Chapter 3 Whose Turn Is Next

  I could hardly believe it, and ran hastily to the front of the big locust tree, and parted the thickly overlapping branches, and indeed saw a piece of broken wall covered with blackened scars. It was surrounded by the big locust tree, and not a single blade of grass grew around it.

  "I've heard that strange things often happen in this area. Several times, real estate developers wanted to develop this place and cut down these large trees, but during the process of cutting down the trees, either the saw would break or someone would get hurt. In the end, they were also afraid, so the development was abandoned and these big trees continued to grow... Young man, you'd better leave here quickly and find a master to take a look..."

  The old man kept talking to me.

  I thanked the old man and rushed home in a daze. I felt that it was just a dream, and after waking up, everything would return to normal, and I could continue going to work.

  I fell asleep as soon as I lay down, and when I woke up my head was clear. Pinching myself would hurt so much that it made me cry out loud. But Lire had indeed vanished from the world, surrounded by seven or eight large locust trees.

  Not only that, but in my residence, almost everything related to Lirei has disappeared: the white coat I wear to work, salary card, employee ID badge, work log... as if it had never appeared before.

  I started doubting myself, wondering if I had just dreamed up the whole thing and never actually worked at Lire. Was everything just a dream?

  But there was one thing that reminded me I wasn't dreaming: a Nokia mobile phone.

  It was given by my grandfather, the oldest Nokia, apart from making calls and sending texts, its greatest function is to crack walnuts.

  But Grandpa said it was blessed by him using his magical powers. So I never changed it and kept using it.

  My grandfather was indeed a superior man, he was a village elder in his hometown mountain village. Some inexplicable things often happened in the mountain village, and villagers within a radius of ten miles would come to my grandfather for solutions when they encountered such things.

  I clearly remember that I had stored the phone numbers of 40 or 50 colleagues, including Lire, in my mobile phone. Whether it was a dream or not, I could find out by calling one of them to ask.

  I hastily opened my mobile phone, but it was out of power. I quickly plugged in the charger and then turned on the phone, flipping through my colleague's contact list.

  As expected, there were forty or fifty phone numbers stored inside, all marked as belonging to colleagues of Lire, but at a glance, including Yang Ying's, each number was a shocking blood red color, exactly the same as fresh blood.

  In my memory, I have never dialed a contact's number in such an unlucky color.

  I took a deep breath, controlled the shock in my heart, and dialed one of the numbers. The returned prompt was "the user is not in the service area". I continuously dialed seven or eight numbers, all with the same result!

  I thought for a moment, slowly pulled down the address book, and finally found several numbers in green. Among them were Luo Hong's, He Dong's, and a colleague named Jiang Longyao, and then my own.

  I immediately dialed Lu Hong's number, and after a few rings of the ringing tone, someone answered the phone.

  "Hello! May I ask who you are..."

  A soft and gentle voice, it was Luo Hong.

  I was overjoyed and quickly asked Luo Hong: "Luo Hong, do you still remember when we took classes together at Lire?"

  Lu Hongyi immediately cooled down a lot as soon as she heard it was my voice: "Su Hai, it's all in the past, let bygones be bygones."

  Lu Hong's response made me overjoyed, and I hastily asked: "We really worked together at Lirui, right?"

  Lu Hong faintly nodded and said: "Su Hai, face reality. In this society, after all, only money can give women a sense of security..."

  Lu Hong still thought that I called her because I wanted to bring up old matters and continue our past relationship.

  I hastily interrupted her, saying: "Luo Hong, do you know? Lire suddenly disappeared and the whole thing turned into a burnt-out ruin, surrounded by seven or eight thick catalpa trees."

  Lu Hong seemed to be stunned for a moment, then somewhat impatiently said to me: "Su Hai, if you want to amuse me, there's no need to make up such stories. I've already passed the age of enjoying stories. Alright, I have something to do, that's it!"

  Then Luo Hong hung up the phone.

  A bad premonition rose in my heart, and I suddenly thought of Yang Jisheng's death again.

  I thought for a moment and sent Luo Hong a text message: "Luo Hong, you must keep your figure now, the thinner the better. If you get fat now, start losing weight immediately, best to have liposuction, right away!"

  Not long after, Luo Hong sent me a message: "Su Hai, you're a good person, it's just that we're not suitable for each other. Don't call me again, we've really become a thing of the past."

  I couldn't help but sigh. It seems that some things are indeed destined in the heavens. Luo Hong didn't listen to me, and if something happens, it's not my fault either.

  I immediately dialed He Dong's number. After drinking together in the back mountain of the park for several months, we had become sworn brothers.

  The phone call went through immediately, and before I could even speak, He Dong hastily said: "Su Hai, why is your phone always turned off? You also know about Lire's situation, right?"

  I hummed and said: "Your cell phone, can't you also only dial four numbers?"

  He Dong said: "Yes, this matter is really damn strange. Su Hai, let's talk about it outside."

  Ten or so minutes later, I met him under Su Hai's building. The two of us went into a small eatery and casually ordered some things.

  But neither of them had an appetite, they stared at each other in dismay, both showing a look of horror.

  He Dong suddenly said to me: "Su Hai, including Yang Ying's number, those who disappeared or died turned red. Guess who's next?"

  He Dong's words made me shiver involuntarily. I hastily took out my mobile phone, opened the address book and searched for a while, and was shocked!

  Except for me, He Dong and Jiang Longya's numbers are green, Luo Hong's number has changed from green to a faint red!

  What does this mean? Does it mean her number will turn red again after a while?

  My heart was startled, and I immediately dialed Luo Hong's number again, but it said it was already turned off.

  I took a deep breath and said: "He Dong, should we call the police?"

  He Dong shook his head: "I reported to the police early, saying that Lirei disappeared, colleagues disappeared, but was scolded for a while, and the police didn't believe me."

  "Why don't we go find someone more experienced to take a look?"

  He Dong nodded: "This is too evil, there's no other way."

  To find a master, it's best to go to a temple and look for a Taoist priest or a monk. However, temples are scarce in Guangfu City, and the nearest Dabeisi Temple is over 40-50 kilometers away from us.

  Time is of the essence, we immediately went out and prepared to take a taxi to Dabeisi Temple.

  At this moment, my mobile phone rang, and I saw it was my grandfather's number.

  I couldn't help but slap my forehead: "How could I have forgotten about Grandpa being such a great person?"