacked into the local public security system to check the surveillance and indeed saw a familiar figure.
The scar on the man's face was still there, covering nearly half of his face, and he was carrying a long axe on his back.
The "Jiang Bai" they were monitoring was always in the room and never left.
So, are there really two people in the world who look so similar
"Jiang Bai" also received the news and came out of the room with a look of surprise. He easily found several taskers wandering downstairs: "Look, I didn't lie. It wasn't me."
The taskers had to believe it even if they didn't want to. What else could they do when they saw two people who looked the same? Could it be that Jiang Bai knew how to tell the difference
Jiang Yu was also among them and nodded to Jiang Bai: "Indeed, congratulations, Mr. Jiang Bai, your suspicion has been cleared."
"Jiang Bai"'s face fell: "Not yet, the police may still misunderstand. Can you trouble them to help me solve the problem later?"
"Okay." Jiang Yu agreed, "Where do you want to go? We can find someone to go with you, so as not to arouse your suspicion."
"Really?" He looked surprised. "I plan to go to the venue of the cultural festival in advance to take a look."
"Of course it's true. You can go somewhere else if you want. It just so happens that we are free."
If there really is such a murderer, and he finds someone who looks exactly like him, what will he do
Jiang Yu thought.
He did not go himself, but designated three people to accompany "Jiang Bai".
There are Tu Tu, Lin Chu, and a man named Qiu Zhi.
Qiu Zhi, a retired soldier, was very skilled and observant. Even if Jiang Bai had some tricks up his sleeve, as long as he was not a ghost, I believed that Qiu Zhi and Qiu Tu were enough to deal with him.
According to the map on the flyer, the four of them walked side by side.
Qiu Zhi walked on Jiang Bai's left, Lin Chu on his right, and Xi Tu put his arm around Lin Chu's neck as they walked forward.
Qiu Zhi was a straightforward person. He didn't like desperate criminals like Qiu Tu, and he didn't like Lin Chu, who might betray them. At the same time, Qiu Zhi already felt guilty about killing Lu Yanli, whom they had to kill as part of their mission.
Wouldn't it be unpleasant to kill others in order to survive
Yes, people always have to think about themselves. He also wants to live, he doesn’t want to die…
Qiu Zhi was in a state of confusion, not knowing what to do. He couldn't imagine if the man named Lu Yanli really showed up, should he help the enemy escape, or help the other taskers kill him.
"Don't always take care of her. She doesn't like it." Seeing Lin Chu looking at him for help, Qiu Zhi spoke.
Tu was startled and looked at Qiu Zhi with a sinister look.
Immediately, the expression on his face widened a little bit, and instead of letting go of his hand, he strangled Lin Chu's neck even harder.
"Why do you come to meddle in other people's business?"
"I'm not meddling in other people's business, but you shouldn't bully her." Qiu Zhi shook his head. "Even if she might be a traitor, you can't bully her. It's not good to bully women."
Even Lin Chu was stunned.
She knew very well that Lu Yanli knew her true nature, and Tu probably saw something, so he kept forcing her to expose herself. She didn't expect that there would be such an honest person in the team.
"Oh? Do I want to bully you?" Then, Xi Tu turned his head and bit Lin Chu's ear.
He smelled a faint fragrance on the opposite side, very light, but a little dizzy. In his mouth, he bit into a taste that was not like human skin.
Before he could come to his senses, Qiu Zhi grabbed his collar and threw him to the side, and he fell to the ground.
Strangely, his hands and feet felt a little weak, which resulted in him being unable to dodge Qiu Zhi's attack and falling to the ground in disgrace.
Lin Chu thanked Qiu Zhi with a trembling voice. She looked extremely scared. Under Qiu Tu's threatening gaze, she wanted to go over and help him up. Qiu Zhi said, "You don't have to go. How can a grown man not be able to stand up after falling down?"
I really can't stand up.
Lin Chu originally planned to take care of Qiu Tu when no one was around and then pass the blame on to him, but now that Qiu Zhi was present, it was really difficult to do it right away.
Just as Qiu Zhi was trying to stop Lin Chu from threatening her with Tu, something unexpected happened!
A small knife fell straight down from upstairs and pierced into Tu's throat.
"What?"
Everything was happening right before his eyes. Qiu Zhi looked up in disbelief. A figure appeared from the tall building. The man glanced at him and immediately retreated.
That person... is not the bombing suspect on the wanted list. Who else could it be
Jiang Bai was still standing by, looking unwell. Qiu Zhi said, "Stop right there," and immediately rushed upstairs.
After he left, the expressions of the two people waiting downstairs changed.
Lin Chu didn't even wipe away the tears from her eyes. She made sure that there was no bug on her body. After walking away from the body of Tu Tu, she asked, "What happened to that man? He is a ghost, right?"
“Yes, that’s me in the future.”
Lin Chu: "I feel relieved now. By the way, you should know our mission, right?"
"I know. First, kill me. Second, find the missing person." Lu Yanli spoke and saw the other party nodded.
Lin Chu: "I won't do the first mission for now. Because this mission has no time limit. I need to stay here longer."
"Why?"
"I feel like I should have found a little clue." Lin Chu said, "What's more..."
"Our world is changing. I suspect that there is a high possibility that something is spreading through the mission."
"What changes?"
Lin Chu reported the results of his investigation and added, "For a country that big, it's normal for many people to die every day. But the news reports have been getting more and more bizarre recently. I suspect there are even more data that have not been published."
"There must be something behind the scenes controlling all this. It wants to kill you, and you obviously threaten it. That's why I'm helping you." Lin Chu said this both to make his position clear and to dispel Lu Yanli's vigilance.
"At least, we can cooperate before I finish my investigation." The implication is that when she has completed her investigation and needs to go back, that will be the time when their cooperation breaks down.
But deep down in Lin Chu's heart, he felt even sadder.
She knew that to the being behind the scenes, Lu Yanli was a greater and more special threat.
So, can she really kill Lu Yanli
Lu Yanli didn't care, but having someone offer help was always better than having no help at all.
At present, Lin Chu still has faith.
Unfortunately... only one of them could survive.
Lu Yanli would never give this opportunity to anyone else.
"Now I don't know what I did. It is very likely that this will be my behavior in the future." Lu Yanli added.
Therefore, there are still many unknowns for him now.
“Since this mission requires killing him in the Psychic Town… doesn’t that mean he learned something during this mission?” Lin Chu asked.
"Perhaps."
"By the way, how much do you know about the cultural festival?"
"I don't know anything. I need to ask."
He guessed that the cultural festival was a very important event.
"I believe you should know the information on the flyer. I will ask about it later and let you know if there is any progress."
"Okay." Lu Yanli agreed.
"By the way, do you know Chu Xiu?" Lin Chu asked.
"Because in the last mission, a high school student named An Xingyu did not return. He accepted the commission of An Xingyu's parents to investigate, and the investigation ended up with me."
"I know it from him, and he knows it, too."
In fact, after meeting Chu Xiu last time, the two of them were sure that Lu Yanli was indeed a special person.
In the past, there was a tasker named He Lou who left a message, and it was probably because she met him. Later, Chu Xiu and she met the same NPC, what did this prove
"An Xingyu?"
"Yes, come to think of it, it might be because of me that An Xingyu couldn't go back." Lin Chu couldn't explain the mission in detail, so he could only pass it over vaguely and mentioned the last time he changed his words before offering sacrifices in the ancient tomb.
"Indeed, just as you thought, he stayed here forever." Lu Yanli told her.
After the previous taskers died, Lu Yanli could always see them transformed into new and strange ones. But not An Xingyu. He did not see An Xingyu in a strange image.
"This can't be..."
Lin Chu muttered to himself.
She had set up a video and played it frame by frame after returning home. The bodies of the taskers did not disappear, but just like a TV set freezing, they paused for no more than a second before changing. Therefore, Lin Chu always believed that it was the soul or consciousness that entered the task.
Now, An Xingyu's body has disappeared.
His body remains in this world!
So, every time they enter the world, do they enter with their own bodies? Why can't they recover from injuries sustained during missions
"I don't understand..."
The more I researched, the more I found myself in a maze, unable to see the truth.
"Oh! What about you? What will you be like after we return?"
Lu Yanli told the other party the truth.
There are some things that the tasker cannot say or reveal, so he is the only one who can explain it and let Lin Chu analyze and draw the conclusion.
Lin Chu was still thinking when he heard Qiu Zhi's call from not far away.
"That guy got away and I didn't catch up with him." With his brows furrowed on his dark face, Qiu Zhi obviously was not satisfied with the result.
Lin Chu instantly turned into a weak appearance, and Lu Yanli also coughed softly, looking haggard.
"What should we do now?" Lin Chu stared at Xi Tu's body with tears in her eyes, "Should we go back first?"
Lu Yanli said: "Let me go back with you. It's not safe to go out alone now." After that, he lowered his head and coughed twice.
Both of them were weak and unable to take care of themselves, so the job of carrying the corpses naturally fell on Qiu Zhi.