horror effect

On the way back to the hotel, Stephen told Julian the whole story of the incident just now: he always thought that Valentine was quite admiring for Herbert Wernstein, and in the usual chats, Valentine often mentioned how Herbert was How kind, how humble.Stephen felt that this behavior was no different from that of a girl in unrequited love.He doesn't have the slightest prejudice or dislike for his friend's relationship. The only thing that bothers him is that this relationship is still in one-sided love.

"I said that just now in the hope that Valentine could express his feelings, but that idiot is actually shy!" Stephen curled his lips, looking quite contemptuous.

"It's no use worrying about emotional matters, and besides, I don't think Mr. Warnstein has any sense of his affection for Valentine."

"Oh? How can you tell?"

"In the bookstore just now, Valentine said that Wernstein told him about me, and he said that I was 'learned and determined', which should be something that people who are very familiar with will say. But it made me wonder Interestingly, I only had a brief conversation with Wernstein, and it ended in a cold atmosphere, so where did the impression of 'learned and determined' come from?"

"Maybe someone told him." Stephen guessed.

"I don't think so," Julian shook his head. "Don't forget that Vornstein is the one who protects the secrets of room C307. He may have other secrets."

"Then... let's investigate him too."

"No, tonight's 'archaeology' is already very risky, we can't involve other people, especially him."

Stephen agreed with Julian's decision.They were standing just outside the walls of the dwelling opposite the Four Calendar Tavern, and the two of them decided to go in and buy a bottle of wine.

Stephen and Julian walked towards the tavern. The two walked lightly and were in a happy mood, but they didn't expect that the conversation just now was overheard by Sister Tofana who was leaning behind the door.

"Archaeology?" one of the sisters looked at the other and asked, "What does that mean?"

"An Examination of Ancient Cultures."

"The only monuments in this town are churches, stone bridges and dilapidated old houses."

"They mentioned room C307, the room at the Cedar Hill Inn. We all know about it."

"Probably. They also mentioned Herbert Wernstein. Ah... that man..."

"A threat."

"A huge threat."

The two sisters stared at each other with wide eyes, their wrinkled faces reflected in each other's pupils.

"I feel..." they said simultaneously, putting their palms to their cheeks, "something is going to happen tonight!"

At 08:30 in the evening, Julian and Stephen had dinner in the hotel restaurant.Their main course was roast lamb shank with chargrilled potatoes and onions, plus starters, salads and pastries.There was a lot to the meal, but the two of them thought it would be better to eat more when they thought of the unknown and thrilling night that was about to come.

When the meal was about to finish, three people walked into the restaurant, namely the mayor of the town, the chief of the police, and the president of the bank, namely Stephen's father, Mr. Breumont Rose.Stephen wanted to take Julian to sneak away, but was discovered by his father, and they had to talk to them before the mayor's food was served.

"Aren't you going home tonight?" Mr. Brymontrose asked his son in a low voice.

"I want to study the religious development of Byzantium with Mr. Raymond all night. Didn't I tell you everything before." He replied seriously.

"It's your business to study, it has nothing to do with me. But your mother will be angry if she knows you stay up late."

"Oh! Won't you not tell her? Just pretend you haven't seen me tonight."

"Well... this... I think there are some things that you can't hide if you want to."

The chief of police, who had overheard the father and son talking, interrupted: "Mr. Breumontrose, you're so right. You know that?" He showed the usual pride on the face of a man with a secret in his hand, and everyone agreed. Attracted to him, waiting for him. "I have the exact information that Mikhail Bouy has left Italy and will be back in town soon."

The mayor's expression darkened. "Why did he come back suddenly? In previous years, he had to wait until spring."

"I heard that Bois has just married a young bride, and this time he came back to hold a formal wedding in his hometown. But, I think he is just trying to avoid the journalists and creditors who are chasing after him. I heard that Bois Yi's financial company is very prosperous on the surface, but it has already incurred huge liabilities internally, and his bride can bring him a considerable dowry."

"From this point of view, his eagerness to get married is actually to alleviate the financial crisis."

"Poor bride." Stephen felt a little aggrieved.

"That's normal," said the mayor, "in the marriages of financiers there is only shining gold, not shining love."

When the dishes were served, Stephen and Julian took their leave.As soon as he walked out of the restaurant, Stephen reminded Julian that the return of Mikhail Bouy might provide them with another way to explore the secrets of the white lion, but Julian did not intend to cancel tonight's action because of this.

"Who knows how many secrets Boai knows? And will he tell us? Is what he tells us sure to be true? No, we cannot trust him. We must act ourselves, with our own hands To touch, to feel, to see and observe with our own eyes."

Stephen clearly remembered that they walked out of Julian's room at 5 minutes after [-]:[-] in the morning. Not long ago, the antique clock in the corridor made a "dang" sound, as if falling out of space, and then fell into the abyss .The wall lamp in the corridor is still on, reflecting the whole space into an old yellow-brown color. The wallpaper on the wall and the carpet under the feet seem to have been baptized by time and become antique.

They quietly walked to the door of room C307, taking the necessary tools with them.The keys were kept in velvet boxes so as not to rattle against each other, but Julian held the key to Julian's room out of habit.They lowered their bodies and squatted in front of the door of room C307, looking at each other.The dim light shone on the face from above, and the details could not be seen clearly, and the eyes turned into two shadows under the brow bone, but even so, they could see each other's excited and trembling nervous expression.

Why so nervous, Julian thought.Hasn't he encountered this situation before?No, he has already experienced it. The walls around him that have been turned dark yellow by the lights are more like ruins in the evening sun. When he takes a step forward and turns around, gunshots and white smoke mix together.And there's no death in this room... maybe.

Julian put the key of his own room into the door lock. This is just a habit, a habit of thousands of years-use the nearest and most convenient thing.He turned the key handle, but encountered no obstacle as expected, so his hand stopped there-the half-turned position.There are many things in the world that should not happen in our opinion. For example, an apple will not fly to the sky by itself, for example, if a fist hits a hard rock, it will not cause harm. When the matching key suddenly turned in the lock, Julian was as surprised as if gravity had suddenly failed.

He froze for a few seconds.During this time, neither of them made a move, allowing the rockets of emotion to pierce the atmosphere of the mind.Then Stephen's hand came up and took Julian's hand holding the key handle, pushing and driving it to move on.The key has completed the first turn.

Then it made a second turn.

At this point, the key is still in the lock, and the door has been opened.

The two hands that overlapped and held the key stiffened almost at the same time, and stopped moving.Julian took Stephen's arm with his other hand and pulled him closer to his ear, saying softly and sternly, "It shouldn't be like this." There was no way a mismatched key would open the lock, This goes against what we have, our most precious experience, reason, but it happens, so it's not 'our' law.He looked at Stephen and asked him with his eyes: Do you understand?can you understand

Stephen also answered him with his eyes: I understand, I understand, this is not something in the world we are familiar with.I know this can only be called a miracle.

"Maybe it's a hoax."

Stephen gave a small smile.Even if it's a hoax, even if it is, I'll take a look first, let me see, and then I'll judge—not with reason, but with my heart, a beating, warm heart to judge what it is.

The two hands pulled out the key together, and then Julian took the doorknob first, and opened the door a crack.

There was darkness in the crack of the door.The two looked at each other, then Julian opened the door wide and they slipped in cautiously.

Darkness fell over them like a velvet veil, save for the back-to-back doors that showed a square silhouette illuminated by the light from the corridor outside, but this line of light was too weak to illuminate anything but themselves.There is darkness in front of you, like a clouded night, but even the darkest night is alive, with occasional flashes of starlight, and clouds grayed by the moon, and here the darkness is dead, surrounded In a small space, you can feel your breath being folded back by the wall.

They could hear each other's breathing, as well as their own, which reassured them a little.Waited for a while and nothing happened.Julian groped to touch Stephen's hand, and gently tugged at his fingers, which was both a comfort and a reminder. "Feel what?" he whispered.

"...I didn't feel anything." Stephen replied, seeming a little uneasy.

"Me too," Julian said.Strange--very strange, he said to himself, if it was normal for him not to be able to see the marble floors, the crystal chandeliers, the rich red draperies because of the darkness, there were some things that didn't require eyes.One thing was missing from the room—an elegant frankincense with thickness—and another—a dry, dusty smell.

Julian switched on the tiny flashlight on his forehead.A beam of light hits the opposite wall, forming an elliptical light spot, and in this light channel, countless tiny particles are churning and dancing, shining like a piece of gold flakes.But both Julian and Stephen knew it was dust.The beams are shot in several different directions in the room, but the result is always the same, dust is always dust.

Seeming to be impatient with this kind of exploration, Stephen turned on the large flashlight in his hand, and the room was immediately illuminated by the light beam, and they were also stunned at the same time.There was nothing in the room, or so to speak: nothing but dust.The precious stones, crystals, luxurious wools that Julian had told Stephen...all were gone, the bare wooden floor was dry and cracked, the concrete underneath could be clearly seen in some places, a chair with a broken back in the corner, another There is a bedside table in the corner, and only two of the four drawers remain. There is wallpaper on the wall, but the color and pattern have faded away.

And all these things were covered with dust, so much and so thick, it seemed as if the dust had been there for hundreds of years.There is no mark on the dust, which proves that they were the first to enter here.

"Why...?" Stephen muttered, but didn't finish.

Julian knew exactly what he meant: How could this be!In fact, he himself really wanted to ask this question: How could this be the case?Why did we come in and see these things?What exactly is going on?

They walked forward slowly, shining their flashlights everywhere, hoping to find something--traces, objects, even the unlikely hidden button of a door to another world.But they found nothing.

I used the word 'unexpectedly', Julian thought, to mean that I was expecting something to be discovered, but the reality is that my expectation has failed, my expectation has become false... Is my expectation justified?

Just because I have seen those things before, I think that what is waiting for me inside will not change when I open this door again. Is this kind of expectation a little too confident?

But what caused all this now?

Another form of miracle?

Or is it the result of some human ingenuity?

After the entire room was checked, Stephen shook his head at Julian.Disappointment is palpable. "Let's go," he suggested.Julian reluctantly agreed.This time Stephen walked in front, he opened the door carefully and walked out.