Chapter 147 Stone Statue

A few days later, she received news about the former.

The person was already dead.

She had seen the body, crammed into a cabinet that even a child might not be able to squeeze into, eyes wide open, and emaciated.

The doctor said… it was due to a heart attack, a sudden death.

But she knew that Chen Ran had done it.

Because… in the cabinet where her teammate had died, she found densely packed carvings, chaotic and twisted… each word seemed to contain boundless resentment and fear.

Chen Ran… Disciple…

A disciple…

Liang Long's body trembled involuntarily.

Are they involved too…

Damn it…

"Click—"

A slight noise startled Liang Long, who was lost in her memories. She paused for a moment, then immediately and quietly retreated, concealing her body in the darkness.

She lowered her body, hiding beside a broken stone pillar, and warily surveyed her surroundings.

Liang Long's first reaction was that those who called themselves Black Rock Town people had secretly sneaked in, because the sound she heard came from the direction of the door.

Although she had closed the door, they could still climb in through the windows.

Although the space here was huge, it wouldn't be easy to find someone due to the stone pillars and countless shattered stone carvings.

Of course, that was assuming that those who came in… were really people.

And not some strange ghostly things.

She held her breath, her slightly bright eyes scanning everywhere.

By the light of the fire not far away, she inadvertently noticed that the terrain around her was much more complicated than she had expected, filled with stone pillars and various stone carvings.

She blinked in confusion, but… why did she feel like something was wrong?

She had carefully chosen this location, which was in the center-right of the building, with a relatively open view, helping her to spot her teammates returning or anyone coming.

When did so many obstacles appear around her?

She suddenly realized this.

Or… stone carvings?

Her gaze slowly swept over the stone carvings, and a very strange thought arose in her mind. These stone carvings varied in size, the larger ones were three or four meters tall, and the smaller ones were about two meters tall.

The only thing they had in common was that they all looked very frightening.

They were in various shapes, some looked like sharks with wings on their backs, and some were a combination of toads and lizards… In short, they all looked like monsters that only existed in myths.

The person who carved these things… must also be quite strange.

Or maybe they were abstract madmen, Liang Long thought.

Just as she was withdrawing her gaze and preparing to concentrate on finding the "intruders," a casual glance caught her attention.

Something seemed to… move beside her.

Turning her head to look, the tensed string in her heart instantly loosened again.

"Huff—" She exhaled a long breath.

It was a stone carving.

Less than two meters tall, it was an inconspicuous little guy among the stone carvings.

The stone carving was dilapidated, covered with fine cracks, as if it would break apart with just a touch.

However, what made Liang Long slightly uncomfortable was that the stone carving was tilting its head, and its huge, fly-like symmetrical eyes were looking directly at her position.

"It's just a sculpture…" she comforted herself in her heart, then forced herself to look away and search for the locations she hadn't searched before.

Still starting from near the fire, she poked her head out slightly, looking towards the window.

However, as soon as she made this gesture, as if something was guiding her, her whole body suddenly paused.

"Why… am I poking my head out?"

She could clearly see the position of the window when she was squatting here just now, so why can't she see it now?

Following her gaze, she found the reason.

A strange stone carving, lying prostrate on the ground, was blocking part of her view.

As if realizing something, her teeth began to chatter uncontrollably. She turned her stiff neck, and soon, she saw a scene that she would never forget in her life.

Beside the fire, all the stone carvings within her field of vision were tilting their heads at a strange angle.

Staring at her.

…

Beside a dying fire, stood a large man, his shadow reflecting on the ground, swaying precariously with the occasional gust of wind.

The reason for describing him as large rather than burly was that he was simply fat.

"Do you think Liang Long might have gotten scared and… gone back first?" the fat man asked, swallowing.

Jiang Cheng squatted on the ground, as if examining something. After a long while, he stood up, looked around, and said, "She couldn't possibly go back in the dark, could she?"

Jiang Cheng pointed to an inconspicuous corner on the ground, where a charred wooden stick was discarded.

It was their homemade torch.

The front end was wrapped with something similar to cloth found in the lighthouse basket, then smeared with some grease, which could burn for a long time.

When they came down, the four of them each had one.

Although there were collected dry branches on the ground, these were obviously not as convenient as torches.

Jiang Cheng took a few more steps, relying mainly on his nose. He smelled a very special odor. He found a puddle of liquid less than two meters away from the fire.

The amount was small, but the smell… was truly unusual.

The fat man trotted over, making sure that the straight-line distance between himself and the doctor was within the three-meter safety zone.

"This is… what Liang Long left behind here…"

It wasn't a question, the fat man just thought that Liang Long was quite cautious.

If it were him, he certainly wouldn't leave the fire too far.

In a nightmare, there weren't many things that could comfort you. The warmth and light brought by the fire were definitely something everyone longed for.

"If she even goes to the bathroom here, then she definitely wouldn't have gone far for no reason," the fat man said, rubbing his nose. "She must have encountered something, or some kind of thing, and left out of necessity."

"It's also possible that she died directly by the fire," Chen Ran looked around and said, "You never know."

The fat man, who was standing in front of the fire warming himself, suddenly felt unwell.

He avoided Chen Ran and chose to get closer to the doctor, whispering, "Doctor, could the guys from Black Rock Town have kidnapped Liang Long?"

"No," Jiang Cheng replied without thinking.

The fat man blinked, "Why?"

"I can't figure out what their purpose would be in doing so?" Jiang Cheng replied, "Are they trying to extract information? Or what? We've already come to their door, wouldn't it be redundant for them to come and catch Liang Long?"

"Or do you think they think one Liang Long is more valuable than the three of us?"

The fat man thought for a while and nodded.

"Mr. Hao," Chen Ran's voice rang out from behind, "Look what I found?"

A metal sports watch appeared in Chen Ran's hand.

He pointed to the ground beneath his feet, indicating that he found it here. "It seems Miss Liang's luck isn't always so good," Chen Ran shrugged and said.