Ring of Seven [Online Version]

Zhou Jue put down the phone, and quietly took off the coat and backpack from the hanger.He put on his backpack and tiptoed to the door. His parents were already snoring. He opened the door and looked for his shoes in the dark. At this moment, he found a pair of green lights staring at him in the bathroom.A ghostly blue shone in the green halo, like two will-o'-the-wisps attracting Zhou Jue's gaze.

Zhou Jue stopped moving, and the green light disappeared into the darkness in an instant.Not even a sound.Zhou Jue was stunned for a few seconds, but he still quickly closed the door.

The autumn night was already a bit chilly, Zhou Jue was only wearing a thin blouse, and a gust of draft blew past, Zhou Jue could only feel a strange coldness surrounding him.Then came a few meows from behind him.

Zhou Jue trembled all over, he looked down and found that the cat had slipped out at some point.Instead of running away, it stood behind Zhou Jue and hooked Zhou Jue's ankle with its tail.Zhou Jue and the black cat looked at each other, and the cat meowed again, and he heard his mother coughing from home.Zhou Jue hurriedly picked up the black cat and rushed down the stairs, the night air was very cold.Except for Zhou Jue, who was holding a black cat, there was no one in the neighborhood.

When Zhou Jue rang the doorbell of Chen Hao's house, the thin monkey who had already arrived opened the door for him. At this time, Chen Hao changed into a very casual knitted sweater. Flipping through something.He looked so engrossed that he didn't even notice that Zhou Jue walked in front of him.

Zhou Jue lowered his head and shouted, "Brother Chen, I'm here."

Chen Hao's train of thought was disrupted by Zhou Jue. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked up at Zhou Jue, but it didn't take a second.He greeted Zhou Jue with one sneeze, followed by a second sneeze.The unrestrained and composed look in front was completely shattered by the successive sneezes.

Zhou Jue was sensitive and dodged quickly.Chen Hao covered his nose and said to Zhou Jue: "You, what did you bring!"

Zhou Jue didn't understand what he meant and shook his head.Chen Hao wanted to say something more, but he couldn't stop sneezing at all.At this time, the thin monkey standing beside him said: "Second brother, why is your backpack moving? What's in you? Why is it alive?"

Only then did Zhou Jue suddenly realize that he quickly opened the backpack and carried the black cat out of it.The black cat obviously hasn't understood where it is, and it is terrified to grab Zhou Jue's clothes and won't let go.And when Chen Hao saw the black cat for the first time, his face turned green.Then there was a more exaggerated sneeze, he stood up with difficulty, and then pushed Zhou Jue away.I even took a few steps back.He rushed into the bathroom and took out a wet towel, covering his nose.He looked at Zhou Jue viciously and said, "What are you doing with a cat?"

Zhou Jue smiled awkwardly and briefly explained the matter. Chen Hao was very helpless and wanted to curse but kept sneezing.In the end, I could only blushed: "Take it, Ah Chi! Throw it out for me!"

Zhou Jue looked at the cat. The cat still couldn't recover from the panic, and jumped out of Zhou Jue's arms restlessly. It was very interested in Chen Hao, but the latter feared it like a tiger and snake.He took several steps back, sneezing constantly.Zhou Jue knew he couldn't throw the cat away, otherwise his mother would have to nag him to death when he got home.So pretend to be stupid.As long as he doesn't chop the cat with a knife, they can do whatever they want.Shouhou knew about Zhou Jue's personality, so he just pretended he didn't see it.

Chen Hao quickly dodged the black cat's "attack", he pointed at the toilet while holding his nose, as if ordering the cat to go into the toilet.But the black cat didn't like him at all, and looked at the man boredly as if he was looking at a fool.Chen Hao took several steps back, and the man and the cat were entangled with each other for at least 5 minutes. In Zhou Jue's view, if it went any further, the man surnamed Chen might have to abandon the house and run away.At this time, the black cat also felt that it had played enough, meowed at Zhou Jue and the thin monkey, and entered Chen Hao's sister's room on its own, even Zhou Jue was a little surprised by its domineering momentum.Feelings are the boss here.

Chen Hao wanted to stop it, but he didn't dare to step forward.But when the cat left, his sneezing stopped.He grabbed Zhou Jue, who was still giggling, and bumped him against the wall to see that his fist was about to greet him. Zhou Jue hugged Chen Hao's hands and called for help.

He quickly winked at the thin monkey for help, but the latter still pretended not to see it.Zhou Jue could only bear the result of being beaten again.He discovered that during this period, the thin monkey actually studied Chen Hao's punching style and punching speed from the process of Chen Hao's violence against him.Suddenly there was a sadness of being a guinea pig.He lamented in his heart: This is a murder caused by a cat.

Zhou Jue clutched his stomach and hurriedly begged for mercy: "No, stop beating. Hero! Hero, big brother! Stop beating! I can't help it, it will follow. By the way, didn't you say you have something to tell me! Let’s talk business.”

Chen Hao felt that the lesson was almost done, and finally gave a left uppercut.Only then did Zhou Jue let go, he straightened his hair, then pointed to the place next to the study nonchalantly and said, "You guys sit down. I'll wait for you first... Let the thin monkey tell me what happened to him."

The thin monkey hummed, sat back in his seat, and explained the process carefully. Finally, he took out the ticket and said, "Well, this is the ticket."

Zhou Jue covered his mouth, his brain was thinking non-stop, but he still couldn't figure it out.He just vaguely felt that the mysterious power had begun to erode them and lead them on what he called a "journey".And most importantly, there are some more specific hints on this ticket.It's just...they haven't found out yet.

Zhou Jue was silent for a long time, he raised his head and said to Chen Hao, "Say, you also have something to tell us, what is it?"

Chen Hao changed his sitting position, he sighed: "The book is here."

Hearing the word book, both Zhou Jue and the thin monkey jumped up. They looked at Chen Hao with wide eyes, and the latter showed a wry smile. He said dejectedly: "Yes, it didn't let me go. I I also read the book."

Zhou Jue frowned, and he asked, "What's going on?"

Chen Hao shrugged his shoulders and said: "Oh, just a few days ago, I received a courier. It was sent from Nanjing. There was no signature, and there was only a mobile phone number. I called but it was empty. I opened it and found this This book is the "Ring of Seven". I wanted to inform you immediately, but... like you, I couldn't control my desire, so I read it anyway."

Zhou Jue sucked in his breath, and talked for a long time, but he still didn't say a word.He just nodded helplessly and said, "It's all the same, you are also one of the seven."

Chen Hao's eyes dimmed quite a bit, and the calm feeling before that didn't exist on his face.Zhou Jue thought he was afraid, but unexpectedly Chen Hao said: "If I become one of the seven, then my sister's words will become a proverb. She may not be here anymore."

Zhou Jue remembered that the last entry in Chen Hao's sister's diary did say that if she died, Chen Hao would be his replacement.But what about himself?Who is his replacement?

He stroked his temple and said, "It is certain now that there was another group of people in front of us. They... are the previous ring of seven. Right?"

Chen Hao closed his eyes, trying his best to control the grief and anxiety in his heart.He opened his eyes and regained a little calmness. He said: "Yes, my sister is from the last batch of seven people, and they are probably all dead. We are the new batch. In fact, we are now Already in their footsteps, drawn by some unknown force. Passive as five years ago."

The thin monkey hummed, and he said: "I, the second child, the third fat man, you, and the ninth child are five people in total, and there are two unknown people. If there are seven people, what will happen?"

Zhou Jue felt as if a gust of cold wind was being blown from his back. He wiped the base of his neck and said, "Let's ignore this, but one thing is for sure, we must be different from the predecessors! Otherwise, we will completely follow the previous group To do it in the same way, the final result is just repetition. Only by completely breaking the rules can we seize the opportunity."

Chen Hao nodded in agreement, and he continued: "So, not only do we need to know how the seven people in the previous batch died, but also, we must find out the origin of this book and prevent strange things from happening again. As for The other two people, maybe they haven't read the book, maybe they have. All in all, one thing is certain, we must understand the origin of this book."

At this time, a very subtle meow suddenly came from Chen Hao's sister's room, which sounded like a woman's sneer at first glance.Then something was overturned.There was a crackling sound.

Chen Hao ran in quickly and saw the black cat lying on the cabinet and staring at them.And the ground was covered with shards of glass.Chen Hao gritted his teeth and stared at the cat, but he didn't dare to approach it. He pushed Zhou Jue and said, "Lock that beast into the toilet for me!"

Zhou Jue has just experienced how powerful Chen Hao is, and he doesn't want to be trained a third time.So I had no choice but to approach the cat resentfully, and then grabbed the cat and took it off the cabinet.When he stepped into the shards of glass, he found that there was a piece of paper among the shards, with obvious signs of being burnt.Zhou Jue ignored the black cat, picked up the piece of paper and handed it to Chen Hao, saying, "Brother Chen, what are you looking at?"

Chen Hao pinched his nose and shifted his attention from the black cat to Zhou Jue's hand. He took the paper and glanced at it for a few times, then doubts appeared in his eyes, and he said: "This paper is a piece of paper collected Mailing certificate. But the mailing address on it has been blurred."

Talking to himself, he walked into the broken glass and carefully flipped through it. Sure enough, he also found a few unburned fragments.

The thin monkey said: "Why did your sister put these pieces into the vase? If you want to destroy it, wouldn't it be better to destroy it cleanly?"

Chen Hao put the pieces of paper together, then walked back to the study, and spread the pieces of paper on the table.He beckons two people to come and see.

The three found that, in addition to the postal receipt, there was also a photo and a few pieces of paper torn from the notepad.

Zhou Jue picked up the photo first, only one-third of the photo remained, and Zhou Jue was able to recognize it thanks to the fixed sign of the museum on the far side, otherwise he really couldn’t tell what kind of place it was counter.That thing is a cultural relic from the Southern Dynasties, and it only says that it is a ritual vessel used for offering sacrifices to the dead.

Because the "stuff" was burned, leaving only a corner of a glass display case and instructions.I don't know anything else.

Chen Hao took out a notebook, and he quickly recorded the words on the scrap of paper.Then he took out his mobile phone and took a picture of the broken photo.He paced back and forth in the room, and then said to Zhou Jue behind him, "This cat...is it really a black cat?"

Zhou Jue nodded seriously, Chen Hao coughed awkwardly, took out a mask from the drawer and put it on silently.Zhou Jue found that the veins on his forehead were all bulging.An uncontrollable schadenfreude reappeared in my heart.

Chen Hao took out a courier slip from a file folder, and then he pointed to the postal voucher and said: "The handwriting is very similar, and if you guess correctly, it is from the same place, and they are all from Nanjing."

Zhou Jue said, "Although there are too few clues, it's better than none. We can check from Nanjing and the library. In short, I think the clues that haven't been burned are probably the last news your sister left us. .”

Chen Hao put his hands on the table and looked around.He said slowly, "There are a few questions that you have overlooked."

Zhou Jue asked, "What's the problem?"

Chen Hao didn't look up at him, his voice was muffled by a mask, he continued: "First, this book is not very thick, according to a person with normal reading ability, it can almost You can finish it in one day. But since you got this book, we haven’t even finished one-third of it. There is a force that makes us finish reading it intermittently. Why is this? Have you ever thought about it?”

Zhou Jue and Shouhou were speechless for a moment. It is true that they always read the novel intermittently. Each time, an inexplicable force prevented them from reading the whole novel at once.And not one of them thought about the consequences of turning to the last page to see the story.In fact, Zhou Jue knew that a big reason why they didn't look at the final result was that they were afraid that the scenes in the story would change unexpectedly.Another situation is that the book itself dominates the progress and rhythm of the readers.

Zhou Jue stared at Chen Hao's profile and said, "What else?"

"Second point, where did he see the dead Feng Laojiu? Did he read all the novels? Then why did he die? He may also be a breakthrough, we can't blindly choose to escape."

Zhou Jue smiled helplessly and said, "It's hard to say, now he doesn't show any abnormal behavior at all, he is a hundred times more normal than us."

Chen Hao stared at the piece of paper, shook his head and said, "No...he was actually abnormal from the beginning..."

Zhou Jue questioned, "What?"

Chen Hao narrowed his eyes and said, as if recalling something specific, "He's lying."

Both Zhou Jue and Shouhou had some thoughts that were not as good as Chen Hao's, and Chen Hao didn't estimate whether they could understand, so he continued on his own: "He said he went to Xinjiang for a month, which means that he lived in Xinjiang in the summer. He was still in Xinjiang at the time. But his skin was very fair. Even with the best sunscreen on, it is impossible to be so white. The only thing that is certain is that he is lying. He has never been to Xinjiang."

Zhou Jue seemed to be pierced through his brain by a thunderbolt, and the thin monkey beside him also had a mouth so long that it could stuff a big egg.They were sweating profusely, and Zhou Jue sat back on the chair with a bang.He looked at Chen Hao who was wearing a mask, and Chen Hao was still looking at the piece of paper without looking up.

Zhou Jue continued to ask: "What else?"

Chen Hao sneered a few times, and said: "The last point is also the most incomprehensible point. It is how this book finds seven people. These seven people are randomly selected, or designated. Why? This book will always remain in the library. That means there must be something in the library protecting the book."

Zhou Jue said: "We can go and ask Mr. Gu, if there is something, he will definitely know."

When Chen Hao heard Gu Lao's name, he was slightly startled, and he nodded slightly in agreement with Zhou Jue's decision.

Zhou Jue looked down at the photo, and said, "Skinny Monkey, call Fat San, let's continue reading this book." He looked at Chen Hao and said, "Since we have so many questions, let's have a good time." Look, what's going on in this book. Let's try not to stop this time. Keep reading. See how far we can see."

Chen Hao looked up at Zhou Jue, and he said: "It's too late now, you should stay and sleep first. You can read the book tomorrow. I don't mind if everyone reads together, everyone keeps the same progress, and no one should read too much. It's safer this way. "

So, at this time, there is not much time left before dawn.Although it was said to go to bed, everyone didn't have this thought, so the three of them smoked one cigarette each until morning.The room was already smoky and somewhat magical.

The three of them talked a little bit at first, but in the end they smoked fiercely on their own.No one said anything more, because the questions raised could not be answered.In the morning, Zhou Jue called Fat San's home.

Fat San also stayed up all night, but he was actually very scared.Hearing Zhou Jue's phone call early in the morning, and learning about the thin monkey, he almost trembled even when he uttered a word.The more he listened, the more frightened he became, and he dropped the phone before he could finish listening.Running to Chen Hao's house in no time, it felt a bit like hiding in a refuge.

He just took two bean paste buns from the table. Fat San's mother was also fat, and she ran out of the kitchen waddlingly.He complained loudly why the child ran outside after the holiday. Of course, Fat San didn't look back, but his mother found a photo in the crack of the door.

That photo is very similar to the one where Fat San has been pressed under the glass.But the difference is that there are three more people in this photo, three people his mother doesn't know.Her mother was a little puzzled, but she still picked up the photo, but Fat San's mother didn't notice that behind those seven people was a very strange place, this place was very deserted, definitely not a tourist attraction.