The luxury car that had been parked at the entrance of Xiangliu Village finally stirred.
A man, trembling hands, opened the car door and stepped out.
After a few steps, his familiar face was exposed to all the elders who knew him. The villagers’ gaze quickly shifted from initial curiosity and confusion to undisguised anger and hatred, a rage that could burn a living person alive.
Under such gazes, Gong Fang was uncomfortable all over. He, who had never taken these country bumpkins seriously, seemed to feel unease and fear from the bottom of his heart for the first time.
“Fellow villagers, I came to see you…” He forced a smile, trying to use rhetoric to defuse the situation.
“You conscienceless thing! You still have the face to come back!” A roar interrupted his words, accompanied by the roar was a lean old man who looked hale and hearty.
“——Watch me beat you to death!!”
The old man picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground and pounced on him with a fierce momentum, smashing it down on him!
Others also quickly reacted, those who could pick up tools did so, those who could pick up stones did so, and there was a group of children who followed suit, urinating on the spot and mixing it with mud, pinching up freshly made mud balls, and throwing them at his face.
Such a violent reaction was completely beyond Gong Fang’s expectations, and he was stunned on the spot.
It wasn’t until the pain from his body and the stench of urine on his face woke him up that he hurriedly raised his hand to block.
“Stop, stop, stop, let me explain…”
“Get the hell out! Everyone hit him! If he dies, it’s on me!”
The village chief, still quite vigorous despite being over seventy, roared like thunder, accompanied by the cheering voices of the children.
Then came a rain of various objects.
Gong Fang, who had been living a life of luxury in the city for many years, was no match for these people. He could only choose to dodge frantically and flee in embarrassment.
By the time Gong Fang finally managed to open the car door and hide inside amidst the villagers’ pursuit, he found that even this luxury car was surrounded by the villagers. The dense crowd made it impossible for him to drive away.
“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”
The transparent car window glass was hit by stones, and spider-web-like cracks spread across it, making Gong Fang shiver all over.
Fortunately, the car glass was sturdy and didn’t break.
“Bumpkins, a bunch of uncivilized barbarians!” He muttered fearfully, desperately calling for help from the police on the other end of the car camera, “You see, these people are crazy! Come and save me, come and save me!!”
“The police have already arrived nearby, at most ten minutes…”
Gong Fang was first overjoyed, then his face suddenly changed.
“No, no! Don’t come over! All of you back off, don’t come over!” Even at this point, he was still thinking about his beloved son, and quickly changed his mind, “I must complete the challenge myself!”
Perhaps it was his beloved son that gave Gong Fang an idea…
“Isn’t it just for the future of a bunch of kids…”
He gritted his teeth and opened the window to shout outside.
…….
More than ten minutes later, after personally promising everyone that he would build roads, bridges, and schools for Xiangliu Village, and even writing a “guarantee letter” that the villagers thought had legal effect, Gong Fang finally got away and quickly fled Xiangliu Village.
A text message alert sounded on his phone.
[Congratulations, you have successfully passed the first round of the game. Are you ready for the second round?]
At this point, Gong Fang was utterly exhausted, and the pain on his body and the nauseating smell made him extremely angry.
He dialed back the number again, his tone was furious. “What the hell do you want?!”
This time, the person on the other end of the phone didn’t hang up.
A young and clear male voice sighed with regret. “Ah, that’s really rude. Even though the name is just a code, at least it can prevent rude people like you from calling me with rude words.”
“As a punishment, please allow me to postpone the announcement of the start of the second round of the game.”
His tone was leisurely, with a hint of light laughter.
“——Finally, I repeat, I don’t mind if you call the police, I don’t mind if you make a fuss about it. As long as you follow the rules of the game, complete the next game on your own.”
As his words fell, the call ended.
“Damn!” Gong Fang was so angry that he threw his phone directly on the floor of the car, and then hurriedly picked it up to see if it was broken. His heart was full of frustration and anger, but there was nowhere to vent.
All this pressure naturally had to be transferred to the police.
While waiting for the notification of the second round of the game, the police station had already started a full investigation of this case, and Li Fufeng and others also joined in, and everyone started to analyze based on the existing clues.
“This guy didn’t kill anyone, but it feels like his danger level is no less than that of the serial killer. From the means he has shown so far, his hacking skills are extremely high, he has some means to monitor Gong Fang’s actions throughout, and he can also fully calculate the weaknesses of human heart and human nature… What is the purpose of this guy going to such great lengths?”
“Don’t forget, his punishment is to postpone the start of the second round of the game——it sounds like this is not a punishment at all, what does it matter when it starts? Does he want to do something to Gong Tian during this time…”
“No, about the start time of the game, our understanding may be different. Just like the first round of the game, it was to arrive at Xiangliu Village before 12:00, but he announced the start of the game at 8:50 in the morning. If the second round of the game also needs to be done before a certain point in time, and he postponed the announcement of the start, the time left in the middle will be very tight——I think this is what it means.”
“He doesn’t mind calling the police, he doesn’t mind making a fuss? This guy is really arrogant! Damn it!”
“——More than just not minding, he should hope to make a fuss. What does he want to do? Does he just want to cause a sensation, harvest a lot of eyeballs? Or does he want to publicly judge Gong Fang, exposing his past misdeeds to everyone? If so, the two are likely to have a grudge.”
“In that case, let’s fulfill him. If he wants to play, let’s play with him! Now the hostage is in his hands, don’t force him to do anything too extreme. In any case, the safety of the hostage’s life is the most important. Let’s see what this guy wants to do, the more he does, the more flaws…”
“I suspect that there will likely be situations like Xiangliu Village in the future, where other innocent people will inadvertently participate in the game and be used by him. If we persuade the public in advance, we can also prevent everyone from being used by him…”
As everyone’s thoughts continued to collide, the police also caught the traces left by the five kidnappers——after all, they were just cannon fodder-like roles, even if they had a perfect plan, they couldn’t execute it flawlessly with their execution power, under the full pursuit of the police, they finally exposed their traces.
Li Fufeng and others immediately took action.
In the airport, the shop door that had been closed for many days and had a transfer lease sign on it was opened, and the police quickly rushed in.
Their actions were agile and flexible, and they didn’t make a sound as they moved, showing strong execution power.
“There’s no one on the first floor!”
“There’s no one on the second floor either!”
“There’s a basement here…There are people!!”
After a long time of shouting without a response, as the door of the basement was opened, the figures of five people lying haphazardly on the ground came into the cautious eyes of the police.
“…There’s still breath, they’re not dead, just unconscious.”
The ambulance arrived quickly, and the five people who had fainted underground were lifted out one by one by everyone. The police started searching the entire shop, and everyone’s figures shuttled up and down.
Large shadows fell from the window, completely enveloping the interior of the shop in a gloomy and dark gray.
——This shop was located in the direction of the corner facing away from the sun. It was originally a milk tea shop, but because the location was not good and the business was always losing money and there was no improvement, the shop owner finally lost heart and decided to transfer or rent the entire shop.
After everyone searched, they packed all the suspicious items in evidence bags, and were about to leave here and temporarily seal off the scene to prevent damage, Li Fufeng, who was coming down from the second floor, suddenly stopped and looked back at the back.
The steps spread upwards, revealing a small platform that the shop owner had set up on his own. The neat and exquisite tables and chairs were shrouded in shadows, silently waiting for their owner.
“What’s wrong?” Liu Ningshuang, who was walking in front, asked.
“Nothing.” Li Fufeng shook his head in confusion.
“Just now, I felt like someone was watching me…”
“Hiss——” Liu Ningshuang took a cold breath, “You’re giving me goosebumps. There’s not even a ghost shadow up there, you must have felt wrong.”
“Maybe?” Li Fufeng also started to doubt himself.
He followed Liu Ningshuang out of the shop door, sealed off the entire milk tea shop from the outside, and then left.
On the second floor of the milk tea shop, a young man who had been sitting at the table from beginning to end, but no one saw him, picked up the coffee cup in front of him, took a sip of coffee, and slowly stood up.
He walked to the window and looked at Li Fufeng’s departing figure.
“Such a strong intuition, that person last time was him, right…”
A naive and tender voice of a little boy came from behind. “Big brother, is this the hide and seek you were talking about? It’s really fun. We’re right here, I even talked to them, but they can’t see or hear! They’re all fools~”
The boy sitting in the chair across the table clapped his hands and laughed. He, who had just turned ten, seemed to be more naive than children of the same age. This was a child who had grown up under excessive pampering and strict protection.
His curious eyes were as bright as stars.
“It’s really amazing, big brother, how did you do it?”
The young man at the window turned around, smiled slightly, and said something he didn’t understand.
“Because under the shadow, is my domain.”
——The [Shadow Council] hidden in the city’s reflection had already arrived here. How can mortals who can’t fish the moon out of the water see the world in the reflection?
As his words fell, the shadow enveloping the second floor gradually faded away, as if a layer of the dark black canvas of heavy ink and color was wiped away, and the color became much lighter.
It seemed that an invisible and illusory world was rapidly dissipating, and the surrounding space returned to reality. The two seemed to walk out of a barrier and return to the real world.
——The [Shadow Council] scene was temporarily withdrawn. After all, the consumption of nightmare crystals is extremely fast, use it sparingly.
And the young man sat down at the table again, smiling and looking at the little boy. “Let’s continue playing the game.”
The luxury car that had been parked at the entrance of Xiangliu Village finally stirred.
A man, trembling hands, opened the car door and stepped out.
After a few steps, his familiar face was exposed to all the elders who knew him. The villagers’ gaze quickly shifted from initial curiosity and confusion to undisguised anger and hatred, a rage that could burn a living person alive.
Under such gazes, Gong Fang was uncomfortable all over. He, who had never taken these country bumpkins seriously, seemed to feel unease and fear from the bottom of his heart for the first time.
“Fellow villagers, I came to see you…” He forced a smile, trying to use rhetoric to defuse the situation.
“You conscienceless thing! You still have the face to come back!” A roar interrupted his words, accompanied by the roar was a lean old man who looked hale and hearty.
“——Watch me beat you to death!!”
The old man picked up a thick wooden stick from the ground and pounced on him with a fierce momentum, smashing it down on him!
Others also quickly reacted, those who could pick up tools did so, those who could pick up stones did so, and there was a group of children who followed suit, urinating on the spot and mixing it with mud, pinching up freshly made mud balls, and throwing them at his face.
Such a violent reaction was completely beyond Gong Fang’s expectations, and he was stunned on the spot.
It wasn’t until the pain from his body and the stench of urine on his face woke him up that he hurriedly raised his hand to block.
“Stop, stop, stop, let me explain…”
“Get the hell out! Everyone hit him! If he dies, it’s on me!”
The village chief, still quite vigorous despite being over seventy, roared like thunder, accompanied by the cheering voices of the children.
Then came a rain of various objects.
Gong Fang, who had been living a life of luxury in the city for many years, was no match for these people. He could only choose to dodge frantically and flee in embarrassment.
By the time Gong Fang finally managed to open the car door and hide inside amidst the villagers’ pursuit, he found that even this luxury car was surrounded by the villagers. The dense crowd made it impossible for him to drive away.
“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”
The transparent car window glass was hit by stones, and spider-web-like cracks spread across it, making Gong Fang shiver all over.
Fortunately, the car glass was sturdy and didn’t break.
“Bumpkins, a bunch of uncivilized barbarians!” He muttered fearfully, desperately calling for help from the police on the other end of the car camera, “You see, these people are crazy! Come and save me, come and save me!!”
“The police have already arrived nearby, at most ten minutes…”
Gong Fang was first overjoyed, then his face suddenly changed.
“No, no! Don’t come over! All of you back off, don’t come over!” Even at this point, he was still thinking about his beloved son, and quickly changed his mind, “I must complete the challenge myself!”
Perhaps it was his beloved son that gave Gong Fang an idea…
“Isn’t it just for the future of a bunch of kids…”
He gritted his teeth and opened the window to shout outside.
…….
More than ten minutes later, after personally promising everyone that he would build roads, bridges, and schools for Xiangliu Village, and even writing a “guarantee letter” that the villagers thought had legal effect, Gong Fang finally got away and quickly fled Xiangliu Village.
A text message alert sounded on his phone.
[Congratulations, you have successfully passed the first round of the game. Are you ready for the second round?]
At this point, Gong Fang was utterly exhausted, and the pain on his body and the nauseating smell made him extremely angry.
He dialed back the number again, his tone was furious. “What the hell do you want?!”
This time, the person on the other end of the phone didn’t hang up.
A young and clear male voice sighed with regret. “Ah, that’s really rude. Even though the name is just a code, at least it can prevent rude people like you from calling me with rude words.”
“As a punishment, please allow me to postpone the announcement of the start of the second round of the game.”
His tone was leisurely, with a hint of light laughter.
“——Finally, I repeat, I don’t mind if you call the police, I don’t mind if you make a fuss about it. As long as you follow the rules of the game, complete the next game on your own.”
As his words fell, the call ended.
“Damn!” Gong Fang was so angry that he threw his phone directly on the floor of the car, and then hurriedly picked it up to see if it was broken. His heart was full of frustration and anger, but there was nowhere to vent.
All this pressure naturally had to be transferred to the police.
While waiting for the notification of the second round of the game, the police station had already started a full investigation of this case, and Li Fufeng and others also joined in, and everyone started to analyze based on the existing clues.
“This guy didn’t kill anyone, but it feels like his danger level is no less than that of the serial killer. From the means he has shown so far, his hacking skills are extremely high, he has some means to monitor Gong Fang’s actions throughout, and he can also fully calculate the weaknesses of human heart and human nature… What is the purpose of this guy going to such great lengths?”
“Don’t forget, his punishment is to postpone the start of the second round of the game——it sounds like this is not a punishment at all, what does it matter when it starts? Does he want to do something to Gong Tian during this time…”
“No, about the start time of the game, our understanding may be different. Just like the first round of the game, it was to arrive at Xiangliu Village before 12:00, but he announced the start of the game at 8:50 in the morning. If the second round of the game also needs to be done before a certain point in time, and he postponed the announcement of the start, the time left in the middle will be very tight——I think this is what it means.”
“He doesn’t mind calling the police, he doesn’t mind making a fuss? This guy is really arrogant! Damn it!”
“——More than just not minding, he should hope to make a fuss. What does he want to do? Does he just want to cause a sensation, harvest a lot of eyeballs? Or does he want to publicly judge Gong Fang, exposing his past misdeeds to everyone? If so, the two are likely to have a grudge.”
“In that case, let’s fulfill him. If he wants to play, let’s play with him! Now the hostage is in his hands, don’t force him to do anything too extreme. In any case, the safety of the hostage’s life is the most important. Let’s see what this guy wants to do, the more he does, the more flaws…”
“I suspect that there will likely be situations like Xiangliu Village in the future, where other innocent people will inadvertently participate in the game and be used by him. If we persuade the public in advance, we can also prevent everyone from being used by him…”
As everyone’s thoughts continued to collide, the police also caught the traces left by the five kidnappers——after all, they were just cannon fodder-like roles, even if they had a perfect plan, they couldn’t execute it flawlessly with their execution power, under the full pursuit of the police, they finally exposed their traces.
Li Fufeng and others immediately took action.
In the airport, the shop door that had been closed for many days and had a transfer lease sign on it was opened, and the police quickly rushed in.
Their actions were agile and flexible, and they didn’t make a sound as they moved, showing strong execution power.
“There’s no one on the first floor!”
“There’s no one on the second floor either!”
“There’s a basement here…There are people!!”
After a long time of shouting without a response, as the door of the basement was opened, the figures of five people lying haphazardly on the ground came into the cautious eyes of the police.
“…There’s still breath, they’re not dead, just unconscious.”
The ambulance arrived quickly, and the five people who had fainted underground were lifted out one by one by everyone. The police started searching the entire shop, and everyone’s figures shuttled up and down.
Large shadows fell from the window, completely enveloping the interior of the shop in a gloomy and dark gray.
——This shop was located in the direction of the corner facing away from the sun. It was originally a milk tea shop, but because the location was not good and the business was always losing money and there was no improvement, the shop owner finally lost heart and decided to transfer or rent the entire shop.
After everyone searched, they packed all the suspicious items in evidence bags, and were about to leave here and temporarily seal off the scene to prevent damage, Li Fufeng, who was coming down from the second floor, suddenly stopped and looked back at the back.
The steps spread upwards, revealing a small platform that the shop owner had set up on his own. The neat and exquisite tables and chairs were shrouded in shadows, silently waiting for their owner.
“What’s wrong?” Liu Ningshuang, who was walking in front, asked.
“Nothing.” Li Fufeng shook his head in confusion.
“Just now, I felt like someone was watching me…”
“Hiss——” Liu Ningshuang took a cold breath, “You’re giving me goosebumps. There’s not even a ghost shadow up there, you must have felt wrong.”
“Maybe?” Li Fufeng also started to doubt himself.
He followed Liu Ningshuang out of the shop door, sealed off the entire milk tea shop from the outside, and then left.
On the second floor of the milk tea shop, a young man who had been sitting at the table from beginning to end, but no one saw him, picked up the coffee cup in front of him, took a sip of coffee, and slowly stood up.
He walked to the window and looked at Li Fufeng’s departing figure.
“Such a strong intuition, that person last time was him, right…”
A naive and tender voice of a little boy came from behind. “Big brother, is this the hide and seek you were talking about? It’s really fun. We’re right here, I even talked to them, but they can’t see or hear! They’re all fools~”
The boy sitting in the chair across the table clapped his hands and laughed. He, who had just turned ten, seemed to be more naive than children of the same age. This was a child who had grown up under excessive pampering and strict protection.
His curious eyes were as bright as stars.
“It’s really amazing, big brother, how did you do it?”
The young man at the window turned around, smiled slightly, and said something he didn’t understand.
“Because under the shadow, is my domain.”
——The [Shadow Council] hidden in the city’s reflection had already arrived here. How can mortals who can’t fish the moon out of the water see the world in the reflection?
As his words fell, the shadow enveloping the second floor gradually faded away, as if a layer of the dark black canvas of heavy ink and color was wiped away, and the color became much lighter.
It seemed that an invisible and illusory world was rapidly dissipating, and the surrounding space returned to reality. The two seemed to walk out of a barrier and return to the real world.
——The [Shadow Council] scene was temporarily withdrawn. After all, the consumption of nightmare crystals is extremely fast, use it sparingly.
And the young man sat down at the table again, smiling and looking at the little boy. “Let’s continue playing the game.”
