Hailing deserted city

Chapter 4

The boy holding the flashlight paused for a moment, then smiled and shook his head.

"For kids like us from the countryside, getting into junior high is enough. Besides, we don't have enough money..."

Xiao Li muttered to himself ahead. His footsteps suddenly became dragging and heavy.

Tao Rujiu felt awkward again. Zheng Qinglong, being the oldest and most composed of the four, naturally stepped in to smooth things over.

"Those are all in the past. Isn't Hailing Village much better now?"

Xiao Li's temper is like a child's, and he immediately became happy after hearing this.

"Yes, Brother Zheng's son will definitely have to do postdoctoral research in the future."

Before he could finish speaking, the young man clutched his forehead and groaned as he squatted down. It wasn't Zheng Qinglong who made the move; rather, he was walking without looking where he was going and stumbled into the blue-faced, fanged White Impermanence.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, old man..."

Li stood up, clutching his head, and picked up the white impermanence's hat to put on it. Zheng Qinglong stepped forward to check on his injuries and gave him a few words of advice.

After walking a few more steps, Xiao Li pointed to a low side door not far away and exclaimed, "That's it!"

The small door was one of the passageways leading to the second basement level, with a sign indicating -2F at the entrance. The four of them went in one by one, and found themselves in a small room of less than ten square meters. There was a round hole in the ceiling disguised as a well, through which some light filtered down and fell on the only piece of furniture in the room.

It was a vermilion lacquered coffin. Its surface was covered with colorful paintings, and it stood quietly in front of Tao Rujiu.

"We need to get down from the coffin."

This is what Xiao Li said.

Tao Rujiu walked to the red coffin. The coffin lid was not closed, and looking inside, there were rows of cement steps leading down to a dark, underground level.

Xiao Li said there are nine such hidden entrances on the first floor. There are also two large main entrances for visitors to use.

The second level is for children aged 14 and up, which means it's much scarier than the first level. In fact, most visitors with children ignore the park's warnings and go straight to the second level, resulting in the children being terrified.

Four people filed forward. After placing his entire body into the coffin, Tao Rujiu felt some subtle changes in his heart.

The second level of the underground palace was equally dark. The area illuminated by Xiao Li's flashlight was a narrow passage. The floor was covered with fine sand, which creaked slightly underfoot. Along one wall were tables and chairs for the staff. Xiao Li opened a drawer and took out two stick-like objects.

"Electronic torches, for tourists to use for lighting."

Zheng Qinglong and Tao Rujiu each took one, pressed the switch, and a ghostly green light shone on the flame-shaped electron tube.

"Part of this underground palace is set up according to a plot from a martial arts novel, I think it's called..."

"It's 'The Four Great Constables', right?"

Tao answered in this way, took a few steps forward and shone the electronic torch on the wall. Suddenly, a pale arm appeared to be hanging in mid-air as if it had grown out of the wall.

The entrance to the coffin felt somewhat familiar. Tao Rujiu was fond of Wen Ruyi's martial arts novels, especially the "Four Greats" series. This tunnel was clearly designed according to the tunnel beneath the dilapidated temple on Suspicious Peak.

Human imagination is ultimately limited, and so-called horror is merely a repetition of old fantasies. He had thought the second level would be somewhat special, but it seems destined to disappoint him.

Tao Rujiu thought to himself with a sense of loneliness and invincibility, while playfully trying to stick the torch into the clenched palm.

However, at that moment, something unexpected happened.

His palm touched the arm; it wasn't the hardness of a wax figure or plaster cast, but soft and elastic. More like a real human severed limb. This soft arm trembled violently the moment Tao Rujiu touched it, its cold fingers like struggling mollusks scraping across Tao Rujiu's cheek, almost getting tangled in his hair.

Unable to accept this sudden situation, Tao Rujiu screamed and staggered back a few steps, crashing into the wall on the other side. Little did he expect that there were several arms on that side as well, which also began to tremble violently after he hit them.

For about two seconds, Tao Rujiu's mind went blank until Hua Kai ran over and helped him to the middle of the road, slowly watching as the arms stopped moving.

Xiao Li and Brother Zheng exchanged a knowing glance.

"The old man forgot to pull the guillotine down again today."

It turns out this passageway had a hidden secret: all the arms were electrically operated sensors covered in high-grade polyester material. During opening hours, they could react to external touches when an electric current was applied. The power switches in the area were always controlled by the old gatekeeper, who would turn them on all at night. It seems there was an oversight today.

As people get older, this isn't the first or second time this has happened.

"To be honest, the first time I encountered this situation, I screamed even more miserably than you."

Xiao Li patted Tao Rujiu on the shoulder and helped him up.

"That's why I asked you to make sure you wanted to come. It's your first time here and you've already run into something like this. Reporter Tao, remember to buy a lottery ticket!"

Tao Rujiu gradually calmed down and smiled apologetically at the other three people.

After passing through the last corner of the Thousand Hands Passage, the view opened up, resembling a crossroads. In the center, a frosted glass ceiling hung, from which waxy ghosts peered upwards. Below were descriptions of the four paths.

The Thousand-Hand Corridor, the Dragon Scale Blood Pool, the Ghost Wedding Hall, and the sign "Those who are afraid should return along this path."

As always, Xiao Li led the way, guiding everyone toward the funeral hall for the ghost marriage.

The initial path was a maze. Narrow passages, barely wide enough for three people, had white curtains appearing every few meters. Sometimes, even the walls on either side had hidden doors separated by cloth. Tao Rujiu initially thought there was something hidden behind the curtains, but in fact, there was nothing behind each curtain.

"This is the most 'popular' area in the entire park. Most of the staff hide behind these white curtains. They wear white robes, ghost masks, and armor, and jump out from the shadows to scare tourists."

However, there are regulations that prohibit staff from contacting tourists, and tourists are not allowed to insult or assault staff dressed as ghosts in any way.

"Knowing that it's a person in costume, will tourists still feel scared?"

Tao Rujiu was somewhat puzzled.

"Anyway, those people buy tickets to come in and get scared," Xiao Li answered bluntly. "Whether they're scared by people or ghosts doesn't matter at all. It's like watching a horror movie. You know it's all fake, but you still feel scared. And this fear is even stronger when you're actually in the situation, so strong that you don't even have time to think about whether what's in front of you is a person or a ghost."

Tao Rujiu nodded. It seemed the second layer involved psychological horror. This was indeed a more sophisticated method than visual stimulation.

Chapter 008

Having been told that there would be no unexpected incidents along this stretch of road, Tao Rujiu gradually forgot the fright he had just experienced, and his journalistic instincts resurfaced. Gazing at the ubiquitous white curtains, a question suddenly occurred to him.

"This is the second basement level, and it's designed like a maze. What should we do if it catches fire?"

"There are many hidden doors here, which are simple partitions or similar things. They are convenient for staff to handle normally, and in case of an emergency, they can all be opened by computer control."

Xiao Li and Zheng Qinglong gave their respective explanations.

"It is said that this kind of facility is very popular abroad. President Ling has personally inspected it and has also walked all four roads here."

Upon hearing this, Tao Rujiu immediately tried to imagine Ling Li's pale face, terrified by the ghostly traps here. Before the image even appeared, he couldn't help but laugh.

"And what was President Ling's reaction?"

"This is a top secret in the park!" Xiao Li made a face.

At the end of the narrow white passageway was a mourning hall decorated as a ghost marriage scene. Small silver pieces were scattered on the ground, and between the elegiac couplets and black curtains, two wax figures in dark red wedding attire stood before a black lacquered coffin. The living groom was on the right, while the corpse of the dead bride was suspended from the high roof beam by a thick hemp rope threaded through her neck.

Perhaps because it was near the exit, the air convection was more obvious, and the wax figure of the corpse looked like it was sitting on a swing and swaying slightly.

"The staff room is located not far behind the mourning hall."

Zheng Qinglong suddenly lowered his voice, which echoed in the empty mourning hall, making it seem even more mysterious and eerie.

"There's an entrance on the third floor right ahead. Everyone, please be quiet."

The flowers bloomed quietly, and now Xiao Li's smile had also faded. Tao Rujiu obediently kept her mouth shut, but curiosity began to stir within her. They had all been chatting and laughing the whole way; why the sudden silence? Was there some kind of voice-activated mechanism on the road they were about to pass?

He kept this question to himself and walked forward in silence.

A deathly silence fell over the surroundings. The four of them even deliberately shuffled their footsteps as they entered through a small door on the right side of the mourning hall and walked through a five-meter-long corridor of memorial tablets. Dim yellow and green lights illuminated the carpeted passageway ahead, and at the end of the passageway on the right wall, there was a long, narrow archway.

This was a small door leading to the third floor. To Tao Rujiu's surprise, the door was fitted with sturdy iron bars and a rusty padlock, looking nothing like it was intended to be open to the public. The dark interior was impossible to see clearly, but the faint sound of water flowing from underground could be heard.

Could there be an underground water vein inside?

Just as Tao Rujiu was about to shine the light into the archway, Zheng Qinglong stopped him with lightning speed.

No…

Zheng Qinglong shook his head and nudged Tao Rujiu's shoulder, signaling him to hurry up. Tao Rujiu wondered if he was hallucinating, but the sound of the flowing water seemed to have gotten louder.

The group walked silently in the darkness until they stopped in front of a small iron door. Opening it, they found themselves facing a long flight of stairs leading upwards. At the top of the stairs lay the earth bathed in moonlight.

"We've arrived."

Xiao Li took a big step and jumped out of the passage, letting out a shout as his foot touched the soil. The atmosphere lightened again in the slightly salty sea breeze.

Before Tao Rujiu lay a patch of vegetable gardens, some tall, some short. Watermelons, bok choy, green peppers, and eggplants grew in the open air, while cherry tomatoes and pumpkins were growing in a small, light-filled shed. In the distance, loofahs and grapes sat on trellises. These would all be used to supplement the needs of the park's canteen.

Zheng Qinglong was clearly experienced in selecting watermelons, and quickly made his choices from the large watermelon patch. Mission accomplished, Tao Rujiu, however, didn't want to return to the underground palace immediately. He raised the question he had just asked Xiao Li.

"The third floor is indeed not open to the public at the moment, and the sound of water you just heard was real."

When this was mentioned, Xiao Li's smile vanished, a rare occurrence. The flashlight beam shone down on his face, casting shadows around his eyes, making him look exactly like a skull.

"This is how it happened..."

He had just put the watermelon he was holding on the ground and was about to start talking when Zheng Qinglong patted him on the shoulder and shook his head to stop him.

“It might frighten him to talk about this now, so let’s go back to Cuiying Pavilion and discuss it later.”

"Alright. Let's head back quickly then."

The question remained unanswered, leaving only a vague impression of "horror." Tao Rujiu felt increasingly suffocated. Since Brother Zheng had promised to tell him when he got back, he wouldn't delay any longer. He forcibly took a watermelon from Xiao Li's hand. As he turned around, he discovered that only three people remained in the empty vegetable garden.

"The flowers have disappeared!"

Although the boy was short and mute, making him easy to overlook, Tao Rujiu was certain after looking around that Qin Huakai was definitely not in the vegetable garden. Within the young man's field of vision, there wasn't even the yellow light of a flashlight.

The night was pitch black, surrounded by terrifying scenes with bizarre names, and beneath his feet lay a gloomy underground palace. Where had Hua Kai gone?

In contrast to Tao Rujiu's worries, Li and Zheng reacted with unusual calm.

"That kid often wanders off by himself, don't worry about him. He's braver than the three of us combined. I heard he's raising a litter of rabbits in Nine Coffins Forest, maybe he's gone to check on them. Let's go back first."

As they spoke, they still embraced Tao Rujiu from the front and back, and walked down into the tunnel.

The return journey was even colder and more gloomy than the journey there.

Tao Rujiu was also puzzled. It was the same route, yet instead of the reassurance of knowing it all, it became terrifying because of his own imagination. After descending the steps, there was a bend in the road; in the darkness around that corner, was something watching them?

The ultimate level of terror is indeed scaring yourself. Especially when passing through the archway leading to the third level, the sound of flowing water coming from the dark cave made Tao Rujiu unable to help but glance over.

The third level is a river. Is there something terrifying in that river?

As if in response to Tao Rujiu's compulsive musings, he saw a faint silhouette silently rise from the deep, dark pool.

It was definitely the back of a man, showing an inverted triangle of broad shoulders. Tao Rujiu's eyes widened in surprise, but the figure only appeared for less than half a second before disappearing in a flash.

Only the sound of flowing water continued in the darkness.

Li and Zheng continued walking forward, and no one paid attention to the commotion on the third floor.

The three of them quickly left the mourning area. Xiao Li, true to his usual humor, suggested that Tao Rujiu officially "change her name" to Tao Tao. Actually, they had originally planned to call her "Taozi" (Peach), but she resisted fiercely.

After leaving the underground palace, Xiao Li shouted to the old gatekeeper that the power hadn't been cut off on the second floor. When he returned to Cuiying Pavilion with a watermelon, the opera troupe members had already set up benches in the courtyard of the second building to cool off.