Secret 1

Chapter 16
2006年9月25日，下午15点30分。

Butcher is still alive.

But Ye Xiao and Ding Ding couldn't find him either. At this moment, Tu Nan was still in the huge stadium. Of course, he couldn't be found from the stands because he was under the stands.

This is the inside of the grandstand of the stadium—steel beams overhead, concrete pillars around, light coming in from the narrow gaps outside, the dark enclosed space is boundless, and the thin air makes it hard to breathe.

Tu Nan leaned against a concrete pillar, wondering if the heavy rain outside had stopped?The ground not far away was still dripping water.

The black things in front of his eyes began to flicker again, piercing his eyeballs and brain like fragments, his body was about to break into countless pieces, a certain voice slowly grew from the memory of the dream, whispering to him gently——

this is bad luck

Doomed from more than a year ago?On the eve of the opening of the new company, he came to this ghost place to suffer?Tu Nan pinched his thigh fiercely, hoping to wake up from the nightmare happily.

However, this is not a dream.

An hour ago, he saw this huge stadium.At that time, Ye Xiao and Ding Ding were chasing the wolfhound, and rushed into the entrance of the stadium quickly.These two guys ran too fast and hurriedly, leaving Tu Nan far behind.

When he was about to run into the field, Ye Xiao and Ding Ding had long since disappeared, and in a panic, he stumbled and fell heavily.It must have been Tu Nan's misfortune, as the isolation ditch between the stands and the runway happened to be next to him, and he fell into the deep ditch!

The ditch is two meters deep and is used to prevent fans from jumping into the stadium and making trouble.Tu Nan was dizzy and dizzy from the fall, and he didn't recover for a long time.Fortunately, there is a lot of flesh on the buttocks, but there are some skin scratches on the body, not to the point of hurting the muscles and bones.

When Tu Nan struggled leisurely, he couldn't climb out of the deep ditch no matter what.Unfortunately, that pair of beloved sunglasses also fell into pieces in his pocket.He could only try to call for help, hoping that Ye Xiao and Dingding could hear him.But he found that he couldn't bark at all, his weak voice was like a kitten's, and it couldn't reach the deep isolation ditch at all.

Tu Nan looked desperately at the sky above the ditch, which was only half a meter wide, and the ceiling on the top of the stand could be vaguely seen.A lot of rainwater ran into the bottom of the ditch, and although there was a drainage system, the feet and socks were soaked.He groped along the wall of the ditch with difficulty, but the ditch was like a deep valley encountered by the tour group, and he walked hundreds of meters without seeing the end—until he saw a small door.

Finally saved!Tu Nan used all his strength to push open the door. Inside was the inner passage of the stands of the stadium, and he plunged into this dark space.While groping for the wall with his hands, he tried to push open various doors, and turned around in the maze-like passage for several minutes.

Suddenly, a light came out of a door. It turned out to be a semi-basement room with an exhaust window close to the ceiling, facing the gutter, and the rainy light shone in faintly.There is a circle of seats in the room, a small table and blackboard in the center, a row of changing boxes and medicine boxes.This is the players' locker room, where the coaches train the players during halftime of football games.

The locker room is not far from the exit, right?Excitedly, he rushed to another door, which was the passage for the athletes to come out, but was firmly blocked by a rolling shutter door.Tu Nan patted on the rolling door desperately, but the sound didn't spread far, until his hands were flushed from clapping, and he could only turn back in despair.

There was a fire escape staircase at the end of the corridor. He struggled to climb up the stairs, but there was a huge dark space.He couldn't see anything in front of him, and he didn't dare to go down the stairs again - he couldn't see the stairs at all, so he could only bite the bullet and move forward, as if he had lost both eyes and became blind all of a sudden.

I reached out and touched an object, like a wall but not that big, it turned out to be a concrete pillar.He shouted vigorously to the surroundings a few times, and then he heard the echo of his own emptiness.This is the interior of the stadium building. The pillars are the foundation of the stands, and there are tens of thousands of seats on them.Tu Nan no longer had the strength to move around, so he sat down with his back against the pillar, closed his eyes and waited for someone to come.

In the summer more than a year ago, his name on MSN was still "Wandering Quartet".At that time, he spent every night chatting on the Internet, and suddenly an unfamiliar number added him, and the other party's name was "A Southern Cloud".He didn't know who that person was, the picture was a green valley, and the displayed text was in traditional Chinese.He asked why the other party added him, and the answer was the HOTMAIL number that was searched casually.

Tu Nan’s ID is TOSOUTH, as the name implies, “Tu” means TO, and the homonym of “男” is “南”=SOUTH, and Tu Nan=TO SOUTH=to the South.

He asked the other party why did they search for this number?
"A Southern Cloud": Because I am in the south, very south, very south.

Tu Nan: Are you in Antarctica?
'A southern cloud': A place further south than Antarctica?
Tu Nan: Interesting, is there such a place on earth?
"A Southern Cloud": Yes

Tu Nan: Where?
"A Southern Cloud": Nan Ming
Tu Nan: Nanming?There's no such place on the map, huh?
"A cloud in the south": Yes, this place cannot be found on any map in the world, but it does exist.

Tu Nan: Well, my distant friend, are you a girl?

"A Southern Cloud": Yes
Tu Nan felt that it was getting more and more interesting, and he was about to use his skill of picking up girls online: Yun'er, can I call you Yun'er?

"A Southern Cloud": OK, I like it
Tu Nan: Yun'er, it's already midnight.If you are still underage, please go to bed early and rest.If you're an adult, there's a lot more we can talk about.

"A Southern Cloud": But my time here is only eleven o'clock.

Tu Nan: Strange, is it because of jet lag?Are you not in China?Are you noon or evening?
"A Southern Cloud": It's eleven o'clock in the evening, and of course I'm not in China.

Tu Nan: If Beijing time is an hour behind, are you in Vietnam?

He has traveled to Vietnam before, and he still remembers that when he got off the plane in Ho Chi Minh City, everyone set their watches back by an hour.

"A Southern Cloud": No, I am in Nanming.

Tu Nan: Nanming is a country?
"A Southern Cloud": Nanming is neither a country nor a city, Nanming is a cemetery.

Seeing this, Tu Nan's heart trembled suddenly. Could it be that MSN is haunted tonight: You said you were in the cemetery?
"A Southern Cloud": Maybe, soon, soon...

The screen flickered a little, and the text in the dialog box seemed to float out leisurely.The locked windows with the air conditioner turned on were also blown open by an unknown wind, and cold sweat rolled down Tu Nan's back: You, what do you mean?

But the other party paused for a long time without speaking, Tu Nan urged again and asked if he was there, and "a cloud from the south" replied: It's too late, I'm going to bed, it's nice to meet you, I will come to see you again .

Tu Nan wanted her to wait, but the southern cloud went offline first.He closed the window again, and sat blankly in front of the computer screen, looking at the text on the MSN record.Although there is a 99% chance that she is playing with him, maybe she is in Shanghai after all, just using software in traditional characters, and pretending to be a far away place.Anyway, everything on the Internet is virtual, and you don't have to take it seriously unless you meet each other.

But those conversations just now made him feel strange, and he vaguely felt that it might really be a southern ghost?However, ghosts don't sleep at night, do they?Thinking of this, he smiled wryly to himself, he will probably forget it when he wakes up tomorrow morning.

On the second night, Tu Nan saw "a cloud from the south" online again. After hesitating for a moment, he said: "Yun'er, are you there?"

"A cloud in the south" displayed a smiley face: here we are, TOTO.

Tu Nan: You call me TOTO?That's funny, it's the first time someone calls me that.

"A Southern Cloud": Because no one here talks with me.

Tu Nan: Do you mean Nanming or the cemetery?
"A Southern Cloud": Almost, except for the twigs.

Tu Nan: Who is Xiao Zhi?It seems familiar.

"A cloud in the south": Well, I won't tell you this anymore. I've been very upset recently, just like the place I live in.

Tu Nan: What happened?

"A Southern Cloud": Do you believe in ghosts in this world?

Tu Nan's heart was shocked again: Maybe, do you believe it?

"A Southern Cloud": I believe, they are all around me.

Tu Nan: Yuner, how old are you?

"A Southern Cloud": Nineteen years old.

Tu Nan: You are so young, are you in college yet?
"A Southern Cloud": School will start next month.

Tu Nan: Learn what?
"A Southern Cloud": Spirituality.

Tu Nan: That's strange. There will be spirituality majors in universities?Is it learning spiritism?

"A Southern Cloud": Wait a minute, my God!Something happened again!
Tu Nan almost wanted to tear the screen apart to see who was hiding behind MSN: What's wrong?
"A Southern Cloud": No, sorry, I can't talk to you now, they're knocking on my door

Immediately, the girl went offline, and Tu Nan sat blankly again.And the locked window was opened again by a strange coincidence, and the night wind blew through his body.

A Southern Cloud—Who Are You?Is a female liar?Or a schoolgirl?Is it a ridiculous performance art?Or a long-planned conspiracy against him?

That night, for the first time, he could not sleep because of a woman he had never met.

The next day, Tu Nan didn't go to work, but stayed in front of the computer at home all day.But he waited until midnight, and still did not see "a cloud from the south" on MSN.What really started to scare him was that his heart had already been entwined with this girl, and he seemed to be more and more inseparable from her.Is that curiosity or sympathy?Or is it the desire to explore the unknown world?Nanming——Is that a cemetery or a foreign space?
He waited like this for three days until the [-]th day of the seventh lunar month—the traditional Chinese "ghost festival".

"A cloud from the south" finally appeared, and her picture was replaced with a real one. It was a little girl with a round face and a common student hair. To be honest, her smile was quite charming.

Tu Nan immediately typed: Yun'er, is this you?
"A Southern Cloud": Yes, is it pretty?

Tu Nan: Very beautiful!do you know?I have been waiting for you for three days.

"A Southern Cloud": Don't wait for me again.

Tu Nan: What happened?Am I really in a hurry?where are you?which city?

He suddenly had a conflict, and ran to her to see if she was a human or a ghost?
"A Southern Cloud": Don't!Don't come near me anymore!Don't get close to Nanming either!I'm sorry, I'm sorry for you, I shouldn't talk to you, and I shouldn't disturb your life.

Tu Nan: No, if you don't let me go, I will definitely find you.

"A Southern Cloud": Ah, here they are again!Please forget me and take care!

Tu Nan was about to type desperately to keep her, but there was no response on the screen, as if the keyboard and mouse were frozen.Finally opened the WINDOWS task manager, but the computer crashed in an instant!
He knocked over the cup in agitation, and the freshly boiled hot water splashed on his thighs, but he didn't feel any pain at all.Looking at the screen after restarting, his expression was dumbfounded.

When Tu Nan reacted and went online again, "A Southern Cloud" had already gone offline.Looking through the conversation records on MSN again, I found that all the conversations between myself and "a cloud in the south" had disappeared without a trace.

what happened?He was so anxious that he was sweating profusely that he was about to disassemble the mainframe of the computer. In the contact address bar of MSN, "a cloud in the south" had disappeared.He could only rely on his memory to re-enter the girl's HOTMAIL number and add her as his contact.

However, the night of the "Ghost Festival" in the seventh half of the lunar calendar is the last night between Tu Nan and "a cloud from the south".

He waited obsessively for many days, and the girl never appeared on MSN again. It was as if she had never been in this world, leaving no trace in his computer.Tu Nan was still reconciled, he desperately searched for "a cloud in the south" and her HOTMAIL address on various search engines, but there was no clue——

Is it just my hallucination?There is no such thing at all?Could it be that the pressure of starting a business is too heavy recently, causing mental problems?Tu Nan couldn't figure it out, but he firmly remembered every word he said with "A Southern Cloud" on MSN, no matter how long it took, he never forgot a single word.Of course, it also includes the picture of her seen in the middle of July night, her smile often lingers in his dreams.

A year later, that dream became more and more intense, visiting my mind every morning. "A cloud in the south" is his cloud in the dream, a girl who is far away but misses him endlessly.She was in that empty city, with rain dripping under the dense leaves, surrounded by old mottled streets, and white smoke floating in the deep alleys.Tu Nan just followed her to the most secret place.Suddenly a strange and distant light shot down from above his head, countless voices sounded around him, and those different faces all showed sadness, tears gathered at the bottom of everyone's feet, and turned into a river of depression, gradually submerging his body.Yun'er held his hand tightly until the two of them were swallowed by the sea of ​​tears...

Since the end of the World Cup in Germany, Tu Nan has repeated this dream every night until Yun'er named several places in his dream: Thailand, Chiang Mai, Nanming—these place names haunted him repeatedly, like a predestined fate, forever The inescapable call of life.

Although his company is about to open and his career is about to enter a new world, he is likely to become the richest man in China in the new generation.But Tu Nan still decided to go to Chiang Mai, Thailand, and signed up for this tour group.

From the moment he stepped on the plane, he had a vague feeling that he would see "a southern cloud".

After the night of the coup in Bangkok, to the thrilling journey to leave Chiang Mai, and then to break into this mysterious empty city.Tu Nan went through all this in a daze, and this place really is Nanming!What Yun'er said is "a place further south than Antarctica", but there is no one here?No, there is at least one girl and a dog.

But the mysterious girl holding the black umbrella is obviously not his Yun'er, Yun'er in the photo is much plumper, and her face shape and eyes are also different.The most important thing is that Yun'er will definitely recognize Tu Nan, because he has sent her many real photos of himself, even if he has never seen it before, he still feels this way, and he can even imagine the smell of Yun'er.

At this moment, he was trapped in this huge stadium, under the dark stands, behind the cold concrete pillars, surrounded by desperate and suffocating air.His cloud is still missing, and his future is locked here.

Tu Nan remembered that he still had his mobile phone, turned on the screen and saw that there was no signal yet, it was already five o'clock in the afternoon.He took a picture of the front with his mobile phone, revealing a dark space.He forced himself to get up, and while the phone was still powered on, he might be able to show the way to escape.

Staggering forward along that line of dim light, he felt his physical strength regained a bit, and the sound of dripping water continued, as if he had returned to the birth canal when he was born.

Suddenly, a more intense light shot down from the top of his head, and a certain shadow was strongly reflected in front of his eyes.

He saw the man.

that face.

those eyes.

Sorry, that's not "A Southern Cloud".

But -

Pupils, Tu Nan's pupils suddenly dilated, the world gathered at the bottom of the retina like a collapsing universe...

Dusk in Nanming.

In the first group, the four disappointed people returned to the alley outside the "base camp" in a BMW car.

Suddenly, a figure popped out of the alley.

Sitting in the co-pilot's seat was Qian Mozheng, who jumped out of the car vigilantly and ran quickly towards the figure.Before the other three could get out of the car, he had already disappeared.

Qian Mozheng rushed into another alley on the opposite side, and the nimble dodging posture of the figure in front of him reminded him of the hares photographed on the grassland.Although he is 40 years old, his speed is still the same as in his youth, gradually approaching his small prey.It was the back of a young girl, not yet fully developed, with her slender arms exposed in a short-sleeved T-shirt, as if it could be crushed with one hand.

Finally, under a dilapidated roof, Qian Mozheng grabbed that arm.

"Ouch!"

A delicate cry sounded, and the cold skin felt like a piece of fragile jade.Then, he saw a girl's face - Qiuqiu.

"why you?"

Qian Mozheng thought he had caught some hidden resident in the empty city. Although Qiuqiu was struggling violently, his big hand still didn't relax at all.

"Let me go? You hurt me!"

"Why are you running around?"

Qian Mozheng let go of his grip a little bit, but he still wouldn't let her go.

The 15-year-old girl turned her head stubbornly and said, "It's none of your business!"

"Do you know how dangerous this is? Didn't you tell you to stay in the room and not move around?"

He warned Qiuqiu loudly like scolding his own daughter.

"Yes, this city is full of dangers, isn't it just as dangerous in the room?"

Unexpectedly, the girl would talk back, he shook his head and said, "At least your parents are protecting you."

"I hate them."

Hearing Qiuqiu's contemptuous and disdainful answer, Qian Mozheng felt a chill in his heart.He stared into the girl's eyes, and a strange thing appeared faintly, making himself feel as if he was being passed through by an electric current.As a result, his big hand gripped even tighter, as if he wanted to wear off her thin and tender skin, and taste the girl's warm blood.

Strangely, Qiuqiu stopped resisting instead, and stared straight into his eyes.This scene made Qian Mozheng feel terrified, and hurriedly shook off her hand and said, "Why are you so disobedient? Your mother must be dying of anxiety!"

At this time, the mother's stern cry came from behind: "Qiuqiu, where are you?"

"Your mother is calling you! Come back with me!"

Qian Mozheng grabbed her hand again and led Qiuqiu out of the alley.Back on the street outside, the anxious Li Cheng couple immediately hugged their daughter's shoulders tightly.

Huang Wanran breathed a sigh of relief, and said to Qian Mozheng with some embarrassment: "Thank you very much."

"What's going on? You have to keep an eye on the child."

The 38-year-old beautiful woman looked distressed. Just when she was about to say something, Cheng Cheng took over the words: "I'm sorry to cause you trouble, and this will not happen again. We will take good care of Qiuqiu." .”

(End of this chapter)