Chapter 76: On the Road: Classic Horror Movie Tropes

In one corner of the room, the two dogs, Meiqiu and Huangjin, glanced at each other, watching the scene, only whimpering as they went out to find water.

In the following days.

Louis and Emma stayed in the room, Yuelunca went shopping nonstop, while David and Jenny had a blast, visiting every attraction and taking plenty of photos.

Until seven days later.

The whole family finally decided to set out again, heading toward Dekesasizhou.

Next to Luyisiannazhou lies Dekesasizhou; due to some historical lingering issues, Dekesasizhou is often mocked, so its reputation isn’t good, but its natural environments are the best preserved.

Thus, every year, vast numbers of tourists still flock there, even though many horror films have been shot there to mock it.

Even schools are eager to host various events here.

Indeed, Louis and his group in the car saw a school bus pass by beside them—remarkably, it was speeding, the students half-naked, drenched in sweat, singing and dancing, as if they’d just finished a competition.

“Youthful energy, so wonderful.”

David, driving, sighed.

He could almost picture Louis, Emma, and Yuelunca grown up.

After driving a while longer, because American highways are often extremely long and the land is vast with sparse population, few other vehicles appeared on the road.

Under such conditions, driving alone for long periods inevitably grows boring; where there’s demand, there’s opportunity, so car radios often play loud, energetic music to stay alert.

David was no exception, though he kept the volume low to avoid disturbing Yuelunca and Emma sleeping in the backseat.

As for Louis, he hadn’t slept at all, cultivating qigong, though he looked as if he were asleep.

Dust flew on both sides of the road; a few ancient trees stood sparsely, while fierce winds blew mercilessly.

David yawned, pulled out a map, and saw that a small town was approaching ahead—he could faintly make out many farmlands.

Jenny beside him handed him water.

At that moment, the radio suddenly cut out, apparently because they’d entered the town’s range and a breaking news bulletin had been inserted.

“Breaking news… According to police investigation… a large number of corpses have been discovered beneath a church beside Highway 9, over three hundred in total, spanning two hundred years; the killer is extremely brutal… Warning, nearby…”

“Breaking news…”

“…”

David couldn’t help slowing the car, listening carefully to the broadcast.

Behind him, Louis opened his eyes and listened intently too; for some reason, he felt the information in this message was strangely familiar.

Shit.

That sense of familiarity—wasn’t this just another horror movie trope?

Louis’s lip twitched, and he couldn’t help glancing at David.

Could he really be this unlucky?

That doesn’t make sense. It’s not logical.

Could it be related to the side effects of that curse-transferring technique…

“Should we turn back?”

“But it’ll be dark in an hour, and there are no towns behind us—we can’t camp out in the wild.”

Damn it, can’t American highway construction just put in some effort? Every damn road feels like a goddamn wasteland! Why can’t there be even one service area?!

“Alright, let’s keep going forward, but we need to stay more alert.”

The car began moving forward slowly, while Louis woke Emma and Yuelunca, reminding them to be vigilant and watchful.

…

The school bus that had just passed Louis and his group now encountered a minor problem.

On the bus, cheerleader Minni fell into a dream, in which she saw a cornfield—and two people, a boy and a teenager, both frantically pointing backward, as if trying to make her turn back.

The next blink, Minni saw a dark shadow sprinting swiftly through the cornfield, hurling something that instantly punctured the tire.

Bang!

The violent shaking jolted her awake.

She suddenly realized—the bus had actually stopped.

“Oh, my god!”

Minni couldn’t believe it—had her dream just come true?

At that moment, the coach and teacher who had gotten out to check the vehicle also spotted the object inside the tire.

A bone-made dart; turning it over, a human tooth, faintly stained with blood, came into view—no need to ask what it was made from.

“Fuck!”

The group jumped in fright and immediately threw the object away.

This was Dekesasizhou, out in the middle of nowhere—many murders happened in places like this; they all knew what might happen.

“No good, this place is dangerous—we need to leave quickly. Only one tire is damaged; we can still drive a bit—let’s push ahead.”

“That’s right. There should be a farm ahead, and the town isn’t far. Let’s push through.”

Soon after, the bus started again.

Slowly moving forward.

In the sky behind it, a dark shadow flashed briefly, closely trailing the school bus.

Time passed slowly.

The sky darkened.

David’s group, still driving behind, frowned as they watched the sky. “The town’s not far—let’s try to reach it before dark.”

At that moment.

Huangjin, who had been quietly resting in the trunk, suddenly screamed—Zhi!!

The car stopped abruptly.

David understood—Huangjin’s scream meant he’d sensed something. Out here in the wilderness, caution never hurt, especially after that broadcast.

Louis also looked back at Huangjin, who was sniffing vigorously, barking incessantly toward one direction.

Click!

The trunk opened.

Huangjin darted out, returned within seconds, a dart clenched in his mouth.

Louis reached out and took it; after multiple encounters with corpses, he immediately recognized the texture—it felt suspiciously like… human?

Then Huangjin spat out another object—a tooth.

Okay, confirmed—it was made from human bone.

Someone’s using human bones to make darts—another killer’s emerged. These days, killers are everywhere.

“Uncle, try calling the police.”

In a situation like this, don’t hesitate—calling the police is the best choice.

This isn’t some damn horror movie—of course you call the police!

But…

David stared at his phone with no signal, his lips twitching. “Fuck! These tax-stealing bastards!”

Louis and Jenny also tried their phones—sure enough, no signal at all.

Now, Louis felt an increasing sense of dread.

No signal was a classic horror movie trope—but it was also normal; in real life, areas with no signal were usually remote wastelands, common sites for major murders.

“Uncle, speed up—get to the town as fast as possible.”

Even reaching the town doesn’t guarantee safety, but at least crowded places have more people and police—both bring some sense of security.

Far better than being stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Still, Louis felt the probability of encountering that unknown danger before reaching the town was high.

When that happens…

Louis touched his wrist.

(End of chapter)