T/N: Hey guys. Sorry for the lack of updates last week. Things have been hectic irl and i desperately needed a break. We are currently renovating our house by ourselves so things have been crazy and will probably continue to be until the end of August. I will try my best to still post chapters regularly, but there might be some days that I just don’t have the energy to do anything. As a small apology, I have posted one long chapter today. Thanks so much for sticking through all of the delays in this novel.
Chapter 86 Ghost Market (End)
Li Su thought to himself that Song Qingluo was just a weirdo, so forget it. The weirdest thing was that he could actually find another weirdo who shared a common language with him. Being poor is not scary, and ghosts are not scary either. What is scary is the combination of these two words. The title shared by Song Qingluo and Lin Banxia is “Poor Ghost”.
After robbing the takeaway, Li Su was chased down to the basement by Lin Banxia. It wasn’t until they saw the other people that the two foolish men stopped chasing each other, and for the sake of face, pretended that nothing happened.
Compared with the situation above, the basement was not so peaceful. It was full of people. There were still a group of people lying on the ground, and the staff held some tools that Lin Banxia had never seen before. They knocked the attacking residents directly to the ground, and then pushed deeper.
Li Su led Lin Banxia forward, and soon reached the depths of the basement. Lin Banxia also saw Song Qingluo fighting amidst the crowd.
He was as light as a bird, weaving through the crowd, easily cutting down one after another, as if cutting leeks.
Li Su commented, saying that it was Song Qingluo who immediately stabilized the situation as soon as he arrived.
Lin Banxia remembered something and said hesitantly: “After you came in, did you see any insects or anything like that?”
“Insects?” Li Su said, “Do you mean ants?”
Lin Banxia asked: “Ants?” He felt that the insect didn’t look like an ant.
Li Su said, “As you said, there are some ants.” He pointed casually and pointed into the distance, “But those things are afraid of Song Qingluo. As soon as he came in, they immediately left.”
Lin Banxia looked over there, and sure enough, he saw a dense black shadow where Li Su pointed. Although he didn’t have trypophobia or anything like that, he still couldn’t help but get goosebumps when he saw this thing. He reached out and wiped his arm vigorously, and sighed: “These are all…climbing out of the human body?”
“Yes.” Li Su said.
Lin Banxia said: “By the way, I saw some clothes on the ground outside…”
Li Su said: “We don’t understand that either. People suddenly disappeared one by one. The specific situation will not be known until we conduct an investigation.”
Lin Banxia: “…” Could no one see those dark shadows?
Just as Lin Banxia was thinking, he heard the buzzing of wings again, and the sound was very loud, as if it was nearby. Lin Banxia felt a little strange. He looked for the sound and found that the source of the sound seemed to be the square that they had escaped from.
Lin Banxia felt that something was wrong and said, “I… want to go over and have a look.”
“Where are you going?” Li Su was a little confused, “But it hasn’t been cleaned up yet.”
“It’s okay.” Lin Banxia said, “I’m just taking a look.”
Seeing that he was resolute, Li Su had no choice but to agree. He stretched out his hand and handed him a weapon, saying it was a stun gun. It could knock down people who wanted to attack him so he could use it to defend himself. He told Lin Banxia to come back quickly if the situation turned bad. After all, although the infected people around him did not have weapons, their numbers was still there. Even if one person gave him a bite, Lin Banxia would still suffer.
Lin Banxia took the weapon, thanked Li Su, and headed towards the source of the sound.
Li Su was a little worried at first, but what he didn’t expect was that the people around Lin Banxia had no intention of attacking him. Instead, they seemed to be afraid of Lin Banxia and quickly dispersed towards the surroundings. Li Su had no time to react before Lin Banxia disappeared into the depths of the crowd.
Li Su was shocked when he saw this, and hurriedly looked around. Fortunately, there were no monitors around them, and no one noticed this scene. How so? Li Su couldn’t understand. Could it be that he had also been assimilated like Song Qingluo? But it shouldn’t be like this… He really didn’t feel the same kind of aura in Lin Banxia.
Lin Banxia’s electric shock baton was not used. Not only did the people around him not attack him, they even quickly retreated towards the surroundings with a look of fear on their faces. This fear was not the result of thought, it was just their instinct, as if Lin Banxia had become a dangerous existence, and something terrible would happen as long as he got close.
Lin Banxia was completely unaware of what was happening around him. His attention was completely drawn by the harsh flapping of wings, which was becoming louder and louder. The tormenting pain from before began to hit Lin Banxia again. It was a kind of pain that was difficult to describe in words, as if someone was using a dull knife to stab deep into his brain little by little.
Lin Banxia had always been a very patient person. He endured the pain wit5h difficulty and finally reached the source of the sound. However, there was nothing there, just a dark, smooth wall.
Wall? Were the walls making the sound? Lin Banxia was a little confused. He observed carefully for a moment, tentatively stretched out his hand and tapped lightly on the wall.
For a moment, Lin Banxia’s fingertips touched a very strange thing, like a piece of soft yarn or flowing sand. Lin Banxia saw the black color of the wall dissipate like mist, moving towards the top of his head. Raising his head, he looked at the ceiling, which was not high.
This glance stunned Lin Banxia. Above his head, he saw a black shadow like a dark cloud floating, stirring and rushing, as if it would drop at any time and envelope everyone. Lin Banxia had already seen it before, it had cause someone to disappeared like a shadow.
What does disappearing mean? Going to another dimension? Or was it just plain death?
The sound of flapping wings sounded again. Lin Banxia lowered his head and saw a small insect appearing on the wall covered with black mist.
Because it was so small, it was easy to miss it. Fortunately, Lin Banxia had good eyesight and discovered its existence in the corner of the wall. It was only as big as a thumb, like a large ant with wings, lying quietly on the wall, its tiny wings constantly rubbing against each other, causing the sound Lin Banxia was hearing.
It was hard to imagine that such small wings could make such a harsh sound. When Lin Banxia saw it, it seemed to notice Lin Banxia. Its wings paused slightly and stopped shaking.
As it stopped, the nearby black mist began to gradually fade. Lin Banxia stared at it for a while and stretched out his hand towards it.
It twisted its body, as if it had done it a hundred times, and jumped to Lin Banxia’s fingertips with ease. Lin Banxia noticed that its body was completely dark, and its texture was as hard and smooth as polished stone. On its back, Lin Banxia saw a glimmer of green light. At first, he thought it was coming from it, but he soon realized that it was not its light, but his own eyes.
Its smooth body was like a mirror, reflecting all the light coming from it.
Were the green lines in his eyes appearing again? Lin Banxia reached out and touched his eyes, but soon, the light disappeared. It curled up in Lin Banxia’s hand obediently, and even rubbed Lin Banxia’s fingertips with attachment.
Lin Banxia slowly closed his fingers and trapped it in his palm.
Li Su originally thought that Lin Banxia would come back soon after going to have a look, but who knew that he quickly went into the crowd and disappeared without a trace. After standing there and waiting for a while, Lin Banxia didn’t come back. Li Su suddenly felt anxious, muttering that nothing could happen to Lin Banxia. If something happened, Song Qingluo would know that it was him. He brought Lin Banxia, so he was afraid that he would be skinned alive.
Just as he was thinking in distress, he saw someone in the crowd walking towards him. It was Lin Banxia whom he was thinking about.
“You’re back,” Li Su shouted, “How’s it going? Did you see anything?”
Lin Banxia thought for a while: “Do you have that box with you?”
Li Su: “What box?”
Lin Banxia: “It is used to seal heretical things.”
Li Su said: “I brought it with me…what do you want to do?”
Lin Banxia said: “Take it out.”
Li Su was confused, but he still took out the box from his backpack. They would carry these things with them. Only Lin Banxia, who followed the strange Song Qingluo, would not have the equipment. Also, the heretical objects Song Qingluo dealt with were usually the most troublesome. In front of such things, it was usually difficult for the box to be of use.
Lin Banxia asked Li Su to open the box, and then put his right hand into the box. With a slight shake, he put the bug trapped in his hand in, and then he carefully closed the lid. The moment the box was closed, the people around who were still able to move stopped their movements and fell to the ground as if they were robots that had lost their power.
Li Su was startled and said, “Have you found that thing?”
“Yeah.” Lin Banxia said vaguely, “It was in the corner over there.”
Li Su was silent for a while: “Don’t tell anyone else, just say I found it.”
Lin Banxia knew he meant well and nodded.
“Hiss… Song Qingluo really found a treasure.” Although the matter was solved, Li Su was a little troubled. He lowered his head and set the password on the box, “Did you see something just now? ”
Lin Banxia hesitated for a moment: “For example?”
“Like something we can’t see.” Li Su looked into Lin Banxia’s eyes.
Lin Banxia did not feel guilty and looked at Li Su calmly. He knew that Li Su cared about him, but he felt that it was better not to let too many people know about this matter, so he shook his head and calmly said, “No.”
Li Su couldn’t read Lin Banxia’s expression. He thought for a while and finally said nothing, just nodded slightly at Lin Banxia.
Everything happened suddenly and the solution was also sudden. Song Qingluo still had to solve the remaining problems. Lin Banxia did not bother him, but came up from the basement with Li Su first. He had something on his mind and seemed absent-minded. He didn’t hear what Li Su said. He didn’t come back to his senses until he was tapped on the shoulder.
“What are you thinking about?” Li Su said, “Did you hear what I said?”
Lin Banxia: “Ah? What did you say?”
“I said Li Ye is here.” Li Su said, “I have to go over and explain to him. Are you just waiting here for Song Qingluo?”
“Yeah.” Lin Banxia said, “Go ahead, I’m fine.”
Li Su said: “This time things are not normal; you’d better be careful.”
“What?” Lin Banxia asked, “Why is it abnormal?”
“Normally, heretical things are incompatible.” Li Su said, “A simple explanation is that there are almost never two heretical objects appearing at the same time in one place… Think about it this way, there is only a small amount of radiation, and only if all of it is absorbed will it become a heresy…”
Lin Banxia said: “But there are two this time?”
“Yes, there are two this time.” Li Su looked hesitant.
Lin Banxia saw something wrong with his expression and asked, “Is there a problem?”
Li Su said: “This kind of situation is rare.”
Lin Banxia guessed something: “Has it appeared before?”
Li Su nodded.
Lin Banxia said: “It couldn’t have been when something happened to Song Qingluo’s father, right?”
He was spot on. Li Su smiled helplessly and thought to himself, when he first met Lin Banxia, why did he feel that this person had a gentle and slow personality? He seemed to have no edges at all. Now that he thought about it, it wasn’t that he had no edge, it was rather that he had no chance to show off his strengths. Not only was he smart, but he was also keen, which put Li Su to shame.
Although Li Su didn’t speak, his wry smile had already given Lin Banxia the answer. Lin Banxia’s expression suddenly became solemn and he said, “So this matter may have something to do with Song Qingluo?”
Li Su touched his nose: “Maybe, I don’t know.”
Touching the nose was a typical lying gesture. Lin Banxia understood that clearly, but did not force Li Su to tell him. He knew that in their line of work, there were some things that couldn’t be said openly, and there was nothing Li Su could do about it.
“It’s okay.” Lin Banxia said, “Thank you anyway.”
“…I’m sorry.” Li Su felt a little guilty. He licked his lips and whispered, “If you want to know more, you’d better ask Song Qingluo. There are some things that, as outsiders, it’s really hard for us to say. ”
Lin Banxia thanked him again.
Seeing that he really wasn’t unhappy, Li Su left with peace of mind, leaving Lin Banxia standing alone, looking a little lonely.
He raised his head and glanced at the sky again. The stars did not turn green and were still the same as before. He knew that there were some strange changes in his body, but he didn’t know what caused these changes and what they meant. He had to find time to have a good talk with Song Qingluo. Lin Banxia comforted himself easily. He firmly believed that as long as he worked hard enough, everything could be solved.
***
Everyone was busy for half a night before they managed to finish the aftermath.
The scope of this incident was too large and affected too many people, making the aftermath extremely difficult to control. Not only did everyone have to erase their memories of this incident, but they also had to be sent to the hospital, and they even had to find a way to fill in the overly large basement.
All in all, everyone was busy, like hard-working ants, trying to bring this matter to a successful conclusion.
Lin Banxia couldn’t wait for Song Qingluo to come, so he simply slept in the car. When he woke up again, it was already dawn, and someone was beating on the window and calling him.
Lin Banxia rubbed her eyes, rolled down the car window and asked what was wrong.
“Mr. Lin,” the staff member said, “Mr. Song ordered breakfast for you and asked you to go home and wait for him.”
Lin Banxia turned around and saw that the staff member was carrying a lunch box: “Where are the others?”
“He went to the base.” The staff member replied.
Lin Banxia said: “Did he say when he would come back?”
“No.” The staff said.
“Okay.” Lin Banxia said, “Thank you for your hard work.” He took the box lunch and took a few mouthfuls. Then he felt that his stomach was so uncomfortable that he couldn’t swallow it. After thinking about it, he took out his mobile phone and called Song Qingluo.
The phone rang a dozen times, and just when Lin Banxia thought Song Qingluo wouldn’t answer, a soft “hello” came from the other end.
“Qingluo.” Lin Banxia didn’t realize that his tone was unconsciously a bit coquettish, “When will you come back?”
Song Qingluo said: “Quickly, I will go back after finishing the matter here.”
“Uhm, you come back early.” Lin Banxia said.
Neither of them spoke, nor did they hang up the phone. They just fell silent. Lin Banxia listened to the breathing on the other end of the phone, and for some reason, there was a hint of bitterness in his eyes: “I’ll wait for you at home.”
“Okay.” Song Qingluo said, “Wait until I come back.”
Lin Banxia was cruel and hung up the phone.
On the way home, Lin Banxia passed by the supermarket and bought a box of Coke. The two of them had not had a good rest for a long time. This incident was over so they had to have a good rest.
Lin Banxia realised that he was no longer short of money, and he had taken Xiaohua home, and even had a lover he had never expected, everything was so beautiful, and he cherished every minute he had.
After returning home, there was a long and excruciating wait. Lin Banxia had never been so eager to see Song Qingluo. This desire was so strong that he couldn’t wait until he actually saw Song Qingluo. At that time, he fell into an overwhelmed silence as he watched him enter the room, watched him walk to his side, and watched him lean over to place a comforting kiss on the corner of his lips.
“Are you still feeling uncomfortable?” Song Qingluo said with a hint of worry in his tone, “Do you want to go to the hospital for a checkup?”
Lin Banxia finally came back to his senses: “I…it’s okay.”
Song Qingluo said: “Why is your face so pale?”
Lin Banxia: “It’s really okay.”
Song Qingluo stretched out his hand to check the temperature of Lin Banxia’s forehead and felt relieved after confirming that he had no fever. Lin Banxia hesitated and told Song Qingluo about catching the heretical object with his own hands. Song Qingluo’s expression was very relaxed at first, but as Lin Banxia’s description became more and more solemn, his brows finally furrowed: “Does anyone else know about this?”
Lin Banxia said: “Li Su seems to know about it. He asked me to tell others that it was him who caught the heretical object.”
Song Qingluo pondered for a moment: “Okay, don’t tell anyone else about this.”
Lin Banxia nodded: “I heard Li Su say that this matter is a bit unusual?”
“Yeah.” Song Qingluo said, “It’s not normal.”
Lin Banxia said: “Does it have anything to do with… what happened back then?” Because he was not sure whether Song Qingluo was willing to talk about it, Lin Banxia asked carefully.
Sure enough, when the events of that year were mentioned, Song Qingluo’s expression became strange. He seemed to be worried about something and hesitant to involve Lin Banxia.
Lin Banxia didn’t rush, and just watched Song Qingluo silently from the side. Finally, after a long silence, Song Qingluo spoke. He said: “How much did Li Su tell you?”
Lin Banxia: “Not much, he asked me to ask you myself.”
Song Qingluo smiled and said: “There is still a bit of a desire to survive.” He looked at the time and said, “I’m going to make some food. Let’s chat while eating?”
Lin Banxia nodded quickly: “Okay.”
So, they cooked a few side dishes, and as if talking about family affairs, Song Qingluo mentioned what happened back then. However, the first sentence he spoke stunned Lin Banxia.
He said: “At that time, more than one heretical object was found in my father’s study.”
Lin Banxia: “…”
Song Qingluo took a bite of the food and continued: “Li Su… did he tell you that heretics cannot coexist?”
Lin Banxia said: “He told me, but aren’t Xiaohua and Small Cave ok when they are together?”
Song Qingluo said: “Well, this statement is actually not accurate.” He picked up some vegetables, slowly put them into his mouth, chewed and swallowed slowly, “To be precise, they will not be created at the same time.”
Lin Banxia: “What do you mean?!”
Song Qingluo said: “Usually the cause of heresy is infection caused by some kind of radiation. This kind of radiation is limited and can only be transferred in the unstable early stage of being exposed to it. In other words, if the radiation is relatively strong, that thing will absorb the surrounding radiation and transform into a heretical object.”
Lin Banxia understood: “So if two heretical things appear at the same time, it is either caused by humans or there is something abnormal?”
Song Qingluo said: “Yes, though it seems that there are no traces of human intervention at present.”
Lin Banxia pondered: “You mean… the thing that created the heresy also appeared in your father’s study?” That’s why there was a situation where multiple heretical things appeared at the same time.
“That’s right.” Song Qingluo lowered his eyes, as if he was caught in the memories of that year, “This incident is very special. It is almost the only time that traces of its existence have been captured, but I didn’t expect that it would be decades later that something like this would happen again.”
Lin Banxia said: “It has appeared again?”
“Uhm.” Song Qingluo said, “It appeared again.”
For a moment, both of them were silent and fell into deep thought. Lin Banxia thought for a while and told Song Qingluo about the strangeness in the sky that he saw. Unexpectedly, Song Qingluo had never encountered such a situation so he confirmed with Lin Banxia repeatedly.
“Am I also infected?” Lin Banxia thought this was the best explanation for the change in his eye color, “Is that why my eyes turned green?”
“No.” Song Qingluo said, “When you first wanted to attack me, you might have been infected, but later you didn’t have the aura of a companion, which is different from those infected companions.”
Lin Banxia scratched her head: “What’s going on?”
Song Qingluo was a little helpless: “I don’t know either.”
Lin Banxia: “Huh?”
Song Qingluo: “This is really the first time I have encountered a situation like yours.” He reached out and rubbed Lin Banxia’s eyes with his thumb, “There are indeed traces of infection on your body, but you are indeed not its companion…”
Lin Banxia looked at Song Qingluo blankly.
Song Qingluo: “Maybe you mutated?”
Lin Banxia said carefully: “Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Can I fly too?”
Song Qingluo couldn’t laugh or cry: “Even if you mutate, you can’t fly.”
Lin Banxia: “This is unscientific. The thing we caught has wings.” He thought of the classic sentence in superhero movies, the rich rely on technology, the poor rely on mutation, and he suddenly became interested. “Will I turn into something like Ant-Man in the future? It will be up to me to save the world from now on.”
Song Qingluo looked at Lin Banxia’s serious look, covered her face and sighed: “You should pay off your mortgage first and then become a superhero.”
Lin Banxia: “…” This is not pouring cold water; it is clearly pouring ice water.
The author has something to say:
Lin Banxia: From now on, this novel will be renamed Ant-Man. Thank you everyone.
Song Qingluo:…………
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