When the first ray of gray skylight seeped in through the dusty transom of the studio, Chen Mocai realized that he had maintained the same posture and sat behind the door for four hours.
Four hours is like four centuries in an ice sea. The cold got into the bone marrow from the tile floor, intertwined with the intermittent and burning stabbing pain in the depths of his left ear, reminding him that everything last night was not a nightmare. The insulated lunch box lying alone in the middle of the corridor, like a silent evidence, laughed at how fragile the world he tried to build with reason was.
There is no movement in the corridor outside the door. In the monitoring screen, there is only the unchanging silent light and shadow stretched by the morning light. Lao Li disappeared, along with his "smooth" face and the upside-down watch.
But Chen Mo knew that things were far from over.
The rusty silver nail on the earlobe of the left ear has dropped to a temperature similar to the body temperature, but the sense of existence is stronger than at any moment. It is no longer a simple ornament, but like a cold rivet that nails into his soul, forcibly connecting him with an unspeakable abyss. From time to time, there will be some broken "sounds" that seem to come from far away-or "concepts" that scratch directly on his conscious cortex-appearing intermittently:
[… cognitive pollution level: low … continuous exposure may aggravate …]
[… Contractors' status: initially stable … erosion degree: 7%… main erosion organ: auditory system …]
[… Warning: Avoid looking directly at the logical core of the unspeakable for a long time …]
[… The basic information base is partially unlocked … See keywords:' relics',' contract ceremony',' logical collapse area',' pretenders association' …]
These information flows are chaotic and cold, with no emotion, no tone, only statements. Chen Mo is like a bad radio that is forced to receive signals. He has a splitting headache, but he has to try his best to "hear" every word. He tried to "ask" in his mind, but he got no response. This earring seems to be just a passive information spreader, or a one-way receiving terminal.
"Relics ... Contract Ceremony ... Pretenders Association ..."
He muttered to himself, and his voice seemed strange and strange in the completely silent world of hearing. He stood up against the wall, and his legs were numb and tingling from prolonged crouching. He staggered to the workbench and his eyes rested on the pile of ancient mirror fragments. The largest piece, with his blood on the edge, has solidified into a dark brown.
He hesitated, but still reached out his finger and touched it gently.
"Echo" didn't appear immediately. But a deeper and more viscous chill slowly climbed along the fingertips. It's no longer the strong image impact last night, but a feeling of being watched. It seems that every piece of this pile of debris is quietly "watching" him in a dimension that cannot be illuminated by light.
He jerked back his hand and his heart was pounding.
"It chose you ..."
The last cold whisper of last night echoed in my mind again. It's not the sound of earrings, it's more like the echo of his own fear.
Xiaoyu!
He almost jumped to the table and grabbed the phone. The screen lights up, and next to the message he sent to his sister last night, there is a glaring red exclamation mark-sending failed. He immediately called Chen Yu, and the receiver (silent to him) was attached to his ear, counting his heartbeat and waiting. After a long ten seconds, hang up automatically. Call again, still the same.
It's not a cell phone, it's more like ... it's out of service, or it's blocked by something.
Panic is like a cold vine wrapped around the heart, and it gets tighter and tighter. He remembered the last selfie from Chen Yu. In the photo, the clean stainless steel hood behind her clearly reflected her smiling face. Mirror.
"Cognitive coverage ... face peeling ... mirror image communication ..." He forced himself to recall the logical chain he "saw" from Lao Li's face last night. "The source ... Red Star Cinema ... radius of 100 meters ..."
Xiaoyu's university dormitory is diagonally opposite the former site of the Red Star Cinema, and the straight-line distance is absolutely no more than 100 meters!
He must get there at once!
Chen Mo rushed to the sink and splashed her face with cold water. The cold water stimulates the skin and slightly dispels some dizziness and fear that have not slept all night. He looked at himself in the mirror-pale as paper, now it was dark blue, his left ear lobe was red and swollen, and the oozing blood left a winding trace on his neck. What makes him feel palpitation most is his eyes. There is a strange, frightened and ... a little sharp that he didn't realize.
He leaned close to the mirror, stared at his face, and repeatedly confirmed in his heart: "I am Chen Mo. These are my eyes, nose and mouth. This is my face. "
This is the requirement of the "price" of earrings: daily confirmation of self-face. He didn't really realize the terrible request at the moment-once forgotten, what will happen? Will it be like Lao Li?
He didn't dare to think about it, so he packed his things quickly. Wrap the most important pieces of ancient mirrors in soft cloth and stuff them into the backpack. The tools on the workbench are a few handy ones: a strong flashlight, a multi-function saber, a small jar of flammable cultural relics cleaning agent (maybe it can be used), and a magnifying glass frame (the metal frame may still be useful) where he smashed the lens. Finally, he hesitated, and put the ebony box in, and the red cloth was still wrapped in the remaining fragments.
As he was about to leave, his eyes swept the porch monitor screen. In the corner of the screen, the insulated lunch box is still lying there. An absurd idea flashed: Lao Li ... or "faceless" Lao Li, who came yesterday, really wanted to give him a snack? In it (him? ) in that completely distorted cognition, this may still be an expression of "goodwill"?
The thought made him shudder. Weird not only kills people, but also distorts the most basic human feelings and logic.
He took a deep breath and removed the debris that blocked the door. The door lock was broken by violence last night, and it will open as soon as it is pulled. In the morning, the cool air poured in, with the peculiar smell of dust in the corridor. He went out sideways and looked around warily. It's empty. He walked quickly past the insulated lunch box and rushed straight to the stairs without looking down.
The museum hasn't opened yet, and the back door is silent and empty. Chen Mo came to the street smoothly. The city just woke up in the morning, with sparse traffic and pedestrians in a hurry. The sun is shining and everything looks so normal. The vendors selling breakfast raised smoke, and people at the bus stop bowed their heads and brushed their mobile phones. The female ghost, faceless security and logical echo in the mirror last night seemed to be just a dream of his insanity.
But the dull pain in his left ear, the cold touch of the ancient mirror fragments in his backpack, and the cold information that lingers in his mind are all cruelly reminding him that the real world is different.
He stopped a taxi and typed his destination with his mobile phone: "Old site of Red Star Cinema, please hurry up."
The driver, a talkative middle-aged man, glanced at the address and said, "Hey, where are you going?"? That place is evil, and it has been abandoned for a long time. I heard that it was going to be demolished and it has never been demolished. People around it are walking around. Young man, what are you doing there? "
Chen Mo lowered his head, pretending to focus on his mobile phone, and didn't respond.
The driver got bored, shrugged his shoulders and turned on the radio. The morning news is broadcasting: "... there have been several cases of sudden' face recognition disorder' in our city recently. Experts say it may be related to new viruses or collective psychological factors. I suggest citizens to reduce their anxiety and maintain a good attitude ..."
Chen Mo's fingers suddenly tightened. Face recognition disorder ... Has the official explained it in this way? Or is it that organizations like the "Association" intervene behind the scenes and control information?
The car passed through the increasingly crowded traffic. Chen Mo looked out of the window at the familiar street scene, and felt a profound alienation for the first time. These tall buildings, shops and pedestrians, do they know what is happening in the world under their feet? Or, some of them, like Lao Li, are "disappearing" silently?
Twenty minutes later, the car stopped in a slightly old block. The driver pointed to a gray building half surrounded by a fence in front of him: "There it is, the car can't drive in. Take two steps by yourself. Be careful. "
Chen Mo paid to get off. Standing on the street corner, he looked at the "Red Star Cinema". It's more dilapidated than expected. The red paint on the outer wall peeled off, revealing the gray cement inside. The huge signboard has long been rusted, leaving only a twisted iron shelf. The sign "Dangerous Building, No Entry" was hung at the entrance of the fence, the iron gate was left unlocked and the chain was broken.
This is the source? The lair of faceless women? The ruins of the theater in the Republic of China?
He clenched the strap of his backpack, and cold sweat oozed from his palm. Stud at this moment, suddenly there was a clear, slightly different from the previous information flow whisper:
[Close to the' Logical Collapse Zone': Yuelai Theater/Faceless Female Field (Residual)]
[Weak residue of' concept pollution' has been detected ... It is suggested that those who have not contracted stay away from ... those who have contracted should act cautiously. ]
[Regional logic residual features: enhanced mirror dependency; Individual cognitive stability is reduced. ]
"Field ... residue ..." Chen Mo chewed these words. It means that although the range of activities of faceless women is limited (100-meter radius), it is still the core area of its power influence. Moreover, even if it was silent after being disturbed by itself last night, the influence still exists.
He has to go in. Xiao Yu is probably nearby, even ... He dare not think.
He walked to the front of the iron gate and squeezed in sideways through the gap. Inside is a deserted Little Square, full of construction waste and dead leaves. The main entrance of the cinema was nailed to death with wooden boards. He walked around the building and found a broken window on the side and rear, barely allowing people to pass through.
It was dark in the window, and thick dust and mildew smelled on my face. Chen Mo turned on the flashlight, and the beam cut through the darkness. It seems to be the backstage area of the cinema, with some tattered curtains and rotten wooden boxes scattered, and some faded drama posters can be faintly seen on the wall, and the paper is fragile and fragile.
He moved cautiously inward. There is thick dust under your feet, leaving clear footprints at every step. Where the flashlight beam sweeps, you can see many fragments of the mirror. It's not a complete mirror, but fragments of glass or mercury mirror with different shapes and sizes, which are artificially or by some force embedded, pasted or even embedded in walls, columns and even ceilings!
Some fragments are only the size of a fingernail, while others are half a person's height. They exist at various angles, reflecting and refracting the light of the flashlight into countless broken spots, and interweaving them into a dizzying optical network in the dark. Chen Mo often has to close his eyes or look away to avoid being disturbed by these chaotic light and shadow.
The air is getting colder. It is not the kind of cold with low temperature, but a kind of yin cold that seeps into the bone marrow and has a certain sense of emptiness.
He walked along a place that seemed to be a passage, and his sense of direction gradually lost in the reflection of countless mirror fragments. There was terrible silence all around, only his own heartbeat and the extremely slight sound of shoes rubbing against dust-the latter he actually "heard" but could feel a weak vibration through bone conduction.
After walking for about a few minutes, he came to a relatively open space. This seems to be the position of the stage in front of the audience. The stage has already collapsed by half, but the most striking thing is that in the center of the stage, there stands a huge object completely covered with dark red flannel, which looks like a mirror.
The red cloth is very old and dusty, but under the flashlight, you can still see its once bright color, like coagulated blood.
Chen Mo's heart suddenly accelerated. There was a stabbing pain from the ear nail, and a clearer but more chaotic echo poured in:
[The core relic: the mirror tomb of the faceless woman]
[Status: Silent (after logical interference) … but the conceptual anchor point is still stable …]
[Warning: Direct-looking mirror may directly trigger logic pollution ...]
[Related information: The top card of' Yuelai Theater' is Tsing Yi's' Cloud Sleeve' ... disfigurement ... suicide ... condensation of resentment in front of the mirror ... concept attachment ...]
Broken information pieced together a tragic outline. In the Republic of China, an actress named Yunxiu was disfigured and committed suicide in front of the mirror ... Strong negative emotions combined with some newly awakened "concept" and turned into a "faceless woman". This mirror is the core of everything.
He dare not lift the red cloth. Last night, just debris and reverberation were so dangerous that he didn't know what would happen if he looked directly at this complete mirror.
His goal is to find Xiaoyu first.
He was about to turn away from this stage area and search elsewhere when he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye, just at the side of the stage, there was a water stain on the ground.
The cinema has been abandoned for many years, where did you get fresh water stains?
Chen Mo held her breath and moved the torch light slowly. The trace of water stain is very new, and it has not completely penetrated into the dust, forming an intermittent line leading to the depths of the dark passage. There seems to be half a footprint beside the water stain? Not very clear.
Has anyone been in there? Or ...
He remembered the second faceless person last night, the woman dressed as a cleaner. Earrings mentioned that faceless women can transform into secondary faceless people, but their range of activities is limited.
Can Xiaoyu be in it? Or, is it someone else trapped here?
Chen Mo bitten to grind, the backpack tight tight, left hand clenched flashlight, right hand holding a saber, toward the channel, step by step and went in.
The passage is darker and narrower than the outside, and the walls on both sides are densely covered with small pieces of lenses, like countless cold eyes. The torch light is cut more fragmented here. The traces of water stains extend all the way forward.
After walking for about ten meters, the passage seems to have turned a corner. Just around the corner, Chen Mo's torch light shone on something.
A woman's light blue canvas shoes.
Lying alone in the dust, the toe is deeper into the passage.
Chen Mo's blood instantly cold. He knows these shoes. He gave it to Chen Yu on her birthday last year.
He almost rushed over, but the remaining reason held him tightly. He stopped and moved the torch light up slowly, shining on the wall around the corner.
There, in the reflection of countless broken lenses, he saw a vague figure with his back to him. Wearing the light gray sweater and jeans that Chen Yu often wears. Standing motionless in the darkness at the end of the passage, the figure seems to be a relatively complete mirror embedded in the wall.
The front of the figure is reflected in the mirror.
But the face in the mirror, a blur. It's not that there are no five senses, but it's like being covered with a layer of flowing gray fog, and I can't see anything clearly.
"Xiao Yu ...?" Chen Mo shouted this name hoarse and silently, and his throat was dry and sore.
Seems to hear the movement, the figure, very slowly, began to turn my head.
At the same time, the earring of Chen Mo's left ear broke out with unprecedented sharp stinging and burning! Crazy warnings hit his consciousness like a tsunami:
[High-intensity cognitive coverage process detected! Target individual: Chen Yu (original identity)! ]
[Coverage: about 65%! Logical connection is firm! ]
[Warning: Close contact will greatly increase the contractor's own pollution risk! ]
[Suggestion: immediately destroy the connection medium or isolate the logical source! ]
[Connection medium determination: the mirror in front of the target (main medium); All mirrors (secondary media) within 100m of Fiona Fang. ]
[Logical source: Mirror Tomb (silent but not invalid). ]
Destroy the mirror Or, leave this area with a light rain!
Chen Mo's eyes bloodshot, almost without any hesitation, he flung forward, the goal is not the turning "Chen Yu", but the mirror in front of her!
But as soon as he crossed the corner, his steps were jerked.
On the side of the figure of "Chen Yu", in the shadow of the passage, there is another "person".
The cleaner is in uniform, with his head down and a dusty mop in his hand.
Smooth, facial features, slowly raised, "look" at Chen Mo.
The second faceless man blocked his way.