Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 48: Human Skin Puppet (Part 46)
I continued to listen intently, and the content was even more infuriating. I heard every word exchanged between the two of them.
The Wild Ghost said, "It was still my illusion that deceived everyone, including that cautious and unyielding Qin Jian." They were here, whispering quietly in front of everyone, making it clear that these people were not real at all.
Gousi's corpse was fake; no wonder no one went to pay their respects, no wonder there was no sense of a soul's presence. And then there was Xie Ke—
I glanced at Xie Ke, who remained silent, drinking heavily.
Perhaps my gaze was too focused, catching Xie Ke's attention. His eyes quickly scanned the area, and I hurriedly turned my head away, but it was already too late.
Xie Ke stood up, his eyes fixed on my hidden position. The Wild Ghost asked him what he was doing, and he replied that he was going out to take a look.
I couldn't just wait here foolishly; I had to leave when Xie Ke stepped out. I retraced my steps quietly and swiftly left the area. I crouched several meters away from the house and saw Xie Ke emerge. He glanced at where I had been standing before and then crouched down to examine the spot closely.
My heart sank. I hadn't paid attention to whether I had left any footprints. If I had, they would find me quickly.
This illusory space contained both truth and deception, just like Qianmi; what you see isn't necessarily real, and what you hear isn't necessarily false. Gousi, someone I respected greatly as a Tomb Raider, turned out to have a more sinister and terrifying side—so perhaps it was all true?
Qin Jian had once gone to find someone who took Yu away; that person claimed to be Yu's friend and was also the son of a powerful figure with complex relationships in the Station.
I had always found it strange how that powerful figure's son knew Yu. Now it seemed everything was part of a conspiracy planned by the Wild Ghost and Gousi.
Xie Ke looked out the window for a moment. Someone inside called for him; he acknowledged with a sound and glanced my way before hurriedly returning inside.
Initially, I wanted to rely on my own abilities to track down Ling Juan, but now it seemed impossible. I needed to find a breakthrough through one of the people in this house and then use the clues they provided to locate Ling Juan along with the real Qin Jian and Chi Xinrong.
About half an hour later, someone left the house, retracing their steps.
Fortunately, the worst I had feared did not happen. This led me to speculate that Xie Ke had not informed anyone inside about what he saw at the window; otherwise, they wouldn't be so calm. It seemed that Xie Ke was the key figure I needed to find a breakthrough. I took note of this, feeling that the time difference between this illusory space and reality was quite significant.
When I entered this illusory space, it appeared that night was about to fall in the real world, while in this realm, spring was in full bloom. The warm sun shone down on me, yet I felt no heat; it was as if the sun were made of paper cutouts.
I glanced at the sun and continued to patiently crouch down, waiting for the right moment to strike.
Most of the people in the house had left. The fake Qin Jian and Chi Xinrong arrived at the door last, looking around before following the original path out.
A fake is a fake; no matter how you look at it, it feels different from the real thing.
The time in this illusory space was truly problematic. My eyelids felt heavy, and I was starting to feel sleepy, yet there were no signs of nightfall anywhere.
Finally, Xie Ke walked out last.
I lunged forward and grabbed him. He struggled fiercely and asked, "Who are you?" If he were the fake Xie Ke, he certainly wouldn't know who I was; even if he saw me, it would be the same. But if he were the real one, I could inadvertently hurt him if I wasn't careful. Thus, I unconsciously loosened my grip and stepped directly in front of him.
Xie Ke paused slightly. "It's you?"
"Me? Who am I?"
"You don't know your own name?"
"Um, can you tell me?"
"I don't know, so it's better not to know." Xie Ke spat out a few words through clenched teeth, then forcefully pressed my head down, twisting my neck with his arm. Was he trying to kill me? I struggled against his grip, stepping back and nearly losing my balance. Luckily, I managed to steady myself and glared at him, the tension between us palpable.
I asked in a low voice, "Are you really Xie Ke?"
Xie Ke remained silent, his eyes filled with fierce intensity as he attempted to regain control over me.
I waved my hand and exhaled heavily. "Stop messing around, I'm Ma Qi."
Xie Ke paused for a moment, straightening up with a serious expression. He whispered, "You really are Ma Qi! Not some imitation Human Skin Puppet of Ma Qi?"
If Xie Ke was surprised by my existence, I was even more astonished by his words. What did he mean by an imitation Human Skin Puppet of Ma Qi? Had they really replicated me? Seeing my shocked expression, Xie Ke continued, "Don't be surprised. They can replicate even a single strand of your hair. Not only that, but they can also successfully obtain the memories of the original. One day, if they succeed in implementing this plan, the whole world will be doomed."
"And how do I know you're not an imitation?" I retorted.
"The imitations have no body heat; they're like corpses. Their skin can be replaced, but the internal structure is plastic. Even the blood is real; within the imitation Human Skin Puppet's skin lies cells that produce blood naturally."
No wonder when we dissected that corpse, her blood was real while the skeleton beneath the skin was made of plastic. This world was truly on the brink of collapse. What were those wild ghosts and Gousi really up to? How could their evil collaboration be unraveled?
As I pondered this, I suddenly realized we were in the territory of wild ghosts. If they discovered I was here with Xie Ke, it would be disastrous.
Noticing my concern, Xie Ke said, "Don't worry. I saw footprints by the window earlier and found it strange. So when I was about to leave, I deliberately sabotaged the surveillance in this area." I had to admit that Xie Ke was quite bold; this trait reminded me of Old Xie.
Thank you, Master had made a name for himself in the police force as well. If it weren't for an accident, he would have surely accomplished great things in law enforcement.
"So what do we do now?" I asked, feeling odd about posing that question. Usually, it was others asking me what to do next—like Qin Jian; whenever he was with me and hit a bottleneck, he'd always turn to me for guidance.
"Take out your phone and check the time," Xie Ke said.
I pulled out my phone, and the time on it had frozen at the moment I left the real world—exactly five o'clock in the afternoon. In this illusory space, however, the time displayed was one o'clock in the afternoon.
"You know what to do now, right?"
Damn, Xie Ke's solution is just about adjusting the time? If I set my phone to the correct time, I could disrupt this illusory space. But I still hadn't found Qin Jian, Chi Xinrong, and Ling Juan. How could I do that?
"Follow me."
Xie Ke called for me to follow him. He led the way while I trailed behind. Several times, I wanted to get closer and see if he had any warmth of a human being, but each time he sensed my intention and I instinctively dismissed the thought. We walked slowly, stopping frequently; he seemed more alert to our surroundings than I was.
Comment 0 Comment Count