Chapter 295 - Feedback
"It's getting dark." One of the policemen said as he looked at the sky that's gradually becoming darker along with the surroundings.
Rourou, Zhou Cheng, and their other colleagues started. They all showed an apprehensive look and huddled closer together while trembling, seeking comfort and support from each other. Their faces pale and cold sweat formed on their forehead and the side of their face.
It's not as if they haven't watched horror movies. And so, they know, that darkness means that it is time for something evil to come out.
"Go home… I want to go home!" one of the women cried. She finally can't hold it any longer and she ran to the mini-van. Her expression is filled with panic and fear. She is a woman, and women are naturally weak with their emotions. Added to the fact that she is timid by nature, she always relied to Rourou and their other female colleague.. Thus, she finally broke down because of fear and stress.
"Han Meng!" Rourou cried and ran after her. They can't let her take another car since there're only two cars left to them after Andy took one of the cars. One of the cars left is a mini-van, the one Han Meng is trying to open.
Among their group of eight, only five of them were left after Huo Ling and Philip went missing, and Andy left with his car. Rourou, Han Meng and Lian Xiang are the girls, and Zhou Cheng and Peng Qian are the boys.
Lian Xiang also followed Han Meng and helped Han Meng open the car's door. However, it wouldn't open. "No… I am scared!" Lian Xiang said as she kicked the door open. Her tears are streaming down her cheeks.
"Han Meng… Lian Xiang…" Rourou muttered as she fell on her knees. Her tears are streaming down her cheeks and she had a dumbfounded look on her face. She is also about to lose her sanity. However, Han Meng and Lian Xiang relying on her for emotional support is what keeping her sanity in check. She can't fall.
"Not good!" Peng Qian cried with a panicked expression. "Philip must have locked the car earlier. And, the key is on him!" he said.
Philip was their driver. It's not that they are lazy. But, it was Philip himself who voluntarily took up the task as their driver. Philip is taciturn and doesn't like to go in groups. In short, he is a lone wolf. Thus, they let him drive for him.
Their face and shoulder fell, stunned. It was only now that they realized the weight of the situation. They put their equipment at the back of the mini-van. Although the five of them can squeeze into the smaller car, but they just can't leave their equipment behind. Even if they could bring the data they have gathered during this trip along with them, but the equipment are very expensive.
It was Huo Ling who bought them for them. It would be a waste to leave the equipment behind. They can't just ask the policemen to bring their equipment for them, much less ask Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu to take the task. They are not that shameless.
It was them who indirectly caused Huo Ling, their son, to die. Just standing here within Huo Huainan's and Huo Zichu's sight is already shameless for them.
"Who'll go back and ask for more people to look for the two missing kids?" one of the policemen asked his colleague.
"I'll go." The other policeman answered.
"Wait." Huo Huainan, who had been silent with Huo Zichu since earlier, spoke.
They all turned to him. Zhou Cheng, Rourou and the others feel ashamed to face Huo Ling's father.
"Sir, we've already gathered the testimonies of your child's friends." One of the policemen said. "I'll go ask for more people to help you find your child and his other friend. Meanwhile, I'll be leaving my colleague here with you to watch over you for your safety." He told Huo Huainan.
However, it seemed like Huo Huainan has some other thought. "Do you know how to go back?" he asked.
"Huh?" the policeman was confused. "There's a map. I'll be following it in going back – " he answered.
Huo Huainan didn't listen to him until he finished and he turned to Zhou Cheng, Rourou and the others. "Can you call that hot-tempered friend of yours and see if he has already left the desert?" he asked them.
"Huh? Uh…. Yes, yes." They answered and nodded and hurriedly took out their phone.
The policeman, who was cut off by Huo Huainan, didn't get mad. Their psychological strength is strong as policemen and he knows that Huo Huainan is someone that couldn't be provoked. And so, he just stood there and watched Zhou Cheng, Rourou and the others frantically contacted Andy.
"Some of you. Try to contact your parents." Huo Huainan told them.
Their faces paled and Han Meng dropped her phone in shock. They are doomed. Is Huo Huainan finally going to ask for their life? Will he destroy their family? She burst into tears and she fell on her knees while Lian Xiang almost fainted.
Huo Huainan doesn't care about them and he turned to the remaining girl, Rourou, who is stronger in mind than the other two. "Try contacting your parents." He told her.
Rourou's hand trembled. "Y-yes…" her voice shook and her fingers tapping the screen of her cellphone felt stiff. Many times, she had dialed her parents' numbers wrong. But, under the pressure of Huo Huainan's gaze, she finally managed to type her parents' number correctly. Then, she pressed the call button.
At the same time, Zhou Cheng also called Andy while Peng Qian stiffly stood on the side. "Huh?" Zhou Cheng muttered as his brows knitted and he frowned. He looked at the screen of his phone and saw that the call with Andy is ongoing. However, he could only hear some buzzing feedback from Andy's side. "Andy? Andy? Can you hear me?" he asked as he tried to listen to the other side.
Meanwhile, Rourou's tears have already dried and he called out to her parents in a choked voice. "Mom? Dad?" she called. But, she didn't hear her parents' voice. Instead, she heard a buzzing feedback. "What's going on?" she asked as she tried to listen again.
Zhou Cheng, on the other hand, noticed something and he ended the call with Andy before he dialed Andy's number again. The call connected, but again, he heard the buzzing feedback. "Something's wrong…" he said.
"What is it?" Peng Qian asked.
Zhou Cheng turned to him. "Peng Qian. Try calling Andy with your phone." He told him.
Peng Qian trusts Zhou Cheng so he nodded and followed Zhou Cheng's words without a question. "No one's answering." He said.
"What can you hear?" Zhou Cheng asked.
"A feedback." Peng Qian frowned.
Zhou Cheng's heart sank and he felt that his phone on his hand is very heavy that he almost dropped it. "There's no need to call." He said.
"Huh?"
"Our call can't get through." He told them.
"What do you mean?" they asked.
"Our call…" Zhou Cheng said. "… won't get through." He told them.
"What?!"
Rourou, as if realizing something, gasped. Her eyes widened in shock. "You don't mean…!" she said as she walked towards Zhou Cheng and grabbed his arm. "Like earlier?!" she said.
"'earlier'? What do you mean, 'earlier'?" the other policeman asked.
Rourou turned to him. "I've told you earlier, that our call won't get through inside the mausoleum…" she said.
The policeman, as if remembered something, was shocked. "That's right!" he said and looked at his colleague. "The strange things started with this earlier. Huo Ling noticed there was something wrong with the call. He alerted the others, but then he himself was left inside and then went missing." He explained.
The other policeman also remembered and his brows raised. "This is strange, indeed." He said. "Junior, go try contacting the station." He told him.
"Aye!" the junior policeman saluted and went back to the police car. "Senior, there's only a poor feedback." He told his senior.
The senior policeman looked at Huo Huainan, his gaze inquiring.
Huo Huainan calmly met his gaze. "Whenever there's a tomb, there will definitely strange things happening." He said. "When I heard them telling me about the strange thing that happened inside the mausoleum, I already knew. Something is interfering with us from contacting the outside." He explained.
The two policemen fell silent. They only heard from Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu that an accident happened. Everything is in a rush and so they followed Huo Huainan and Huo Zichu without any preparations. They didn't know they would be encountering a strange event.
"We can't contact anyone outside. We can only rely on ourselves." The senior policeman sighed.
Rourou and the two girls are very scared. "N-no way…" they said. "W-what… what are we going to do now?!" they asked as they looked at each other. Fear and panic are reflected in each other's eyes.
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