In the early winter evening, darkness fell earlier than usual. Amidst the undulating peaks, a desolate village lay hidden in a mountain hollow. The village was not large, scattered with fifty or sixty households. A winding mountain path connected one end to the village entrance, while the other end wound through the towering mountains, leading to an unknown destination.
If one shifted their gaze from the bird's-eye view of the village and followed the winding mountain path, not far from the village, they could see a team of over a dozen people escorting a large cart and several pack mules laden with goods, slowly making their way toward the village entrance.
Perhaps because it had rained a few days earlier, the mountain roads were somewhat muddy, yet no one in the team uttered a word of complaint. Upon closer observation, a few faces could not hide expressions of fear and unease, as if the place they were heading to was not a village but the eighteenth level of hell.
Indeed, this team was the "wedding procession" played by the participants of the fourth program group, following the horror story broadcast by the radio station. Their mission this time was to head to the ancient Gulou Village ahead and complete the so-called "marriage ritual."
It sounded like a simple task, but everyone knew that since this place had been chosen as the stage for a horror story, terrifying and abnormal events were bound to occur in this village. This "wedding" would not be easy to complete.
At that moment, the person riding in the large cart was clearly the participant playing the "bride" in this story. Her name was Fang Sitian, a newcomer who had only experienced one supernatural event. For some reason, the radio station had chosen her to be the central figure in this marriage ritual.
Shouldn't important roles like the "groom" and "bride" be played by the veterans in the team? The moment she saw the story prompt, Fang Sitian's heart was filled with shock and panic. She couldn't imagine what she would encounter during the marriage ritual, let alone whether the so-called "groom" was even alive.
If the story really arranged for me to marry a corpse in some "ghost marriage," what should I do? Would I be buried alive with the corpse? As she conjured up various terrifying images, Fang Sitian couldn't stop trembling in the cart, her mind a chaotic mess.
"What's wrong, Sitian?"
As if sensing something unusual, a voice came from outside the cart. Hearing this, Fang Sitian replied with a tearful tone, "Chenyin, I'm scared. I'm really scared."
"Don't be afraid. We're all around you. No matter what happens, we'll do our best to protect you."
This calm voice helped steady Fang Sitian's panicked heart a little. After a moment, she couldn't help but ask curiously, "Li Chenyin, if I remember correctly, this is your first time officially participating in a supernatural mission, right? How come you don't seem nervous or scared at all?"
"Who says I'm not nervous? But does being nervous or scared help?"
"Alright..." Fang Sitian's face flushed red, though no one could see it through the curtain. After a while, she thought of another question. "Chenyin, in this mission, I'm supposed to play the bride and perform the marriage ritual. Do I really have to... really have to..."
Fang Sitian felt too embarrassed to finish her sentence. Although she was already in her early twenties, she had never even had a boyfriend. Now she had to play the "bride" and carry out a marriage ritual mission. Could it be... that it would become "real"?
"Sitian, stop overthinking. For us participants, the most important thing is to analyze the clues and find a way out. Everything else is just part of the script on stage. Don't put too much psychological burden on yourself."
With a soft "mm," Fang Sitian's thoughts returned to the fourth program group. In the last team mission, all four participants of the fourth group had perished in the task, drastically reducing the group's numbers to fewer than ten. Under this gloomy atmosphere, the newly released "Ghost Marriage in a Desolate Village" mission had clearly added significant psychological pressure to everyone.
Li Chenyin had joined the fourth program group under these circumstances. That night, guided by a ghost, she had uncovered the body buried by a murderer in an abandoned house, thereby solving the supernatural event. Then, she was summoned into the eerie world of the radio station.
At this moment, she had finally confirmed that the book she had read, *Strange Tales Radio*, was not fictional. The author, a man named Chen Mo, was undoubtedly, like herself, a listener of this terrifying radio station!
Unfortunately, in the space of the fourth group, she had not found any information about this person. That meant Chen Mo was not a listener of the fourth group. In other words, within this strange radio station, there must be other program groups, which bore some resemblance to the space she had experienced before.
Moreover, by reading this person's novel, Li Chenyin deduced that Chen Mo must have experienced more than one such horror story. Based on the stories in the book, he had likely gone through at least three or four missions. Since he had survived so many tasks, he probably had a deeper understanding of the space than she did. Li Chenyin had made up her mind that after completing this mission, she would contact this person named Chen Mo again and thoroughly inquire about the strange radio station. This time, she would not tolerate him brushing her off or making excuses.
Although the radio station was terrifying, it did not make Li Chenyin want to retreat. Through the supernatural events of the radio station, she had confirmed the existence of "ghosts." In her heart, there was an unbelievable thought she had never given up on.
Since ghosts existed, perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope to see that person buried deep in her memories! Though many saw him as a heinous figure, to Li Chenyin, he was the love of her life.
For this reason, she was willing to search for every trace of the radio station and return to hell itself!
"Chenyin? Chenyin?"
At that moment, Fang Sitian's voice pulled her back to the present. "Chenyin, what are you thinking about? I called you several times."
"Nothing." Li Chenyin replied quickly, then immediately changed the subject, speaking coldly, "Don't talk to me for now. It looks like we're almost at Gulou Village."
-- PS: Thanks to Kuang Shi A Kuang De Kuang and the book friend for their tips, scattering flowers~
Starting a new mission. I've put a lot of thought into designing this story, and I hope everyone likes it. These characters will also have many interactions with the protagonist later on. I hope everyone can be a bit more patient. After all, Brother Mo has already completed three consecutive missions. Let him rest a little, okay?