musicians of old

Chapter 160 "Ghost Train" Incident (5K [-]-in-[-])

"Caron, your driving skills are so good."

"Yeah, I didn't find out that he could drive a car before. Speaking of which, is this a business trip or a private excursion?"

The blue sky and white clouds, the country road, and the dark and shiny Kent box car drove forward at a safe and efficient speed, spraying heat waves.

Fan Ning leaned on the driver's seat in a comfortable posture, with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the gearbox, calmly looking straight ahead. The shadow of the engine compartment of the "big nose" in the sun flashed across rows of sycamore trees at high speed.

Although the driving style and handling feel of this old industrial-era car are quite different, as an old driver in the previous life, it is not too difficult to get used to it. Spent a few fragments of time on it.

Just the right breeze poured into the car window, blowing up the clothes. Fanning was driving, his brain was in a special state between emptying and running, and a large number of inspiration fragments were churning out from the astral body.

I have to say that traveling far can always make new breakthroughs in my creative thinking.

"Crack——" There was another crisp sound from behind.

The girl sitting directly behind him is wearing a water-green dress, holding a salt and pepper donut in her hand, and a huge woven bag on her lap, which contains an assortment of snack packets, including nuts, chocolate bars, handmade marshmallows, canned fruits, and honey Yogurt, stuffed biscuits... and several large snack boxes with woodpeckers on them
This is what Lord Nehemiah prepared after she told her family about her plans to accompany Sheeran on a graduation excursion.

So Fan Ning said helplessly: "Joan, you have been eating for two hours, we will find a place to eat later, can you eat less and help me look at the map more?"

For Fan Ning, who is used to looking at the navigation when he travels far away, he suspects that he is driving in the wrong direction almost every time he drives through a fork.

"I haven't calmed down yet." Joan said softly, "But don't worry, I will definitely not miss dinner."

"There's nothing to be nervous about," Fanning said, "It's Friday afternoon after the rehearsal, and in two and a half days, it's hard to get practical results from such a large area. The rehearsal was too tense before, so we just came out to relax. This time the search for 'Watzenay Town' is mainly based on experimentation, we have to go to the 'Langefni' almshouse and investigate the paints used by the painter Coumier in his painting "Green Night""

Joan nodded obediently: "When you say that, I suddenly feel that this trip is quite pleasant, with sunshine, breeze, snacks and the scenery of a small town that I haven't seen before. Remember to help me choose a room with a bigger bed when I stay at the hotel at night. Sheeran likes to squeeze people when she sleeps"

Sheeran, who was also sitting in the back row, pulled out the map pressed by the snack bag from Joan's legs with a "swish": "...The easternmost part of the Mecklen region is the main city, and the westernmost part is the small town of Wafsk in the lowlands. Now the odometer has a difference of more than 100 kilometers, and we just drove out of it...Callon, you continue to drive west, after five o'clock, you should be able to see the entrance of Benish Town, don't go in, turn left and drive south."

Looking at the windshield, Fan Ning nodded slightly: "After changing to the south, let's rest in the next small town. It's too hard to find a place to refuel. If the car breaks down in the wilderness at night, I'm afraid Monroe will hold it up if he finds out. The shotgun was chasing me."

Public gas stations only began to appear at the beginning of this century, and there are already many big cities. However, the plan of Imperial Oil Company to build a large-scale self-owned gas station network is still in its infancy, at least in small cities like "county-level cities" To find one or two.

According to Joan's recollection, going to 'Watsnay Town' on vacation often departs early in the morning and arrives close to the early morning. Excluding the time to stop and rest, it takes at least 12 hours. The average speed of the carriage on the road is 15-20 kilometers per hour. In an hour, the distance of this small town should be nearly 200 kilometers from the city of Uvransel.

Fanning previously believed that this memory was reasonable, because this distance was indeed close to the rural border of the Fort Santaram district from the map.

The current journey is more than half of this distance.

The setting sun and red clouds set the mountains into a black silhouette, and the tired figures of farmers 170 meters away are waving their cattle and sheep. At around [-] o'clock in the afternoon, the car drove into the small town of Gogol, which belongs to the county of Uvransel. At this time The odometer shows that [-] kilometers have been driven, and theoretically this place has roughly entered the searchable range.

The speed of the car slowed down, and Fan Ning let go of his hand, and glanced at the Uflander geographic magazine carried in the car.

The small town of Gogol is located in a relatively flat hilly area, with a strong humanistic atmosphere. Several famous poets and playwrights were born in the last century. The hub in the middle section of the west gate of Fransel has a lot of foreign population flow.

The setting sun leaves the color of red wine and chocolate on the rows of cottages on the street, the cobblestone road is surrounded by flower beds on both sides, the river is shimmering in pink, and the silhouettes of several ancient city walls, forts and forts are faintly visible in the twilight at the end of the field of vision visible in .Street performers played the accordion and violin, and beat Fanning's unnamed snare drum. The music was melodious and pleasant, with a slightly pleasant sense of rhythm.

"The street scene here is different from that in the countryside. It reminds me of Uvransel when I was a child." Joan's white arms were hanging on the car window, and her hair fluttered in the evening wind.

"That was more than ten years ago. Has Uflander developed so fast?" Sheeran asked.

Fan Ning in the driver's seat said: "This kind of street scene was often seen more than ten years ago in the East Mecklen area and South Wharf area that were newly designated as urban areas, such as low brick buildings, flower garden streets, and streets with delicate guardrails. The small river in the city is just that many old-fashioned things have been demolished now, and all of them have been turned into smoky factories and high-rise buildings, and the fresh air can no longer be smelled... I don’t think this place will be spared in the future, you see—”

On the poetic street of flowers, everyone followed Fan Ning's finger and looked towards one place, and saw several chimneys that were inconsistent, as well as construction frames and equipment on the construction site.

The car didn't stop.

"...a coffee shop with unique decoration and taste often has special desserts that are difficult to eat in other places. Hey, please drive slowly." Joan quickly entered the role of tourist.

She put her hands on the back of Fanning's driver's seat, and said in his ear: "I saw a pretty flower shop again, there... It feels like a match that Uflander has never seen before, do you want to stop and I will help you How many bunches to buy? We can decorate the outside of the car."

School girl, can you give me some advice about Yang Jian.The corner of Fanning's mouth twitched; "Someone who knows is good at driving inspiration, but not good at driving a hearse, thank you."

"Joan, do you have a sense of deja vu about this place?" Sheeran asked again.

"You asked me a dozen times along the way." Joan curled her lips, "At first I thought no, no, still no, now I feel that everything seems familiar"

In front of the railroad that runs through the street, Fanning hits the brakes and waits to be cleared.

Compared to the ubiquitous sights in big cities, cars are still a rare commodity here, and the townspeople taking a walk look at a man and two women in the car with novel eyes.

"Woo!——" The train bound for Santaram Castle passed by the windshield of the car.

"Caroun, where are we going to live? Do you want to go somewhere to eat first?" Joan asked.

"Go to the police station first." Fanning turned his head and glanced at her angrily.

The car started again, and he turned a few streets along the street signs, circled the figure-eight double circle island formed by the fountain, and finally parked the car in front of a flat and wide gray building.

The two policemen in uniform had noticed the big car from the duty room long ago, and they were standing at the door, looking at a man and two women in the twilight with guarded and suspicious eyes.

"Good evening, gentlemen, meet your person in charge, I need to ask something." Fanning greeted politely while showing his work ID.

"Guiding School?" The policeman was stunned. This was the first time he saw a certificate of knowledgeable person with the stamp of the Special Inspection Office in this small town. He was skeptical for a while, but he quickly recalled his training knowledge.

After his eyes froze for more than three seconds, he saw a cyan streamer flashing like a dazzle on the red print with the scribbled signature of "Poglerich".

He didn't dare to be negligent, and hurriedly invited the three of them into the building, and at the same time signaled another person on duty to call for them.

"Watsnay town?" After a brief exchange of greetings in the office, the gray-haired senior police officer pondered for a few seconds and said decisively, "There is no such place name, at least in the past fifty years of changes, we have never heard of it in this area. .”

"Except for big place names such as small towns and small towns, are there other smaller categories? Such as small villages, small rivers, mountains, forest farms, manors, and even property names or squire surnames. Well, the pronunciation is similar to 'Watznay' It's okay."

"... Probably not." The old police officer replied after thinking again, "Of course you can go to other departments for further verification."

It was just the first stop of the investigation, and Fan Ning was not surprised by the result, but he still asked: "So, is there anything mysterious and confusing to you recently? ... Well, it's not limited to recent years. You can think of any folklore or anecdote in the market... Let's chat casually with the mentality of talking after dinner."

"Mysterious news? There are a lot of foreigners here, and there are some rumors." The old police officer took a sip of his coffee, "Not long ago there was a 'dream man' incident at Uvransel's side. There are people..."

"do you have anything else?"

"Uh, a few days ago, a caving team died on Mount Lezalig in this direction." The old police officer casually pointed to the direction of a certain wall in the room, "I heard that the leader was a nobleman from the imperial capital. , the young master of a rich family."

"What do you mean by caving?" Sheeran asked curiously.

"It's literally." Fanning explained, "With helmet headlights, safety belts, ascenders, pedal ropes and other things, team up to explore in the cave..."

"It feels quite dangerous... what's so fun about it?" Sheeran was puzzled.

"Who knows, maybe it's a treasure hunt." The old police officer shrugged, "The rich people like to pursue excitement, and their equipment is better than our police... But those naturally formed caves in the mountains are not for people to drill ? Some are narrow and some are wide. If you accidentally get stuck in it, you can’t turn your head around. The branches are extremely complicated, and there are even many 90-degree vertical paths with a height of more than ten meters, or dark areas submerged in groundwater..."

"These guys specialize in drilling through narrow, suffocating holes. After breaking free into a wide space, they drill into another one. Together with the firefighters, our troops tossed in the wilderness for most of the night, and none of them came back... It seems According to the explanation of relatives and friends who rushed to the scene, they were talking about the afterlife, or the feeling of transition between life and death, eh? What was the original sentence...'A kind of pleasure similar to being squeezed by the birth canal?', anyway, I Such an elderly person finds it unreasonable..."

"Speaking of which, there are quite a few similar things in Uflander." Sheeran said, "Caroun, you may not have paid much attention to some private commissions recently accepted by Woodpecker Consulting. Some surfers were trapped on the reef. , there are those who were seriously injured by skydiving from an airship, and those who experienced suffocation to death..."

"It's not a mystery at all." Fan Ning shook his head, "There are people of all ages who play tricks, but the rich people's way of playing is rarer."

Seeing that Fan Ning was still not very interested, the old police officer thought for a while, and suddenly his eyes lit up: "That's right. A few years ago, there was a rumor about a 'ghost train' in this area..."

"Ghost train? Tell me?..."

"Hmm...Actually, it is more likely that this matter is fabricated, because the characteristics claimed by the witnesses cannot form a closed loop in investigative science, but since the officer is interested, I can share it..."

The old police officer sat up straight: "There are several sections of abandoned railway tracks in the north of the small town of Gogol, which were abandoned after the optimization of the railway network coverage plan in the imperial capital circle. A few years ago, there were some citizens... not many, maybe a dozen, Claiming to have heard the sound of a train passing by by accident, and the time was in the middle of the night, and some of them also claimed that they got up after hearing the sound, and they did see the train when they leaned against the window..."

"However, we investigated the surrounding residents and found that in the nights when the so-called sound of trains passing by, other people did not hear any sound... and the descriptions of the witnesses were also different. Some people said that they saw The train is the old style of the imperial steam train when it was first invented. Some people say that what they see is a train that is as black as ink, with only two lights shining out in the night. Others say that it looks the same as it does now, but There are only three or four sections, and I saw an inexplicable white mist where the vision disappeared... The speed is also different, some people say that they are galloping past, some people say that they are moving forward slowly..."

"What's even more outrageous is that Mr. and Mrs. Smith's family called the police four years ago. Because they had been troubled by the 'ghost train' for a long time, and their shared experiences were questioned by people around them, they built a small house next to the railway and took turns squatting there for several months. A long time... One day when my youngest son was sleeping by the railway in the middle of the night, he was suddenly awakened by the sound of the train again. What he saw that night was an old-fashioned steam train with only a few short sections, wobbling and moving slowly. He ignored his family by the window of the building Shouting to dissuade him, he rushed to the side of the railway track and jumped into the car, and then the train disappeared abruptly out of thin air after traveling a short distance with him..."

"Because this sighting involved the issue of missing persons, the police had to launch an investigation, but the result of the investigation was that Mr. and Mrs. Smith only had a pair of daughters, and there was no so-called younger son. Therefore, we concluded that it was caused by hysteria..."

"Hmm...if camera technology becomes more popular, there may be fewer such incidents." Fan Ning said with a smile, tapping his fingers on the table, "but the description is sufficiently sensational, mysterious and interesting enough."

The old police officer nodded in agreement: "Generally speaking, due to the lack of group evidence and the different descriptions of witnesses, the credibility of this matter is very low, and in the past three or four years, no one has ever heard of such a response. It's an incident, but many travelers are interested in this kind of talk in the tavern..."

Speaking of this, he smiled easily: "However, if the officers need to stay overnight in the small town, I would recommend the 'Gogol Great Hotel' in the north direction. This is the most luxurious hotel in the small town. It is well-decorated, has a wide view, and considerate service Guests from big cities may be more used to staying here, and what’s interesting is that one side of the guest room can see the abandoned railway tracks, and maybe the officers will be the ones to witness the next 'ghost train'."

After the two sides chatted for more than half an hour, Fan Ning declined the suggestion of the police station to provide hospitality meals. It was already dark when he walked out of the gate. He took Xilan and Joan to find a local restaurant with distinctive characteristics. Drive to "Gogol Great Hotel".

The rare box car and the decent capacity of the three people made the two waiters not dare to neglect anything. They trotted over to help carry their belongings and guide them all the way to the front desk.

"Sir, how many rooms do you... need?"

In the hall with rich palace decoration style, the female front desk staff asked politely.

"Two larger ones." Fanning said, "Stay for one night, and then you need a room on the north side with a higher floor."

"One pound and ten shillings, sir."

Fan Ning asked in surprise, "Isn't there 12 shillings on the public notice board?"

The receptionist reached out and turned the sign aside: "For rooms above the third floor in the north, an additional 25% fee will be charged, sir."

She winked in a friendly yet polite way, with "you get it" written all over her face.

...good guy.Fan Ning was full of slander in his heart, he was too lazy to talk to her, and handed over the banknotes and silver coins.

This hotel also turned an urban legend into a business?

After checking in, the three of them walked up the luxuriously carpeted stairwell.

Joan asked, "Callon, will you come and play with us tonight?"

Fan Ning looked down at his pocket watch: "It's past eight o'clock, and I still have some time to write a new song every day, I'm very inspired today, so you guys should go to bed early, and leave early tomorrow.

Joan looked at Fanning incredulously: "You have just written two such great works, and you have new inspiration?"

Fan Ning added: "Also, remember that we are out to investigate, and it is prudent not to go out alone at night."

"Don't worry, I will take good care of her." Xi Lan held Joan's hand.

"Okay... Caroun, if you are hungry at night, you can come and knock on our door." Joan said.

When the two little girls were about to enter the next room, she turned to Fanning and asked, "What if... I mean if... some of us heard the sound of the train tonight?"

　Thanks to the rudder master who has not forgotten each other for the reward~~~ It just so happens that this chapter is a 5K chapter thanks to Huan Jin, book friend tail number 7207, Fei Gongzi, frank, salicina, julianvic, supernatural martial arts, book friend tail number 6309, Spicy Stranger, Billions of Desolation Years, Three Thousand Nights, Book Friends Tail Number 4553, Swift's Starry Sky, Arthur's Monthly Pass~
　　
　
(End of this chapter)