Global Exploration: Starting from Decrypting Chernobyl

156: Survivors! TV screen!“Screech...”

The sound of a taxi braking echoed in the quiet night sky. On an asphalt road at the base of a desolate mountain, a taxi came to a steady stop at the roadside.

Just as Wu Tian pushed open the car door, preparing to get out… “...”

“Young man…”

The driver stopped the car, turned around from his seat, and looked at the three of them, including Wu Tian.

He kindly warned them.

“I can tell you’re here for tourism, right? Let me add one more thing.”

“This is Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital, not some haunted house.”

“Are you sure you want to go?”

“...”

Wu Tian, who was pushing open the car door to get out, paused, then turned to look at the enthusiastic driver.

Then, with a slight smile, he asked.

“Oh?”

“Is there anything extraordinary at Gonjiam Psychiatric Hospital?”

“Uncle!”

“Why can’t we go?”

“...”

“Sigh!”

He was stunned for a moment.

The uncle said to Wu Tian with a worried expression.

“To be honest, two years ago, I also brought a group of young people here to explore, and at that time, neither those young people nor I expected this Mental Hospital to be so eerie.”

“And I didn’t think twice about bringing these young people here.”

“And we even agreed that I would pick them up the next day!”

“...”

While the uncle was speaking.

Narrator-kun’s voice rang out in Wu Tian’s mind.

“Strictly speaking, this uncle is a survivor of the Gonjiam incident two years ago. Talk to him more; who knows… you might make an unexpected discovery.”

“Seize the opportunity!”

Wu Tian was startled.

He then stopped his action of getting out of the car.

He reached out and gently pulled.

“Bang!”

The car door, which had just been opened, closed again.

Wu Tian, with a curious smile on his face, looked at the driver and asked with a grin.

“What happened, Uncle?”

“Did you pick them up the next day?”

“...”

Although he knew the uncle definitely hadn’t picked anyone up, according to the art of conversation, the more you guess incorrectly… the more others will want to tell you the truth!

Indeed!

As Wu Tian’s voice faded.

The uncle slowly shook his head.

His speaking speed gradually quickened.

It seemed that years of unspoken thoughts had finally found an outlet, and he began to recount his story to the three, including Wu Tian, in a low voice.

“The next day…”

“I rushed here early in the morning.”

“But they didn’t show up on this road at the agreed time. At first, I just thought these kids had played too much, so I waited by the roadside.”

“But I waited and waited for almost three hours, and my business for the rest of the day was about to be delayed.”

“They still hadn’t appeared!”

“...”

“Oh?”

Wu Tian showed a very cooperative expression of surprise.

“Where did they go?”

“Did they leave early?”

“...”

The uncle seemed to recall something terrible, and his face immediately turned ugly. He swallowed hard.

Then he continued to speak to Wu Tian and the others.

“I don’t know…”

“I don’t know where they went.”

“I had business in the afternoon; I was very anxious!”

“And… they had already paid me for the return trip, plus in this desolate wilderness, I was the only person who had contact with them. What happened to them…”

“I had to take some responsibility!”

At this point.

The uncle swallowed again.

He seemed to be recreating what he had discovered that day, according to his memory.

“So after waiting and waiting, I couldn’t wait any longer. I got out of the car, locked the doors, and climbed up this desolate mountain.”

“I wanted to find them.”

“However…”

“...”

The driver slowly exhaled.

He told Wu Tian and the other two about the terrifying scene he had witnessed on the desolate mountain.

“After I went up the mountain, I didn’t find any trace of them, not even any signs of their activities.”

“And…”

“After I searched for a long time and was about to give up and leave…”

“I found that I couldn’t get out!”

“...”

“Couldn’t get out?”

Wu Tian was startled.

“What do you mean?”

“Ghost wall?”

The driver was stunned.

“What is a ghost wall?”

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘ghost wall,’ but I felt like I was lost on this small mountain. I could clearly see the road below, but no matter how hard I hurried.”

“I couldn’t get out!”

As he spoke… the driver’s expression suddenly changed.

“It was when I was frantically circling in this forest, and my clothes were soaked with sweat.”

“I discovered a small tent.”

“Small tent?”

Wu Tian’s eyes lit up.

“Could it be…”

“That those young people set it up there?”

“Mm!”

The driver nodded heavily.

“I was very panicked at the time. I saw the tent and thought I had found them. Like grabbing a life-saving straw, I rushed towards that tent, and I rushed in without hesitation!”

“But…”

The driver’s voice dropped.

“I didn’t find anyone in the tent!”

“There were signs of life inside: water bags, instant noodle packets, unwashed pots and bowls, and some communication and live-streaming equipment!”

“But!”

“There was no one!”

“...”

Wu Tian frowned.

But he didn’t interject, signaling the driver to continue.

“Gulp…”

The driver swallowed.

“There was nothing I could do. Since I couldn’t find anyone, I could only search inside the tent.”

“To see if I could find any clues.”

“And I really did find something!”

“...”

When he said “found something,” Wu Tian was looking at the driver’s expression.

But “finding something” should have been a happy occasion… yet the driver frowned, his pupils slightly dilated.

This indicated that the driver’s heart at this moment… was filled with fear.

Zhang Meng and Wu Tian exchanged glances. Neither of them interrupted the driver, allowing him to continue speaking.

“It was a disc playing on a computer, and the screen was showing a scene.”

“Oh?”

“Uncle Driver, what… what was that scene?”

Wu Tian’s voice was gentle.

He tried not to provoke the driver.

“In the picture, I saw myself hanging in a room with broken glass, and that room with broken glass was facing a small mountain path on a desolate slope!”

“On the path…”

“That was me stumbling towards that room!”

“...”

As the driver’s voice fell, the three of them, including Wu Tian, were all stunned.

Perhaps it was the cold night, or some other reason, but the temperature inside the taxi slowly dropped.

White mist appeared in front of the mouths of the driver and the three of them, including Wu Tian.

“Are you sure…”

“The person in that picture was you?”

Wu Tian asked with a frown.

The breath he exhaled created a misty patch of steam on the taxi window.

“Gulp…”

The driver’s Adam’s apple bobbed.

“Yes!”

“I’m sure the person in the picture was me!”

“I immediately sensed something was wrong, quickly ejected the disc, and stumbled back down towards the mountain!”

“This time…”

The driver let out a long sigh.

“I was lucky not to go in circles again and successfully returned to the road.”

“Tremblingly, I opened the car door.”

“I didn’t want to stay here for another minute, so I quickly started the car and left.”

“...”

After listening to the uncle driver’s narration.

Wu Tian’s heart stirred.

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He asked the driver.

“Since that’s the case, that tape should still be with you, right?”

“...”

“It is!”

“It’s with me!”

The driver was stunned.

He then quickly reached into the taxi’s storage area.

After some fumbling, a disc with no markings and wrapped in a transparent outer shell was taken out by him.

He tremblingly handed it to Wu Tian, who was behind him.

Then he said to the latter.

“After I took this tape home, I turned on all the lights in the house and put this tape back into the player!”

“But…”

“The scene played by this player was completely different.”

“The scene inside was still the same, but I couldn’t see myself anymore!”

“No matter how many times I played it, it was the same!”

“I guess…”

The uncle driver tilted his head.

“Perhaps only with the player in that campsite can such a strange scene be seen?”

“Uh…”

Wu Tian reached out and took the disc handed to him by the driver.

He said awkwardly.

“Even if only the player in that campsite can show different things in the picture, it’s been two years!”

“The player in the campsite probably doesn’t have power anymore, right?”

“...”

“Uh…”

The driver was stunned.

He then slowly scratched his head, smiling somewhat awkwardly at the three of them, including Wu Tian.

“Hehe…”

“That, I hadn’t thought of that…”

“However!”

“This thing is for you!”

“Anyway, you’re going up there, and who knows… maybe that machine still works?”

“Hehe…”

“You never know!”

“...”

Everyone was stunned.

Then the Fatty’s face darkened, and he said to the driver in an unfriendly tone.

“Uncle, what do you mean by this?”

“Are you cursing us to have an accident?”

“It’s been two years; that machine should have run out of power long ago. If we go up there and that machine still works, what the hell is that about?”

Driver: “…Uh…”

The driver’s expression was a bit awkward.

He then smiled apologetically at Wu Tian and the others.

“N-No, I’m sorry!”

“I didn’t think of that!”

“But since you’re also going up, I still think it’s more appropriate to give this disc to you!”

“You…”

The Fatty frowned, about to make a move.

Wu Tian waved his hand.

He smiled and nodded at the driver.

“Then thank you, Uncle Driver!”

“We’re leaving!”

With that, Wu Tian pulled the Fatty and Zhang Meng out of the car. Carrying their large and small bags, they looked at the silent mountain before them.

A cold wind blew… a chill swept over them!

…“Hoo-hoo…”

The Fatty, carrying a backpack, was panting heavily as he climbed the mountain.

He complained softly.

“What’s wrong with this mountain?”

“It looks so gentle, but it’s so hard to climb?”

“By the way…”

The Fatty looked towards Wu Tian in front of him.

“Boss, when will we find that tent?”

“...”

“Tent?”

The infinitely cold Wu Tian chuckled.

“Did you forget what the uncle driver said?”

“If you don’t get caught in a ghost wall on this mountain for a while, how can you find the tent?”

Fatty: “…What’s a ghost wall?”

“Hehe…”

Wu Tian smiled slightly.

He said to the Fatty in a joking tone.

“A ghost wall, well, it’s when you’re walking behind, and a ghost is leading the way in front, and then you just keep walking behind the ghost, never able to leave the place you want to leave!”

“...”

The Fatty was stunned.

Then he let out a ghostly scream.

“Holy crap!”

“Boss!”

“Don’t scare me!”

“Wait for me, I can still walk, please don’t leave me behind!”

“...”

Without encountering the same ghost wall incident as the driver, Wu Tian and the others quickly went straight from the foot of the mountain to the mountainside, and… when everyone reached the mountainside.

Before them, a dilapidated military-green tent appeared.

It was faintly visible amidst a patch of low shrubs.

“Brother Tian?”

“Boss!”

Zhang Meng and the Fatty simultaneously spotted the tent not far away and shouted loudly at Wu Tian.

“Mm.”

Wu Tian nodded.

He made a gesture for the two of them to follow.

He walked towards the tent in the shrubs.

And as the three of them approached… the appearance of the tent slowly revealed itself before everyone.

Although the tent had become dilapidated after two years of weathering, the facilities inside were all in good condition.

Even in the corner of the tent, there was a pile of unwashed pots and bowls.

The food residue on them, at first glance, still looked fresh.

“...”

“Strange!”

The Fatty frowned and said.

“The tent was ruined by the wind and rain, so how are the things inside still intact?”

“It can’t be…”

The Fatty blinked.

“The player that the uncle driver mentioned still has power, right?”

As he spoke.

The Fatty, as if to confirm his guess, half-believingly reached out and pressed the DVD’s power button!

“Zzzzt…”

Just as the Fatty looked on in bewilderment.

A clear electrical current sound suddenly came from inside the silent tent.

Then… the red indicator light on the DVD lit up, and to the Fatty’s disbelief.

An empty disc tray slowly ejected from the machine.

“Sizzle… sizzle…”

“Gulp…”

The Fatty swallowed, looking at Wu Tian next to him, who had also noticed this anomaly.

He slowly asked.

“Boss…”

“What should we do?”

“What should we do?”

Wu Tian immediately pulled out the disc and, without hesitation, shoved it into the disc tray.

He said in a relaxed tone.

“Of course, when in doubt, just charge forward!”

“Come on!”

With the Fatty looking like he was about to cry.

Wu Tian rubbed his hands together excitedly!

He pressed the power button!

“Zzzzt…”

Another electrical current sound, and the unnamed disc was swallowed by the DVD again. The TV connected to it suddenly flickered, and a static screen appeared on the black screen.

Then… a figure with flowing hair appeared on the screen.

“Hehe…”

“Hello there, outsider!”

“I have a few questions for you. Do you dare to answer?”

“Hehe…”

“If you don’t answer well… you might die!”

“...”

“Oh?”

“Is that so?”

Wu Tian smiled excitedly, rubbing his hands together, his eyes emitting an eerie glow, and said to the TV.

“Then hurry up and start, I can’t wait!”

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