"Interview" Location

Standing atop a small dirt mound by the highway, Hao Ren looked at the desolate, run-down little village Not Far Away and racked his brains, wondering whether his intelligence was beyond saving—how had he been so easily talked into coming to a place like this?

He was amazed that there was still a place like this around the city where he had lived for over twenty years: such a primitive yet shabby little village. Though it was indeed quite far from the city, Hao Ren had always thought villages like this only existed deep in mountain ravines, where towering peaks cut off civilization and treacherous shoals and steep cliffs strangled transportation, allowing human settlements to retain such a way of life. But this place was not nearly that remote; there was even a highway leading into the city near the village... That was why he found the village before him so surprising.

But what surprised him even more was this: the strange woman on the phone had actually asked him to come here for an interview in the name of an Import and Export Trading Company... That was simply intolerable. You could insult a man's character, but did you have to insult his intelligence? Though Hao Ren had never been able to tell the difference between a trading company and a street-corner supermarket, he could at least see that the little village Not Far Away might not even have a general store!

Hao Ren stood by the highway beneath the blazing sun, silently watching in the direction the battered bus had disappeared. He would have to wait more than an hour before another vehicle passed by, and the thought filled him with pessimism about life. At this moment, he even missed the stubborn, penniless vampire back home who paid no rent, freeloaded, and constantly caused trouble—he missed the cold air around Vivian. Though that chill always carried a whiff of blood, at least it was cool! There was not even a sapling within several hundred meters of this place. The biggest patch of shade within his Line of Sight was beneath a utility pole a hundred meters away, and its shadow was just large enough to cool Hao Ren's arm a little... This life was impossible!

As for that little village Not Far Away that looked no more than a ten-minute walk away... Hao Ren had no intention of going there. Even if the interview was real, he would not go. Wasn't it obvious? Who in their right mind would come work in a place like this?

What was more, the whole thing looked like a joke at first glance. He had been set up by that mysterious woman on the phone.

There was only one thing Hao Ren was curious about now: why had he been talked into coming here so willingly while taking that call? Why had he felt nothing strange upon hearing such a magical name as "Wangba Tuozi"? Why had he only realized he was a complete idiot after getting off the bus and seeing the village in person? He had never considered those three questions before, but the moment they came to mind, he broke out in a cold sweat!

That was right. Hao Ren remembered that when he received that strange call, he had thought it over for a long time, hesitated for a long time, and then decided to come take a look after "careful consideration." At the time, he had felt completely normal. Those several minutes of hesitation and thought had seemed enough to prove that he had decided to come of his own free will. But now that he thought about it... there was nothing reasonable about him coming here at all!

Even just putting the words "Wangba Tuozi" and "Import and Export Trading Company" together should have made him suspicious!

Hao Ren unconsciously touched his head, wanting to make sure the few pounds sitting above his neck still belonged to him.

A few seconds later, Hao Ren lifted his leg and headed back the way he had come. Walking all the way home beneath the scorching sun was not realistic, but he felt he should at least get farther away from this damned place! Getting away from the address that mysterious woman had given him might improve his odds of survival. He could wait for a bus on the road. That wreck of a bus did not have fixed stops anyway; it stopped anywhere if someone waved.

That call was abnormal, the number was abnormal, and the mysterious woman was abnormal. She had used a reason full of holes to talk Hao Ren into coming here, so Hao Ren knew his own thinking had probably been abnormal for some time as well. He had to leave as soon as possible and return to the other two abnormal creatures at home. Maybe Lily and Vivian would have some idea—at the very least, that vampire seemed to know magic. She had mentioned magical matters before.

But just as he had taken only a few steps, the phone in his pocket suddenly began ringing like it was demanding his life.

Hao Ren jolted at the familiar ringtone. It seemed at least ten times louder than usual, making his eardrums ache, as though a faint, hidden anger was being transmitted through the ringing. Flustered, he pulled out his phone. On its small color screen was that number that looked wrong no matter where it appeared: 00000012345.

Hao Ren stared at the number for a long time, then decisively pried out the battery—fortunately, he had not bought an iPhone. Apple users facing this kind of supernatural situation would probably have no choice but to smash their phones in fury.

But he soon discovered that he, too, could only smash his phone in anger. Even after removing the battery, the ringing did not stop in the slightest. Just like in every supernatural horror movie, his phone remained anything but quiet despite having no battery. The eerie digits on the screen continued their life-demanding summons alongside the ringtone. If Hao Ren had merely been suspicious and uncertain before, now he was one hundred percent certain that something abnormal had latched onto him again!

Worse still, he could not find anything that might protect him. He had not even had time to ask Lily or Vivian what the world of "Others" was like before rashly running out here!

When the ringtone repeated for the third time, Hao Ren finally made up his mind. He raised the Nokia high and smashed it viciously against the ground!

"I refuse to believe you can keep ringing after I smash you... Holy shit, that works too?"

The Nokia truly deserved its title as the world's number one miracle phone. Hao Ren watched helplessly as his aged old phone streaked through the air and slammed into the ground, then... then embedded itself into the concrete. Could you believe that?! And it was still ringing like it wanted his life!

Hao Ren knew he was not that strong, so there was only one explanation for what he was seeing: the caller was using this method to warn him not to make pointless resistance. Some things did not follow science, reason, or common sense—perhaps even strapping the phone to a strategic missile and firing it to the other side of the planet would not help!

Trembling, Hao Ren bent down and picked up the completely undamaged phone, then held it to his ear. Though his heart was pounding, his tone remained forceful—he was a man who cared greatly about saving face, which was to say, the sort who would still act tough even at death's door. "Hello! What the hell do you want?!"

"Isn't it obvious? I told you to come for an interview!" The pleasant yet frightening female voice rang out again. Yet for some reason, the instant Hao Ren heard her voice, he felt a little relieved. Perhaps because she could Speak Human Language, making her seem like someone he could communicate with? Or perhaps because the mysterious woman was still talking about an "interview," which gave him some inexplicable comfort.

Things had come this far, and all kinds of strange phenomena were right before him. If she meant him harm, now would be the time to drop all pretenses. Since the woman had not used her extraordinary powers to remotely strike him with a bolt of heavenly lightning and send him on his way, Hao Ren figured he was safe for the moment.

As for why he imagined heavenly lightning instead of something else... that was because Hao Ren's imagination went no further than that. He could not think of any greater divine power. Lily and Vivian's fight the previous night had already seemed like a Hollywood blockbuster to him.

"An interview..." Hao Ren tried to calm himself and pretended not to be afraid at all. His voice actually sounded quite steady. "Let's be frank. I'm already here, so are you really planning to keep up that story about some Import and Export Trading Company? Can't you just tell me what this is about?"

"Oh, we have Rules from above. We cannot reveal secrets before the right time or to people who do not meet the requirements," the woman on the other end said. Her voice did not sound sinister or terrifying, nor did it carry the slightest threat. She sounded exactly like an ordinary person discussing business, which astonished Hao Ren. "Now do as I say, and you'll find our workplace..."

"Wait!" Hao Ren loudly interrupted her. He could not keep following her lead. "Let's get this straight first—what exactly do you want? Let's not beat around the bush. Can you stop using this interview excuse?"

The woman on the other end sounded impatient. "Why are you being so damned fussy? I said it's an interview, so it's an interview. If you really want to know our Rules, you'll have to come here first! Now listen. See that utility pole ahead? Walk beneath it, put your hand on the old Chinese medicine advertisement pasted to the pole, and face north... Don't know which way north is? North is up, south is down, west is left, east is right. Look up!"

Hao Ren: "..." He felt that the woman on the other end might be insane.

But when he really looked up, he was stunned.

A gigantic upside-down building was hovering directly above his head!

(They say posting the first update at noon works better when there are two updates? Then I'll give it a try =.=)