Kaleidoscope of Death

Next, they went to two other missing children.

After some questioning, they quickly found out what the three children had in common—before they disappeared, they all said that they had been followed, although the parents didn't take the children's words seriously.

The mother of one of the missing children whimpered and cried, regretting: "I regret it so much, if I had believed her at the time, she would not have disappeared, everything is my fault, everything is my fault... I am not A competent mother…”

Ruan Nanzhu said a few words of comfort, "Then do you have any clues about her disappearance? If you have any clues, can you tell us, maybe we can use them to find your child earlier."

The mother was silent for a moment, and said in a low voice: "Clues... There are rumors that there is a monster hiding in the suburbs of our town... Of course, these are just rumors, and no one has ever encountered it in person."

Ruan Nanzhu: "Monster? What kind of monster?"

"I don't know." My mother said, "We don't know what that monster looks like, but there are rumors that it seems to be very tall..."

That was all the mother knew.

However, after Ruan Nanzhu's questioning, they also learned that this child likes to play near the cannery. Although the parents have said it many times, she still often goes secretly.The place of disappearance this time seems to be the canning factory that has been sealed...

It appears that the cannery is indeed an important location.

Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu reached an agreement and decided to simply have some lunch and visit the cannery in the afternoon.

The taste of lunch was still not good. Several dishes on the table were related to fish, exuding a strong fishy smell.In the center of the table were a few open fish cans, which looked more delicious in a table of food.

Because of this, many people moved their chopsticks to canned fish and said that it tasted very good.

Because of the investigation results in the morning, Lin Qiushi was really insensitive to these canned food. He ate something casually, picked up his mobile phone and started to organize his thoughts. Treat him like air.

Lin Qiushi was also happy to relax.

It was the second day after entering the door, and some people tried to find Ruan Nanzhu to form a team, and their words were full of dislike for Lin Qiushi.

Some people spoke tactfully, while others were very blunt, saying that the girl was dumb and couldn't call out when something happened, so why waste time on her, it's better to form a team with another person.

Hearing this, Lin Qiushi almost stood up and faced the Eighteenth Company of Quality, but in the end he tried his best to hold back, imitating Ruan Nanzhu's previous acting appearance and making a pitiful appearance.

So Ruan Nanzhu seemed to be moved by his weakness, and rejected the invitation of others.

However, Ruan Nanzhu seemed to be annoyed by the harassment, and grabbed Lin Qiushi and left the restaurant quickly.

"Why do they like to look for you so much? Is it because you are good-looking?" Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu were a little strange when they walked to the cannery.

"People will seek advantages and avoid disadvantages." Ruan Nanzhu said, "In a place where you will lose your life if you are not careful, if you encounter someone stronger than yourself, you will always find a way to get closer."

When they got a certain distance from the cannery, they smelled a strong fishy smell.

This fishy smell makes people feel very uncomfortable. If it is placed on someone who does not like to eat fish, I am afraid that after two mouthfuls, they will feel nauseous.

The cannery is at the edge of the town. There seems to be no trace of human habitation here. There are no buildings beside the road, only some sparse trees and thick bushes. Behind the trees is a dense fog, reminding them not to cross the border. .

According to the mayor, the cannery had ceased operations a few years ago, and it was silent at this time.Ruan Nanzhu took out his tools and easily opened the rusted door at the entrance of the cannery, and the two entered through the entrance.

"This cannery is quite big." Lin Qiushi looked around, and the first thing he came into was a huge yard, surrounded by one-meter-high weeds, and it could be seen that no one had been here for a long time.There are also a few tall dead trees in the yard. Birds with black feathers are heard on the dead trees. At first glance, they look like crows, but after careful observation, they seem to be much larger than crows...

"Yes." Ruan Nanzhu walked in front.

Lin Qiushi said: "Could they all disappear here? Or, they were brought here after they disappeared."

Ruan Nanzhu: "I don't know, let's look around for any clues first."

Lin Qiushi nodded.

The two went all the way, and when they were about to enter the factory area, Lin Qiushi suddenly made a discovery.

This discovery was an accident. Lin Qiushi tripped over a stone and staggered a few steps. He lowered his head reflexively and saw something else while seeing the stone that tripped him.

"What is this?" Lin Qiushi called, he bent down and squatted down to observe the muddy ground carefully, "...Is this a finger print?"

Ruan Nanzhu heard Lin Qiushi's voice and glanced at where he was looking.

I saw that the soil was covered with dense palm prints. At first glance, these palm prints seemed irregular and rough, but after careful observation, it was found that the palm prints were more like a signal for help—someone was dragged from the soil. Gone, in the process of being dragged away, he tried to grab the things around him, so he grabbed the soil under his body in a panic, leaving marks on the map one by one.

Lin Qiushi walked forward cautiously along the mark, and Ruan Nanzhu followed behind him, observing the surrounding situation.

Soon, Lin Qiushi found something at the end of the handprint. It was a huge dead tree with a diameter of at least two meters. It seemed that it had been withered for a long time. Lin Qiushi tapped on the outside of the trunk, frowning: "It's empty inside, could there be something?"

Ruan Nanzhu looked at the dead tree: "It's possible." After all, the handprints disappeared in front of this tree.

Ruan Nanzhu took out a small knife from his pocket and began to slowly chisel the trunk. The tree was already rotten, and the sharp knife was easily inserted into it.

However, when Ruan Nanzhu pulled out the knife, Lin Qiushi gasped.

On Ruan Nanzhu's blade, there was actually a touch of red blood.

"Damn it." Lin Qiushi couldn't help swearing, his expression was a little embarrassed, "...you won't stab the clue to death."

Ruan Nanzhu: "..." He was silent for a moment, then calmly said, "I didn't mean it."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

Ruan Nanzhu: "However, if a normal person inserts it, it will definitely make a sound. Besides, there is no hole in this tree. How can a normal person get in?"

That's true, Lin Qiushi licked his dry lips: "Then dig it out and have a look."

Ruan Nanzhu nodded, this time he didn't dare to insert the knife too deep, but after inserting it, he began to move around hard, and quickly chiseled a gap in the trunk, exposing the contents inside.

After Lin Qiushi saw what was inside the trunk, he couldn't help but took a step back, with an ugly expression on his face.

I saw a child inlaid in the trunk. The child seemed to have merged with the ancient tree, and his body was almost completely embedded in the trunk.But the most eye-catching thing was that a huge gash was opened in his abdomen. Although there was no blood or anything, Lin Qiushi knew that he was definitely not alive.

Ruan Nanzhu tilted his head: "There seems to be a plastic bag behind him."

People who didn't read the clues would definitely not know what was going on, but Lin Qiushi had already understood the clues of the door before he came in, so he understood the meaning of the plastic bag almost instantly—the child's internal organs were emptied , Put it in that plastic bag.

This is exactly what Slender Ghost likes to do.

"I think the rest of the children are in danger." Lin Qiushi sighed.

Ruan Nanzhu: "High probability." He was used to death, and he was looking at the corpse in the tree trunk in front of him with a cold expression, trying to find more clues.

Lin Qiushi looked around, he had a feeling that the remaining two lost children were also in the cannery, but they didn't know where they were hidden.

Just when Lin Qiushi was thinking this way, Ruan Nanzhu suddenly took a step back, his footsteps were a little anxious, as if he saw something strange.

"What?" Lin Qiushi was taken aback.

Ruan Nanzhu was silent for a moment, did not speak, and pointed to the corpse in front of him.

Lin Qiushi looked up, and then reacted the same as Ruan Nanzhu's - the child's eyes opened at some point, and he was looking at them indifferently with a deep dead air.

Lin Qiushi had goosebumps all over his body, and he said with a dry smile, "You won't cheat a corpse, will you?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "That might be." He looked up at the sky, "It's getting dark, we'd better not look for it, we'll talk about it tomorrow, we'll go back today."

"Well." Lin Qiushi agreed with Ruan Nanzhu's proposal, after all, the world inside the door is very dangerous at night.

"Let's go, tell the people in the town about this kid tomorrow." Ruan Nanzhu said, "I want to see how they react."

The cannery was actually a little far away from where they lived, Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu hurried back to the hotel before dark.

Everyone gathered in the dining room, eating dinner in silence, and occasionally someone talked about getting clues today.

Lin Qiushi was eating in a nonchalant manner. Suddenly, there was a commotion in the crowd. When he looked up, he saw a man with a nosebleed.

"Oh, why did I suddenly have a nosebleed." The man's companion said, "Hurry up and wipe it off with a piece of paper."

"I don't know what happened." The man said, "I bleed after eating..."

He got up and went to the bathroom, but Lin Qiushi and Ruan Nanzhu looked at each other, seeing certain emotions in each other's eyes.

After the slender ghost stares at the adult target, there will always be some omens, nightmares, hallucinations, and one of them is nosebleed or coughing up blood.

The man in front of him suddenly had a nosebleed, and he didn't know if it was an accident or a sign.

This man left quickly and came back quickly. When he came back, his nosebleed had stopped, and he was cursing and talking about the bad food in the hotel.

Seeing that nothing happened, Lin Qiushi got up and planned to leave. Ruan Nanzhu followed him back to the room.

After returning to the room, Lin Qiushi lay on the bed and thought about clues with his mobile phone.

Ruan Nanzhu sat next to him and read Lauren's diary again.

"It seems that there is nothing left, and there are not enough clues." After the sky darkened, Lin Qiushi was a little sleepy, and he said, "Let's go to sleep."

Ruan Nanzhu said: "Okay."

Lin Qiushi climbed into bed after washing and watched the fog outside the window begin to thicken.

Ruan Nanzhu was lying next to Lin Qiushi. After a while, there was a steady breathing sound...it seemed to be falling asleep.

Lin Qiushi also closed his eyes, but in the silent night, even the slightest sound was very harsh. Lin Qiushi's hearing was already keen, and he lay on the bed and caught the sound that did not belong here.

It was the sound of someone walking through the grass, and that person seemed to be dragging some heavy objects, occasionally crushing a branch or two.

Lin Qiushi immediately thought of the child he saw in the tree trunk during the day, and his fearless pupils covered with pale white.

He felt a little cold in his body, so he slowly turned over.

Ruan Nanzhu, who was supposed to be sound asleep, opened his eyes and looked at him with burning eyes: "Little dumb girl, can't you sleep?"

Lin Qiushi's eyes widened, and Ruan Nanzhu got up before he could say a word, then he naturally lay down next to him, and put his arms around his waist.

Lin Qiushi was about to say something, but Ruan Nanzhu lightly pressed his lips with his thumb: "Shh, good boy."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

While Lin Qiushi was in a daze, the two had already slept on the same bed.Fortunately, the bed was big enough, and it wasn't too crowded for two men to sleep together.Lin Qiushi originally wanted to refuse, but before he refused, he thought of Ruan Nanzhu's identity as the sleeping pill essence, hesitated, and finally said nothing.

The things in the grass outside the house were still walking around, as if looking for some opportunity.

Lin Qiushi listened nervously at first, but later he was infected by Ruan Nanzhu's calm atmosphere, closed his eyes and fell into a drowsy sleep.

It's the next day.

The next morning, nothing happened overnight.

Fourteen people showed up in the restaurant as usual.

It has been two days, and there is no dead person, which is very rare.Lin Qiushi was thinking about this, but saw a person walking in front of him.This person seems to be the one who suddenly had a nosebleed while eating yesterday. He looks mediocre and should have nothing to attract attention, but Lin Qiushi frowned after taking a look at him.

Compared with yesterday, this person has an extra black top hat on his head.

The top hat was simply out of place with the casual clothes he was wearing, but the others didn't seem to notice it, and didn't even mention it.

"What are you looking at?" Ruan Nanzhu asked him suddenly.

"The hat on his head looks so strange." Lin Qiushi replied, "Didn't you see it yesterday?"

Ruan Nanzhu frowned slightly when he heard the words, and his eyes moved to the man, staring at him for a moment: "It's really strange."

"But everyone thinks it's normal." Lin Qiushi said.

"To be honest." Ruan Nanzhu put down the milk cup in his hand, "Before you didn't mention this, I thought it was normal."

Lin Qiushi: "Huh?"

Ruan Nanzhu: "How should I describe that feeling to you, as if he should have been wearing such a hat." He propped his chin, and looked at the man calmly from the corner of his eye, "No It's abrupt, and it's not surprising."

Lin Qiushi: "..."

But in fact, this is indeed a very strange hat.

Obviously, such a black top hat is only worn when wearing formal clothes.But the man was wearing a T-shirt and jeans, and he seemed to be the only one in the room who noticed something was wrong.

Ruan Nanzhu said softly: "I think he is going to die."

Lin Qiushi: "...I think so too."

The two reached an agreement on this matter.

The man didn't seem to feel that there was something wrong with him at all, and had breakfast with him very happily.In the process of eating, I also told my companions that I had a dream yesterday.

With Lin Qiushi's hearing ability, it was easy to capture what he said.

"In the dream, someone gave me a hat and asked me to wear it." He said with a smile, "I thought it was just a dream, but the next day I really found a hat hanging on a tree branch outside the window." hat."

"That's a lovely hat," said his companion unexpectedly, "and it fits you well."

Under normal circumstances, these words sound like perfunctory, but the tone of the speaker is very sincere, and Lin Qiushi can tell that he is serious.He seriously thought the hat was beautiful and suited his companion, and even wanted to try it on himself.

Lin Qiushi glanced at Ruan Nanzhu.

Ruan Nanzhu seemed to understand what he meant, he nodded, stood up, and walked towards the man in the hat.

"Is there something wrong with your hat?" Ruan Nanzhu said, "Don't be something cursed."

The words have been said clearly, but the man showed a vigilant expression after hearing it, and he said: "I don't think that the clue of the key is in the hat."

Ruan Nanzhu spread his hands: "What if you're not here?"

The man said, "It's okay if you're not here, it's just a hat."

Ruan Nanzhu stopped talking, turned around and left. If it wasn't for Lin Qiushi, he wouldn't have said such a superfluous sentence. Since this person is stubborn and refuses to listen, he is already benevolent.

Lin Qiushi showed helplessness, and carefully typed on the mobile phone: If I am haunted by this thing, you must wake me up.

Ruan Nanzhu smiled but said, "Don't worry, I will definitely wake you up in a way that won't hurt you."

Lin Qiushi: "..." Why does your smile look so weird.

The man in the black top hat went out with his companion after breakfast, looking at Ruan Nanzhu's expression with regret.

At first, Lin Qiushi thought that Ruan Nanzhu was regretting that this person might die like him, but later found out that Ruan Nanzhu was simply regretting not seeing how he died.

"If you see it, you can always get more experience." Ruan Nanzhu took out a candy from his pocket, ate one himself, and gave Lin Qiushi one.

"What kind of candy is this?" Lin Qiushi tasted this kind of candy for the first time.

"Cheng Yixie made it, who knows what it tastes like." Ruan Nanzhu handed it to Lin Qiushi, "Eat it, dumb girl."

Lin Qiushi took it and stuffed it into his pocket.

The two saw the corpse yesterday, and they planned to talk to the mayor, but when they passed by the square on the way, they found that there were three more missing person notices yesterday.After carefully reading the content of the missing person notice, they found that another child was lost in the town yesterday. They still knew this child, and it was Lauren's sister.

"Why did you lose another child?" Lin Qiushi frowned.

Ruan Nanzhu: "I don't feel very good, there are only eight children in the town.

Lin Qiushi: "...So, there is actually a death limit?"

Ruan Nanzhu nodded.

At first glance, the task given to them by the NPC this time has no time limit, but this sudden missing person notice gave them a bad feeling.

What would happen if all the children in the town disappeared? Lin Qiushi felt that he didn't want to know the answer to this question.

Ruan Nanzhu said: "Let's go, first go to the mayor."

They walked across the square, found the mayor in a row of old buildings behind, and briefly told the mayor about the body they found yesterday.

The mayor's expression was very serious after hearing this, but Lin Qiushi could see a little panic from his serious expression... It seemed that he knew what was going on.

"Oh, thank you, we'll take people there to see." The mayor said, "It's in the cannery, right?"

"Yes, under a dead tree in the cannery." Ruan Nanzhu said, "Mr. Mayor, we really want to help you find the child, but if you know any clues but are unwilling to provide us with them, it's a shame for us." The work has added a lot of difficulty." He pointed in the direction of the square, "We saw another child missing."

The mayor frowned and remained silent.

"Aren't you willing to tell us more information until all the children are gone?" Ruan Nanzhu said.

The mayor rubbed his hands, but still refused to speak.

Ruan Nanzhu narrowed his eyes slightly, and based on Lin Qiushi's understanding of him, he knew that he was showing impatience with this expression.

Ruan Nanzhu's temper was not good in the first place, and he probably tolerated the mayor's soft-spoken words.

"Actually, we can't say well." I don't know if Ruan Nanzhu's eyes put pressure on the mayor, he finally spoke, "In fact, such things happen several times a year..."

Ruan Nanzhu immediately restrained his expression, and smiled gently: "Oh? What does it mean that it happens several times a year?"

"Meaning we have strange things in our town that always seem to want to take our kids away," the mayor said. "So we have a holiday this time of year and keep the kids at home."

Ruan Nanzhu: "Do the townspeople know these things?"

The mayor shook his head awkwardly.

"They don't know?" Ruan Nanzhu was incredulous, "Then what excuse did you use to keep the child at home?"

The mayor said: "There will always be an excuse. This is not the point. The point is that there was an accident this year."

Before he could speak, Ruan Nanzhu took over his words: "The surprise is, even if the children stay at home, they still disappear?"

The mayor nodded, and his tone sounded very dull: "Of the four missing children, two are missing at home, and the other two ran out without knowing how..."

Lin Qiushi remembered the corpse in the cannery, and the child seemed to be caught by that thing in the cannery.

"So, we don't know what went wrong." The mayor said, "It's the children who are disobedient, or that thing..."

Ruan Nanzhu said: "The power of that thing has become stronger."

The mayor nodded in pain.

After hearing his words, Lin Qiushi immediately remembered the black top hat he saw this morning... This top hat is obviously inseparable from what the mayor said, but he doesn't know whether it has anything to do with the children's disappearance.