Zhou Lin

After hanging up the phone, Sakaki didn't rush out of the room.

He first unpacked his luggage, put on a coat of a different color, put on a peaked cap, and then put into his pocket a paper travel guide that was given in the hotel room. Then, he opened the door slightly and checked whether there was any surveillance or ambush in the corridor. Then, he walked out, bypassed the elevator, and went all the way down to the first floor through the stairs.

After arriving on the first floor, he did not go straight to the front desk. Instead, under the cover of passers-by, he slipped into the hotel lobby along an inconspicuous route, and came to an inconspicuous corner to sit down.

He lowered his head and pretended to read the travel guide while observing the situation in the lobby. After watching for about fifteen minutes, he basically made sure that no one was watching, and then he walked to the front desk.

Sakaki showed his room card and identity to the lady at the front desk, who quickly gave him the envelope.

He asked again about the characteristics of the messenger, such as the color of his clothes, hairstyle, etc., but unfortunately... he didn't get much useful information.

A few minutes later, Sakaki took the envelope and arrived at the cafeteria on the first floor.

He found a seat where there was no one else within a radius of five meters and sat down, and was about to take it apart to see what was inside.

The reason why he chose to open the envelope in such a public place was because he was worried that there would be something like a mechanism inside; if he was injured by a micro bomb or some kind of toxic gas as soon as he opened it, people nearby would soon find out. , and sent him to the hospital.

"Hmm...it seems like there's nothing wrong..." Sakaki sat there, shook the envelope, smelled it, listened to it, and looked at it through the light...and didn't notice anything suspicious.

So, he opened the envelope.

There was indeed nothing unusual inside, just a piece of paper.

There is a map printed on one side of the paper. There is a coordinate marked with an inverse cross pattern on the map. On the other side there is a sentence - "At eight o'clock tonight, all the answers and the source of everything are here." Gather together and reveal everything here.”

Sakaki could tell at a glance that this map was consistent with the map that appeared on his card, except that this map was larger and more detailed, and it also gave specific road names and coordinates.

"Is it eight o'clock..." Sakaki took out his phone and looked at the time, "This distance... considering the traffic in Shanghai, I have to leave soon."

He could understand why the other party handed him the specific coordinates when there was very little time left, because this would prevent him from running to the target location in advance.

But he still had doubts... What if he didn't see the contents of the envelope in time and missed the time? Is the other party so sure that he will get the envelope, open it and check it within half an hour?

For questions like this, I am afraid that no real conclusion can be drawn until more information is obtained; perhaps it is just like what the card says - all the answers are there, and you can only know them if you go there.

…………

When Sakaki walked out of the hotel, the sun had completely set.

Magic City is a city that is more energetic at night than during the day. It wakes up when night falls.

As for Sakaki, he is also a person who is used to living day and night; as a gambler living in a dark world, he has a high degree of compatibility with this city.

Just taking a breath of the night air of the Magic City made him feel like a fish in water.

It's very easy to hail a taxi in front of the hotel. You don't need to use the mobile app, just hail a taxi. Therefore, Sakaki hailed a taxi, gave the driver the map to look at, and got on the road.

There was no talking all the way, and about an hour later, the car arrived somewhere southwest of the city.

The urban area of ​​Magic City is very large. Although Sakaki's destination is not considered a suburb, it is relatively remote compared to the city center.

At 7:40 pm, the driver parked the car on a deserted and eerie side street...in front of a bookstore.

"We're here." The driver said as he stopped the car.

"Okay, I'll pay in cash." Sakaki didn't ask nonsense like "how much". He glanced at the meter and told him the payment method.

unexpectedly……

"No need." When the driver replied, he turned off the engine and pulled out the key (except for some high-end taxis, most public transportation vehicles in this era still use the traditional key unlocking method; because drivers I often have to change shifts, and it is common to change routes or even units. Repeated registration and modification of fingerprint records will be very troublesome), and lit a cigar for myself.

Let alone Sakaki, anyone can tell that something is wrong.

"No need..." When Sakaki repeated these three words, his whole body tensed up, as if his seat would explode at any time, "...what does it mean?"

"I was originally going to come here, I just picked you up on the way." The driver replied calmly while smoking a cigar.

"That's not right..." Sakaki continued, "I took the initiative to stop you, and I also gave you the map..."

Di——

At this moment, there was a soft sound from the driver's hand.

Sakaki thought the other party had taken out some automated weapon and was about to throw it at him, but when he looked around, he found that the other party just pressed the touch screen in front of the driver's seat.

A few seconds later, a recording narrated by an electronically synthesized voice came from the rental company's communication channel: "In five minutes, a man wearing a dark coat and a peaked cap will come out of the hotel across the street. You Drive over, he will stop you and show you a map, and the coordinates on the map are where you will go for your appointment."

"Look, I didn't lie to you." After the recording ended, the driver continued.

Sakaki is not a fool. This kind of recording was probably recorded and passed on by the driver's accomplices while they were driving. He would not believe it easily: "Well... let me ask one more question, why are you here? "

Hearing this, the driver changed the cigar to his left hand, took out a card from his pocket with his right hand, and raised it to the right (the driver's seat of Longjun's taxi is on the left and is blocked by a glass barrier, so only I can pass things to the right, but it is inconvenient to pass things with my left hand), so I showed it to Sakaki.

"I still want to ask you." The card the driver showed Sakaki was undoubtedly a black invitation card with a reverse cross, and the number on his card was - "3".

"Ha..." For some reason, Sakaki couldn't help but laugh when he saw this scene, "Let me guess... you are not a serious driver, are you?"

"'Ferryman'...Meng Zhenhan." Meng Zhenhan introduced himself, took off his hat, and turned his head to look at Sakaki.

Since Sakaki was sitting in the back seat, he didn't pay much attention to the driver's appearance after getting in the car. It was only now that he could clearly see... the driver's appearance was quite special: under his hat, he had a long hair. His black hair was shoulder-length, and he even wore a headband to tie his bangs back to prevent the hair on his forehead from being exposed from under the hat brim; his face was also quite delicate, looking a bit feminine, if Not for the obvious Adam's apple and male voice, Sakaki might have doubted the other person's gender.

"'Misfortune Sakaki'... Sakaki Wuhan." When Sakaki replied, he also took out his card and waved the number "13" in the opponent's sight.

"Fortunate~lucky~"

"You're welcome~ You're welcome~"

"May I ask which boat your brother lives on?" Meng Zhenhan asked first after finishing his polite remarks.

"It's easy to say, we can just make a living at the gambling table. How about you, brother?" After answering, Sakaki also asked.

"It's easy to say, nineteen lines sing the phoenix (the thirty-six lines start with 'one plowing, two readings, three blacksmithing', and the nineteenth line is 'nineteen Taoist priests sing the phoenix')." Meng Zhenhan continued.

The two of them used jargon like this to test each other out a few times; after checking their looks, they both found out that they were all out to fool around... Then they both breathed a sigh of relief.

These days, we are not afraid of encountering people in the same industry who are trying to trick someone, but we are afraid of not knowing what is going on. Now that everyone has revealed their identities and knows that they are all out to deceive others, there is nothing to be afraid of.

After chatting for a few more words, seeing that it was almost eight o'clock, the two got out of the car together.

"please."

"please."

After pretending to say "please" to each other, the two cunning guys opened the door on their left and got out of the car almost at the same second.

"please."

"please."

When they reached the door of the bookstore, they did it again.

But this time... Because the door of this bookstore is relatively narrow, only one person can pass through at a time, so neither of them took the lead.

"How about..." Sakaki looked at Meng Zhenhan with a smile on his face, "... let's have a bet, who loses first?"

"No, no, time is pressing. I think..." Meng Zhenhan said, reaching into his arms and starting to take out things, "...it's better for me to make a fortune and see who is more suitable first."

"No, no, no...it won't take long to gamble." Sakaki also quickly started to collect local materials and looked around, trying to find something that could be used; if he couldn't find it, he would bet on the next person who appeared on the street. It doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman.

But after all, he was not as fast as Meng Chuanhan. The guy who claimed to be a Taoist priest had already put a small octagonal compass in his hand and began to chant the incantation before he could put his words to the ground.

After a few seconds, Meng Zhenhan's eyes widened and he shouted softly: "Okay! Got it."

Sakaki raised his eyes helplessly, preparing to listen to this idiot's nonsense, and then say a few lines to trick him into going in first.

did not expect……

"The hexagram is clear, I must be the first here!" Meng Zhenhan actually said this.

"Huh?" Sakaki was stunned for two seconds, "Are you serious?"

"Isn't it true?" Meng Zhenhan replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"No...I mean..." Sakaki shook his head, "Do you really believe it after all the calculations?"

"Nonsense, don't you admit it after your bet?" Meng Zhenhan asked.

"Uh..." Sakaki was speechless for a moment. Although he believed that gambling and fortune-telling were two different things, the question at this moment seemed to be about professional ethics rather than business nature.

"Isn't that enough?" Meng Zhenhan said, "I'm also a professional. Believe me, I should be the first here."

After that, without waiting for Sakaki's reply, he stepped open the door and entered.

Seeing this, Sakaki hesitated for a second, and quickly thought about the question "Is this guy hired by the person who sent me the card?" in his mind, then shrugged, and before the door was completely closed, , blocked it with his hand, and followed in.

However, immediately after, something unusual appeared.

The moment Sakaki stepped through the door, the scene in front of him suddenly changed.

Meng Zhenhan's back disappeared, and the bookshelves, stacks of books, walls and other things that could still be seen outside the door also disappeared.

In Sakaki's sight, there was only a vast expanse of darkness, and the only thing that gave him a sense of space was a little light shining in from the door behind him.

"No!" Sakaki, who was startled by the deceit, turned around suddenly and tried to escape out the door.

But when he turned around, he found that the distance between the door and him had become farther. It was as if... there were two rows of wheels that he couldn't see growing under the door, and they were speeding toward the distance at hundreds of kilometers per hour. Drive away.

After just a few seconds, even the last trace of light disappeared...

Sakaki saw only darkness in his eyes, and heard only silence in his ears. Slowly, he could no longer hear his own breathing and heartbeat, and his sense of touch seemed to begin to become blurry.

A strange feeling visited Sakaki, making him feel that... the "existence" of Sakaki Mugen seemed to be being erased from this world.