——————
I met you.
A long-awaited reunion.
Chapter 85 Want to fight a mysterious creature? No way (1)
It's possible that all the male protagonists from ghost stories could appear...
Lu Mingran couldn't help but sigh, "I wish I could have a whole hot pot meal!"
At that moment, the cruise ship's horn sounded again, and the system said, "It's time to board."
"Huh?" Lu Mingran looked up. "Aren't we going to a hotel? Why are we getting on a boat?"
"Yes, we took a boat to a resort hotel on a small island."
——————
A few minutes later, Lu Mingran found herself in the atrium on the fifth floor of the Pumpkin Cruise Ship. Her eyes were drawn to the golden chandeliers overhead and the young faces chatting and laughing all around her.
Lu Mingran was swept along by the crowd, moving forward with them. At the same time, sharp whistles mixed with upbeat music assaulted his eardrums. Lu Mingran looked ahead and soon saw a small circular platform in front of him, on which stood a clown tossing a ball.
The clown tilted his comical red nose and diligently performed various acrobatic tricks, eliciting laughter from the onlookers. Logically, this was just an ordinary acrobatic performance, quite entertaining, but Lu Mingran felt uneasy, sensing that something was amiss.
Moreover, there weren't many people laughing loudly around; most were staring intently at the clown, as if they were all expecting something, and the performance in front of them didn't hold their interest at all.
Lu Mingran quickly realized what they were expecting.
The next moment, the clown threw the green ball into the air, but this time what fell was not a ball, but a sharp dagger.
Lu Mingran felt as if everything before her eyes was playing in slow motion, frame by frame. The clown tilted his head back, his lips painted red wide open, his lips curving into the widest possible smile, but his eyes were devoid of any emotion. The dagger fell, fell, right into the clown's throat as he watched.
The clown clutched his neck and fell off the chair.
The surrounding crowd fell silent at the sound of the heavy thud.
However, Lu Mingran clearly noticed that the people around her didn't seem afraid at all. In fact, after a few seconds of silence, a huge cheer and screams erupted from the crowd.
...Have you gone mad?
Lu Mingran had to cover his ears to block out the cheers; he was probably the only one in the entire crowd who seemed relatively normal. His fear was drowned out by the joy of the revelry, and after a while, the crowd finally quieted down a bit.
To Lu Mingran's surprise, the clown lying in the pool of blood suddenly flipped over nimbly, jumped onto a chair, and bowed gracefully to everyone, which drew another wave of cheers.
"Everyone..."
The clown stood up straight, raised his hand and pressed it down to signal everyone to listen to him: "What just happened was the first performance of this journey. I think it may not be exciting enough and may not satisfy your purpose for boarding the ship."
"But please believe that the cruise ship has been carefully decorated as part of this Halloween special event. Now let us introduce the Pumpkin Ship to you once again."
The clown's voice rose in pitch:
"This is a ghost ship!"
Everyone started clapping.
To be precise, it's an ordinary ship that's been disguised as a ghost ship for people's amusement. People have given it a backstory, saying it's a long-lost cruise ship that has returned this year, extending an invitation to brave young people.
Lu Mingran never expected that her simple intention of taking a boat to the hotel for a job interview would lead her to board such a pirate ship—or rather, a "ghost ship."
It seemed that many more bloody incidents like this would occur on the ship, and all of them were man-made. Having already experienced many strange tales, Lu Mingran had little interest in these things. While others continued their revelry, Lu Mingran struggled to squeeze through one person after another until she finally managed to get out and pull out her room key from her pocket.
Yes, third class, the poor man's only destination.
Lu Mingran left the lively noise behind and walked deeper into the corridor. The further he went, the quieter it became; he could only hear the soft sound of his own feet on the soft carpet.
In room 403, Lu Mingran stopped in front of the door and lowered her head.
He should have opened the door, gone in, and gotten a good night's sleep, but Lu Mingran suddenly froze.
Because he heard other sounds.
Faintly, Lu Mingran heard a woman singing, as if in a room, or as if right beside her.
The singing was cold and eerie, completely different from the atmosphere in the courtyard. However, those people couldn't hear it; only Lu Mingran stood there, listening intermittently to the woman's singing.
Just as Lu Mingran was struggling with what to do, he noticed that other people had arrived.
They were two men of similar age to him, wearing identical suits and walking in perfect unison, which looked somewhat ridiculous.
Not only that, they also speak in a secretive manner, leaning close to each other's ears with every word they say, but what's worse, they speak so loudly, so what's the point of all that?
Lu Mingran overheard their conversation clearly.
It turned out that the two were planning to search in the direction the singing was coming from. Hearing this, Lu Mingran thought to herself that this was practically the start of a horror movie, a recipe for disaster.
"I said..."
Lu Mingran coughed twice to get their attention, then pretended to be relaxed: "Do you all need to be so nervous? Isn't everything on the ship just part of the show?"
Actually, Lu Mingran himself didn't believe it, but he really wanted to stop the two young men. As he expected, the two men gave him a disdainful look and clicked their tongues in disapproval.
"Sigh, another one who got tricked into joining."
“How about this,” Lu Mingran suggested, “I’ll contact the staff.”
Six minutes later, the singing stopped. Lu Mingran had complained to the staff, saying that the performers singing outside her window was disturbing her rest, and she was very dissatisfied with the "Midnight Singing" performance.
Lu Mingran clearly remembers that the staff on the other end of the landline remained silent for a long time after hearing his complaint.
As someone who had been alerted by the system, Lu Mingran knew that all the staff on the ship were ghosts. And this was probably the first time they had ever encountered such a request.
Fortunately, Lu Mingran's request was fulfilled. After the singing stopped, Lu Mingran smiled at the two of them, intending to leave without further ado.
Unfortunately, the two men glanced at each other, then suddenly stepped forward, took out a black bag, and put it over Lu Mingran's head.
Lu Mingran, suddenly plunged into darkness: "...!"
Is the next step for him to faint?
I'm really dizzy.
——————
When Lu Mingran woke up, everything was still dark, but he could hear soft music and conversations from other people in the room.
"Boss, we suspect he's in cahoots with those guys."
The person who answered spoke with a tone full of helplessness: "But you don't have to take him to my room."
As soon as he finished speaking, footsteps approached Lu Mingran. The man bent down, reached out, and yanked the bag off Lu Mingran's head.
After blinking several times, Lu Mingran's vision finally became clear. At the same time, the face that appeared in front of him changed from blurry to clear, and the features gradually became clear.
The first thing Lu Mingran noticed was the man's white hair.
The man's face was filled with shock after the bag was removed from Lu Mingran's head; he was so shocked that he forgot to straighten up.
"...Lu Mingran?"
Lu Mingran also subconsciously called out to the other person, "Old Yan?"
"Wait," Lu Mingran took a step back, looking at his face in horror, "How many years has it been since we last met?"
Old Yan thought for a moment and said:
"It seems like it's been ten years, what's wrong?"
"Oh, ten years..."
Lu Mingran looked at the wrinkles at the corners of Old Yan's eyes, emphasized the word "old," and laughed:
“You really are getting old now.”
Author's Note: A few more chapters to go~
I was already thinking about the cruise ship part when I was writing the first world. Welcome to the Pumpkin Ship.
Chapter 86 Want to fight a mysterious creature? No way (2)
If Lao Yan was still somewhat immersed in the atmosphere of the reunion, now, hearing Lu Mingran emphasize that he was old, Lao Yan really wanted to put the bag back on him.
It's strange, though, that even after ten years, Lu Mingran hasn't changed much...
Lu Mingran sat in the chair, grabbed the bag, looked at it, and then threw it aside. She looked up at the room's furnishings, and her eyes immediately lit up.
This is clearly a room for wealthy people.
Seeing him standing there in a daze, Old Yan assumed he hadn't quite recovered, shook his head, and turned to pour him a glass of cold water. At this moment, the two young men standing on the right were also completely stunned.
Their leader... is personally pouring water for this person? Did they kidnap a suspect? Why is the suspect being treated better than them?
Just then, Lao Yan turned around and saw the two men. Remembering that he had two subordinates, he glanced at them.
So the two young men went to get water, while Old Yan stood there with his hands in his pockets, watching quietly.
Lu Mingran watched quietly, and when the two people handed him the water cup, he smiled brightly at them:
"Could you please step outside for a moment? I need to speak with your supervisor."
The two young men turned around at the same time to look at Lao Yan.
Old Yan smiled slightly.
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After they left, Lao Yan turned off the speakers in the room, leaving only the sound of the waves outside.
Lu Mingran took a sip of water and said, "I want to know, are you really alive and well? I still remember what you were carrying on your back."
If you still haven't made up your mind to break those two porcelain dolls, then what's the point of living now? It's just a matter of prolonging your life.
Before leaving, Lu Mingran handed the choice to Lao Yan. Now, ten years have passed in the blink of an eye, and he wants to know the result.
But Lao Yan didn't respond. He simply sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, maintaining his usual boss-like demeanor, and said in a calm but quick tone:
"I will arrange for you to disembark."
"Don't worry, another small boat will come to pick you up tomorrow morning."