Wu Yu

  I parked my car at the foot of a desolate mountain.

  I chased that group of birds all the way, and they flew into the darkness right here. The traffic is convenient here, not far from the city, but there are no lights on the mountain, and no one lives here. Its a suitable place to hide crimes.

  I quickly climbed up the mountain along the wild path trodden by the mountain people. On my way, I thought it was a good thing that Tan Jiao didnt come. She wouldnt have been able to take this road with its dense thorns and possibly hidden poisonous insects and snakes.

  I dont want to give it up either.

  After climbing for about half an hour, I reached the middle of the mountain and saw a faint light in the forest ahead. I abandoned the small path and climbed up along the steep slope, hiding behind a huge boulder to take a peek.

  There was an old wooden house. A kerosene lamp hung from the porch. Several children huddled in the corner, shivering with fear. The man was also there, sitting in a broken rattan chair, propping his chin with his hand, staring at those children as if in a trance.

  Even from dozens of meters away, I could recognize that it was indeed the 4 missing children. But upon closer inspection, something seemed strange. Three of the children were in tattered clothes and looked pale and emaciated from hunger. Only one child, a 6-year-old boy named Zhu Zihan, had clean clothes on, was sitting on a stool, and was eating a loaf of bread and drinking a box of milk with his mouth open wide. The other children all gazed at him with envy. And the mans gaze was fixed on Zhu Zihan.

  With a small hut as the center, at least hundreds of birds were densely stopped around it. They stood in a tame manner, quietly and calmly.

  Zhu Zihan was a chubby little boy, after eating, he looked at the man with a timid expression: "Uncle, I want to eat another bread." The other children heard and also began to beg: "Uncle, we also want to eat!" "Uncle, give me one too!" "Uncle, why does he have it but I dont?"

  The man smiled slightly, took out another bread from his pocket, and stuttered: "Sh-shut up! You... you guys... how can you compare with him?" He handed the bread to Zhu Zihang, who glanced at the other children and quickly devoured it. The other children only dared to cry softly, not daring to make a sound again.

  I slowly bowed my head, just thinking of quietly retreating back the way I came, but who knew that at this moment, a bird flew over from somewhere and swooped past my head. I thought to myself, "This is bad," and sure enough, the bird let out a sharp cry and flew towards the small hut. The man suddenly turned his head in my direction. The flock of birds was startled as well, with hundreds of them flapping their wings at the same time, making a sound like a strong gust of wind blowing through the forest. Then the man laughed again, that kind of laugh that made people feel very uncomfortable, a strange and abnormal laugh that seemed to be both happy and sad. He blew a long whistle, and in an instant, the flock of birds transformed into a black whirlwind, charging towards me!

  I stood on the steep slope, nowhere to hide, and no time to jump down. I grabbed a thick branch beside me as a weapon and knocked down quite a few flying birds. But their number was too great, and they flew over my head, covering my face. Looking at their sharp beaks and yellowish-brown ferocious eyes, I suddenly realized that they were going to peck out my eyes.

  I raised one arm to shield my eyes. Their beaks fell on my neck and arm at the same time, instantly bloody and blurred.

  At this time.

  A strong gust of wind struck me from behind.

  It was that man who was on that boulder and took advantage of the opportunity to sneak up on me.

  And I am at a disadvantage, in a difficult position to advance or retreat. If I move forward, the birds will peck my eyes blind. If I move backward, he will strike me on the head again.

  This moment will decide victory and defeat, life and death.

  I suddenly let go of my arms, quickly turned around and hugged his legs, knocking him down. He stood unsteadily, the wooden stick in his hand also fell to the ground. I saw his panicked face. A flock of birds flew towards us from all directions.

  We fell down a steep slope together. I felt the back of my head "thud" against something, and everything went black as I lost consciousness.

  ……