Frightening Joke: Above the Mist
Chapter 104: Arrival

Chapter 104: Chapter 104: Arrival

Xu Zhifei’s arrival was unexpected for Bai Yanliang, and it disrupted his upcoming plans.

Originally, he was planning to take this time to trouble that "Secret Key," but now it seemed he had more important questions to answer.

Precognition... Many people have had similar feelings, like... suddenly realizing: it seems to have happened before, seems to have been here before, seems to have done this before, seems to have heard these words before, and so on...

In that moment, the brain gives off a signal, recognizing the occurrence.

But in reality, they’ve never been to that place, or done that thing, so... where does that sense of familiarity come from?

From a dream.

In general, the events and scenes formed in dreams come from human’s existing cognition and memory.

These memories include visual, auditory, tactile, and other sensory experiences; everything that appears in dreams has a foundation in memory.

But Xu Zhifei’s precognitive dream, however, deviated from these dream basics.

She had never met Bai Yanliang, yet she dreamed of him before he appeared.

This eerie affair made it impossible for Bai Yanliang to sleep well without understanding it.

Why did Xu Zhifei dream of him?

Or rather, why specifically him, Bai Yanliang? There were dozens of people in Fog Gathering, and Bai Yanliang didn’t think he had anything outstanding.

However... if one had to say, he did possess something that set him apart from everyone in Fog Gathering.

A key.

Bai Yanliang pulled out the silver antique key he wore around his neck.

Xu Zhifei... had dreamed of this key.

Wait!

Bai Yanliang suddenly paused, squeezing the key as a spark flashed in his mind.

No... Maybe Xu Zhifei didn’t dream of him...

It was the key!

Xu Zhifei dreamed of the key, always has!

It was just because this key had been hanging on Bai Yanliang, he appeared in Xu Zhifei’s dreams!

Then, what on earth is this key?

Bai Yanliang was already certain that Yanren definitely had some connection with Fog Gathering while alive, and even... he now deeply suspected whether Yanren was truly dead.

How did this key left by Yanren come to be? And what is its purpose?

Bai Yanliang was baffled.

At this moment, he heard the sound of a door opening behind him.

Bai Yanliang tucked the key into his collar and glanced back.

It was He Yige.

In the past few days of interaction, Bai Yanliang had become familiar with He Yige.

Different from his tough appearance, his profession is quite meticulous—he’s a lawyer.

Indeed, Mr. He is a criminal lawyer; he can intervene in criminal cases at any stage—during investigations, prosecution reviews, or court hearings.

Moreover, he has a habit of working out, his diet is very balanced, and his daily schedule is well-arranged.

For example, now, at two in the afternoon, is this lawyer’s reading time.

"Good afternoon, Mr. He." Bai Yanliang greeted, but did not smile.

He had already been told by two girls not to smile.

He Yige returned a hearty smile.

He sat down opposite Bai Yanliang, under the locust tree, beside the stone table—an excellent reading space, difficult to find amidst the concrete jungle.

Perhaps this was one of the reasons He Yige chose to rent a house here.

Bai Yanliang curiously glanced at the book he held and asked:

"Mr. He, do you like reading strange tales?"

He Yige chuckled, "Yes, these stories mix truth and fiction, humans and ghosts intermingling; ghosts can see humans, so they can inhabit human bodies. Humans can’t see ghosts, so they love to talk about them. It’s quite interesting."

Bai Yanliang nodded, "Makes sense, the line between humans and ghosts blurs, which is why people say everyone has a ghost in their hearts."

"Oh, you two should stop, my head’s hurting."

Gao Fei, holding a stack of documents, walked over with a frown.

"Aren’t you off today?" Bai Yanliang asked.

"I am... but more and more strange cases are popping up, and the boss wants me to study them carefully; tell me... how am I supposed to study these things?"

While talking, Gao Fei placed a photo on the stone table.

Bai Yanliang and He Yige looked at it together.

It was a group photo, a very common class photo.

And it was clearly a graduation photo of university students.

"Nothing wrong with it, what’s the matter?"

"There is a problem... look at her." Gao Fei pointed to the corner of the first row in the photo.

It was a girl, dressed in a graduation gown, with a faint smile on her face.

"This photo is from June last year, her name is Gong Wanyu, a graduate from Yunmen University in the city outskirts. Also last year, at the end of June, we received a report: a body was found in a mountain ravine, and the time of death was assessed to be over a month before. She was Gong Wanyu." Gao Fei’s face was full of disbelief: "But from early June to the end, she was clearly alive and well at Yunmen University, even taking a graduation photo. How could she be dead for over a month?"

"Gong Wanyu is like this, and Fu Yunqing is the same. Besides, there have been several cases like this, full of strange aspects, especially Hao Bowen’s case. I heard there was even surveillance footage, where that high school student flayed himself alive and bit off his tongue! What’s going on..."

Gao Fei lamented as he sat down.

These two in front didn’t need to hide anything; after all, one frequently dealt with the police as a lawyer—had even participated in solving criminal cases—and the other was one of only two specially appointed consultants in Ye City, with a salary.

Bai Yanliang certainly understood why.

These cases couldn’t be completely solved because they involved not only human factors but also that distorted black silhouette.

What exactly it was, whether it was alone or there were many other presences, Bai Yanliang didn’t know.

Moreover, in Li Degang’s single apartment, there’s a creature with eyes all over its body.

The abnormalities in this world were increasing.

Now they were still lurking and hiding, but if... one day they suddenly erupted, what kind of disaster would these inexplicable existences bring to humanity?

Bai Yanliang couldn’t imagine.

At this moment, Bai Yanliang suddenly felt a pain in his palm.

It’s here.

He was very familiar with this feeling.

This time, besides the unspeakable fear and nameless panic, there was also a burning sensation in his left palm.

It hurt.

But it was still bearable.

"I’m sorry."

"I’m sorry."

Two voices appeared simultaneously.

Bai Yanliang and He Yige stood up at the same time and spoke.

Seeing the other performing the same actions, they quickly exchanged a glance.

"I... I’ve got something urgent."

"Me too."

Gao Fei watched them return to their rooms hurriedly, filled with confusion.

"Was the photo that scary?"

Gao Fei scratched his head, mumbling.