Haunted Rental

Translator: Cinder Translations

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Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng withdrew his gaze from the window and for the first time focused his attention on the driver, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.

"What do you mean?"

The driver subconsciously swallowed, the area was relatively desolate, but the road was straight with few forks, so it was easy to drive without worrying much about cars popping up unexpectedly.

Glancing at the rearview mirror, the driver lowered his voice and said, "You're from out of town, so you might not know, but recently things haven't been peaceful in Rongcheng."

"Recently, several people have gone missing, with no trace left, no bodies, it's terrifying," the driver said with lingering fear.

Not hearing a response from the two, he continued talking to himself, "I have a friend whose kid works at the precinct," he licked his lips and signaled, "You know, the precinct. He told me his son has been so busy that he hasn't been home in days. All the time off has been canceled, and those who were out of town are rushing back."

The taxi industry, due to its special nature, is quite well-informed.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Cheng's expression subtly shifted, as did Fatty's. Both of them couldn't help but think of the nightmare task.

Jiang Cheng also recalled what the police officer had said to the female officer in the office earlier.

It seemed to align with this.

"How did they go missing?" Jiang Cheng showed more interest, leaning forward slightly. His tone shifted, curious and even a bit fearful.

Since Jiang Cheng liked to act, Fatty didn't play along and just quietly sat there as a background figure.

The driver perked up, hearing someone showing interest, and spoke mysteriously in a lowered voice, "Well, I don't really know the details, but the precinct has no clue either."

"But I've heard they all disappeared at night," the driver paused, as if recalling something particularly frightening. His tone grew strange, "What's even stranger is that some people were at home sleeping, but the next morning, they were gone. Isn't that terrifying?"

"And some of them had other people in the house at the time!"

"That's just spooky!" The driver suddenly swerved the steering wheel, turning onto a side road, which seemed to cut the distance a little.

"Could this be exaggerated?" Jiang Cheng asked. "Such things can get blown out of proportion. What might have been a small issue could turn into something much bigger with rumors."

Before Jiang Cheng could finish, the driver interrupted him. "Young man," the driver, who wasn't much older than Jiang Cheng, suddenly lowered his voice, "If the previous stories were just hearsay, then this one is definitely true."

Growing a bit nervous, the driver's voice became quieter. "We drivers formed a group to make work easier. A bunch of us have been in it, probably dozens of people. One of us, a man in his forties, also disappeared."

"Disappeared?"

"Yeah," the driver nodded. "This happened three nights ago."

"He usually works the night shift, but that day, he spent half the day playing Mahjong with people. Around midnight, he decided to pull over and take a quick nap."

"Just a quick nap," the driver explained, "but after he rested, he was gone."

"How do you know he went missing because of a nap?" Jiang Cheng asked, thinking it sounded odd. Based on what the driver had said, the missing driver should have been alone when it happened.

How could he know for sure?

Especially since he was so detailed?

"Sigh!" The driver sighed, clearly frustrated. "We were playing Mahjong together earlier that day. I'm also a night driver, and that night I was short a person, so I—"

At this point, the driver seemed to suddenly remember something and quickly corrected himself. "No, no, it was he who asked me to join."

Noticing that the two passengers in the backseat were calm, the driver relaxed and continued, "After we left around 6 p.m., we ate first, then went out to work."

"On the road, we kept in touch over the walkie-talkie. It's a way for us to keep each other alert, you know, in our line of work, we're always around cars. It's a constant worry for our families."

"Then, around midnight," he hesitated, confirming with himself, "Yeah, exactly around midnight, I clearly remember a radio station starting up."

"Right then, he told me he was tired. I suggested he go home, but he refused, saying he couldn't even cover his gas money if he quit early."

"He told me he was going to find a quiet place to rest, somewhere off the beaten path, away from cameras. A while later, he told me he found a spot behind a dumpling restaurant."

"He was so happy about it. He said it was quiet and no one would bother him. He even said I might want to use that spot sometime, so I asked him to send me the location."

"He even told me to call him in an hour. During that time, the bars and barbecue spots would be busy with people, so business would be better," he added.

"That night, business was good for me, so I didn't think about him until two hours later. I quickly called, and the call went through, but no one picked up."

"I thought maybe he was sleeping too deeply, so I didn't worry too much. A little later, I had a passenger near his spot, so I went to check on him."

At this point, the driver fell silent.

Fatty, who had been following the story eagerly, waited, but since Jiang Cheng hadn't said anything, he didn't dare to push.

"Huff—" The driver sighed and slowed down the car, as if to give himself a break.

"But when I got there, the car was empty," he paused, "He wasn't in the car."

"At first, I thought he had gotten out to use the bathroom, so I stood by his car and called him. But then, his phone started ringing, right there on the driver's seat, and the screen was lit up!" His breath quickened, and Fatty also felt the eerie vibe.

"What happened next?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"I reached for the door instinctively and found it locked," the driver suddenly raised his voice, "But that's strange. There's no cover around, it's so desolate there. How could he leave his phone behind and walk off alone?"

(End of the Chapter)

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