Chapter 2: Zhang Yangxu

While moving the corpse, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe casually swiped the mobile phone from the man in the tank top's pocket. A hundred-yuan bill was tucked inside the black phone case, but there were no identity documents like an ID card or driver's license to confirm his identity.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe didn't know the man in the tank top's lock screen password, so he used the corpse's fingerprint to unlock the screen. After unlocking it, the first thing Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe did was enter the system settings and set the automatic lock to "Never," only then did he start flipping through the various information on the man's phone.

—About three hours after a person dies, the weak bioelectricity in their cells will completely disappear. At this time, electronic devices like mobile phones will no longer be able to recognize their fingerprints.

The man in the tank top's WeChat nickname was "AAA Qiaogaoli Fitness Club - Coach Zhiyuan," and the real-name authentication was "Lin * Yuan."

Lin Zhiyuan had many WeChat friends, mostly female users noted as "clients" or "trainees." In a recent chat with a female client surnamed Cai, Lin Zhiyuan mentioned that he was going home to see his parents recently and would have a colleague cover his shifts for a few days.

The other party replied with a "miss you" emoji.

Flipping through his Moments, Lin Zhiyuan's last post was yesterday morning, with the content: "The food at the service station is too expensive, expensive and greasy. It takes a month of dieting to recover after eating one meal," accompanied by a picture of an N1 coupe parked next to a charging pile.

"Lin Zhiyuan was still complaining about greasy food at a highway service station yesterday morning, which means he entered the village at least after that." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe recalled the situation when he entered He Family Village; he was dragged in at 7:00 AM, a few hours earlier than Lin Zhiyuan.

After confirming that the data was on, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe sent a "Are you there?" to that female client surnamed Cai.

A red exclamation mark appeared on the left side of the message, indicating the send failed.

"As expected, it failed again." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe wasn't surprised.

Checking the call logs and chat interface, one could see that Lin Zhiyuan had called each of the contacts noted as parents and girlfriend several times, and the carrier's emergency call function had also been used, but all these attempts to contact the outside world had failed without exception.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe wasn't surprised by this, because he was the same. Since entering He Family Village, he had completely lost all contact with the outside world. The 4G signal showed full bars, but he couldn't send or receive a single message.

A normal person might feel frustrated by this situation, but Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe wasn't a normal person. For some reason, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe exited WeChat and used Lin Zhiyuan's phone to call his own phone number.

Buzz—Buzz——

A buzzing vibration came from his thigh, and the phone in his pocket was connected.

At this moment, footsteps came from outside the ancestral hall.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe hung up the phone, kept Lin Zhiyuan's phone in a screen-on state, stuffed it into his jacket pocket, and concentrated on listening to the footsteps outside the door.

When Lin Zhiyuan entered the door earlier, the sound of his air-cushioned sneakers stepping on the loess and stone-paved road was very muffled, while this time the footsteps were crisp and loud. The sound of hard heels tapping on the ground was "titi-tata," and it wasn't just one sound; it was two.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's gaze was firmly fixed on the entrance. Walking in from there was a middle-aged man in a suit and leather shoes, as well as a long-haired woman in an OL uniform. Their exquisite leather shoes and high heels were stained with a few spots of yellow muddy water.

"How could it be him?" Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe was a bit surprised.

He recognized that middle-aged man, although the other party might not recognize him. Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe knew this man from the news. His name was Zhang Yangxu, and he was the head of the "New World" Group, the largest real estate development enterprise in Qinzhou. Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe returned to his rural hometown from school this time because Zhang Yangxu's enterprise intended to acquire land nearby and develop a new park in his hometown town, "Gubei Town." Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe's family home was on the expected demolition list of Zhang Yangxu's enterprise.

But his grandparents at home were illiterate, so he, a high school student still in school, needed to ask for a few days off to return home.

"Zhang Yangxu was actually dragged into this place too... Right, I saw it on the local news before. The executives of the 'New World Group' were coming to Gubei Town for a field inspection in the last few days to finalize the land acquisition contract with the local authorities. I didn't expect the president to come in person. The woman next to him should be Zhang Yangxu's secretary or assistant."

Based on the fragmented information, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe roughly deduced the course of events: "Lin Zhiyuan was dragged in while returning home to visit relatives. I was dragged in on the way home to help my grandparents look at the demolition contract. And Zhang Yangxu and that woman were dragged in while coming to Gubei Town for a field inspection?"

Did this bizarre village called He Family Village have any connection with his hometown, Gubei Town?

In confusion, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe watched Zhang Yangxu and the woman in the OL uniform walk to the lotus pedestal where the Serpent God statue was worshipped.

Zhang Yangxu took out his phone with one hand to turn on the flashlight, and pressed down on the almanac paper fluttering in the wind with the other, examining the content in detail. Soon, he had the same confusion as Lin Zhiyuan earlier; the content of the almanac didn't match the taboo he had violated yesterday.

He glanced at his phone screen, and his brows immediately furrowed: "The twenty-third day of the fourth lunar month. What is displayed is today's content. The almanac has been flipped."

Zhang Yangxu's voice was low, with a bit of a raspy tone, and his tone was calm and serious: "Someone has been here."

The woman next to him asked in a low voice: "Is it a villager?"

Zhang Yangxu shook his head: "We already paid attention when we came. The doors of the entire street were locked from the inside. No villager has left their house tonight."

"Not a villager? Then...?" The woman's voice was confused, and a bit uncertain: "Could it be that besides us, there are others who have been dragged into this place?"

"It's possible." Zhang Yangxu didn't deny it.

"... He just said that they checked the locked status of the doors on the entire street along the way. If that's the case?" Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe did a simple mental calculation of the time, and a stone in his heart finally landed: "It seems that if one only leaves the house to walk on the village streets, it won't violate the 'travel' taboo."

The travel taboo referred to something else.

Having confirmed today's fortune, Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe had no intention of further contact with Zhang Yangxu and his companion. In this environment, no one was worth trusting. A few steps behind the pillar where he was hiding was the side door of the ancestral hall; it was time to leave from there.

Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe watched Zhang Yangxu and his companion discussing in front of the Serpent God statue with vigilance, his back to the side door, and he retreated slowly with light steps. The cold night breeze poured in from outside the door, chilling his back.

Before he could retreat outside the door, suddenly, a scream with crying came from behind Seeing Seeing Ning Zhe.

"Who are you..."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 3 =====