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墨書 Inktalez
Suddenly, the red dot vanished into the night. I heard a cough, and someone spat on the ground. As the sound faded away, both Dezi and I let out a sigh of relief. We slowly stepped out from behind the tree, making sure to remember the direction in which that person had left. I realized that there was indeed something suspicious about this back mountain.
This area belonged to the Spring Return Nursing Home and had always been off-limits to outsiders. This meant that Mountain had not developed any tourist attractions here. Just as that person had said, who would be wandering around this dark Mountain at such an hour? Looking around, there was not a single light in sight, and I had no idea where these people might be hiding.
Dezi turned to me and said, "I can't believe we actually found this place behind Mountain. What do you think these people are hiding here for? Could it be that old man escaped from here?"
Hearing Dezi say this made me nod in agreement. "Now that you mention it, it's not impossible. That old man's clothes were tattered and full of holes; considering the state of this Mountain, most of them were likely torn by branches. It makes sense."
"If that's the case, then that old man is quite impressive," Dezi added. "It seems he ran like an animal to gain speed. If he was trying to escape from someone chasing him, it would make sense. But why did he give you a note?"
There were many possibilities regarding this question. For instance, the old man might have known he would soon be intercepted by security at Spring Return, so he was throwing out a desperate plea for help. Alternatively, he could have learned about the incident at the square earlier in the day and discovered my identity through some means. However, it seemed more likely to be the first scenario.
The old man was probably at his wit's end, knowing that if he got caught again, he would never get out. So even if he saw someone else, he might still hand them a note. Regardless of what was happening, since he was fortunate enough to encounter us, we needed to investigate further until we uncovered the truth.
I stretched my wrists and said to Dezi, "Let's follow those two people and see where they lead us. Be careful; I have a feeling this place isn't as simple as it seems. There might be guards around here. Proceed with caution and don't expose ourselves." As I spoke, I covered my phone with my clothing tightly and saved a draft based on my instincts.
As soon as we confirmed what was happening inside or if there was any danger, I would notify Juan Juan immediately so she could bring the Police Department with her. We needed to have a backup plan in case we needed to retreat safely without any worries.
We walked toward where the person had disappeared for several minutes until we felt the slope descending into what appeared to be a small basin within Mountain. As we moved cautiously along the edge and ventured deeper inside, the scene before us gradually became clearer.
By the dim moonlight, we observed ahead that there was an opening in one side of the basin's wall. The entrance was rectangular in shape with its inner walls polished smooth, indicating it was either man-made or naturally formed but later repaired by someone.
We dared not act recklessly and watched from a distance for several minutes before noticing no signs of activity; only then did we cautiously approach the entrance. The lack of guards at the opening relieved us somewhat. Standing at the entrance and looking inside at the Cave Wall, we noticed it was lined with tiles that felt very smooth to touch. Transforming a cave's Cave Wall into such a state must have required considerable money and effort.
As we ventured deeper into the cave, it felt like walking down an endless path into darkness. There wasn't a glimmer of light; as we went further in, even the moonlight outside couldn't penetrate this place, which made it quite uncomfortable. Dezi wanted to turn on his flashlight but I stopped him. I whispered, "If there's something going on in here, there’s no way they wouldn’t have electricity; perhaps they just don’t want anyone outside seeing any light."
"This place is extremely dark; if suddenly illuminated, it might alert those inside," I continued quietly while feeling along the Cave Wall as we walked forward. "Let’s proceed carefully along the Cave Wall; I suspect we'll see some light ahead before long."
My guess turned out to be correct; when we felt our way around a corner along the Cave Wall, we saw lights glowing in the distance—though they didn’t reach our location yet. It seemed clear that this had been calculated precisely to prevent light from spilling outside. Thus, even at night, no one would discover this place easily.
If it weren't for that guy who exposed himself, we probably would have never found this place. On that note, I suppose we should thank him—not him specifically, but rather his bladder. Dezi and I exchanged glances, both aware that it wouldn't be so easy to sneak in ahead.
We continued to move slowly until we reached the second turn. Fortunately, there were no cameras installed in the Cave Wall; otherwise, we would have been exposed before even entering. I activated my phone's camera and extended it outside, peering through the screen. Not far behind us, two individuals were guarding the passageway, dressed in the security uniforms of Spring's Return.
There was no doubt about it; this had to be the Spring Return Nursing Home. Our guess was pretty much spot on.
However, this was a straight corridor, brightly lit, making it impossible to bypass them. The question arose: how could we get inside without alerting the two guards? We leaned against the wall and discussed our options, trying to figure out how to proceed without drawing their attention.
We often see on TV shows where someone is eavesdropping outside and accidentally makes a noise, prompting those inside to check it out. In a moment of desperation, the intruder mimics a cat's meow, leading the conspirators to relax and say, "Oh, it's just a cat." Then the intruder escapes safely.
Such scenarios may drive a story forward but are far from realistic. No human can perfectly imitate a cat's meow. Go ahead and try; no one is foolish enough not to distinguish between a person and a real cat's sound. This method is simply not viable; it would make you look like a fool in front of your adversaries.
So what should we do?
I turned to Dezi and said, "In a moment, I'll stand in this corner and turn on my flashlight to cast my shadow on the opposite Cave Wall. At that point, the two guards should come over to investigate. That's when you need to act—can you ensure you can subdue both of them without raising any alarms?"
Dezi nodded and began stretching his joints. "Sure, but if they come one at a time, that could be problematic."
I slowly stood up and considered sending out the edited draft again. Moving deeper into the area posed risks; if we lost signal and couldn't send messages while being discovered, we'd be in trouble. Given the current situation, it was clear that Spring Return Nursing Home was involved in something shady; otherwise, they wouldn't have built their facility here.
However, if we were wrong, it would only mean that Juan Juan and her team would have to make an extra trip while we faced charges for trespassing. It was a gamble—but our odds were better.
With our plan set, I stood up straight as Dezi activated his powerful Wolf Tooth Flashlight and aimed it at my back. Instantly, my shadow was cast onto the opposite Cave Wall. Almost immediately, the two guards noticed something unusual. I moved slowly to make my shadow appear more elusive.
Although I couldn't see the guards directly, I could tell they had noticed my shadow by their conversation.
The sharper-voiced guard said, "Look! What is that shadow? Where are you looking? Over there on the wall—it's flickering! What is it? Did we encounter a ghost or something?"
The other guard seemed startled by his words and replied, "Stop talking nonsense! There are no ghosts in this world; it's just people scaring themselves. It must be some tree casting its shadow or something—just ignore it..."
"Sharp Security" said, "What trees? You know very well that corridor is a circular passage. There are no trees, no light. How could shadows just appear on the wall out of nowhere? We both know what goes on here. Are those dead souls coming to find us? Amitabha, Bodhisattva Buddha, Holy Mary Marilyn Monroe, Jesus Grandpa, please bless us..."
Another security guard replied, "Stop talking nonsense. Could it be that someone inside has escaped again? Didn't an old guy run out this morning? I heard he almost got taken away. The higher-ups are very concerned about this matter. If someone escapes again, not only will we lose our jobs, but we might even lose our lives..."
At this point, both of them shivered and said, "Then we should hurry over and take a look."
As they spoke, I heard footsteps—two pairs of them. "Sharp Security" shouted as he walked closer, "Is anyone there? Who's standing there? Speak up! If you don’t say anything, we won’t be polite!"
I could tell that "Sharp Security's" voice trembled; it was clear he was trying to bluff. I slowly backed away while straining my eyes to see in their direction. The moment they came into view, I would make a move to attack, allowing "Dezi," who was pressed against the wall, to strike first.
The footsteps grew louder and seemed to be right next to us. Both "Dezi" and I adjusted our breathing, trying to relax and ensure we were ready for combat. Closer and closer they came. "Sharp Security" continued to shout, "Don't scare me! Who's there? Come out!"
Then, two figures came into my sight. I clenched my right hand into a fist, signaling "Dezi" to attack. At that moment, the two security guards also peeked around the corner. We stared at each other in surprise.
"Dezi" had already made his move!
The high school student had been kidnapped along with the leggy school beauty and the busty third-tier celebrity, trapped in an abandoned cabin after mistakenly eating unknown wild fruit, feeling feverish in the middle of the night.
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