The strong smell of blood wafted from the alley outside the courtyard. Fang Zhi couldn't help but frown. His heart tightened. He followed the others and took two steps forward. When he finally saw the scene around the corner, he almost stumbled and fell to the ground. Fortunately, Gu Xizhou, who was behind him, pulled him back and prevented him from falling to the ground.
The first thing that came into view was a pool of blood on the floor. The blood splattered on the white walls, including the ceiling, and the entire floor was a pool of blood.
Looking at the pool of blood, the first thing that entered Gu Xizhou's eyes was a head that had died with its eyes wide open. Then, Gu Xizhou looked further away. Broken limbs were scattered on the ground, and chunks of flesh were thrown away carelessly.
Seeing this scene, the faces of the surrounding people turned pale. It was as if they had seen their own futures. A few people couldn't help but retch. Those who were mentally weaker were so frightened that they sat on the ground.
Xie Wenhuo saw the corpse in the alley. His face turned pale. It was the first time he had seen such a tragic death. The body parts of the man who had left last night were scattered all over the place. His stomach was cut open, and his internal organs were scattered all over the ground. The pungent smell of blood lingered for a long time. The only thing that confirmed the identity of the man was the blue and white school uniform he was wearing.
In the crowd, a girl in a white jacket began to cry. She seemed to be frightened by the scene. She staggered back and leaned against Xue Xiao, the only female in the crowd, to seek comfort.
Gu Xizhou's expression was calm. Although the scene in front of him was frightening, it wasn't enough to scare him.
"The size of the body is wrong," Si Yu said indifferently. "It's missing."
Gu Xizhou heard him and looked carefully. Although there were many pieces of flesh scattered on the ground, when taken together, the flesh on the ground didn't even reach the size of an adult's body. This body was missing at least one-third of its flesh.
The gazes of the surrounding people fell on Si Yu. Although Si Yu looked like he was seventeen or eighteen years old, it couldn't hide his handsome face. The people around him only noticed the condition of the corpse after he finished speaking. They didn't have the time to think about these questions because they had just witnessed the tragic scene.
Hearing this, the girl cried even harder. "Sister Xue, will we all be eaten?"
"No, including the people who died this time, there are a total of eleven people, and three of them are newcomers, so it won't be too dangerous." Xue Xiao was still relatively calm. Although her lips were a little pale, her words were very orderly.
The girl kept crying. One of the men sneered, "You think you can survive by crying? Who do you think would sympathize with you? "
When the girl heard this, she gradually stopped crying.
"Did you find anything last night?" Xie Wenhuo asked.
"No." Gu Xizhou shook his head and said calmly, "Did you find anything?"
Xie Wenhuo shook his head and said in a low voice, "No, it seems that we still need to gather information before we can find out the ultimate goal of this mission world."
"Okay." Si Yu nodded and said warmly, "Should we split up or work together?"
Xie Wenhuo thought for a moment and said, "Let's work together. We can take care of each other. This mission world is much bigger than the previous one, so it's safer to work together."
The others expressed their wishes one after another. In the end, the ten people who were still alive decided to work together.
Gu Xizhou played the role of the student's mother at home. At this moment, the woman had just finished washing the clothes and was sitting on the stairs in the courtyard picking vegetables after drying them in the sun.
Gu Xizhou rushed over to help. The woman in the canvas shirt was obviously happy. "Child, why are you so obedient today? Don't you want to go out and play? "
Si Yu took over the conversation and said, "Auntie Wang, Li Ming and Liu Shurong disappeared a while ago. We were also afraid, so we didn't go out. We just wanted to ask you, have they been found?"
When the woman heard this, she sighed and said helplessly, "Isn't that so? Li Laoer and Liu Laosan were so anxious that they rushed back. However, they haven't seen them for a few days."
"How do you think those two young men disappeared just like that?"
"Then how do you think they disappeared?" Si Yu asked.
"They were probably abducted and sold, right? Many people here don't have parents at home, so it's inevitable that they can't take care of all of us. In the past, there were people who suddenly disappeared and couldn't be found. In the end, the case was left unsolved. "The woman sighed and said calmly, as if it was an ordinary thing.
After the woman finished picking the vegetables, she said to them, "You guys can stay in the courtyard. It's safe there."
After speaking, the woman took a dustpan and walked into the small kitchen opposite, leaving Gu Xizhou and the others behind.
"Human trafficking. This is a clue!" one of the men said anxiously.
Gu Xizhou glanced at the man and ignored him. He only said to Xie Wenhuo calmly, "She probably doesn't know much. This is definitely not human trafficking."
The man who had just spoken became anxious and asked, "How is it not?"
"Human trafficking is usually done by young women, young girls, or boys. Once the age of twelve is over, the chances of males being abducted are very low. Firstly, children after the age of twelve are able to remember things. Secondly, males and females have different physiological characteristics. A twelve-year-old boy is relatively strong, not to mention that the two missing people are seventeen or eighteen years old."
"Seventeen or eighteen years old is the time when a young man is strong and strong. No one would buy a boy of that age," Gu Xizhou explained calmly. This judgment happened to come from the information he had read some time ago.
"That makes sense …" Xie Wenhuo said.
They asked around and found that the parents in the courtyard didn't seem to know much about this matter. They all agreed that this was a case of human trafficking.
"We can't get any useful clues from them. We can only go out and take a look."
They prepared to go out together. The parents at home didn't seem to mind. When they saw the ten of them together, they felt that the human traffickers wouldn't be so daring. When they heard that they were going out to play, they just waved their hands and told them to be careful.
The alley where the bodies were placed was the only way out of the courtyard. Gu Xizhou's feet stepped in the pool of blood. His attitude was very cold. He was the first to walk out calmly. The people behind him were traumatized by the alley. Their faces were pale. They looked as if they would faint at any time when they saw the pieces of bodies.
After Gu Xizhou and the other two walked out, it was Xie Wenhuo and his wife, Xue Xiao. The two of them were very close. Gu Xizhou saw Xie Wenhuo holding his wife's hand as they walked across the pool of blood together. He kept comforting his wife. However, Gu Xizhou could clearly hear Xie Wenhuo's nervous heartbeat. He could tell that Xie Wenhuo was pretending to be calm to comfort his wife.
Xie Wenhuo was the core of the group. After he came out, the others endured their fear and disgust and left the narrow alley in the courtyard.
After walking out of the alley, the small town came into view. It wasn't a big town. In fact, it was very small. There was only one street. At this moment, all the shops on the street were closed. There was no one on the road.
Gu Xizhou said helplessly, "There's no one at this time."
"Okay, we'll come out later." Si Yu looked up at the sun in the sky and said, "The sun is pretty good today. We'll come out after lunch. There will definitely be people around then."
Xie Wenhuo was a little surprised. He asked, "How are you so sure that there will be people around then?"
Si Yu pointed to the side of the street and said calmly, "Although this town is close to a scenic spot, it's not much different from other villages. There are more elderly people here. The courtyard we live in also has more elderly people."
"Okay." Xie Wenhuo frowned slightly. However, Si Yu was right. Eight out of ten of them were left-behind children. Only two families had at least one parent at home. "But what does that have to do with this?"
Gu Xizhou continued, "It's very free after lunch. Moreover, the sun is very strong. The elderly will come out for a walk. At this time, they are usually preparing lunch for their children. Naturally, there won't be anyone on the street."
"That makes sense." Xie Wenhuo nodded.
The few of them returned empty-handed. After lunch, the warm sun shone on their bodies. It was just right at this time. It was very comfortable. The few of them went out again.
Sure enough, there were many elderly people on the street. They walked slowly with their hands behind their backs, chatting as they walked.
The town wasn't big. Many people knew each other. Gu Xizhou and his group walked a few steps on the town's street. Along the way, people greeted them and called out their names.
The old man said, "Are you talking about Li Ming and Liu Shurong? I heard that their parents have rushed back and are looking for them in the town. They said that they scolded their parents as soon as they came back. I don't think they did it properly. "
"How can you blame the elderly for losing such a big child?"
"Do you know where Li Ming and Liu Shurong's parents are?" Gu Xizhou asked.
The old man pointed to the mountain next to them and said, "They are organizing people to patrol the mountain!"
Gu Xizhou's gaze shifted to the white mountain next to them. The mountain was tall and steep. Lush trees covered each other. Occasionally, they could hear dogs barking in the mountain stream.
"Woof woof woof!"
The old man shook his head and said, "Did you hear the dogs barking? After the two children went missing, they asked the young and strong men in town to help search Muguan Mountain with their dogs. They have been searching for a few days, but there is still no sign of them. I'm afraid they are no longer in our town. "
After Gu Xizhou and his group thanked the old man, their gazes fell on the mountain.
"Woof woof woof!"
"Woof woof woof!"
"Woof woof woof!"
The dogs kept barking. Xue Xiao and the timid girl were walking together. The girl was holding a wooden stick as a walking stick. She was panting as she climbed the mountain with them. Halfway up the mountain, Gu Xizhou and his group finally met someone.
That person was walking in front. Gu Xizhou took two steps forward and shouted, "Wait for us!"
The dark-skinned man in front turned around. When he saw Gu Xizhou and his group, he frowned and said, "You kids still dare to go out? Aren't you afraid of being kidnapped? "
Si Yu pointed at the people behind him and said, "We came together. The bad guys didn't dare to touch us. We also wanted to come and help. Have you found any clues about Li Ming and Liu Shurong?"
The dark-skinned man shook his head. He obviously knew the children in Gu Xizhou and his group. He said, "Sigh, we haven't found them yet. The parents of the two families are worried sick."
"Let's help too!" Si Yu said enthusiastically. The dark-skinned man sighed helplessly. Seeing their determined attitude, he agreed to let them help.
They helped search for a while but still couldn't find any clues. However, they found out about Liu Shurong and Li Ming's disappearance from the townsfolk.
After school, the two of them didn't go home with the rest of the group. Because their parents weren't home, their grandparents were the ones who took care of them. They couldn't control the two children at all. After school, the two of them went straight to the only Internet cafe in town to play games. During this time, the grandparents came to look for the two grandchildren, but they were scolded by the two students.
When the two of them were done playing games, around one o 'clock in the morning, the two of them returned their deposit and left the Internet cafe to go home. Then, they disappeared.
"Then why are they looking for them on this mountain? Isn't it more likely that they are in town? "Gu Xizhou asked.
The dark-skinned man used a sickle to cut the weeds in front of him. "There are many people in town. Everyone helped to look for them. Indeed, no one has seen the two children. Several children have gone missing on this mountain before, so the parents of the two families are wondering if the children left the Internet cafe at night and suddenly wanted to play on the mountain, but at night …"
The man didn't finish his sentence, but Gu Xizhou already knew what the man meant. The children nearby all lived in town. This mountain was very close. Obviously, this mountain had a special meaning to the children here. They spent most of their childhood playing here. Could the two missing children have climbed up in the middle of the night and slipped into the mountain stream, causing them to go missing?
After all, the mountain in front of them was indeed tall and big. It towered into the clouds.
The man glanced at the scorching sun hanging in the sky and wiped the sweat off his forehead. As they walked, they met another team. This team had three people, and each of them had a dog.
"How is it? Did you find anything?" the dark-skinned man asked when he saw the three of them.
The three of them shook their heads. "No. We have almost turned the mountain upside down, but we still haven't found them. Only the two families are certain that the children are on the mountain. Everyone knows that they are definitely gone. However, everyone knows each other, so it's not good to say that we don't want to help."
The man continued, "Today is the fourth day. We have searched the mountain, but there is no sign of anyone. Perhaps they have left town."
Gu Xizhou observed the mountain. Although the mountain was steep, there were no huge rocks on the path. Even if they slipped and rolled down the mountain, they wouldn't fall to their deaths. Moreover, the man who died last night could already prove that the disappearance of these people was definitely not due to climbing the mountain.
Gu Xizhou was observing when he suddenly heard the barking of dogs.
"Woof, woof, woof!"
"Woof, woof, woof!"
The three dogs rushed towards them as if they had gone mad. They opened their mouths and kept barking ferociously. Their cracked mouths revealed sharp fangs.
"F * ck, you bastards, be quiet!" The owners of the dogs tugged at the leash in their hands tightly. Their bodies were half pulled up by the owners of the dogs, but they still didn't forget to bark at them. They were so ferocious that it was as if they wanted to bite them to death.
"Are you crazy! F * ck! "
"F * ck, these bastards, if you keep barking, I will stew you all and eat dog meat today!"
A few seventeen to eighteen-year-old youths weren't afraid of dogs, but the timid girl started crying again. Hiding behind Xie Wenhuo and Xue Xiao, she cried, "I'm scared of dogs, you guys hold them back! Don't bite me! "
The four men used the weapons in their hands to beat the dogs. The dogs were beaten until they were howling, but their ferocious gazes towards Gu Xizhou's group did not diminish at all.
"Ow, ow, ow …"
The three dogs were beaten until they were lying on the ground, but they did not give up. They bared their fangs and growled threateningly at Gu Xizhou's group.
When the three honest men saw the crying girl, they apologized very apologetically, "Sorry, sorry. These dogs are not usually like this. They scared you."
Gu Xizhou shook his head. They said a few words, but they could not stand the incessant barking of the three dogs. They separated from the four men and went down the mountain.
After they went down the mountain and returned to the town, the girl was still a little scared. When she saw the dogs from afar, she shouted for them to take a detour. They went all the way to Gu Xizhou's courtyard.
The dogs were still barking at them from afar. If it were not for the leash, they would have run directly towards them!
When they passed by the alley again, they thought they would see the miserable state of the corpse. They did not expect that when they returned, the corpse had disappeared. The blood on the white wall had also disappeared.
When the girl who had been crying saw this, she asked softly, "The corpse is gone. Where did it go?"
Xue Xiao said calmly, "It's normal. You won't find it strange when you see it more in the future."
Without the corpses, they returned with less pressure than when they left.
In the courtyard, all the families were cooking. Only the family of the man who had died yesterday looked sad. Two old people were calling the young people who were working far away to tell them that their child was missing.
"The boss is missing. Why are you still working? Hurry up and come back. The two of us can't see clearly. We can't find him!"
The two old men cried their hearts out, their lungs torn apart, their livers and intestines cut to pieces.
The person on the other end of the phone seemed to be very anxious. He said hurriedly, "Okay, okay. Come back this afternoon! Find someone to help find the child first! "
The few of them gathered in Xie Wenhuo's room. They were a little tired from walking for the whole day. They sat by the bed in twos and threes. Xue Xiao said helplessly, "I don't think we found any useful information."
Si Yu glanced at Xue Xiao and said softly, "It's not that we didn't find anything. The three dogs just now felt a little strange."
"What's strange?" Xie Wenhuo asked.
Gu Xizhou answered his question, "The three dogs kept barking crazily when they saw us. I realized that on our way back, every family has a dog to guard against theft. The families next to us also have dogs. I don't know if you guys noticed. "
Fang Zhi put down the cup in his hand and said suddenly, "That's right. We don't even have a dog in our courtyard! None of the 13 families have a dog! In a small town like this, every family should have a dog to guard their house! "
Xie Wenhuo frowned when he heard Fang Zhi's words. "That seems to be the case."
"You guys think that this mission world has something to do with dogs?"
"I think so." Si Yu nodded.
Xie Wenhuo thought for a moment and agreed with Gu Xizhou and the other two. "Okay, then let's find out why there are no dogs in our courtyard!"
Gu Xizhou was the first to go out. He found his' mother 'who was cooking and asked, "Why don't we have a dog in our courtyard?"
The woman who was putting the vegetables into the pot was slightly stunned. "We used to have dogs, but weren't you guys afraid?"
Gu Xizhou was stunned and asked, "Afraid?"
Since they used to have dogs, how could they suddenly be afraid of dogs?
The woman said as she cooked, "Have you forgotten? It's all because of that dog from the city. Last year during National Day, that white dog came back with the family next door. When it saw you kids, it tried to bite you. You kids were all bitten. Later, your family members rushed back and saw it. That's why they helped you kill that evil dog. "
"The Tian family was quite unhappy. They paid some money and gave all 13 of you guys a rabies vaccine. After confirming that the dog didn't have rabies, we were relieved."
Gu Xizhou asked, "Which family?"
The woman said, "They made a lot of money in the city. When they came back last year, they brought the old people back to the city."
"After that family left, you guys cried when you saw dogs. At that time, there were seven or eight dogs in this courtyard! You kids were scared, so you went to buy rat poison and poisoned those dogs. "
"At first, you guys were afraid and sent the dogs away. After all, they had guarded our house for so many years, so we had some feelings for them. But we didn't expect you kids to be so scared. When we came back, only the dogs' corpses were left."
"Later, we saw that you guys were traumatized by that evil dog in the courtyard. Every family in the courtyard stopped keeping dogs."
The woman sighed and said lightly. She didn't care and just said lightly.
After hearing the news, Gu Xizhou and the others gathered again. Sure enough, the news they received was similar. Last year, nine dogs died in this courtyard during National Day. One of them came back with the Tian family, who had moved away, and the other eight dogs that guarded the house died.
Xie Wenhuo heard the news, which included National Day and dogs. At this time, he looked at Gu Xizhou and the others with a different gaze. When he made a decision, he would ask for their opinions.
"It seems like it really has something to do with the dogs." Xie Wenhuo frowned.
"Since we already know the cause of the dog's death, can we leave now?" The girl who had been crying finally showed a different expression. She looked at everyone expectantly.
"It's not that easy." Xie Wenhuo said lightly. "But now, compared to finding the three missing people, we are one step closer. The Tian family lives in the innermost courtyard. Let's climb over and take a look!"
With a clue, the others seemed to relax a little. They felt hopeful about leaving. Hence, they walked to the door of the Tian family's house.
The doors and windows were tightly shut. After the Tian family left, only their house was locked. They were all in a dilemma.
"This door …"
Xie Wenhuo stared at the door. He was in a dilemma.
"Let me do it."
Gu Xizhou heard Si Yu say lightly. Then, the man bit the black wire clip in his mouth and turned the door lock. With a click, the door opened.
Gu Xizhou: "…"
Fang Zhi: "…" You are very familiar with this!
Si Yu saw the two of them looking at him suspiciously. He shrugged and said, "This is a necessary skill."
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
