Strange Events in Room 202

Chapter 19

Gu Xing turned around and saw that Xu Chen looked a little worried, so he went over and patted her shoulder, saying, "Are you alright? Are you still angry about what happened last night? Don't be childish."

Xu Chen didn't look directly at Gu Xing, lost in thought. When she saw Gu Xing patting her shoulder, she brushed his hand away and said, "I'm thinking about something, don't bother me."

Yang Yi saw Gu Xing and Xu Chen from afar, so she walked over, pulled Gu Xing away from Xu Chen, took out her camera, and said, "Brother Gu Xing, the scenery here is beautiful, let's take a group photo."

Gu Xing listened to Yang Yi's words with a somewhat absent-minded focus, but his eyes kept drifting towards Xu Chen.

Gu Xing and his group of ten spent the whole day playing on the mountain. Everyone was very happy, except for three people who weren't too happy—Gu Xing, Yang Yi, and Xu Chen. Xu Chen was preoccupied with thoughts all day, so Gu Xing was worried about her, wondering what had happened to her. Yang Yi, on the other hand, kept a close eye on Gu Xing and Xu Chen, and felt a little sour when she noticed that Gu Xing kept focusing his gaze on Xu Chen.

When Gu Xing and the others came down from the mountain, Zhang Da's parents had already prepared dinner. More than ten people sat around the table eating, the atmosphere harmonious and lively. The food on the table was plentiful. Xu Chen, however, only ate a few things before standing up and saying to everyone, "Everyone, I'm full. You can continue eating." After saying that, she left Zhang Da's house. Zhang Da's mother said strangely, "You're full so quickly? Are you trying to lose weight? That's how city girls are."

Worried, Gu Xing chased after him. When he reached the door, he saw Xu Chen walking away without looking back. Gu Xing rushed up to him, calling out, "Xu Chen—Xu Chen!"

Xu Chen continued walking without looking back.

"Chongchong—Chongchong." Gu Xing called her by her nickname, and Xu Chen slowly turned around after hearing it.

What are you doing following me?

"You seem preoccupied, you're absent-minded all day, I'm worried about you."

"Hmph, you actually care about me?" Xu Chen only remembered what happened last night at this moment, and was a little unhappy.

"Don't be like that. As for what happened last night, I was also at fault. I apologize to you here."

"Oh, never mind, I have something urgent to do right now. I'll talk to you when I get back," Xu Chen said, and started to leave again.

"Where are you going? What are you doing?" Gu Xing followed again.

Xu Chen stopped, looked at the nervous Gu Xing, and felt a little sweet inside. He said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."

"I know you'll be fine, I'm just worried you might do something bad."

Xu Chen got a little angry after hearing this: "I would do bad things? Have you ever seen me do anything bad?"

"Weren't all those strange things you did the ones?"

"I didn't do what happened in Laude Village. I've always just played pranks."

Hearing what Xu Chen said, Gu Xing felt a little comforted and looked at Xu Chen seriously, saying, "Can you promise me that you won't do bad things, okay?"

Xu Chen frowned and said to Gu Xing, "Why are you talking to me like I'm a child?"

"You always were."

Xu Chen wasn't angry after hearing this; he just smiled, turned around, and left. Gu Xing called out from behind, "Where are you going?"

"Don't worry, I'll be back later."

"I'll give you some money for a taxi," Gu Xing said, reaching for his wallet, only to find it was gone after searching for a while.

Xu Chen saw it from a distance, stuck out her tongue, and walked away abruptly. She only heard Gu Xing shout behind her, "Damn it, so you took my wallet!"

"It's not a bad thing, it can only be a prank." Xu Chen turned around as he walked, waving Gu Xing's wallet in his hand, and answered playfully.

Watching Xu Chen's departing figure, Gu Xing smiled knowingly. As he turned to go back inside, he noticed Yang Yi watching him from the doorway. Yang Yi forced a smile and asked, "Where is Sister Xu Chen going?"

"I don't know either, she's always acting so strangely."

After listening, Yang Yi simply stood by the door without saying another word, and Gu Xing also stood awkwardly, motionless.

As evening fell, Lü Qing left the police station and walked to a very quiet and dark alley. The workaholic Lü Qing took out his newly bought miniature recorder and began to report on the day's case progress.

"Today, my team leader and I went to the hospital to find out what happened. It turns out that another injured person died from their injuries today, bringing the total number of deaths to fifty-three. We learned from several doctors that the villagers' frantic reaction at the time of the incident was due to the secretion of certain chemicals in their brains, but the amount was very large, with an effect equivalent to that of drugs. When we heard this, my team leader and I were very surprised."

As Lü Qing finished speaking, she realized she was home, so she turned off the recorder. Back home, Lü Qing quickly took a shower, sat on the sofa, and turned on the recorder again, wanting to listen to a recap of the day's case.

At first, the details of the case that Lü Qing told at the police station during the day were played clearly, but when the part where Lü Qing walked into the alley was played, there was serious background noise, and he could also hear two people's footsteps. Lü Qing found it strange. The newly bought machine also had the same problem. Lü Qing then replayed the part where his accomplice spoke in the alley.

"Today... gulp... ga... oh... oh... oh... I might as well... struggle... ra..."

Lu Qing heard the static from the recorder getting worse, but when he listened carefully for the third time, he realized that the static sounded a lot like human voices.

"Gah... La... Not as good as an axe... Blood... Guh."

Sure enough, the recording played back only these noises, which sounded like low moans. Lu Qing thought about it carefully; both noises occurred when he returned to that alley, so the problem lay in that alley. Lu Qing made up his mind to thoroughly investigate what had happened the next night.

The next day, Lü Qing returned to the bureau early. Chen Zhuang went with him to the forensic department to see if there were any new developments. They worked until night, and Lü Qing continued to record the development of the case with a recorder.

At nine o'clock in the evening, Lü Qing started walking home from the bureau and walked into that alley.

Lu Qing took out the recorder and, as he walked, recounted the case he and Chen Zhuang had investigated that day.

"Today, my team leader and I went to the forensic department. The forensic doctor confirmed that all the wounds of the deceased, including several seriously injured people, were very wide and large, which is consistent with what the college students said about the murder weapon being a machete."

As Lü Qing finished speaking, he looked around. The alleyway was pitch black at the front, but the back was dimly lit by the streetlights casting a yellowish glow. As a policeman, Lü Qing was usually quite brave, but now he felt a chill. He calmed himself and listened carefully to his surroundings, but there wasn't a sound. Why was it that for the past two days, every time he returned home, the recorder would pick up strange noises in the alley? Completely baffled, Lü Qing continued recounting the case.

"As for the machete that the college students mentioned, we haven't found it. We've also issued warrants for the arrest of the old man named Chen Shou and the man named Hou Zhong. However, the captain and I find it very strange because the college students said that the old man had been seriously injured by Hou Zhong, but why have both of them disappeared?"

After finishing his story, Lü Qing returned to his apartment building. He had forgotten to turn off the recorder before going upstairs. The first thing Lü Qing did upon arriving home was to take a shower. When he came out, he noticed the recorder was still on, so he picked it up, sat on the sofa, and replayed the case details he had recounted that day.

Just like the previous two days, the recording played back his voice from the daytime at the station clearly, nothing strange about it. As the recording approached the part where he was speaking in the alley, Lü Qing began to listen intently and nervously.

"Gah... Cough... Not as good as an axe... An axe is not as good as... Squeak..."

The noise still appeared, and it sounded exactly like a person's humming. Lu Qing couldn't wait to play it again, and the sound gradually became clearer.

"A gun is not as good as... clatter... a knife is not as good as... an axe... clatter..."

Seeing that he couldn't hear it very clearly, Lü Qing pressed the play button again and played it once more. This time, he could finally hear it clearly.

"A pistol is not as good as a knife because it's too loud. A knife is not as good as an axe because it gives the target a chance to struggle. An axe is not as good as a sledgehammer because it produces more blood. A sledgehammer is not as good as a small hammer because it's too inconvenient."

Hearing this, Lü Qing broke out in a cold sweat. How could this be? He clearly hadn't said anything like this in the alley, and there wasn't a sound around at the time. Why would the recorder record such a sound? Moreover, Lü Qing realized that the recorder was playing the same voice from before, and it sounded very familiar.

As he stood there in a daze, the recorder continued playing. It turned out he'd forgotten to turn it off when he got home, so it had been recording continuously until he came out of the shower. Seeing the recorder still playing, and thinking there was nothing else to listen to, Lü Qing decided to play the strange sound again. But this time, the recorder played the sound of Lü Qing climbing the stairs, "clunk...clunk." As Lü Qing listened, something seemed off. Besides his footsteps, there were other people's footsteps, followed by the sound of Lü Qing closing the door, taking off his shoes, entering the bathroom, and then the sound of him showering.

After a while, there was a sudden sound of the door opening, followed by the sound of the door closing.

Lü Qing thought: Strange, I didn't hear any sound when I was taking a shower, so where did the door opening and closing sounds that the recorder is playing now come from?

As Lü Qing was pondering, the sound of someone walking around came from the recorder again. Obviously, Lü Qing knew that the person walking around was not himself, because the sound of him taking a shower could also be heard from the recorder.

Lu Qing was filled with fear when he heard the sound of the toolbox being opened. Looking at the toolbox on the cabinet, he saw it had indeed been opened. He went over to look inside and discovered the hammer was missing.

At this moment, Lü Qing drew his pistol and cautiously looked around the house, but there was no movement for a long time.

It was not a good place to stay, so Lü Qing took his pistol and wallet, locked the house, and went to a hotel to stay for the night.

These past two days, Xu Chen has been going out every night, which has made Gu Xing a little worried. He wanted to follow Xu Chen, but Xu Chen took his wallet. Helpless, he thought of Yang Mian.

That evening, Xu Chen went out again as soon as he finished dinner. Gu Xing and Yang Mian followed Xu Chen from behind all the way to the city. They saw Xu Chen sit down in a fast food restaurant, and Gu Xing and Yang Mian also carefully waited outside the restaurant.

"My sister said you've started liking Xu Chen again, is that true?" Yang Mian asked Gu Xing out of boredom.

"I don't know either. I used to like her, but after everything that's happened, I'm a little scared." Gu Xing finished speaking and let out a long sigh.

"But I sense that you two seem to have rekindled your old flame lately, all thanks to you slapping her at Zhang Da's house."

Gu Xing smiled and said, "Back then, it was all for you. She must have felt bored because no one was paying attention to her, so she said those things to provoke you. Her personality is really like a child's, very willful."

"So, is this the type of girl you like?"

"Don't be so nosy like Li Xu, okay? This is a personal matter."

Yang Mian gave a wry smile and said, "Okay, okay, this is your business. Actually, it's what my sister asked me to ask you."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xing looked at Yang Mian seriously and said, "Actually, I feel sorry for your sister..."

"You don't need to say anything more. I understand what you mean. I will find an opportunity to explain to Yang Yi. Don't worry."

"You truly are my good friend," Gu Xing said, patting Yang Mian on the shoulder.

When they turned back to look at the fast food restaurant, Xu Chen was gone.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, Lü Qing finished work and went back to that strange alley. He took out his newly bought recorder with his left hand and turned it on, but didn't say anything. His right hand tightly clutched his pistol, just in case. And so, Lü Qing returned home without incident.

When he got home, Lü Qing turned on the recorder again, but he couldn't hear anything. He listened to it several more times, but there was still no sound. Even the sound of his footsteps in the alley was gone. Lü Qing was stunned.

Suddenly a man rushed out of the kitchen and ran straight into Lü Qing's room.

After that, the house returned to calm.

Lu Qing stared wide-eyed at the sudden turn of events, then after a moment of stunned silence, picked up his pistol and roared, "Who? Who are you? Show yourself!"

There was no sound from inside the room.

Lu Qing's heart raced. She slowly walked to the door of the room, nimbly jumped inside, pointed her pistol, but found the room empty.

He breathed a sigh of relief and asked himself: Was it just a hallucination?

When he turned around, he saw a man with a stubble-covered face, a square jaw, and wearing a shirt and trousers standing in front of him. Before he could react, the man suddenly struck him with a hammer, knocking him unconscious.

When Lü Qing regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a chair, with the man standing not far in front of him. Lü Qing recognized his face and exclaimed, "Niu Erqing, what are you doing here? Weren't you sentenced to death?"

"Yes, I'm back. Officer Lü, you were the one who arrested me that day."

"That's impossible."

"Heh...heh..." Niu Erqing laughed for a while, then said, "I've realized now that the reason you guys caught me before was because I left too many clues with a knife. So now I've switched to using a hammer, hee...hee...hee...hee."

Hearing Niu Erqing's sinister laughter again, Lü Qing fainted once more.

Behind Chapter Twelve

After several days, the holiday was over, and the police station didn't look for Gu Xing and his friends anymore, so they returned to school.

As soon as Gu Xing and his friends returned to school, they were constantly questioned about what had happened in Laode Village. Gu Xing and the others didn't want to say much, but Li Xu answered every question and even embellished the story. After more than a week, the matter was gradually forgotten by people.

Xu Chen hadn't shown up for the past few days, which Gu Xing found strange. He wondered what prank she was up to this time, so he went to the girls' dormitory to look for her. However, he found many boys standing in front of the dormitory, constantly asking a girl questions. Gu Xing didn't want to get involved, so he walked up to another girl and asked, "Excuse me, I'm looking for Xu Chen. Could you please call her out for me?"

"Tsk, looking for Xu Chen again. Don't you see there are several guys over there? They're also looking for Xu Chen. Go ask them over there." The girl was a little angry, and then went back to her dormitory.

Gu Xing walked helplessly to the group of boys and heard them asking questions.

When is she coming back?

"I have no idea."

"Did she really go home?"

"How many times do I have to tell you? She has family matters to attend to and needs to go back for a few days."

...

It was only then that Gu Xing realized Xu Chen seemed to have left. Gu Xing immediately thought she might be at Yang Mian's house. Gu Xing rushed to Yang Mian's apartment, knocked on the door for a while, but received no response. Growing anxious, Gu Xing called out, "Xu Chen, Xu Chen, are you there?"

Suddenly, Gu Xing heard footsteps behind him. Gu Xing turned around happily and saw Yang Yi.