After Chen Chuan was invited into the cinema's reception room, a server brought him tea. He didn't have to wait long before a chubby, middle-aged man hurried in, panting as though he had run the entire way, with sweat beading at his temples.
Upon seeing Chen Chuan, he stepped forward, grabbed his hand in a clammy grip, and said warmly, "I am Huang Dacheng. You must be Commissioner Chen?"
Not minding the sweat on his palm, Chen Chuan shook hands with him and said, "My name is Chen Chuan. For now, I'm just a student at Wuyi, not a commissioner yet."
Manager Huang's enthusiasm did not diminish in the slightest. "It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter! We know that you're young and promising, Mr. Chen, and we've heard you're an expert in these matters. The accommodations here are crude, so forgive our poor hospitality. Please, follow me."
Chen Chuan followed Manager Huang up an open staircase as the man gave an introduction along the way. "Our Lanxiang Cinema has investment from Molan Company. It can accommodate five thousand moviegoers at once, and we provide comprehensive services such as dining, balls, and concerts. Many of the city's major social events are hosted right here with us..."
He talked on and on without stopping, leading Chen Chuan into his office. It was decorated in an exotic vintage foreign style, featuring leather sofas, a gilded executive desk, a liquor cabinet stocked with imported fine spirits, stained-glass arch windows, black-and-white checkered floor tiles, and a large crystal chandelier hanging overhead. In a corner of the room stood an oversized gramophone, its golden horn aimed across the entire parlor.
The curtains were currently drawn open, allowing soft sunlight to stream in from outside. Chen Chuan walked forward a few steps; from this angle, he could see the plaza below, where well-dressed men and women were constantly coming and going, while luxury cars whose makes he couldn't name drove past from time to time.
Just then, he heard a melodious tune start up. Looking back, he saw that Manager Huang had turned on the gramophone.
Manager Huang walked over to him with a smile and said, "Mr. Chen, our cinema's location is the best in all of south city. The New Year is just around the corner, and whenever citizens have free time, they choose to come watch a movie. But... alas."
Chen Chuan turned around and said, "Manager Huang, I came here to solve this problem."
"Yes, yes, thank you, Mr. Chen! Oh, please take a seat, please sit..." Manager Huang ushered Chen Chuan over to the sofa, then asked, "Mr. Chen, what would you like to drink?"
Chen Chuan said, "Plain boiled water will do."
Manager Huang gave a thumbs-up. "That is a wonderful habit, Mr. Chen! Alcohol ruins the body, and sweet beverages only bring a fleeting pleasure. Boiled water is still the best—mild and calming, the drink of a gentleman."
He went over and personally poured a glass of water for Chen Chuan, respectfully presenting it before him.
Taking the glass, Chen Chuan said, "Thank you."
Manager Huang waved his plump hand repeatedly. "No need for thanks, that's far too polite! I should be the one thanking you, Mr. Chen, for coming all this way to help us handle this matter."
Chen Chuan didn't waste time on further pleasantries, cutting straight to the point. "Manager Huang, exactly how many days has this been going on? The file I received noted around a month. Is there an exact date?"
Seeing him get down to business, Manager Huang immediately straightened up, his expression turning slightly more serious. After some thought, he said, "It should be twenty-five days now."
Chen Chuan asked again, "Has this ever happened in the past?"
Manager Huang sighed. "Before I took office here, I'd heard a few rumors, but I took them to be ghost stories deliberately put out to drum up business. You know how it is, Mr. Chen—the stranger the tale, the more it draws a crowd. Curiosity is just human nature, after all."
Chen Chuan understood this well. He was also curious about strange phenomena, though what interested him even more was the underlying cause and the origin of such power. "Manager Huang, have you seen it with your own eyes?"
Manager Huang shuddered and hurriedly shook his head.
"Has it occurred during other times of the day?"
Manager Huang shook his head again. "Not yet. For now, it only happens between eight in the evening and midnight."
Chen Chuan looked at him. "Aside from the employees listed in the file, have there been any other injuries or deaths among the staff or patrons? I want the truth."
Manager Huang hesitated for a moment, then nodded and held up a single finger. "There was a drunk patron. We only found his body the following day. We had no idea how he ended up in there that night. Just one person, really."
Chen Chuan didn't press the matter further. After considering it, he said, "I have a general understanding now. I'll stay tonight to handle it."
Overjoyed, Manager Huang came forward and gripped Chen Chuan's hand. "Wonderful, then we leave it in your capable hands, Mr. Chen! Whatever conditions you have, I will do my utmost to accommodate."
Chen Chuan said, "My only condition is that no one comes near the hall during that time window."
Manager Huang nodded repeatedly. "Of course, of course, absolutely! Ah, right..." He produced a card and offered it with both hands, saying respectfully, "This is our cinema's VIP card. It grants exclusive use of a private box, as well as year-round free admission to all movie screenings and musical performances. Please accept it, Mr. Chen."
Chen Chuan did not stand on ceremony and took it. "Thank you, Manager Huang. Can we go take a look at the hall now?"
Manager Huang quickly agreed, but he didn't dare go himself, having a trusted assistant lead Chen Chuan to the screening hall where the incidents had occurred.
The hall could accommodate three hundred people at once. After walking a circuit around the room, Chen Chuan took a seat in the middle section. After waiting a short while, the lights dimmed. With the beam of light projecting from the rear, the large screen up front lit up, beginning to play a popular current film.
His original host had also been an avid movie fan, pasting many film posters around his room and spending much of his allowance on them, even skimping on new clothes.
In his previous life, his favorites had been the swordsman series and the mysterious cavern series. However, ever since arriving in this world, he had thrown himself into training and pursuing the martial path, leaving him no leisure to watch films. The movies showing today were titles he had specially picked out, which served as a small way of making amends for his original self's unfulfilled wishes.
While he watched, a waitress pushed a cart down the aisle, bringing soft drinks and snacks. He didn't touch the soda, but he sampled each of the snacks, finding that the fried arrowhead chips suited his palate best. Crisp and flavorful, they were not the least bit inferior to the potato chips of his past life.
Since he was here to handle an incident, no tickets had been sold for the surrounding seats, effectively reserving the entire hall for him alone as film after film played on.
When dinnertime arrived, he stepped out and had a lavish meal in the restaurant downstairs. After exchanging a few words with Manager Huang, he returned to the screening hall, sat down in the same seat, and resumed watching.
The hall remained empty. Under the massive screen, he sat alone, the shifting light occasionally illuminating his face.
Time ticked away. After finishing yet another movie, he lifted his wrist to check his watch. It was nearing midnight—the time window when the troubles had always occurred.
Lowering his arm, he refrained from making any unnecessary moves. He simply adjusted his breathing slightly to keep his mind sharp, then continued watching the screen.
The plot on screen happened to reach a critical juncture. The protagonist entered an unknown, abyssal cave, and the lighting dimmed accordingly. With a crisp click, the protagonist switched on a flashlight, illuminating the interior of the cavern. In the very instant that the beam flared up, Chen Chuan suddenly noticed that two rows ahead of his seat, a figure had abruptly appeared.
It seemed to be a woman; he could only see the long hair covering both her shoulders from behind.
Chen Chuan fixed his gaze on that back and thought to himself, *Here it comes.*
This was one of Yangzhi City's urban legends: the Midnight Phantom of the Cinema. If someone was still watching a movie in the Lanxiang Cinema at midnight, and they were the only person in the hall, an extra spectator would suddenly appear to keep them company.
Under no circumstances should one call out to or greet this spectator. If one did, the person who returned home the next day might be that spectator, not you.
He studied the figure in silence. The information Cheng Zitong had given him warned that to resolve this urban legend, one only needed to watch movies during this time window for three consecutive days without leaving the hall halfway through, and the phantom would vanish on its own.
During this process, one truly could not speak to the phantom. Most crucially, one could not leave midway, and above all, must never walk up to look at the phantom's face.
This was likely an experience summarized by predecessors, and he had no intention of overstepping it. There was no need to take risks when a simple solution existed, so he remained motionless in his seat.
He glanced at his Second Self. Unsurprisingly, a faint illusory shimmer had appeared over it, identical to what had happened when he encountered the Child in the Well. It seemed this state would persist for some time again, and given the peculiar nature of this legend, it might last even longer.
He checked his watch. For the rest of the night, he only needed to sit honestly and watch the movie.
The night was still long.
He returned his focus to the screen. Yet after about three hours and two more movies, he felt a strange sensation—not from the ghost, but from within his own body.
He discovered that the growth of his mutated tissue had actually accelerated slightly. The change was subtle and gradual; had He Xiaoxing not taught him that observation technique to hone his perception of his own mutated tissue, he would hardly have noticed it.
At this moment, it suddenly dawned on him: was this where the blurring on his Second Self came from? How similar was this to using medicine to stimulate mutated tissue, which in turn caused a degree of bodily harm?
Did that mean urban legends produced a similar effect to some extent?
No, it was probably more than that.
He reflected on it. There were very likely other unseen harms he wasn't aware of, only that all of them were currently being absorbed by his Second Self.
A thought crossed his mind. If that were the case, could he use this urban legend to help guide his mutated tissue?
He hadn't wanted to stir up extra trouble, but he was currently at a crucial phase of rectifying and shoring up his mutated tissue. He had already reached several delicate, minute areas, and he could not allow the tissue to grow in such an unguided, haphazard manner. Even the slightest deviation could create hidden risks in the future.
After a moment's consideration, he used his breathing to subtly steer it, bringing the direction of growth under his own control.
Several hours flew past. When four in the morning arrived, he casually looked up and found that the figure had vanished at some point without his realizing it.
After lingering in his seat for a short while, he stood up, walked out of the hall, and followed the corridor outside. He said a word to the nervous server waiting there, who promptly ran off to notify Manager Huang.
Upon hearing that he had emerged, Manager Huang came scurrying over while wiping away sweat with a handkerchief. Meeting him, he asked hurriedly, "Mr. Chen, how did it go?"
Chen Chuan looked at him. "I saw her."
Manager Huang's face turned pale. He stammered, "A-and then...?"
Chen Chuan said, "This urban legend takes about three days to clear away. Over the next few days, I will be coming here."
Manager Huang breathed a sigh of relief, his face breaking into joy. "Wonderful, wonderful! Then we will be troubling you to bear with the hardship, Mr. Chen. Once this is over, we will certainly present a handsome reward of gratitude!"
Chen Chuan nodded to him and departed the cinema, taking the cinema's car back to the academy. After taking a short nap, he resumed his daily training routine.
The next day, he did not head over during the daytime, instead arranging for the car to pick him up around six in the evening. Once he reached the screening hall in the cinema, he settled back into the same seat.
Manager Huang certainly knew how to please people; he had swapped out the films for a new batch today, including quite a few new releases. Chen Chuan watched all the way until around midnight, but when the hour struck, that figure was nowhere to be seen.
No, that wasn't right—she hadn't failed to appear.
It was just that her position was different from last time. She was no longer two rows ahead, but... right beside him.
...
...
Chapter 101