Mitternachts-Handbuch für paranormale Phänomene

Kapitel 4

Yu Chen resisted the urge to bang on the glass counter and stiffly turned to leave.

I can't go home.

His purse was in the damn car, and he only had enough money in his pocket for the taxi fare to this point. The only way for him to get home now was to call his wife and ask her to come pick him up in a taxi, or take a taxi to his building and ring the doorbell to ask his wife to come down and pay the fare.

"Do...do..." Youchen's facial features were distorted. Both of the above methods were the behavior patterns of the loser.

He could no longer tolerate any more setbacks today!

One month...only one month left...just one month...

As he walked, each step seemed to be a firm, resentful thud.

6

Why are all these unfortunate things attacking him tonight?

At this moment, he should be at home, embracing his wife and daughter and weeping, instead of standing here alone in the cold wind.

Youchen hadn't actually gone far; he had just made a huge turn around the towing area. When he came to his senses, he found himself dangling in mid-air with one hand and one foot hanging down... while climbing the wall.

It was simpler than he imagined; Youchen climbed over the wall from one side to the other.

What are you going to do? What do you want to do by climbing into the towing yard? What can you do?

He looked at the crescent moon floating on the wall.

This crescent moon is also upside down, like a crying, flat mouth.

"We've already climbed in... are we going to climb out again?" Youchen gritted his teeth.

He hunched over, glancing left and right, quickly walking back and forth in the dimly lit towing yard, and in less than a minute, he spotted his old Yulon Geely Bluebird. With a smug smile, Youchen unhesitatingly pulled the keys from his pocket.

If he had found his car a minute later, the outcome would have been completely different.

Cough, Youchen coughed loudly, unable to hold it in.

What are you doing there?!

The bright beam of the flashlight shone on Youchen's face, so bright that he couldn't even open his eyes a crack.

The one shouting was the manager of the towing yard.

The safest place is often the most dangerous. Towing yards have no police patrolling the streets, but they're filled with unattended vehicles. Occasionally, a daring thief will scale the walls and sneak in to see if there's anything valuable inside. A simple slit in the glass is all it takes to steal a bag or loose change that the owner hasn't had time to put away.

The night watchman, who had just finished his late-night snack, must have been eyeing Youchen, who was about to open the car door, with the same suspicion. No doubt about it, he was a petty thief!

"I'm not... I'm... cough! cough!" Youchen's whole body stiffened, and even his voice froze instantly.

What am I doing?

Wasn't I supposed to open my car door and force the car out of there?

Although the time I picked up the car was wrong, and the way I got in was wrong—it's definitely my car!

"Don't move!" the administrator shouted, getting closer and closer: "I told you not to move!"

Youchen's eyes were almost blinded by the bright light of the flashlight.

The bright light drew closer, and the administrator's hand seemed to be waving something like a stick.

Was I mistaken for a thief?

Will I get a beating?

Are we going back to that police station again?

Why is this flashlight shining into my eyes?

This is my own car! I've had it for seven years. It's a dark blue Yulon Geely Bluebird, and I've always done regular maintenance. I even took it back to the factory for the first 50,000 kilometers. Although there's a dent on the rear bumper and a slight dent on the right passenger side, it's not very noticeable. Basically, it's in good condition. For the past seven years, I've used it for commuting and taking my wife and daughter to the mall on weekends. Sometimes, when I'm in a good mood, I'll wax it, although I haven't done that in a long time. Yes, I've been a bit more lax about car maintenance in the last two years, but it's definitely been pampered by me for a while; it's my treasure. Recently, I've been thinking of selling it to buy a white Honda Accord, but until I do that, it's my car, without a doubt, absolutely my car. I'm going to drive it home right now! Right now! Right now!

immediately!

An emotion that he couldn't tell if it was anger or excessive fear stirred up Youchen's stiff body.

The key was inserted into the car door, turned, and the door opened.

"What are you doing!" the administrator shouted, rushing over.

"Fuck your mother!" Youchen threw himself into the car, slammed the door shut, and started the engine.

As the administrator rushed toward the car, Youchen quickly reversed, then, in a driving style he had never done before, he made an exaggerated and beautiful half-circle on the spot, screeching unbearably on the ground.

The old Yulon truck came to a sudden stop. Yu-Chen shifted into Drive and slammed on the accelerator!

Charge! Old Yulong narrowly dodged the dumbfounded administrator and sped towards the main gate.

The commotion reached the counter at the door in the distance. The usually sullen counter lady rushed to the checkpoint, forgetting to blow her whistle, and just watched helplessly as the suddenly berserk Yulon truck charged toward the checkpoint.

"I want to go home!" Youchen shouted, his whole body going numb.

"!" The counter lady was so frightened that her face turned pale.

Contrary to scenes in action movies where a car crashes through the checkpoint's barrier, the startled receptionist, perhaps fearing the dramatic sight of the barrier breaking or to avoid the subsequent hassle of repairs and compensation claims, actually pressed a switch herself, causing the barrier blocking the entrance to rise rapidly.

The accelerating Yulon narrowly avoided the rising guardrail and sped out of the towing yard.

"Hahahaha... Wahahahahaha cough cough cough!"

Youchen laughed loudly, but there was no joy on his face. His hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, and his clothes were already soaked with cold sweat. "I want to go home! Cough! Home! Listen carefully—I want to drive my own car home!"

7

The dark blue Yulon Bluebird sped across the road in front of the tow truck.

After running four red lights, Youchen's surging adrenaline had completely taken over.

Let's speed it up?

Let's speed it up again?

A sense of guilt, a desire to "keep accelerating and see what happens," surged through the hands gripping the steering wheel.

I must be possessed by an evil spirit...

I passed one slow-moving car after another, and my whole body felt hot.

His sense of time became dulled, while his understanding of space became unusually acute. Was this one of the side effects of terminal cancer? A final burst of energy before death? Perhaps this moment was closest to Yu Chen's dream: to become a professional race car driver who surpassed Schumacher, only the scene changed from a professional racetrack to ordinary city streets.

Waaaaaah~~~~~~

Was it something long awaited, or something expected? The sound of police sirens finally appeared.

Yu-Chen saw two police cars in the rearview mirror, one on the left and one on the right.

Were the police officers from that police station who came to chase me?

This time, once they're caught and taken back, the humiliation will obviously go beyond something as simple as just drinking water or holding in their urine.

The scene from movies where someone places their phone book on their chest and then smashes it with a hammer—is it about to happen to you? Or the exhausting torment of not being able to sleep for 24 hours straight? Or the shocking shock to the soles of your feet with a disassembled light bulb? It turns out that for an unlucky person with only one month left to live, the misfortunes they have to endure are not yet at their limit.

However, before that...

"Can you catch me? Haha!"

Youchen stuck his hand out of the car window and gave a firm middle finger: "Hahahaha! Hahahahahaha! Come and chase me, hahahahahahaha cough cough cough!"

This provocative international gesture angered the police. The three cars engaged in a chaotic chase through the streets of Taipei, startling pedestrians who scrambled to avoid them. Some cars even collided with each other or crashed into utility poles while trying to dodge.

Suddenly, the entire city was filled with the blaring of loudspeakers, screams, and angry shouts.

"What the hell is going on?! Stop it right now!"

"Damn my rearview mirror! Don't run away!"

"Damn! Was that a police chase just now?"

"You bastard, who drives like that?"

"Fuck you for calling the police! ...Hey? Isn't there a police car right behind us?"

"Wow! My car was almost taken by A!"

People who aren't used to being ruthless can still be quite adept at it when they do.

A person who has never gone mad before, once they do, it's as if they've practiced it a thousand times.

There was no time to think. It was definitely out of instinct, like someone committing a crime for the first time. Youchen didn't blindly rush onto the main road in the suburbs, because his beat-up car would be caught and subdued by a powerful police car on the main road. So he kept weaving in and out of the streets that were neither too big nor too small.

The three cars' relentless chase in the city center caused several dangerous and chaotic incidents. Fortunately, it was no longer rush hour, but the high speeds and reckless driving still created numerous perilous situations.

A corn vendor's cart was overturned by a police car.

A whole row of motorcycles parked on the roadside fell over like dominoes.

A motorcyclist was so frightened that he slid into the underpass.

Countless cars, in an attempt to swerve to avoid this frantic chase, were forced to crash into the traffic island.

If the radar could capture all the commotion in the city, Youchen would be like a bright red dot, beeping and beeping, the red dot growing larger and the beeping sound becoming more and more piercing.

"...How did it get like this?" Youchen kept repeating the same question.

Having lost count of how many red lights he'd run, in a split second, Youchen darted past a mother and daughter crossing the street. Just that one glance at the pale-faced mother and daughter sent his thoughts detached from the reality before him…

What did his wife cook for him tonight?

Actually, there's no need to guess; his wife only knows how to cook a few dishes. It's either stir-fried loofah, stir-fried cabbage, or bitter melon stir-fried with salted egg, which solves the egg problem at the same time. As for meat, it's probably the leftover Dongpo pork from last night, which she'll reheat. They absolutely have to finish it tonight, otherwise it'll be too greasy for the next meal. He remembers there's a fish in the fridge… what kind of fish is it? Youchen can never name the fish, but will it be on the table tonight? Sweet and sour fish is his favorite dish; even if he doesn't finish it, it's still delicious when reheated. But most of the time, his slightly lazy wife will just add miso to make fish soup, then add some chopped tofu and scallions, solving both the fish and soup problem at the same time…

"I'm sorry." Youchen apologized blankly to the air.

I don't really understand why things turned out this way tonight.

I'm just an ordinary office worker with a mortgage, supporting a small family and shouldering some responsibilities. My wife, who isn't a great cook, argues with me every day, but we also make up promptly before bed. I don't earn much, but it's a stable job. Every day on my way to work, I encounter frustrating traffic jams, and after get off work, I have to rush to pick up my daughter from school... except for today.

Maybe I'll be as unlucky as most people, or even a little unlucky—terminal lung cancer. I only have one or three months left. It's tragic, but I should cherish every moment to make the most of it. Yes, I should borrow a home video recorder from a colleague and record the whispers I want to say to Fang Lin in the future, to accompany her as she grows. I also want to buy a card and write some sentimental words for my wife; after all, I can't bring myself to say even a single cheesy line.

I pressed the accelerator too lightly.

His hands loosened their grip on the steering wheel.

Everything went completely out of control, completely spiraling out of control.

If you just calm down for ten seconds and think about it, you'll realize that your loss of control was completely pointless. Having only three months to live is an unchangeable fact; unless a miracle happens, no matter how unacceptable it is, you'll have to face this devastating news sooner or later.

"Alright, let's stop the car." Youchen stared blankly ahead.

I've been willful enough, I've rebelled enough, let these policemen stop my nonsense and madness. They can torture and humiliate me however they want, it's my own fault. They can even make me drink my own urine. After receiving the punishment I deserve, all I want to do is go home, eat every last bite of food on the table, take a shower, and have a quiet nap on the sofa.