Chapter 1 The Script

Not far away, near the stairwell, was a table. It was pushed against the wall, surrounded by several old wooden chairs, probably for people to rest.

What really caught Jiang Cheng's attention was the box on the table.

It was the one the boy in the hospital gown had given him on the bus!

And now, Jiang Cheng understood that the gift box contained a script called "Rainy Night Killer."

Once opened, it would transport people into the world of the script, that endless rainy night.

"Mr. Jiang," Xia Qiang said, looking towards the script, "I don't remember there being a table or chairs here before. These are new."

"The cycle has been broken." Jiang Cheng's brow slowly smoothed out. Compared to Xia Qiang and the others' gratitude and promises, this was what he wanted to see most.

"That's right, my brother Fugui and I discussed it, and we think so too, but..." Xia Qiang paused, his expression looking strange, as if he had encountered something incomprehensible.

Seeing this, Feng Jie walked over and reached for the script box on the table. It looked like he was going to open it.

Jiang Cheng's heart, which had just calmed down, leaped into his throat again. "Stop!" he shouted, rushing over. "Do you know what you're doing?!"

Feng Jie was also stunned. After a moment, he came back to his senses. Before he could speak, Fatty hurried over and grabbed Jiang Cheng, saying, "Doctor, don't get excited. This box... look closely at this box. It's open. It was open when we found it."

Fatty's words were obviously more persuasive. Jiang Cheng retracted his gaze and looked at the script box in front of him.

The box was square, and the color scheme was very strange, a black and red combination with a strange sense of magnificence, like an oil painting.

On the edge of the box, the words "Rainy Night Killer" were written in red pen, the handwriting crooked and twisted, indicating that the writer's calligraphy skills were comparable to Wu's.

But as Fatty said, the box was indeed open, the lid ajar, revealing about one-fifth of the contents. Looking through the gap, the previous eerie and cold feeling was gone.

Whether from the rules or the results, they had already escaped this game, so the box should be safe now.

But out of respect for the killer, Jiang Cheng decided to be cautious.

Xia Qiang saw Jiang Cheng's worries and explained, "The box was already open when we found it, and we've checked it. It's not dangerous."

After a pause, he added in a low voice, "The box doesn't have that feeling anymore, Mr. Jiang, you understand."

"We want you to see this." As he spoke, Feng Jie slightly moved the lid, widening the gap, and revealing the contents little by little.

There were some cards, several black covered notebooks, an alarm clock, a long wooden box, and... a shattered, dismembered black doll.

"The killer..." Seeing this guy again, Jiang Cheng couldn't help but feel nervous, even though the other party was only the size of his palm.

"How did it become like this?" Huai Yi felt a chill down his spine and couldn't help but ask. He woke up relatively late and didn't know some of the details.

Obviously, no one could give an accurate answer. After all, anyone with eyes could see that the killer hadn't become like this due to a simple failure, but rather as a result of some kind of retaliatory abuse.

Jiang Cheng appeared calm, but he was panicking inside.

How could he not know what was going on?

The killer doll's limbs were cut off cleanly, obviously with a sword or similar weapon. No wonder the killer hadn't come after them; it turned out something was wrong with it.

Thinking of this, Jiang Cheng secretly glanced at his shadow, automatically imagining a terrifying scene of Wu, wielding a knife, chasing and hacking the killer in a dark office during a torrential rainstorm outside the window.

"Ding-a-ling-a-ling—"

The alarm clock inside the box suddenly started ringing, startling everyone who was deep in thought.

"Everyone, don't panic." Jiang Cheng took a deep breath, his face pale, and reassured them, "Everything is under my control."

Everyone had an almost instinctive trust in Jiang Cheng. Hearing him say this, the unease caused by the killer doll's tragic state gradually subsided.

After a moment, Jiang Cheng reached into the box. The moment he touched the alarm clock, it fell silent.

Immediately afterwards, the long wooden box clicked open.

Jiang Cheng didn't rashly take out the wooden box, but glanced at his shadow again. After finding that Wu didn't react, he took out the wooden box. The box had grooves inside, ten in all.

"It seems we need to put our name tags in." Huai Yi stared intently at the wooden box. They were familiar with the shape and size of the grooves; they perfectly matched the name tags.

"I'll go first." Xia Qiang took off his name tag and inserted it into the groove. He was quick, and everyone could see that this man felt he had held everyone back, so he wanted to make amends as much as possible.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected happened. The position where the tag was inserted immediately lit up with a faint glow, which was reassuring.

Soon, as the last name tag was inserted, the box snapped shut. The light and shadow in front of them changed, and their bodies experienced weightlessness.

When they opened their eyes again, they were standing in front of an office building.

Yourun Building.

It was pitch black, but it wasn't raining. The lights in Yourun Building and the surrounding buildings were on normally.

The doors were open, and a few meters away, steam was still rising from a street vendor's food cart.

But there was no one.

Not a single person.

The once bustling street was empty. It was as if everyone in the city had disappeared at the same time, leaving behind an empty city.

And at this moment, Jiang Cheng was holding the box he had brought from the car.

"Look there!" Zhou Tong had sharp eyes and was the first to notice the problem. To their right stood a bus stop sign.

Because of the distance, the bus stop sign didn't seem to have any problems other than being a bit old. The real problem was its location.

After all, no bus stop would be set up in the middle of the road!

Jiang Cheng lifted his leg and took the lead towards the bus stop.

Fatty and Huai Yi followed him closely.

Just as the group stood at the bus stop, the dilapidated bus drove out of the darkness in the distance and stopped in front of them.

Because of the previous fall, Jiang Cheng's hand holding the box was steady this time. He walked onto the bus, head held high, the first to board.

After everyone got on the bus, the rusty door closed with a "creak—" sound, and the bus, carrying countless wronged souls and despair, started again, heading into the darkness ahead.