Doomsday Jigsaw Puzzle

Chapter 346: Chapter 150: Honesty like Fog

As the apocalypse descended, many professions vanished, and humanity’s civilization was nibbled away by a colossal disaster.

Although the seeds of inheritance were preserved in the High Tower, the harsh living conditions and the large number of people who were blocked outside the High Tower meant that many of the civilizations people knew no longer existed.

Whether it was the essence passed down from ancient ancestors or the dregs, it all ceased to exist.

The High Tower indeed heralded a new era. The comings and goings of people under the technology of the High Tower itself, under their educated tutelage, allowed this new civilization to avoid many detours.

But it seemed to have a pathetically dissociated layer from the times of yesteryears, and for those crafts that had nothing to do with survival that had disappeared, no one cared.

In Baichuan City, 700 years ago, there was such a craftsman, whose Sichuan puppet show, predating shadow plays, was widely acclaimed.

Unfortunately, in the apocalypse, such skills were far less useful than being able to drive, swim, or use guns.

Especially when the apocalypse struck, his keratitis became more severe, gradually losing his vision, becoming blind.

A whole person could hardly survive in such an environment, let alone someone who could not see?

No one knew exactly what transpired in the end. In this strange apartment building, many people mysteriously disappeared, many died for no apparent reason.

And yet this blind man lived quite well; no one knew how he could procure so much food outside.

The Peeping Tom had thought of stealing this food but did not act, instead, letting the information slip out.

Thus, on that day, someone came to steal the food.

The blind man always left the door unlocked, as if he did not even know the amount of food he had hoarded, which was already fatally tempting to others.

Only the Peeping Tom never found out what became of these people. Whenever someone entered the blind man’s house, they never came out again, and those scenes were always black in his vision.

...

...

Seven hundred years later, another intruder entered this house.

The puppet’s neck rotated 270 degrees, its body stiffly twisted, and from the darkness came a clicking sound as though correcting dislocated bones.

The lifeless puppet slowly came to life.

Not just that, but those "limbs" hidden in boxes, under the bed, in the bathroom, also began to move on their own. frёeωebɳovel.com

They crawled like worms; those seemingly ordinary puppet limbs that were first peered at now writhed with streams of fresh blood coming to life...

The intruder finally realized that these limbs were human limbs! They had lain quiet in this room before, looking like remnants of some puppet.

But at that moment, in the night, they revealed their true form, emitting the smell of decay as they slowly assembled.

Only the one piecing them together had long forgotten what they were originally like, a burly man’s head and torso attached to a child’s limbs.

A middle-aged woman’s head was placed on a young man’s body...

Many parts that couldn’t be differentiated as "puppets" or "real humans" kept combining.

In front of a puppet, they seemed like a group of guards.

If this process were in a horror movie, the director would surely use a slow-motion shot, accompanied by tense and frightening music.

And he would certainly tell the actor to show a look of terror.

Yes, the actor Bai Wu did not show a look of terror, he even felt like laughing, so the scene in the night suddenly lost its terrifying atmosphere.

"Before you start performing, I need you to understand something. Those things around you are pretty intimidating, but they don’t scare me. And they’re not much of a fight. It seems these people were the ones who once broke into your place, tried to harm you, or robbed you. Yet in the end, they all became puppets," Bai Wu said.

"The first time I came here, I didn’t find you. Clearly, you have the ability to hide, and I don’t have enough information about you; ’belief means existence,’ but I can’t trigger it. It’s as if I believe there’s a monster over my head, but the tale that would make me look up never shows up," he continued.

"But now it’s different. I already know your full picture, and the rules of ’belief means existence’ won’t let you hide from me. You appeared later than the first two tales I encountered, so I had some expectations for you, but it turns out you can be affected by laughter."

In the darkness, the puppet actually felt a trace of fear. The aura emanating from this human made it sense danger.

"Who... are... you...?"

Its voice was mechanical, and Bai Wu thought to himself that this place would make a good haunted house if it weren’t for being a prison staff rest area.

"My name is Bai Wu, a Supernatural Tale Remover. I’ve already dispatched two strange tales."

As he spoke, Bai Wu took out the skin sewn on the face from the elevator killer tale and the hair stained with the long-haired human trafficker woman’s tale, along with a broken wrist.

Seeing this, all the living puppet corpses stopped moving and didn’t make any more terrifying gestures.

Bai Wu continued:

"You can try to fight me, but you’d better weigh your options and see if you are stronger than the two tales I faced before."

The puppet didn’t say anything; it was indeed weighing its options.

"I can only tell you that you’ve been in the apartment for seven hundred years. You’ve never seen the outside world. The waters are too deep out there, and you’re not able to handle it."

He took back the two identifying items from the tales and instead took out an axe. Even in the darkness, this ensemble made the living puppet tale feel the terror between life and death.

At the sight of the axe, the puppet stopped weighing its options.

Over seven hundred years, several tales plotted against each other and hid, but without any tenants, nothing could progress. Finally, there was a tenant, and such a fierce one at that—it suddenly realized that times had changed.

Nowadays, tenants are more like strange tales than the tales themselves.

They had all become entities of half-desire, half-Evil Fallen, with their greatest wish being to drive out the other five tales.

Seeing that someone could defeat the tale downstairs, of course, the puppet dared not confront him head-on. It even had a request, so it continued speaking in its stiff mechanical voice:

"I... am... not... like... them..."

"Stop, we can’t fast forward reality; your speech is too slow. Since you can control corpses, you should be able to make them speak as well."

These bodies were all haphazardly put together, looking very discordant, but Bai Wu was right—the puppet’s Sequence was called Puppeteer’s Connective Heart, an absolute control.

A child with a bun hairstyle, matched with the body of a muscular man as if Nezha had come to life, suddenly spoke:

"I am different from the others. I haven’t harmed anyone."

"With so many bodies all mixed up by you, are you telling me you haven’t harmed anyone?"

Bai Wu acted as if he was about to mete out punishment immediately, so the puppet urgently controlled another female corpse. This body appeared harmonious, except that the feet were attached to the hand’s places, and the hands to the feet’s places.

"Stealing food was equivalent to robbery and murder seven hundred years ago. They wanted to kill me, I turned them into puppets... It’s reasonable. I was just protecting myself... While they... are driven by resentment."

Bai Wu didn’t argue too much with this statement. Even if he were to act as a judge, the statute of limitations would have passed after seven hundred years. Moreover, the rights and wrongs of seven hundred years ago have no reference today.

Having seen the good, the bad, and the Evil Fallen outside the tower, whether they could be of any use to him or have aligned interests in the future were the key criteria for Bai Wu to decide on their survival.

"What you’re saying does make some sense, and your actions seem milder compared to the two tales I dealt with. How about this: I won’t kill you. I know you want to drive them away, and I can even help you do that."

The puppet wasn’t stupid and knew Bai Wu must have a demand:

"What do I need to do?"

"I’m a bit obsessive-compulsive; I like to collect things from my prey when they die. Even though I won’t kill you, I still need to take something symbolic from you, as if I have already ’dealt with’ you. This is an offer, don’t be ungrateful. After all, the other few tales didn’t get such a deal."

You’re different from the other five coquettish bitches; you’re the most special to me.

Bai Wu’s approach might be unorthodox, but in the face-off between the six individualistic tales, this tactic worked quite well.

Eventually, Bai Wu took the head. The puppet’s head. Like a mummy, the living puppet tale had a Sequence similar to Weakness Transfer, where limbs could be dismantled at will as long as the weakness wasn’t exposed.

Half of the six tales were now resolved, and it had completely turned dark.

Bai Wu started to head towards the upper floors. What could be confirmed so far was that these six tales seemed to have turned into special Evil Fallen with unique constitutions due to some special rule. Once certain conditions were met, they could become a force attached to themselves.

The elevator killer, the human trafficker evil woman, and now the living puppet—the powers they brought were something Bai Wu was quite looking forward to. Presumably, these would also be related to their own abilities.

This world still contains powers beyond the known Sequences and terms.

Even now, Bai Wu still believed that the creator of the High Tower encouraged people to leave it. He still saw the world outside the tower as a treasure trove.

As long as one continues to explore the tower, they can find various powers to arm themselves.

The ninth floor of the apartment.

Throughout the entire eighth floor, Bai Wu didn’t find any useful clues. When he reached the ninth floor, he once again saw a red door.

The door was still open.

"Although a carpet search can sometimes seem foolish, it’s undeniable that when the area isn’t large, it’s incredibly useful. There are many supernatural tales in this apartment and countless odd events. Even among the six standout tales, the events that occur inside these rooms are bizarre. You’ve guessed what it is, haven’t you?"

Bai Wu indeed guessed what the riddle in the note referred to.

"So, it seems the Peeping Tom is just an oddity, not yet rising to the level of a supernatural tale?"

Many of the old props in this room had an air of Bai Wu’s childhood about them, particularly the big-head color television, which instantly gave off a sense of era.

This room was the one from the television supernatural tale, and the TV set, being the only one present, was glaringly conspicuous. Bai Wu looked at this television and felt as though he was looking at some kind of enormous embryo.

He originally thought that the Peeping Tom on the seventh floor had some definite connection with the Evil Fallen phrase "I am watching you." Now he realized... the Peeping Tom was just a minor character.

In the pitch-black darkness, he stared at the television and said,

"The Peeping Tom from the seventh floor was probably eaten by you, wasn’t he?"

"It’s somewhat ironic. He was peeping at everyone, yet he didn’t know that someone in the television was always peeping at him."

Suddenly, a rip of light tore through the darkness, and the television in the pitch-black room switched on.

The note provided by the Eyes was very strange—

"This time, I don’t need to explain anything. Just enjoy the show."

The screen on the television no longer displayed static snow but began to air a peculiar show.

Magical realities from seven hundred years ago started to unfold before Bai Wu’s eyes.

The first scene was Bai Wu watching television.

Outside on the television, Bai Wu was watching TV, and inside the television, Bai Wu was also watching TV. Fortunately, the scene didn’t loop infinitely like two mirrors facing each other. In the television within the television, the content showed a woman watching TV.

On the TV screen the woman was watching, there was a man watching TV.

Bai Wu felt as if he were witnessing a matryoshka-like scene.

And in the television within the television within the television—that is, the TV that the man was watching—there was another woman watching TV.

The woman in the innermost TV was watching another man, who happened to be the one watching the woman.

But in the last TV, the man’s face bore a cruel smile.

It was somewhat confusing, but Bai Wu felt like he grasped what the television was trying to portray.

"Lucky for me I have good eyesight. If my eyesight wasn’t sharp enough, I really wouldn’t have been able to see all these details..."

Undoubtedly, what Bai Wu was seeing was a picture within a picture within a picture... within a picture. A sequence of overlapping scenes.

This was a very abstract way of expression, yet he vaguely guessed the ability of this television.

At this moment, the television started to change channels continuously.

First, a news program uttered the syllable "I," then a talent show uttered "am," freewēbnoveℓ.com

As shows kept changing—environmental PSAs, commercials, movies, cartoons... Eventually, all the words strung together to form a sentence.

After dozens of program changes, it was lucky that Bai Wu possessed the Investigation Corps’ standard memory, recording everything.

"I was possessed and given thought. My master didn’t change his heart, but he fell out of love... He and she killed my master."

Bai Wu’s conjecture was confirmed:

"So, your ability is to see through people’s hearts? That’s quite a powerful ability... "

"No, not, exactly, like that."

Four different programs responded with four words.

Bai Wu found it quite interesting that the TV could actually engage in a question-and-answer session with him. He was tempted to say, "Magic mirror, magic mirror, tell me who is the most reliable supporter in the world."

Of course, the television was not a magic mirror; it was an object possessed by a spirit, endowed with a certain level of thought.

And Bai Wu guessed that the television possessed the ability to discern a part of people’s thoughts.

It was evident from the images on the screen. Bai Wu watched the TV, and the Bai Wu in the television watched the TV.

This meant that, in the television’s view, Bai Wu’s mind was focused on the TV—

And the TV told a story about a woman whose mind was on a man, so the woman saw a man on her television screen.

This man was thinking about another woman, so in the man’s television screen, another woman appeared.

The other woman was also thinking about this man, so on the television screen that she watched, the man appeared. She hoped that the man would do some evil deeds.

So the man revealed an evil grin.

Clearly, the television had the capability to express certain human thoughts in an abstract manner.

This ability was good; although unrelated to combat, it was better for gathering intelligence than a certain half-talking eye.

However, Bai Wu was not sure if this ability would change once it was acquired by him.

"Your mistress got married to a man, and as the manager of this apartment, the longest-standing presence here, she effectively ruled over this temporary refuge from the apocalypse."

"She loved this man in her heart, and the two of them lived together. But the man had an affair and fell for another woman—let’s call her the other woman for now. The other woman might have truly liked the man, or perhaps she coveted a place to live. Either way, she wanted the man to drive away your mistress."

The "TV" responded to Bai Wu in a different way.

The man grabbed the woman’s head and smashed it into the TV, the screen shattering completely.

And that’s when strange things happened.

The man tried to drag the woman out, but found he could not move her at all. The television seemed only so big, but suddenly it gave the man a sense that there was a bottomless abyss inside...

Compelled by some ghostly force, he chose not to drag out the woman but instead pushed her inside.

The body of an adult woman was thus hidden inside the TV, and then he repaired the television screen. Everything looked... perfectly normal.

He also didn’t feel much dissonance...

Of course, the man died not long after.

In the eyes of the monitor, the scene appeared as if the man had put the woman into the television. So the monitor was suspicious... did this not give off a strong smell?

But he had no idea that the woman’s corpse wasn’t placed in an ordinary television.

"The man cheated, killed the mistress, and then brought the other woman to live in the mistress’s house. If I were put in such a cuckolded position, killed and forced to watch them being promiscuous in the TV every day, I would be angry too."

Bai Wu tried to show empathy with the TV. The TV did not respond to Bai Wu.

Because the TV, as the true observer of the whole apartment, wouldn’t be fooled by Bai Wu’s ploys, no matter how he tried to trick the other three Evil Fallen.

Bai Wu also realized this.

But different targets require different tactics, different clients have different needs. Speaking human to humans and ghost to ghosts was standard practice for him as an honest man.

You can see the world inside, but can you still see the outside world?

"You’ve been possessed, yet you’ve also become Evil Fallen... This doesn’t make sense; it seems that you should be one with your mistress inside you... alright, you two are one and the same."

"I admit that I indeed have requests of you, but the future is infinite. Do you plan to stay here forever? Do you hear the laughter outside? That laughter affects you just the same. Rather than being consumed by it, why not follow me?"

Bai Wu appeared very sincere and once again brought out his spiel:

"I will help you solve the other five supernatural tales. You’ve killed quite a few people in this apartment, but these people surely have some things in common, right?"

"There are no more tenants in the apartment. How about coming out with me to see the outside? There’re plenty of scumbags out there, and I, for one, despise scumbags deeply."