Standing on a small hill by the roadside, Kevin gazed at the desolate and dilapidated village not far away, wondering if there was any hope for his intelligence. How could he have been so easily duped into coming to this place?
He was surprised to find such a place near the city where he had lived for over twenty years, a small and primitive village in such a state of disrepair. Although it was indeed quite far from the city, Kevin had always imagined that such villages could only be found in deep mountain valleys, isolated by towering mountains and blocked by treacherous rapids and cliffs, which is how human settlements could maintain such a primitive appearance. However, this place was not nearly that remote; there was even a highway nearby leading to the city. This surprised Kevin quite a bit.
But what surprised him even more was that the strange woman on the phone had actually used the pretext of an import and export trading company to get him to come here for an interview. This was unacceptable. You can insult a person's dignity, but please don't insult their intelligence, okay? Although Kevin had never been able to distinguish between a trading company and a street supermarket, he should at least be able to see that there was probably not even a general store to be found in that small village not far away!
Kevin stood by the roadside under the scorching sun, silently watching the direction in which the old, dilapidated bus had disappeared. He would have to wait for another hour before the next car passed by. Thinking about this made him feel pessimistic about life. At this moment, he even missed the deadbeat freeloader back home who didn't pay rent and caused trouble all the time - Weilili. He missed the cold air around Weilili, even though it always carried a hint of bloodiness, but at least it was cool! There wasn't even a sapling to be seen within hundreds of meters around here. The largest shady spot within sight was under a utility pole a hundred meters away, with just enough shade for Kevin to cool down his arms. This was unbearable!
As for that small village not far away, which looked like it would only take ten minutes to walk to, Kevin had no intention of going there, even if the interview message was real. It was obvious, who in their right mind would come to this place to work?
Moreover, at first glance, it seemed like a joke. He had been tricked by that mysterious woman on the phone.
Kevin was now only curious about one thing: Why had he been instinctively duped into coming here when he received the phone call? Why hadn't he felt any strangeness when he heard the magical name "Wangbatuozi"? Why was it only after he got off the bus and saw the village in person that he felt like an idiot? He hadn't thought about these three questions before, but now that they came to mind all at once, he broke out in a cold sweat!
Yes, Kevin still remembered that when he received that strange phone call, he had indeed pondered for a long time, hesitated for a long time, and then decided to come and see the situation after "careful consideration." At that time, he felt that his mindset was perfectly normal, and those few minutes of hesitation and consideration were enough to prove that he had decided to come here out of his own free will. But now that he thought about it... His coming here was simply illogical!
Even if it was just the combination of the two words "Wangbatuozi" and "Import and Export Trading Company," he should have felt suspicious!
Kevin instinctively touched his head, wanting to confirm whether the few pounds of stuff on his neck still belonged to him.
A few seconds later, Kevin lifted his leg and walked in the direction he had come from: It wasn't realistic to walk all the way home under the blazing sun from here, but he felt that he had to at least get farther away from this haunted place! Staying away from the address provided by that mysterious woman might increase his safety factor. He could wait for a bus to pass by on the road; anyway, that old bus didn't have a fixed stop, and it stopped wherever someone waved.
That phone call was abnormal, the number was abnormal, and the mysterious woman was abnormal. She had lured Kevin over with a flawed reason, so Kevin knew that his thinking had probably been abnormal for some time in the past. Now he had to leave this place as soon as possible and return to the side of the other two abnormal creatures at home. Perhaps Lily and Weilili would have some ideas? At least that vampire seemed to know magic; she had mentioned things related to magic before.
But just as he had taken a few steps, the phone in his pocket suddenly rang like a death knell.
Kevin was startled by the familiar ringtone, which seemed at least ten times louder than usual, vibrating his eardrums painfully, as if a faint anger was being transmitted through the ringtone. Kevin fumbled to take out his phone, and the not-so-large color screen displayed that abnormal phone number in bold: 00000012345.
Kevin stared at the number for a while and decisively pulled out the battery. Fortunately, he hadn't bought an iPhone; iPhone users facing such supernatural situations might only be able to angrily smash their phones.
But soon he found that he could only angrily smash his phone too: After removing the battery, the ringtone didn't stop at all, just like in every supernatural horror movie. His phone was still not quiet without the battery, and that诡异 number on the screen continued to haunt him along with the ringtone. If before Kevin was only somewhat paranoid and unsure, then this time he was 100% sure that he was being haunted by abnormal phenomena again!
And what was even more fatal was that he couldn't find anything to protect himself. He hadn't even had time to ask Lily or Weilili about the world of "abnormals" before he rashly ran out!
When the ringtone repeated for the third time, Kevin finally made up his mind, lifting his Nokia high and slamming it hard onto the ground!
"I don't believe you can still ring after I smash you... WTF, is this even possible?"
Nokia was truly deserving of the title of the world's most durable phone. Kevin watched in disbelief as his old, worn-out phone flew through the air and crashed onto the ground, and then... it embedded itself into the concrete, can you believe it?! And it was still ringing like a death knell!
Kevin was sure that he didn't have such strength, so the only explanation for the current phenomenon was that the caller was warning him in this way not to make futile resistance. Some things defied science, logic, and common sense – even if you tied the phone to a strategic missile and fired it to the opposite side of the earth, it probably wouldn't work!
Kevin tremblingly bent down to pick up the undamaged phone and put it to his ear. Although he was nervous, he still had confidence (he was a very proud person, someone who would act tough even when facing death): "Hello! What exactly do you want!?"
"Duh, I'm asking you to come for an interview!" The pleasant yet scary female voice rang out again, but for some reason, Kevin felt a little relieved upon hearing her voice. Perhaps it was because she spoke human language, making her seem like someone he could communicate with? Or perhaps it was because the mysterious woman was still mentioning the "interview," giving him some unfounded comfort.
At this point, with various supernatural phenomena before him, if the other party had malintent, now would be the time to tear off the mask. Since that woman hadn't used her extraordinary abilities to strike him down with a bolt of lightning from afar, Kevin believed he was temporarily safe.
As for why it had to be a bolt of lightning and not something else... That was where Kevin's imagination ended. He couldn't think of any more powerful divine might. The fight between Lily and Weilili last night had seemed like a Hollywood blockbuster to him.
"Interview..." Kevin tried to calm down and pretended he wasn't afraid at all, his voice was actually quite steady, "Let's be clear about this. Since I'm already here, are you really going to keep up with this Import and Export Trading Company nonsense? Can't you just tell me what's going on directly?"
"Oh, we have rules from above. We can't expose secrets if it's not the right time or if you don't meet the criteria," the female voice on the phone didn't sound eerie or threatening at all. She sounded like an ordinary person talking about things, which surprised Kevin, "Now, follow my instructions, and you'll find the location of our workplace..."
"Wait!" Kevin loudly interrupted her. He couldn't follow her rhythm anymore, "Let's get one thing straight – what exactly do you want? Be honest, and stop using the interview as a pretext, okay?"
The woman's voice on the phone became impatient, "Why are you so wishy-washy? I said it's an interview, it's an interview. If you really want to know the rules of the unit, you have to come here first! Now listen, see that telephone pole in front of you? Walk over to it, put your hand on the old Chinese medicine advertisement stuck to the pole, and face north... Don't know which direction is north? North is up, south is down, west is left, east is right. Look up!"
Kevin: "..." He thought the person on the phone was crazy.
But when he really looked up, he was stunned.
An upside-down giant building was hovering above his head!