Four negatives, each with a different content, each representing a different style of fear.
The first: taken by Lu Heng at the second-floor body disposal site, the crowd and the corpse have vanished, leaving only the silhouette of a strange woman walking much slower than normal. The second: taken by Mai Peng in the room where everyone lives, everyone at the scene has disappeared from the frame, except for an invisible, glowing beast by the window. The third: another photo taken by Mai Peng at the same time and place, showing a large group of unidentified people eating, one of whom is holding a strangely large object. The fourth: a photo taken by Mai Peng through a crack in the doorway in a dark corridor, showing a shadowy figure approaching the doorway, accompanied by a glowing beast.
Because the photos were so bizarre, there was nothing left to discuss, only silence.
This fear was less a product of their own minds and more a double whammy of internal and external forces. Something unseen seemed to permeate every pore of everyone's being, perhaps even overlapping with someone in the room.
The inner and outer terror tormented everyone's skin and nerves, as if it could crush them into pieces at any moment—and those pieces seemed to be pieces of cold iron; wherever the terrifying magnet appeared, these pieces would immediately stand up sharply, rigidly controlled and manipulated.
After an unknown amount of time, Du Lingyu said softly, "Did we light incense in the room? I just faintly smelled incense."
"I did," Mu Yiran said. "If we delay too long, everyone's biological clock will be out of sync. To figure out the time here, we need something to measure it."
"Is it incense sticks?" Du Lingyu asked.
"Yes, one of our goods was a long, thin incense stick. It has a very faint scent and burns very slowly. I lit a piece after lunch, and it hasn't burned out yet." There was not a trace of panic in Mu Yiran's voice; he remained as composed as ever, which was somewhat reassuring.
Qin Ci's voice rang out, "I've already checked the effects of that incense. It's said to be invigorating and safe, non-toxic."
Hearing this, Du Lingyu felt a pessimistic thought: if everyone just fell asleep and were poisoned in their sleep by the slow-acting scent, they wouldn't have to suffer like this.
Someone yawned, and soon, as if in agreement, many others couldn't help but yawn as well.
"Some people are already starting to feel sleepy, but I think it's only five o'clock in the afternoon," Qin Ci said.
Lu Heng: "Cao Youning is already asleep."
"Why don't we feel hungry even though we haven't eaten dinner?" Luo Yi leaned against the bed, Xin Chun lying beside him, her eyes no longer as bright as when the lights were first turned off.
"If you're sleepy, get ready to sleep." Mu Yiran stood up, using her phone's light to illuminate the room, and went to the corner next to the cabinet. "This incense will burn out soon."
Shao Ling: "After lunch, it was around 1 p.m., and now it's about 5 p.m. The burning time of this length of incense is about four hours."
Mu Yiran lit a second incense stick, this time five times longer than the first one, 20 hours. This time, plus the burning time of the first incense stick, is exactly 24 hours.
"I still don't understand why the lights go out one by one in order when they're turned off, even more neatly than motion-activated lights," said Luo Jin. "Could this lantern procession really have some kind of magical power?"
"I think it's because of the lamp oil," Zhu Haowen said, seemingly still awake. "When the lamp oil runs out, the lamp goes out. The lamplighter cleverly controls the amount of oil in each lamp, allowing them to extinguish gradually."
"Oh, that makes sense," Luo Jin said, suddenly understanding. "That makes it less scary."
"I still feel that the story isn't as far-fetched as it seems. We've seen so many paintings, each with its own terrifying aspects, but once you understand the reasons behind them, there's nothing to be afraid of," Zhu Haowen said.
"Yeah, it's not that scary, everyone, don't scare yourselves." Luo Cheng, hugging his dog, found a spot on the communal bed and lay down fully clothed. Although his body was chilled with fear, he maintained a nonchalant tone: "Eat when you're supposed to eat, sleep when you're supposed to sleep, we still need to gather our energy for autographs!"
Although these words were meant to encourage himself, they still had a slight effect on the others, and many people lay down on their beds to sleep.
Xi Shengnan said, "We don't want to sleep behind the screen, it feels a bit..."
still a little scared.
"Let's all squeeze in, anyway, this communal bed is big enough to fit the three of you girls." It was Lu Heng who spoke.
Soon, everyone was lying on their beds.
Perhaps sleepiness really is contagious, because about half an hour later, most people were asleep.
Xin Chun also closed her eyes and fell asleep, taking away the only light in the room.
Mu Yiran lay on the bed, a heavy drowsiness washing over her, but she tried to stay awake. Today's events were very complicated, but not without clues. If she found a crack and used enough force, she could pry the whole thing open.
Mu Yiran lay on the edge of the bed, Ke Xun beside her.
"Sleep," Mu Yiran said, turning over and placing her hand on Ke Xun's body. "
Was it a mistake to open the door and take pictures just now?" Ke Xun finally spoke after a long pause.
Of the four photos, the fourth one probably caused the most panic—the mysterious figure blocking the doorway, seemingly trying to break in. Perhaps that thing had slipped in through the crack in the door.
Ke Xun had suggested opening the door to photograph the corridor, but he couldn't afford the consequences of the panic it caused.
"Are you scared? That man standing at the door holding the dog," Mu Yiran said.
Although Ke Xun was wearing a cotton robe, he could almost feel the warmth of Mu Yiran's hand resting on him. The warmth was reassuring. Ke Xun said, "The man holding the dog… after your description, it's completely less scary."
Ke Xun felt Mu Yiran's hand slowly move upwards, stopping beside his ear, gently tracing the shape of his earlobe with his index finger. Ke Xun felt a slight tickle, shook his head slightly, and grabbed the hand on his ear, holding it tightly to prevent it from tickling again.
"Perhaps the man holding the dog could be a breakthrough," Mu Yiran said.
"You stared at that negative for a full half hour," Ke Xun said. In the previous situation, after everyone had seen or learned about the contents of a few negatives from others, no one wanted to look at them a second time. Only Mu Yiran, having unfolded the film to the last half of the image, studied it alone for a long time using his phone's flashlight.
Ke Xun: "A new discovery?"
"Yes."
"But this discovery is a bit outrageous, it doesn't make sense?"
"Yes."
"Are you planning to tell me, or just keep it to yourself?"
Mu Yiran resumed lying flat, his black eyes staring into the inky darkness of the room: "I still can't figure out the time issue in this world. Logically speaking, no matter how disordered time is, it can't be completely chaotic; there must be some underlying rules." "
Although this world deliberately blurs the lines between day and night, it still retains the habit of turning lights on and off, making it unclear whether the people here ignore time or value it," Ke Xun said.
"We need to find a way to enlarge those negatives; they contain many clues." Mu Yiran felt the slight chill in the darkness, yet she was also nestled close to the most important person in her life, and for a moment, she couldn't tell whether it was warmth or cold. "I plan to make a simple projector. I've already found a suitable box; all I need is a mobile phone with the best lighting and a magnifying glass."
"A simple projector?" In Ke Xun's mind, projectors were anything but simple.
"Yes, it's completely handmade, but it can magnify things."
Ke Xun figured the only instrument he could make by hand was a simple telephone. "You're really awesome, boss. If I can't find a magnifying glass at the toy store tomorrow, I'll try my luck at Uncle Fatty's. As for the brightest phone, I think it's Radish's. His screen is obviously bigger and brighter than everyone else's. It seems that the gold phone is quite extraordinary, especially the battery life."
"You're the gold one... I'm a proper royal from a noble family!" Luo Yi tried his best to distance himself from being a nouveau riche in his dream. Xin Chun suddenly woke up, her eyes brightened, then gradually closed again, snuggling into her owner's arms, "Waaah..." and falling asleep as if in a dream.
Ke Xun rolled over, lying facing Mu Yiran. "Are you really planning to just sleep it off? What clues did those rolls of film hold?"
Mu Yiran smiled silently. "The breakthrough I found was in the last one, the ear of the man holding the dog."
"Human ear or dog ear?"
"Human ear."
"That's really weird. What's wrong with that man's ear?" Ke Xun seemed fearless with Mu Yiran, unconcerned whether this mysterious man was actually lurking in the room eavesdropping.
"I'm very familiar with the outline of that man's ear," Mu Yiran said.
"Hmm?" "
The curve is gentle, and the earlobe forms a slightly sharp curve," Mu Yiran said slowly.
"Holy crap, who told you to examine ears so closely? I'll fight him to the death…" Ke Xun said, then felt Mu Yiran's hand touch his earlobe, and a thought struck him: "Could it be… How is that possible? I was clearly behind the door, even if the camera could bend, it couldn't have captured me."
"So I think it's time playing tricks on us."
"You mean, the man in the last photo is me? Holding a dog? Xin Chun?"
"It's very possible. You did stand at the door holding Xin Chun today." Mu Yiran emphasized, "I carefully observed the outline of that half-figure, whether it's the ears, the head, or the lines of the shoulders and neck, I can confirm that it's you."
Ke Xun felt his hair stand on end, then calmed down and recalled carefully: "We came back from our walk today, and suddenly the lights went out. Luo Bo grabbed our hands, and Xin Chun was perched on his shoulder. Later, I was holding Xin Chun. I stopped at the door because I was afraid the people inside would be frightened by Xin Chun's eyes, so I covered its eyes before going in."