Free Web NovelWhen the sky completely darkened, Lu Yibei still hadn't seen Gu Qianqian's figure appear outside the shed. Just as she said, she would indeed return very late.
Things gradually became hard to see, and only then did Lu Yibei get up.
She fumbled around in the dark shed for quite a while, got shocked three times, and finally found the light switch.
Then, Lu Yibei witnessed that Gu Qianqian truly took saving money to the extreme.
Even the house only had one light bulb, and it was the relatively cheap and most energy-saving model. The light was only a tiny speck, the size of a grain of rice, and the brightness was pitifully low.
Withdrawing her gaze from the ceiling light bulb, Lu Yibei couldn't help but mutter, "Tsk, today I've truly seen what real stinginess is."
True stinginess is etched into the bone marrow, penetrating every detail of life.
Even though the electricity in Gu Qianqian's house was stolen from the Kua Jiang Bridge streetlights, she still saved wherever she could.
Pulling her attention away from the light, Lu Yibei paced back to the sofa and sat down. Just then, her phone suddenly vibrated lightly twice.
She froze for a moment, pulled out her phone, took a look, and her eyes trembled slightly.
【Save me,】
The phone displayed a text message from Professor Ma. The entire message only had two words, ending with a comma, as if it had been hastily sent before being fully edited.
After seeing the content of the text message clearly, Lu Yibei had a faint premonition of something bad.
According to student gossip, when Professor Ma proctored the final exam last year, he even caught someone's cheat sheet written on the sole of their white sneakers. This essentially ruled out the possibility of him sending the message to the wrong person.
Furthermore, as a School of Literature Professor with extremely high literary cultivation, even somewhat old-fashioned, it would be impossible for him to misuse punctuation unless the situation was urgent.
After a brief thought, Lu Yibei felt that Professor Ma might truly be in danger.
Thinking of this, she subconsciously opened her contacts, ready to call Professor Ma, but suddenly remembered something. She withdrew the finger hovering over the dial button and stopped.
No, I can't call Professor Ma now.
If he really encountered danger, danger so great that he couldn't even finish editing a text message in his haste.
Calling or texting him now, if the ringtone sounds, might put him in a more dangerous situation.
What's more, if he encountered a Strange Tale, his phone might not have a signal now, just like when she was attacked by Mr. Rabbit's puppet before.
But...
If I don't call him, where am I supposed to look for him?
Asking for help without giving coordinates, isn't that just making your teammates worry?
Lu Yibei felt a headache coming on. She paced back and forth in the room anxiously, then took several deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down and think carefully about where Professor Ma might be.
Hmm...
If, as Jiang Li said, repeating the description of a Strange Tale attracts its attention, then Professor Ma hasn't had any incidents for so many years, indicating he must have some way to avoid danger.
Hmm...
Thinking about it this way, could it be assumed that if he follows his usual routine and lives a normal life, he basically won't encounter danger?
Assuming my guess is correct, then something must have broken his normal routine.
What could possibly disrupt his routine? Lu Yibei thought, pondered for a moment, and then suspected the strange bamboo slips. A thought popped into her mind.
Could it be that after the Professor sent us away, he returned to the school, started studying those bamboo slips by himself, and then something bad happened?
Yes, that's right, this is very likely!
The Professor mentioned before that when studying the bamboo slips, he experienced strange phenomena like becoming obsessed or losing track of time.
He might have been studying the bamboo slips and stayed in the research room until now, and then encountered something dangerous!
With this thought, Lu Yibei put away her phone, grabbed the kitchen knife, and walked towards the outside of the shed.
Although Lu Yibei felt that her conclusion that Professor Ma might still be in the research room was just an assumption and guess based on some details she personally noticed, and its accuracy wasn't necessarily high. freēwebnovel.com
However, she couldn't easily contact Professor Ma now and couldn't just sit and wait. Even if it was just a guess, it was worth trying.
Lu Yibei hadn't walked far before she quickly turned back.
After entering the shed, she went straight to Gu Qianqian's piggy bank in the corner, pried open the lid, reached inside and fumbled around for a while, and took out twenty yuan...
Don't look at me with that strange look!
It's not that I think I gave Gu Qianqian too much aid and want to go back on it!
It's just that...
My power isn't stable, and I might not even be able to fly. I could end up hurting myself badly. It's more convenient and faster to take a taxi there. Lu Yibei thought.
...
An hour ago, when the sky had just darkened, in a tube-shaped building in Hua City's West District.
Zhang Shan sat in front of the computer, carefully browsing through the audience's bullet comments from last night, feeling a bit worried.
I'll just rub: "Host, your quality has declined quite a bit recently! The stories are fake as hell, not like they were at the beginning! If this continues, I'm going to unfollow."
Don't team up with monks: "Host, how about you bring back that shill from last time to spice things up?"
I am from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor sent a plane X1
I am from the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor: "The recent stories are indeed a bit dull. I'll come back in a few days to check. See you later 【fist salute】."
Online old pervert thirty-two: "Host, I told you long ago, doing this has no future. Why don't you take this opportunity to change your style and become a hot dance host?"
"Even if you're a guy, I don't mind. As long as you show a bit more, I can barely get off!"
【System notification: Online old pervert thirty-two has been muted for 365 days.】
"Sigh—!"
After Zhang Shan blocked the perverted listener who slipped through yesterday, he closed the live stream backend, leaned back in his chair, and silently lit a cigarette.
Ever since the story about the white-haired urban legend girl exploring the ghost school at night was finished, he started telling his old stories again.
But those old stories were all made up by him, lacking in realism, and completely lost their previous effect.
The stories weren't real enough, but the listeners were exceptionally real. In just a few days, the number of followers on the radio station decreased by nearly half.
Although Zhang Shan could make a living even without the radio station's income, after experiencing the boom a few days ago, facing the current situation, he inevitably felt a sense of frustration.
"How about..." Zhang Shan thought, glancing at the phone on the table. After long hesitation, he gritted his teeth, picked up the phone, and found the unsaved number in the call history.
His calloused hands trembled slightly as he pressed the dial button. Hearing the emotionless voice of a girl from the other end of the line, his body suddenly trembled.
"Sorry, the number you dialed is not in service. Please check the number and dial again. Sorry, the subscriber... Beep!"
Zhang Shan hung up the phone, put away his phone, then stubbed out the unfinished cigarette in his hand, grabbed the car keys from the table, and silently got up, ready to start working.
Zhang Shan wasn't particularly surprised that the urban legend girl's phone couldn't be reached.
She's a Strange Tale, is it that easy for you to get through to a Strange Tale's phone?
In fact, if her phone number had some kind of "cannot be dialed until midnight" setting, Zhang Shan would have found it more normal.
...
Time 20:57, just three minutes after Professor Ma sent the text message to Lu Yibei.
Hua City, near the Kua Jiang Bridge, on the road leading to the South Passenger Station, Zhang Shan drove his taxi forward.
After nightfall, pedestrians on this street, which was quite lively during the day, became sparse, and the taxi business wasn't very good.
Although there was a decent subsidy for driving at night, it was just enough to make ends meet.
After driving two empty trips in a row, Zhang Shan started to miss the gifts from the lovely listeners in the live stream room.
If there was a job that could satisfy his interests, supplement his household income, and even save some money for his son's future wife, who wouldn't like it?
If I could meet that girl again tonight so I could gather some material, that would be great. Anyway, she doesn't seem to have any intention of harming me. Zhang Shan thought.
Immediately after, he was startled by the thought that suddenly popped into his head. He quickly waved his hand and said awkwardly, "What are you thinking? That's a Strange Tale! Besides, that kind of thing, you can't just see it whenever you..."
"Screech—!" The emergency brake caused a piercing friction sound. A wisp of blue smoke drifted from the tires, leaving two shallow black marks on the road. Zhang Shan's words came to an abrupt halt.
He never expected that the urban legend girl would be even faster than Cao Cao, appearing just as he was thinking about her. Before he could finish his sentence, she appeared at the edge of the road, wearing a blue dress that looked like an ancient female ghost's attire.
Although she had deliberately hidden it, it was still vaguely visible that a kitchen knife was tucked into her waist. The exposed corner was chillingly cold, reflecting the light of the street lamp...
"Gulp--!" Zhang Shan swallowed hard, sweat beading on his temples.
What the heck? What's going on? What should I do?
Lately, I've been deliberately avoiding the University City area, changing to the Kua Jiang Bridge to South Passenger Station route. How did I still run into her?
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I shouldn't have run my mouth; this, this is going to be the death of me!
He stared at the girl in the distance, not daring to breathe, then quietly placed his hand on the gear stick, foot on the clutch, ready to start from a standstill and accelerate quickly at any moment.
...
Fate is a difficult thing to explain clearly.
Lu Yibei didn't know what was wrong with her; every time she needed a ride to hurry somewhere, she would run into Uncle Zhang Shan.
Just like this time, in her haste, she completely forgot to contact Uncle Zhang Shan, and where she hailed the car wasn't where she'd met him before, yet she still ran into him unexpectedly.
I really didn't use any metaphysical power.
Really!
All I can say is, Uncle Zhang Shan is quite elusive. Lu Yibei thought.
Thinking this, she jogged up before Zhang Shan could start the car and slip away, sticking half her head through the passenger window.
"Uncle, I didn't expect to run into you again, it's great! Are you free now? If you are, can you give me a ride to Huacheng Institute of Technology? I'm in a hurry!"
"I will definitely pay you the fare this time!" Lu Yibei said with certainty.
Zhang Shan looked at Lu Yibei's cold face and then at the cleaver at her waist.
"..."
I'd believe you if there were ghosts! When did you ever pay?
Zhang Shan cursed fiercely in his heart, then sighed silently and said in a deep voice, "Get in!"
I actually wanted to refuse her, but I didn't dare! Zhang Shan thought bitterly.
...
Under the Kua Jiang Bridge, in the third bridge arch.
Not long after Lu Yibei left, Gu Qianqian returned. Seeing the slightly ajar door and the dark room behind the door crack, her heart tightened, and a faint ominous feeling arose.
"I'm back! I brought you something good to eat, Auntie Fatty's construction site fast food, with two meat dishes and one vegetable!"
Gu Qianqian suppressed the unease in her heart and called out. When she received no response, the unease instantly grew stronger.
Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she quickly walked into the room, skillfully finding the light switch. The moment she turned on the light, her gaze drifted towards the corner where the piggy bank was hidden. Immediately, her face turned deathly pale, and the boxed meal in her hand fell to the ground with a "bang!"
The piggy bank lay there quietly, its position unchanged from before. But Gu Qianqian could tell that the lid of the piggy bank had been tampered with; the paint dots on it didn't match up at all.
She froze for a few seconds, as if something had been triggered. With red-rimmed eyes, she mumbled, "It's over, it's over, it must all be gone. What should the system do?!"
"I was clearly so good to her, and I even brought her food! How could she do this to me!"
Gu Qianqian said, her voice choked with sobs, while pouring the banknotes from the piggy bank onto the floor and counting them carefully.
The system, "..." Actually, I didn't expect her to not even spare a piggy bank.
Perhaps Gu Qianqian looked too pitiful. The system felt a bit unbearable to watch. After a few seconds of silence, it started to comfort her.
"Let me tell you, that's just how she is, heartless. You'll get used to it! From now on, when you deal with her, be prepared for a long-term struggle..."
"Huh?! That's strange?" The system was halfway through speaking when it suddenly heard Gu Qianqian let out a soft exclamation.
"What is it now?"
"She didn't take my money, and, and there's an extra three yuan and two..." Gu Qianqian said, frowning.
The system, "..."
This isn't right! This doesn't seem like something the Disaster would do!
No, no, I need to think hard about what kind of scheme is behind this. The system thought.
...
Time 21:02, five minutes after Lu Yibei received the message.
Huacheng Institute of Technology, Special Text Content Research Lab, the bathroom was pitch black.
Professor Ma huddled in the corner, his body trembling slightly, staring intently at the phone that had slid into the toilet stall. After hesitating for nearly five minutes, he still couldn't bring himself to pick it up.
Five minutes ago.
He was carefully editing a message for Lu Yibei when the light above his head suddenly flickered a few times and dimmed.
His vision abruptly plunged into darkness, startling him. His body jolted violently as if electrocuted, and his phone fell to the ground with it, bouncing a few times before sliding into the toilet stall.
Actually, darkness alone wasn't enough to completely strip Professor Ma of the courage to pick up his phone. When his phone fell, his first reaction was also to chase after it and pick it up.
However...
Just as he was approaching the toilet stall, he heard a strange musical sound coming from the drainpipe. The closer he got, the clearer it became.
The sound was like a music box that had fallen into the sewer, staying there for who knows how long, and then inexplicably started playing again just as it was about to run out of power.
The sound was weak and listless, like the whimpering of someone about to die, making one feel uneasy.
Professor Ma suspected that if he rashly approached the toilet stall, something terrifying would crawl out of the sewer.
So he tossed some copper coins. The coins' choice was for him not to approach.
But...
If he didn't go pick up the phone, how could he call for help from the outside world? Professor Ma thought.
He didn't know that in his panic, he had already sent the unedited message.
For a moment, the despair and fear of being isolated and helpless, like monstrous beasts lurking in his mind, constantly assailed his nerves.
In the darkness, the passage of time also seemed to slow down.
After who knows how long, Professor Ma, whose nerves had been taut for so long, felt exhausted and on the verge of collapse.
Just then, the intermittent musical sound from the sewer suddenly disappeared.
He froze for a few seconds, thinking he was hallucinating. Then he concentrated and listened carefully.
"..."
The bathroom was deadly silent, save for the occasional drip of water from unseen places, making faint "drip, drop" sounds.
The strange musical sound had indeed disappeared, but only for less than half a minute.
After Professor Ma listened intently for more than ten seconds, it started playing again, becoming clearer and clearer, as if approaching.
"Ee-ee-yah--!"
That thing is moving in the sewer! Right under the sink!
After listening carefully for a few more seconds, Professor Ma looked at the sink less than half a meter away from him. His expression gradually twisted, and he scrambled back a good distance, pressing tightly against the wall furthest from the sink, staring {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} nervously at the dark gap.
He saw that water was starting to gurgle and bubble out of the drain hole in the sink, which was no bigger than a glass marble.
Soon, a stench so foul it could almost make one faint enveloped Professor Ma's nostrils.
From within that dark gap, there came faint sounds of metal pipes being struck.
It seemed like something was about to come out of it.
At the drain opening, a few fingers reached out. freewēbnoveℓ.com
The drain opening was originally very small, but those slender fingers forcibly squeezed out from inside, as if strange fleshy buds were growing from the opening.
"Gulp--!"
Professor Ma, already scared out of his wits with his blood pressure soaring, swallowed hard, then reached out with a trembling hand and took out the copper coins.
When people are helpless, they always like to ask ghosts and gods, as if this can rekindle a glimmer of hope that allows them to barely survive in despair.
Heads means I will die this time, tails means I won't die this time.
Professor Ma thought, tossed the copper coin into the air, caught it steadily on the back of his hand, and then slowly moved his palm away.
The heads side of the coin thus came into view.
It's over. Professor Ma thought, his face instantly turning ashen.
Just at this moment, the faint sound of water surging up came from the direction of the sink again.
"Gurgle-- gurgle--!"
Accompanied by the faint sounds, a complete, bloody arm forcibly squeezed out of the drain hole, waving and fumbling in a bizarre posture, trying to find the person in the room...
(Emmm, 5K words, not sure how to divide chapters, so I'll just post it all together!)
