Realm of the Night God

Chapter 59: The Terrifying Rumors

In the morning, Yang Haoran didn't continue business at his shop. Instead, he slung his yellow messenger bag over his shoulder, closed the door, and left the grocery store.

This time, his destination was unexpectedly the residential area where Jiang Zhenzhen lived.

Since he couldn't reach Jiang Zhenzhen, he wanted to visit her place to see if she had encountered any trouble recently.

Thinking back to the landlord he saw at the hospital, with his arrogant demeanor, and considering Jiang Zhenzhen's personality, Yang Haoran became more convinced that she must have encountered some trouble.

Arriving at Jiang Zhenzhen's residential area, Yang Haoran navigated familiarly through the streets and arrived at the door of the house she rented.

The gate was tightly closed, but this anti-theft door was no longer the same as before. The previous one had been cut by the middle-aged man from the opposite door with a chainsaw that night.

Yang Haoran knocked on the door a few times, the knocking echoing in the corridor, but the door remained closed, and there was no response from inside.

Furrowing his brow, Yang Haoran knocked a few more times, with the same result – the door remained tightly shut.

After some thought, Yang Haoran took out his mobile phone and dialed Jiang Zhenzhen's number. As before, the phone was switched off.

Yang Haoran's brow furrowed even tighter, and for some reason, he suddenly had a bad feeling.

But just then, the door of the middle-aged man's house suddenly opened.

"Be careful, this is fragile, don't break anything."

"Take these things away first, be careful downstairs."

"Handle with care! Don't mess around, or you'll have to pay for it!"

Sounds of movement came from inside the house, as if things were being moved. Yang Haoran couldn't say he was very familiar with the voice speaking, but with a little thought, he recognized the owner of the voice, it was indeed the middle-aged man.

Several people were carrying things out of the middle-aged man's house one after another. Seeing this, it seemed like they were planning to move. Yang Haoran was worried about not finding anyone to inquire about Jiang Zhenzhen's situation, but seeing the middle-aged man at home, he suddenly became attentive.

The middle-aged man lived opposite Jiang Zhenzhen, and perhaps he knew something about her situation. So, Yang Haoran thought to inquire about the situation from him.

Just as this thought occurred to him, the middle-aged man walked out of the house, still directing the workers moving things. Suddenly, he noticed Yang Haoran's presence, and his expression changed immediately!

"You little brat! I haven't settled accounts with you yet! How dare you come here!"

The middle-aged man cursed loudly, then rushed into the house and took out a chainsaw.

This chainsaw was still fresh in Yang Haoran's memory. It was the same chainsaw the middle-aged man had used that night to easily cut open Jiang Zhenzhen's anti-theft door. It was incredibly sharp.

The middle-aged man's reaction startled the workers, and some even dropped what they were carrying and quickly backed away, afraid of being harmed by the chainsaw.

However, Yang Haoran didn't react much. He just smiled and looked at the middle-aged man with a face full of anger rushing towards him, then fiercely pulled the chainsaw's cord.

Vroom!

The sound of the chainsaw made the workers who were hiding nearby startled. At this moment, their first reaction was that something terrible was about to happen.

"No! Call the police! Quickly call the police! Something big is going to happen!"

A worker shouted in panic, quickly taking out his mobile phone to call the police. His reaction made the middle-aged man anxious.

"What are you calling the police for? Who dares to call the police!"

The middle-aged man roared, his fierce appearance truly frightening the guy who took out his mobile phone.

The guy was stunned for a moment, then showed a flattering smile. He decisively threw his mobile phone away and then gestured weakly to the middle-aged man, conveying only one message: "I've lost my phone; if you have a grudge, settle it yourself. It's none of my business."

The middle-aged man ignored the guy and turned his gaze back to Yang Haoran, glaring fiercely, his eyes bloodshot due to excessive agitation.

The reason Yang Haoran didn't dodge or retreat wasn't because he wasn't afraid of the chainsaw, but because he wasn't afraid of this middle-aged man.

After two encounters with this middle-aged man, although he couldn't claim to fully understand his character, Yang Haoran knew that at this moment, he was definitely just putting on a show. He didn't dare to wield the chainsaw.

Amidst the panicked shouts of the workers, the middle-aged man, holding the chainsaw, aimed it at Yang Haoran's head, as if he was about to split him in half.

But to split a person neatly with a chainsaw is a technical job. It's impossible for someone who hasn't received professional training to do it, after all, this is reality, not a movie, let alone a novel.

Judging from the trembling hands of the middle-aged man, he probably didn't possess this skill. Not only that, he didn't even have the courage to learn this skill!

Because, as the chainsaw was about to fall on Yang Haoran's head, seeing him smiling and standing still without any intention of dodging, the middle-aged man quickly stopped!

At this moment, the middle-aged man felt very flustered. He just wanted to scare Yang Haoran a bit, but he didn't expect Yang Haoran to be completely unaffected by his intimidation. He was very clear that if he actually dropped that chainsaw on Yang Haoran, his life would be over.

Yang Haoran also felt uneasy. Despite his unchanged demeanor, he was only pretending to be calm. He was certain that the middle-aged man wouldn't dare to use the chainsaw on him, but he couldn't be sure if an accident might happen. What if the middle-aged man's hand shook? What if he lost control of the chainsaw? In that case, Yang Haoran's life would be in jeopardy.

"Darn it, I can't do this anymore. This is basically gambling with my life, which doesn't suit my cautious nature," he thought. Listening to the buzzing of the chainsaw above his head, Yang Haoran didn't show any signs of panic. With a faint smile, he gracefully sidestepped, avoiding the chainsaw.

"Big brother, what's with all this animosity? Do you really need to be so agitated?" Yang Haoran asked with a smile.

The middle-aged man simply wanted to intimidate Yang Haoran. If Yang Haoran ran, he would chase after him with the chainsaw to vent his anger.

However, Yang Haoran didn't follow the expected script, ruining his plan. This made him appear both angry and embarrassed.

"Get lost! I don't want to see you! If you don't leave now, don't blame me for not having eyes on my chainsaw!" the middle-aged man roared, trying to save face forcibly.

"I just want to ask you something, and then I'll leave," Yang Haoran said with a smile.

"Ask something? Ask your father! Get lost or not!" the middle-aged man didn't cooperate, still shouting angrily.

Yang Haoran remained silent with a smile, showing no intention of leaving either. Both men stared at each other, tension building up between them.

"You're really pushing it!!!" the middle-aged man erupted. Several workers, thinking the middle-aged man was about to lose control and go berserk, didn't expect him to fiercely slam the chainsaw onto the ground!

Crack!!!

The chainsaw was shattered by the impact. With a ferocious glare, the middle-aged man shouted at Yang Haoran, "Ask your question and get the hell out!"

After a while, Yang Haoran walked out of the corridor, but his expression was complex.

He successfully obtained the information he wanted from the middle-aged man, but it also made his expression complicated.

It turned out that after the incident with Decaying Corpse Granny that night, rumors spread like wildfire in the community. The middle-aged man was rumored to be Jiang Zhenzhen's father, and Yang Haoran was rumored to be the perpetrator of a home invasion, not only killing the middle-aged man but also insulting Jiang Zhenzhen.

Although these were just rumors, many people tended to believe them rather than the truth. Moreover, the rumors spread widely, not only among the residents of the community but also among those in neighboring areas.

Despite Jiang Zhenzhen and the middle-aged man returning to the community, the rumors didn't stop; they just took on a different version. In this version, neither Jiang Zhenzhen nor the middle-aged man died. The middle-aged man was no longer Jiang Zhenzhen's father, and Jiang Zhenzhen was no longer his daughter. They were in a romantic relationship, and Yang Haoran became Jiang Zhenzhen's boyfriend.

This version gained even more believers than the previous one because some people thought that if the first version was a rumor, then the second one was likely to be true.

Moreover, in today's society, such incidents are quite common, frequently reported in Lecheng, so naturally, more people believe in them.

Affected by the rumors, both Jiang Zhenzhen and the middle-aged man were constantly gossiped about behind their backs. Unable to withstand the whispers and rumors, Jiang Zhenzhen, being a young girl, chose to leave the community.

In the eyes of others, Jiang Zhenzhen's departure seemed like guilt, reinforcing their belief in the rumors and causing them to spread even more.

Rumors are indeed powerful; they can easily ruin a person or a group of people.

Compared to the rumors themselves, the people who spread them are even more terrifying and despicable. Regardless of their reasons for spreading rumors, they are unforgivable.

As for those who spread rumors, being used as a tool, acting without using their brains, they are no different from fools.

Taking a deep drag from his cigarette, Yang Haoran glanced at the location of Jiang Zhenzhen's rental house one last time, then sighed, disappointment written all over his face.

Rumors are truly terrifying; they can destroy lives, or even whole communities.

Standing at the entrance of the community, Yang Haoran lit another cigarette, feeling a sense of regret creeping over him.