From the end of the world

Chapter 424: Wuyou Ghost Story 1
In the past, when I investigated ghost stories circulating in cities and rural areas, I would first interview the people who had experienced the ghost stories.

On the one hand, it is to prepare for the field investigation, and on the other hand, if this is a false story made up by the "party" to attract attention, I can expose it at this stage, so I can save the trouble of making a subsequent trip. This kind of false story is still very common, and the number of times has increased. Interviewing the parties involved in the story has become an increasingly important part of my field investigation of the story.

I met Xiao Qiao in this context. A few months ago, she passed by an abandoned construction site, where she witnessed a bloody evil spirit that was transferred to the inside of the unfinished building in an incredible way. Fortunately, the evil spirit seemed to have low magic power, and it was unable to continue after catching Xiao Qiao. Later, she could only watch Xiao Qiao flee in panic.

Afterwards, she posted her experience on the university forum. Not long after, when I visited her, she told me what happened with lingering fear.

I briefly explained to Zhu Shi the reason for my last encounter with my junior schoolmate Xiao Qiao, and she added: "Later, a policeman named Kong came to my house and asked me similar questions. I wonder if he has any connection with the official organization that specializes in dealing with strange events that has been circulating recently. I went to the local police station to ask, but they all said that they didn't have that person..."

When Agent Kong was explaining the strange story about the abandoned construction site to me, he also mentioned "the person involved claimed..." etc. It seems that although Agent Kong is secretly acting as a fallen demon hunter, he is still doing his job as an agent in public.

Zhu Shi sat next to me and cast a surprised look at Xiao Qiao: "I have never heard you say such a thing before..."

"This matter is too terrible. Let alone taking the initiative to mention it to other people, I don't even dare to recall it." said Xiao Qiao, a junior.

I can't really empathize with this mentality. Putting aside my pursuit of bizarre events, even as an ordinary person, I also think that after encountering bizarre events, we should actively seek help from the outside world.

She added: "Not long after that, the abandoned construction site exploded for no apparent reason. I guess that was the end of it, so I wanted to keep it in my heart as if nothing had happened.

"In fact, I wanted to find the senior to confirm it, but he rarely appeared in school since then, and later he even disappeared...

"Um... Senior, let me confirm, could it be that the reason you disappeared some time ago was because of me..."

As she spoke, she began to show signs of uneasiness.

It seemed that she thought that I had been involved in some trouble recently, and that this trouble was caused by her.

It can't be said to be a complete misunderstanding. It was because of the strange stories about abandoned construction sites that she posted on the university forum that I entered the abandoned construction site and met Ma Zao there. And the reason why I "disappeared" later was also directly related to Ma Zao. Thinking of this, I feel that I should even thank this quiet-looking junior schoolmate for the wonderful encounter she brought me.

I have a very good impression of her now.

"Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong."

I comforted him first, then said, "Let's get back to the point. You are now facing a strange incident again - is that right?"

Junior sister Xiao Qiao relaxed a little at first, then seemed to remember the important matter and said worriedly, "Yes."

If someone who has never encountered a strange event in the past encounters a strange event unexpectedly at a certain point in time, this is a breakthrough from zero to one. Unless one dies directly in the first strange event, he will only encounter new strange dangers again and again. This can be said to be a curse recognized by the strange world.

It was a mistake for her not to tell her classmate Zhu Shi about her experience. If she had told him, Zhu Shi would have tried to provide her with shelter, or recommended her to Luoshan Academy for training, as Lu Chan had done with Agent Kong in the past, so that she could learn how to face strange dangers in her future life.

"So, what exactly did you encounter this time?" Zhu Shi asked seriously, "Now that you have met Zhuang Chengcheng, it's time for you to tell him about your experience, right?"

"Um……"

Junior sister Xiao Qiao first glanced at Zhu Shi as if she had discovered something new, then nodded hesitantly.

She first talked about a strange story that had been circulating on the Internet recently.

Since last year, the culture of ghost stories has become increasingly popular on the Internet. This ghost story is mixed in, and it seems to be no different from those fake ghost stories that are serious. The content is not complicated either, it is a kind of ghost story that reminds people of the spirit of the pen or the monkey's paw, and it is the type of ghost story that fulfills the wishes of the person concerned.

"It is said that this strange story can only be seen on the Internet by those who have a strong pessimistic view of their own lives and believe that they cannot change their life circumstances by their own efforts in the rest of their lives." Xiao Qiao, a junior sister, said, "The content of the strange story is that as long as you go to a deserted and secluded place in your city, such as a park late at night, an unfinished abandoned building, or a wilderness in the suburbs, and copy the content of the strange story repeatedly on paper, a mysterious person will appear to greet you." This mysterious person will take the person to a mysterious place, where all the troubles related to his or her life can be solved.

"The regrets of the past, the troubles of the present, the worries of the future, everything will vanish there.

"The person who reposted this strange story on the Internet claimed that he was the one who returned from this strange story and that he had indeed solved all the troubles in his life there.

"He also said that if you follow the contents of this strange story, you may even get a chance in that mysterious place and gain enough power to fight against demons and monsters."

The content of the ghost story ends here. For the sake of convenience, I decided to call this ghost story "Worry-free Ghost Story".

Zhu Shi asked: "So... you did it?"

Xiao Qiao nodded regretfully, and then continued: "If it was just to solve some regrets or troubles, I wouldn't take the bait, but I do have concerns about the future. Isn't society always talking about those supernatural things recently? Things that were thought to be non-existent in the past are now being talked about as if it were natural...

"After experiencing the ghost stories at abandoned construction sites, I thought those evil spirits and ghosts would continue to stay in the unknown corners of society. As long as my luck is not too bad and I live an honest life, I will never encounter such things in the future. But now they have begun to appear in the sun, entering the daily area from the realm of the uncommon.

"I was very uneasy when I thought that even if I lived carefully, I might still encounter monsters again. After reading that ghost story, I thought that since I would encounter them again in the future anyway, I might as well take the initiative and try to see if I could really gain the power to fight against monsters...

"I admit that I was blinded by greed. By the time I wanted to turn back, it was too late."

She went on to share her own experience.

A few days ago, in the early morning, Xiao Qiao took out her cell phone in the university's woods, squatted down with her legs together, put her notebook on her thighs, took out a pen, and repeatedly copied the content of Wuyou Guitan on the reprint page. She actually regretted it now, thinking that she was doing something stupid, but she still held the mentality of "I'm here now" and planned to do it to the end.

When she raised her head again, a black figure appeared in front of her without her knowing.

Her legs went limp and she fell to the ground in shock, unable to help but scream. Not only was the black figure appearing too suddenly, but it was also because the other person did not look like a human at all. The other person's body seemed to be made of pure shadows, and even when the light of a mobile phone was shone on it, it was still pitch black.

Shadow made no comment on Xiao Qiao's intense reaction. Xiao Qiao wanted to run away, but her legs were so weak that she couldn't even stand up. After shouting for a long time, she realized that the other party didn't seem to have any bad intentions, and the shouting gradually subsided.

Seeing that she had finally calmed down a little, Shadow said, "Follow me." Then he turned around, moved his steps, and slowly began to move.

Only then did she realize that the other party might be the "mysterious person who would take the client to a mysterious place" mentioned in the Wuyou Ghost Talk.

After realizing that the Wuyou Ghost Story was genuine, she reflexively felt fear and avoidance, wondering if she should stop going deeper.

However, in some ghost stories circulating in cities and rural areas, there are also many settings that "if you don't complete the contents of the ghost story in the normal order, you will suffer unpredictable horror disasters." After experiencing the ghost story of the abandoned construction site, she also has some understanding of the ghost story culture. If she gave up halfway and left the mysterious shadow man alone and turned around, the mysterious shadow man might turn into a deadly ghost and kill her on the spot.

She had no choice but to follow the mysterious man, and soon she walked out of the campus and came to a place where there were people. Even in the middle of the night, there were still scattered snack shops and customers on the street, and the creepy thing was that those people turned a blind eye to this monster made of shadows, as if this monster was in a different "layer" from those people.

In this supernatural and terrifying atmosphere, Xiao Qiao felt her hands and feet go cold. She wanted to shout for help from the people around her, but she was afraid that doing so would only put everyone around her in danger.

After all, he was Zhu Shi's friend. Although he was timid, he was at least kind-hearted. The shadow monster in front of her had a power beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Even if everyone on this street launched a desperate attack on the monster, she could not imagine the scene of the monster being killed by the power of a mere mortal.

After walking for some distance, she was taken to another secluded place not far from the university campus.

There was the abandoned construction site that had once given her nightmares. The unfinished building that had been split in half by a waterfall of fire stood in the night like a strange-looking tombstone.

(End of this chapter)