After completing the bizarre game, the world experienced a global resurgence of strange occurrences.

"There is one thing, which started about four or five days ago: people have been going missing in the village every night."

The villagers reported the incident to the police, who came several times and searched for several days, but still couldn't find the missing person.

Yesterday, the village received a notice saying that the higher authorities would send someone to handle this matter.

But no one has come yet, and someone else suddenly disappeared last night!

Chen Zhuo neatly placed the cleaned dishes and chopsticks into the cupboard and asked his last question.

"Did the number of those straw figures only gradually increase after people started going missing?"

Upon hearing this, Shi's mother paused for a moment, her wrinkles furrowing slightly, her eyes filled with uncertainty, before finally nodding.

Now that you mention it, it does seem to be true.

She nodded gently, speaking slowly: "There used to be only a few scarecrows scattered around the fields, used to scare away sparrows. But then people started going missing in the village, and those things started appearing more and more often."

Chen Zhuo nodded slightly, having already made up his mind.

He can't just leave like this.

Strange events are occurring in the village, and Stone Mother is in great danger, all alone and helpless!

"Auntie, the road at the entrance of the village was under construction when I came here, and it was getting dark. I'm afraid I won't be able to leave tonight."

Chen Zhuo helped Shi's mother back into the house and sat down.

"If you don't mind the trouble, I'd like to stay here for the night."

Upon hearing this, Shi Mu's face immediately lit up with a smile.

"No trouble at all. I live alone here, so it's just sitting empty. You can stay as long as you want."

She quickly stood up, hurried into the inner room to make the bed, muttering to herself.

"The blankets are all clean; they were just aired out a couple of days ago. I'll go get them now."

Listening to the old man's busy footsteps, Chen Zhuo sighed inwardly.

As darkness fell, Shi's mother went to her room to rest early, while Chen Zhuo lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) next door.

I don't know how much time passed.

Chen Zhuo suddenly woke up, turned his head slightly, and lowered his voice to a very low level.

"Mirror Ghost, go check outside."

The glass of the pocket watch flickered slightly, and the ghost mirror had moved to the only window in the room.

A moment later, the Mirror Ghost returned to the pocket watch, its voice carrying a hint of solemnity.

"There was a scarecrow standing by the window just now, peering into the house."

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhuo slowly sat up, his movements so subtle that he made no sound.

He put on his shoes, held the white bone cane in his hand, and quietly left the room.

As he passed by Shi's mother's bedroom, he paused for a moment to make sure the old woman was breathing steadily and sleeping soundly before continuing on his way out.

When Chen Zhuo reached the door of the bungalow, he stopped.

The moment he raised his hand, a copper coin appeared in his palm.

The surface of the copper coin was covered with rust, and a strange aura emanated from it.

This is a defensive artifact, which he obtained from a dungeon within the bizarre game.

Chen Zhuo gently pressed the copper coin onto the door frame, and an invisible force instantly spread out, firmly protecting the entire bungalow within.

After doing all this, he slowly walked towards the window of his room.

Upon seeing Chen Zhuo emerge, the straw man abruptly turned around and ran away.

Without hesitation, Chen Zhuo immediately followed.

His steps seemed slow, yet he remained steadily behind the scarecrow, neither too close nor too far.

"Chen Zhuo, Shi Yi's mother previously said that the police hired someone to investigate."

They hadn't run far when the mirror ghost in the pocket watch spoke again, its tone carrying a hint of understanding.

"She's probably referring to someone from the Sealed Gate organization."

Chen Zhuo nodded slightly but did not reply.

The Mirror Ghost continued, "But those people haven't arrived yet, and someone went missing from the village yesterday. It seems the people the organization sent have probably run into trouble."

"Um."

Chen Zhuo responded with a faint "yes".

He had already suspected this for a long time.

Since the organization sent people to investigate, they must know the details of these straw figures and have far more information than he could find out on his own.

Thinking of this, Chen Zhuo freed one hand and pressed the walkie-talkie on his chest.

"Wu Yu".

After a brief hum of electricity, Wu Yu's voice came through immediately, clear and crisp.

"Consultant Chen? What are your instructions?"

"I'm in Hefeng Village now, and I've encountered some strange events." Chen Zhuo said calmly, "The villagers say that people have been going missing in the village these past few days."

Wu Yu on the other end of the walkie-talkie remained silent, waiting quietly for what would follow.

"Please investigate carefully for me: were any organized groups filmed handling strange events in Hefeng Village yesterday or a few days ago?"

"Received, I'll check right away."

Wu Yu's answer was straightforward; he immediately began investigating the personnel changes in the Dachang City branch and Xiaolu City over the past few days.

As soon as he finished speaking, Mirror Ghost suddenly lowered his voice, his tone wary.

"Chen Zhuo, we're being followed!"

Chen Zhuo did not stop walking, his expression remained unchanged.

"I know. They followed us when we started tracking the straw man, and it even has a strange aura about it."

The Mirror Ghost's tone turned serious: "Have we been discovered? Are the other straw men preparing to attack us?"

Chen Zhuo's lips twitched slightly, but there was no trace of panic in his voice.

"Whether it's true or not, just stop and take a look!"

He stopped and pressed the intercom button.

"Wu Yu, stay on the phone. Don't contact me unless I contact you first."

"clear."

Wu Yu's voice was very soft, and she fell silent after speaking.

After warning Wu Yu, Chen Zhuo's figure vanished from the spot in an instant.

Almost at the same moment he disappeared, a figure suddenly darted out from behind a corner of the wall not far away and landed where Chen Zhuo had just been standing.

The man stared at the empty road, a look of shock instantly crossing his face.

He quickly turned his head to look around, warily scanning every corner.

No matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find a single trace of Chen Zhuo.

Are you looking for me?

Just then, a cold voice came from behind him without warning.

The man's body stiffened abruptly, and he trembled uncontrollably.

His reaction was extremely fast; almost the instant the sound came, he had already reached into his robes, taken out the treacherous weapon, and prepared to strike first.

But just as his hand touched the strange artifact in his arms, he caught a glimpse of his own shadow on the ground, and his expression changed drastically.

Because right next to his shadow, at some point, another shadow appeared!

Immediately afterwards, the voice that had been ten meters behind him now seemed to be right next to his ear, carrying a chilling aura.

The man's pupils constricted sharply, and he was immediately alarmed.

What a great speed!

How can this person be so fast!

Before he could react, a tremendous force had already pinned his hands behind his back.

He used all his strength, but the hand was like an iron clamp, and no matter how much he struggled, it wouldn't budge.

The more you struggle, the more intense the despair becomes.

He gritted his teeth, his eyes filled with resentment.

Just then, the Mirror Ghost's voice rang out, its tone tinged with confusion.

"Chen Zhuo, this is a human being!"