Translator: Reina Editor: Killian
“What do you mean?” Sun Zheng was puzzled.
Lu Xia showed a meaningful smile, and pointed to the record book.
Sun Zheng flipped through the records again and shook his head to show that he still didn’t understand.
Lu Xia’s smile did not falter. He hinted to Sun Zheng, “There was a question we raised previously: why did Yan Yang have to use ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’?”
Sun Zheng answered evenly, “Because he wants to imply that the murderer is himself, and ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’ is a novel that both of you are very familiar with.”
“As expected of an outstanding scholar, you learn quickly and have a good memory,” Lu Xia nodded with approval, then changed his tone after a pause. “Though, there are many detective novels with such a twist in their plot. So in fact, there is another reason for choosing this book, and it was to hint at the existence of an important prop that we neglected earlier, a prop which played a very important role in ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’.”
He looked at Sun Zheng with a gleam in his eyes.
“The dictaphone?” Sun Zheng impatiently pointed it out at once.
“Yes, if it really follows the method of ‘The Murder of Roger Ackroyd’, then Yan Yang must have had a recording device. Have you noticed that this Dr. Yan especially likes to mention his New Concept English tape?”
Sun Zheng remembered that cassette tapes were indeed commonly used then, and the frequency his New Concept English tapes had been mentioned was enough for people to remember it, so he nodded.
“I re-read it just now, and found something suspicious. Look at the last sentence, doesn’t it seem redundant?”
Rather than wasting my time on these ghost stories, it’s better to listen to New Concept English!
“It’s indeed very redundant. Why, do you think this sentence has a deeper meaning?”
Lu Xia paused, then said solemnly, “He’s asking us to listen to his New Concept English tape. Listen to it using the recording prop.”
Sun Zheng burst out into chuckles. “Lu Xia, although your analysis so far has been clear and logical, I really think you’re reading too much into this.”
Lu Xia seemed to be doubting himself too, so he didn’t answer.
“Besides, what exactly is that recording prop? Where can we find it? And the New Concept English tapes? Where can we find those? All of this happened a few years ago, and everyone involved had already resigned or died. Wouldn’t the hospital have thrown their belongings away long ago?”
Lu Xia furrowed his brows, pondering about the questions Sun Zheng just raised.
Suddenly, a spark of inspiration flashed across his mind.
In the archives, inside the pile of things he dug out in the archives…
“Yes, I know! I found a tape recorder in that box! That must be the device that Yan Yang used to learn English at that time! That’s it!” Lu Xia leapt to his feet in a flourish.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Sun Zheng was still a little at a loss but he followed Lu Xia and stood up.
“Ofa’r ub ab atf jgmtlnfr cbk jcv olcv atf gfmbgvfg jcv atf ajqf. Ktfs wera tjnf ifoa rbwf lcobgwjalbc lc la,” Oe Wlj rjlv ab Vec Itfcu fzmlafvis.
Vec Itfcu’r ujhf rtloafv ab atf vbbg. Lf abbx j rafq yjmx reymbcrmlberis.
Oe Wlj cbalmfv tlr eccjaegji fzqgfrrlbc. Pa kjr cba vloolmeia ab ecvfgrajcv tlr ilcufglcu ofjg ja atf wbwfca. Qjixlcu bnfg, tf qjaafv Vec Itfcu bc atf rtbeivfg jcv rtba tlw j klvf rwlif. “P’w tfgf!”
Sun Zheng stared straight at him, complaining in his heart, what’s the use of you, can you exorcise evil spirits? It’s not like you’re one giant clam.
Lu Xia didn’t know that Sun Zheng was currently imagining him as a giant clam, and before getting Sun Zheng’s consent, he leaned against Sun Zheng’s body, put his head on the other man’s shoulder, and said, “Don’t worry. If there’s anything coming after us, my back’s here to block it for you.”
Sun Zheng felt uncomfortable with Lu Xia’s chin digging into him. He rolled his shoulders and pointed to the table helplessly. “Go keep the record books and map first.”
Keeping himself in that posture, Lu Xia stretched out his hands and stuffed all the things into the pockets on either side of Sun Zheng’s coat. He held his makeshift-crutch chair leg in one hand, switched on the flashlight with the other, and said briskly, “Let’s go!”
Click.
The two opened the door cautiously, surveyed the corridor cautiously, then stepped out. The cool breeze in the corridor made them shiver at the same time.
Lu Xia pointed the flashlight at the ground, and whispered in Sun Zheng’s ear, “Don’t be afraid of that ghost boy.”
Sun Zheng replied with an even voice, “I’m not afraid of him anymore, I just think he is very pitiful.”
Just as Lu Xia was about to speak, he suddenly heard a very soft voice and subconsciously tightened his grip on Sun Zheng’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” Sun Zheng suddenly became alert.
Lu Xia didn’t want to raise false alarms. He pricked his ears up to listen more carefully while continuing to speak calmly, “It’s nothing. Back to the topic, why do you find that kid pitiful?”
There was a chill on his back and a soft voice by his ear. What’s that sound?
Could it be that there was something else on this third floor?
“I actually…” Sun Zheng paused. “I think everyone involved is very pitiful.”
It sounded… like a cough. Like the coughs old men made.
Lu Xia surreptitiously slid his hand under his own clothes, fumbling for the key. Giant clams can only exorcise evil spirits. To put it bluntly, its use is like a smoke bomb. The effect is short-lived, and the enemy will not disappear.
“Lu Xia?” Sun Zheng halted, half-leaning against the wall.
“Walk faster, don’t stop,” Lu Xia urged him, his ears still paying attention to the voice. “What’s so pitiful about them?”
Sun Zheng didn’t notice anything strange, so he supported Lu Xia again and continued walking down the corridor. The sign for the archives was just ahead, still shrouded in darkness. Yet for some reason, Sun Zheng’s mind was currently preoccupied with thoughts of the Operating Room 4 at the opposite end of the corridor, the place marked with a big red cross, and began feeling somewhat uneasy.
In order to alleviate his uneasiness, he replied to Lu Xia: “These people who entered the chasm didn’t commit any serious mistakes, some of them were completely innocent, but they are trapped here forever like this all the same. Being trapped here is more terrifying than death and more painful than living. For a child to experience all of this, wouldn’t it be pitiful?”
Lu Xia was distracted. Sure enough… it was the sound of coughing, and it was faintly coming from the stairs at the end of Room 3. The ghost child from earlier was also dragging Sun Zheng in that direction just now…
It seems that they shouldn’t use the stairs over there later. Even if it was risky, they had to use the stairs on this end instead.
Sun Zheng’s palm rested against the door to the archives. He breathed a sigh of relief, and continued, “What was the ‘it’ mentioned by Liu Qunfang’s grandfather? Could it be that it’s the one bringing people into this chasm? If we are able to capture it, would it mean that no one else would fall victim to…”
The door creaked open.
Just as the two of them were about to take a step in, suddenly, they heard a loud noise from behind.
Bang!
Sun Zheng was so startled that his hands softened and almost dropped Lu Xia to the ground. The two of them didn’t dare to turn around to look, and they pathetically scrambled into the archives just like the last time.
Their hearts were still palpitating. They looked at each other, eyes cloudy with doubt.
What was it this time?
This damned third floor is really not suitable for staying for a long time.
The two of them had this one thought at the same time.
It sounded like something fell down the stairs… Lu Xia contemplated.
It sounded like something fell down… Sun Zheng pondered.
Lu Xia seemed to have come to a realisation. He pointed to Sun Zheng and said, “Quick, help me see, is there anything on my back?”
Sun Zheng froze in fright, and asked with false bravery, “What, what do you mean? Don’t tell me you felt a sudden weight on your back?”
Lu Xia frowned, immediately shaking her head: “No, no, I just asked you to take a look for me, just in case.”
Sun Zheng was annoyed into amusement. He checked Lu Xia’s back with a peace of mind, and confirmed that there was nothing clinging to him and there were no black marks.
When the two finally completely calmed down, they immediately recalled the purpose of making this trip to the archives. Sun Zheng asked, “Where’s the thing you said?”
“Over there!” Lu Xia pointed at a pile of things on the ground not far away from them.
Feeling as though he was delegated to a means of transport, Sun Zheng struggled to walk there with this heavy load on his back, and said, “We must go find antibiotics and disinfectants to treat your foot.”
“Of course, of course.” Though Lu Xia agreed readily, there was not much expectation in his tone.
Sun Zheng picked up the tape recorder from the pile of debris, and didn’t know what expression he should put on when he found that it came along with several ‘Huan Zhu Ge Ge‘ stickers adhered on it.
Lu Xia glanced at it, and said with a smile. “That show got popular across the country during those few years. These stickers should be pasted by that child.”
Sun Zheng patted off the dust on it. He opened the old recorder, and found a tape already inside, reading ‘New Concept English’. He checked the back of the device and found that there were no batteries.
He handed the device and tape to Lu Xia’s eyes with doubts in his eyes.
“You mean to say that Yan Yang and your brother recorded something on this New Concept English tape, and asked us to listen to it?” He saw Lu Xia nodding and the furrow between his brows deepened. “But there is only one tape?”
Lu Xia took the device and the tape, and unlike Sun Zheng, he was very happy. “The number of tapes doesn’t mean anything. If this tape really had crucial information then it shouldn’t be so easily found.”
“So you think there are other tapes? Where would they be?”
“If it’s still in the hospital, it must be at a place where the hospital hasn’t been moved or even paid attention to for several years. It must be at a place where people would be reluctant to go to, even if it’s cleaned regularly or even when the owner changes. For instance, this place.”
“Could the tapes be scattered? Besides, why did they leave the tapes in the hospital and not take them out?”
Lu Xia shrugged, expressing that he didn’t understand either, then raised his hand holding the only tape they’d found. “Fortunately, we still have this one left in our hands. There should be clues in it to help us find the next one. As for why they decided to leave such important information in the hospital, I don’t know.”
Lu Xia held the tape very excitedly, flipping it over and over in his hand. Sun Zheng interrupted with a grumble, “Don’t get too excited yet. No matter how you look at it, that’s just an English tape. Furthermore, there’s still the question of whether we can even play the tape, let alone if there are any clues hidden in it.”
Lu Xia slapped Sun Zheng’s shoulder. Sun Zheng almost fell over from the force, and he spun around angrily, only to see Lu Xia’s dimpled smiling face filled with joy. “No problem, it’ll definitely work!”
They removed the battery from the table lamp and stuffed it into the device. The screen flickered, revealing words.
The displayed time is January 20, 2002, 03:03:00.
There was a brief moment of silence in the file room. It felt as though the veil of the girl in the past had been removed, and now the face of an old woman was revealed, holding the vicissitudes and sadness.
Lu Xia memorised that displayed time, then put the first tape in.
The two leaned against the table, listening quietly.
The tape let out several hisses, followed by a burst of standard English in a female voice, talking about how the third volume of the second edition of New Concept English.
Sun Zheng made a face. He looked at Lu Xia, feeling stupid for going out of their way to find an English tape to listen to in this situation.
Lu Xia held down Sun Zheng’s hand, preventing Sun Zheng from walking away. His eyes were still fixed on the device as he said, “Trust me. There is no way they would put their recording right at the beginning.”
Just like this, after a long few minutes of English, the female suddenly stopped and morphed into a hissing sound.
The two men glanced towards each other at the same time. They inadvertently moved closer to the device, their faces nearly pressed together, their breaths mingling.
Hiss, hiss.
Finally, even the hissing weakened.
“Hey, hello!” A young man’s voice sounded from the device.
Which guy is the one who created this chasm!? (｀益´)
so i started reading this novel thinking, that i’ll pace myself and catch up with the translation right before it’s finished, but i love it sm??? i binge read all of the chapters in one day and now i await every drop day with glee. i wanna know what’s on that recorder~!