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墨書 Inktalez
"Is there?" Yang quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe himself. "With so much money spent, why not hire someone? Why make it so hard on yourself?"
"This officer, business is tough, really tough," I didn't correct his misunderstanding about me.
"By the way, officer," he turned to Big Yellow again, "if you have any other questions, feel free to ask. I'll cooperate as long as I know anything."
Big Yellow thought for a moment and asked, "Yang, how long did my colleague stay here besides asking questions? Did he do anything else? Was there anything unusual?"
Yang was taken aback. "The police just came to ask questions and left. What could be unusual? It was simple and didn’t take long."
I instinctively glanced at the corners of the wall and noticed the surveillance cameras. "Yang, can you pull that footage up for us to take a look?"
"Ah, that... there’s been a bit of an issue with that. The hard drive seems to be broken and couldn’t record anything. It was just fixed a few days ago. How about I show you the footage from when your second batch of colleagues came?" I noticed Yang starting to sweat again.
Big Yellow replied, "That won’t be necessary. We're just here for routine inquiries; we won't disturb you further. We'll be leaving now."
I interjected, "Boss, our police station often handles this kind of surveillance; I'm quite familiar with it. How about I help you take a look?"
Yang quickly waved his hands. "No need, no need! The computer's main unit is locked, and the key is with my partner; I can't open it."
I stared at Yang for a moment, but he avoided my gaze and turned to rummage under the cash register. He came back with two plastic bags and approached us. "These are promotional CDs sent by the supplier; they contain recent music samples with good sound quality." He forcefully shoved the two black plastic bags into our hands. "Officers, take them home and give me some feedback on how they are; consider it helping me promote my business. Next time, bring more friends to visit!"
Big Yellow opened one of the bags and took a look. I leaned in closer; it was just a CD with nothing on it. Is this considered bribery? I wondered. Big Yellow tossed the plastic bag back. "Nonsense." Yang panicked upon seeing this and grabbed Big Yellow's arm. "Officer, I meant no harm! I give these to every customer; please help me promote it. Your colleague took one last time too; listening to music before bed helps with sleep."
Initially planning to refuse the CD as well, I suddenly changed my mind upon hearing this and followed Big Yellow out of the store with the bag in hand. After walking down the street for a while, Big Yellow suddenly asked me, "What do you think?" I replied straightforwardly, "Yang definitely has something going on! I don't know if it's related to our investigation, but we can't overlook any possibility; you need to dig into his background." Big Yellow nodded silently while I checked my phone; it was almost four o'clock. "I have to head back now; I'll come find you tomorrow. Don't worry; I'll make sure we get to the bottom of this."
As for Big Yellow, that was another matter altogether. Shortly after I returned to the unit, we began roll call after dinner. The Company Commander went home, and the Instructor returned to their family quarters. Well, as the Squad Leader of A Row, it was naturally my turn to blow the whistle again. You might not believe it, but one tradition in the military is singing before meals; over a hundred people in our unit stand at the cafeteria entrance singing while someone conducts.
As everyone was eager to eat, the tempo started slow and gradually sped up until it became increasingly fast-paced, making it hard to hear or understand the lyrics—even the conductor was flailing about like he was cramping up. When I first encountered this during training at military school, I was quite surprised; however, I gradually got used to it. Very few people actively stepped up to conduct; since joining this unit, I've never taken on that role myself.
I looked over and saw He Baisha standing at the front of the line. "He Baisha, go lead us in a song," I said. Reluctantly, He Baisha shuffled forward. I stood at the entrance of the cafeteria, watching, and casually grabbed a bun from a warrior's basket as they served food. It was filled with meat—quite good, I bit into it eagerly.
"Two tigers, two tigers, ready—go!" I burst out laughing and took a couple of steps forward, kicking He Baisha down. He Baisha protested, "I just can't sing; why do I have to go up?" I reluctantly followed along at nearly double the speed, trying to keep up with everyone as we learned about Lei Feng, the good example, waving my hand to signal, "Time to eat!"
After dinner came cleaning up, tending to the vegetable garden, and watching the news broadcast. By the time we were truly free, it was past seven-thirty. After thinking for a while, I remembered something about Big Yellow and felt even more confused. Just then, He Baisha suddenly rushed in with a few warriors wanting to use the computer room (a place where several warriors had their own computers that were managed by the unit; no internet allowed but they could play against each other). I couldn't help but chuckle; this guy needed some exposure—wasn't there a free music CD available?
I pulled out the CD that Yang had given me and led a few warriors into the computer room. Surprisingly, the CD cover was quite exquisite—was it "Top Ten Classics"? It was hard to tell if it was Western or Eastern. "He Baisha, you all play around; just find a computer with speakers and let everyone listen to this CD."
"What is this?" asked a warrior from Henan named Tang as he leaned closer.
"What is it? Just something nice to listen to," I replied irritably, mimicking his dialect. These kids only knew how to play; they went wild whenever the Company Commander or Instructor wasn't around. Tang stuck out his tongue and found a computer to play on.
As I watched the CD load into the main unit, I turned to leave.
Suddenly, a heavy bass thumped through the room. My first impression was one of oppression and darkness. Soon enough, I felt my heart involuntarily syncing with the rhythm. Before long, my mood inexplicably plummeted; my limbs felt weak and heavy as despair welled up from deep within me.
The music continued—thump-thump-buzz… It felt like it was right next to my ear. Struggling to turn my head slightly, I caught sight of several warriors sitting dazed in their seats; some looked pained while others were already in tears. This music was problematic! I forced myself to shout, "He Baisha! If you hear me, turn off the computer!" No response! Stumbling slightly, I leaned against the doorframe and realized my consciousness was starting to blur.
Just then, the music abruptly stopped! Leaning against the door, I slowly sank down onto the floor to catch my breath while glancing around the room; several people looked just as affected as I was. I heard Tang shouting, "Is there a power outage?! What are you all doing?" Following his voice, I saw Tang standing by a computer in the back with headphones on, stepping on an extension cord. Thankfully he had unknowingly unplugged it! After a while, I began to feel better. Before I could say anything, He Baisha mumbled, "Squad Leader, what kind of song was that?"
"You played that disc; didn't you see?" My chest still felt tight and nauseous.
"I only remember something about Black Friday and My Path."
I stood up and ignored him as I plugged everything back in and took out the CD. "Just playing a joke on you all; this can't get out. I'm helping a friend with an experiment."
Not caring whether they believed me or not, I quickly took the CD downstairs and called Big Yellow. "Big Yellow," I paused before continuing, "that Yang has some serious issues. The CD he gave us—I just listened to it—and it's really strange. Several warriors are feeling like me: unable to control themselves—oppressed, in pain, desperate—basically losing control of their bodies. I'm worried that if we listen any longer something bad will really happen."
Big Yellow was clearly shocked. "Really? He's that bold?"
"What’s so bold about him? If something really happens to us, who knows how it happened? The disk doesn’t have his name on it; he can easily claim he knows nothing."
"I'll go check on the master later," Big Yellow said, not being foolish. "Right, find a disk that says Top Ten Classics on it. Don't listen to it! We need to figure out his background first. Let's meet with Ming before we go look for Yang together."
After hanging up the phone, I wondered if Dai Liu's death was related to this music. If it really was, then why would Yang want to eliminate Dai Liu? What had Dai Liu discovered about Yang? He was only going to ask the witnesses for their statements; how could that threaten Yang? It seemed all the answers lay with Yang.
The next morning, I hurriedly took a leave of absence and rushed into the city. As soon as I met Big Yellow, I asked him, "Did you find the disk?" He nodded and pulled out a disk. I quickly took out mine as well, and upon comparison, they were identical. However, we didn’t dare to play it recklessly.
"What’s Yang's background?"
"Local guy, a thug. He just got released from labor education last year. He’s done everything—fighting, brawling, selling pirated disks and books."
"Has the shop been checked?"
"The shop isn’t his; the registration shows another person."
"If we find that person, then Yang lied."
"That won’t help."
"What do you mean?"
"That person is already dead." Big Yellow looked quite Strange.
"What’s going on here?"
"He jumped off a building, just about two weeks ago."
"There’s a big problem! Big Yellow, find this person's home; we need to pay a visit." After some twists and turns, we indeed made a discovery. In the home of this partner, amidst a pile of both genuine and pirated CDs, we found the Top Ten Classics!
Big Yellow is quite a rule-abiding person. He reported all these suspicious points and the related CDs to the bureau and then applied for the arrest of the suspect. I didn’t understand much of this process, but since it had already begun, I knew I couldn’t be of any help. I could only say goodbye to Big Yellow and leave first.
Before returning to the unit in the afternoon, I made my usual trip to the internet café. However, this time I wasn’t there to play games but to gather information. Yes, I was researching the Terror music. I found information about Black Sunday and learned that the first person to commit suicide after listening to it was a British officer. He was quietly resting at home when he inadvertently started listening to a record delivered by the postman; the first piece was Black Sunday. After finishing it, his soul was intensely stimulated, and he subsequently took out his pistol and ended his life. This incident shocked all of Europe; people felt both terrified and curious, with many searching for similar experiences. In Italy, a musician who heard about these strange occurrences felt confused and tried playing it on his piano in his living room, only to die beside it, leaving behind a note on the sheet music: "The melody of this piece is too cruel; it is not something humanity can endure. Destroy it."
The song Black Sunday has circulated with heavy mystery and eeriness ever since. Some analysts suggest that during World War II, due to financial and war crises coupled with the excessive sadness of this piece, people were filled with despair about life. Others argue that the song's scale exceeds what humans can bear, and its expression of sorrow resonates deeply with listeners, making them increasingly immersed in it until they cannot extricate themselves.
My Path was originally one of the popular songs in the Philippines known as My Way. It tells the story of an elderly man nearing death reflecting on his life with friends, facing life's challenges with strength as he walks his own path. However, over the past decade, at least six people have been killed while performing this song at karaoke venues, leading to the establishment of a criminal file known as the My Way Blood Incident.
There are various explanations for these phenomena: physicists claim that Black Sunday is just an ordinary piece of music; only its final segment includes infrasound, which humans cannot tolerate because it resonates with internal organs, causing disorientation and thoughts of loss of control or suicide. If the infrasound is too strong, it can even directly damage internal organs leading to death. Psychologists believe that this is due to psychological suggestion. Highly suggestible individuals easily accept stimuli; once they receive related stimuli, they activate all their body's defense systems. In such a state, people tend to overestimate the dangers of events occurring, leading to excessive reactions. Thus, fear of death music stems from distorted perceptions of this music.
Strangely enough, there are numerous versions online, but almost all have been identified as fakes. Where did those sheep's music come from? Has the sheep heard it? If not, how does he know it can kill? Is he that confident? With these questions in mind, I reluctantly returned to my unit because this had already exceeded my imagination and capabilities.
Later on, I learned from Big Yellow that the sheep was charged with distributing dangerous goods but was not arrested due to lack of direct evidence linking him to Dai Liu's death. According to Big Yellow, some so-called Top Ten Classics were found in his shop and home; the bureau has confiscated them for destruction. When tracing their source, the sheep insisted he didn’t know anything about it—perhaps he had mixed up orders and taken someone else's goods—and that was where things ended. However, I always felt it wasn't that simple; even a single piece of music could wield great power. Who compiled this collection? What was their purpose?
Finally, you must be wondering if my feelings are real. I think if you are a person, do not attempt to download them or test their authenticity one by one; perhaps there is a true version hidden somewhere on the internet. The next victim could be you!
Joyful Kill concludes here! Stay tuned for the next chapter: Disappear—Love Like the Wind—The Work of Chasing the Wind—tomorrow promises more excitement!
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