When the driver stopped at the red light, he took out his phone and sent a voice message in the group chat.
He had just dropped Chen Ge off at Huai Hua Alley and listened to ghost stories along the way, so he was panicking.
"The car is equipped with a driving recorder, a GPS system, and a gate. It should be fine." The driver was cunning. When he sent the voice message, he purposely raised his voice so that the passenger in the back could hear him clearly.
"The nights have been quite chaotic these past few days. Be careful."
"Okay."
The green light turned green. The driver placed the phone to the side and started the taxi.
The scenery on both sides flew by, and the number of cars on the road decreased.
The driver silently glanced at the passenger in the back through the rearview mirror. The man was not that tall, and he was wearing a black hoodie with a light red shirt underneath.
The man hurried into the car. After telling the driver where he wanted to go, he did not say anything else.
The weirdest thing was that he did not remove the hoodie that he was wearing after he got into the car. Due to the angle, only half of his face could be seen.
"Brother, we are more particular about night drivers, so we normally don't go to that place." The driver was not confident, so he started to ramble. "But since I've let you in, I definitely won't overcharge you. However, I can only drop you around that place. You'll need to walk one or two hundred meters into the crematorium on your own. Is that okay?"
He had been like this when he drove Chen Ge for the first time. He was very timid. Before they reached the place, he had already started to plan his escape route. Once the passenger got out, he would turn and run.
"Don't, I'm just going to get something. My home is in the city." The man raised his head, and there was no problem with his voice. "If you leave and leave me alone at the crematorium, how am I supposed to get a taxi after I get my stuff? What kind of taxi would come to the crematorium at night? "
The driver, Lao Zhang, thought about it, and he realized that the passenger had a point.
"If you drop me there and then drop me back, you'll earn twice the fare. Isn't that much better than coming back with an empty car?"
After hearing what the passenger said, Lao Zhang was a little tempted. If he could earn more money, why not?
If it was in the past, he would have agreed immediately, but after that incident with Chen Ge, he was traumatized and became more cautious. "Sure, but I'll wait for you at the intersection. Come back and find me after you're done."
"Sure, as long as you don't mind wasting time." The male passenger in the back row put his hands in his pockets and appeared to be very easy to talk to.
Other than the fact that he keeps wearing a hat, there's nothing abnormal about him. I feel like he's much more reliable than the guy who went to the abandoned campus for a date.
Lao Zhang mumbled to himself. There were so many taxis in Jiujiang that he couldn't possibly run into all sorts of strange things, right?
The probability of encountering the psychopath twice in a row was low enough, so it was about time for his luck to change.
He thought of all kinds of reasons to comfort himself, but his hands that were holding the steering wheel were still sweaty.
The car drove very fast, and it only took ten minutes to leave the old city. It headed toward the crematorium that was located in the countryside.
The people on both sides of the road dwindled, and the lights of the shop signs disappeared. Only Lao Zhang's taxi was left on the road.
"We're almost there."
The driver kept sneaking glances at the passenger through the rearview mirror. The man was sitting obediently in his seat, and he did not seem to have moved at all.
"Can you please drive a little further? There's no need to drop me at the door, just a little closer." The passenger's voice was very soft, and it sounded like he was taking deep breaths when he spoke.
There was no light around them, and the place was unusually quiet that day. The taxi moved slowly on the cement road like a moving black coffin.
"Let's stop here." The night breeze blew in through the window. Lao Zhang gripped the steering wheel with both hands, and he felt uneasy.
"Okay, give me two minutes."
"The fare!"
"I'll pay when I get back," the passenger said lightly, and his voice seemed to have changed.
"You …"
Lao Zhang wanted to get out of the car to argue with the man. He was afraid that the passenger would run away, but once he thought about leaving the car, he shivered. This is strange. Looking for something at the crematorium in the middle of the night? Is he working here?
The driver glanced at the time. It was already 11: 56 pm; it would be midnight soon.
"I run into customers like this every day, and they keep coming to strange places. At least I don't have to worry about traffic." He watched the passenger hurry away, and he felt like the man's gait was rather awkward, like he was not used to walking.
The passenger entered the crematorium through the small door, and Lao Zhang sat inside the car alone. He had all the windows rolled up, and the enclosed space gave him a sense of security.
"Too slow." About ten seconds later, Lao Zhang could not sit still anymore. "Could I have run into a scammer? Does this guy not want to pay for the ride? "
He thought about it, and his expression slowly changed like he had realized something very bad. "The passenger who went to Huai Hua Alley also left without paying!"
At the time, Chen Ge wanted to go to Huai Hua Alley, and when he was about sixty meters away from the alley, Lao Zhang had urged him to get out of the car. In the end, he refused to move forward no matter what.
When Chen Ge got out of the car helplessly and wanted to pay, Lao Zhang had already driven ten meters away.
Afraid of slapping himself in the face, Lao Zhang's face was filled with bitterness. "I've been on duty for an hour, and I haven't earned a single cent, and I've even lost a few RMB for gas. Oh well, I'll just treat it as paying for a ride. As long as I don't run into him again, I'll even pay for the fare. "
Lao Zhang's heart was in turmoil. He turned on the music in the car, but the more he listened, the more panicked he became.
Outside was the crematorium. It was dark and very quiet. Suddenly, the car started to make noises, and it felt like they were being watched by something in the dark.
Before the song finished, he turned off the music. He gripped the steering wheel tightly and looked around.
"Why isn't he coming out yet?" One more minute, and it would be midnight. The more the driver thought about it, the more he felt like something was wrong.
He picked up the talisman that he had left on the ground, bowed, and shoved it into his shirt pocket.
Coincidentally, when he lowered his head, his eyes happened to glance at the seat that the passenger had been sitting on.
There was an inconspicuous blood stain on the white seat.
"Was there one earlier? I don't think I saw it when I was picking up the car. "
Lao Zhang turned to look at the backseat, and he was suddenly reminded of the passenger's attire. He was wearing a hoodie over a light red shirt.
"The red color of the shirt is uneven. Could it be …"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Someone knocked on the car window, and the passenger walked out from the crematorium. He was holding a package that was covered by a black cloth.
Lao Zhang was given a fright, and he quickly moved his gaze away.
"We've found the thing. We're going back the way we came." The passenger's tone was completely different from before, like something had changed.
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