Chapter 267: Municipal Third Porcelain Factory 06

Chapter 267: Municipal Third Porcelain Factory 06

"Ah—!!!"

A shocking scream erupted from beside the toilet on the playground of the Municipal Third Porcelain Factory!

Through a brick wall, there was a "bang" from inside the toilet, followed by an angry roar from an unnamed NPC: "Which heartless bastard is scaring people outside the toilet?!!!"

He was so scared that he lost his balance and fell into the toilet bowl!

The furious NPC rushed out of the toilet without even fastening his belt, but found no one, as the culprit had already been pulled behind the brick wall by Qin Fei.

This spot was a blind spot in the area. The NPC circled three times but couldn't find the perpetrator, so he angrily covered his rear and left.

Behind the brick wall, NPC Ding Tianyu, who had just suffered a series of blows, was being held by Qin Fei, covering his mouth, with his two companions beside him.

The companions, who had just been united with Ding Tianyu against their common enemy, glanced at Qin Fei, then back at Qin Fei again.

Without any hesitation, they turned and ran, leaving only two blurry figures behind.

Ding Tianyu: ?????

While it's understandable for everyone to look out for themselves when disaster strikes,

couldn't you at least be a bit more subtle and not show your coldness so obviously?

And Yu Zhoukai, take your hand off me; I can't breathe!!

Ding Tianyu: "Mmph—mmph mmph!!"

Noticing that the NPC under his grip was struggling harder, Qin Fei realized that he had accidentally covered the other's mouth too tightly, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Ah, sorry," he withdrew his hand, wiped it on the hem of his shirt, and explained apologetically, "I had to act quickly; you wouldn't mind, would you?"

Ding Tianyu: "..."

I do mind! I mind a lot!! But dare I say anything?

Ding Tianyu swallowed, not daring to look at Qin Fei, and shook his head perfunctorily before turning to escape.

Qin Fei had anticipated this and had prepared a countermeasure beforehand.

The young man stood calmly, arms crossed, watching as Ding Tianyu took a few steps forward and abruptly stopped.

"This is..." Ding Tianyu looked at the ground in astonishment.

On the concrete floor, a series of small footprints were clearly appearing, one after another.

The dark marks resembled blooming plum blossoms, surrounding Ding Tianyu.

These footprints seemed like a boundary line of a forbidden zone, and Ding Tianyu suddenly dared not take another step, turning back to stare at Qin Fei in terror, unable to utter a word.

Why? Why is this happening?

How could empty ground suddenly produce a series of human footprints?

These footprints were also unusually small, almost half the size of an adult's palm, clearly not made by a normal human.

Qin Fei stepped forward and patted Ding Tianyu on the shoulder: "Buddy, don't be afraid."

Ding Tianyu visibly trembled in fear.

Qin Fei could see this because Ding Tianyu's favorability towards him had dropped from 0% to -10% in just a few minutes.

Despite the negative favorability, Qin Fei didn't care. Whether the other liked him or not wasn't important; what mattered was that he listened carefully.

Qin Fei gave Ding Tianyu a reassuring smile and said, "Look, you've been hiding from me for so long, but now you can't hide anymore. How about we have a good chat?"

Ding Tianyu forced a smile, which looked more like a grimace than a grin.

Finally, he nodded.

One reason was the terrifying footprints of the ghost infant that made him dare not run.

The other reason was that he felt he had nothing left to lose.

Yu Zhoukai had already touched and dragged him around; if there was any ghostly aura, it should have already affected him.

So why bother running?

"What do you want to talk about?" Ding Tianyu's face showed a mix of despair and resignation.

Behind the short wall, workers passed by, some going to the toilet and others smoking.

No one knew that two bold rogues were hiding here, discussing topics that would make anyone shudder...

...

Half an hour later.

A pile of cigarette butts had accumulated on the ground, all smoked by Ding Tianyu.

Ding Tianyu didn't earn much and usually saved on cigarettes, but today he had finished a week's worth in one go.

He felt that if he didn't enjoy them now, he might never get the chance, ending up taking his savings to the grave.

"If you have any more questions, ask them all at once." In just this short time, Ding Tianyu's voice had become hoarse. He closed his eyes, looking ready to face death bravely.

For the past half hour, Yu Zhoukai had talked to him about things he had never dared to think about before.

Those words like "ghost" and "death" tumbled out of Yu Zhoukai's mouth one after another, as if they were free.

Ding Tianyu looked pained, but Qin Fei was smiling happily.

From Ding Tianyu, Qin Fei learned quite a bit of useful information.

Just as Gala had previously indicated, the strange occurrences at City Third Factory indeed began half a year ago.

The ghosts possessed porcelain bottles, appearing randomly throughout the factory, seeking their next targets.

The chosen workers would mysteriously disappear within a few days, or...

die.

"The factory records them all as missing, but in fact, many committed suicide," Ding Tianyu said, his cigarette nearly burning his fingers, yet he remained oblivious.

"Drowned in the artificial lake, jumped from buildings, and even..."

His face twitched.

"Smashed porcelain and slit their throats with the shards."

There were all sorts of bizarre ways to die.

One such person who slit their throat with porcelain shards was a worker from Workshop Two. A few months ago, Ding Tianyu witnessed the entire gruesome process, and the image of blood spurting remained etched in his mind, impossible to forget.

There was more than one ghost in the porcelain bottles.

"Each bottle has different patterns, and each pattern corresponds to a different ghost, with varying methods of tormenting the living," Ding Tianyu explained. "No one knows how many different types of ghosts there are, but we can confirm that these ghosts can sense the connection between themselves and people."

Approaching someone haunted by a ghost or merely discussing ghost-related matters strengthens this connection.

The consequence is becoming another target chosen by the ghost.

Being haunted by a ghost is unsolvable; it leads to only two outcomes: death or disappearance without a trace.

"Why don't you run?" Qin Fei asked.

What job could be more important than one's life?

Ding Tianyu sighed heavily. "Who wouldn't want to run? We just can't!"

After the first two deaths, some workers tried to flee.

But as soon as they resigned, they immediately became the next targets of the ghosts.

Simply skipping work and going home was no different.

"The porcelain bottles follow people," Ding Tianyu said. "Someone ran home but found a porcelain bottle in their luggage.

Seven days later, his wife called, saying he was killed by a falling vase outside their building."

After that, no one dared to run anymore.

It seemed the ghosts were turning the factory into an isolated hunting ground.

As for why the eerie porcelain bottles appeared in the factory, Ding Tianyu genuinely had no idea.

"How could you not know about this? How is it possible you don't know?" Ding Tianyu laughed bitterly. "Even if you really don't know, why do you need to find out?"

Qin Fei pointed to the footprints left by the ghost infant: "Of course, it's for self-preservation."

He gave a very reasonable excuse for his actions: "Everyone avoids talking about ghosts because they don't want to be haunted. Since I'm already haunted, what do I have to fear?"

Ding Tianyu stared at Qin Fei in disbelief.

"You're dragging me down with you for your own survival?" He wished he could punch this heartless guy. "Are you even human?"

Qin Fei smiled brightly.

He didn't want to either.

But what choice did he have?

Qin Fei's plan was simple:

Since the urban legend restricted players' access to information, they needed to find a way to break those restrictions.

Everyone wanted to gather clues about the factory's strange events without crossing the NPC's boundaries.

But this approach undoubtedly fell into the trap set by the urban legend.

The legend created these obstacles to slow down the players' progress in Tongguan. Qin Fei decided to do the opposite.

If the NPCs won't talk?

No problem; he'd make them talk.

Just like now.

"Don't be afraid," Qin Fei reassured the NPC in front of him. "I think even the most powerful ghosts have weaknesses. If we can figure out where the ghosts come from, we might find a way to control them, allowing everyone to survive."

Ding Tianyu didn't believe a word of it.

"How can humans possibly defeat ghosts?" He glanced at Qin Fei.

Despite his words, a glimmer of hope flickered in Ding Tianyu's eyes.

Yu Zhoukai, this guy really seems different.

Strange occurrences kept happening in the factory, and everyone knew all too well what it looked like when someone was haunted by a ghost.

Panic-stricken, terrified, mentally unhinged.

All sorts of reactions were possible.

But none of them were like Yu Zhoukai.

The young man before him seemed unnaturally calm and relaxed, as if ghosts and death were mere trifles to him.

"That ghost isn't anything to be afraid of. Look at me, I'm perfectly fine," Qin Fei reassured his reluctant comrade-in-arms, whom he had forcibly dragged into the same battle.

He was telling the absolute truth. Qin Fei wasn’t entirely sure when Yu Zhoukai had been haunted by the ghost, but he had spent an entire day in the eerie tale, and the ghost hadn’t even managed to harm a single hair on his head.

So, there really wasn’t anything to fear.

"If you ever get haunted by a ghost, come find me, and I'll help you," Qin Fei promised confidently.

Two ghosts colliding might spark something unexpected.

Just like what happened this afternoon in the clay pit in Workshop No. 2.

"Well, we'll see about that," Ding Tianyu waved his hand and walked away, staggering with each step.

Qin Fei, however, did not leave immediately.

There were people from Black Feather watching over the playground, so he didn’t need to rush back. Instead, he lingered near the restroom.

The area beside the restroom was indeed a prime spot for gossip.

With the intention of eavesdropping, Qin Fei watched Ding Tianyu leave and then turned to blend into the crowd gathered ahead.