It was already midnight when Zhou Ze took a taxi back to the bookstore. The bookstore was still open. There were quite a lot of people inside.
Zhou Ze remembered Xu Qinglang telling him that the bookstore was doing well tonight. It seemed like it was true. There were still customers in the bookstore at this hour.
Zhou Ze pushed open the glass door. To his disappointment, there were more than ten people sitting in the bookstore. They were all living people.
The incident with Chief Zhao was an exception. It was unlikely that all of them were exceptions this time, right?
Even the era of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors was not as simple as this.
They sat together in a circle, with one person standing in the middle, telling a story. The others listened attentively, as if he was telling a suspenseful horror story. The narrator even used some body language and cadence to create the atmosphere as much as possible.
Bai Yingying sat behind the counter, playing with her phone.
When Zhou Ze returned, Bai Yingying rose to her feet and poured him a glass of water.
Zhou Ze sat down and subconsciously reached out to cover his chest. Although it was covered by his clothes, at least for now, that area was empty.
"Boss, what's wrong?" Bai Yingying asked curiously.
"Mm?" Zhou Ze looked at Bai Yingying.
"Why do I feel like you're different? You weren't like this when you left in the afternoon."
Needless to say, the dead woman was quite sensitive.
"Nothing," Zhou Ze did not feel like talking.
"Since you're back, I'll go play games next door?" Bai Yingying begged.
Zhou Ze nodded.
"You're the best, boss."
Bai Yingying went to the noodle shop next door. Xu Qinglang soon went into the bookstore. He went to the counter and handed Zhou Ze a cigarette.
"Is this a tea party?"
Zhou Ze shook his head, indicating that he was not sure.
"Heh, it sounds like a ghost story," Xu Qinglang was intrigued. He found himself a plastic stool and sat down.
The person in the middle was telling a story about a ghost baby taking revenge. The climax was quite interesting. The people around him were engrossed in the story.
Zhou Ze gradually realized it was a 'club', similar to a reading club or a cycling club. It was an organization that gathered people based on their hobbies.
At the end of the previous story, the man in the lead took out a large piece of white paper and drew something on it. Then, he took out several pens.
Zhou Ze was a little far away and could not see clearly. Xu Qinglang turned his head and mouthed to Zhou Ze:
"Pen Spirit."
Pen Spirit was a ghost-summoning game. It was very mysterious, and it was said that it was very easy to encounter misfortune when playing this game, resulting in the possession of spirits.
These people were all very excited. Everyone stretched out their hands and held the long pens together. A man wearing a yellow overcoat seemed to be the leader. After everyone was ready, he said very sincerely,
"Brush Spirit, Brush Spirit, where are you? Brush Spirit, Brush Spirit, where are you?"
The pen still did not move, but the bookstore suddenly became quiet.
The man with black frames continued,
"Pen Spirit, Pen Spirit, will we run into a ghost tonight?"
Ten seconds after he finished speaking,
The long pens in everyone's hands began to move slowly.
Everyone held their breath.
In fact, if many people grabbed a pen together, as long as the tip of the pen was smooth enough, it would be very easy to slide. If one of them played a trick, it would be even easier.
Swoosh!
The tip of the pen suddenly shook,
It directly moved horizontally to where Zhou Ze was sitting.
Xu Qinglang opened his mouth slightly. Dog Shit Luck?
Zhou Ze was still sitting steadily behind the counter, looking at the situation with half-squinted eyes.
Because of the movement of the tip of the pen, most of the people squatted in Zhou Ze's direction.
"Yes!"
The man with black frames pointed at the area where the tip of the pen was.
There were two areas: "Yes" and "No". At this moment, the tip of the pen happened to be in the "Yes" area.
"Alright, put away your things. We'll set off together later. Remember, we'll be moving for half an hour. Everyone's phones should be charged. Later, everyone must turn on the video recording. At least 20 minutes."
"Okay."
"Understood."
"Okay."
The rest of the people packed their things and left the bookstore. The man with black frames walked to Zhou Ze's counter and said apologetically,
"I'm sorry, Boss. We're from the Association of Horror Story Lovers. We have nothing better to do than to explore supernatural events. Did we scare you?"
Zhou Ze shook his head.
"Then Boss, you're really bold. When that girl was here just now, I asked her if she could play Pen Spirit here, and she allowed it. In the end, you came back. I was really worried that you would blame us. Here's the money for the tea. Boss, please accept it."
The man handed over 600 yuan.
Zhou Ze took the money and asked, "Where are you going later?"
"It's the building above your shop. Aren't there no merchants here for a long time? There was an arson case a while ago, and a few people were burned to death. We plan to try our luck there tonight."
"Do you want to see ghosts that badly?"
"I don't know, but people are always curious about the unknown. Actually, everyone gathered together with the mentality of pursuing excitement.
"Based on everyone's social circle, it's very difficult to find people with similar interests. Our club also provides an opportunity for everyone to communicate.
"Moreover, I've already made arrangements tonight. I've already asked someone to set up something at the cinema that was set on fire during the day. Tonight, Mr. Chen from our club will confess to Miss Liu."
"Confess?"
"Yes. Actually, the rest of us know what happened tonight. Only Miss Liu doesn't know. Our club has been established for five years. Everyone has a good relationship, so everyone is very willing to help."
"Are you Japanese?" Zhou Ze asked the man with black frames.
"Yes, I'm considered an overseas Chinese in Japan. I returned to China five years ago. There are many clubs with such hobbies in Japan. After returning to China, I realized that everyone was too introverted, so I'm basically the one who organizes the daily reading club or the haunted house exploration."
The man slapped his forehead and handed over his business card,
"My Chinese name is Cui Yilang. Please take care of me."
Zhou Ze took the business card from his hand.
"Then we'll go organize the activity first. Thank you again, Boss, for your hospitality."
Cui Yilang walked out of the bookstore. Xu Qinglang, who had been standing at the side without saying a word, immediately held his stomach and laughed:
"Hahaha, I'm dying from holding it in. They really saw a ghost this time."
Xu Qinglang laughed and realized that Zhou Ze was no longer laughing. He reached out and punched Zhou Ze's chest.
"Isn't it funny?"
Zhou Ze immediately bent down and covered his chest that had just been hammered with one hand.
"This... Are you alright?
I didn't use much strength? "
I only used my small fists to punch your chest.
"No." Zhou Ze gestured for Xu Qinglang not to come closer. At the same time, he said, "I just laughed so hard that my heart hurts."
"That exaggerated?" Xu Qinglang pursed his lips. "Are you hungry? I'll go make you... a bowl of egg-fried rice?"
"I'm not hungry. I've eaten."
"Have you eaten outside?" Xu Qinglang asked curiously, "Aren't you not used to eating outside?"
"That thing is very delicious."
"What kind of dish is it?
If you can eat it, I'll buy some tomorrow and cook it for you? "
Zhou Ze shook his head,
A person only had one heart.
Zhou Ze could not make a basket, so he handed it to Xu Qinglang to "fry, fry, boil, and steam".
"What do you want to eat recently?" Xu Qinglang asked.
"Water spinach." Zhou Ze looked at Xu Qinglang and said seriously, "I suddenly want to eat that recently."
"Alright, I'll go stock up tomorrow."
At this moment, the lights in the bookstore suddenly went out.
"Ahhhhhh!!!
It was the final circle, the destiny circle!!!!
I'm going to get the chicken dinner! My dog will smash three of the top three, 15 times more! "
Bai Yingying rushed out of the noodle shop and wailed outside.
Zhou Ze felt that even when she was drowned in a pig cage, she did not scream as fiercely as she did now.
The power went out.
Zhou Ze and Xu Qinglang also walked outside.
Xu Qinglang made the call, then put down the phone.
"F * ck, they said that someone will come to repair it tomorrow. Ol 'Zhou, this place of ours is really not going to make it. When the power goes out, people don't even bother to come here. Now, this place has become a place for enthusiasts to explore the Haunted House."
Xu Qinglang pointed at the window of the tall building above their heads. "How did they think of confessing in the cinema where someone died?"
"It's very romantic. In a scary environment, coupled with the sudden arrival of love, this kind of contrast is enough to intoxicate people who like this."
"Why do you sound so weird today?" Xu Qinglang looked at Zhou Ze.
Zhou ze shook his head.
"Do you really look like you've been hollowed out? Have you taken that step to find your wife today?" Xu Qinglang asked carefully.
"You're thinking too much."
However, the word "Hollowed out" made Zhou Ze's eyelids twitch slightly. Xu Qinglang caught this detail.
Zhou Ze raised his head and looked up.
"Hey,
It's useless for you to look at the sky.
Are you feeling guilty?
Did I really get it right? "
Seeing that Zhou Ze did not reply, Xu Qinglang also raised his head.
He looked at the sky.
Then …
The two of them saw a person in white standing by the glass window on the fifth floor.
Because of the power outage, there was no light around. However, the moon was very bright today, and the color of the other party's clothes was easy to recognize in the night.
"Could it be that they found someone to pretend to be a ghost to create the atmosphere?" Xu Qinglang puffed out a smoke ring. "They're really playing to the extreme..."
Xu Qinglang stopped talking.
Because he saw the white figure descending from above.
It was very fast.
It landed less than ten meters away from him and Zhou Ze.
"Pa!"
A heavy muffled sound was heard.
A person fell face up to the ground, motionless. Blood slowly spread out from under her body.
Zhou Ze felt a chill on his face.
Some of the blood splashed onto his face.
Xu Qinglang immediately ran over to check on the situation.
Zhou Ze took out a napkin from his pocket and planned to wipe the blood off his face.
Someone died... he had to save her... he had to check on the situation.
Zhou Ze's eyes were filled with struggle.
However, his hand still trembled as he pulled out the napkin.
He slowly and carefully wiped the few drops of blood.
"Hey, come over and take a look. Is there any chance to save her?"
Xu Qinglang raised his head and shouted at Zhou Ze. When he saw that Zhou Ze was standing there without taking a step to wipe his face, he shouted,
"Do you still have a conscience? You're wiping your face at this time!"
Zhou Ze was stunned.
Yes.
Heart.