Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 48 The Crying Scars

"Click——"

With a mournful wail, the old 16mm film projector broke apart. The beam of light projected from the lens flickered rapidly against the wall a few times before finally going out. A wisp of smoke, carrying the smell of burning plastic, rose from the machine's vents, forming an ironic tombstone in the deathly silent archives.

The images disappeared, but the last scream of Wen Maoran still lingered in the room. Fear, resentment, and madness seemed to have taken on a physical form, echoing repeatedly in the frozen air and assaulting Bai Yu and Lu Yueqi's overwhelmed eardrums.

The truth is more frightening than a terrifying lie.

The seemingly hidden mastermind behind the scenes, the mad director who built this massive prison of memories, was actually just the first actor to be swallowed up by the stage he created himself.
Wen Maoran attempted to build a tower that could communicate with "gods," but he himself ultimately became a wailing brick at the bottom of the tower, never to be reincarnated.

Yao, the intern nurse who appears somewhat self-conscious, introverted, and timid in the photo, and arguably the most inconspicuous in the entire picture, is the girl whom Wen Maoran regards as the most ideal "first-generation linker." However, after being corrupted by the even grander and more ancient malice of the "Tower of Ten Thousand Heads," she usurps Wen Maoran's place, takes over everything, and becomes the true mistress of this hell on earth.

Lu Yueqi's body trembled slightly.

The terrifying dream from before resurfaced in her mind—the woman's voice that gently called to her, luring her to "climb the tower and become a part of eternity." It turned out that the owner of that voice had always been lurking deep within this mental hospital. She wasn't just calling to herself in her dreams; she was using this enormous prison of memories as bait, attempting to drag this new "dream intruder" into her absurd and terrifying realm.

"Heh... what humans love to do most... a drama of reversals and betrayals." Hei Yan's voice echoed leisurely in the deepest part of Bai Yu's consciousness, tinged with a hint of mockery and a touch of sighing. "The lord-killer, the usurper, the corrupted saintess, the imprisoned tyrant... on this small stage, such a classic drama has actually been staged. Wen Maoran must have thought he was Prometheus, trying to steal the fire of the gods, but little did he know that the fire he ignited would burn him and the entire Mount Olympus to ashes. And Pandora, whom he chose, opened the true gateway to hell. Beautiful, so beautiful... this despair twisted from hope, this decadence evolved from redemption, is the true supreme art. So, Bai Yu, what role will you play in this drama?"

Bai Yu's eyes were fixed on the broken projector. His brain was struggling to function under the numbing effect of the drugs, and he felt that his thoughts had never been so sluggish and confused.

Yao is the core.

This is beyond doubt.

But what is the form of her "existence"? What is her relationship with the "head nurse" made up of countless eyeballs who is hunting them down in the "other world"?
Are they master and servant? Collaborators? Or... are they different facets of the same being?

More importantly, Ruan Bo's notes mention that the key to destroying this world lies in finding the "singularity." Wen Maoran initially believed the singularity was the mural, but it turned out that he himself was ultimately trapped inside the painting.

So, where is the real singularity? Is it Yao herself? Or is it some indelible "spiritual coordinate" created at the moment she established a connection with the "Tower of Ten Thousand Heads"?
Countless questions, like intertwined venomous snakes, were frantically biting at his mind, making his head, already throbbing with pain from the tearing of his soul, feel as if it were about to explode.

Just then, the woman's cries of despair and regret that had been emanating from the operating room seemed to sense that they had uncovered part of the truth, and became clearer and more mournful than before.

The crying was like an invisible hand, scratching at the heavy iron door of the archives room again and again, and also scratching at the hearts of the two people.

“Bai Yu…” Lu Yueqi’s face grew paler and paler. She subconsciously moved closer to Bai Yu. “This crying… could it be… Yao? Is it a part of her that remained before she was completely corrupted?”

A very reasonable guess.

Does a kind human soul still reside within a body possessed by overwhelming malice?
Bai Yu's eyes narrowed slightly, and his stagnant mind began to function again. He thought of Lin Sheng from Luoshui Village. Deep within the man's consciousness, who had been manipulated by the "Mountain God" for a century, still retained a pure love for A Wan. It was precisely that love that ultimately became the key to their victory.

If... if Lu Yueqi's guess is true, then this crying, and this operating room that is clearly a trap, may also be their only chance.

“Risk and opportunity coexist.” After thinking for a long time, Bai Yu slowly said, “But in our current state, to actively step into a trap set by a nightmare at its core would be tantamount to suicide.”

His body had reached its limit. The intense mental struggle and information reception just now had simultaneously intensified the effects of the drugs in his body and the feeling of his soul being torn apart, causing the scenery in front of him to begin to appear continuously blurred and doubled.

Given Bai Yu's current state, he must find a safe place as soon as possible for deep meditation, otherwise he may collapse at any time due to soul overload.

"What do we do now?" Lu Yueqi asked anxiously.

“Let’s get out of here first.” Bai Yu made the decision. “This archive has been exposed. Yao, or the ‘rules’ of this world, will react soon. We must find a new hiding place before ‘it’s’ encirclement is complete.”

He leaned on the table and struggled to his feet. With each movement, he felt as if a storm was churning deep within his soul.

Lu Yueqi quickly stepped forward to support him, placing one of his arms on her shoulder to support most of his weight.

She could clearly feel Bai Yu's body trembling slightly, and it was incredibly hot—a kind of internal heat caused by the excessive burning of spiritual energy.

Without further hesitation, they walked out of the archives room, which held the hospital's core secrets, one after the other, and returned to the cold, dilapidated corridor.

The woman's cries still lingered in their ears, like a curse they could never escape.

Without looking back, they supported each other and staggered toward the dark area at the other end of the corridor.

Every step was incredibly difficult, like wading through a bottomless quagmire.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, when Bai Yu felt that her consciousness was about to be swallowed up by the deep-seated exhaustion, they finally reached the end of the corridor.

At the end of the stairs was a downward staircase. There were no lights at the top of the stairs, only a bottomless darkness, like the mouth of a giant beast waiting for them to walk into its trap.

"What...where is down there?" Lu Yueqi asked, her voice trembling slightly from exhaustion.

"I don't know." Bai Yu's breathing had become very heavy. "But at least... I've gotten rid of that crying for now."

They went down the stairs. The stairs were made of cement, and the edges of the steps were covered with slippery moss from years of dampness, so they had to be careful with every step.

The air still carried that strong smell of formaldehyde and disinfectant, along with a sweet, pungent odor reminiscent of rotting corpses.

This is most likely the underground area of ​​a hospital. A morgue, or... an incinerator?

Descending the last step, they were met with an even narrower and more oppressive underground passage than the one upstairs. Instead of hospital wards, the passageway was lined with metal cabinets used to refrigerate corpses. Some doors were tightly shut, while others were ajar, revealing empty trays inside.

This is indeed a morgue.

"Let me...rest...for a while..." Bai Yu's voice was extremely weak.

Lu Yueqi didn't dare to be negligent. She helped Bai Yu up and quickly scanned the surroundings. Finally, her gaze fell on a relatively intact-looking refrigerated cabinet in the far corner.

She struggled to help Bai Yu lean against the wall, then walked over and opened the heavy iron door. The cabinet was empty, but there was enough space for one person.

"Bai Yu, you go in first," she said.

Bai Yu nodded, curled up, and crawled into the cold iron cabinet.

"I'll stay outside," Lu Yueqi said, and was about to close the cabinet door.

"No." Bai Yu suddenly grabbed her wrist, a resolute glint in his eyes, which were somewhat unfocused due to exhaustion. "Come in together. There's no safe place here. It'll be more dangerous if we're separated."

Lu Yueqi felt a little embarrassed, but she knew Bai Yu was right. She nodded and followed him inside.

The refrigerator was extremely cramped; the two people were huddled inside, almost pressed tightly together.

Lu Yueqi could clearly feel the burning heat on Bai Yu's body and his rapid breathing due to pain.

She reached out and gently pulled the heavy iron door shut from the inside.

"Click."

With a soft sound, they were completely cut off from the malevolent darkness outside. Darkness and silence instantly filled the small space.

In the pitch-black darkness, all the senses seemed to be amplified infinitely. Lu Yueqi could even hear Bai Yu's heart pounding like a drum and her own slightly disordered breathing due to nervousness.

"Don't be afraid." Bai Yu's voice rang in her ears, weak yet like a warm current that instantly dispelled most of the chill in her heart. "Concentrate your mind, suppress all your aura. From now on, we are 'dead'..."

Lu Yueqi nodded vigorously. She closed her eyes and began to minimize her mental fluctuations according to the method Bai Yu had taught her.

Bai Yu immersed himself entirely in the sea of ​​his shattered soul. He had to completely eliminate the residual effects of the drugs as quickly as possible and perform a basic "repair" of the cracks in his soul.

Time ticked by in this suffocating silence.

Unaware of how much time had passed, Lu Yueqi felt her body going numb from maintaining the same posture for so long. Just as she was about to say something, a sound like high heels on concrete suddenly rang out from the silent passageway outside.

"Da da da……"

The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, each step feeling like they were treading on her heart.

Lu Yueqi's heart jumped into her throat instantly. She subconsciously held her breath, not daring to even breathe loudly.

Is it that "head nurse"? Or... Yao?

The footsteps grew closer and closer, eventually stopping in front of the refrigerated display case where they were.

Lu Yueqi felt as if her blood was about to freeze.

She even felt a scrutinizing gaze piercing through the heavy iron door, scanning them back and forth.

Her muscles were tense, maintaining a focused posture.

One second, two seconds, ten seconds...

Every second feels like a century.

Just when Lu Yueqi thought the two of them would be discovered and the cabinet door could be pulled open from the outside at any moment.

"Da da da……"

The footsteps sounded again, slowly fading away towards the other end of the passage.

Only after the sound completely disappeared did Lu Yueqi dare to slowly exhale a breath of stale air, only then realizing that her back was already soaked with cold sweat.

After an unknown amount of time, Bai Yu's steady breathing came from beside her.

His voice still carried a hint of fatigue, but it was no longer as weak as before.

Just as Lu Yueqi was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Bai Yu's words made her heart, which had just settled down, jump again.

“We… seem to be in trouble.” Bai Yu’s voice was heavy. “That thing that just passed by outside… wasn’t Yao, nor was it the head nurse. It was different. It was ‘another one.’ A… powerful consciousness I’ve never sensed before, filled with ‘jealousy’ and ‘hatred’.”

"another?"

“Yes.” Bai Yu said with certainty, “In this hospital, besides Yao, it seems that a second ‘king’ with an independent will has been ‘born’? Let’s define it that way for now, and they… may not be allies.”

Just then, a shrill scream suddenly came from the depths of the passage where the footsteps had just faded away!

This was followed by a series of tearing and chewing sounds, like those of a wild beast.

Bai Yu and Lu Yueqi exchanged a glance. Although they couldn't see each other's faces in the darkness, they could both clearly feel the indescribable horror in each other's hearts.

This prison of memories, this "kingdom" controlled by Yao, seems to be experiencing an internal strife they are unaware of.

(End of this chapter)