Frightening

After Fang Pingfang looked up, the lights stabilized.

She didn't think too much about it and continued looking at the data on the computer screen.

After a while, the light flickered again.

Fang Pingfang frowned, looked up, and felt something was off.

The power supply to these laboratories is very stable, so the problem is most likely with the lights.

It seems these lights are defective; perhaps the purchasing agent took kickbacks?

I need to talk to the person in charge of the equipment tomorrow; looks like someone's going to be in trouble.

Fang Pingfang knew very well how much Mr. Liang valued these laboratories, and that if anyone dared to try to profit from them, Mr. Liang would definitely not let it go.

The light flickered again, Fang Pingfang simply ignored it, focusing intently on the screen and occasionally tapping the page-turning keys on the keyboard.

But the computer screen suddenly went black the next moment.

Fang Pingfang leaned back slightly involuntarily, staring blankly at the blacked-out screen. The power indicator light in the lower right corner of the monitor showed that the power was on.

So it's a problem with the computer itself; is the screen black?

Were these computer hardware components also given kickbacks?

Fang Pingfang frowned and bent down to look at the computer, trying to force a restart. But the monitor lit up again, and the screen was still the same as before it went black.

"What's going on..." Fang Pingfang checked the computer, but there was nothing wrong; it just looked like the screen had gone black for a moment.

Fang Pingfang subconsciously looked around, but she was the only one in the laboratory, and the surrounding situation was clear at a glance, with nothing different from usual.

She got up, walked to the door, and pressed the call button to speak with the security office.

"This is the security room. Is this... Dr. Fang? What can I do for you?" A somewhat groggy voice came through the intercom.

Fang Pingfang glanced at the surveillance cameras in the laboratory. She knew that due to certain special reasons, the surveillance footage of several laboratories on the second basement floor was in a separate, independent system, and even the security personnel who had signed confidentiality agreements had no right to monitor it in real time.

"Are there any other researchers besides me on level D2 right now?" Fang Pingfang asked.

After a while, the voice on the other end of the intercom said, "Researcher Xie and Dr. Yang just left. You are the only researcher on level D2 now."

"Where are the security personnel?" Fang Pingfang asked again.

"Including myself, there are six staff members on duty, and two on floor D2."

"OK, thanks."

After speaking, Fang Pingfang paused for a moment, then pressed the intercom again. "Excuse me, what is your name?"

"My name is Zhang Yaozu, and I'm the captain of Security Team 3," the security personnel on the other end of the communicator said.

"Captain Zhang, how long have you been working here?"

"From the time this place was built until now, including the preparation and training period, it has been ten months, or to be precise, ten months and seventeen days," Zhang Yaozu said.

Do the electronic devices here frequently malfunction?

There was a long silence on the other end of the intercom before Zhang Yaozu said somewhat uncertainly, "We don't have access to the equipment in the lab..."

"What I mean is, have other researchers reported any equipment malfunctions or circuit problems when they were working at night?" Fang Pingfang asked after carefully choosing her words.

Zhang Yaozu replied, "No, that's not true... but the toilet in D1 broke down in the middle of the night and wouldn't flush..."

"Uh, no, that's not it." Fang Pingfang quickly interrupted him, "For example, with the lighting equipment, did you see any changes in brightness or flickering just now?"

"This... I don't think so," Zhang Yaozu said uncertainly.

Fang Pingfang seemed to be deep in thought; it seemed that only the lights in her laboratory had a problem.

"I remember now, before..." Zhang Yaozu's words trailed off, with no further explanation.

Fang Pingfang was stunned. She pressed the call button several times, but there was no response. "Captain Zhang? Are you still there? Captain Zhang?"

The intercom only made a hissing electrical sound.

The surroundings seemed to fall silent all at once; she could even faintly hear the sound of the computer fan spinning inside the case.

Could something have happened to Zhang Yaozu? This thought inexplicably popped into Fang Pingfang's mind.

A few seconds later, Zhang Yaozu's voice rang out again. "... So the lights in these labs should be dimmer than before."

"The call was just dropped? Is there something wrong with the intercom?" Fang Pingfang asked quickly.

Inside the security room, Zhang Yaozu paused for a moment upon hearing this, glanced down at the indicator light on the intercom, and asked in confusion, "No, the indicator light was on the whole time, and the call was always connected. Is there a problem with Dr. Fang?"

"I didn't hear what you said. What did you mean by 'before'?"

"Oh, I mean, Dr. Yang thought the lab lights were too bright and a bit glaring, so he replaced a batch of lights. The lights in labs six, seven, eight, nine, and ten should be dimmer, or rather, softer, compared to the others."

Fang Pingfang replied after a few seconds, "Keep an eye on the surveillance cameras in a bit, and see if there's anything unusual outside or around my lab. If you find anything, notify me immediately."

"Dr. Fang... what situation are you referring to?" Zhang Yaozu felt a strange chill run down his spine.

"It's nothing, I was just saying it casually. There's no problem, you don't need to worry about it."

"Big sister, now that you say that, I'm even more concerned." Zhang Yaozu wanted to ask a few more questions, but Fang Pingfang had already ended the call.

He immediately turned his attention to the multiple surveillance screens in the security room. Apart from the interiors of a few laboratories and storage rooms, all other rooms, including corridors, staircases, and elevators, were within the surveillance range. Moreover, if he wanted, he could directly access the surveillance footage not only of D2 and D1, but also of all the floors on the ground floor, and even the entire park.

But after looking around, I couldn't find anything wrong.

Then he noticed that Fang Pingfang walked out of Lab Six and into Lab Nine. Before entering, she specifically looked up at the surveillance camera above the corridor, as if to tell him, "Attention, I'm going in."

"Was there something unusual in Lab Six just now?"

Recalling Fang Pingfang's strange behavior during the phone call, Zhang Yaozu began to feel nervous.

He had never felt this nervous when carrying out dangerous missions before, which made him very uncomfortable.

He couldn't help but wonder what else was in those laboratories and several classified storage rooms, besides the various instruments and equipment he had seen before?

What exactly are highly educated individuals like Dr. Fang and Dr. Yang researching here?

Like his colleagues, he had signed a confidentiality agreement to work in the secret research department of "Shenxing Technology" for a high salary, but he knew nothing about what the department was researching. Because they didn't want to lose the high pay, none of them dared to investigate information outside their job responsibilities, and they just did their jobs dutifully.

But tonight, after being Dr. Fang's mysterious and somewhat strange words, he couldn't help but feel curious.

Although Fang Pingfang had only been here a few days and they hadn't had much contact—their previous conversations combined didn't amount to as much as Dr. Fang's —he still had a general impression of her through other means. He knew she was a highly capable professional, admired even by Dr. Yang and others, and also had a very straightforward personality. Clearly, she wasn't the type to overreact to the slightest disturbance; otherwise, she wouldn't have stayed alone in D2 so late.

Most importantly, Fang Pingfang has the highest authority in laboratories D1 and D2. Apart from her, at least two other researchers are required to enter laboratories six through ten.

Therefore, Fang Pingfang must know what they are researching, and she must know a secret that he doesn't!

So if she notices anything strange, she must have some basis for it.

Just as his attention was focused on the view of the corridor outside the laboratory on the monitor, he was suddenly patted on the shoulder, which startled him so much that he almost reflexively retaliated.

"Holy crap! You scared me! What are you doing?" A young voice rang out from inside the security room.

Zhang Yaozu, who was about to pull hard on the other person's wrist, quickly let go and exhaled. "How did you sneak in so quietly? You startled me too..." The person with his arm around his shoulder was Little Gao, a colleague who worked on duty with him in D2.

"What do you mean 'quietly'? Didn't you hear me come in, open the door, and close it?" Little Gao asked curiously. "Old Zhang, you're acting strange. What happened?"

"It's nothing. You stay here and keep watch. I'll go patrol the experimental area." Zhang Yaozu said, picking up his walkie-talkie and other equipment as he got up.

Meanwhile, inside Lab Nine.

Fang Pingfang opened the container holding the Rabbit Woodcarving. A transparent box slowly rose from the metal platform, and through the transparent material, she could see the strange, rough, and ugly Rabbit Woodcarving "smiling" at her.

Without a doubt, this wood carving was the most valuable item they brought back from the Qinling Uninhabited Zone.

On the way, she and Team Leader Li had already discovered that the wood carving had the ability to influence people's dreams, so whether on the way or after it was delivered here, there was a strict storage standard—it had to be far enough away from the rest area. Researchers were also prohibited from sleeping in the laboratory.

However, when they deliberately conducted a dream influence experiment to observe the changes in the process, they found that the people sleeping around it no longer had the strange dream about rabbit meat, and two people didn't even dream at all.

They suspected the wooden carving only worked at night, so they conducted another experiment last night, but the result was the same: it didn't induce any dreams.

Therefore, Fang Pingfang initially concluded that the wooden carving's abilities could only be effective in the Qinling Uninhabited Zone.

But after some unusual events occurred in Lab Six tonight, she couldn't help but think of the Rabbit Woodcarving.

Squinting at the wooden carving inside the container, Fang Pingfang couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Is this your doing?"

She began repeating some test items that she had done several times before, recording the information.

She suspected that the "Rabbit Woodcarving" might have become active again.

A little while later, Fang Pingfang felt a bit thirsty, so she went to the rest room next to the laboratory, took a disposable paper cup from the water dispenser, and filled it with water. After filling the cup, she was about to walk back when she accidentally glanced at a saucer next to the water dispenser.

Who put a plate of rabbit meat here? And it's undercooked at that!

Fang Pingfang drank water and walked back, this thought flashed through her mind.

Then she froze, holding her breath for a moment, a chill rising from the bottom of her heart, cold sweat soaking her back.

She slowly turned around and looked at the piece of raw rabbit meat cut into pieces on the porcelain plate next to the water dispenser.

Her right hand instinctively clenched, crushing the paper cup in her hand. Luckily, it was filled with cold water, so she wasn't burned.

This was a scene she had seen in her dreams!

Am I dreaming?

Did I fall asleep without realizing it?

Fang Pingfang closed her eyes, shook her head, and then pinched herself. The pain made her realize that she was either dreaming or in reality.

But... is that really reality?

She opened her eyes again and looked at the water dispenser. The plate of "raw rabbit meat" was nowhere to be seen, as if it had never been there at all.

Hallucination?

Fang Pingfang walked out of the break room and re-entered the laboratory. She looked at the wooden rabbit sculpture, which was isolated in a transparent container. The rabbit's wide-open mouth seemed to be mocking her.

Suddenly, the lights in Lab Nine dimmed, as if the sun had been shining brightly one moment and dark clouds had gathered the next, signaling the approach of a storm.

Fang Pingfang had the illusion of suddenly entering another space, as if she had entered the inner world of Lab Nine.

A second later, the lights returned to their original brightness, and there was no sound in the laboratory, just as when she had entered.

"It's 'alive' again..."

A voice inside Fang Pingfang's head said this.

She never believed in supernatural or superstitious beliefs. In her understanding, every phenomenon has a corresponding cause, and some phenomena cannot be explained for the time being simply because we do not know enough.

But knowing something is one thing, but often, influenced by movies and art, we instinctively make associations with certain things, even if we rationally know that it's just "scaring ourselves." The fear is a result of our body's instinctive awe of the unknown.

Fang Pingfang was pounding. After taking a few deep breaths, she controlled her emotions and put the transparent container where the wooden carving was back into the metal platform, completely isolating it from the outside world.

This was the first time she had felt this way since birth, but after that slight fear and apprehension, she also felt an overwhelming sense of anticipation and excitement.

Fang Pingfang left Lab Nine, she happened to see Zhang Yaozu on patrol.

Seeing Fang Pingfang's pale face and cold sweat on her forehead, the latter asked in surprise, "Dr. Fang, what happened?"

His heart pounded: Something had definitely happened! Something had gone wrong in Lab Nine?!

Fang Pingfang said, "Seal off D2... no, including D1. Don't let anyone in tomorrow morning either. You all go to the security room on the first floor for duty. What to do next, we'll wait for 'Mr. Liang's' instructions."

Zhang Yaozu was taken aback and was about to ask something when the corridor lights suddenly dimmed.

Fang Pingfang hurried over, gave him a push, and urged, "Let's go!"

Zhang Yaozu didn't dare say anything more or ask any more questions. He just used the walkie-talkie to notify Little Gao in the security room while looking back at the tightly closed door of Lab Nine, secretly guessing what was happening inside.

In a standard room at a three-star hotel in Tongshi Town.

Xiang Kun, lying on the bed, opened his eyes, exited the "Hyper-Sensory State" once again, took a deep breath, and relieved the fatigue in his brain.

He had just repeatedly entered a "Hyper-Sensory State," descended around the "Rabbit Woodcarving," and, relying on the bone with which he had established a "Super-Sensory Link," exerted some influence on the surrounding environment.

After determining that there was a person nearby, who was suspected to be one of the people who came out of the Qinling Uninhabited Zone with the "Rabbit Woodcarving," he began to cause various disturbances in an attempt to attract their attention.

His "feigned supernatural behavior" was intended to disturb the person's mind. Because of his past experience with the wood carving, the person would involuntarily suspect that there was something wrong with the "Rabbit Woodcarving" and focus all his attention on it.

When the person got close to the "wood carving," Xiang Kun tried to use the function "developed" by Little Apple to "call" the collection of the Rabbit Woodcarving's emotional representations and project them onto the person, directly affecting their emotions.

Xiang Kun wasn't quite sure what the consequences of this influence would be. After all, in his "Hyper-Sensory State," he needed to "decode" many of his perceptions on his own, and he could currently only "decode" very little information, neither visual nor auditory.

But at least one thing he was certain of was that the person who appeared around the "Rabbit Woodcarving" had become tense and frightened.

His purpose was not to play a prank to scare people, but to lure out the vampire that might exist behind "Shenxing Technology" and hope to get him to come to the "Rabbit Woodcarving" himself.