LRAB Chapter 61 Empty Cloth
Chapter 61 Empty Cloth
Da Lu held a flashlight, the beam of light tracing paths through the darkness.
The rows of two-headed corpses hanging from iron hooks overhead were truly chilling.
He forced back the churning in his stomach and fixed his gaze on the huge cutting board in the center. The cutting board was stained dark brown with blood and had some rusty surgical scissors and large suture needles scattered on it.
In the bottom right corner, there was a thick, black, square-covered notebook. Da Lu's eyes lit up, and his fingers nimbly reached out to it.
This thing is very likely a key clue. Getting it will bring us a big step closer to higher ratings and points.
Turning to the title page, the handwriting was initially quite neat, suggesting it was taken with care:
[October 12th, cloudy. The location was perfect; the soil composition here is unique, and the accompanying fungal colonies of the twin flowers are growing vigorously.]
This place is practically a perfect breeding ground for high-purity hallucinogens. It's just that the villagers are somewhat ignorant, and communication is too costly.
On December 5th, the purification process went smoothly, but an adverse reaction occurred during the experiment. The villagers started causing trouble; they demanded money, and more money.
Greed is humanity's best self-control tool, but my funding chain has broken, and the side effects of the hallucinogens are starting to appear. They've become irritable and aggressive, even attacking us. Damn it, the situation is spiraling out of control.
As you turn the page further, the handwriting becomes increasingly illegible, the pen tip tearing through the paper, revealing a hysterical rage.
What should I do? People have been frequently entering the village lately. What if they find out? My life's work, my art!
I've dealt with them all. The back mountain is a nice place, but the truth will eventually come out. What should I do?!
The next dozen or so pages were covered in frantic scratches, the black ink tangled and knotted into a chaotic mess.
Da Lu could picture a person in dire straits frantically tearing at their hair at a table, venting their anger.
He turned a few more pages, and the handwriting reappeared, each piece of it frighteningly large.
[Hahaha, I've found a solution! Thank you, "eye"! It's watching me, and it gave me inspiration!]
Since we can't control madmen, let's make them believers.
Fear plus faith is the perfect chain. I will create a god, a god who belongs only to this place.
[The perfect twin materials have been found—the older sister and the younger sister—what a perfect work of art! I'm going to make it tonight!]
The text is followed by large blank spaces, suggesting that the recorder was eager to implement the plan after writing this passage.
Hallucinogens? Deification?
Da Lu's mind raced, piecing together these fragmented pieces of information with the current situation in the village.
In other words, the so-called twin gods are very likely a mass hysteria artificially created and catalyzed by hallucinogens.
He was just about to put the notebook in his pocket when a loud crash came from the steps.
"boom!"
Da Lu's fat trembled, and his survival instinct instantly took over. He quickly put the notebook back in its place and nimbly crawled under the cutting board.
The space under the cutting board was cramped, and there were several glass jars piled up, containing unknown kinds of internal organs.
He held his breath, covered his mouth tightly, and stared in horror at the entrance through the gap in the tattered cloth hanging from the cutting board.
The crisp sound of leather shoes echoed.
Leather shoes? In this run-down village, besides a few outsiders, who wears leather shoes?
A pair of black leather shoes covered in mud came into Da Lu's view. The newcomer began pacing aimlessly around the room.
"Waaah, God, my God..." For some reason, the person started crying, his voice suppressed and painful.
Then came another burst of maniacal laughter, "Hahahaha, how could this happen? I clearly succeeded! I was too greedy! God, you shouldn't have abandoned me..."
"Splash!"
A glass jar slammed to the ground, shards of glass flying everywhere. A dark yellow liquid flowed around Da Lu's hand, and a foul stench immediately filled the air.
Da Lu could only curl up into a ball, forcing himself to calm down.
The outburst lasted for a full ten minutes, leaving the basement in a complete mess.
Finally, the owner of the leather shoes seemed to have exhausted his strength, and his footsteps dragged as he slowly walked towards the exit.
The sound gradually faded into the distance until it disappeared at the end of the steps.
Da Lu remained under the chopping board for a full three or four minutes, making sure there was no more noise outside before finally removing his hand from his mouth and breathing heavily.
"Damn, that scared the hell out of me." He crawled out from under the cutting board, wiping the cold sweat and dust from his face.
Although I couldn't see their face, the person who came was definitely a key character in the story.
Don't stay here for long.
Da Lu grabbed the notebook from the table again, ready to turn around and run away.
As he took his first step, he suddenly remembered a fatal detail—when he came in, he had pried the entire statue open to one side, leaving the entrance wide open.
If that person came down from above, how could he not have noticed that the statue had been moved? If he had noticed, how could he have just vented his anger and left?
unless……
Da Lu stiffly turned his neck, his flashlight sweeping behind him, the beam cutting through the darkness.
A square face with a deathly gray hue, sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a strange smile on his lips, stood quietly in the shadows less than two meters from Da Lu, seemingly having been watching him for a very long time.
"Have you seen enough inside?"
……
……
The sun was high in the sky, its rays scorching, almost baking Lu Dan and Zhang Min.
Lu Dan wiped the sweat from his eyes, a glint of shrewdness flashing within him:
"Got it!"
Zhang Min, who was opposite him, was also in a sorry state. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, her hair was matted, and her hands were covered in dirt.
Upon hearing Lu Dan's voice, she instantly collapsed to the ground, panting heavily to regain her strength.
"Don't rest, Sister Zhang Min. We need to keep going at a time like this." Although Lu Dan was also panting, he quickened his pace. "The sooner we get the 'residents' out, the sooner we can finish our work."
He continued digging, quickly clearing away the surrounding loose soil, revealing a bright, striking red at the bottom of the pit.
This large piece of red silk, buried deep underground for many years, has not faded at all.
"Come lend a hand." Lu Dan jumped down into the pit and called to Zhang Min.
The two of them worked together to lift the heavy red package up and place it on the muddy ground overgrown with weeds.
The package felt strange to the touch; it was soft and squishy.
Without the slightest hesitation, Lu Dan reached out and grasped the knot of the silk: "Are you ready? The moment to witness a miracle."
He pulled sharply, and the red silk unfurled, creating a breathtaking scene in the sunlight.
Two heads lay in the satin, one on the left and one on the right, strangely "growing" on one body.
They looked like two little girls, only seven or eight years old, with pretty faces, even moisturized skin, and long eyelashes, as if they were asleep.
What's truly chilling is the stitching around their necks—thick, dense black cotton thread that resembles a giant centipede coiled between their skin and flesh, forcibly piecing the two heads together.
Time seemed to stand still the moment they were laid to rest; their bodies showed no signs of decay or stench.
Zhang Min covered her mouth, her face filled with disbelief.
Looking at the scene before him, Lu Dan gained a more direct understanding of the madman who created gods.
He stood up and walked toward the second burial mound.
Less than two minutes later, he touched a piece of cloth again.
Lu Dan dug through the soil, revealing a pale white expanse underneath.
But this white silk looks much thinner than the red one.
Empty?
An ominous premonition rose in Lu Dan's heart.
He jumped into the pit, reached out and pulled back the white cloth; it was light and weightless.
Inside, there were only flattened cotton wadding and a few withered branches; otherwise, it was empty.