The Beginning

Translator: Cinder Translations

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"Did you call the police?" Jiang Cheng asked.

The driver nodded. "Yes, I called his wife. He didn't return home, and his family doesn't know where he went."

The Fatty licked his lips, instinctively wrapping his arms around himself as the driver's story gave him a very unsettling feeling.

A chill suddenly ran through him, and even the sunlight streaming through the car window seemed to have lost its warmth.

"Because of this, I stayed at the police station until almost dawn. When I got home, I was still worried. It wasn't until... until noon the next day."

The driver seemed to have thought of something, his voice trembling uncontrollably, his face changing color, and his lips taking on an eerie, bluish tint.

"Don't be nervous," Jiang Cheng said in a calm tone. "It's all in the past now."

He paused, then continued after a while. "Take your time and tell me."

The Fatty noticed that the doctor's words were indeed effective. The driver, who had been extremely nervous, had now calmed down, and his terrified demeanor seemed to have eased.

"The next day, the police called to say they had retrieved surveillance footage from a nearby dumpling shop. According to the footage, after the car stopped, it never moved again, and no one opened the door to get out. He... he disappeared in the car!"

"At that time, the driver's seat was reclined, and there was a leather jacket on top, as if... as if someone was covering themselves with the jacket and sleeping, then suddenly disappeared!"

The last sentence was said with no attempt to suppress his emotions, and perhaps because he was too agitated, he couldn't contain it. The impact of those words was obvious.

Goosebumps began to appear on the Fatty's skin.

The chill continued to surround him, and he suddenly had a strange sensation—whether it was instinct or illusion—of an invisible net tightening around him.

That bizarre, baseless feeling even made him feel a little suffocated.

"Up ahead," Jiang Cheng suddenly said, "Stop here, we'll get out here."

"Get out?" The driver looked around, then glanced at the GPS on his phone with a puzzled expression. "Little brother, we're still quite a ways from the destination, and this place is remote, with no village in front and no store behind. You want to get out here?"

"We came all the way to the outskirts. We want to get out and walk around," Jiang Cheng replied.

It was clear that the driver was not happy about them getting out here. They hadn't seen any people or cars along the way, and this place was isolated. He wouldn't even have a chance to pick up new passengers.

He was probably going to have to drive back to the city empty.

But at least the customer paid well, so the driver's sour expression softened a little.

Before getting out of the car, Jiang Cheng suddenly turned and asked, "What was the name of your missing friend?"

The driver looked down, counting the money the Fatty had given him several times, before reluctantly answering, "Qin Dongguo."

After closing the car door, the taxi quickly sped off, leaving Jiang Cheng watching the car depart and the Fatty staring at him in confusion.

"Doctor," the Fatty looked around and asked, "Where are we? Aren't we supposed to..."

"No," Jiang Cheng said, retracting his gaze.

He took out his phone from his pocket and waited for a while before sending a message. After leaving the taxi, the coldness that had surrounded the Fatty had dissipated, and the sunlight now felt warm on his skin.

Inside the car and outside, it was like two different seasons.

Seemingly remembering something, the Fatty looked at the doctor, hugging his arms. After a long pause, he hesitated and said, "Doctor," he spoke softly, "That driver was really strange."

He had gotten used to the doctor's silent attitude, so while watching the taxi disappear, he continued, "He seemed to know too many details about his friend's disappearance, and he even said the police had reported it the next day."

He licked his lips and raised his head, puzzled, "Isn't this kind of thing supposed to be kept confidential until the truth is uncovered? Besides, he's just an ordinary person. Would the police really notify him?"

Putting down his phone, Jiang Cheng looked up at the Fatty, his gaze making the Fatty feel slightly uncomfortable. "Doctor, if you have something to say, just say it," the Fatty swallowed, "You're looking at me like this, and my back hurts."

"Continue," Jiang Cheng said calmly. "Is there more?"

"No," the Fatty thought for a moment, "That driver just gave me a weird feeling. But... if you want me to explain, I can't really say what was strange."

He scratched his head. "It's just an instinct."

"Whoosh—"

A jeep drove by in the distance, speeding past them, raising a cloud of dust. The Fatty quickly covered his nose and mouth.

Gradually, the long-silent road started to get busy, more and more cars began passing by, and even some motorcycles, with large bundles of vegetables and small goods tied with ropes behind them, passed in front of them. The engines roared under the strain.

They were probably vendors returning from the city, their heads covered with helmets and scarves.

A few seconds later, the Fatty seemed to realize something, his pupils suddenly contracting.

Looking at the increasing number of people passing by, Jiang Cheng exhaled deeply and said in a voice the Fatty couldn't quite grasp, "It's getting lively again."

A shadow of uneasy emotion flashed across the Fatty's eyes, and he finally pinpointed the source of that strange feeling. More precisely, he could smell it.

It was the scent of a nightmare!

The eerie sensation surrounding that driver felt like the NPCs in a nightmare, unpredictable, cunning, and sinister.

And hidden within that, were ghosts.

But... how could this be?

Wasn't this the real world?

And they had just left the doctor's consultation room. The sun was still high in the sky, and the sunlight was warm. They hadn't fallen asleep.

He looked up; the glaring light almost made him unable to open his eyes. The wind brushed past his ears, and everything around him felt more real than ever.

What exactly was happening?

Too many chaotic thoughts tangled in his mind, and he felt as if he had almost grasped a key point. But the next moment, that feeling suddenly disappeared.

It was like grabbing a wisp of fog.

After an unknown amount of time, a faint but very clear notification sound interrupted the Fatty's thoughts. He turned his head, looking at the doctor with a questioning gaze.

Jiang Cheng took out his phone and opened a WeChat voice message.

"Doctor Jiang," Pi Ruan's voice was as lively as ever, "I had a friend check the license plate you sent. It's a taxi, and the driver went missing three days ago. The case is still unsolved, and the car is still at the police station for forensic testing."

"By the way," Pi Ruan seemed to remember something, speaking cheerfully, "I've sent you the driver's information."

Upon opening it, a series of details appeared. The driver's name was Qin Dongguo, a local from Rongcheng. It looked like he was searching for something, so Jiang Cheng scrolled down the screen.

Until a photo appeared.

Jiang Cheng's finger, frozen in midair, paused.

As he leaned in to see the photo more clearly, the Fatty's expression turned strange, and the next second, his mind went blank...

(End of the Chapter)

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