Chapter 40.1 Throwing the Handkerchief
Wang Ke broke into cold sweat and said, “What should we do now?”
“What else can we do!” Xiao Weiqi said, “We must look for a way back. Is it possible to wait here to die?”
“Shall we go back?” Wang Ke said, “But that’s what we did just now, and we still can’t go back…”
“Go to the left.” Meng Meng suggested, “This roller coaster makes my skin crawl.”
Also, someone just died there, so they’d better stay away.
Xiao Weiqi said: “I know there is a carousel in this direction, why don’t we just wait there for dawn?”
This method was indeed more reliable, and the carousel was much better than this roller coaster that had recently been involved in an accident. The group of people walked forward, wanting to go to the place Xiao Weiqi mentioned. However, after they walked forward for a while, they found that a thick layer of fog had surrounded them, and their vision became blurred.
Meng Meng was walking when she suddenly stopped and said in a trembling voice: “The direction seems wrong. How come the track of the roller coaster is running above our heads?”
Everyone looked up in astonishment and found that a section of the roller coaster track appeared above their heads. This was originally a place for tourists to take pictures. If you walked a few steps forward, you could reach the queue for the roller coaster. They apparently got lost again and got even closer to the roller coaster.
“Aaaaaaahhh!!!” Jiang Rourou, the youngest in the crowd, could no longer bear such a weird atmosphere and started crying. Her boyfriend Fan Zirong comforted her in a low voice beside her, saying that nothing would happen and that they would only encounter ghosts at most. Who knew Jiang Rourou would cry even more sadly when she heard this.
“Stop crying. Listen, there is a sound on the radio.” Wang Ke suddenly shouted.
“What, Wang Ke, stop being scary.” Meng Meng patted her chest.
“I’m not trying to scare you, I really heard it…” Wang Ke looked up with wide eyes, “The sound seems to be from over there…” As soon as he said this, he heard a whistling wind, and then, a huge shadow accompanied by human screams, passed over their heads.
With a “swish” sound, the shadow followed the track and disappeared in front of everyone. Everyone recognized that the thing was a roller coaster.
“How come the roller coaster is open?” Someone went crazy and almost screamed, “Didn’t it say it has stopped? What is this? Why is there still someone shouting on it?”
No one could answer his question. These newly grown children stood there blankly, as if they had turned into stone sculptures.
Xiao Weiqi swallowed loudly, his voice a little hoarse as he said: “Think on the bright side, what if there are staff in the park?”
Wang Ke glanced at him and said nothing. In fact, everyone knew very well that there could not be any staff now. There were only the seven of them in this empty paradise, and the rest were unknown things.
“Listen, why is the radio playing?” Meng Meng’s nerves could no longer withstand any shock. However, it was obvious that they had not been let go. Not far from them, a loudspeaker in the park suddenly sounded harshly. This speaker usually played some cheerful music, but at this time, the sound had become very distorted. If you listened carefully, it seemed that someone was singing a strange song in a child’s voice. Wang Ke listened for a while, but could not understand the lyrics, but Meng Meng heard something. She stared, and the last trace of blood on her face disappeared.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Ke asked.
“Didn’t you hear it?” Meng Meng said, “She lost her handkerchief when singing.”
“Ah?” Wang Ke was stunned.
“Throw, throw, throw the handkerchief… Throw it behind the child, don’t tell him~ Hurry, catch him, hurry up, catch him~” Meng Meng sang in a low voice the nursery rhyme she often sang when she was young. A strange expression that looked like crying and laughing suddenly appeared on her face, “How many people were there when we came in?”
“Seven, seven.” Xiao Weiqi said hoarsely.
“Then count, how many people do we have now?” Meng Meng said.
“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…eight?” Everyone stood together and were counted by Xiao Weiqi one by one. However, when Xiao Weiqi counted to the number eight, everyone collapsed.
“How come there are eight?” Xiao Weiqi said blankly.
“Yes, why are there eight people?” Meng Meng said, “But I know every one of them, and I remember everyone. How come there is one more person for no reason?”
No one answered, and there was more doubt in everyone’s frightened eyes.
“Haha.” Wang Ke laughed, with a hint of despair in his smile. He said, “This must be a prank. Someone must be joking with us…”
Another roaring roller coaster rushed over their heads. On the radio, a child’s voice made a harsh little sound, and then said a sentence that Xiao Weiqi would never forget in his life: “The game has begun.”
***
Lin Banxia worked very calmly for half a month. During this period, the workload was not heavy. He only went to the scene of accidents two or three times. Most of the rest of the time was spent making jokes in the unit. After getting along with him for a period of time, he has become completely accustomed to the existence of Small Cave. Small Cave was not as terrifying as a skeleton should be. Instead, he was like a well-behaved little pet. He was not noisy, was very considerate, and would even play with you. After working hard, he would give you a squeeze on your shoulders and a tap on your legs.
Lin Banxia went to look for Ji Leshui next door and saw this guy sitting on the sofa squeezing Small Cave. Because he lived next door, Ji Leshui simply bought a TV for Song Qingluo’s house. There were no twists and turns in the installation process. The only problem was that when the installation workers came to the door, they repeatedly confirmed that Ji Leshui was indeed alive before entering the door wiping away cold sweat.
Peppa Pig was playing on the TV. Small Cave had been obsessed with it recently. As long as there was TV to watch, he would sit on the sofa at home for the whole afternoon without moving.
“Would you like hot pot?” Lin Banxia asked Ji Leshui.
“Eat, eat. Will you do it, boss?” Ji Leshui asked, “Can we not eat at boss’s house? I don’t dare to go to there.” Although he was no longer afraid, he still had lingering fears about what happened before, so he timidly raised his hand to say that he wanted to eat there.
“Okay.” Lin Banxia didn’t care, it didn’t matter where he ate.
So, the three of them had a happy hot pot dinner in the evening. All the ingredients were bought by Lin Banxia from the supermarket. Since he followed Song Qingluo, his living standard had skyrocketed. Not only did he buy a large bottle of Coke, but he also even bought fresh seafood. Ji Leshui strongly doubted whether Lin Banxia won the lottery and didn’t tell him.
The base of the pot was cooked by Song Qingluo himself, using big bone soup. When the soup was being cooked, Small Cave was held by Lin Banxia and watched. He glanced at the big bones boiling in the pot, and then looked at his own body. The thin skeleton turned its head silently, not daring to look.
Lin Banxia looked amused and said, “It’s okay, you are still young. You can make soup when you are older.”
Small Cave hummed twice, though they could not understand what it meant. He was probably complaining that Lin Banxia was deliberately scaring him.
The base of the pot tasted good, and the vegetables were fresh enough. Lin Banxia blanched a piece of fresh and tender beef and had just stuffed it into his mouth when he heard someone knocking on the door. Ji Leshui went to open the door and found that it was Li Su standing there.
“Are you eating?” Li Su came in with a smile and sniffed, “Did Song Qingluo make it?”
Song Qingluo said: “Is something wrong?”
“Can’t I come to you if nothing happens?” Li Su entered the room and saw Small Cave on the sofa where he was watching Peppa Pig. There was some surprise in his eyes, but he covered it up quickly and immediately returned to his smiling expression. He said, “I came to see Banxia.”
Lin Banxia said: “Do you want to have dinner? Do you want me to add a bowl for you?”
“Okay, okay.” Li Su sat down and picked up the chopsticks without hesitation.
“What are you here for?” Song Qingluo raised his eyelids and asked coldly. Li Su knew that Song Qingluo had such a personality, so he didn’t mind. He ate a few pieces of meat with a smile, then showed a satisfied look, took out a newspaper from his arms, and put it on the table.
Lin Banxia took it and had a look, finding that it was today’s morning newspaper. He scanned it and found nothing strange: “What’s wrong?”
Song Qingluo said: “Look at the back.”
Lin Banxia turned to the back and saw several missing persons notices printed on the last page of the newspaper. He took a cursory look and found that the missing persons notices were all for teenage children. There were seven people in total. They were in the same school and got lost on the same day.
“The children are missing?” Lin Banxia said, “Didn’t they check the surveillance?”
“It must have been checked.” Li Su wanted to pick up a fish ball, but he couldn’t use his chopsticks properly, so he stretched his head further and further. Finally, Song Qingluo slapped him back. He didn’t care and continued to fight with the fish ball. “The place where they disappeared is in a blind spot of surveillance. I can only know the general direction that they went in, but I don’t know exactly where they went.” Finally, he picked up the fish balls and put them in his mouth, showing a satisfied look.
Lin Banxia saw this and said hurriedly: “Wait a minute.”
Li Su said vaguely: “What are you waiting for?” He bit open the ball hard and found that it was filled with hot cheese. His eyes immediately turned red, and he was about to lower his head and spit it out. Song Qingluo next to him came over coldly. He said: “If you dare to spit it out, I will put the bowl in your mouth.”
Li Su: “…”
So, Li Su swallowed it with tears and said in a trembling voice: “Finally, based on some clues, we guessed that they may have entered the nearby Jiayue Paradise.”
Song Qingluo snorted coldly and took a sip of coke, as if he was drinking 80% liquor.
“Jiayue Paradise?” Lin Banxia immediately remembered, “You mean, the amusement park where the roller coaster accident happened last month??”
“Hey, you know.” Li Su said, “Yes, it’s that park.” He poked the burned area in his mouth a few times with his tongue and continued to pick up food. “These children may have run away and gone inside.”
“There is a problem in the paradise?” Lin Banxia asked, “Is this what you mean?”
“Highly likely.” Li Su said, “So the mission has been handed down. I want you and Song Qingluo to go there and have a look. It’s best to go at night. Those children were lost at night.” Under Song Qingluo’s the death glare, he finally put down his chopsticks, “I’ll send you a few more inspired novice recorders.”
“No.” Song Qingluo suddenly said.
“Hey, why not.” Li Su said, “You two are just like idiots. You can’t even detect the heresy right in front of you.”
“No novices.” Song Qingluo obviously didn’t like bringing in newbies.
“This was decided from above, and I can’t control it.” Li Su said, “I know what you are thinking, but sometimes there is nothing you can do about it. Besides, even if you don’t want them there, they will go elsewhere, and it might be even more dangerous. You can at least take a look at them.”
Song Qingluo didn’t say anything. He raised the coke again and drank it in one gulp. Lin Banxia silently added another glass to him, thinking that drinking a fat man’s water would be like drinking three bowls of water and not being able to do his job.
Li Su didn’t try to persuade him anymore, he just asked Song Qingluo to think about it carefully. Lin Banxia listened in a daze and didn’t understand why the two had a dispute. Ji Leshui was even more confused. He looked at Li Su suspiciously, thinking that these strange terms could not be the code names of some kind of MLM organization…
After Li Su finished his meal, he got up and left. Before leaving, he touched the round head of the little skeleton and said, “Honey, staring at the TV for a long time will cause myopia.”
Small Cave snorted. It was not known if he meant that he had no eyes so where would his shortsightedness come from, but he just responded obediently.
After Li Su left, Ji Leshui was responsible for washing the dishes. While he was washing the dishes, Lin Banxia asked Song Qingluo something about the recorder.
“The higher the inspiration, the easier it is for the spirit to be contaminated. This is a good thing and a bad thing.” Song Qingluo explained very plainly, “It is like a source of a virus. Different people touch it, and people with poor immunity will be more likely to be infected, but it is also easier to find the source of the virus. Newbie recorders are like newborns without immunity and are very susceptible to infection.”
Lin Banxia understood: “Wouldn’t this be dangerous?”
“That is why I don’t like it.” Song Qingluo said, “It depends on the situation. When the data is clear, such a recorder will generally not be sent, but if the situation is not clear, it is hard to say.”
Lin Banxia nodded, understanding.
Ji Leshui finished washing the dishes and raised his head: “What’s the code you two used? Lin Banxia, you weren’t brought into some strange MLM organization by the boss, were you?”
Lin Banxia said: “Don’t think nonsense, I am maintaining world peace.”
Ji Leshui: “Is there still a salary for maintaining world peace?”
Lin Banxia said: “Superheroes also need to eat hot pot.”
Ji Leshui thought about it and stretched out his hand: “Can you bring me on? I also want to save the world with my salary.”
Lin Banxia said: “No, a screaming chicken can’t be a superhero.”
When Ji Leshui heard this, he wanted to refute. What’s wrong with the screaming chicken? The screaming chicken also has the dignity of the screaming chicken. How can Lin Banxia be racist? The penis is so cute, how can he despise it[1.].
Lin Banxia: “I suspect you are driving but there is no evidence.”
Ji Leshui: “Hehehe.”
Translator’s comments:
- This is obviously a pun using the word Jī (鸡) which means chicken, but it can also be Jī jī (鸡鸡) which means cock or penis. So, Ji Leshui is making a joke because Lin Banxia called him a chicken.
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