Nightmare Assault

Jiang Cheng pulled his gaze back and focused his attention on the driver for the first time. “Why is that?”

The driver swallowed nervously. The place was deserted, but the road was straight. He didn’t need to worry about a random car appearing from nowhere. The driver glanced at the rearview mirror and whispered, “You are not locals, so you might not be familiar with this. Recently, Rong City… is not that peaceful. Several people have gone missing already. Their bodies are not even found. It is frightening.” The driver continued before the two said anything, “My friend’s son works in law enforcement,” He licked his lips, “I’m sure you know what that means. His son hasn’t come home for weeks already. He said that everyone’s holiday leave has been cancelled. Even those who are currently on leave are being called back to Rong City.”

This driver apparently had good news sources.

Jiang Cheng and Fatty’s eyes shifted. Both of them were reminded of the nightmare missions. Jiang Cheng even thought of the young officer’s conversation with the policewoman in the police cruiser.

“How did they disappear?” Jiang Cheng appeared intrigued. He leaned forward. His tone was different from before. His eyes glowed with curiosity and fear. Since the Doctor had done all the acting, Fatty didn’t do much. He sat there quietly and became an extra.

The driver became excited when he found a captive audience. He said mysteriously, “No one knows the details. I hear even the police don’t know anything. However, I believed everyone disappeared at night.” He paused. His tone took on a dark hue, “Some of them were sleeping at home, and the next morning, they disappeared. Isn’t that horrifying? Plus, there were other people in their homes at the time! It is cursed!” The driver turned the steering wheel. The car veered into a shortcut.

“Are you exaggerating?” Jiang Cheng said, “These things get exaggerated as they go through the rumour mills. Things will sound impossible near the end…”

Before he could finish, Jiang Cheng was interrupted by the driver, “Little Brother,” The driver lowered his voice even more, “Those things might be hearsay, but I have one incident that is 100 percent real.” The driver whispered, “We drivers have a chatgroup. It’s easier for us to keep track of each other. There are around ten of us in the group. Something happened to a brother among us. He is around 40.”

“Did he go missing?”

“Yes.” The driver nodded. “On the night three days ago. He runs the night shift. That day, he played mahjong with people in the morning, and he couldn’t stay awake at night. Around midnight, he wanted to find a place to rest. He just wanted to take a quick nap.” The driver explained, “However, he disappeared.”

“How did you know that was when he disappeared?” Jiang Cheng asked. It was not that he wanted to challenge the driver, but he found a loophole in the story. Based on what the driver said, the missing driver disappeared when he was alone. So how did he know so many details?

The driver sighed, “I was one of his mahjong partners that morning. Similar to him, I work the night shift. We lack human power that day, so I…” At this point, the driver suddenly remembered something and changed his tone, “No, no… I mean, he dragged me along.” After realising the two passengers didn’t act any strangely, he calmed down and continued, “That day, after we left, it was around 6 pm. We went to have dinner before starting work.

“We chatted through the walkie-talkie as we drove that night. It was to keep each other awake. As you know, this career has its downsides. As long as we’re on the road, our families worry about us.

“When it was around midnight,” He thought about it before confirming, “That’s right. It is around midnight. I remember it because the station program that I usually listen to started then.

“At that moment, he said that he was tired, so I advised him to go home to rest. He didn’t agree. He hadn’t picked up anyone, so he couldn’t end his job yet. Therefore, I told him to park by the side to take a quick nap. I reminded him to find a location where the cameras wouldn’t catch him. After a while, he told me that he had found the perfect spot. It was behind a dumpling restaurant.

“He was quite happy with the spot. He said it was quiet, and no one came to disturb him. I even told him to send me the coordinates because I might be able to use that spot in the future. He told me to wake him up after one hour. People would be coming out of bars and barbeque shoes around then. The business would be better.”

“As I ferried people around, I forgot about that promise. I only remembered it two hours later. I quickly called him, but no one answered. I thought it was because he was too soundly asleep. I didn’t think much of it. My passenger happened to want to go somewhere near the dumpling restaurant, so after I dropped the passenger off, I decided to check up on him.”

Suddenly, the driver paused. Fatty was intrigued, but since the Doctor didn’t say anything, he didn’t urge the driver.

After a long sigh, the driver slowly decelerated the car. It seemed like he was preparing himself. “But when I rushed over there, his car was empty.” He paused, “He was not in his car.

“At first, I thought he left his car to use the toilet. I stood beside his car and gave him another car. But… his phone rang inside the car. The phone was in the driver’s seat. The screen lit up!” His breathing became urgent. Even Fatty was frightened.

“What happened after that?” Jiang Cheng asked.

“I went to open the driver-side door. I realised it was locked.” Then, he raised his voice, “That was not normal. As I said, the spot was secluded and hidden. Why would he leave his phone behind and walk away?”