The cashier showed Wen Wen a picture, and on it was a husky!
This breed was popular because of its "derpy" trait, but the dog in the photo was beyond mere silliness. Wen Wen could actually see human expressions on the husky's face—not just resemblance, but actual likeness!
Its lips, eyes, nose, and ears all showed traces of human features!
If the cashier wasn't somewhat intuitive and different from ordinary people, Wen Wen would have thought she was joking.
"No, why would I show you a picture from the internet? This is real. That's why he's been getting such bad headaches."
She didn't finish explaining, as the situation was far more than just a strange dog.
The man who owned the dog kennel was her high school classmate, and they were very close, practically best friends. For the past few days, they had been talking about this dog. Yesterday, when he called about it, his voice was choked with tears!
To keep the dog, that man's family had rented a detached villa. The husky, with its distinctive looks, lived with them as part of the family.
At first, at night, they would often hear sounds of children playing, and sometimes, when their eyes played tricks on them, they would even see toys like small balls, but they would disappear upon closer inspection.
And their family had no children!
Later, as the dog became increasingly bizarre, more inexplicable things happened in the kennel: moved objects, flickering lights, sudden chills...
Initially, they didn't think it was the dog's fault and temporarily moved to another place with it. However, the strange phenomena persisted and even intensified.
Eventually, as the dog's facial expressions became more human-like, they attributed the problem to the dog and tried to drive it away.
But then came the crushing realization: they couldn't get rid of the dog. No matter where they moved, the dog would follow them. Even if they locked it outside, it would mysteriously reappear inside the house.
They had even tried poisoning the dog to kill it, but it survived and remained affectionate towards them, completely unfazed by their abuse.
After that, the weird occurrences continued, but fortunately, no family member was harmed, so they could only continue living like this for the time being.
...
The cashier didn't go into detail with Wen Wen, believing he wouldn't believe the supernatural aspects even if she told him.
She could only say that she had seen the dog, the one with the obvious problem, before it started acting strange. Even then, the dog had sent shivers down her spine.
Wen Wen, of course, could tell the cashier was being evasive; his past experience as a detective had honed his senses.
Wen Wen himself was skilled in Photoshop, even helping Zhu Qipei create illicit images. After careful observation, he finally confirmed there were no traces of Photoshop on the picture!
This meant the dog genuinely looked like a meme!
"If I have time, I can go take a look at this dog. It sounds interesting. Having a dog like that would make quite a statement walking down the street."
Wen Wen wasn't sure if it was a supernatural event, but he would go see it, if only out of curiosity.
"That's great! If you can resolve this, he should reward you."
The cashier patted her chest to guarantee it, her movements forceful and slightly distracting.
But Wen Wen was unmoved. Hu Youling in prison constantly displayed more provocative scenes, and on a much larger scale. Having seen such sights, he was completely immune to this level of display.
Finally, Wen Wen got the cashier's contact information and learned her name was Jiao Xinlei.
...Sudan Novel Network
"Phew... I'm exhausted... I must have been out of my mind to agree to go on a backpacking trip by bicycle with you," a short-haired woman pushing her bicycle complained.
"Hahaha, Li Xiaoyan, weren't you having fun? We should be home tomorrow," a young man riding his bicycle next to her laughed heartily.
"Hey, Gao Xiang, look! There's a roadside inn up ahead. I thought we were going to have to sleep rough tonight," Li Xiaoyan happily said to the man after spotting an inn by the road.
The inn had no name, only a wooden sign with the characters "Inn" written on it. The overall architectural style was quite vintage.
"There probably won't be any other places to stay if we go further. Let's stay here tonight. But wasn't there no inn here when we passed earlier? Did it appear when we were leaving?" Gao Xiang asked, looking at the inn with confusion.
"Never mind, let's go in," Li Xiaoyan said, having already locked her bicycle and preparing to enter the inn.
As soon as she reached the door, it was pushed open. Standing at the entrance was a thin old man leaning on a cane. All his hair had fallen out, and his gloomy face was covered in wrinkles and age spots. His waist was bent at a forty-five-degree angle, making him look like he was about to break.
"Guests have arrived. We have excellent rooms upstairs..."
Li Xiaoyan was a bit taken aback. At this moment, Gao Xiang walked up behind her and chuckled at the inn's interior.
"The decor here is just like something out of a historical drama. I've never stayed in a place like this on my travels. I can't miss this opportunity." Gao Xiang nudged Li Xiaoyan from behind, and the two entered the inn.
Upon entering, they realized it wasn't just the exterior that was vintage; the interior was also elaborately retro. The entire structure was made of wood, and they didn't even see any electrical outlets. The lighting was provided by kerosene lamps.
"Please follow me, esteemed guests. We have excellent rooms upstairs," a person dressed as a waiter said solicitously.
"Nice one! You've really captured the essence. It's more authentic than what you see on TV," Gao Xiang said with a smile. The waiter merely smiled back without saying anything further.
Following the waiter, the two went upstairs. There were about ten rooms, and quite a few guests were staying there.
What made Li Xiaoyan feel uneasy was that while these people appeared normal, there was no warmth in their eyes.
It was as if they were merely exquisite dolls!
This sent a chill down her spine.
But Gao Xiang, unfazed, led Li Xiaoyan into their room. Staying here was a novel experience, and why should they miss out?
What could be better than traveling to beautiful places?
It was seeing even better sights on the way back. For Gao Xiang, this inn was exactly that.
Everything in the room felt new and modern. It lacked any sense of the contemporary world, making him feel more like he was truly traveling than he had in the scenic spots he'd visited before.
Downstairs, several people in ancient attire slowly gathered together, uniformly looking up at the second floor with eerie smiles on their faces.
Moments later, desperate screams echoed from upstairs, and blood seeped through the wooden floor, dripping onto the ground.
The group, as if by unspoken agreement, began to clean up with various tools. This was something they had done countless times before.
...