novelraw Chapter 128: The Lonely Game
Chapter 128: The Lonely Game
The investigation of the philosophy student's suicide dormitory ultimately ended hastily in a suffocating, oppressive atmosphere.
Professor Schmidt seemed completely drained of his vitality, his face etched with the disillusionment that only comes from confronting inexplicable truths.
Lin Jie and the other two returned to the Knight's House hotel with hearts heavier than when they arrived, carrying with them that ominous glimpse of the "Faceless One."
On the way back to the hotel, the sky over Heidelberg began to drizzle with a chilly, persistent rain.
"This won't do! We still know far too little about this 'thing'!" Julian paced back and forth restlessly in the hotel room.
"The ancient texts describe it too briefly, and those three dead students left behind no valuable written records. We're like fighting a ghost without a shadow, unable to even precisely define its method of attack or its killing pattern."
"Knowledge. What we lack most right now is knowledge." Julian finally stopped pacing and looked at Lin Jie and William. "Professor Schmidt has just agreed to make an exception for me and grant access to the 'Special Collection Room' of Heidelberg University's ancient texts library, which is normally closed to the public."
"It's said to house some original trial records from the Inquisition period of the Middle Ages concerning cases of 'demonic possession' and 'identity substitution.'"
"I must stay there tonight. I must find us a spear of truth sharp enough to pierce this 'void' from within those piles of paper."
Julian had entered his sleepless, relentless "academic assault" mode.William's voice sounded. "I'll go with you. The university district isn't safe at night."
"No, William." Lin Jie shook his head instead. He looked into William's concerned eyes and said in a calm tone, "You stay too. Stay at the hotel."
"Why?" William's brow furrowed tightly.
"Because," Lin Jie's gaze swept across this seemingly safe and comfortable room, his voice lowering, "I have a feeling that tonight, the prey isn't just us. This 'home' also needs a reliable sentry."
His words made William understand immediately.
Lin Jie was worried that the Doppelgänger UMA might very likely take advantage of their team being split and vulnerable to launch an unknown attack on him, who was already "marked" by it and staying behind at the hotel.
He needed William, this "door god," to stay and guard the rear.
William didn't ask any more questions. He just gave Lin Jie a deep look and then nodded.
He pulled out the original [Zulu's Gaze] from his chest and gently placed it on the bedside table, indicating that he would detect any abnormal "spiritual fluctuations" immediately.
Julian hurriedly departed, and William, lying fully dressed on his own bed early, entered a state of "vigilant feigned sleep."
Night deepened.
The entire Knight's House hotel fell into a deep quiet.
The sound of rain outside the window grew a bit louder.
Lin Jie sat alone at the large writing desk in his own room.
He didn't go consult materials like Julian. He simply spread out a blank sheet of manuscript paper and, with the fountain pen in his hand, repeatedly reviewed, deduced, and reconstructed all of today's clues and his own inferences in the form of a mind map.
He was thinking, thinking about what that bizarre UMA truly wanted from him.
Thinking about the deeper purpose behind its murderous ritual of "erasing identity markers."
His brain incorporated every minute variable into the calculation, trying to find a small path leading to the truth within this fog.
The midnight bell tolled from the direction of Heidelberg's Heiliggeistkirche in the distance. The heavy sound of the bell pierced through the curtain of rain, echoing over this ancient university town.
At the moment the bell toll faded away.
*Knock knock.*
A faint knocking sound came from outside Lin Jie's tightly closed door.
Lin Jie's body instantly stiffened. The highly concentrated string of his thoughts was plucked by this sudden sound.
He didn't call out to ask nor did he get up. He just slowly put down the fountain pen in his hand, his pitch-black eyes fixed unwaveringly on the perfectly fitted door.
William was right next door. If someone approached, he couldn't possibly be completely unaware.
And the hotel staff would never disturb a guest who requested "absolute quiet" at this hour.
So who was knocking?
*Knock knock.*
A second round of knocking sounded again, this time clearer than the last.
The person outside knew someone was definitely in the room, and knew the person inside had definitely heard.
Lin Jie gently rose from his chair.
He drew [Serene Heart] from his waist.
I.A.R.C.'s Hunter Rule Number One: Never take chances with the unknown under any circumstances.
He tiptoed to the door, pressing his ear tightly against the cold wooden panel, trying to catch any faint sound of breathing or a heartbeat from outside.
But outside was a dead silence. Apart from the *tick-tock* of the ancient grandfather clock in the hallway and the continuous sound of rain outside the window, there was no sound belonging to any "living creature."
The knocking itself seemed like an illusion.
But Lin Jie knew it wasn't. He could feel a familiar, malevolent sense of "staring" seeping through this thin door panel.
He took a deep breath and asked in a low voice, "Who's there?"
No one answered.
Lin Jie didn't hesitate any longer. He abruptly twisted the lock and yanked the door open!
The revolver in his hand was already loaded, its muzzle pointing at the empty, dimly lit hallway the moment the door opened!
However, the hallway was completely empty. Only a distant gas wall lamp hung, casting a dim yellow halo that made the faded iris patterns on the carpet appear mottled and surreal.
"Really no one?"
Lin Jie's brow furrowed tightly. Just as he was about to close the door and re-examine everything, a flash of white caught the corner of his eye under the door crack.
It was a seemingly perfectly ordinary blank scenic postcard, its back printed with a picture of Heidelberg Castle.
It lay there on the carpet, as if some careless postman had accidentally dropped it from his mailbag while delivering letters.
But Lin Jie's pupils instantly contracted!
Because this postcard absolutely wasn't there earlier. It simply didn't exist before he opened the door!
That unseen "visitor" outside had, at the same time as knocking, slipped this postcard under the door crack in a way he couldn't comprehend.
An indescribable sense of the bizarre enveloped him.
He crouched down, not directly touching the ominous card with his hand. He only carefully nudged it over with the barrel of [Serene Heart].
The front of the postcard was as white as snow, completely blank.
But just as Lin Jie's gaze focused on it, a change occurred.
The surface of that pristine cardstock seemed to be enchanted with some kind of developing magic.
Several strands of ink-formed handwriting fibers, like living worms, seeped out from within the paper, surfaced, and then reassembled!
Within a few seconds, on that blank postcard, using a delicate, flowing handwriting style Lin Jie was familiar to his very bones, a clear line of words was pieced together, filled with mockery and a sense of declaration of war.
"I know who you are."
An icy chill shot from the base of Lin Jie's spine straight to the top of his skull. He stood up, staring at that line of text in shock.
That handwriting!
That writing style!
That unique personal habit of slightly curving the tail of the letter 's' upward!
That was unmistakably his own handwriting!
Lin Jie quickly rushed out of the room, looking left and right. The hallway was still completely empty.