"": 200,
"": "",
"": "It wasn't simply quiet.
Muffled thunder rumbled from time to time, and the torrential rain kept falling. Both could be heard even in this underground warehouse.
It was the atmosphere that was too quiet, too rigid.
Li Yuan raised an arm and gestured.
The gathered townspeople dispersed, returning behind the shelves, slipping through curtains, or moving behind rolling shutter doors.
In moments, the underground warehouse felt empty again.
Li Yuan gestured for them to follow, walked a few steps to the side, and entered a storeroom.
Luo Bin and Gu Yiren followed him inside.
There was a bed at the back of the storeroom, surrounded by clutter. A low wooden table stood in front of it, with several low stools nearby.
Li Yuan dropped onto a stool.
There was some white paper on the table, along with a small tin.
Li Yuan unscrewed the lid. The tin was full of shredded tobacco.
He pinched some tobacco into the paper, rolled it up, struck a match, and lit it. Then he brought it to his lips and took a hard drag.
The ember flared. Li Yuan exhaled a cloud of thick smoke, his expression painfully conflicted.
"Deputy Town Chief, you went to deal with the Manager before, and then you never came back. As I said, Mr. Yuan went missing, Miss Gu vanished, and a lot happened in town."
"The demons and evil spirits ran rampant. Everyone had lamp oil, but townspeople still kept getting killed. Lamp oil could keep evil spirits out, but not demons. The demons broke into people's homes or dragged them outside, and the evil spirits killed them for fun."
"No one wanted to be afraid, but they had no choice."
"As more and more people died and things spiraled out of