First-hand investigation
Bai Yunxian didn't bring back many souvenirs from her trip, just a few small bottles and bags, and a video recorded by her personal camera, which Xiao Fu is currently watching. Due to equipment and conditions, the video content is somewhat limited; the flashlight illuminates only uniquely structured, dark coffins, almost embedded in the rock wall, and the light and shadow at the junction of the rock and wood seem to writhe as the light shines through.
Seeing that the person had returned safely, the group decided not to stay in the cave any longer and began to head back.
“The original framework inside is now almost completely rotten. I took some pictures of the traces. There are stalactites all over the ground and walls. There’s a leak, but the upstream is probably almost dry.” Bai Yunxian said while packing up her equipment. “There’s nothing usable or that we can take with us, and there’s no record of anything.”
"...That's how it should be." Little F said with some disappointment, handing the camera back to the other person.
Bai Yunxian cut off half of the items she had brought with her, saying, "These are for you."
Xiao Fu picked up each one individually and examined it. "Considering the environmental limitations, I'd say your collection skills are barely acceptable, Miss Bai Yunxian. Thank you for your efforts."
After speaking, she looked at Bai Yunxian, waiting for others to speak.
"...The camera didn't capture it, but I saw it." Bai Yunxian remained silent for a long time, looking at the glasses she was holding, and said, "Inside those coffins used to deposit adipocere, there were so many—"
“Miss Bai Yunxian,” Xiao Fu interrupted her, sighed softly, and said, “You know this part yourself. If you don’t tell us, we don’t need to know or worry about you, and you would want that too, right? So please only tell us about other discoveries.”
“...Alright.” Bai Yun put her glasses back on and picked up her toolbox. “According to the records, Aunt Cheng clearly believed that the reactivation of the corpse was related to the heart starting to vibrate again, or to the vibration of the heart caused by something underground. At that time, they discovered that they could control the heart rate by using changes in the prefrontal cortex. They conducted experiments using the diners’ reactions, and the perforated props in the greenhouse and the outer compartment also confirmed that they had tested this.”
She paused for a moment, and seeing that Xiao Fu didn't respond, she continued, "In other words, they believe that the fundamental reason for the resuscitation of the corpse's heartbeat is the stimulation of the prefrontal cortex, and the psychologists agree. But the records also state that some corpses were sent in with brain damage. What are your thoughts on this contradiction?"
“My view is that the target of the stimulus is unrelated to the regular sensory information that the brain processes,” said Franz. “The stimulus is to another sense, and the change in heart rate is a manifestation of nerve impulses.”
“…Using the brain directly as a sense is indeed a luxury, but that’s not a reason to kick it out.” Bai Yunxian closed the toolbox. “What sense are you talking about?”
“Soul,” Little F said.
Bai Yunxian did not reply for a moment.
Xiao Fu didn't care about the brain researcher's feelings. She pulled her suitcase and followed the group out until they returned to the tunnel fork where they had started. She stopped and asked, "Are you planning to continue your investigation?"
“Yes.” Xie Wuchang nodded. “We hope to find traces left by the union members here.”
“In the humanities and social sciences, there’s always something we can remember,” Diana said with a smile. “And our dear Captain Xue will support us!”
Xue Rong chuckled under Bai Yunxian's gaze.
“Good.” Little F nodded. “We still have some things to investigate here. We’ll meet up outside in a bit.”
"...There's nothing else here for you to see," Xue Rong said, frowning. "You want to see that transport machine?"
“It’s its place of origin,” Little F corrected.
"You want to go down." Bai Yunxian, who had followed behind, walked up to Xiao Fu, looked directly at him, and frowned as she said, "You want to go underground to see the destination of those corpses that are walking upright again."
“That’s right.” Little F nodded. “And not just me, but all of us.”
She turned to look at Cheng Xiangwu and said with a smile, "You're coming with me."
That smile was familiar, an unsettling familiarity.
Before Cheng Xiangwu could respond, someone stepped forward and stood between her and Xiao Fu.
"...Are you out of your mind?" Bai Yunxian questioned. "There's nothing down there except corpses and mine tunnels. What were you going down there for? To prove that the corpses were souls that were drawn to that direction? What's the point of proving that?"
“I’m not crazy,” Little Fu said, dissatisfied. “There’s a source down there. It’s okay if you don’t believe me. I’ll go down there, and you’ll see the truth and find the evidence.”
“The records have confirmed that no one who gets close to that place has a good ending. There has to be a limit to seeking the truth. If we ignore morality and ethics, then we should only look at the threat itself. You didn’t ask me for funding, so I can’t control what you want to do.” Bai Yunxian’s eyes did not waver, and even became more stern. “If you want to jump, go by yourself. Don’t drag her along. She will die if she is stabbed in the heart.”
“Bringing up that amount of stone would be enough to send the two of us back and forth. I don’t plan to stay here forever.” Little F didn’t seem to care. “You didn’t find any evidence of the so-called resurrection procedure in there, did you? Let me tell you why.”
She smiled brightly, her eyes shining like ghosts, "Because the parts that came back to life have all gone down to the so-called paradise."
Bai Yunxian took a deep breath and spoke again, her voice filled with anger, "...you—"
She couldn't get angry.
“There’s a chasm called curiosity between you and Ms. Cheng Song. You have no desire to explore life itself; you only care about what you already care about.” Xiao Fu ignored the anger in her eyes and stepped forward. “That underground vibration is the source of feeling. Why would a person willingly cut off their own head? Because their heartbeat resonates with it, and their soul makes a decision. Why does the corpse stand upright again? Because adipocere, as an insulating material, seals the remaining soul within the body. The heartbeat is stimulated by the underground vibration and thus revives. The soul wants to leave, but the corpse tries to hold it back, so after negotiation, the head with the most wrinkles is cut off and handed over. Why do you turn a blind eye to the hunters in your own sky? Because your senses are dulled. The heartbeat is merely a tool providing the frequency the brain needs, and it does not respond to the feelings of the soul.”
She scoffed and took another step closer. "I've known all this for a long time. If I didn't need to translate for you humans, I wouldn't have come here to find evidence. I could have written it all down at home. You don't believe me because you can't see the soul, these inward-facing senses within the outer skin of your brain. You only become impatient to find the cause when it causes you real trouble. What makes you think the brain processes everything? Just because your senses are on your face? Just because of oxygen? Just because you humans can laugh when you're happy, get angry, have tinnitus, feel sad, and cry?"
That cold, arrogant voice echoed in the tunnel. After speaking, Xiao Fu snorted and stepped back from the range of the aggressive conversation.
"Only visible problems can be solved. Can you see the soul?" Bai Yunxian questioned.
After a moment of silence, Xiao Fu spoke, "...I can't see, but—"
"Isn't that the end of it?" Bai Yunxian sneered, her tone unwavering, her pace even quickening. "Do you think the soul is some novel topic? We can't see the soul, Aunt Cheng can't see it, Lin Che'an can't see it either. Haven't we seen enough of these supernatural tricks? We're trying to understand and solve the problems you call the soul using methods we can see, and you're just going to overturn all of this with a single 'Why?'?"
She stepped forward, raised her chin, and said coldly, "The brain is the part of the body with the most problems, so dealing with the brain can solve most of the body's problems. I admit that my capabilities are limited, but when the problem is right in front of us, who cares about such things? You talk about curiosity? What is curiosity anyway? You think it's a noble quality, so you can use it to justify denying historical experience?"
"Hey, hey." Xue Rong looked at the two of them, raised her hand as if to offer some advice, but didn't know what to say.
“Let them argue,” Cheng Xiangwu said. “They’ve always been like this.”
“Sigh…” Xue Rong sighed.
"If you think curiosity isn't important, then you shouldn't be a researcher!" Xiao Fu retorted. "Without curiosity, Ms. Cheng Song wouldn't have achieved what she has today. Do you dare deny that?"
"Her curiosity solved the problem, but your curiosity caused trouble. To put it bluntly, could you have explained in advance what you would bring back from your trip down there?" Bai Yunxian asked, then laughed, "My mother has already brought back all the machines that you could have brought back, oh, except for those related to the soul. We can't touch those things, we can't use them, and we don't need them!"
"You dare assume my actions are meaningless?" Little Franz asked angrily.
“Yes.” Bai Yunxian adjusted her glasses. “Do you dare to explain your real reason for going underground? To satisfy your curiosity? To obtain the materials you want? To find evidence to prove your theory of the soul? To prove that you are right?”
With each instance of her saying "her own," Xiao Fu's face darkened further, until the last question ended, at which point the person being questioned regained his composure.
"...Who do you think you are?" Little F said coldly. "Why should I prove the significance of my actions to you?"
“…Fine, you don’t need to.” Bai Yunxian adjusted her glasses, then turned and pointed outside the cave. “This is my family’s construction site. Get out of here now.”
She pointed to the path and people automatically made way for her.
"Now you're saying this is your home?" Little Fu sneered. "Is this it? Did Ms. Bai Langtao notify you about the mining project? Did you inform her before you came here? Do you dare tell her? You don't dare!"
She can speak for another person's thoughts.
"What's it to you?" Bai Yunxian said indifferently.
“…Yes, it has nothing to do with me.” Little F pointed to the cave behind him. “I don’t want to get involved at all. Your family’s actions do no good for this planet, and your mother is even worse—”
"Thump—"
Bai Yunxian threw the toolbox on the ground, grabbed Xiao Fu by the collar of his shirt, and said angrily, "With your moral standards, who do you think you can question?!"
"Hey, hey!" Xie Wuxian was a little worried when he saw the two of them start fighting.
"It's alright," Cheng Xiangwu waved her hand and said, "Even if the two of them really fought, they wouldn't be very lethal."
"Think about the scratches in that coffin, don't you want to laugh when you talk about morality?!" Xiao Fu grabbed Bai Yunxian's vest collar and shouted angrily, "Your behavior is meaningless! Historical experience? They're all wrong! Any surgery that doesn't remove the root cause is useless!"
"So you're right? What can you do down there? Cause another earthquake? I don't care whether it's geological or academic!" Bai Yunxian pointed at Cheng Xiangwu, "If you want to die, go die by yourself, I won't stop you, but don't drag her into it!"
"What I do is none of your business!" Xiao Fu looked at Cheng Xiangwu, "What she does is also none of your business, you know that?"
“Eh…” Cheng Xiangwu didn’t even know why the argument had turned to her.
"Hehe." Diana laughed. "What should we do, fellow travelers?"
Bai Yunxian was silent for a moment, then released Xiao Fu's collar and turned around, "...Cheng Xiangwu, you didn't want to die, did you?"
Cheng Xiangwu spoke, "...Of course..."
“I told you I didn’t intend to stay here, and of course I didn’t intend to leave her life here.” Xiao Fu also loosened the other’s clothes, straightened his collar, and squinted his eyes as he said, “Besides, you told me before, Five Spices.”
"What did we agree on?" Bai Yunxian asked, frowning.
Xiao Fu didn't say anything, he just stared at Cheng Xiangwu.
“…Cheng Xiangwu.” Bai Yunxian turned to face the person she was speaking to. “You have no need, no reason, should not, and should not think about going down with her.”
She was using a declarative sentence to confirm that the person being addressed should nod.
“But,” Cheng Xiangwu said, avoiding eye contact, “I did agree to work with her to solve the problem.”
Little F smiled.
"...What are you talking about?!" Bai Yunxian was shocked. "It's okay if you didn't understand what we were saying earlier, but you should have understood the last part, right? If you didn't understand, I'll repeat it."
She stepped forward, held Cheng Xiangwu's head, looked directly into his eyes, and said, "What I want to say is, don't go. If she can solve the problem, then let her go. If she can't, then your going won't do any good, understand?"
“…Xiao Bai.” Cheng Xiangwu looked at the glasses and said, “If that’s what you think, then why did you come here with us?”
Bai Yunxian was taken aback, her grip loosened slightly, and she paused before saying, "...Because, I..."
Cheng Xiangwu shook her head and said, "It's okay, don't worry." She thought for a moment, then stepped forward and hugged the other person, patted her back, and said, "Actually, I don't understand what you're saying. I haven't been convinced by either of you."
After all, she only graduated from high school, and whether it was math, physics, chemistry, mysticism, or medicine, they were all no different from magic to her.
“…I’m truly speechless.” Bai Yunxian sighed and patted Cheng Xiangwu on the back, asking, “Just because you made an agreement with her, you’re willing to risk your life with her without asking any questions?”
Hugging seems to be the fastest way to share a heartbeat. Bai Yunxian's heartbeat slowly returned to calm, as did hers.
"More or less," Cheng Xiangwu said, "but I don't intend to die here."
After all, the work isn't finished yet.
"Who cares what you plan to do?" Bai Yunxian said angrily, and slapped Cheng Xiangwu hard on the back.
“…Many people are waiting for you outside,” Xie Wuchang said. “We are too, so see you in a bit.”
"Come back alive!" Diana waved and said.
Cheng Xiangwu released his grip on his subordinate's shoulder, turned around and nodded to the group, then walked towards Xiao Fu and said, "Let's go."
"I'm not the one wasting time." Xiao Fu turned around with satisfaction, picked up his overturned suitcase, and walked deeper into the main tunnel of the mine.
The passage to the left of the fork in the road was completely blocked by iron mesh, making it dark inside. But if there wasn't even a sound of wind, then there was no way to go. The only remaining feasible path was the middle one, and the tracks underfoot indicated that this road led to the origin of the stones and the quarrying site.
The traces of machine excavation along the tunnel have been worn away by time, but the nets and wall lamps covering the rock walls look like they were recently replaced and have a considerable lifespan remaining. The peculiar smell of the green paint has been largely dissipated by the wind in the cave, while the iron chains hanging from the top remain unmoved by the wind, as if they are in a meditative state.
After walking for about ten minutes, the gravel road underfoot gradually climbs onto black and white checkered tiles. Of course, this is not for the staff who are bored and cannot access the Internet to play Go, but for parking a mine workroom.
"This is it," Xiao Fu said, quickening his pace.
A breeze surged out from deep within the tunnel, lingering for a while in this roughly twenty-square-meter workspace after passing through the dark passageway, before blowing out again along the passageway.
Half of the workshop resembled the interior of an excavator, with a metal pipe resembling a trumpet flower standing on the ground. Inside, there were joysticks, pedals, a dashboard, and a modern screen. The monitoring footage from an unknown depth underground was motionless on the screen. The entire scene of the photos consisted of a semi-enclosed track resembling a roller coaster, and the corners of the rock walls had patterns that looked like they had been artificially aged.
Gloves were hanging on the shoulders of the soft chair, but the operator was missing. Xiao Fu walked over and found a booklet in the yellow-lidded plastic box next to the seat. He began to refer to the instructions on the dashboard, trying to quickly get the site technician on duty.
The other half of the work area was filled with various wearable equipment, and faded posters of standard safety clothing donning guidelines were pasted on the walls. First-aid kits and cola cans were piled up in the corner. Under the wall lamps were various instruments that Cheng Xiangwu would never have the chance to learn about. She walked around and saw a doorway in the corner, which led to another half-hidden compartment. Inside the compartment, a huge hollow rotating wheel was fixed in the air, with rusty iron chains wrapped around it, connecting to a bottomless black hole below, like a well, but a mine shouldn't be here.
"That's for counterweights." Bai Yunxian's voice came from afar. She didn't carry the toolbox, but only wore a pair of gloves, and strode towards the operating area where Xiao Fu was.
“…You don’t get a chance to play now,” Little Franz said, dissatisfied.
"Of course there is one!" Bai Yunxian held out her hand. "I'll open it. You can go in."
"You can operate an excavator?" Cheng Xiangwu was genuinely surprised.
"...First of all, this isn't an excavator, and secondly, I don't know how to use it." Bai Yunxian adjusted her glasses. "But tools are meant to be used by people, and the functions that people can use are all traceable. Alright, give me the instruction manual."
Xiao Fu didn't say anything more and handed over the instruction manual.
"I won't go into details about safety." Bai Yunxian took the book, took off her quartz watch and handed it over. She then held Xiao Fu's watch as he took it, locked her gaze on him, and said, "I'll wait here until sunset. I'll leave when the time comes, but if you're the only one coming up, I'll shoot."
"Thank you for your time, Miss Baiyunxian." Xiao Fu snorted coldly, took the quartz watch and threw it directly to Cheng Xiangwu, who caught it and stuffed it into her pocket.
"You're welcome, please take it with you," Bai Yunxian said.
“…Okay.” Cheng Xiangwu took it out again and put it on. The extra weight on his wrist felt quite strange.
Following the model's example on the poster, the two donned their belated construction site safety gear and continued walking along the tracks deeper into the tunnel. Despite being fully covered in the gear, Xiao Fu carried his suitcase with light steps, looking quite like a tourist.
At the end of the conveyor belt is an open mine car elevator waiting for passengers. The space is comparable in size to an apartment living room. There is an emergency control panel on one side, as well as another horn-shaped copper pipe standing on the ground.
"This elevator is for the intelligent coal mining machine," Xiao Fu said, looking at the panel. "It's the machine that's parked at the tunnel entrance."
“After all, there wasn’t time to customize tools since the project was started urgently.” Bai Yunxian’s voice came from the copper pipe. “Once you’re ready, stand in and get ready to rappel down.”
"How fast?" Cheng Xiangwu asked as she stepped inside.
“Within the machine’s capacity,” Xiao Fu said, stepping inside with his suitcase. “It’s much better than freefall, I won’t complain.”
After the safety bell rang, the freight elevator began to descend. To be honest, it wasn't fast, even slower than the dedicated elevator on the top floor of Bai Bai Company. Perhaps this was due to the machine's relatively low self-repair capability.
“Although Miss Baiyunxian’s remarks are subjective, some of her doubts are indeed reasonable and have given me pause for thought, especially regarding the part about the brain,” Xiao Fu said.
“You should talk to her about this,” Cheng Xiangwu said. “She can talk to you, but I don’t understand.”
“…I’ll find a way to make you understand.” Xiao Fu said with dissatisfaction, “Ms. Cheng Song’s records and case records both show that the UFO’s hunting behavior was quite ruthless. Whether it was before or after its sensors were damaged, it would die instantly as long as the conditions were met.”
Back in the quarry experiment, people were harmed as soon as that thing appeared. Looking further back, in the description of the Bai family case, the victims mostly had no chance to resist. And in the recent Senhu No. 2 Middle School case, there was even a phenomenon of it entering dreams to conduct large-scale hunting.
The condition was that it would be hunted as soon as it was seen. The fire at Wuxianglou only deprived it of the means to hunt actively, not to mention that the union members themselves later resumed this means.
“However, we have encountered more than one exception now,” Xiao Fu said. “From front to back, excluding you and me, the investigation team members, Lin Che’an, Bai Yuntian, Gu Wanqiu, and Gao Ersen, all of them actively came into close contact with the target and were unharmed, at least for a short time. I speculate that there is a process from seeing to accepting, and this process is related to the brain.”
“Aside from the brain-numbing effect of the candle, they have all studied that thing to some extent,” Cheng Xiangwu said, pondering their commonalities. “We don’t know much about Bai Yuntian, but given her working in the ancestral hall, I don’t think she would accept it directly.”
“…That’s right.” Little F said, then suddenly sighed and laughed. “I think that thinking about its ‘existence’ is distracting. The brain, as the central nervous system, protects its senses, even if they have been neglected for a long time.”
Our senses are never picky and are always crying out for food. They often only begin to quiet down when they are damaged. Before that, the brain will use various means to tell them, "You are tired, take a break," and then start to feel sleepy on its own.
"What about Lin Che'an?" Cheng Xiangwu asked. "She's already become someone's HR manager."
"...She sees her boss as a helicopter, and her job is to help carry passengers," Xiao Fu said. "Miss Lin Che'an would not accept a helicopter as her spiritual sustenance and moral standard, let alone that her god is someone else."
"She's religious? Who is she?" Cheng Xiangwu asked in confusion.
“Herself,” Little F sneered. “Isn’t her desire to usurp the throne obvious enough?”
How could a clergyman's goal for promotion not be God? Cheng Xiangwu felt convinced and planned to ask the other person about it later.
"Ask her about her career plans?" Xiao Fu asked curiously.
“Ask her if she can leave me alone now that she’s become a goddess,” Cheng Xiangwu said. “At least stop harassing me.”
The freight elevator descended at a speed that kept everyone's feet off the ground, the metal frame sinking towards the earth's core. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and a deafening roar filled their ears. Accompanied by these warnings, they were heading irreversibly toward the truth, the destination of truth seekers, the heart of the matter.
About three minutes later, the speed slowed down. The railway used by the coal mining machine, which had been seen in the surveillance footage, appeared bone white under the flashlight. Cheng Xiang waved to the surveillance camera and turned to follow Xiao Fu, who was eager to go inside.
The entrance to the mine shaft was only the size of a freight elevator, but when she occasionally raised her flashlight, the limited light source couldn't illuminate the abyss above her head, though there were no bats.
"This is the tunnel that cracked after the earthquake thirty years ago." Little Fu walked along, taking pictures with great interest. "It's really thanks to the mountains that it was cleared; otherwise, the cleanup of the old mine tunnel would have taken at least two years."
"Now you can finally tell me why you came here, right?" Cheng Xiangwu pulled her suitcase for her.
“We need to try to bring that presence back,” Little F said.
"...and then it triggered an earthquake?" Cheng Xiangwu asked.
“That would be such a waste!” Little Franz corrected. “We should try to capture it.”
She made no attempt to hide her excitement, as if her goal was some magical little elf, though it was pretty much the same.
"We," Cheng Xiangwu repeated, "What is my role in all of this?"
"First, you need to light it; second, you need to hold it in place." Little Fu pointed to the suitcase and smiled mysteriously. "I brought something good."
After about five minutes of walking, the rock walls on both sides of the track, which had been hidden in the shadows, gradually moved closer to the center. The tunnel, which was originally the same as the track itself, gradually shrank into a corridor outside the classroom. After another ten minutes, the passage could only accommodate one person at a time. The track came to an end, and the surveillance cameras and wall lamps disappeared. The remaining path could only be traversed by flashlights and one's own two legs.
After reaching this point, Cheng Xiangwu could occasionally hear the sound of dripping water. The rock walls on both sides were damp, like the walls of a southern city during a humid season, but not cold, or perhaps she just couldn't feel it. There was no path suitable for people or wheels to walk on, so Cheng Xiangwu had to carry her suitcase.
The dripping sound grew louder and louder, accompanied by the sounds of footsteps and rolling wheels. The source of the echo and the leak must be just ahead.
“The geographical location here is quite a distance from the pool of water that Miss Du Qingyu showed us, or rather, the point where those people returned the statue thirty years ago.” Xiao Fu’s voice echoed in the space. “But the cracks must be connected. The water from Sen Lake also leaks here. When the rainy season comes, the groundwater will backflow and wash everything here, and the amniotic fluid it carries will seep into these rocks that are originally unremarkable, in order to expand the scope of its influence. In other words, apart from that pool of water, this is the nest that is most similar to its environment.”
"So you're planning to set a trap here?" Cheng Xiangwu frowned. "But that thing will disappear on its own. You saw it too. I can't kill it."
“But it can’t kill you either, just like Miss Lin Che’an. Your senses are particularly weak, and your mind is extremely stubborn. It’s a top-notch glove.” Xiao Fu stopped in front of her and turned around. Under the flashlight beam, her eyes still had a unique brightness in the field of vision. “In the past, you targeted its exoskeleton and ganglia. This time, I need you to grab its sensors.”
"You mean those seaweed hands?" Cheng Xiang asked five times.
“…You can also use this analogy.” Little Fer nodded reluctantly. “Logically speaking, it shouldn’t be aggressive when not hunting. You control it, and I’ll collect the materials. If things go smoothly, you can complete your task today.”
Both reason and hypothetical, Cheng Xiangwu couldn't be optimistic about the outcome, but the temptation to complete the task was just too great.
“Okay, one last question.” She stopped her suitcase next to Little F and looked ahead. “How do we start a fire?”
A trickle of water falls silently from the darkness, gliding over stalactites and continuing down its smooth edges until it gathers in a pit about four or five meters in diameter. Occasionally, foam rises to the surface, and the sound of dripping water comes from below the pit, as it leaks water to another underground source.
“The ingredients used in the Wuxianglou menu and wax oil are different. I can’t delve into Ms. Cheng Song’s special skills as a chef, but after reading those records, I’m sure she wouldn’t do something useless.” Xiao Fu squatted down, opened her suitcase, took out several bottles and jars and dumped them on the ground. Finally, she took out a camera. “Fire is not accepted simply because it lacks a suitable catalyst. If we can’t get Baiyuntian’s adipocere, we can use this as a substitute.”
The camera's side cover flipped open, and with a click, a debit card popped out. Xiao Fu took it out, placed it in his palm, and casually tossed the camera back into his suitcase. "Take this. It's time for the cremation."
Cheng Xiangwu held the memory card in her left hand and the lighter in her right, waiting for Xiao Fu to be ready before lighting her left hand with her right, and then lighting the familiar cup of wax on the ground with her left hand.
If all goes well, Mori Lake City will be able to return to its former peace.
“…I haven’t heard such an optimistic idea in a long time,” said Little F, who was still squatting on the ground.
The space is cramped, and even the slightest movement seems particularly abrupt.
"Do you have other ideas?" Cheng Xiangwu asked.
“I won’t tell you,” Little Franz chuckled. “But why do you want peace in Forest Lake City?”
“Because this is my home,” Cheng Xiangwu said.
"...Why do you take it for granted that I would agree with your views on family?" Little F said, her tone so calm that it didn't sound like a question.
“Okay…” Cheng Xiangwu thought for a moment and replied, “Because if it’s not peaceful here, it will be very troublesome for me. I will often think about things here, and being distracted during missions is deadly.”
“…That’s true.” Little Fran said in a low voice, stood up, turned around and clapped his hands. “That’s about enough, let’s get started.”
The "good thing" she was referring to was a square-topped, double-headed iron fork, less than a meter long, entirely black, and when a flashlight was shone on it, strange glowing cracks would appear and disappear.
"This is a device that can completely separate individuals with the same magnetic field," Little Fu introduced with considerable pride. "Not to mention that size, it can easily handle even one ten times larger."
"You're the one who needs to deal with it," Cheng Xiangwu reminded him.
“…Of course I know!” Little F urged impatiently, “Alright, hurry up and get started.”
Cheng Xiangwu didn't say anything more. She lit the lighter, and it took longer than she expected to ignite the memory card. Fortunately, the flame eventually reached the card. She bent down and put it into the wickless cup of wax. The flame quickly grew until it regarded the entire cup of wax as its combustible base.
Igniting it was much simpler than she had imagined.
The flames grew from a small, intense ball to a point where they could burn the skin even through the safety suit fabric. Cheng Xiangwu stepped back to make way for him, while Xiao Fu stood motionless, staring at the bright colors of the flames reflected on the rock wall.
The bright color suddenly dimmed.
As if the candlelight had wiped away the shadows that had been covering them, the enormous shadow that had always been above the two of them slowly emerged as the light expanded. The cloaked figure descended upside down into the narrow space. It did not take on the appearance of anyone, but rather resembled a jellyfish swimming towards the depths of the ocean, ignoring most of the rules and obstacles of the world, slowly and unstoppably falling, meeting the fire in its gaze.
No matter how many times Cheng Xiangwu saw it, he only had one thought.
“…How could something like this appear in Mori Lake City?” She frowned and spoke in a low voice.
The firelight did not shine into its hood, and there was still nothing in the blackness. It approached the ground in a falling posture, without bringing wind or being disturbed by it, but whenever the candlelight flickered, the color and shape of the cloak also swayed along with it.
In the darkness, it reached out its hand, as if wanting to touch the light and heat.
Cheng Xiangwu grabbed the seaweed by hand. Through her gloves, it was lighter and thinner than she had imagined, like a shadow itself. So she quickly pulled it, wrapped it around her hand twice, and tightened it.
Without her prompting, Little F raised the metal fork, gathering its strength to thrust it towards its target. The heavy razor blade touched the cloak but didn't pierce it; instead, it continued its downward trajectory due to inertia, dragging its target down with it. Upon contact with the flames, it began to tremble and fluctuate violently, the black band coiling and contracting, and countless black thread-like objects surged from the inside of the cloak. However, these did not stop the iron fork, which was still pulling itself downwards, nor did they attack anyone; they simply flooded everything in the narrow crevice like a tide.
Cheng Xiangwu, who was closest to it, was instantly engulfed by the black tide through her protective suit. She didn't let go of the force, and the black tide caused her no harm, like a gust of wind. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her head, and at the same time, the iron fork finally pierced its target into the ground. Xiao Fu tried to step forward, but the ground beneath her feet began to vibrate.
The cloak fell to the ground, turning into an indescribable pool of color that twisted and spread. Upon contact with the pool, it gradually merged with it. Black lines leaking out from it surged wildly toward the tiny crack. In an instant, a black wave swept everything toward the crack, tearing open the opening that could only accommodate water flow. Everything swept away leaked down with the premature downpour and into the glowing space.
After losing its balance, the body rolled uncontrollably down the newly opened tunnel. Shi Feng tore open the protective suit, and light rushed into his eyes. Before falling into the water, Cheng Xiangwu saw the black, thread-like body spread out a giant net to seal the collapsed tunnel entrance and catch some of the liquid that was leaking down. Finally, it twisted and contracted again, transforming into a suit of silver armor, and jumped out of the tunnel and disappeared without a trace.
Amidst the deafening crash and an increasingly intense headache, Cheng Xiangwu fell into the water and heard the sound of her heart beating.
Of course it's not hers.
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