The Bells Ring
North Cold Town.
This is a city that shouldn't exist in a real Ruined City, but only in novels about Gudu.
According to the normal route, Lu Ban and his group should have had another day and a half to reach Cold Ruins, north of the Ruined City capital. But now, after almost a night of travel, they have arrived at this small town.
Even someone with Lu Ban's knees could tell there was something wrong.
"Here is some manuscript paper."
Xiya handed the manuscript she had just found under the seat to the two people in front of her.
The manuscript paper was stained with dirt, engine oil, and Xiya's vomit. Lu Ban hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"You read it."
"?"
Trist looked at the manuscript paper mixed with the beautiful girl's vomit, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant.
"Since you're a local, you're better able to appreciate the author's writing style, and you might even gain some insights from the novel."
Lu Ban explained earnestly.
"What if there's something terrifying or horrifying in this that makes me lose my mind and then go berserk and attack you?"
Trist didn't take the manuscript; he glanced at the vomit on it.
"Then I'll take responsibility for knocking you out, don't worry!"
Lu Ban spoke with righteous indignation.
"You two."
Xiya glanced at the two useless men, then put away the manuscript and began to read it herself.
Although the foreign script, after being transformed by the Silent Land, made it easy for her to read, the contents of the manuscript still gave Xiya a sense of inexplicable strangeness.
The contents of the manuscript clearly continued from the one they found in the house. The detectives embarked on their journey to North Cold Town. Along the way, their vehicle was attacked by monsters and they encountered strange phenomena, but they eventually arrived at their destination, North Cold Town.
The architecture of North Cold Town is extremely unique. Unlike most of the buildings in the Ruined City that tend to be modern, it is like a medieval castle in those chivalric novels, with pointed churches and towering walls. The people in the town wear dark suits and hats. Although they look different, they all seem to be cut from the same mold.
At the end of this segment, the detectives hear church bells ringing in the town, and a group of suspicious-looking men gather toward the church. The detectives decide to enter the church to investigate.
"The bells rang."
After a night of driving, Trist was a little tired. He continued driving, intending to find a place to park and then ask the townspeople about the town and the Gudu capital.
As soon as the car entered the town, the three of them saw the townspeople.
Thump—
Trist's heart skipped a beat, because the townsman was dressed in a black suit, wearing a hat, and carrying a briefcase, just like an ordinary office worker, but his blank expression made him look like a doll, giving people a strong sense of incongruity.
These townspeople were exactly the same as those we had seen before we arrived here.
Lu Ban finally understood what it meant to look like they were made from the same mold, even though they looked different.
Because of this numb and indifferent demeanor, no matter what you look like, the impression you give is the same.
"Hello, is this North Cold Town?"
Lu Ban shouted something at the other person.
Upon hearing Lu Ban's question, the man gave him a wary look before leaving.
As he left, his eyes remained fixed on Lu Ban. With each movement of his body, his head seemed to be fixed in mid-air, motionless. Only his neck twisted, twisting and twisting, until it exceeded ninety degrees, his entire neck twisted into a pretzel shape, which was extremely horrifying.
"He didn't seem very friendly."
Lu Ban shrank back.
"This isn't about whether he's friendly or not; the biggest problem is his neck, which is all bruised and battered."
Trist made a comment.
"With training, everyone should be able to do that."
As Lu Ban spoke, he turned his head, trying to go more than ninety degrees, but he quickly failed.
"Pity."
"What are you regretting? Something's not right in this town. We might have stumbled into some strange place."
Trist murmured as he continued driving, as if reminiscing.
"Legend has it that among the Ruined City cities, some were not destroyed, but hidden by some supreme beings. The structure of these cities and the citizens were distorted by those supreme beings, eventually becoming forbidden places. Could this be one of them?"
"What you're saying makes it sound like we're about to become ordinary office workers in black suits carrying briefcases."
Lu Ban said something, and then a sound interrupted him.
Bang—
It was the deep, resonant sound of a heavy object striking thick metal, which inexplicably resonated with a person's heartbeat, causing palpitations.
Bang—
There was another sound, Lu Ban saw that there were more people on the street.
Those "people" dressed in black suits, carrying briefcases, with indifferent and strange expressions, took to the street and headed toward a tall building with a pointed roof.
During this time, these people's eyes were fixed on the car, their necks twisted, each one looking like a corpse with its neck broken.
Their way of walking is also peculiar; they tiptoe, as if they are doing something furtively, moving nimbly and quickly.
"Church?"
Xiya recalled the description in the novel.
"Shall we go take a look?"
Lu Ban opened the car door and took two steps forward, imitating the way those people did.
"?"
Trist looked at Lu Ban's bewildered behavior, then at Xiya.
"There shouldn't be any mind-blowing magic here, right?"
Upon hearing this, Xiya closed her eyes and remained silent for a moment before opening them to answer.
"Probably not."
"."
Trist pulled out the car key, opened the car door, and got out.
He hesitated for a moment, but then followed Lu Ban as if walking normally.
Xiya put away the manuscript and followed.
The townspeople with their strange walking habits continued onward, some crossing the meadow, some stepping over the fence, and many more taking small, hurried steps on the road. Lu Ban imitated them, acting furtively.
Everyone's eyes were sometimes on Trist, sometimes on Xiya, but none seemed to be on Lu Ban.
"Does imitating them really allow me to hide myself?"
Trist thought the idea was incredibly stupid, but seeing Lu Ban's appearance, he tried to imitate those people and took a few steps.
Unexpectedly, all eyes of the townspeople were focused on Xiya.
Xiya also began to imitate the townspeople's steps.
Suddenly, everyone turned their heads back to face forward.
"It actually works! Does this mean that anyone who doesn't follow this method is an outsider?"
Trist was puzzled. He saw a magnificent church ahead of the crowd, with classic stained glass windows and spires. However, the stained glass windows depicted scenes of human Affliction and torment, even being transformed into monsters.
"Church."
He thought of the description in the novel.
Lu Ban had already followed that group of people into the church.
Thanks to "Tiantian Sweets", "xiaotang246", "Gui Yaoshun", "Good Morning Horizon" and "Yuan Xiaoyao" for the 100-coin reward!