Translator: Cinder Translations
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It was the driver from earlier.
He was Qin Dongguo, the person who was supposed to have gone missing.
And the taxi they had ridden in earlier, according to Pi Yuan, was still being kept as evidence by the police for forensic testing. How could it be here now?
And by coincidence, it had picked them up.
Was it just a coincidence?
Fatty began to tremble uncontrollably, his teeth chattering. What had just happened was far more terrifying than any nightmare, not for any other reason, but because... this was reality.
This was their real world!
Not some strange, nightmarish space behind the black iron door that only opened after they fell asleep.
He had a strange feeling, something that might be called a premonition, that the barrier between dream and reality seemed to be eroding.
The boundary between the two was becoming increasingly blurred.
If this continued unchecked, the inevitable result would be that the ghosts and monsters from nightmares... would descend upon the world.
Just like what had happened earlier.
He couldn't even imagine it... No, he couldn't bear to, and he forced himself not to think about it.
If the doctor hadn't stopped, and had allowed that person named Qin Dongguo to continue driving, with that car—whose existence in this time and space was unclear—what would have happened when they reached their destination?
Would there be another black door at the end?
Or would something even more terrifying, hidden above their consciousness, waiting for them?
The feeling of being in that car was still fresh in his memory.
It was like being trapped in an ice cave, where even the sunlight lost its warmth.
That wasn't the feeling of this world.
The words of the middle-aged man suddenly came to Fatty's mind, piercing his thoughts like a needle, cold, sudden, yet extremely clear.
It was as though the middle-aged man were standing right in front of him.
"There's still a small group left," the middle-aged man had said. "They make up a tiny percentage, so small that we almost overlooked them at first."
"They will be chosen by the Deep Crimson," he had leaned forward, his voice hoarse, "chosen to invade this world."
Fatty's throat moved painfully, his mouth slightly open as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he chose to stay silent.
Across from him, the doctor had already picked up his phone.
"Keep quiet," the doctor said calmly as he answered the call. "Send a car to pick us up immediately. I've sent you the location." He paused before continuing, "Come in person. If I don't see you in the car, the previous agreement is void."
With that, the doctor hung up without waiting for a response.
Fatty wisely kept quiet, as the doctor's mood was clearly not good. In his impression, he had never seen the doctor like this before.
And Fatty knew exactly who the doctor had called.
The middle-aged man.
The one brought by Chen Xiaomeng.
Less than 20 minutes later, a nondescript black car suddenly stopped in front of them. The driver clearly had excellent skills, parking the car perfectly.
The doctor stepped forward and opened the front passenger door, getting into the car.
Fatty hesitated for a moment, then opened the rear door. Just as he was about to sit down, he suddenly froze, a feeling of unease washing over him.
He swallowed nervously, his face turning pale, a mix of fear and inevitable embarrassment.
There was a girl sitting in the backseat, wearing a baseball jacket and cap, with a neat ponytail. She had her legs crossed and her sharp eyes appraised him as she lowered her gaze from the doctor, sizing him up like she was about to disassemble him.
She smirked and symbolically patted the seat next to her, revealing sharp canine teeth that seemed to gleam coldly in Fatty's eyes.
"Come on," she said with a smile. "You fat bastard."
Fatty swallowed hard, casting a pleading glance at the doctor, but the doctor clearly wasn't paying attention to him. In the end, he had no choice but to get into the car, though he carefully positioned himself at the edge of the seat, trying to avoid any physical contact with the girl.
He kept his gaze elsewhere.
But the girl, Xia Meng, was clearly far more friendly. She reached behind her, pulling out a rope.
It had been taken by the police as evidence, but now it was back in her hands.
When they arrived, she had already spoken to Uncle Gong. The doctor was useful, so he was to be left alone for now. But the fat bastard wasn't part of the deal. After all, this fat guy had been a threat to her in the past.
She casually touched Fatty's arm, causing him to jump away immediately, his large body pressed tightly against the car door, his face showing a determined "I'll jump out if you touch me again" expression.
Xia Meng's interest only seemed to grow.
Just as she was about to smile and make a move, the sound of the doctor speaking from the front passenger seat interrupted. He hadn't said a word since he got in.
The middle-aged driver was just as silent.
"Those people who have their eyes on you," the doctor said, "they've found me too."
Xia Meng's teasing smile vanished in an instant. She turned to look at the doctor, her face suddenly becoming serious. After a long pause, she whispered, "What did you say?"
"You heard me. So don't ask pointless questions." The doctor's tone was cold.
The middle-aged driver remained calm. In fact, after receiving the doctor's call, he had already guessed what was going on, but hadn't said anything.
After the doctor briefly explained the situation, the atmosphere in the car became oppressive.
Something flickered in Xia Meng's eyes. It seemed like she wanted to say something, but before she could open her mouth, she felt a faint gaze pass over her.
She looked up, and through the rearview mirror, she saw Uncle Gong's eyes just shifting away.
"They're moving faster than I anticipated," the middle-aged man spoke for the first time. His voice was as unpleasant as always, causing Fatty to frown.
He turned the steering wheel, and the car entered a very narrow alley.
It was clear that this was a rarely traveled path, with poor road conditions—bumpy and uneven.
After driving for a while, they came across several bulging burlap sacks in the middle of the road.
They were filled with sand and gravel, their surface rough and uneven, and clearly meant to be roadblocks.
Sure enough, as soon as the car approached, several young men jumped out from behind the trees and swiftly moved the sacks aside.
The car continued forward, and before them stood a tall building.
(End of the Chapter)
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