Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven

In front of the station of the private railway in Shenyin Town, there is a circular driveway for buses to turn, and an island-like half-moon square is surrounded by the driveway.Although it is just an open space with a small fountain and a few benches, there are always crowds of people several times a day.At ten o'clock in the morning, noon, three o'clock in the afternoon, and six o'clock in the afternoon, the mechanical clock in the center of the square will perform time-telling performances every few hours. Normally, the mechanical clock looks like a smooth cylinder with a dial engraved on it, but whenever the special hour comes, the clock will play the melody of the nursery rhyme "It's a Small World". Cute dolls appeared one after another, Cinderella, Momotaro, Peter Pan, Snow White, fairy tale characters across time and space gathered together, and held a grand ball with music accompaniment.

After cleaning, Zhirou took the bus to the square in front of the station and crowded into the crowd to watch this grand performance in a small world.With the same music and familiar characters, the scene in front of you is almost exactly the same as the Tokyo Disneyland sideshow.It is indeed a new type of residential area. The fairy-tale-style mechanical clock should be incompatible with the surrounding modern houses, but it has a wonderful sense of fusion here. After the three-minute dance, the puppets retreated into the bell body one after another.When the last actor left the stage, the audience that packed the square dispersed in their respective directions.

Shiro strolled in the shopping street in front of the station, looking for today's lunch. After moving to this small town, two months have passed before I knew it. When he first arrived, Zhirou knew nothing about the surrounding environment, so he used his rest days to explore around. After gradually getting familiar with the town, his life gradually became more colorful.The fragrant and attractive coffee shop, the video store where you can rent a lot of old movies, and the bookstore that closes at midnight are all the results of Zhirou's "adventures". In addition, there are handmade tofu shops with excellent taste, supermarkets exuding nostalgia—maybe it’s just because the house is too old—such discoveries make Zhirou quite satisfied.As for the handmade pastry shop in front of the station and the bourgeois-style Italian restaurant, they are Lizi's favorites.

Shirou chose a direction that had not been explored until now, and took a leisurely walk.After leaving the station for quite a distance, Zhirou found a rather authentic Chinese restaurant, where he planned to settle for lunch.Pushing open the thick stained glass door, there is no counter in the store, only five square tables that seat four are neatly arranged. The noon dining rush had come to an end, and the seats in the store were not tight, so Zhirou simply occupied a big table to himself and ordered a seafood fried noodle from the recommended menu.After a while, the fried noodles were on the table, and Shiro picked up the chopsticks and started to enjoy them.Well, it tastes really good.

Next time, let Lizi come to try it too. Shiro was thinking about going on a date with his girlfriend, when he overheard a conversation between a clerk and an aunt in the store.The young guy seems to be preparing to go out to deliver food. He and the aunt are somewhat similar, and the two seem to be a mother-son relationship. "What date did it arrive at Meixing 3-chome?" "Isn't it near the haunted house? The phone said it was next to the post office." "Oh... I really don't want to go to that area..." The takeaway customer seems to be ordering food for the first time, and the store does not know the address of the other party.The young man spread out a thick map of the city, squinting his eyes to find his destination.

Shiro became interested in the "ghost house" mentioned by the two.Although he didn't know the exact location of Miko 3-chome, he had some impression that it was only a quarter of an hour's walk from Shiro's apartment. "I found it, it's right behind the post office, it's really next to the haunted house..." After confirming his destination on a map, the man walked out of the store carrying a tray full of dishes.After a burst of metal collision, the roar of the motorcycle engine sounded, and the sound quickly disappeared after a while. "Sorry to bother you, I want to inquire about something."

Shiro called to the aunt who was clearing away the table and chopsticks. "I accidentally heard you guys talking about 'haunted house' just now, can you tell me about it?" "Ouch, don't you know the guest?" The other party asked Shiro back with a business-like smile. "I just moved here this spring, and there are still many things that are not clear." "Do you know the post office? It's not the big post office in front of the station, but the small one on the slope." She stopped what she was doing and enthusiastically explained to Zhirou.Zhirou couldn't think of a small post office somewhere on the slope, but at least he knew the approximate location.

"There is a big building over there. It is said that it is going to be a large ten-storey apartment building, but it has not been completed." "Is it still under construction?" "Where can it be? It won't be built a long time ago. I heard that it was a lawsuit that caused trouble, and it was stopped halfway through." The proprietress continued to enthusiastically relay the gossip she had heard. Although the specific situation was not very clear, Zhirou finally heard a little clue. There was supposed to be a high-end condominium there, but there was a problem with the land ownership.After the original landowner passed away, relatives fought over the inheritance and ended up fighting all the way to court.At that time, only 70% of the apartment booked was completed, and there was no movement after the shutdown.

"That's just an unfinished building, how did it become a 'haunted house'?" "Ah? Oh, there are monsters or something. Anyway, there are all kinds of theories. But ah, that building feels really weird. It's surrounded by trees, and it's pitch black at night. It is not surprising that there are monsters and ghosts." The aunt sighed, and picked up the dishes on the empty table while muttering. "Although they say you can't go inside, that building soon became a gathering place for the gangsters. Those little gangsters are much worse than monsters... That building has been standing there, people living nearby Also very uncomfortable."

The rumors of the haunted house made Zhirou think of Reiko, who is more timid than ordinary people, and she is terrified when she hears about monsters and ghosts.If she knew that there was such a haunted house near the new house she was about to move into, I really don't know what expression she would make. Why don't you go and have a look. Just in case, it's better to find out beforehand.Shirou ate the leftover fried noodles and decided to go there himself. The small post office is located on the high ground at the top of the slope, and the "haunted house" is behind the post office.

This area is sparsely populated and the tall trees are lush and lush. It is really not easy to find a specific building.It's not easy to ask someone to ask about this kind of thing. Zhirou turned around a few times to no avail. He was about to give up, but he accidentally turned into an alley, and a huge black shadow at the end of the road came into view suddenly. Looks like it's here... A strange sense of tension rose in Zhirou's heart, and he cautiously approached the building at the end of the alley. Taking a closer look, the abandoned building was surrounded by a high metal fence, which made it clear that no one was allowed to enter.The silver metal fence is covered in spray paint and marker scribbles, as if it's hosting a botched art exhibition. Indeed, it is not surprising that it is haunted. The tall fence blocked the view, and Shiro could only see the top five floors of the building.The abandoned building is hidden in the lush green forest, pointing abruptly at the blue sky. This appearance is indeed a bit eerie. In fact, it is not so much a building as it is a huge concrete block.Its surface is dotted with square holes, which should be gaps left for installing doors and windows.Some gaps are connected to a bare platform, which should be repaired as a balcony, but the railings have not been installed yet.From a distance, it looks like a huge anthill, or the remains of an ancient megalithic culture.During the construction period, this huge piece of concrete should have been covered with iron scaffolding, as well as densely covered with safety ropes and protective nets, but its bare appearance now makes people feel uncomfortable. Just now, the aunt of the Chinese restaurant said that the haunted house is used as a meeting place by the bosozoku. As far as Shiro sees it, this place does have such conditions.This area is sparsely populated, and there is a considerable distance from the central residential area. It is almost like an isolated desert island in a small town.If high-end apartments are really built as planned, the quiet environment should also become a major selling point. Zhirou circled around the metal fence, and finally saw a huge foldable iron gate, through which construction trucks should enter and exit, but both ends of the iron fence have been locked.Shiro stopped and looked at a large pile of warning signs erected on the plastic floor. Some are official documents from the police station, and some are warnings written by local residents themselves. All kinds of notices have the same meaning in the final analysis - trespassing here constitutes a crime, and if found, call the police immediately. It turned out that there were so many intruders. At this moment, Zhirou noticed the sight coming from behind him. He turned his head in surprise and saw an old woman standing in the woods five meters away. She was holding a puppy in her right hand and a basket in her left hand. Stared at Shirou suspiciously.Shiro nodded politely at her. "You can't go in there!" The old woman emphasized repeatedly. "Well, I didn't intend to go in." Zhilang introduced himself politely, and explained that he had just moved here, and he overheard rumors about this place, and was a little curious, so he made a special trip to have a look. "Young man, it's better not to get too close to here." Zhilang's gentlemanly attitude dispelled the other party's suspicion, and the old woman began to talk to him kindly. "Is there really something weird here?" "It's not too weird." The puppy kept sniffing around Zhirou's feet, the old woman pulled the leash in her hand, and continued talking. "But something happened here. About three years ago, some young people got into a fight here. One of them threw a stone at the opponent's head, and he was killed... It was a horrible time. incredible." "I can't imagine... such a quiet and beautiful town has happened." "That's not true." The wife smiled kindly, "A person lives for seven or eighty years, and there are ups and downs along the way, and this town is the same, with both good and bad." This is so true.