Translator: CinderTL
Oh no.
Hua Luo's eyes paused for a moment, and he immediately realized that this was also a trap.
Just like the situation Jiang Cheng and the others were facing, they had also stepped into Lin Chen's painting and entered one of the urban legends.
Since they were already caught in the trap, after a brief adjustment, Hua Luo surprisingly calmed down. While comforting Chu Jiu, he immediately began searching the room for clues.
"Don't be afraid," Hua Luo said, pulling Chu Jiu close. "We will definitely find a way out. There must be clues here."
Looking at Hua Luo's face, Chu Jiu gradually calmed down as well.
As Hua Luo carefully opened the cabinet door, the two of them each took a layer and began searching for the manuscript Lin Chen had sent.
At that moment, an unusual sound came from the darkness behind them. Chu Jiu turned around, wanting to use the flashlight in her hand to investigate, but Hua Luo stopped her.
"Don't pay attention to it," Hua Luo said, breathing heavily. "Look for clues first."
With his experience, he understood that they were already in the game, and the chance of escaping was slim. The only opportunity they had was the manuscript left by Lin Chen.
"Found it!"
Chu Jiu found a paper bag in the last small compartment, the name on it already blurred.
But the moment she touched the paper bag, Chu Jiu felt an inexplicable sensation.
Using the flashlight, Hua Luo immediately opened the paper bag. Inside were not urban legends, but scattered sketches, like drafts conceived before drawing.
Looking through them, some were hands of characters, a few were clothes, shoes, and even a deep blue scarf and a black trench coat.
Hua Luo didn't understand art, but to him, it looked like the kind of dress-up game little girls play.
Soon, he realized that these were Lin Chen's original drafts of the man in black.
Until he flipped to the last one.
There, an expected person appeared.
"It's really him!" Chu Jiu said, her eyes pausing as she looked at the person in the painting.
The person in the painting wore a long black trench coat, black leather shoes, and the brim of his hat was pulled low. In the background, the sky was covered with dark clouds, and a bolt of lightning split the sky.
The man in black stood alone on the rooftop, overlooking the entire city.
The rain poured down.
The hair at his temples was dampened by the drizzle, sticking to his eyebrows, leaving only a handsome and elegant profile, and under the brim of his hat, a pair of deep red eyes.
It really was... Wu.
He was the most terrifying and top-tier existence in this story, the origin of all urban legends.
And he was created by Lin Chen in a state of extreme despair.
In other words, Wu was a monster that crawled out of Lin Chen's despair, and his existence was to create endless urban legends, thereby generating more despair.
With a black flame of despair, he would burn down the desolate city in Lin Chen's heart.
"Look!" Chu Jiu suddenly said, staring at the painting. "The back of the painting!"
Hua Luo immediately flipped the painting over. On the back, there was another painting of a man wearing a beige trench coat and a blue scarf.
And his appearance... was exactly the same as Wu! However, this man lacked the overwhelming killing intent of Wu, replaced instead by a gentle and scholarly demeanor.
He didn't look fierce at all; in fact, he seemed somewhat cute.
In the next second, Hua Luo immediately understood that both sides of the painting were Wu.
This represents the duality of good and evil within Wu, much like the Buddhist saying that one thought can lead to enlightenment, while another can lead to damnation—the line between Buddha and demon is but a single thought.
Lin Chen indeed created Wu in a moment of utter despair, yet even in despair, a flower of hope can bloom. This Wu, dressed in a beige trench coat with a shy smile, is the last glimmer of light lost in the depths of despair.
And the Ghost that Lin Chen has become came here precisely for this painting! It is believed that by handing this painting over to Lin Chen, the despair in her heart can be dispelled, awakening her former self.
Only she can confront the black-clad figure—Wu—who embodies the despair she created.
At that moment, the light and shadows shifted before their eyes. Hua Luo instinctively grabbed Chu Jiu's hand, and in the next instant, the two found themselves inside a car.
The car was speeding through a long, dark tunnel.
It was a taxi.
"What... what on earth is going on?" The driver's voice trembled with fear. "I've driven through this tunnel many times, even last week. It wasn't this long! Why can't we reach the end?"
The driver had the accelerator pressed to the floor, the engine roaring in protest as the car reached its maximum speed.
Driving this fast in a tunnel was akin to courting death, but neither Hua Luo nor Chu Jiu objected.
They knew they had already entered the realm of an urban legend.
"Whoosh!"
A shadow flashed by.
"Did... did you see that?" Through the rearview mirror, Hua Luo saw the driver's eyes filled with terror. "There was someone standing by the tunnel just now."
"I didn't see anything," Hua Luo tried to reassure the driver, fearing that his panic might lead to an accident. "Focus on driving," he reminded. "Keep your eyes on the road."
Chu Jiu's expression changed, her fear evident. She had also seen the figure that flashed by the roadside—it was indeed a person, a woman in a bright red dress.
Hua Luo began to understand the urban legend they had stumbled into.
This was Chen Yi's urban legend.
According to the legend, this tunnel had no end, and they would be trapped here until they perished.
"Whoosh!"
"Ahhh!" the driver screamed. "It's the woman in red! We've seen her more than once now!"
Soon, the driver realized the situation was even worse than he thought. The woman they had passed multiple times was now following the car.
At first, she was 50 meters behind, just a blurry shadow, but the distance was closing with each passing moment.
40 meters.
30 meters.
Soon, she was only 20 meters away. Chu Jiu's tears began to flow uncontrollably. Even in the dim light of the tunnel, she immediately recognized the pale-faced woman following them—it was Chen Yi.
What was even more horrifying was that Chen Yi's face was turned toward them, but her body was facing backward, her neck twisted 180 degrees. She was clearly dead beyond any doubt.
Sister Chen Yi was dead, and now she had become a new urban legend.
Thoughts raced through Hua Luo's mind as he tried to devise a plan. He had recently read about this tunnel legend and knew that simply running would never allow them to escape.
Unless someone stayed behind.
Just like the choice Chen Yi had once faced.
"We can't escape, we can't escape," the driver muttered, his emotions finally breaking down as he watched the female Ghost drawing closer. In a panic, he yanked open the car door and leaped out.
The driver was swallowed by the darkness behind him, and no one knew whether he would survive.
However, without the driver, the vehicle neither went out of control nor slowed down, continuing to speed forward at an alarming rate.
Hua Luo pursed his lips tightly, his gaze slowly shifting to Chu Jiu.
It has begun.
(End of the Chapter)
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