Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
The cold air outside the office seemed to freeze in my lungs, like swallowing a blade.
The threat was real, the fear was real, and the truth of my mother's abduction... was even more brutally real.
I didn’t return to the autopsy room; that place was now filled with an oppressive presence from the "Shadow" and an unshakeable suspicion towards Lu Li.
I had only one thought: to go home.
Not to seek comfort, but to go back... to search for her, to find every trace of my mother that remained.
The city at midnight resembled a massive, silent beast. As I drove, I felt the surrounding darkness could pounce at any moment and swallow me whole.
My mind replayed that blurry video over and over—the silhouette of my mother struggling, and the cold voice of the "Shadow": "She learned some... secrets she shouldn’t have known."
Secrets.
The "Perfect Specimen" project.
The laboratory.
My hands gripped the steering wheel tightly, knuckles turning white.
Finally, the car stopped beneath a familiar building.
I looked up at the third floor; my mother’s room was shrouded in darkness.
That was once the place where the light would turn on every night before she went to sleep.
Now, only endless darkness remained.
I pushed open the entrance door. The old hallway light sensed my arrival, creaking as it flickered on, barely illuminating the narrow corridor.
An inexplicable chill surged up from my feet, more intense than the night wind outside.
I took out the key and inserted it into the lock.
The door... was slightly ajar.
My heart sank, and my blood ran cold in an instant.
The bolt hadn’t fully retracted, as if something had carefully nudged it open.
Trembling, I pushed the door open. The room was shrouded in darkness, with only the faint moonlight outside barely outlining the shapes of the furniture.
A chilling, unfamiliar presence filled the air, mingling with the faint mustiness that lingered in my home.
I immediately sensed that something was off.
It was too quiet.
Like the eerie stillness before a storm.
My gaze fell on the living room window, where the latch that had once been tightly secured was now... loosened.
The window had been pried open.
Alarm bells rang in my mind; the warning of that "shadow" echoed in my ears. He had truly come, or rather, his people had come.
They not only knew what I was investigating but even knew where I lived!
A sense of foreboding gripped me instantly, like a cold hand tightening around my throat.
Danger was now just within reach.
I didn’t turn on the lights. Instead, I cautiously surveyed the room in the dim light.
On the surface, everything seemed untouched.
The cushions on the sofa were still in place, and the documents I had casually placed on the coffee table were still there.
But the more serene it appeared, the more it sent chills down my spine.
They had been here, and… they likely took something or left something behind.
I walked straight to my mother’s room.
This was the only place I almost dared not enter since my disappearance.
Everything inside remained as it was when she left, like a frozen time capsule.
The clothes in the wardrobe, the jars and bottles on the vanity, even the book on the bedside table that was half-open.
I stood at the doorway, took a deep breath, and suppressed the tumultuous emotions within me.
As I stepped into the room, the cold sensation intensified.
My mother’s presence seemed to linger, that faint scent of soapwort mixed with the aroma of old wooden furniture.
My hand brushed across her desk, my fingertips grazing a layer of fine dust.
It had been a long time since anyone had been here.
My gaze wandered over the desk, searching for any signs of disturbance.
Suddenly, my eyes fixed on a corner.
The drawer of my mother’s desk, usually locked, contained some of her important belongings.
At that moment, the drawer... opened slightly, revealing a narrow gap.
The lock had been violently broken.
My heart raced, almost bursting from my chest.
They had tampered with my mother's drawer!
What was inside?
I rushed forward, trembling as I pulled the drawer open.
It was a mess; the neatly stacked documents were scattered about, and some small jewelry boxes had been overturned.
But the most striking thing was a yellowed diary lying at the very bottom.
On the cover of the diary, in my mother's delicate handwriting, were written a few words:
"Do not forget the truth."
These words struck me like a bolt of lightning, instantly clearing the fog in my mind.
Do not forget the truth?
What truth? The truth about my mother's disappearance? Or the truth she discovered in that laboratory?
My fingers brushed over those words, feeling the rough texture of the paper, as if I could sense my mother's emotions when she wrote them.
Did she know she was in danger? Did she have a premonition of something?
With immense curiosity and trembling hands, I opened the diary.
The first page contained my mother's daily records—her work and the mundane details of life.
It seemed perfectly normal.
I quickly flipped through the pages, my heart racing faster with each turn.
Until I came across the entries about the "laboratory."
Her handwriting became hurried, the letters somewhat scrawled.
She wrote about her experiences working in that mysterious laboratory, detailing her initial excitement and later unease.
She described the cold instruments, the researchers in white coats, and those... "subjects" that were brought in.
"The Perfect Specimen Project."
This name stood out starkly in her diary.
With a tone filled with fear and doubt, my mother recorded the details of this project.
Those so-called "subjects" were not specimens at all; they were living people!
They were cut open, modified, injected with unknown substances, enduring inhumane torment.
And all of this was aimed at creating some kind of... perfect being?
The diary did not elaborate on what this "perfect being" was, but my mother's words were laden with moral struggle and terror.
She had witnessed too much darkness and ugliness; she wanted to escape but found herself caught in a massive whirlpool.
"I cannot continue like this; it’s too terrifying. They are not conducting research; they are creating monsters. I must do something; I must expose everything and free those innocent people."
The words of my mother were filled with despair and solitary courage.
She wanted to resist.
I could imagine the turmoil and immense pressure she felt when she wrote these words.
Tears silently fell from my eyes, dripping onto the diary, blurring my mother’s handwriting.
It turned out that her departure was not an accident, nor was it a runaway; she sought to expose the truth but was silenced!
In the last few pages of the diary, my mother’s entries became more fragmented, filled with unease and haste.
She seemed to sense the approach of danger.
Suddenly, a blurry photograph slipped out from the diary.
I picked up the photo and examined it closely in the moonlight.
The image was hazy, as if taken secretly.
It depicted a man wearing dark round-framed glasses.
His face was somewhat gaunt, with sharp features, and there seemed to be a faint smile at the corners of his mouth.
Though indistinct, this person...
Su Nian... I felt as if I had seen him somewhere before!
A strong sense of familiarity surged within me, tightening my nerves.
Where had I seen him? When?
Is it related to my mother? Is it someone from that laboratory?
My mind raced, trying to dig up information about this man from the depths of my memory.
The last few pages of the diary were filled with my mother's worries and love for me.
"Nian Nian, my darling, I’m sorry I can’t be by your side anymore."
"You must be strong and live well."
"Don’t trust anyone. When you’re not strong enough, hide yourself."
"If you see the secrets in this diary, please fulfill what I couldn’t complete and expose their crimes."
"But you must protect yourself at all costs."
My mother’s handwriting became blurry here, as if it had been smudged by tears.
I could no longer hold back; I covered my mouth and cried out loud.
Twenty years!
I thought she had abandoned me. I thought she didn’t love me. I thought I was just a forgotten orphan.
But she had always been protecting me in her own way. She did it to safeguard that secret, to protect me…
Pain washed over me like a tide, and I collapsed onto the table, my shoulders shaking violently.
Sadness, anger, regret—various emotions intertwined, nearly tearing me apart.
My cries echoed in the silent room, sounding particularly jarring.
I don't know how long I cried, until my tears ran dry and my throat was hoarse.
I lifted my head and wiped the tears from my face.
My gaze fell back on the diary.
On the last page, my mother had left a series of mysterious addresses in a code only I could understand.
There, written was a place name I had never heard of, along with a vague house number.
This... is the clue my mother left behind!
Is it where she hid evidence? Is it where she met with her allies? Or is it... the true location of that laboratory?
My heart raced again, not out of fear, but from a strong, vengeful impulse.
For my mother, for those innocent "perfect specimens."
I must go.
Closing the diary, my eyes glimmered with a resolute light in the darkness.
Sadness lingered, but fear had retreated.
In its place burned a fierce anger and determination for revenge.
I stood up, my body stiff from crying for so long.
In my hands, I tightly clutched the diary and that blurry photograph.
Who was the man wearing glasses in the photo? Why did my mother leave behind his picture?
Could he be the key figure in the "Perfect Specimen" project?
The name Zhao Chengzhi flashed through my mind, that controller, that puppet master.
Could the man in the photograph be him?
If so, what connection does he have with my mother?
Countless questions exploded in my mind, each one like a flame, scorching my reason.
But now is not the time to ponder these things.
That address is a clue my mother left behind with her life.
Whatever awaits me there, I must go.
I tucked away the diary and the photograph, hiding them in my most secret place.
Then I walked to the window, watching as the city outside gradually brightened.
The night was about to fade, and dawn was just ahead.
Yet my world had just plunged into a deeper, darker abyss.
In this abyss lie my mother's blood and tears, the cries of countless innocents, and a terrifying secret about the "Perfect Specimen."
I must step into it to expose the truth and seek revenge.
And that mysterious address is my first step.
Once more, I gazed out the window at this city, where turbulent undercurrents lay beneath its calm facade.
The danger still loomed, perhaps even greater than before.
But I was no longer the Su Nian who could be easily intimidated by threats.
My mother's diary had injected a new strength within me.
It was the power of truth, the power of revenge, the power of love.
I took a deep breath, the cold air filling my chest, bringing a sense of clarity.
It was time to act.
To go to that address.
To seek the answers my mother left behind.
To confront the terrifying "Perfect Specimen" plan.
To… take my revenge.
I turned and walked toward the door, my gaze sharp and resolute.
Beyond the door lay the unknown, the danger, the path my mother had pointed to with her life.
I had to take this step.
Even if it led me to an abyss.
(End of chapter)
Comment 0 Comment Count