Returning from the abyss

Chapter 252 Appropriate atmosphere for a ghost story

Grease dripped onto the grill, making a sizzling sound.The flames alternated between light and dark, occasionally crackling and exploding a cloud of sparks.

There are many oil lamps in the front yard. In order to prevent accidents such as fires, people did not light bonfires, and only kept the lights on with all the safe lighting methods that can be found in this era.

Carl was tossing the marinated meat steaks on the grill, while the rest of the people gathered in the yard, but they seemed to be doing nothing.

"Are we just sitting like this?" Sally asked a little restlessly.

"This is the best way to stay vigilant." With his eyes half closed, Robert adjusted the knob of the oil lamp in front of him to make it a little brighter.

"But people can't concentrate all night." Sally shrugged. "The more boring you are, the easier it is to get sleepy. I think we should find something to do so that everyone falls asleep."

"Any suggestion?" Zhu You asked.

"Such an atmosphere is perfect for telling ghost stories, isn't it?"

Many people laughed when they heard this sentence.

It's not that there's anything wrong with it, it's just that everyone present is considered a veteran tourist, and they have even seen real ghosts and ghosts, let alone tell a story or something.

"We have all escaped from the hands of real ghosts, let alone tell a story, this doesn't sound very good." Qu Siyuan laughed.

"So, stories that can scare people like us are interesting, right? It's a ghost story, but it's actually a manifestation of horror. As long as it's in this state, everyone will concentrate, and this is the purpose." Sha Li curled her lips, "Don't believe me? Then start with me?"

After finishing speaking, Sally changed to a somewhat low tone and told a story.

It was a night not unlike the present, when a group of students ran to a beautiful mountain house for their graduation celebration.Everyone gathered in the yard to make food. Before dark, everything was very happy. However, when it was completely dark, they suddenly found that the power supply of the villa was cut off.

The darkness instantly turned everything into terror.

"The three students who checked the electricity disappeared forever, so the rest of the people started to huddle together, not daring to leave the people around them at all. But it didn't work. They tried to go into the villa to find the missing person, but found that There were a few fewer people who came out, and it was obvious that four people went in hand in hand, but when they came out, they found that there was one less person in the middle, but no one ever let go of their hands."

Sally let the light shine on her face from below, casting a shadow: "They were about to run away, but they found that no matter how they went around, they would return to the gate of the villa. No one dared to enter the villa again. They stood outside, enduring through the night in cold wind and terror—”

At this moment, Sally's body suddenly went dark, and the light from the dining room window behind her suddenly went out.

"what?"

The story was temporarily interrupted, and people looked towards the dining room, where the candlesticks had already been lit in advance, but now they were all extinguished almost at the same time.

"Ro Nan, what's going on inside?" Sally asked her younger brother.

"Maybe the quality of the candle is not good? Or is the wind blowing in? I'll go over and have a look." Luo Nan got up and quickly walked around to the side door leading to the restaurant.

"Don't act alone! Get some people to take care of you!" Carl waved his hand directly, and Yu Guiting, Feng Hui, and Peng Morong immediately chased after him.

"Don't worry, the situation of the restaurant can be seen from the yard, but the door has to go around to the side, nothing will happen..." Sally said nonchalantly.

At this moment, the dining room was illuminated by the light of an oil lamp.

"Ro Nan, what's going on inside?" Sally asked loudly.

"Little Miss, it's us." Feng Hui pushed open the restaurant's window facing the front yard, with a hesitant tone, "Master is not in the restaurant."

Sally's smile froze.

=============
Including Lu Ning, nearly half of the people walked into the villa with lighting equipment and began to search around.

"Is it true that everyone was in the yard just now? Was Luo Nan 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 walked towards the hot spring corridor, but Zhu You still couldn't believe it.

"I don't know." Lu Ning raised her flashlight and pointed forward, "At that time, everyone's attention was on the dining room. After I found out that Luo Nan was missing, I recounted the people in the yard, except for Luo Nan, Yu Guiting, Feng Hui, and Peng Morong. Everyone else is 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 devil! Is there anything else in this villa!"

"I haven't seen the evidence yet." Lu Ning came to the entrance of the hot spring and opened the door. The inside was still foggy and dark.

"At this time, I really don't want to go in." 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 wait at the door?"

"You want to go in alone?" Qiu Yiyun's eyes widened.

Lu Ning said nothing, and stepped into the hot spring room.

The light from the flashlight passed through the water mist, forming a recognizable 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 pull the door open.

The inside is not big, and the visibility is much better than outside. Except for the moisture, Lu Ning didn't smell any strange smell.She didn't intend to open the lockers one by one to look through them. After carefully checking that there was no one inside, she closed the door again and walked around the hot spring to the women's changing room.

Just when she opened the door, she suddenly heard a loud roar from outside. It seemed to be from one of the four brothers. Lu Ning hurriedly looked at the locker room to make sure that no one was there, and ran to the door quickly. .

"What's going on outside?"

"I don't know." Qiu Yiyun said in a panic.

"Go and see."

They saw Qu Siyuan and the others at the door of the guest room closest to the hot spring, but at this time there were only three people left here, and the short black Zhong Feiying had disappeared.

"Where are people?" Lu Ning asked directly.

"How do I know! We just came out of the room, and the third child was at the end, and he disappeared as soon as he turned his head!" Qu Siyuan pointed to the room: "Who chose this guest room?"

"No one, because we need to ensure the number of people in a room, so the guest room is still available." Zhu You walked to the door, carefully took a look inside, and found that the window was open, "He may also leave through the window. "

"We checked the windows immediately after we found out that the person was missing." Xue Fengchun snorted coldly, "There is no one, the right side is a blind spot, 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, "Is there any reason to disappear at this time?"

"...Sorry, I didn't consider your feelings." Lu Ning shook her head, "The most important thing now is to inform everyone that there is one more missing person."

Back at the restaurant where the candles had been relit, everyone heard that Zhong Feiying was missing, and they had different expressions on their faces.And Lu Ning asked a little, and immediately got Li Chuanliang's answer.

"Zaixia, Sugiyama, and Inawara have been guarding the restaurant. It can be confirmed that no one ran out of the alley between the two corridors within the previous 10 minutes."

"Sally! What's going on here!" Qu Siyuan scratched his hair and shouted angrily, "What's the mystery of that ghost story you told?"

"I, I made up a story, my brother is gone too!" Sally was not in a good mood, "How do I know that a similar incident will really happen? The devil might have been hiding in the house long ago, heard The story I told has been put into action! Isn't it time to find the devil now?"

"Don't be confused." Carl dragged his voice a little, blocking the conversation between the two, "Now the person just disappeared suddenly, there is no definite result yet, and no one has seen the existence of the devil with his own eyes. 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 demon." Fujii Yukine said.

"That's right." Lu Ning also agreed, "First of all, the grouping according to Fujii's proposal has been basically confirmed. The demons cannot attack in situations other than one-on-one, or they are not sure how to win in a one-to-many situation." Get off us."

"And we still have 22 people." Fujii Xueyin folded her arms and frowned slightly, "Next, whether it is Luo Nan or Zhong Feiying, their disappearance happened in an instant out of our sight Yes, that is to say, as long as it is within the blind spot of vision, the devil can strike with lightning speed, at least to the extent that people will disappear."

"In other words, everyone staring at each other can ensure that the devil will not dare to attack easily." Xue Fengchun sneered, "Is it such a mediocre conclusion? That's really 'surprising'."

"Wrong..." Lu Ning shook her head, "I don't recommend taking a defensive position when the devil has already made a move."

"Since the opponent has revealed a little strength, we should act accordingly." Carl took out the revolver and loaded the bullets one by one. "At least let the opponent understand that today is not a one-sided hunt."

He got up with Robert, walked towards the backyard, turned his head and lifted his hat a little: "Move, guys, it's time to show some skills that have been hidden for so long, right?"

Everyone who heard these words looked at each other for a moment, and finally Li Chuanliang got up first.

"Mr. Carl is right, the enemy is in front of you, how can you not fight with a knife."

"Wait for us, Tachikawa." Sugiyama and Inawara hurriedly stood beside Ryo Tachikawa, "Shall we come with you?"

"Then, I will take the two of you to patrol the side yard and kill the demons." Ryo Lichuan nodded to everyone, and left the restaurant with Sugiyama and Inawara.

"I'm going to check the room where Zhong Feiying disappeared. I'm alone, and none of you should come here." Fujii Xueyin also only confessed a word, got up and left.

The rest of the people sat around the dining room, and no one said they were going to leave.

"Hehe... I understand this scene a little bit." Shen Lishu laughed lowly, "Combat members, analysis members, information members, it seems that we all have our own roles, no wonder we require accurate acting..."

"Professor, have you thought of anything?"

"It's nothing, Chuqing, bring my book."

Yin Chuqing rummaged through her backpack, took out a thick book wrapped in kraft paper, and handed it to Shen Lishu.

"The old man probably won't be of much use in combat, so I'll give you a little bit of useful information."

He opened the cover of the book with his old hands.

"The witch in White Lake Town is a story that really existed. At that time, just like every ignorant and backward story you have learned, those people with extraordinary performance, especially women, were severely punished. Persecution. But what they never dreamed of was that among those people, there was actually a real witch mixed in."

"That book of yours..." Lu Ning's eyes fell on the book. From her perspective, she could just see some of the pictures on it, all of which were very terrifying patterns of punishment.

"People will not understand that pain and despair are the food of witches. At that time, the harsh punishments that people in the town have exhausted their thoughts and researched are irresistible temptations for witches. Hehe... witches are 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 the case, the stronger the witch will be."

"Is your information reliable?" Zhu You asked.

"As I said, I have studied some of the customs here. This town is not a closed place, and it still has contacts with some big cities a little farther away. It is not unusual to investigate these in my capacity."

Even so, everyone understood that Shen Lishu's implicit meaning was "these are all materials distributed by the distribution center".

"However, such a small town re-entered peace about 100 years ago, and those terrible tortures disappeared together with the torture tools. The story of the witch is only spread as a legend, and even some elderly people just treat it as a legend. Let me tell you a ghost story to scare children." Shen Lishu turned a page, "However, the witch has not been eliminated... From then on, it is my guess."

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. This person's reputation in the town is probably not low. The disappearance of punishment in the town overnight is equivalent to cutting off the witch's food supply, and the suddenly weakened witch has to rest somewhere."

"So, the witch's return is the result of the witch's desire to restore the town to its former state?" Asayama Seitaro asked.

"The witch probably doesn't have that much energy anymore, so she thought of a different way - the people in the town don't do this anymore, so she creates some people who do this with her own hands. This is the devil." Shen Lishu Put the book on the table, "This is my guess."

"But your conjecture didn't solve a problem." Lu Ning glanced at the picture of the execution of the witch drawn in the book, and raised her own question, "That is why the demons target us outsiders. "

"Is it because the people in the town are 'reserve food', but we are 'fresh food'?" Qiu Yiyun uttered a terrible idea.

(End of this chapter)