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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I heard a rapid knocking at the door and immediately ran to the living room.
Damn it, could it be that Fatty Zhang is right outside my door? I quickly opened the door and saw a plump figure raising a hand.
Fatty Zhang and I locked eyes, both of us stunned for a few seconds. Then he grinned at me and took off running.
Once I snapped back to reality, I chased after him. This damn fat guy was finally going to get caught; let’s see where he thinks he can run.
Fatty Zhang dashed down the stairs, and I quickly followed.
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell. I called out to him, shouting, “You dare come looking for me and still run away?”
The last time we met was in the woods by the river, but he had escaped then too, though he had been watching us with those beady eyes.
Looking back now, he must have been up to some nonsense. As I yelled for Fatty Zhang, I kept chasing him. But he ignored me completely, running like a madman. People always think that fat people are clumsy and tire easily, but right now, I realized that was a misconception because I had been chasing Fatty Zhang for three blocks already.
I was about to collapse from exhaustion, yet this guy still had energy to spare.
At that moment, we were about fifty meters apart when we both stopped to catch our breath. I was panting heavily and said to him, “Is there anything we can’t discuss face-to-face? Why do you have to sneak around like this?”
Fatty Zhang leaned against the wall in front of me, looking worse off than I was. He said, “I don’t want to do this either! But I have to.”
I asked, “Why?” Holding my breath, I calculated my next move. Since Fatty Zhang was this tired, if I held my breath and pushed myself hard enough, I should be able to catch up.
While talking to him, I mentally prepared myself to take off. Counting silently in my head—one, two, three—I bolted after him as soon as I reached three.
But Fatty Zhang wasn’t slow either; almost as soon as I took my first step, he started running again.
Damn it! This guy's reflexes are surprisingly sharp. Fatty Zhang said, “Chen Fei, don’t waste your effort; I know you inside and out.”
I was really out of breath and was about to give up when Zhang, the chubby guy, said to me, "Aren't you going back to check? If the package gets lost, you'll regret it."
I asked, "What's inside? It wouldn't be another bloody hand, would it?"
Zhang laughed and replied, "Do you think I'm as foolish as he is? By the way, keep your guard up. He seems to have gone mad and might attack you at any moment."
After hearing this, I froze for a few seconds before asking, "Are you talking about Brother Li?"
Zhang confirmed, "Yes, it's Li Qiang. It seems someone has tampered with him; otherwise, he might have helped you. But now, that's impossible."
I didn't quite understand what he meant at first, so I asked, "Zhang, can't you just be straightforward for once?"
Zhang took a deep breath and said, "Chen Fei, don't worry. I'll tell you all the secrets when I can. But I can't let you swallow everything at once; otherwise, you'll choke on it and might even endanger your life."
I cursed inwardly. Wasn't he just trying to avoid telling me? He had to come up with such an excuse.
I asked Zhang, "Does all the secrets relate to the funeral home?"
By this time, Zhang had recovered enough to look at me and said, "You're wrong. The secrets of the funeral home are just the tip of the iceberg."
Hearing this made my heart tremble inexplicably.
If the secrets of the funeral home were just the tip of the iceberg, then where was the real iceberg? I fell into deep thought.
Zhang urged me again, "Chen Fei, hurry back and watch over that package. If someone takes it while you're away, it could lead to trouble."
After saying that, Zhang ran off into the distance. I didn't chase after him; instead, I left the alley and hailed a taxi to go home. I thought that even if I caught up with Zhang, he wouldn't tell me anything anyway.
It was better to go home and see what was reliable in that package.
About fifteen minutes later, I arrived at my doorstep. Fortunately, the package Zhang had given me was lying safely at my door.
It was a cardboard box, measuring fifteen centimeters in both height and width. I carried the box inside the house, where Gao Ling was still not awake. She must have stayed up too late playing games last night.
As I opened the package, I found some photographs inside, along with a CD. The photos still featured five people, but the appearance of the Fifth Person had been obscured.
The other four were me, along with the chubby guy, Brother Li, and Zhang Xun.
I stared at the photo, lost in thought. The background depicted a village, with an archway in front that read "Zhang Family Village."
After gazing at the picture for a moment, I suddenly exclaimed in surprise. It seemed that the chubby guy also had the surname Zhang. Could there be a connection between him and Zhang Xun? Or perhaps between him and Zhang Family Village?
I still remembered what the chubby guy had said: the most obvious feature of Zhang Family Village was that all its inhabitants were dead—there wasn't a single living person. Just thinking about it sent chills down my spine; a village would typically have at least dozens of people, and sometimes even hundreds or thousands.
To have so many people die all at once was simply terrifying!
I continued to stare at the photo before inserting the CD into my computer to watch it. The content on the CD was still in black and white, and the image was unstable, constantly fluctuating.
As I sat in my room watching, I quickly saw a smiling face—the owner of that smile was Zhang Xun. The scene soon switched, and I heard the sound of rushing water, as if by a riverbank. Then I heard someone shouting for help.
It wasn't just one person; many voices were calling out together, and their cries were filled with desperation.
The scene quickly changed again, and I heard a voice confessing.
It was a woman's voice. She said it was April 1st, 198X, and it was sunny. This marked the hundredth day since I met Fei; he was a really nice boy, and I liked him—he just happened to like me back.
Upon hearing this, I was taken aback; however, her words successfully captured my attention. I waited for more, but the scene switched again.
I had only heard the girl's voice earlier without seeing her.
Now I couldn't help but glance at the progress bar—it showed only one minute remaining. The image continued to fluctuate, accompanied by a crackling sound.
Then the girl's voice came through again: "Today is April 4th, 1983. It's overcast. I'm sad because Fei has left me forever..."
"What?" I exclaimed in surprise, even though I knew I was just watching a video. I couldn't help but voice my question.
Of course, no one could answer me, as I was the only one in the room.
I felt even more confused. The date April 1, 1983, marked a hundred-year anniversary, and on April 4, Fei died.
Naturally, this Fei might not refer to me. My name is so common—Chen Fei. You could walk down the street and easily find a bunch of people named Fei.
I sat there in self-denial, but despite my denial, I still felt uneasy inside.
Did Fei really die on April 4, 1983? I continued to watch the video, feeling an inexplicable cold sweat forming in my palms as my heart began to race.
But the progress bar was about to end, and then the woman's voice came through again. This time she laughed and said, "Today is June 1, 1983. I met Fei again. He gave me a seal that he really liked. Of course, if he liked it, I would too. I plan to keep this seal he gave me safe in a place we both know." Her tone conveyed happiness and anticipation.
I wanted to keep watching, but the screen had already frozen, revealing that strange pattern from before.
I stared at the screen and was about to turn off the video when suddenly the previously paused image moved again. Hadn't it just stopped?
Finally, the woman spoke once more.
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