Apocalyptic Era: Starting from picking up a Bishoujo
Chapter 454 - 424 Wuyou Strange Tales 2

Chapter 454: 424 Wuyou Strange Tales 2

The derelict building in the abandoned construction site is a dangerous structure. Although it appears fine now, it could collapse during an earthquake or typhoon, so the local government has plans to dismantle it safely. However, perhaps due to recent social turmoil or for other reasons, the plan has been delayed, and it has yet to enter the implementation phase.

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao didn’t expect that the mysterious place mentioned in the Wuyou Ghost Stories would refer to here. It’s also possible that the mysterious place isn’t fixed, it just happened to be chosen at the abandoned construction site this time. Regardless, she felt a sense of fateful connection from it.

And she wasn’t the only one brought to this place.

She found that a dozen or so men and women were brought to the open ground outside the derelict building, all led by the shadow creatures in human form. Some arrived by walking normally like her, while others emerged from black shadow pools that suddenly appeared on the ground. Perhaps the latter were transported by strange powers from distant places where walking would be troublesome.

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao dared not move recklessly, she could only anxiously await instructions while observing for a chance to escape. It seemed others were like her, but they dared not communicate in front of those shadow monsters. The atmosphere at the scene felt like a terrorist hostage scenario.

When the number of people seemed to be complete, Junior Sister Xiaoqiao noticed a man walking out of the derelict building. The surrounding shadow monsters quickly turned into flat shadows, merging into the man’s shadow under his feet. Everyone realized that the man was the one in charge.

With a wave of his hand, the shadows beside everyone’s feet became like pools of water, from which a white-covered book emerged.

The mysterious man then commanded everyone present to pick up the white books and read them. Some people did not immediately obey, while others picked up the books but did not open them.

Seeing this, the mysterious man repeated his command. An incredible thing happened. This time, upon hearing his words, everyone’s body moved uncontrollably, picked up the white books from the ground, opened them, focused their gaze on the pages, and even involuntarily read the content aloud.

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao was one of them.

When she narrated this part to me, I couldn’t help but become curious and asked, "—What was written in the book?"

"I don’t know," Junior Sister Xiaoqiao replied honestly.

"Don’t know?" I said, "Didn’t you see the book’s content and even read it aloud?"

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao was equally perplexed, "That’s true, but I don’t know what content I saw or what text I read."

Zhu Shi, listening nearby, appeared thoughtful.

"So, the content of that book has a mysterious quality... It allows a person to read without understanding. Judging by how you could read it aloud, perhaps it wasn’t written in strange characters..." I speculated.

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao shook her head, "No, it’s not like that. I think it might be that I’m just special."

"Special?" I wondered.

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao nodded and continued.

The reason she arrived at this conclusion was that everyone else reacted completely differently from her.

Besides her, after the recital was over, everyone else seemed to be mesmerized by the book’s content, staring blankly for a few seconds before displaying a wide range of emotions.

Some suddenly burst into tears, clutching their heads and sobbing, some shouted excitedly, and others sat down dejectedly... They all clearly saw something from the book that was deeply significant to them.

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao was both terrified and bewildered by this intense change, while the mysterious man nodded slightly and glanced at her. It wasn’t clear if this panic and bewilderment were considered "normal reactions after reading the white book" in his view, as he did not focus much on her.

"You all now understand that the past regrets, present troubles, and future worries can be dispelled here, which is not just an empty phrase but a real promise," the mysterious man said, "However, what you experienced just now was only a one-time entry experience. Most of you are not yet qualified to truly join us.

"At this stage, among you, only two people are qualified to join us."

As he spoke, the mysterious man pointed to two people among those present.

One was among those who had been moved to tears after reading the white book, and the other was Junior Sister Xiaoqiao.

The others looked at them with immense envy and jealousy, while Junior Sister Xiaoqiao, as the person in the "spotlight," felt as if she’d stumbled into a fervent religious gathering and was about to become the main character in a subsequent bloody performance, almost collapsing again.

"They will be given trials later, and if they pass, they can gain powerful strength and honorably become one of us," the mysterious man said, "As for the others, how you can qualify is already recorded in the book; I don’t think I need to explain further?"

"Yes... I will certainly do it!" someone voiced fervently.

Another shouted, "No matter what I have to do, I will succeed, even if it costs my life... so you must keep your word!"

"Of course, of course," the mysterious man responded.

Others who were not chosen also expressed their agreement, each with varying emotion but all with a frightening fervor.

They seemed to have been brainwashed just from reading the book, despite being so wary and distant at first; now, they let down all their guards against the mysterious man, as if afraid he would abandon them and desperately tried to assert their existence.

Is this the truth behind the Wuyou Ghost Stories? Is this what it means to "turn all troubles into nothing"?

Junior Sister Xiaoqiao realized that the white book in her hand indeed possessed a certain madness-inducing power. Though she didn’t know what was written inside, ordinary writing surely couldn’t cause such widespread fervor in such a short time. This was undoubtedly the power of something strange.

Shortly after, the mysterious man declared the gathering over and left Junior Sister Xiaoqiao and the other chosen person with a few words.

He said that they were not yet ready to conduct the trials and instructed them to return to this abandoned construction site on a night a few days from now, where they would join others selected elsewhere to undergo the trials.

After giving his instructions, the shadow at his heels expanded bizarrely, as if it turned into a pool of water, and he stepped back into the shadow pool, disappearing from everyone’s sight.

Once Junior Sister Xiaoqiao confirmed the situation had ended, she swiftly turned and ran. She feared what the envious and jealous "devout followers" might do to her. Fortunately, they didn’t chase after her, and she locked herself tightly in her dorm room at the university, her clothes soaked with cold sweat.

The faces of those who were brainwashed and transformed into new personalities kept surfacing in her mind. Now, she could not muster the energy to consider "gaining power in strange events" or to participate in any trials.

Who knows what kind of thing those trials are, and even if real power can be obtained, she might end up brainwashed like those "devout followers." Though she was timid and avoided trouble, she was clear-headed and able to discern which opportunities were worth taking and which should never be touched.

It’s possible the mysterious man already saw through the fact that she hadn’t been brainwashed.

The problem is, this trial is not something she wants to avoid and can just refuse to participate.

Even though the mysterious man didn’t ask her name, her appearance was already exposed, and given his vast abilities and use of "we," he was clearly not acting alone but rather represented an organization. Holding such brainwashing abilities, they likely have many operatives in society. As an ordinary person, trying to bury her head like an ostrich and ignore it would have unimaginable consequences.

She dared not call the police, as she didn’t believe those with supernatural brainwashing powers, able to transport her mysteriously, could be handled by the police. She even suspected that the public security department might have members brainwashed by the mysterious powers, turning an attempted report into delivering herself into danger. Although there seemed to be a "department" called "Luo Mountain" that dealt specifically with such matters, she couldn’t find an official contact method and didn’t know how to report it.

Even if the other party is wary of the authorities, avenging herself, a mere young college girl, would still be easy. Her family might even be implicated. She had an elementary school-aged younger brother, and the thought that he could be dragged into any form of retaliation was unbearable to contemplate.

Perhaps this is why many victims threatened by dark forces don’t dare to report.

Thinking it over, she recalled a person with extensive research into ghost stories and supernatural powers. That person, known for doing whatever it took to investigate ghost stories, had once consulted her about the abandoned construction site ghost story, and not long after, the abandoned site was mysteriously destroyed, allowing her to sleep peacefully in the following days...

"—You want me to save you?" I asked.