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墨書 Inktalez
Three months had passed since the Siberian incident. On a drizzly evening, I found myself once again on the mountain road leading to Changling Village. This time, I returned due to a strange discovery: a new underground passage had emerged beneath the ruins of the village.
"Are we really going in?" Zhou Jing asked from behind me, her voice laced with concern.
I nodded. Ever since we had stopped that sacrificial ritual in Siberia, things had not completely settled. Remnants of military outposts were still being discovered in various locations, and the recent anomalies in Changling Village forced us to reassess this place where it all began.
The abandoned village was shrouded in a thin mist. The altar had been destroyed in an explosion, leaving only rubble behind. However, just a week ago, a villager reported hearing strange noises here, as if someone were conducting some sort of ritual underground.
"Here," Zhou Jing pointed to the ground.
A new iron door was partially exposed beneath the rubble, its surface rusted but clearly recently used. What caught my attention even more was the symbols engraved on the door—ancient characters we had seen in Siberia.
"Be careful," Jiang Zhendong's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie. He and the SWAT team were standing by outside the village.
I pried open the iron door with a crowbar. A chill breeze surged from below, carrying a familiar metallic scent of blood. With the beam of my flashlight, we saw a narrow staircase leading down into darkness.
"This place..." Zhou Jing observed the walls closely. "It seems much older than that previous basement."
Indeed, the cement on the walls had yellowed and peeled away, revealing stones beneath. These stones were covered in symbols so ancient they were nearly indecipherable.
At the bottom of the stairs was a circular hall. Unlike the previous altar, this layout resembled some kind of laboratory. A dilapidated operating table still bore rust stains, and several unknown metal devices hung on the walls.
"What are these?" I approached for a closer look at one of them. "Blood transfusion tools?"
"No," Zhou Jing's voice trembled slightly. "They're blood extraction devices. Look at these scales; they're specifically designed to measure blood volume."
Suddenly, I noticed a safe in the corner with its door pried open. Inside was empty except for a yellowed photograph.
The photo depicted a group of people in lab coats standing at the entrance of some underground facility. Although it was quite blurry, I recognized one face—the distinctive features belonged to Yamada, who had disappeared in Siberia. However, the date on the photo indicated it was from years ago when Yamada should not have even been born yet.
"Wait," Zhou Jing took the photo from me. "Look at this person."
She pointed to an elderly man wearing glasses in the photograph. Despite his age, his features were identical to Yamada Kan's.
Could it be...?
Suddenly alert, Zhou Jing whispered, "Someone's coming!" The sound of footsteps echoed from afar—more than one person.
We quickly hid behind a pile of dilapidated equipment as several figures dressed in black entered. By their flashlight beams, I saw they were all wearing bronze masks.
"Did you find it?" The leader asked, his voice aged and heavily accented.
"No," another replied. "The formula isn't here."
"Keep searching! Those experimental records must still be here. Only by finding them can we continue Professor Yam's research."
They began to search every corner of the laboratory. Zhou Jing and I held our breath, not daring to move. Just then, I heard one of them say, "Director, take a look at this."
The beam of the flashlight illuminated our hiding spot. In that moment, everyone froze. The leading elder stared at me for a few seconds before suddenly letting out a strange laugh. "We meet again, Officer Li. Or should I say, Li Mingzhi's son?"
That voice! A shiver ran down my spine as I recalled hearing the same voice on my father's recording. It was twenty years ago, on the night I last saw my father in Changling Village. "Nakamura Kenichi?" I trembled as I spoke the name.
"I'm glad you remember me," the elder said as he removed his mask, revealing a nearly translucent face. "It seems your father left you quite a bit of information. However..." His voice suddenly turned sinister. "Some secrets should have been taken to the grave."
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