CNC: Chapter 84

Highway 404 (4)

Lu Baizhou’s expression flickered and she asked the same question that she had asked Jiang Yu earlier, “Is he the younger brother of your character or did you know him before?”

Jiang Yu looked at this person with a strange expression. Why was this Lu Baizhou obsessed with the relationship between the sleepwalkers and the characters?

“I’m not sure yet.” Chi Nan’s answer was also unexpected.

Then he added, “If we are all murderers, the souls of these ‘victims’ will probably come back for revenge, just like Qu Yijun did.”

Jiang Yu added, “Yes. Their vengeful behavior must be triggered after encountering the ‘person waiting for a car.’”

Pei Mo snorted. “That writer was blown up. I don’t want to be blown to pieces…”

“It is just a guess,” Chi Nan said casually, “We can only wait for my ‘brother’ to appear.”

The air in the car seemed to have been drained and everyone had some difficulty breathing.

Jiang Yu originally wanted to comfort everyone. Even if the evil spirits took revenge, there was no need to be afraid because Chi Nan had the ability to exorcise ghosts. However, she saw that Chi Nan himself didn’t speak and it wasn’t convenient for her to directly disclose the skills of others.

After all, Chi Nan had the ability and was willing to help her. This was her luck. Chi Nan wasn’t obliged to help everyone else.

The car maintained a speed of 80 km per hour on the straight road, carrying this group of desperate ‘sinners’ to an unknown trial.

Perhaps it was because the sunlight was too hot, but the colors of this world had evaporated. The natural scenery that passed by outside the window had become tasteless.

The slow song playing on the radio became their last reassurance. No one knew who the next ‘person waiting for the car’ they encountered would be.

They were afraid of what was coming. The SUV had driven for only half an hour before there was a static sound from the radio again.

[Listeners and friends having a good trip, this is the weather broadcast. It is expected that for the next three hours, the entire section of Highway 404 will usher in a heavy rain and the road will be slippery. Your field of view will be greatly affected. Driver friends, please drive carefully. Safety first…]

The sweet female voice from the radio broadcast was like a life-threatening curse. Lu Baizhou and Pei Mo’s expressions were extremely ugly. Jiang Yu, who had already experienced a vicious evil spirit seeking her life, carefully observed the group and saw a bit of expectation in Chi Nan’s eyes.

This was really ridiculous. Chi Nan might not be afraid because he could deal with ghosts, but he couldn’t look forward to it, right?

—Unless he had another hidden intention.

Jiang Yu considered this and was somewhat looking forward to it.

Chi Nan was playing in a bored manner with the clue that belonged to his character, the pair of rings. He had a sudden idea and put one of the rings on his middle finger.

Lu Baizhou saw it and corrected him. “This type of couple ring needs to be worn on the ring finger.”

Chi Nan was stunned for a moment. Then he took the ring off his middle finger and put it on his ring finger according to Lu Baizhou’s words. “Is that so?”

Chi Nan raised his hand and carefully observed his ring finger in the dim light of the rainstorm. The luster of the iron ring was somewhat dim.

Chi Nan didn’t think there was much difference between wearing the ring on his middle finger or ring finger.

It looked pretty much the same.

At this moment, Lu Baizhou suddenly became confused. The car was too quiet and even the smallest movement could make the nervous Pei Mo frightened. He asked Lu Baizhou in a trembling voice, “What’s wrong? Is there something wrong?”

Lu Baizhou pointed to the grass on the side of the road and frowned. “I just saw a figure standing there…”

By now, the torrential rain had begun to fall. The entire wasteland and long road were shrouded in a wet grayness and made people feel that they could barely breathe.

“Are you saying that the person waiting for the car has appeared?” Pei Mo asked in a nervous manner even though he knew. Now, excluding Jiang Yu, everyone in the car had a one-third chance of encountering their own evil spirit.

Lu Baizhou neither nodded nor shook her head. She said in a confused manner, “But…that person seems to be Chi Nan.”

“What are you talking about? Isn’t Chi Nan sitting in the car?”

“The person I saw waiting for the car just now looked exactly the same as Chi Nan…” Lu Baizhou herself couldn’t understand it.

Jiang Yu wondered, “Did you see incorrectly because the speed of the car was too fast?”

Lu Baizhou frowned uncertainly and was silent. She looked out the window again, but the place where the figure was standing just now was empty.

Chi Nan was calmer than anyone else. “It should be my brother who has come.”

He looked out the window for a moment. Around five minutes later, he saw You Yu standing next to a road sign in the rain.

He might’ve been mentally prepared, but the sight of You Yu appearing in front of him caused Chi Nan’s hand wearing the ring to instinctively tremble.

The rhythm of his heartbeat was also a bit faster.

You Yu didn’t have an umbrella and the rain continued to fall down his cheeks. He stood quietly wrapped in a scarf and didn’t try to stop the car like Qu Yijun, nor did he have blood on his body. At first glance, he really looked like a melancholy and lonely person waiting for a car.

The two men’s eyes briefly met through the gray rain curtain. The speed of the car was too fast so Chi Nan didn’t have time to see You Yu’s expression.

Everyone in the car was stunned when they saw You Yu’s face and Jiang Yu murmured, “It is really exactly the same…”

Pei Mo agreed, “Yes, the brothers setting in this instance is too realistic. They are completely twins.”

Chi Nan saw the driver’s inquiring expression in the rearview mirror and asked directly, “Can we stop here?”

The coldness in the driver’s eyes dissipated and he smiled at Chi Nan. “Of course. I also have an umbrella here if you need it.”

In other words, sleepwalkers could get out of the car and move around on rainy days.

Chi Nan took the red umbrella handed over by the driver and unfastened the seat belt. “Thank you.”

“Chi Nan, what are you doing?” Pei Mo was startled by Chi Nan’s action of getting out of the car.

Chi Nan was as calm as usual. “Get out of the car to pick someone up.”

Pei Mo turned to look at him in horror. “It is too dangerous for you to rush down. What if you trigger a death condition?”

“It doesn’t matter. Even if I don’t get out of the car, I still have to experience the plot of being chased and killed by the victim.”

Pei Mo was anxious and even wanted to reach out to grab Chi Nan’s hand that was opening the car door, but he finally held back. “B-But…”

Chi Nan didn’t understand the way that ordinary humans thought, but Jiang Yu understood that Pei Mo was afraid Chi Nan’s act of opening the door would lead the evil spirit into the car and trigger some previously undiscovered death condition. Then everyone in the car would get involved.

“In Chi Nan’s words, it is fine. You can rest assured.” Jiang Yu owed Chi Nan a favor and she also believed in Chi Nan’s judgment and strength. She helped block Pei Mo for him.

Therefore, Pei Mo could only watch as Chi Nan opened the car door. The rain outside was blown into the car by a strong wind. In a few moments, everyone’s clothes were a bit wet. Chi Nan quickly raised the umbrella and walked into the rain.

Yet when he stepped out the car door, the You Yu waiting on the side of the road had disappeared.

Chi Nan held up his umbrella and looked around in a circle on the road. The wind and rain were heavy and the umbrella in his hand was completely a decoration. It wasn’t long before the clothes on his body were soaked.

What type of hide and seek game was You Yu playing?

The heavy rain turned the road and wilderness into a barren gray and Chi Nan couldn’t find the other person.

It wasn’t until the SUV behind him kept honking its horn that Chi Nan reluctantly walked back to the car.

The driver threw him a dry towel to wipe his body. “It is fine as long as you have kind feelings. Let’s go.”

The group had subtle expressions when they heard this. So they could stop after encountering the waiting people and there was no need to invite them into the car?

Unfortunately, no one could answer this question for the time being. They could only wait for verification.

The door was tightly closed and the car continued to drive forward.

Chi Nan’s body was too wet. Water kept flowing even if he carefully wiped himself. It didn’t take long for a small pool of water to accumulate under his seat.

They didn’t have a change of clothes. Chi Nan could only endure it and wait for his clothes to air dry, or find a way at the next motel.

Chi Nan touched his pocket and paused for a moment. Lu Baizhou keenly noticed the change in his expression and hurriedly asked, “What’s wrong?”

“There is one less ring,” Chi Nan replied truthfully.

Compared with Pei Mo’s panic, Lu Baizhou seemed calmer and more straightforward. She just sighed as a bystander. “You shouldn’t have gone down. Perhaps you led something into the car.”

Chi Nan didn’t speak, but Pei Mo, sitting in front of him, shivered.

The rain continued, but there was no longer anyone waiting for the car. Chi Nan leaned back against the wet seat and it didn’t take long for him to yawn.

He leaned his head against the glass window and closed his eyes. He vaguely heard Jiang Yu saying, “Chi Nan, wake up. You will get sick when you fall asleep like this.”

He hummed in confusion, and was so sleepy he couldn’t talk.

In his half-awake and half-asleep state, Chi Nan felt that his body was getting heavier and colder. It was as if an extremely low temperature was pressing down on him.

The temperature around him dropped rapidly and he instinctively shivered. The wet clothes on his body greedily demanded his body temperature.

Chi Nan curled up on the back seat of the car and fell asleep listening to the sound of rain outside the window.

***

“Brother, wake up, I’ve got a birthday present for us.”

A voice entered his ears. The man who spoke seemed to be standing extremely close, cool lips brushing against his ear.

“Happy birthday.”

The other person gave a low laugh and then footsteps were heard.

Chi Nan opened his eyes. There was a huge birthday cake in front of him. 19 candles flickered in the darkness and a person stood behind the shaking light and shadow. Chi Nan was stunned the moment he saw it.

It was because the other person had the same green eyes and teardrop moles. If it wasn’t for the familiar smile on this person’s face, Chi Nan would’ve almost thought he was looking in the mirror.

“You Yu?” Chi Nan tried to make a sound, but his body was now out of his control.

He quickly realized his situation. Now he, like Jiang Yu, had fallen into the plot memories that belonged to the character.

His character didn’t say a word and just coldly stared at the opposite You Yu.

You Yu also looked over with a smile. He put his hand on his face and asked with interest, “Brother, what is this expression?”

Chi Nan also wanted to know what his character’s expression looked like now. However, he wanted to know even more whether You Yu was playing the role of the younger brother. Was he personally playing the role, or was it just a written program like Qu Yijun?

Based on Chi Nan’s knowledge of You Yu, he felt that this guy was likely to choose the former.

“Don’t look at me so fiercely. I’ll be sad.” You Yu innocently smiled. Then, he suddenly thought of something. “Oh yes, I almost forgot to remove my makeup. I’m sorry.”

Then he wiped his hands clean, lifted his head very skillfully, took out the green contact lenses from his eyes, and threw them on the table. He also wiped off the two tear drop moles under the corners of his eyes with a tissue.

He scrubbed it very cleanly and the black marks that spread from the corners of his eyes to his cheeks looked like two tear drop marks.

“Brother, do you still mind that I am living as you?” You Yu approached and looked down at Chi Nan in a condescending manner.

“Shut up for me!” Chi Nan’s character finally spoke and he struggled fiercely as if stimulated. Chi Nan found that his feet were chained.

He looked around through the character’s perspective. The enclosed space was dark and damp. It should be a hidden basement.

You Yu smiled at Chi Nan’s angry eyes. There was the slight illusion of tenderness under the flickering candlelight. “Brother, hurry and make a wish. Let’s blow out the candle and eat the cake together. This was ordered from your favorite dessert shop.”

“You’re a pervert.” Chi Nan gritted his teeth and interrupted You Yu’s words. His body trembled with anger.

Chi Nan himself had never felt such strong emotions. He was trapped in the role, so he curiously tried to empathize with the other person. Unfortunately, he failed.

He could only see and hear the character’s actions and lines, but he couldn’t perceive the character’s emotions. He was completely separated from the character.

“Brother thinks I am a pervert so I’ll be a pervert.” You Yu crouched down and looked up at Chi Nan. “Can I know what your wish is?”

Chi Nan’s lips pursed into a straight line. “I want you to die immediately.”

You Yu poured and muttered, “The character created by my colleague really isn’t like you, Chi Nan.”

Chi Nan, who was imprisoned in the body, was stunned. He knew that was something You Yu was specifically saying to him.

However, You Yu was still dedicated. He smiled and picked up the knife placed on the table. He handed it to Chi Nan in an extremely pious manner. “The knife was originally prepared for us to cut the cake. Now it seems like you might want to use it to cut other things.”

“Brother, how about you fulfill this wish yourself?” As he spoke, he opened Chi Nan’s slightly trembling fist and had him hold the handle of the knife.

19 candles were burning as if consuming all the oxygen. Chi Nan obviously felt that his character’s breathing had become rapid and difficult.

You Yu put the key to the shackles in the gift box and his voice was very seductive. “I won’t resist, Brother.”

Chi Nan saw his own reflection in this person’s eyes.

His character picked up the knife, his knuckles white from using too much force.

The smile on You Yu’s face grew even wider. “Brother, don’t hesitate. I’m afraid of pain.”

Proofreader: Kat