Chapter 1 So Many Problems

Feng Bujue had a lot of problems...

For example, why hadn't he seen a single soul on his way here from the town entrance? And why were all the shops in town closed? Also, what was up with that "invisible bicycle" on the road? Could that be the so-called "Ghost Mailman"?

Besides these, there were the identity of the mysterious figure, the reason for the bridge's collapse, and so on...

The many mysteries surrounding this small town remained unsolved, and there wasn't a single clue to be found.

"Uh... I did want to ask..." Feng Bujue considered for a few seconds before replying, "Why..."

Dong, dong, dong...

Just as he was about to ask his question, three knocks on the door interrupted him.

"Ah... I almost forgot." Nelson raised his eyebrows and said to Feng Bujue, "Besides you, I also scheduled another person for an interview today." After saying this, he immediately raised his voice and shouted towards the door, "Come in."

Seconds later, the person outside turned the doorknob and pushed the door open.

Feng Bujue also turned his head to look at the door, and saw... a short man entering, looking about thirty-five years old. He had curly brown hair and a pair of shrewd blue eyes. He was wearing a dark blue suit, his leather shoes were polished to a shine, and he even wore a felt hat on his head. Clearly... this applicant was much more particular about his attire than Dave.

"Um... hello, sir, I'm here for the..."

Bang—crack.

He only managed to utter half a sentence before a double-barreled shotgun blew his head off.

Large amounts of blood and brain matter splattered on the hallway wall, and the corpse fell backward out the door.

"What the f*ck?" Feng Bujue immediately cursed inwardly, partly because the whole thing happened so inexplicably and suddenly, and partly because the gunshot had temporarily deafened his right ear.

"You! Are! Late!" After killing the man, Chief Nelson shouted at the corpse several meters away, "Damn it!"

"So that's what happens if you're really late..." Brother Jue silently turned his head back, looked at Nelson, and thought to himself, "When and where did this guy get the gun from..."

"Sorry, I hate people who aren't punctual, you know that." After killing the man and yelling at the corpse, Nelson casually put the gun down and tucked it behind his chair.

Only then did Brother Jue realize... the gun had been hidden behind Nelson's chair all along, within easy reach...

"Ah~ where were we?" Nelson sat down again, straightened his collar, "Oh, right, did I mention that I also hate those guys who ask a lot of questions and like to pry into things?"

"Heh heh heh..." In that instant, Feng Bujue adjusted his facial muscles and successfully revealed an idiotic smile, "Chief, it's getting late, I have to deliver the mail." He swept the things on the table into his arms, turned and left.

"Wait." Nelson suddenly stopped Brother Jue again.

Feng Bujue's cold sweat poured down. He tensed his body and slowly turned his head: "Is there anything else..."

"Of course, there is." As Nelson spoke, he took out a card from the inside pocket of his suit, then picked up the pen on the table, wrote something on it, and then stamped it with a seal, "You have to take this temporary work permit, otherwise the townspeople will refuse to accept the letters you deliver."

"Um... I understand..." Brother Jue breathed a sigh of relief, walked back to the table, and took the card that the other party handed over.

[Name: Otaque Town Post Office Temporary Work Permit]

[Type: Story Related]

[Quality: Normal]

[Function: Proves your identity as a "Mailman"]

[Can it be taken out of this script: No]

[Remarks: This card is only valid for twenty-four hours.]

"If you accidentally lose your permit, you can come back to me to sign another one for you." Nelson said, "But... this is the only free one, understand?"

"I understand completely." Feng Bujue nodded in response.

"Okay, then... good luck, Mr. Dave." After Nelson said this, he lowered his head and began to deal with some paper documents that were originally spread out on the table.

Obviously, this part of the plot had come to an end.

Feng Bujue put away his things and immediately ran out. But... before leaving, he didn't forget to play a little trick—he closed the door behind him.

After closing the door, Brother Jue didn't say a word and lunged towards the body that had been shot in the head...

(At this moment, if the phrase "strike while the iron is hot" appears in your mind, please consult a psychologist or turn yourself in to the police.)

"This guy, a grown man... going out and about, he doesn't even have a wallet on him?" Feng Bujue turned the other party's pockets inside out with extraordinary skill, and then complained, "Are you Alan Harper (a fictional character in *Two and a Half Men*, who is very poor for various reasons, and becomes stingy because of his poverty, and gradually loses his moral integrity. In order to avoid paying the bill, he basically deliberately doesn't bring a wallet when going out to appointments.)?"

In the end, he only found three things on the other party: a spice bottle filled with salt (it looked like it was stolen from a restaurant), a five-dollar bill, and a wooden pencil with only a short stub left.

"In a sense... I feel a little sorry for this guy..." Feng Bujue got up and muttered after searching the body, "You can't tell he's so poor from his appearance..." He put the few things into his pocket and glanced at the felt hat on the ground that was covered in blood and a little charred, "Ah... forget it..."

That hat looked really good, and it was definitely more expensive than all the other belongings on this brother combined, it should have been something he used to show off. Unfortunately... it's worthless now.

"Um... I couldn't find anything that could confirm his identity..." Feng Bujue thought as he walked down the hallway, "I can't confirm whether he's a resident of this town or an outsider..." He went down the steps and quickly returned to the post office lobby on the first floor, "If he's not a resident of Otaque Town, then the question arises... the bridge is broken, how did he get in?" His thinking unfolded like a spider web, constantly deducing various possibilities, "Excluding low-probability assumptions like skydiving, there are probably two situations... First, there is actually more than one path connecting this town to the outside world. Second, he entered the town earlier than me, but for some reason... he was ten minutes late."

While thinking, he had found the exit leading to the back door of the post office and walked over.

"The shadow that reminded me earlier said that once the bridge is broken, you can't get out..." He continued to think, "Let's assume she was telling the truth, then... based on the second situation, how did the felt hat man (Brother Jue casually gave the other party a nickname) come to Otaque Town? And how long ago did he come? If he also drove in from the bridge this morning, and came earlier than me, then on my way here... even if I didn't see him, I should have seen his car..."

As he thought of this, Brother Jue had walked out of the back door of the post office.

The entire backyard of the post office was a huge bicycle shed. At this moment, there was only one bicycle parked in the shed.

"Taking the options with higher probabilities on this reasoning line, which is... the felt hat man is not a resident of this town, didn't enter the town from another entrance, and didn't come this morning..." Feng Bujue came to the bicycle and was still muttering, "Conclusion... he came to the town yesterday, or at some earlier time, to prepare for today's interview. But this morning, he encountered some things... that caused him to be a few minutes late."

"Hoo..." He unlocked the bicycle and breathed a sigh of relief towards the sky, "Perhaps... he stayed in a hotel last night. When he woke up this morning, he found that his wallet was missing, and he couldn't find it after searching for a long time... and his car keys were also in the wallet... seeing that he was running out of time, he could only run over, but in the end... he was still late."

After reaching this seemingly reasonable conclusion, he stopped thinking about the felt hat man clue, and left a message in his mental palace—"If conditions permit, investigate the hotel, maybe you can get the other party's identity clues or a working car."

After doing these things, Brother Jue's attention shifted to the items in his hands.

First of all, there were the thirteen letters...

[Name: Letters Addressed to Otaque Town]

[Type: Story Related]

[Quality: Normal]

[Function: Unknown]

[Can it be taken out of this script: No]

[Remarks: Most of the information on this envelope is blurred, and there is no stamp on the letter. The only thing that can be identified is the recipient's address: Maine, Otaque Town, First Street, No. 3.]

This explanation came from the top letter of the stack of letters. The explanation of the remaining twelve letters was basically the same, the only difference was the address in the remarks (actually, you don't need to look at the item description, because it is also written on the envelope).

To avoid suspicion of putting together words, I will not list the descriptions of the twelve letters one by one, just list the different parts of the address.

Second letter: [Second Street, No. 9.]

Third letter: [Third Street, No. 7.]

Fourth letter: [Fourth Street, No. 10.]

Fifth letter: [Fifth Street, No. 3.]

Sixth letter: [Sixth Street, No. 9.]

Seventh letter: [Seventh Street, No. 7.]

Eighth letter: [Eighth Street, No. 1.]

Ninth letter: [Ninth Street, No. 3.]

Tenth letter: [Tenth Street, No. 9.]

Eleventh letter: [Eleventh Street, No. 7.]

Twelfth letter: [Twelfth Street, No. 1.]

Thirteenth letter: [Thirteenth Street, No. 3.]

"Heh... Maine..." After Feng Bujue read the addresses of the thirteen letters, his first reaction was to complain, "This script was written using Stephen King's (most of the stories in his books take place in Maine) memory..."

As he spoke, he put the stack of letters into the satchel in the bicycle basket. Then, he took out the mini-map and spent three minutes completely engraving it in his mind.

Finally, he picked up the "work manual" given to him by Chief Nelson and placed it in front of him.

[Name: Otaque Town Mailman Work Manual]

[Type: Story Related]

[Quality: Normal]

[Function: Records the code of conduct of the Otaque Town Mailman and some necessary knowledge]

[Can it be taken out of this script: No]

[Remarks: I am not a stingy person, my requirements are very simple: punctuality, firmness.

—Norman Nelson.]

"Heh... you are indeed not a stingy person..." Feng Bujue smiled as he looked at the item remarks, "You are a crazy old man who kills without batting an eye..."

As he said this, he got on his bicycle. He controlled the handlebars with one hand and held the work manual with the other, and rode the bike out of the post office backyard.

Brother Jue is a person who likes to multitask, so he thinks... he can read the work manual while riding the bicycle... so that he can combine the time for traveling and reading the settings. Anyway, the streets of this small town are empty, he only needs to look at the road with the corner of his eye to avoid riding into the ditch...

"Heh... it's really cold as f*ck to ride a bike without gloves in winter..." After Feng Bujue rode the bike onto the street, he took a few deep breaths of the humid air, and suddenly felt refreshed and cold to the bone. So... he decided to sing a song to warm himself up, "The first fog of 2002~ came later than ever before~"