“They’re starting to circle around? Are they affected by the hallucinations too?”
As the Tian Shu Squad and She Lang began to circle, a noisy debate erupted in front of the big screen, but the wave of voices didn’t last long before the live feed suddenly cut off.
“A strong signal interference fluctuation detected. Attempting to reconnect……”
The big screen went completely black.
The argument then shifted to the cause of the hallucinations.
Some tried to explain scientifically: “I suspect the ancient tomb has generated a special magnetic field that affects human senses, hence the hallucinations……”
Others leaned toward theology: “Maybe science can’t explain these strange events. After all, in this novel’s worldview, it’s not surprising that such eerie occurrences exist.”
Ji Ting switched the headset channel as the information center gathered relevant updates.
“The physiological data of the Tian Shu Squad is all normal, with a low danger index………”
“The 213th Regiment has arrived near Jimo Mountain and is stationed on site……”
“The satellite navigation system is online, locking onto Jimo Mountain’s location and pulling up related footage……”
The pitch-black screen brightened once more, zooming in from a high-altitude view that skimmed past the city, tiny as ants, gradually revealing the outline of Jimo Mountain.
Faint light glimmered on the dark mountain, helping them lock onto the Tian Shu Squad’s position.
The view zoomed in further, lush trees growing larger, and the figures of the Tian Shu Squad appeared again before them.
***
She Lang glanced at the bottomless cliff with a hint of lingering fear: “When exactly was I tricked by the hallucinations?”
Li Yishu stared at the lighted path behind them, which from a certain point onwards had become multi-layered — while under the hallucinations, they had actually set up a second marker in the exact same spot.
The others followed his gaze along the path and soon realized the inconsistency.
She Lang measured the length of that section with his hand, inhaling sharply: “Doesn’t that mean we started hallucinating shortly after we climbed the mountain?”
Canned Food pulled a signal stick from his pack and tossed it down the cliff.
The bright light flashed through the darkness, illuminating the scene below.
A forest of bones scattered against the cliff face created a chilling picture.
Fortunately, Canned Food focused carefully and confirmed most of the bones were animal, not human.
Upon hearing this, She Lang breathed a sigh of relief, then recalled something and pulled out a compass.
The needle spun wildly without pointing anywhere specific.
She Lang stared at the frantically spinning compass for a long moment, his face grim: “We might have been searching in the wrong place last time. Those terrifying encounters could all have been hallucinations — which would explain why our experiences in the tomb were so strange.”
Though it made them seem weak, the truth might be just that —
“We probably never even entered that ancient tomb.”
Sniper Scope quietly polished his wooden stock nearby and pointed out the problem with a single sharp question: “If you never went into that tomb, then where does the ‘curse’ on you come from?”
Canned Food looked up at the height of the cliff: “If the ‘tomb’ you entered was here, no one would have survived to return to City C.”
She Lang carefully recalled their previous experiences, suddenly jolting: “I remember now, I was the one who found the route, but Zhang Chen determined the location of the secret tunnel. That kid’s eyes are razor-sharp; wherever he pinpoints, it’s always right……”
The Tian Shu Squad exchanged glances. Baozi took over: “Maybe you really didn’t pick the wrong spot.”
“Look around here, the secret tunnel should be nearby.”
They circled the cliff and found signs of the tunnel on one side — though, as She Lang had said, the section below had already collapsed.
That wasn’t a problem.
The Tian Shu Squad and She Lang pulled out foldable Luoyang shovels from their packs and dug a new hole near the tunnel.
The digging was tedious and dull.
After a moment of silence, She Lang voiced a new concern: “What if this hallucination shows up again later?”
The man in the black suit showed him his little finger, which wore a square ring connected by a wire that disappeared into the pack.
Before She Lang could ask, the man tilted his head and showed him the tiny earpiece clipped to his ear.
“A micro electric shock device and a special sound emitter that activates every three minutes, using mild pain and unique sounds to keep you alert.”
She Lang was dumbfounded.
The black suit humbly added: “Not sure how effective it is, but judging from earlier, it should help somewhat…… You have these two in your pack too, though I’m not sure if an ordinary person can handle them.”
She Lang rifled through his pack with mixed emotions — this was way too professional.
In the face of such expert preparation, She Lang suddenly felt Jimo Mountain wasn’t so eerie after all……
He found the two devices in his pack and hurriedly put them on, immediately understanding the meaning behind the black suit’s “ordinary person might not adapt” comment.
The shocks stunned him repeatedly, making his whole body twitch uncontrollably — and this guy called it mild pain?
Not to mention the “special sound” that started scratching glass inside his ears every few minutes, making his head throb.
He didn’t know if the devices would help with the hallucinations, but they’d definitely have great use in interrogations.
Seeing She Lang shaking nonstop, Canned Food helped him remove the gadgets, then with a shovel strike broke through to the bottom, revealing the tunnel entrance.
The Hacker fiddled with professional equipment, checking oxygen levels inside the tomb and using sonar to scan its structure, while others tidied their gear, preparing.
She Lang sat down, lazily rifling through his pack, pondering a career change.
Before this, he’d never considered switching professions, but after meeting these black suits, he suddenly thought other respectable jobs might not be so bad.
His thoughts circling, She Lang remembered something crucial: “Is that hallucination’s message real or fake? Can Ji Ting really communicate with Baozi?”
The black suits ignored him.
“That’s the kind of reaction you’d expect in reality,” She Lang felt both regret and relief and asked again, “Did Ji Ting ever come here?”
Still no response from the black suits.
She Lang imagined Ji Ting entering and exiting the tomb seven times, awestruck and filled with endless admiration.
“The lower structure looks roughly like this……”
The Hacker quickly sketched a building plan.
The complicated layout twisted and turned with chamber after chamber, connected by narrow corridors.
Just looking at the map showed the tomb’s grand scale.
She Lang scrutinized the crude map, frowning: “This tomb’s arrangement is wrong — every taboo broken, no rules at all. Either the tomb owner went mad and wanted to end their lineage, or this isn’t a tomb at all but serves some other purpose.”
Canned Food only cared about one thing: “Is it dangerous?”
“Extremely!”
She Lang pointed to two areas on the map.
“These structures and directions definitely contain large-scale traps. The ancients’ wisdom can’t be underestimated — creating dead ends by leveraging natural surroundings was their specialty……”
He stood and glanced toward the cliff, realization dawning: “Isn’t this the perfect spot for that?”
The black suits didn’t rush down into the tomb but carefully questioned She Lang’s opinion on the layout and marked the map in detail.
The black suits’ humility was rare, and She Lang rambled on, dissecting the tomb’s structure based on years of experience — how accurate he was, only firsthand experience would tell.
The Hacker completed the map annotations and transmitted this data along with previous footage to the related devices, then buried the storage under a lighting marker.
She Lang was confused: “What’s he doing?”
Sniper Scope finished polishing the wooden stock and walked toward the tunnel: “Leaving information for the next team.”
“Next team……”
She Lang repeated the phrase, feeling it sounded ominous.
The gas beneath the tunnel had mostly dissipated.
The group tied themselves with ropes and entered the tomb one by one.
***
“The physical exam report is out.”
The Doctor flipped through Ji Ting’s test results while speaking: “All indicators show no obvious disease, but……”
He placed an image in front of Ji Ting: “We detected an unknown substance in your body. Based on preliminary diagnosis, we suspect it might be a parasite-like organism.”
As the Doctor spoke, Ji Ting studied the black-and-white image, zoomed in many times, which looked like multiple round dots scattered in a river — impossible to tell what it was.
Ji Ting pointed at the dots: “These are the parasites you mentioned?”
Doctor: “Parasite-like organisms, or possibly some kind of virus. We suspect this is the trigger for the hallucinations.”
His tone grew enthusiastic: “But it’s okay. As long as you cooperate with our treatment, it can definitely be dealt with……”
The Doctor rambled on: “No one can say for sure where the line between science and theology lies. Even entities that exist independently as anomalies have rational parts. For example, these things in your blood — how they appeared and how they affect your cognition. I have a small hypothesis. Perhaps there’s truth within the hallucinations?”
Ji Ting’s expression flickered: “You mean, what I saw in the hallucinations was real? That there really was a second living being in She Lang’s room?”
“Exactly. And for instance……”
The Doctor placed his hand on Ji Ting’s shoulder, staring intently behind his glasses with unnaturally large pupils: “Why don’t you come see for yourself? I’ve been waiting for you.”
“The time has come, the time has come……”
Countless voices repeated in Ji Ting’s ears, forming wave upon wave of overlapping sounds.
Another voice pierced through the noise, whispering beside him: “Ji Ting? Ji Ting? Ji Ting!”
Ji Ting snapped back to reality, seeing the Doctor’s unusually serious face and the big screen repeatedly replaying his earlier muttering.
“Hallucinations again?” The Doctor frowned: “The physical exam report is out, and the situation isn’t good……”
Ji Ting rubbed his brow: “Parasites?”
The Doctor, who had just pulled the image from the files, froze and asked in surprise: “The hallucinations told you that again?”
Someone muttered: “This thing is kinda spooky.”
Ji Ting: “It said the time had come, told me to go there personally, and that it was waiting for me……”
Everyone exchanged glances.
As the author, Ji Ting’s presence shouldn’t exist in the story, but it seemed the novel’s characters not only naturally accepted Ji Ting’s existence but even wove a complete identity and background around him.
“As the author, your uniqueness isn’t just affinity with ‘characters in the book.’ You have a deeper connection with these special events — that’s the key.”
After the latest intelligence was reported layer by layer, Director Wang quickly made a decision: “Stick to our previous plan. If it doesn’t work, then go there in person, but absolutely ensure Ji Ting’s safety!”