Grease dripped onto the grill, making a sizzling sound. The flames alternated between light and dark, occasionally crackling and exploding into a cloud of sparks.
There were many oil lamps placed in the front yard. In order to prevent accidents such as fires, people did not light bonfires and only used all the safety lighting methods available in this era to keep the light bright.
Carl was flipping the marinated meat steaks on the grill, while the others gathered in the yard, looking a little idle.
"Are we just going to sit here?" Sally asked impatiently.
"This is the best way to stay alert." Robert half-closed his eyes and adjusted the knob of the oil lamp in front of him to make it brighter.
"But people can't concentrate all night." Sally shrugged, "The more bored you are, the easier it is to get sleepy. I think we should find something to do to prevent everyone from falling asleep."
"Any suggestions?" Zhu You asked.
"This kind of atmosphere is perfect for telling ghost stories, right?"
Many people looked funny when they heard this sentence.
It's not that I think there's anything wrong, it's just that everyone present is considered a tourist who has experienced many battles. They have actually seen monsters and monsters, let alone telling stories.
"We have all escaped from real ghosts, let alone a story. This doesn't sound very good." Qu Siyuan said with a smile.
"So, stories that can scare people like us are interesting, right? It's said to be a ghost story, but it's actually a manifestation of terror. As long as it's in this state, everyone will be attentive. This is the purpose." Li curled her lips, "Don't believe me? Let me start with you?"
After speaking, Sally changed into a somewhat low tone and told a story.
It was a night similar to what it is now. A group of students ran to a beautiful mountain villa to celebrate their graduation. Everyone gathered in the yard to make food. Before dark, everything was very happy. However, when it got completely dark, they suddenly found that the power supply to the villa was cut off.
The darkness instantly turned everything into horror.
"The three students who checked the electricity never came back, so the remaining people started to hug together, not daring to leave the people around them at all. But this was of no use. They tried to enter the villa to look for the missing person, but found that There were a few fewer people coming out. It was obvious that four people went in hand in hand, but when they came out, they found that one person was missing in the middle, but no one ever let go."
Sally let the light shine on her face from below, casting a shadow: "They hurriedly wanted to escape, but found that no matter how they went around, they would return to the door of the villa. No one dared to enter the villa anymore. They stood outside and endured Spent the whole night in the cold wind and terror——"
At this moment, Sally suddenly became dark, and the light from the dining room window behind her suddenly went out.
"Huh?"
The story was temporarily interrupted, and people looked towards the dining room, where the candlesticks had been lit in advance, but now they were all extinguished almost at the same time.
"Luo Nan, what's going on inside?" Sally asked her brother.
"Maybe the quality of the candles is not good? Or is it blown in by the wind? I'll go over and have a look." Luo Nan stood up and quickly walked around to the side door leading to the restaurant.
"Don't act alone! Get a few people to take care of you!" Karl waved his hand directly, and Yu Guiting, Feng Hui, and Peng Morong immediately chased after him.
"Don't worry, the restaurant can be seen from the yard. You just have to go around to the side to enter. Nothing will happen..." Sally said nonchalantly.
At this moment, the restaurant was illuminated by the light of an oil lamp.
"Luo Nan, what's going on inside?" Sally asked loudly.
"Little... miss, it's us." Feng Hui pushed open the window of the restaurant facing the front yard, and said with some hesitation, "The young master is not in the restaurant."
Sally's smile faltered.
=============
Including Lu Ning, nearly half of the people walked into the villa with lighting equipment and began to search everywhere.
"It was true that everyone was in the yard just now, right? Luo Nan was the only one who ran into the villa?"
Zhu You and Qiu Yiyun were the team that fought with Lu Ning when everyone strongly demanded collective action. The three of them walked towards the hot spring corridor. Zhu You was still a little unbelievable.
"I don't know." Lu Ning raised her flashlight and shined forward, "At that time, everyone's attention was on the restaurant. After I found out that Luo Nan was missing, I counted the people in the yard again. Except Luo Nan, Yu Guiting, Feng Hui, and Peng Morong Everyone outside was indeed in the yard.”
"Doesn't that rule out everyone's suspicion?" Qiu Yiyun grabbed Zhu You's arm and said nervously, "The one who kidnapped Luo Nan must be a demon! Something else exists in this villa!"
"I haven't seen the evidence yet." Lu Ning came to the door of the hot spring and opened the door. It was still filled with mist and pitch black.
"I really don't want to go in at this time." Zhu You said to himself, "Can we just take a look here?"
"Maybe in the men's and women's locker rooms." Lu Ning glanced at the small doors on both sides, "How about you guys wait at the door?"
"You want to go in alone?" Qiu Yiyun's eyes widened.
Lu Ning said nothing and walked into the hot spring room.
The light of the flashlight passed through the water mist, forming a fairly visible beam of light. With the help of this visible environment, Lu Ning walked to the door of the men's locker room and stretched out her hand to open the door.
The inside was not big, and the visibility was much better than outside. Apart from moisture, Lu Ning didn't smell any strange smell. She was not going to open the lockers one by one and look through them. After carefully checking that no one was inside, she closed the door again and walked around the hot spring to the women's locker room.
Just when she opened the door, she suddenly heard a loud roar coming from outside. It seemed to be from one of the four brothers. Lu Ning hurriedly took a look in the dressing room to make sure there was no one and quickly ran to the door. .
"What's going on outside?"
"I don't know." Qiu Yiyun said in a panic.
"Go and have a look."
They saw Qu Siyuan and the others at the door of the guest room closest to the hot spring, but there were only three people left here at this time, and the short black Zhong Feiying had disappeared.
"Where are the people?" Lu Ning asked directly.
"How do I know! We just came out of the room, and the third child walked at the end. As soon as we turned around, everyone was gone!" Qu Siyuan pointed at the room: "Who picked this guest room?"
"There is no one, because we have to ensure the number of people in a room, so the guest room is still available." Zhu You walked to the door, carefully looked inside, and found that the window was open, "He might have left through the window somewhere. "
"After we found out that the person was missing, we immediately went to check the window." Xue Fengchun snorted, "There was no one. The right side is a blind corner, and the left side leads to the backyard, but there are still a few steps away."
"But there is a blind spot between the bathroom and the hot spring room, right?" Lu Ning looked out the window, "If he hides there and then takes the opportunity to leave from the backyard after we come over..."
"Then why did he do that?" Xue Fengchun glared at Lu Ning, "What reason is there to disappear at this time?"
"...I'm sorry, I didn't consider your mood." Lu Ning shook his head, "The most important thing now is to inform everyone that one more person is missing."
Returning to the restaurant, which had been lit with candles again, everyone had different expressions on their faces when they heard that Zhong Feiying was missing. Lu Ning asked briefly and immediately received Ryo Tachikawa's answer.
"I, Suiyama and Inahara have been guarding the restaurant. I can confirm that no one ran out of the alley between the two corridors in the past ten minutes."
"Sally! What's going on!" Qu Siyuan scratched his hair and yelled a little irritably, "What's the mystery of the ghost story you told?"
"I, I made up the story. My brother is also missing!" Sally was not in a good mood. "How do I know that a similar incident will really happen? The devil may have been hiding in the house for a long time. Hearing The story I told has been put into action! Isn’t it time to find the devil now?”
"Don't get confused." Karl prolonged his voice slightly, blocking the conversation between the two. "Now the person just disappeared suddenly, and there is no definite result yet. No one has seen the existence of the devil with his own eyes. We have no idea about the existence of the demon." The enemy is still completely unknown."
"No, based on the disappearance of the two people, we may be able to deduce the weakness of the devil." Fujii Yukine said.
"That's right." Lu Ning also agreed, "First of all, the grouping according to Fujii's previous proposal has been basically determined. The demons cannot attack in situations other than one-on-one, or they are not sure that they can win in one-to-many situations. Get off us.”
"And we still have twenty-two people." Fujii Yukine crossed his arms and frowned slightly, "Next, whether it is Luo Nan or Zhong Feiying, they disappeared and left us in an instant. It happens with sight, which means that as long as you are within the blind spot of your sight, the demon can act with lightning speed, at least to the extent that it will make people disappear."
"In other words, everyone watching each other can ensure that the devil does not dare to take action easily." Xue Fengchun sneered, "Is this a mediocre conclusion? That is really 'surprising'."
"Wrong..." Lu Ning shook her head, "I don't recommend going on the defensive when the demon has already taken action."
"Since the other party has exposed a little bit of its strength, we should act accordingly." Karl took out his revolver and loaded the bullets one after another. "At least let the other party understand that today is not a one-sided hunt."
He and Robert stood up together, walked toward the backyard, turned around and lifted their hats: "Let's get moving, guys, it's time to show off some of the skills you've hidden for so long, right?"
Everyone who heard these words looked at each other for a moment, and finally Tachikawa Ryo stood up first.
"Mr. Karl is right. When the enemy is in front of you, how can you not fight with a knife?"
"Wait for us, Tachikawa." Sugiyama and Inahara hurriedly stood next to Tachikawa Ryo, "Shall we stay with you?"
"Then, I will lead you two to patrol the side courtyard and kill the demons." Tachikawa Ryo nodded to everyone and left the restaurant with Sugiyama and Inahara.
"I'm going to check the room where Zhong Feiying disappeared. I'm alone. None of you should follow me." Fujii Yukine only said one sentence, stood up and left.
The remaining people sat around the restaurant, and no one said they wanted to leave.
"Haha... I understand this scene a little better." Shen Lishu chuckled, "Combat members, analysis members, information members, it seems that all of us have our own roles, no wonder we need to play them accurately..."
"Professor, have you thought of anything?"
"It's nothing, Chuqing, bring me my book."
Yin Chuqing rummaged through her backpack, took out a thick book wrapped in kraft paper, and handed it to Shen Lishu's hand.
"I probably won't be of any use in combat, so I'll just provide you with some useful information."
He opened the cover of the book with his old hands.
"The Witch of White Lake Town is a story that really existed. At that time, just like every ignorant and backward story you know, this place had harsh treatment for those with extraordinary performance, especially women. Persecution. But what they never dreamed of was that a real witch would be mixed in among those people."
"That book of yours..." Lu Ning's eyes fell on the book. From her angle, she could just see some pictures on it, which were all very terrible punishment patterns.
"People will not understand that pain and despair are the food of the witch. The harsh punishments that the people in the town exhaustively researched at that time were an irresistible temptation for the witch. Haha... The witch is eternal. For To kill her like this, everyone starts from the angle they are best at, and even does not hesitate to learn 'advanced' experience from the outside. As everyone knows, the more this is done, the stronger the witch becomes."
"Is your information reliable?" Zhu You asked.
"I have said that I have studied some of the customs here. This town is not a closed place, and it still has contacts with some distant big cities. It is not unusual for me to investigate these based on my identity."
Although he said this, everyone understood that the implicit meaning of Shen's almanac was "these are all materials issued by the distribution center."
"However, such a small town re-entered peace about a hundred years ago, and those horrific tortures disappeared together with the instruments of torture. The story of the witch is only passed down as a legend, and even some older people just Tell it as a ghost story to scare children." Shen Lishu turned to a page, "However, the witch has not been eliminated... From now on, it will be my speculation."
Everyone listened attentively.
"The witch is immortal, and the reason why she disappeared is probably because someone finally realized at that time that the more torture was used, the more trouble the witch would make. I'm afraid this person's reputation in the town is not low. He used some means to The disappearance of punishments in the town overnight is equivalent to cutting off the witch's food supply, and the witch who suddenly fell into weakness has no choice but to rest somewhere."
"So, the return of the witch was caused by the witch wanting to restore the town to its previous state?" Asama Seitaro asked.
"The witch may not have that much energy anymore, so she thought of another way - people in the town no longer do this, so she personally creates some people who do this. This is the devil." Shen Lishu Putting the book on the table, "This is my theory."
"But your speculation doesn't solve a single problem." Lu Ning looked at the picture of a witch's execution drawn in the book and raised her own question, "That is why the demon would target outsiders like us. "
"Is it because the people in the town are 'reserve food' and we are 'fresh food'?" Qiu Yiyun came up with a terrifying idea.
