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墨書 Inktalez
The workbook on the desk lay open, filled with dense formulas that blurred before my eyes; I couldn't make sense of a single word.
I slammed the book shut with a dull thud.
The investigation was proving to be far more difficult than I had imagined.
Frustrated, I ran my fingers through my hair and scanned the room, finally landing my gaze on my backpack.
I recalled the moment when Chen Shuo handed me that USB drive, his fingers trembling.
"If I forget who I am, or even that I love to draw, help me open it," his hoarse voice echoed in my mind.
Suddenly, I stood up from my chair and rummaged through my things until I found the small black USB drive. The cold metal casing felt sharp against my palm.
The computer hummed softly as it booted up. I took a deep breath and plugged in the USB drive.
A drive icon popped up on the screen.
My heart raced, thumping loudly in my chest, and my fingertips felt slightly numb.
I clicked to open it.
Inside were only a few lonely audio files and a handful of images. The filenames were a jumble of random numbers and letters.
With trembling hands, I opened the first audio file.
A crackling sound filled the air, followed by a suppressed chorus of breaths—many people breathing in unison, creating an unsettling rhythm.
There were no voices, no coughs—only breathing.
I frowned and moved the mouse to the next file.
"…repeat…a thousand times…repeat…" A flat, emotionless male voice droned on like a malfunctioning machine, reciting meaningless phrases over and over again. In the background, there seemed to be a faint sound of pages turning or something rubbing against paper.
A chill crept up my neck.
I clicked on the third audio file. A sharp, high-pitched noise erupted, reminiscent of some kind of machinery operating, lasting for several seconds before being drowned out by muffled sobs that quickly faded into louder static.
An inexplicable sense of panic washed over me as my temples throbbed.
I opened the image folder.
The first image was shrouded in darkness, the scene shaking violently, revealing only a monotonous, seemingly gray-white wall.
The second image came into slightly clearer focus. It showed several beds, all with uniform white sheets and blankets, stacked neatly like blocks of tofu.
The third image was extremely blurry, but in the corner of the room, there appeared to be an indistinct metal frame, with vague outlines of cables connected to it, reflecting a dim light.
These fragmented sounds, these unclear images... Chen Shuo, what exactly have you experienced in there?
The night deepened. Outside the window was pitch black.
I put my headphones back on and turned up the volume, drowning out the sounds of the outside world. The audio files on the U Disk lay quietly on the screen.
Taking a deep breath, I pressed the play button.
A faint hissing sound of electricity entered my ears first, followed by Chen Shuo's voice. It was soft and filled with suppressed gasps.
"...I don't understand... why they won't let me sleep... I'm so tired..." His voice came in broken fragments.
Sweat began to form in my palms.
"...Every day it's the same... repeating over and over... they say this is how you remember..."
There was exhaustion in Chen Shuo's voice, which slowly became tinged with numbness.
"Drawing... what is it... they say useless things must be emptied..."
The hairs on my back stood on end.
"Stare at that point... gray... spinning and spinning... my eyes hurt so much... like something is churning inside..." His voice began to tremble. "They say... this is... cognitive restructuring... my brain feels like it's been stuffed with many... cold, rusty gears... repeating those words over and over... all the colors... turning gray..."
I felt a throbbing at my temples.
"I feel like... I'm forgetting what my mom's braised pork tastes like..." Chen Shuo's voice dropped, tinged with a sob. "Zhou Ran... I'm afraid I'll forget you... they say that only by forgetting oneself can you remember all the key points... my paintbrush... what color is it... my memories..."
Suddenly, a suppressed whimper came through the headphones.
Then—
"Zzz—!"
The harsh sound of electricity suddenly erupted, drowning out everything else.
A cold, emotionless mechanical voice echoed:
"Clearing memory... obeying command..."
"Clearing memory... obeying command..."
"Clearing..."
The voice abruptly cut off.
Silence fell in the headphones, an absolute void.
The stillness lingered for one second, two seconds, three seconds...
In the room, only the sound of my own heartbeat remained, thumping steadily, pounding against my eardrums with a painful intensity.
My breathing grew heavy, my chest rising and falling violently.
Cold sweat soaked through my back. I yanked off the headphones as if they had burned me.
I clenched my fists tightly, my knuckles turning white from the pressure.
I stared at the small U Disk on the table.
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