“Some people say there was originally a road-construction plan here, but the project went bankrupt, and the project manager and the construction crew all ran off, so it was temporarily sealed off.”
“Others say that someone once killed people here night after night, hacking his way from one end of the street to the other without even blinking, proving his Dao through slaughter. The blood he spilled sprayed all over the street, staining the whole block red, and no amount of washing could get it clean. It seriously affected the city’s appearance, so the place was sealed off.”
“There are also people who say this place is haunted at midnight. Every night, people come here to burn paper offerings, and the lonely ghosts of the dead wander the crossroads, taking away every person who passes through.”
“Heh, but I, Brother Tie, don’t believe it! We’re staunch materialists. Today, I refuse to buy into this superstition, so tonight I’m coming here to find out the truth!
I’ve brought a few brothers and sisters to explore the path in person. Family, just cheer me on through the screen. A few gifts would be even better.”
A young man with dyed yellow hair was holding up his phone, livestreaming as he walked toward the crossroads. Behind him followed two men and one woman.
The yellow-haired young man wore an exaggerated expression, chatting away with the viewers in his livestream.
As for the two men and one woman behind him, the girl, who looked fairly decent after putting on makeup, had her head lowered as she played on her phone, chatting with who knew whom.
Of the other two men, one was short and fat, and looked rather frightened.
In the middle of the night, on this street where even the streetlights were off, he had turned on his phone’s flashlight and was waving it around, glancing left and right, terrified that something might suddenly jump out from one of those pitch-black corners around them—especially on this road where entry was forbidden.
The other young man, tall and well-built, did not show any fear. He merely used the light from the flashlights to glance from time to time at the girl beside him, following the group forward.
After the four of them arrived near the crossroads, the fatty, who had his phone flashlight on, looked around and swept the beam onto Wang Liang, who was standing against the wall.
The sudden sight of a person scared the fatty so badly that he shouted and fell sitting to the ground, even dropping his phone.
“Ah! There’s someone over there!”
The others were startled by the fatty’s sudden cry.
“Fuck, Fatty, what the hell are you yelling for?”
“A person? Someone else actually came here to explore this place?”
“Don’t tell me we ran into another streamer.”
“Ah, people are even fighting over this kind of livestream content?”
Brother Tie looked toward Wang Liang with the light from their phones, and he too was startled.
“Holy crap, bro, are you leaning there in the middle of the night pondering life? You scared the hell out of me.”
Brother Tie patted his chest a few times, then walked over.
“Ahem, brother, let’s get acquainted. I’m a ‘big streamer’ with a hundred viewers on Tiger Live, A-Tie Adventures. How about it, brother? Want to team up with us and explore Changxing Road together tonight? You climbed over the police cordon to get in too, right? Fortune favors the bold!”
Wang Liang looked expressionlessly at the people who had come here to livestream. After sweeping his gaze over them, he glanced at the watch on his wrist and said:
“I’ll give you six minutes. Leave this place, or bear the consequences yourselves.”
When the girl among the four heard his tone, she immediately became displeased and mocked him:
“Oh? Who do you think you are, telling us to bear the consequences? Aren’t you here for an adventure too? What are you pretending for? If this is against the rules, then everyone here is guilty. And you’re dressed all in black, leaning here with no lights on, scaring people half to death.”
The tall young man beside her was clearly interested in the girl. Seeing her speak mockingly, he immediately stepped forward and echoed her:
“She’s right. You brat, can’t you understand polite words? I’ll give you a chance to rephrase that. Hurry up and apologize to Xinxin.”
The yellow-haired Brother Tie hurriedly reached out to stop the tall young man, signaling for them not to get worked up.
“We’re livestreaming, we’re livestreaming. Keep it classy. Ahem, but bro, what exactly do you mean? Looking at you, you don’t seem like, well, you know. You’re probably here looking for thrills too, right? If you don’t want to team up, then forget it. We’ll each do our own thing. Let’s go, we’ll head to the other side.”
“Brother Tie, you’re still being too polite. There are so many of us—what are we afraid of him for?”
“Heh, I said we’re livestreaming. Be civilized.”
The four of them ignored Wang Liang’s words and turned, preparing to walk to the other side of the crossroads to wait for midnight to arrive.
Wang Liang shook his head. If they wanted to court death, then so be it. But the livestream could not stay on. If what happened in a moment got streamed out, it would not be good in the end. It was still a little too early for supernatural incidents to become widely known.
“Stop.”
“Hm? Bro, what else do you want? We each take one side and mind our own business. Isn’t that fine? Do you have to go looking for trouble?” Brother Tie turned back with an ugly expression.
“Turn off the livestream. Now.” Wang Liang remained unmoved, still speaking in an indifferent tone.
“Huh? You—”
Faced with such an unreasonable demand, Brother Tie was almost angered into laughter. Bro, I risked coming here specifically to livestream and attract attention. You want me to turn off the stream? Then what did I come here for, to drink the northwest wind?
The tall young man beside Brother Tie could no longer hold back. His entire body was packed with solid muscle. He strode toward Wang Liang, rolling his wrists.
“You brat, that’s enough. I’ve been putting up with you for a long time. Don’t get too arro—aaah! What the hell!”
The tall young man had walked over intending to grab Wang Liang by the collar, but Wang Liang suddenly reached out, seized that hand, and bent it downward.
The terrifying, supernatural-enhanced strength made the tall young man scream. Without the slightest hesitation, he instantly dropped to his knees in front of Wang Liang.
The tall young man only felt that the hand gripping his wrist was abnormally cold, so cold it pierced to the bone. The instant they came into contact, half his arm felt as if it had been wrapped in blocks of ice, completely losing all sensation.
And though he could not see the other party exerting much force at all, the strength transmitted from that hand left him with no room to resist. He was forced to kneel, the muscles in his legs tensing, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not stand back up.
“Hey, Meng Ze, what are you doing? Stop playing around.”
Liu Xinxin, the girl among the four, looked at Meng Ze, who was kneeling on the ground and screaming, and crossed her arms in great dissatisfaction.
She only thought Meng Ze was acting for the livestream effect to tease the other party. He was even acting so realistically. But what time was it now? Was that really necessary? How embarrassing.
It was not strange for her to think this way. After all, Meng Ze was at least a head taller than the other man, worked out regularly, and had strong, solid muscles. How could he possibly be bent like this by the other party’s one hand in such an exaggerated manner? The other man did not even look like he was using much strength.
“I fucking didn’t—aaah! Big brother, let go! I give, I give!”
Wang Liang showed no mercy as he twisted Meng Ze’s wrist until it snapped, then flung him to the side. Like throwing away garbage, he hurled the man aside.
Meng Ze’s body was carried by a strange force and sent flying four or five meters away. This scene proved the truth of what he had just said. He really had fucking used all his strength, but the other party was a monster.
“Holy shit, what kind of strength is that?”
Seeing this, Brother Tie hurriedly took a step back, pushing the fatty and Liu Xinxin in front of him as a shield.