Lonelytree

  Millman97

  Chen Ge’s voice was calm as he seriously questioned the person.

  “You’ve forgotten everything? Then I shall give you a hint.” The child with the blurry face reached out to strangle his own neck. “At that time, you tricked me into entering some abandoned tunnel with you. You said that you heard someone calling your name. However, once we entered the tunnel, you stood next to me like this and then suddenly reached out to strangle my neck!”


  The child’s head lolled to the side, and the hands slowly twisted the neck. His face turned purple, and veins popped on his forehead. “Do you remember it now? At the time, your fingers slowly reached into my skin as you increased your force……”


  The child’s voice echoed in Chen Ge’s ears, and some isolated images appeared in his mind. This scene really did appear real. To make things stranger, when he saw the child strangle himself, his body shied back like this was a familiar feeling, like the murderer was really him.

  “I’ve killed someone?” The rain wetted his hair. Chen Ge shook his head. He was reminded of something else. When he conducted the fourth Midnight Mission earlier, he had seen his young self enter a tunnel with an adult. The image before his eyes was familiar but different from what the child said—the victim then was Chen Ge himself. It was not him killing someone but someone trying to kill him!

  If he had not done that Nightmare Mission earlier and seen that memory, Chen Ge might not really have believed that he was a murderer, but his conviction would have been shaken.

  “Perhaps he is the killer, or else he would not have remembered these things,” Chen Ge mumbled to himself. He nudged toward the child, trying to get closer.

  Seeing Chen Ge maintain his serenity, the child removed his hands, and his head went back to normal. “Looks like you’ve really forgotten everything.”


  Rain slid down the boy’s face and it slowly became clear. The expression on his face was weird. Seeing him, Chen Ge felt like he was looking at himself in a mirror. “It was you who killed me—you killed me with your own hands. I will never forget that feeling, and soon, you’ll experience it as well.”


  The child slowly retreated, and the shadow stuffed the boy back into his body, silently standing where he was. Chen Ge was about ten meters away from the shadow. Just as he prepared to move closer, a very pale hand slowly touched him on his shoulder.

  The static came from the recorder. Xu Yin had suddenly appeared in red shirt next to Chen Ge. He shook his head, stopping Chen Ge from moving forward.

  “Is he that dangerous?” Chen Ge had his own suspicion. As he went to move his leg, someone hugged it. He looked down, and a little boy around the age of three pulled on his leg tightly.

  “Men Nan?” After the child had been brought away from the Third Sick Hall, he had never had the chance to return, or perhaps Chen Ge had selectively forgotten about that. So, Men Nan had remained inside the comic.

  Chen Ge stopped moving.

  After a while, children’s footprints started to appear around the shadow. The children’s laughing and crying slowly disappeared, and the shadow started to solidify. When the last cry disappeared, the shadow looked at Chen Ge. He was as tall and as big as Chen Ge. In fact, it felt like he was Chen Ge’s shadow.

  “It was you who killed me.” The body was that of an adult, but the voice that came from the shadow’s lips was juvenile. It was dark, cold, and filled with resentment. After he said that, he looked past Chen Ge at the space behind Chen Ge before turning to disappear into the rain.

  Chen Ge followed the direction that the black shadow had looked earlier. Under the light of the phone, he could see somewhat his shadow changing into the shape of a girl.

  The sound of the rain returned, and everything returned to normal. The rain washed over the land, and the black shadow had already disappeared.

  Chen Ge only had one concept when dealing with ghost. If it was a Red Specter, run; if it was not, run after them. Now, he had met a third type of ghost, a shadow that claimed that Chen Ge had killed him.

  The shadow had left, so Chen Ge did not waste time. He called Xiao Gu and ran to the plant. “Xiao Gu, I’m here, where are you?”


  “You’re here?” Xiao Gu’s voice was filled with surprise. “Is the person standing still at the door you?”


  “Yes, where are you now?”


  “We’re coming now!”


  The phone hung up, and Xiao Gu and a woman, who were completely drenched, ran out from a bush next to the plant. “Boss!”


  Xiao Gu was happy, but the woman was unwilling to follow. She looked at Chen Ge, who held the hammer standing in the rain, and she was feeling nervous. In the middle of nowhere, with the rain pouring, she held her arms to her chest, and her body kept shivering.

  “Why is there a woman with you?”


  “She was one of the passengers on the bus.” Xiao Gu explained Huang Ling’s situation briefly to Chen Ge.

  “There were other living humans other than you on the bus.”


  “It was not only me and Sister Huang Ling. There was also a student on the back row. He helped me once on the bus before—he didn’t seem like a bad person.” Xiao Gu felt regret. “I was too far from him when I got off, or else I would have dragged him with me.”


  “Those who helped you might not be humans, and those who harm you might not be ghosts.” Chen Ge looked at Huang Ling for a long time before waving his hand. “The taxi is just over there, come on.”


  Back at the taxi, Chen Ge realized that the taxi window was covered with children’s muddy footsteps, and the poor driver had already fainted in his seat.

  “Don’t worry, he is still breathing. He’s just fainted.” Chen Ge moved the driver to the backseat, and then he stood outside to think. Finally, he turned to Xiao Gu and Huang Ling. “Do either of you know how to drive?”


  Xiao Gu shook his head. “Boss, don’t you know how to drive? I remember you drove the park’s van last time.”


  “I know how to drive.” Chen Ge paused. “But I don’t have a driver’s license. The taxi is fixed with recording equipment and a camera. If the driver reports it to the police, this will be very hard to explain.”


  “Er…… how about I drive?” Huang Ling walked to the door and added with hesitation, “I can drive you back, but before that, do you mind coming over to my place? I’m worried about my husband.”