Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Five
The Preservative Solution had already risen past my ankles, its acrid smell wrapping around my throat like an invisible hand, nearly suffocating me. Xiao Zhang tightly supported Zhang Xiaomei, struggling to move through the dim underground passage. The girl’s half-wooden body creaked with every step, producing a sound that was painfully reminiscent of some ominous omen echoing in this eerie underground.
“Captain Li, it seems there’s a fork ahead,” Xiao Zhang’s voice trembled slightly as the beam of his flashlight flickered uncertainly in the darkness, revealing two diverging paths. From the left came faint mechanical sounds, as if some intricate machinery was tirelessly at work; the right was thick with a heavy stench of blood, reminiscent of a vast slaughterhouse, the air saturated with the scent of death.
“Help... help me... he’s still holding onto others...” Zhang Xiaomei’s voice suddenly broke through, weak as a flickering candle in the wind. Her fully woodenized finger trembled as it pointed towards the right passage. “In... in that workshop...”
I tightened my grip on my sidearm, my heart pounding like a drum. A workshop? Could that be the lair of this mad puppeteer? But could this also be a carefully laid trap? After all, Zhang Xiaomei had already been transformed halfway; who could guarantee she still retained her own consciousness? Was her guidance merely an invitation to hell?
“Captain Li, the Preservative Solution is rising too quickly!” Xiao Zhang’s voice was filled with panic. Indeed, that icy liquid had already reached our calves; if this continued, we would become “art pieces” submerged in the preservation pool, just another decoration in this underground maze.
“Follow me!” I gritted my teeth and made a decision, leading the charge down the right passage. Even if it was a trap, it was better than waiting to die. Moreover, if there were indeed other victims, we had to do everything we could to rescue them. As police officers, it was our duty and our mission.
At the end of the passage stood a heavy iron door, from which an eerie blue light seeped through the cracks, resembling the eye of a beast lurking in the darkness. I signaled for Xiao Zhang and Zhang Xiaomei to hide around the corner while I crept closer to the mysterious iron door like a gecko.
“Welcome to my workshop,” Old Carpenter’s voice suddenly emerged from behind the door, raspy like sandpaper scraping against wood. Each word felt like a dull knife scraping across my nerves. “Your arrival has made my collection even more complete.”
I kicked open the iron door, and what lay before me froze me in place as if I had been petrified by Medusa’s gaze. It was a vast circular workshop, its walls adorned with various puppets in grotesque poses—some danced, some cried, while others held onto their last moments of struggle. Each one appeared so lifelike that they seemed ready to spring to life at any moment. Scattered across the workbench were various tools: saws, chisels, planes, and... a bloodstained scalpel still glistening with fresh flesh.
The most chilling sight was the operating table at the center of the workshop where a living person lay. His limbs had been replaced with exquisite wooden prosthetics; his chest was wide open, revealing half-mechanical and half-flesh innards. He was still alive; his eyes darted wildly within their sockets but emitted no sound—like a fish trapped on a cutting board.
“Perfect, isn’t it?” Old Carpenter stood beside the operating table, wearing a bloodstained work uniform and sporting a sickly smile as if admiring one of his handcrafted masterpieces. “This is my latest work; I’ve replaced his vocal cords with those of a music box. Come now, let’s hear what kind of music he can play.”
He wound up the mechanism in the victim's chest, and an eerie music box melody filled the air—a stark contrast to the victim's expression of agony. The music echoed like a dirge from hell within the workshop, each note steeped in death's essence.
“You madman!” I raised my sidearm, my voice trembling with rage. “Stop this at once!”
“Madman?” Old Carpenter scoffed derisively as if hearing an absurd joke. “Artists are all madmen. Only a crazy soul can create eternal art. Look at these puppets; how perfect they are! They will never age or betray you; they will always maintain their most beautiful forms...”
At that moment, I noticed an unnatural movement of his right hand—it was a switch! Before I could pull the trigger, the ground suddenly shook violently; the floor of the workshop split into several sections like monstrous mouths revealing a deep pool below that exuded an acrid scent of Preservative Solution.
“You will also become my most prized creations,” Old Carpenter laughed maniacally, his voice filled with madness. “Let’s begin your transformation!”
The puppets on the walls suddenly sprang to life as if controlled by invisible strings, jumping down and advancing towards us step by step. Simultaneously, the victim on the operating table sat up; the music box's tune turned sharp and piercing like Death's requiem.
I fired several shots, the bullets shattering a few puppets, but more of them closed in from all directions. Xiao Zhang pulled Zhang Xiaomei back to a corner, and my magazine was nearly empty. Preservative Solution was continuously seeping up from the cracks in the floor, and it wouldn’t be long before it flooded the entire studio.
In this critical moment, Zhang Xiaomei suddenly let out a sharp scream. “That... that switch!” Her wooden finger pointed to a red button at the top of the studio. “That’s... the emergency drainage device!”
I looked up, a glimmer of hope rising within me, only to be quickly overshadowed by despair. The button was at least three meters off the ground, guarded by several particularly grotesque puppets wielding sharp tools. How could I reach that button before the Preservative Solution engulfed us? More importantly, could we really trust a “puppet” that had already been partially transformed? Was her guidance just another trap?
The Old Carpenter grinned wickedly as he raised a scalpel, its blade glinting coldly under the eerie blue light like a serpent's tongue flicking out. “Come on, let’s finish this final masterpiece…”
“What the hell is going on? Where... where is this place?” Xiao Zhang’s voice trembled with a hint of tears, sounding particularly helpless in this bizarre environment.
“What are you afraid of? We’re police officers!” I tried to sound calm, even though my palms were already drenched with sweat. “Zhang Xiaomei, are you sure that button is for drainage?”
“I... I’ve seen the blueprints…” Zhang Xiaomei’s voice was shaky. “In... in his studio… there’s a hidden compartment…”
“Li, we… we don’t have time!” Xiao Zhang’s shout interrupted our conversation; the Preservative Solution had already risen to our knees, its biting cold slowing my movements.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. Now, we had to make a choice: trust Zhang Xiaomei and search for that possible emergency drainage device, or continue battling these puppets until we were completely submerged by the Preservative Solution?
“Xiao Zhang, cover me!” I tossed aside the empty magazine and drew my baton from my waist. “I’ll try for that button!”
“Li, you’re crazy! Those puppets…” Xiao Zhang’s words were cut off as several puppets lunged at us.
There was no time to hesitate! I gripped the baton tightly and charged forward like a cheetah. The puppets swung their tools at me. I dodged a chisel and tripped one puppet with a sweeping kick. But more puppets closed in; their movements were stiff yet relentless, showing no signs of fatigue or pain.
“Hey! You little bastards! Grandpa’s here!” I shouted as I kicked one puppet away and leaped, trying to grab onto a beam at the top of the studio.
So close! My fingers brushed just centimeters away from that beam. At that moment, one puppet slammed into me hard, knocking me to the ground.
The Preservative Solution had now risen to my waist, and despair washed over me. Were we really going to die here?
“Li! Catch this!” Suddenly, Xiao Zhang's voice rang out.
I looked up just in time to see him throwing Zhang Xiaomei’s completely wooden hand towards me with all his might.
“Use... use it... to press the button…” Zhang Xiaomei's voice was barely audible, but her gaze was unwaveringly determined.
I grasped that hand tightly; though it was cold, it was filled with strength. With all my might, I hurled it towards the red button.
Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The hand arced gracefully through the air and landed squarely on the red button.
A loud rumble echoed as the floor of the studio began to rise slowly, and the Preservative Solution receded. We were saved!
“Hahaha…” The Old Carpenter's laughter suddenly turned hoarse. “Do you think… this is the end?”
I turned around to see him approaching us step by step, a bloodstained scalpel in his hand. His eyes were filled with madness and despair.
“The game… is not over yet…” He threw the scalpel at me with his last ounce of strength.
I instinctively shut my eyes. However, the pain I anticipated never came. When I opened my eyes again, I saw Zhang Xiaomei standing in front of me, the scalpel embedded deep in her chest.
“You… you…” A flicker of shock crossed the Old Carpenter's eyes before he collapsed to the ground, breathless.
“Xiaomei!” I rushed over and held her as her body began to rapidly turn to wood. “Why did you do this?”
“You… you are the police…” Zhang Xiaomei managed a faint smile. “There are more… people… who need your help.”
With those final words, her body completely transformed into a puppet, forever frozen in that moment.
Comment 0 Comment Count