Chapter 232: The Town Where Memories Are Forbidden

Chapter 232: The Town Where Memories Are Forbidden

Through the telescope, the small man watched Lena enter the hotel.

He waited in a house not far from the hotel for a while, but seeing no sign of Lena coming out, he reluctantly put away his equipment and decided to stake out again the next morning.

Shouldering his backpack, the small man headed back towards their original hideout.

From afar, he could see a crooked, haphazard mountain of houses had risen there. He muttered to himself, “I wonder what happened with Scarface, causing such a commotion… Could it be that ‘Music’ has caught up with him?”

His heart began to race. Part of him hoped the bully who often oppressed him would die soon, yet another part feared losing the strong protection Scarface provided.

After all, no matter how terrible Scarface's temper was, he undeniably remained the strongest among them.

If even the strongest one were to die first, the chances of survival for the remaining two, still trapped deep in the Shadow Realm, would become even slimmer…

Shaking his head, the small man decided not to dwell on it for now and to go back and ask the shrewd Rat Eye about the situation.

As he walked through a narrow alley, he suddenly paused.

He heard… footsteps behind him that didn't belong to him.

Swallowing nervously, the small man kept his pace steady as he continued forward, paying close attention to the footsteps behind him—

“Tap, tap, tap.”

The sound was like that of a woman's slightly high-heeled shoes tapping the ground, neither hurried nor slow, trailing a few meters behind, seemingly unconcerned about being noticed.

A cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The small man wondered if the person following him was the newcomer he had been spying on during the day.

No, it's impossible.

Judging from the footsteps, the one behind should be an adult woman, not a young girl like Lena.

So...

"Who’s there?" The small man raised his voice, masking his fear with severity. "Who’s following me? Get out here now!"

He stopped and turned, a faint red glow appearing in his palm. In an instant, the flame grew with the wind, transforming into a scorching long blade.

The small man tugged at the corners of his mouth, trying to reassure himself: It’s just a woman, after all. At most, her entrance was a bit unsettling. What’s there to be afraid of?

With this thought, his courage gradually grew, and his fear was replaced by a strong urge to dominate.

He secretly resolved that once he caught the woman who was playing tricks and following him, he would grab her hair, slam her head against the wall, and teach her a lesson...

The small man was used to being submissive before the scarred man, but that didn’t mean anyone could step on him!

"Tap, tap, tap."

The woman’s steps did not stop; she continued at a steady, unhurried pace, slowly approaching the small man.

When he finally saw her face, the small man’s eyes widened in shock.

The woman’s long hair was braided into a sleek black braid that fell over her shoulder. Her unique pale silver eyes were calm and expressionless, staring straight at him.

Her face bore a striking resemblance to Lena’s, but with more defined and mature features, and a colder demeanor. If not for the slight rise and fall of her chest, she would have seemed like a corpse frozen for ages.

"How can you...”

Shocked, the small man instinctively voiced his question, but before he could finish, he saw the woman raise her right hand, holding a silver scissors that glinted with a cold light. The blades pointed at his neck from a distance, and her fingers applied a slight pressure—

“Snap.”

The small man only heard the sharp, quick sound of the scissors’ blades grinding against each other, then everything went pitch black, his thoughts freezing in that moment.

His face frozen in disbelief, the small man fell backward.

The woman's expression remained unchanged as she calmly stepped over his body and walked deeper into the alley.

A ray of twilight shone into her eyes, turning her silver irises into a metallic bronze hue—unlike human eyes, they resembled those of a walking machine.

A machine born from someone’s memories, driven solely by the instinct to kill.

...

On the other side, inside the Crown Hotel.

“Knock, knock, knock.”

“I know you’re in there,” the voice outside the door grew more urgent with each knock, becoming increasingly distorted, like nails scratching on wood, “Why won’t you open the door? Why won’t you open the door?”

“I know you’re in there!”

The hotel room door was somewhat worn, and with each pounding, it shook violently, the hinges creaking under the strain.

The gap between the door and the frame widened gradually, allowing Lena to glimpse the dark shadow outside through the cracks that appeared when the door was struck.

At this rate, it wouldn’t take more than a few minutes for the entire door to fall apart!

With the situation growing increasingly dire, Lena's mind raced, and she quickly noticed a rule—

"6. If you have been discovered, remember, they cannot distinguish between the living and the dead."

"Cannot distinguish between the living and the dead"…

Could it mean that the things outside the door couldn't detect life signs?

The best course of action would be to use a corpse to replace herself and trick whatever was outside… but Lena couldn't possibly carry a body around with her, and the resources in the room were extremely limited.

After a moment's thought, Lena considered a question:

If a dead person could substitute for a living one, what about other humanoid objects without life signs?

With no other options, Lena, half hoping for a miracle, rummaged through the wardrobe for hangers and clothes, roughly assembling them into a humanoid shape. She tore strips from the bedsheet corners and used them to secure a round cushion from the sofa to the hanger, creating a dummy.

Lena wondered if she might have been a tailor's apprentice before losing her memory; otherwise, her fingers wouldn't be so nimble, and the result would not have been as convincing as it was.

At least under the light, the shadow cast by the dummy looked somewhat like a man in a loose nightgown, though the pant legs were empty, lacking feet.

Would such a dummy fool the things outside the door?

"I know someone is in there! Open the door!!"

With each pounding, the door shook violently, and the hinges began to loosen, a screw securing the pivot falling out.

Seeing no more time to waste, Lena gritted her teeth and took a gamble. Seizing the moment when the shadow paused its hammering, she quickly opened a narrow gap in the door and managed to push the dummy out.

As the dummy squeezed through the gap, the round cushion forming its head wobbled, causing Lena's heart to skip a beat.

Fortunately, the pillow was still held in place by the cloth strip and the hanger hook, preventing it from falling to the ground. It merely became a lopsided humanoid with a drooping head.

After pushing the humanoid out, Lena immediately closed the door, the entire process taking no more than two seconds.

She held her breath, focusing on the sounds outside the door.

The knocking stopped, and for a moment, an eerie silence enveloped the surroundings. Then came the voice of the disguised staff: "Guest, please follow me."

Next, Lena heard a bone-chilling sound of tearing and swallowing, accompanied by footsteps gradually fading away—whatever was outside had already begun feasting on the humanoid as it walked away.

If Lena herself had gone out, the corridor might have been left with a trail of dripping blood, absorbed by the dark red carpet, waiting for the next unsuspecting guest to step over it...

Lena let out a sigh of relief, grateful that the creature outside seemed both stupid and blind, mistaking any humanoid form for a human.

The sunset outside the window slowly sank, and soon, night fell.

The town's rules mentioned that during the night, windows and doors must be locked, and children were forbidden to go out alone.

Thus, Lena closed the window, carefully checked the locks on both the window and door, washed her face, brushed her teeth, and climbed into bed early.

In her dream, she once again sank into a thick, putrid, murky liquid... like a swamp.

Darkness enveloped her, the entire swamp almost motionless, except for the decaying leaves slowly rotting around her, emitting a muddy stench.

At this moment, a sharp whistle sounded from afar.

"Whoo—"

The whistle grew louder and closer, the airflow within the pipe seemingly stirring the swamp, causing the foul-smelling liquid to bubble up, gurgling beside Lena's ears.

Unlike the previously vague and ethereal music, this time Lenna could clearly hear the melody of the flute.

The rhythm was familiar.

—It matched precisely with the peculiar dance Anna had performed in reverse on the night before her disappearance.

The flute's sound grew closer, closer...

It was coming to take her away.

But at the last moment, Lenna felt a cool touch caress her face, jolting her awake.

After a sudden sensation of falling, Lenna's consciousness returned, but she remained in bed, not daring to move.

For there really was "someone" touching her face.

Yet, in the silent night, in the room with locked doors and windows... how could there be another person?

Her hand, tucked deep under the covers, clenched tightly, as many questions swirled in Lenna's mind.

Could the one touching her be a butcher or a piece of human skin from the "Skin Collector's Factory"?

Feeling carefully, the cool, soft touch that brushed against her face, with its fine texture and natural patterns... it did indeed resemble human skin.

It quietly explored her features, perhaps contemplating how to peel off this tender flesh intact.

If Lenna didn't resist soon, the next second might bring the excruciating pain of flesh being torn apart.

Lenna's heart pounded, what if her guess was wrong?

If the touch on her skin was not human but a trap that deceived her into waking in the night, she would violate the hotel’s rule the moment she opened her eyes—“The hotel will turn off the lights between 11:00 PM and 6:00 AM the next morning; please ensure you are asleep during this period”!

She had to make sure she was asleep during the designated hours!

Should she open her eyes?

To resist or to continue sleeping?

Time seemed to stretch endlessly, and Lena struggled to suppress the flutter of her lashes, ultimately deciding to remain still.

For the town’s rules also warned: “■■ may try to frighten you, forcing you to open the door and go out. Do not panic; pretend you are already asleep.”

Bound by both rules, Lena finally abandoned the thought of opening her eyes and feigned deep sleep.

The cool touch continued to caress her face.

After what felt like an eternity, Lena had almost drifted back to sleep when the caressing finally ceased.

Then, she sensed... that thing, drawing closer to her.

Though her eyes remained closed, Lena was certain it was now extremely close.

—For its icy breath was now brushing against her face in gusts, as if it were pressed cheek to cheek with her, unnervingly intimate.